i'm going to be continuing tonight a<\/p>\n
series that we began last week<\/p>\n
so we're looking at how the gospel right<\/p>\n
the good news of jesus how it transforms<\/p>\n
us but also<\/p>\n
informs us on how we are to live<\/p>\n
in general about generous<\/p>\n
[Music]<\/p>\n
but then lives<\/p>\n
in terms of our time or our presence in<\/p>\n
the lives of those around us<\/p>\n
and today we're going to look at how the<\/p>\n
gospel teaches us challenges us and<\/p>\n
leads us<\/p>\n
in regard to generosity with material<\/p>\n
possessions<\/p>\n
we're going to look at the gospel and<\/p>\n
we're going to learn about<\/p>\n
what it means to be generous with our<\/p>\n
in the gospel of matthew<\/p>\n
uh chapter 22 we read about a time that<\/p>\n
a teacher a religious leader<\/p>\n
came to jesus with a<\/p>\n
one of them a lawyer a teacher asked him<\/p>\n
ask jesus a question to test him<\/p>\n
teacher<\/p>\n
which is the great commandment in the<\/p>\n
law<\/p>\n
and jesus he jesus said to him<\/p>\n
you shall love the lord your god with<\/p>\n
all your heart with all your souls all<\/p>\n
your mind<\/p>\n
this is the great and first commandment<\/p>\n
and a second is like it<\/p>\n
you shall love your neighbor<\/p>\n
as yourself on these two commandments<\/p>\n
depend<\/p>\n
all the law<\/p>\n
and the prophets<\/p>\n
as followers of jesus<\/p>\n
we are called to love the lord our god<\/p>\n
it's the greatest commandment<\/p>\n
and out of that love of god flows<\/p>\n
our love for our neighbor our love for<\/p>\n
the other<\/p>\n
our relationship to god has<\/p>\n
ramifications<\/p>\n
on our horizontal relationships the<\/p>\n
relationships that we have with those<\/p>\n
around us<\/p>\n
what does the bible teach us about<\/p>\n
living<\/p>\n
generously and<\/p>\n
let us consider these three truths<\/p>\n
all the earth is the lord's<\/p>\n
god is the creator<\/p>\n
let's<\/p>\n
your words<\/p>\n
may we be encouraged and challenged<\/p>\n
towards honoring and obeying you<\/p>\n
foreign<\/p>\n
all right this was a tv show it was<\/p>\n
about a private investigator lived in<\/p>\n
hawaii<\/p>\n
and he helped people that were victims<\/p>\n
of crime every week<\/p>\n
but as i learned more as the show went<\/p>\n
on i learned more about the back story<\/p>\n
and he was just living on the property<\/p>\n
as a guest<\/p>\n
and the hardest thing for me<\/p>\n
he was not the owner but he was given<\/p>\n
access to them that he was<\/p>\n
allowed<\/p>\n
humanity<\/p>\n
thereof we read in psalm 24 the world<\/p>\n
and those who dwell therein or he has<\/p>\n
founded it on the seas and established<\/p>\n
it<\/p>\n
upon the rivers yes<\/p>\n
the earth is the lord's<\/p>\n
what we<\/p>\n
have or claim ownership of all of our<\/p>\n
material goods money<\/p>\n
items of value all of it it's all that<\/p>\n
stupid<\/p>\n
when we consider the majesty and the<\/p>\n
power of god it helps us understand<\/p>\n
that our possessions are not ultimately<\/p>\n
our own<\/p>\n
he's given us the capacity and the<\/p>\n
ability to enjoy<\/p>\n
we can see the lavish generosity of god<\/p>\n
in<\/p>\n
there's a passage in first chronicles in<\/p>\n
which we have a detailed account of a<\/p>\n
prayer of king david<\/p>\n
he's before the people he's praying this<\/p>\n
this is what we read therefore david<\/p>\n
bless the lord in the presence of all<\/p>\n
his simply<\/p>\n
and david said blessed are you o lord<\/p>\n
the god of israel our father forever and<\/p>\n
ever<\/p>\n
yours o lord is the greatness and the<\/p>\n
power and the glory and the victory and<\/p>\n
the majesty<\/p>\n
for all that is in the heavens and in<\/p>\n
the earth is yours<\/p>\n
yours is the kingdom o lord that you are<\/p>\n
exalted as head above all<\/p>\n
both riches and honor come from you and<\/p>\n
you rule over all<\/p>\n
in your hand our power and might and in<\/p>\n
your hand it is to make great and to<\/p>\n
give strength<\/p>\n
to all<\/p>\n
and now we thank you our god and praise<\/p>\n
your glorious name<\/p>\n
but who am i<\/p>\n
and what is my people<\/p>\n
that we should be able to offer<\/p>\n
willingly<\/p>\n
for all things come from you<\/p>\n
and of your own have we given you<\/p>\n
yes all that we have<\/p>\n
comes<\/p>\n
from god and is<\/p>\n
gods<\/p>\n
having this posture this understanding<\/p>\n
then frees us to live<\/p>\n
for god as an expression of our loved<\/p>\n
ones<\/p>\n
for us<\/p>\n
and as we turn to him in faith we are<\/p>\n
saved by his grace<\/p>\n
in ephesians chapter 2<\/p>\n
verses 8 9 we read this for by grace you<\/p>\n
have been saved through faith<\/p>\n
and this is not your own doing is the<\/p>\n
gift<\/p>\n
of god<\/p>\n
not a result of works<\/p>\n
so that no one may pose<\/p>\n
if<\/p>\n
the generosity of god at work in our own<\/p>\n
lives<\/p>\n
in modern thinking there's a concept an<\/p>\n
idea of a self-made personality<\/p>\n
or you fall out if you take god out of<\/p>\n
the equation of your life<\/p>\n
