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Am I Generous

September 16, 2020

27:29

Pastor Robert continues The Blessed Life series with the message; “Am I Generous?” where he asks us to reflect on whether we are truly generous.

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Am I Generous

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ROBERT MORRIS: We've gotthis word, "mine".
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That's why, I think, becauseGod wants us to understand
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and grow out of this, listento me, God actually uses
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that word, "mine" whenhe refers to the tithe.
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Welcome to The Blessed Life.
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Did you know that weactually get to give,
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we don't give to get.
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Stay tuned.
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♪ ♪
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ROBERT: Turn in your Bibles,please, to John 12.
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We're in the series,The Blessed Life,
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and today's message is entitled,"Am I generous"?
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"Am I generous"?
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Look at verse 1.
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It says, "Six days beforethe Passover, Jesus came
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to Bethany where Lazarus waswho had been dead,
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whom he had raised from thedead.
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There they made him a supperand Martha served but Lazarus
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was one of those whosat at the table with him.
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And then, Mary took a poundof very costly oil of spikenard,
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anointed the feet of Jesus andwiped his feet with her hair.
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And the house was filledwith the fragrance of the oil
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but one of hisdisciples, Judas Iscariot,
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Simon's son who would betrayhim said, 'Why was this fragrant
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oil not sold forthree hundred denarii
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and given to the poor?'
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This he said," watchverse 6 very carefully,
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"Not that he cared for the poorbut because he was a thief
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and he had the money box",which was the offering box,
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"and he used totake what was put in it".
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He actually tookfrom the offering.
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Isn't that amazing?
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And that's what he meant.Okay.
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So when I read this Ithought of two questions.
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Why would Mary give such anextravagant gift,
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such a generous gift?
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Why would she do that?
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And I'll explain to youlater how extravagant it was.
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And then, the second questionis, and why would
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it get Judas upset?
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There are two heartsdisplayed here.
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A heart of generosity anda heart of selfishness.
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And I want you to noticewhat revealed each heart,
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giving that's what revealed.
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So when I say,"Am I generous"?
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I put it in the firstperson so that when you say it,
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you're asking yourselfand when I say it,
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I'm asking me, because,to be honest,
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sometimes I am,and sometimes I'm not.
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I still battle with this.
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So let me tell you some thingsabout generosity, alright?
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Three things.
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Number one, theenemy of generosity.
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The enemy of generosityis selfishness.
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Now, by the way, we'retalking about generosity
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and selfishness.
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Let me just say something.
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Generosity begins with a G.
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Selfishnessbegins with an S.
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All right.
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Listen, God is generous.
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Satan is selfish.
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Just so you canalways remember.
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Alright.
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God's generous.
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And we're all born selfish.
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We are, but, we'reborn again generous.
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That's the great news.
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We just have torenew our minds.
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We really want to be.
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If I said to you, youreally want to, don't you?
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You say, yeah, well, I wantto I just don't see how
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I can do it orI'm strapped or whatever,
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and, we want tohelp you do that.
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But I want to be generous.
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I said we're all bornselfish and if you think
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about it, one of the firstwords that a child learns
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to pronunciate very wellis the word, "mine"
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"Mine".
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"Mine".
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And a child learns to say itat such a pitch
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that it will hurt a nerve thatyou have in your back.
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You'll be watching the game orsomething and here's what you
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hear from the otherroom, "mine, mine, mine,
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mine, mine, mine,mine, mine".
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You ever heard that?
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And the parent has to get upand go through the house
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and find that sound.
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And you get to another roomand it's normally a younger
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child pulling something froman older child, right,
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and the younger child is saying,"mine, mine, mine, mine", right?
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Okay.
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Let me explainsomething to you.
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There is a place where everyparent comes to when we don't
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care anymoreabout justice.
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We care about quiet.
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We don't carewhose toy it is.
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We just wantthem to be quiet.
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And so, we end up sayingsomething like this
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to the older child,"Give it to her".
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And the older child says,"But, dad, it really is mine".
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"Give it to her.
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She has things of mine too.
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Give it to her".
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Is that right?
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So we've got thisword, "mine".
