Today I'm Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Why is it that some people seem to prosper and others don't? You know those people that just seem God's favor and His hand upon them and their children and their business and their work and even when they go through really difficult times they have this almost weird contentment. What's the common denominator of these people who God prospers? You want to find out?
Stick around. Imagine you're dying of thirst in the desert. You find a pump and a note instructing you to pour out your only jar of water to make it work.
Sounds crazy, right? Yet, this is exactly what God asks of us. Today on Living on the Edge, Chip Ingram reveals why the most counterintuitive financial decision you'll ever make is also the smartest. Let's be clear, God doesn't prosper us so we can upgrade our lifestyle. He blesses us so we can upgrade our impact.
And as we near the conclusion of our series about the genius of generosity, I'm pleased to report that Living on the Edge has received an outpouring of donations toward the December match, in which your donation is multiplied by two. And before the deadline tomorrow, you too can double your gift by going to livingontheedge.org. But right now, let's continue Chip's message called, God Prospers Generous People. I uh have a little jar here. And I'd like you to think about this jar as your life.
And all the water inside this jar is all the time, all the energy, all the talent, all the money. all the opportunity. Your 401k, your car, your house, it's all that you have. And we have this ridiculous Command of God that says, Give. Pour it out.
Trust me. Don't be afraid. Don't be so tight with your time. Don't be tight and guarded. With your money.
Trust me with your life. And as you give it away, you will never reflect my son more. than as you're generous. And then all the promises of Scripture are how smart that is. I want to give you four airtight facts.
About generosity that are absolutely true, that will help you and help me begin to take the kind of steps that will allow us by faith to say. It's smart, it's wise. To pour out our lives. In fact, Jesus is called, He poured out His life as a drink offering. Paul would use the same phrase when he talked about his life and his love for the Philippian church.
So are you ready? Four facts that I think will give us state. Fact number one. God blesses generous people. Fact number two is that God provides clear criteria for becoming or knowing that you're a generous person.
Characteristic number one, genuine generosity gives the first and the best to God. Second, Genuine generosity is systematic. And regular. Third criteria. Genuine generosity is proportional to our income.
Fourth characteristic of generous people is genuine generosity is sacrificial. But only right now, about 2.8 to 3% of all the people who claim to be born again in America are willing to say, I believe you to the point that I would. Pour out. the first portion of even my income, let alone my time. and trust that your supernatural supply will meet all my needs.
And the theory goes: well, someday when I get enough, or someday when things turn around, or when I can get this, or get that, and that's not how it works. Out of their deep poverty and severe trial. That's sacrificial. That's generosity. The final characteristic of generosity is not simply the first and the best and not just systematically or proportional or sacrificial, but genuine generosity is thoughtful, voluntary, and worshipful.
Genuine generosity isn't just, you know, hearing a series or having a, I call it a God moment, and I've had them and I want to have more, but where you just compelled and you give and it sort of does this emotional thing, you go, wow. See, genuine generosity Isn't just thinking with your heart, it's with your mind. And it's an act of worship. Notice what Paul writes later in this same discussion with this church. He says, I thought it was necessary to urge you, brothers, to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift that you'd promised.
So they said, We want to help those Jews that are really going through it and there's a famine. And hey, Paul, last visit, we're going to help them. And Paul says, Hey, I'm coming to collect the gift. And so he says, then I I'm going to come early, and I just want to warn you, kind of give you a little heads up, so it'll be ready as a generous gift and not grudgingly. Because Paul knows human nature.
I mean, I don't know about you, but I've made commitments and I prayed about it, and God showed me, and I made it at the right moment when I was really in fellowship with God, and then it came around time to give the gift, and I'm going, oh, you know, maybe I didn't really hear God. Maybe, maybe we could delay, right? Don't you all do this stuff? And so Paul knows that's what's happening, so he says, hey, let me just... I want it to be right from the heart.
So, little heads up, I'll be there, who knows, a couple weeks. And then he gives them this thoughtful suggestion. He says, remember this, as you're sort of weighing in the balance about. being faithful to what you said. Whoever sows sparingly reaps also sparingly, and whoever sows generously will reap also generously.
And so it's an agricultural world. He just brings them back like farmers. He goes, Look, you know, if you put five seeds in the ground, you're going to have five stalks come up. You put 5,000 seeds in the ground, you have 5,000 stalks. And on each stalk, there'll be hundreds, if not thousands, of other seeds.
