Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. God advises us, God commands us in scripture to give in a different way. And that is with a determined action to give based on one of the key scriptures in all the Bible, Matthew 6:33. On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can develop the grace of living.
Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message, generosity. Take your Bibles, turn to Second Corinthians chapter nine. The subject today is generosity. Today, we're going to talk about giving.
Stewardship, because stewardship means ownership. And in Christ, it means Lordship. The stewardship Is in regard to our time, our talents. Our treasures It is especially regarding money. It has to do with how we get our money, how we gain it.
How we guard it. And we choose to use it or save it. how we govern it. and how we give it. Yeah.
It's important that we learn this spiritual lesson, that we excel. in the grace of giving. Did you know in the New Testament the word for grace, Karis, and the word forgiving have the same root? It is all about the gift of God and the grace of God in our lives and our response. To His grace.
The Bible says that we are to excel. In this grace of giving. Would you? Say that is descriptive. Your focus and your faith when it comes to giving, that you are excelling.
In the grace of giving, I know I want to excel and accelerate even more. in this grace. of giving. Remember, God is not interested in what... We have what you have, but who you are.
Your character. As a Christian, you're Christ. Lightness. God is building believers and He is growing His church. And It is essential that we be found faithful as stewards.
That we be faithful in what God has called us to do. When I look at money and possessions, I see it really as a test. It is a test of our commitment. It is a test of our character as we keep our promises before God and before one another. It's a test.
It's even a test that God says, prove me in this and see if I will not pour out. Blessings upon you, you won't even be able to contain. He says, Test me in this.
So, money for all of us is a test. Can we Can we pass the test of money and how we handle our business? It's also a trust. Are we trustworthy with what we have earned, what we have been given? Thus, an entrustment is a stewardship.
Can we be trusted? Jesus said, Can I trust you with heavenly riches if you are not? Faithful You cannot be trusted. with earthly things.
So, money is a test of our character and our commitment. It is a trust, and it is also a testimony. It says so much about where our heart is. Our Lord said, where your treasure is, there. Your heart is.
Your heart and your treasure are synonymous. If your heart is all in with God and the treasure of the gospel and the treasure of Christ Himself, then you will be all in. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. It's a testimony. I'll tell you this.
I've never known a dynamic, spirit-filled believer who was not a generous giver. It's been my observation as a pastor these many years that people who Give their talent and their testimony for the Lord and their possessions follow along. The people who give their money also give their time. And they give. their talents to the Lord.
It all works together. Giving is at the heart of God. It is at the heart of the gospel. That said, chapters 8 and 9 of 2 Corinthians, in fact, you could turn there as I mentioned and look at it. He says, here's the point.
Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. And whoever sows bountifully, that is abundantly, will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And this is a great verse. God is able to make all grace abound to you.
There's our word grace or gift.
So that having all sufficiency and all things at all times you may abound. to every good work. As it is written, He has distributed freely. He has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever.
He who supplies seed to the sower, that's God, and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. In other words, God will meet your needs and he will multiply your resources. Verse 11, you will be enriched. In every way. to be generous.
in every way. Slash, we're blessed to be a blessing. Which through us will produce thanksgiving. to God. When we give.
God is praised. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, that is, taking care of the church and its people, but also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, that they will glorify God because, in other words, people everywhere are going to glorify God because of your submission, because of your confession, your testimony of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity, there's our word, your generosity of your contribution for them and for all others. While they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God upon you, is God's grace upon you? Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift.
We're Counseled in God's word as to how we are to give. This is a very practical message. How are we to give? We're to give personally. We're to give personally.
That's why in chapter 9, verse 7, it says, each one must give as he has decided in his heart. Earlier in chapter 8, verse 5, you can just look at it briefly there. It says, They gave themselves first to the Lord. and then by the will of God. to us.
God doesn't want my money or your money. He wants first our hearts. He wants your life. Before you give your money. Give your life.