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That's why, I think, becauseGod wants us to understand
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and grow out of this, listento me, God actually uses
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that word, "mine" whenhe refers to the tithe.
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He says, "It's mine.
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Don't touch it".
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Now, this an amazing storybecause when it talks
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about Judas, he makes thisstatement, "Why wasn't this
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sold and given to the poor"?
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Ever heard thatstatement before?
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Can I just remind you whooriginated that statement?
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Judas.
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"Why wasn't that soldand given to the poor"?
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We do this a lot because wesee the extravagance
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or the perceived extravaganceof someone else.
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By the way, let me give you adefinition of extravagance.
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"The one who hasmore than you".
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That's extravagant.
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Now, that neighborhood there,
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that's an extravagantneighborhood.
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Until you get a raise andmove into that neighborhood.
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Now, that one's notextravagant but now,
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that's extravagant.
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That's extravagance.
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See here's we do.
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We always want to point tosomeone else so we don't
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have to point to us.
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And here's another thingthat amazes me about this story
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in the Bible.
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It says, "Judas had themoney box" or the offering box.
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Jesus was intraveling ministry.
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That's was an offering box.
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People gave offerings.
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We know that from scripture.
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People gaveofferings to them, okay?
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So what's shocking to me iswho gave Judas the money box.
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Well, let me ask you thisquestion,
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who's the leader of this bunch?
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Okay.
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So do you think Jesus knewhe was a thief when he gave
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him the money box?
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I know he knew because twoyears before this,
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two years, Jesus said, "Did Inot choose you twelve
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and one of you is the devil"?
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He knew.
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So why would he do this?
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Listen, he didn't doit for Judas to fail.
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He did it to give himan opportunity to pass.
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See God will testyou, not tempt.
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James says, "Godtempts no one".
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Not tempt you.
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And he also provides a wayof escape every time
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you're tempted.
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But God will actually testyou in your finances
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and give you an opportunity.
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Now, isn't it amazing toothat God says,
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that the Bible tells us,he was a thief.
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And God says in Malachi,"The people who don't tithe
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are stealing from me".
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Okay.
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He took money out of the moneybox, the offering box, okay?
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Some churches have boxes,some pass the plate,
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some have a little bag.
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It really doesn't matterwhat the method is of giving.
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But here's thequestion for you.
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Is there anyone that wouldtake money out of the offering?
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There's none of us.
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None of us woulddo that, would we?
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Okay.
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Let me ask you anotherquestion, is there anyone
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that would keep money intheir account that actually
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belongs in the offering?
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Wouldn't that bethe same thing?
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All right.
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So the enemy of generosityis selfishness.
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Alright?
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Here's the number two.
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The extravaganceof generosity.
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The extravaganceof generosity.
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The reason I sayextravagance is because God's
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a generous God and Godgave an extravagant gift.
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Remember, His Son?
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That's pretty extravagant.
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And there are severalextravagant gifts in the bible.
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Lots of them.
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I could nameseveral of them.
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David, gave 21 billion.
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In today's economy, whatDavid gave to the temple
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would be equivalentto 21 billion with B.
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That's extravagant.
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I tell you anotherextravagant gift a lot of people
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don't thing is extravagant, but,Jesus said it was extravagant,
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the widow gave two mites.
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See it's not the amount, it'sthe attitude behind the amount.
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Mary gave 300 denarii.
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Denarii is theplural of denarius.
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The word denariusmeans, "a day's wage".
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"A day's wage".
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I've had students ask mehow much is a day's wage?
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I said, well, are youtalking 10 AD or 30 AD
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because it would be,like, the minimum wage.
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You understand.
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It changes.
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So 300 denarii, you wouldhave worked about 300 days
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a year so that was just commonvernacular for a year's wage.
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A years wage.
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So let me ask you, would ayear's salary, whatever your
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salary is, for you to givethat in one lump-sum,
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would that be extravagant?
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Sure it would, forall of us, right?
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Okay.
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Let me ask yousomething else.
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Would that be extravagantto pour on someone's feet?
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Because that's what she did.
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And Jesus said, she actually didthis for the day of my burial.