So if you sow a little, a little comes back. If you sow a lot.
So he's getting that, it's thoughtful. But notice that it's voluntary and worshipful. He goes, each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion. For God loves a cheerful or literally a hilarious giver. It's thoughtful.
It's based on the law of harvest. It's voluntary. It's not compulsive or manipulative. And it's worshipful. It brings joy to God's heart.
I don't know if you've ever been to a fundraising event by a really good Christian organization before, but if not, I hope you go to one someday. A number of years ago, I was invited to one and The presentations often go like this, and I've actually given these, so there's no criticism whatsoever. I thought it was really great. They showed a film of the great work. I believed in the work.
That's why I went. I had supported him financially in the past. I think the head of the organization gave a short but powerful speech about the impact of the organization. And I was sitting there just thinking about, you know, how much stretch, how much risk, how much could I give? And then a guy came up who was sort of the MC, and he was a little slicker than I liked.
You ever been in one of those meetings where, you know, someone's just a little too... I don't know what you call it, but just... Slick. And so then he came back up and he said, And now it's that time where we all get to be a part of. You know, that sort of smiley thing that makes me a little crazy.
He goes, Will you please take the envelopes from the middle and get them around the table? Yeah, like this, you know, and I'm and you know, and now I don't want anyone to do anything, but please pull out a pen. Will you, before we even make any decision, write and fill out your name? And, you know, and I'm watching everyone look around, like, you know, I'm not, you know, I want to give, but I'm not so sure about this deal. And no, please, please.
And, you know, he created an atmosphere of peer pressure where you felt like a dummy if you didn't do what he said. And he was very good at it. And so we fill it out.
Now, notice there's box number two, box number three, box number four. Can you give the biggest? And all of a sudden, a little light went on. And I liked this organization and I'd given to them before. And I was sitting there.
And I just realized this guy was trying to manipulate. And if whatever I was going to give, I was going to give out of compulsion, and I felt guilty about it, and I felt, and I looked at everybody else. And I don't know if it was a Holy Spirit sort of combined with a little bit of boldness. And I just got up and excused myself. And I took my envelope and I had it in my, it was one of those where you dress up.
So I actually do have a suit. I wore the suit that time. And I put it in my coat jacket. And I went into the men's restroom. Wash my hands.
Pulled out the envelope. Tore it in half. Dropped it in the trash. and left. And I suggest to you that whenever or wherever you feel like people are trying to manipulate.
or there's compulsion, or there's agenda to try to get your money to get you to give to something that you might follow that example. Generosity is a matter from the heart, it's an act of worship. Money needs to be raised for the kingdom of God, but it needs to be raised in a way where the vision is cast, the needs are made known as God leads, and people's heart alignment with the integrity of what's going on, and He moves people by the power of the Holy Spirit, and it is an act of worship. When God sees people who give the first and the best, that's regular, systematic, proportional, sacrificial, and thoughtful. voluntary and as an act of worship.
From heaven he says, this child of mine is generous. And every promise that we read applies to that person. Fact number one: God blesses generous people. Fact number two, God gives us clear criteria to know whether you're generous or not. Fact number three is our breakthrough concept.
Generosity. Breakthrough concept number three is: God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving. I got that from Randy Alcorn. It's in a little book called The Treasure Principle. You'll see the notes on the bottom.
That's a great line. God prospers me to raise my standard. of giving not just my standard of living. When I was in seminary, I had this kind of unusual job because I had very few hours and I had to figure out in very few hours how to support my family.
So I took a number of tests and got a license to sell a couple things and some also some investments. And so I went in all over and I.
Sold. I had about three or four hours a night and I could do this three or four nights a week and make $1,000 a month and that's what I needed to live on. And so I sold to people that had low incomes, and then I remember going out to North Dallas, very exclusive area, and middle incomes, and then very high incomes. And I remember sitting across the kitchen table from a man, and he had the picture of the very latest Porsche, and he was telling me, now that's my, you know, that's what I'm going to get. And it was a huge, beautiful house, and I laid out the presentation.
It was pretty much a no-brainer. I could take this money and put it over here. We could invest the difference over here. And they looked at me and goes, that is really great. I'd love to do it.
I just can't afford it. And and now help me, because I grew up kinda naive. I grew up thinking that if you had like really nice cars and a really nice house and a really nice job, you had money. And here's what I learned in that three years that I did that job. People who made this little window of money spent just a little bit more than that window.