The sewing, the Description here is of sowing a seed abundantly. The point is, as we give abundantly, we receive abundantly in order to give back abundantly. The whole point is that God is growing us up in Christ's likeness, our character into Christ's likeness. God wants you to grow, and giving is a hallmark of spiritual growth. He wants you to excel in this giving.
And we grow in faith. We grow in obedience. We grow in love. We grow in character when we give. And no gift, no gift that we give can please God if it doesn't come from a sincere heart.
If you give, With strings attached, if you give because you expect something from God or anybody else, God cannot bless that.
So God wants your stewardship, which is the ownership of your life, which is the lordship of your life. You settle the issue of lordship, and you will settle the issue of stewardship in your life. Amen?
So give personally. Secondly, give proportionately. We don't have to wonder how much we are to give because God has given us guidelines in Scripture as to how we're to give. In verse 7, again, chapter 9, each one must give as he has decided in his heart. This is a mindful.
Decision. It is a decision made. with a commitment of the heart.
So We're often exposed to various appeals for our money. We all are. And many of these are good for good organizations and so on. But at times we find ourselves just reacting to the latest appeal or the newest ministry or the most exciting new thing. But God advises us, God commands us in Scripture to give in a different way.
And that is with a decisive action, a determined action to give proportionally based on one of the key scriptures in all the Bible, Matthew 6:33. Which says, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things. What things? Our financial needs. Our material needs.
All these things. will be added Unto you. God said, You put me first in your life, and I'm going to take care of you and your needs. And it's true.
Now that has to do of course with Uh every day.
So Every day. We have an opportunity to get up and give the first part of our day. To God. Do you do that? If you will, it will transform your day.
It will transform your life. Change the way you think. It will transform your mind. As you allow God to speak to you, just take some time at the beginning of every day. This is something I do every day.
I get up and I first Give my time to God. And God has blessed me beyond measure in just giving my days and my details of my days to Him. Open God's Word, listen to God as you pray, and so on. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message. generosity.
As you're enjoying this week of Thanksgiving, we all know Christmas is right around the corner. During this Advent Christmas season, will you join Dr. Graham in preparing our hearts to celebrate the arrival of King Jesus? If you're up for celebrating the reason for the season with us, just take your phone and text the word ADVENT to 59-789. Again, text Advent to 59789.
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This timely resource will help you break the power of stress and anxiety in your life as you learn to rest in God's promises. To request your copy, simply text the word STRESS to 59-789. That's stress to 59-789.
Now, let's get back to today's message. generosity. Give the first part of your week To God. And then, yes, the first part of our money belongs to God.
Now. All of our money belongs to God. But we are to give the first tenth of our income is called a tithe. A tithe is not just a tenth, but it is the First tenth, because it is built upon that principle of seek first the kingdom of God. If you wait to give the leftovers or what's left over of your income, you may never get there.
If you wait till you get out of debt, you're probably going to stay in debt if you don't obey God at the point of paying this debt first. We are debtors to God, not in a legalistic sense, but because we love God. Look, I have children, three of them, they're all raised. And when they were coming up, we had a responsibility to raise our children, to nurture them, to take care of them, to feed them, to clothe them, to house them. And we did that, and gladly we did it.
And We're grateful for the opportunity to do that. Why did we do that? Not because the law said we had to do it, but because love said we wanted to do it.
Now, if somehow a parent decides to stop taking care of their children, stop nourishing and blessing their children, the scripture says: if we don't take care of our own household, we're worse than an infidel. And if we stop doing that, if we stop feeding our children, clothing our children, taking care of our children, then the law takes over, right? And the law comes in and may even take children away and do. Because the law has the power to do it.
Now in a greater sense. The law, the law of God is to obey his commandments. But what did Jesus say? If you love me, keep my what? If you love me, keep my commandments.
You say, Pastor, all this tithing business, isn't that back in the Old Testament? It's a New Testament principle. the principle of first things first. In fact, in 1 Corinthians chapter 16, he speaks of laying up in store. When you give.
You see it there? On the first day of every week, each of you, there's that individuality again, each of you individually is to put something aside, store it up.
