It’s All About The Heart

Welcome to the Blessed Life. Why did God invent giving? Because man didn't invent it, God did. Why?

Stay tuned. God did not create giving for His sake. He created giving for your sake.

Giving more than any other activity that a believer does works selfishness and greed out of our lives. All right, we're beginning a new series called The Blessed Life. And I want you to understand that this is my life message because it's been in my heart for years. It's been something Debbie and I have been living and I've been preaching and teaching for years. The Blessed Life now, the book, millions of copies.

I've been told 30 something languages around the world. I've given all the royalties away to this book. And so it's been, it's just God uses it all over the world. Here's the reason. Because there's truth in this book that will change your life. I promise you. And it will change your marriage. It will change your family. It will change your health. It will change your relationships. It will change your job. It will change your life. It's a blessed life, not a blessed pocketbook or a blessed wallet.

It's a blessed life. And so I want you to turn, if you can, really to two passages this time. Matthew 7 and Luke 6.

Here's the reason. Because we're going to read a passage in Matthew 7 and then we're going to flip to Luke 6 quickly. So we can read the parallel passage. So look here at Matthew chapter 7 verses 1 and 2. It says judge not that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged.

And with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. Now I just want to ask you a simple question. Is the word money anywhere in those two verses?

No. And the context is judging. Don't judge or you'll be judged.

Okay? Now I want us to commit to short term memory, the first phrase and the last phrase. And I'd like for you to just say it after me. Judge not and you will not be judged.

And with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. Say that. Now flip over to Luke 6. Okay? Now let's say it one more time. Judge not and you will not be judged.

With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. Okay. Look at the first sentence of verse 37, Luke 6 37. Judge not and you will not be judged. No, you don't have to say it. I'm sorry. Thank you.

Thank you though. Okay. And then look at the last sentence of verse 38.

For with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you. Okay. I want you to understand this is the parallel passage, but I want to show you a verse in the middle that in my opinion, many times the context is not understood.

Okay. So Luke 6 37 and 38. Judge not and you shall not be judged. Condemn not and you shall not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Now look at verse 38. Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put in your bosom.

For with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you. Now let me just make a statement and this might shock you. The word money does not appear in those verses. And yet most of the time when we hear Luke 6 38, we think about money.

As a matter of fact, when we think about the word give, we think money. I was being interviewed by a magazine a while back and they said, how often do you preach on giving? And I said, every week. They said, you preach on giving every week?

And I said, yes. I think what you meant to ask me was how often do I preach on giving money? And that's about every three years. Every three years I do a series on stewardship and generosity. But you didn't ask me how often do I preach on giving money. You asked me how often do I preach on giving. I can't preach on grace and not talk about giving because God still loves the world. I can't preach on marriage.