then it follows that all that you are<\/p>\n
all that you have<\/p>\n
is through chance<\/p>\n
and personal effort<\/p>\n
there<\/p>\n
in this concept you really are to some<\/p>\n
degree what you make of yourself<\/p>\n
is<\/p>\n
i've sacrificed labor to acquire<\/p>\n
all of my positions<\/p>\n
and therefore i've earned this i've<\/p>\n
earned<\/p>\n
in uh the book mere christianity<\/p>\n
uh c.s lewis wrote this and<\/p>\n
we're going to split this up and explain<\/p>\n
them<\/p>\n
let me read this first part to us<\/p>\n
every faculty<\/p>\n
you have<\/p>\n
your power of thinking<\/p>\n
or of moving your limbs from moment to<\/p>\n
moment is given you by god<\/p>\n
if you devoted every moment<\/p>\n
of your whole life exclusively to his<\/p>\n
service<\/p>\n
you could not give him anything that was<\/p>\n
not<\/p>\n
in a sense his own<\/p>\n
already<\/p>\n
so that when we talk of a man doing<\/p>\n
anything for god or giving anything<\/p>\n
to god<\/p>\n
it's like a small child going to his<\/p>\n
father and saying<\/p>\n
to buy you a birthday present<\/p>\n
but only a fool an idiot would would<\/p>\n
think that the father<\/p>\n
is six tenths to the good on the<\/p>\n
transaction so it's somehow<\/p>\n
and they made these two discoveries god<\/p>\n
can really get to work in this part<\/p>\n
right it's after this that real life<\/p>\n
begins that man is awakened<\/p>\n
so the christian faith is actually in<\/p>\n
direct contrast to the idea of the<\/p>\n
self-made<\/p>\n
person christians<\/p>\n
we are by god's grace alive<\/p>\n
and the totality of our being is wrapped<\/p>\n
up in his power<\/p>\n
as we embrace this truth it shapes every<\/p>\n
aspect of how we live<\/p>\n
the love of god leads us<\/p>\n
in loving others<\/p>\n
the bible teaches that generosity is so<\/p>\n
much more than<\/p>\n
just being generous with your money or<\/p>\n
your material possessions<\/p>\n
the source of radical generosity is a<\/p>\n
gospel transformed heart<\/p>\n
uh<\/p>\n
in romans we read this he who did not<\/p>\n
spare his own son but she gave him up<\/p>\n
for us all<\/p>\n
how will he not also let him graciously<\/p>\n
give us all things<\/p>\n
god did not spare his son so that we may<\/p>\n
have new life<\/p>\n
in jesus christ<\/p>\n
when we turn to jesus in faith we turn<\/p>\n
with all<\/p>\n
we turn from being our own little gods<\/p>\n
of our own little worlds to living in<\/p>\n
humble reliance<\/p>\n
first corinthians he writes this or do<\/p>\n
you not know<\/p>\n
that your body is a temple of the holy<\/p>\n
spirit within you<\/p>\n
whom you have from god<\/p>\n
you are not your own<\/p>\n
for you are bought for the price<\/p>\n
so glorify god in your body<\/p>\n
we are not our own so many people<\/p>\n
we belong body and soul<\/p>\n
to christ jesus<\/p>\n
we are saved by grace so<\/p>\n
and we seek to apply the resources of<\/p>\n
goods and money funds entrusted to us<\/p>\n
for the good of our neighbors<\/p>\n
so what do we do with all of this<\/p>\n
some of you may not be christians<\/p>\n
because you no doubt have real questions<\/p>\n
about<\/p>\n
who jesus is and if all of this is true<\/p>\n
and we would love to hear your questions<\/p>\n
we would love to talk to you<\/p>\n
how could<\/p>\n
how do you take all of this<\/p>\n
and i would encourage you to speak with<\/p>\n
a christian friend about this very thing<\/p>\n
each other toward letting the gospel<\/p>\n
shape how you give<\/p>\n
of what has been given<\/p>\n
this is kind of details what it looks<\/p>\n
like when<\/p>\n
the generosity of god works in the<\/p>\n
hearts of believers and spills over into<\/p>\n
the church and into the community<\/p>\n
paul wrote this we want you to know<\/p>\n
brothers about the grace of god that has<\/p>\n
been given<\/p>\n
among the churches of macedonia<\/p>\n
for a severe test of affliction<\/p>\n
their abundance of joy their extreme<\/p>\n
poverty have overflowed in a wealth of<\/p>\n
generosity on their part<\/p>\n
for they gave according to their means<\/p>\n
as i can testify<\/p>\n
and beyond their means of their own<\/p>\n
accord<\/p>\n
begging us earnestly for the favor of<\/p>\n
taking part<\/p>\n
in the relief of the saints<\/p>\n
but they gave themselves first to the<\/p>\n
lord<\/p>\n
and then by<\/p>\n
we ask you to help us<\/p>\n
help us consider what it means to live<\/p>\n
generous lives before<\/p>\n
give us generous hearts that are joyful<\/p>\n
to see others<\/p>\n
and joyful hearts as we see your kingdom<\/p>\n
we pray all of this in your good name<\/p>\n
lord jesus<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20220510","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6kUt4sCnoe8","video_id":"6kUt4sCnoe8","video_duration":"30:19","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=820"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":821,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/820\/revisions\/821"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}