Now, that's proportionate giving, right? Putting it aside as he may prosper.
So that there will be no collecting when I come. As God has prospered you.
So we can all, we don't give the same gifts, but we can equally sacrifice. You say, well, I don't have a lot to give.
So what? Did you know the premier example that Jesus used in the New Testament to describe a devoted, dedicated giver was a poor widow who only had two mites and she gave it all, and Jesus commended her?
So, whether we're rich or poor, this is the genius, this is God's genius in establishing the 10%, the first tenth, as a spiritual principle and a powerful promise from God. We find it in Malachi chapter 3, verse 10. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse. The storehouse in the Old Testament, obviously, the temple, the house of God. You say, well, we don't have a temple today.
Oh, yes, we do. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are described as the household of faith. And so, when your temple meets my temple in the fellowship in the household of faith, that is, in effect, a counterpart to the Old Testament temple and storehouse.
And thereby put me to the test, God says. The Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down a blessing that you will not even be able to contain.
Now listen to me. You say, Pastor, are you trying to put me back into legalism? This sounds so old school. It sounds so Old Testament. I'm not trying to put you back into the bondage of legalism.
I'm trying to get you under the blessing of God in your life. Because God has promised. God has said, if you give... I will give to you. I will bless you.
financially and otherwise. Jesus said in Luke 6.38 Give, and it will be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running. Over. For with the measure you use it, it will be measured back to you. That's the principle of proportionate Giving.
And as you pledge and you promise your heart to be faithful in this, God said, I am going to pour out my blessing upon you. your life. Give proportionately. Tithing is not legalism. It is a life-giving principle.
And if you will practice it, I promise you, according to God's word, that He will pour out blessing after blessing after blessing. As Paul said here in 2 Corinthians 9: abundance flows with abundance. Then we're to give strategically. Not just sowing anywhere, but sowing the seed in the fields. then it may grow.
Sowing into the storehouse of God's blessing and the benefits of its ministries.
Now there are many fine ministries around the world in our city. Let me please encourage you not to spread your tithe around here, there, and everywhere. I encourage you, I invite you, I counsel you. I pray that you will support. your local church.
with your tide. As God leads you, as He's led us to do other things, other places, Then God bless you for that as he leads you. But don't spread around your tithe. Then give generously. As the scripture says here in verse 6, it's like sowing a seed.
And when you sow it generously and abundantly and aboundfully, There is a greater harvest. Can you imagine a farmer? A farmer's in trouble, he's got some seed in his hand. And he said, you know, I... We're having a hard time here.
So I better hang on to some of this seed. I'm just going to throw a little bit out there. No, a farmer knows the more seeds you sow, the more crops you grow. It's the law of the harvest. That's God's law.
And what's true in the harvest of a crop is true in a Christian. The more seeds we sow, sowing our life, our giving, our serving, our money, the more we sow, the more abundantly we live and grow. By faith we are to give. He speaks here of our faith. You want your faith to grow in obedience, in your walk.
You want to believe God for better things in your life, greater things for your family. You want to believe God for your health. You want to believe God for your strength. You want to trust God with your life. You want your faith to grow.
Can I tell you one of the most Effective ways to grow your faith is to give. Because when you give and you're out there with your money, you're putting your heart in it, you're investing in the kingdom of God. And the way I look at my giving, it's not really a donation, it's an investment. And so, when you've got your investment out there, you're gonna pray like crazy that the crops come up. You're gonna pray and trust God.
You're gonna obey God more and more. You're gonna expect greater things from God for God to open the windows of heaven, and you're gonna see it happen, and your faith is gonna grow. That's why God says, Prove me in this. Test me in this. God is saying, I want you to test me, because when you do, you're going to see God work in your behalf.
And we always have enough. That's why I love verse 8 so much. God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound to every good work. God says, I'm going to meet your needs. I'm going to multiply your resources.