And then people who made this amount of money Like three times that, they spent just a little bit more than that window. And then I met with people that had made this kind of money, and you know what they did? They found out they needed other things, and the toys got more expensive, and the trips got more expensive, and the extra this and that. They spent more. He couldn't afford it.
We'll hear more from Chippingram's message in just a moment. First, we invite you to multiply your year in support of Living on the Edge through an exciting match that's active through December 31st. Every gift is matched. Every dollar multiplied by two. Every investment maximized for kingdom impact.
Double the impact of your gift at livingontheedge.org. From his series called The Genius of Generosity, again, our Bible teacher, Chip Ingram. See, the unconscious assumption that we operate on is when we are prospered by God and He gives us more, we just think it means a bigger, nicer, better. He gives us more.
Well, that means bigger, nicer, better.
Now you should enjoy the bigger, nicer, better when that's God's will. But listen to what the Apostle Paul says. He says, God is able, 2 Corinthians 9, verses 8 and 9, he continues the story. God is able to make all grace abound to you. Why?
So that in all things, at all times, having all you need, you can abound in every good work. In other words, God wants to bless, bless, bless. There's a pump, there's a pump, there's a pump, there's a pump. As you take these steps and pour it out all grace at all times to abound in every good work, this isn't financial. This is your whole life.
And then notice what he says. As it's written, he scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever.
Now he, speaking of God, who gives seed to the sower, And bread for food. Will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. And so he's got this agricultural picture. God provides the seed, the original, great, okay. He provides some of the seed.
What happens after the harvest is you eat it, turn it into food and bread. And then he gives you extra abundance, more than you need.
so that you can reinvest it in the next year's harvest. He says, that's the picture I want you to understand. When God gives you more than you need. He gives you more than you need, so if there's people that have needs over here, God's purpose is over here, He could flow it through you to help them. Then notice what he says.
You will be made rich. And then underline the next line, will you? In every way. Not your finances. It may be finances, but you'll be made rich when you operate this way.
First, regular, voluntary, loving, kind, from the heart. He says you'll be made rich in every way. Then put a little box around so that. God Increases or prospers your life to make you rich in every way, sow that and read it. What's it say?
So you can be what? When?
So you can be generous on Every occasion. then look at the spiritual result. Look what happens here. And through your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. Do you see the circle?
You take this step of faith. And you say, oh God, you know what? It's a little hard financially right now. I don't have very much time right now. Boy, my talent and treasure, I need to just invest.
By faith.
Okay, these instructions, if they're true, it's great. If they're not, I'm in trouble. By faith, Lord, here's my first, my best, my regular, my systematic, from the heart, loving people. God has not prospered you to raise your standard of living. but to raise your standard of giving.
Fact number four. is the key to becoming habitually generous and experience habitual happiness. Are you ready for this? F A I T Yeah. It's faith.
Right? See, at the end of the day, either all those verses we read in fact number one are true. or false. Your behavior and my behavior along the criteria. is just a very simple test.
where you can now know whether you're generous or not. If you can answer yes to those five things, You're generous? And as you do that, God will meet your needs. If you say no, I want you to know that God is far more interested in your soul than any of your finances or your time. And one of the loving things God does to get our attention and why Jesus talks so much about finances.
was He can really get us praying and thinking and reevaluating relationships and time and priorities, and who's the Lord of your life. when you're under financial pressure, right? And so at some point in time, You declare and you say, Lord. I believe, help me in my unbelief. Lord, I'm afraid to step out and trust you.
My life's so busy to give time, to serve, to love. It just is so. counterintuitive. But I'm going to do it. And then you start to experience supernatural things.
Faith says refuse to chase the wind and this is why a lot of us Don't take the step of faith.
Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 2:11, Yet when I surveyed all my hands had done, And what I toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Nothing was gained under the sun. This is a man that had the palaces, the women, the money, anything his heart's desired. And what he says is: if accumulation, if prestige, if power, if stuff, if things could bring me security and significance and happiness and meaning and purpose, I've done it all. But the people that have the most stuff The people that have achieved the highest peaks often find themselves empty and lonely.
and discouraged and a lot like Scrooge. Because at the end of the day, It's your relationship with God and your relationship with people that matter. And so I would say, refuse to chase the wind. refuse to live out of control lives. refused to work 70 and 80 hours.
Just refuse it. What really matters? And what happens is when you make some decisions about your finances, pretty soon you've got to budget your money and budget your time and make some hard decisions. And you'll see God provide. Second, on the balancing side, is faith says enjoy God's provision.