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This is the only anointing,by the way, that Jesus received,
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because, it was too late whenthey put him in the tomb
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to anoint his body.
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So they actually came backwith a 100 pounds of spices
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on Sunday morning, you know,the first day of the week,
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to anoint his body, because,they couldn't anoint before
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they put him in the tomb.
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So they come back thatmorning and it says they
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came back early but Jesushad already checked out.
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So that's extravagant.
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So that's an extravagantgift but could you give a gift
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to God thatwould impress him?
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I'm talking aboutan amount now.
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The one who owns everything.
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The one who, by the way,paves his streets with gold.
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Not because he's trying to showoff, it's just laying around.
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So God paves hisstreets with gold.
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He has 12 foundationsto the New Jerusalem,
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12 foundations and all overthe foundations are made
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of precious stones.
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By the way, New Jerusalemis 1380 miles long
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and 1380 miles wide and1380 miles high.
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And again, it's not becausehe's trying to impress anyone,
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he's just got a bunch ofdiamonds and rubies
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laying around.
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And his gates aremade of pearl.
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And if they're that high,they could be 1380 miles high,
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the gates.
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I don't know howhigh they are.
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So could you give somethingto God that would impress him?
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Absolutely.
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Did you know you could?
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2 Corinthians 8:5 says,"They first gave themselves
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to the Lord".
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Scripture, in the OldTestament, says,
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"God rejoices over you".
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Do you know whatthat word means?
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It means, he jumpsup and twirls about.
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He jumps up and downand twirls around.
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See, it's not the amount,it's the attitude.
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It's that you givehim your heart.
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And don't tell me that hehas your heart if he doesn't
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have your money.
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Because Jesus said, "Whereyou treasure is,
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there your heart will be also".
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So actually, when God doesget our heart,
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he gets our treasure.
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There are three levelsof giving, by the way.
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If you don't know this andI've done lots of studying
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there of giving.
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Three levels of giving.
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And I saw thisyears and years ago.
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Probably, 20, 25 years ago.
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Tithes, offerings, andextravagant offerings.
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In nearly every gift you seein the scripture,
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it falls under the area of atithe, an offering,
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or an extravagant offering.
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Did you know though, thatmost Christian's never
00:13:05.143 --> 00:13:08.012
get to the firstlevel of giving?
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You know how many Christianslast year tithed ten percent
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of their gross income totheir local church,
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undesignated by the way.
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By the way, the reason thatit's undesignated, you can say
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I want five percent hereand three percent here
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and two percent.
00:13:23.628 --> 00:13:24.529
The reason you can'tdesignate your tithe
00:13:24.629 --> 00:13:25.697
is because it doesn'tbelong to you.
00:13:25.797 --> 00:13:27.632
And people do want todesignate money
00:13:27.732 --> 00:13:29.467
because they want to control.
00:13:29.567 --> 00:13:34.439
Can I say that againbecause I've seen it a lot?
00:13:34.539 --> 00:13:37.775
I've seen a lot ofpeople try to buy me.
00:13:37.876 --> 00:13:40.445
If I give a big gift,will you do this?
00:13:40.545 --> 00:13:42.947
I'll just go answer it, no.
00:13:43.047 --> 00:13:45.416
No.
00:13:45.516 --> 00:13:46.718
So you can't designate.
00:13:46.818 --> 00:13:47.785
So you know how manyChristians actually give
00:13:47.886 --> 00:13:50.021
ten percent of their grossincome to their local church?
00:13:50.121 --> 00:13:52.790
It's between fiveand seven percent.
00:13:52.891 --> 00:13:56.160
Ninety-three to ninety-fivepercent, let me say it this way,
00:13:56.261 --> 00:13:58.496
of all believers nevereven get to the very first
00:13:58.596 --> 00:14:02.533
level of giving.
00:14:02.634 --> 00:14:03.635
And here's the great newsthough, if you ever get
00:14:03.735 --> 00:14:05.103
to the first level, you'll getto the second and third
00:14:05.203 --> 00:14:08.172
because the first levelbreaks the curse and opens
00:14:08.273 --> 00:14:10.942
the windows ofHeaven over you.