I'm going to take care of you. This grace These gifts They're going to grow you. And you're going to believe and trust in the things that are most important in your life, the true riches. They come from God. You say, well, faith doesn't pay my bills.
Faith doesn't get me out of debt. Faith doesn't pay my mortgage or my car payment. Have you ever tried? To believe God and trust God for His provision in your life. And if you will obey God and trust Him, putting Him first in your finances.
You'll see debts begin to disappear. You'll see. Problems solved. I'm not saying you won't have any more problems or you won't have financial issues. I'm not preaching some kind of a health-wealth gospel.
It's not God's desire to make you rich. What it is is God's desire to bless you according to his own word and his own will. I know this, when we give something Supernatural happens that you cannot explain. You know what it is? The nine-tenths will go further.
with God as your partner than the ten tenths on your own. And if you're in trouble financially, you sure need to get on God's plan. You sure need to do what God tells you to do by obeying Him. Again, the genius is whether you have a lot or you have a little, we can all be in. By pleasing God and this principle of first things first.
And that's why when we give, the last thing is we give joyfully. God loves a cheerful giver. I know this: the happiest people on earth. generous givers. It's true.
The happiest people I know. Are people who give their lives away? Yeah. who give their money away. Give and it will be given to you.
Because selfishness and self-centeredness is a kill joy. It'll rob you of happiness. But giving generosity will multiply the abundant life Eight in you. You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message. generosity.
It's easy to get caught in the cycle of always trying to do more, be more, and carry it all by yourself. As a result, so many people battle stress and anxiety. But that's not God's heart for you. And in his booklet, Breaking Free from Stress, Dr. Jack Graham speaks directly to the anxious heart.
Offering biblical hope to those who feel weighed down and wrung out by stress. Drawing from Psalm 23 and real-life stories, he reminds you that while stress is inevitable, living enslaved to it is not. Breaking Free from Stress is our thank you for your gift of $10 or more to help proclaim the gospel through PowerPoint. And when you give, know that your support helps take God's word across the airwaves, into homes, prisons, and hearts all over the world. To request your copy of Breaking Free From Stress?
Text stress to 59-789. That's stress. To 59-789. As you're enjoying this week of Thanksgiving, we all know Christmas is right around the corner. During this Advent Christmas season, will you join Dr.
Grant in preparing our hearts to celebrate the arrival of King Jesus? If you're up for celebrating the reason for the season with us, just take your phone and text the word ADVENT to 59-789. Again, text Advent to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? I want to ask you a very important series of questions today.
Questions that every follower of Christ should ask themselves from time to time.
So really, ask yourself this. If every member of my church were just like me, and What kind of church would my church be? If every church member prayed like I pray, what kind of prayer life would our church have? If every member served as I serve, what kind of ministry would our church have to hurting and broken people? If every member worshipped as I worship, Would the dynamic of our church's worship be strong and powerful?
If every member witnessed, invited, and encouraged others to come, like I witness, invite, and encourage others to come, what would the outreach of our Church be? Lastly, if every Church member gave as I gave, would our Church have buildings to worship, and ministry, programming, and funds to serve our God?
Now, I know that asking people about money is a very touchy thing, and when you get close to people's money people get really nervous about that. But the fact is that every follower of Christ has a duty before God and an accountability to one another to be a part of what God is doing in His Church. And with this accountability comes a commitment of our finances to God. In Nehemiah ten thirty five, the people of Israel said, We obligate ourselves to bring the first fruit of our ground, and the first fruit of all the fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord. The Israelites were committing to give God the very best, something that we call sacrifice.
So, I want to ask you today: are you giving God the first fruits of everything you have? Are you putting him first in your life and your finances? Are you giving to his church like he would have you give? because it takes your sacrifice and your stewardship to enable your church to successfully and effectively reach others for Christ. And that is today's PowerPoint.
Remember, when you give a gift of $10 or more to PowerPoint, we'll send you a copy of Dr. Graham's booklet, Breaking Free from Stress as Our Thanks. Just text the word stress to 59-789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can matter to God no matter where you've been.
That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.