I think when people start talking about generosity and the word stewardship, you start thinking, well, okay, I'm never going to have anything nice, and I'm never going to get to enjoy life, and I'll never go on a good vacation. And anything nice you have, oh, you know, gosh, I should tell people that I got this Lexus on sale, and you know, that swimming pool, it was just for baptisms, we really didn't want a swimming pool, you know. And you know, that trip, you know, when we went down, you know, to Mexico and great and took everyone with us, and it was so fun, it was really great.
Well, it was really a missionary trip in the Hyatt. There's a lot of up-and-outers that we really want to reach. Yeah. You know what the Bible says? Instruct or command those, 1 Timothy 6, 17 to 19.
Instruct or command those that are rich in this present world. Not to be conceited. Or fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but to fix their hope on God, and get underlined in your Bible somewhere the next line. who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. If your priorities are right and you're a generous person, you just drive that Lexus and have fun, okay?
If you love a pool and your priorities are right and it gives you a pool, you know what? Get in it. Invite your friends. Have some fun. If you can go on a nice vacation, enjoy it.
But if those things are in your life and those five things aren't, Then the person you're worshiping is you, not God. And who you're trusting to bring significance and fulfillment and joy and satisfaction is a lot of little idols instead of the king of the universe. And you'll come up empty. And that's why he says, instruct them or command them. Don't put your stuff there, don't chase the wind, but as I give to you, enjoy it.
You just might find He, when God finds people He can pass things through, He often blesses them greatly. And the closer you get to them, what they'll tell you is money is the smallest of the blessings. What's a rich marriage worth? What's a great relationship with your kids worth? What's a friendship that's heart-to-heart worth?
Faith says God rewards those who Step out. and trusting. You want to please God, being religious, keeping the rules, even giving, quote, money or time. that is sort of all in the safe zone. Here's what God says, Hebrews 11, 6.
without faith. It's not hard, it's impossible to please God. Think of that. Because see, the highest compliment you ever give to God is this. Lord?
This is very limited. This is me. But I believe that as I would give and trust My limited. You, my father, have unlimited. I believe it to the point of here's the best of my time, here's the best of my money, here's the best of my talent, here's the concern for this person that doesn't have room in my schedule, but I'm giving it to them and I believe that whatever I need, you'll take care of me.
When God sees that, Notice what the end of the verse says. It's impossible to please God. For those who come to God, must do two things, believe he exists. And he's a rewarder. of those who diligently seek him.
God wants to bless. He's a blesser. He's generous. He wants. Here's what he says.
Be smart. You can either live outside of the resources in that little jar, or you can trust me. and you can tap into the unlimited resources I have. for your good and my glory. This is what Chip Ingram calls the genius of generosity.
When we trust God with our possessions, we tap into the unlimited resources He set aside for our good and his glory. At Living on the Edge, we're trusting God to provide for our needs in 2026, and we believe He'll answer our prayers through generous friends like you. For 30 years, Living on the Edge has built this ministry on the solid foundation of God's promises, and He's never failed us. Chip? One of the most famous stories that Jesus told.
It was a story about two builders. One Vote on the sand? the other on the rock. When the storms came, the Only one home survived. Here's my question.
What are you building your life on? good intentions, positive thinking, cultural values that shift with every generation. Or are you building on the solid rock of God's Word. Gratefully, Living on the Edge has amassed an audience of men and women like you. That truly want to build their house, their life, their relationships on the solid rock of God's Word.
Living on the Edge exists to help Christians live like Christians, and that means they build their lives in a way that lasts. Lives constructed on biblical truth that won't collapse when the storms come. and believe me, the storms will come. And so we provide teaching, resources, and tools for believers to construct an unshakable life. When you give to this match, you're helping people build something that will survive in this life.
and echo into eternity. You're investing in what truly matters. Let's do this together. Thank you, Chip. Several friends of Living on the Edge have banded together with this incredible match opportunity in order to inspire people like you to give as well.
And when you do, your contribution will be doubled in size and it'll have twice the impact because of the match. The deadline for receiving your support is midnight tomorrow, December 31st. To give right now, go to livingonthege.org or send a check in the mail to LivingOnthege, P.O. Box 3007, Atlanta, Georgia, 30024. or visit livingonthege.org.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how generous are you? I'm Dave Druy. Join us when Chip Ingram describes the genius of generosity tomorrow on Living on the Edge. Wow.