00:14:11.042 --> 00:14:13.878
And let me just tell you,when God does give you
00:14:13.978 --> 00:14:15.680
the opportunity to give anextravagant gift,
00:14:15.780 --> 00:14:19.117
it will be the greatest thing.
00:14:19.217 --> 00:14:20.718
You will look back on itfor the rest of your life
00:14:20.818 --> 00:14:23.688
thinking we gave this, it wassuch a joy for us to do that.
00:14:23.788 --> 00:14:27.825
So here's the third point Iwant to share with you
00:14:27.926 --> 00:14:30.728
is the reward of generosity.
00:14:30.828 --> 00:14:33.498
The reward of generosity.
00:14:33.598 --> 00:14:36.100
Now this same story that weread in John 12 is also
00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:39.437
in Matthew and in Mark.
00:14:39.537 --> 00:14:41.773
Let me read you oneverse from Mark.
00:14:41.873 --> 00:14:43.708
Mark 14:9 says, "AssuredlyI say to you, wherever
00:14:43.808 --> 00:14:47.378
the Gospel is preached in thewhole world, what this woman
00:14:47.478 --> 00:14:52.817
has done will also be toldas a memorial to her".
00:14:52.917 --> 00:14:59.791
Okay?
00:14:59.891 --> 00:15:01.025
Notice I said the rewardof the generosity.
00:15:01.125 --> 00:15:03.861
She was rewarded.
00:15:03.962 --> 00:15:05.930
Where Jesus said, "Whereverthe Gospel is preached,
00:15:06.030 --> 00:15:09.400
she's going to be told".
00:15:09.500 --> 00:15:10.635
She got a reward but shedidn't come to get a reward,
00:15:10.735 --> 00:15:13.538
she just came to give.
00:15:13.638 --> 00:15:17.108
I asked you, well,why did Judas,
00:15:17.208 --> 00:15:21.379
why was he so upset about this.
00:15:21.479 --> 00:15:23.081
Well, we know it's becausehe was a thief,
00:15:23.181 --> 00:15:24.849
that's why and he stolefrom God.
00:15:24.949 --> 00:15:27.785
Why though did Mary givesuch a generous gift?
00:15:27.885 --> 00:15:29.954
Let me answer that question,because two months before
00:15:30.054 --> 00:15:33.391
this, her brother, Lazarus,had been raised from the dead.
00:15:33.491 --> 00:15:39.430
See, generositycomes from gratitude.
00:15:39.530 --> 00:15:42.600
Grateful peopleare generous.
00:15:42.700 --> 00:15:45.336
Well, let me ask yousomething, if one of your family
00:15:45.436 --> 00:15:47.705
members was raisedfrom the dead,
00:15:47.805 --> 00:15:51.175
would you be grateful?
00:15:51.275 --> 00:15:53.644
And do you think that mightchange the way you give to God?
00:15:53.745 --> 00:15:57.515
I think it changed.
00:15:57.615 --> 00:15:58.716
By they way, when I say oneof your family members,
00:15:58.816 --> 00:16:00.585
let me just remind you, all ofyou who believe in Jesus
00:16:00.685 --> 00:16:04.122
have been raised from thedead because Ephesians says,
00:16:04.222 --> 00:16:07.658
"We were dead in ourtrespasses and sins
00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:10.161
and he made us alive.
00:16:10.261 --> 00:16:11.963
We were buried with him andraised to walk a new life".
00:16:12.063 --> 00:16:15.967
But I want you to understandthat she did not
00:16:16.067 --> 00:16:18.036
come to be rewarded but Godrewarded her.
00:16:18.136 --> 00:16:22.073
God always rewardsgenerosity.
00:16:22.173 --> 00:16:25.843
Now, let me give you thedefinition of generosity though.
00:16:25.943 --> 00:16:28.146
Generosity is when you giveexpecting nothing in return.
00:16:28.246 --> 00:16:32.650
Selfishness is when you giveand think that God
00:16:32.750 --> 00:16:35.353
owes you something.
00:16:35.453 --> 00:16:38.156
That's selfishness.
00:16:38.256 --> 00:16:39.390
Generosity is when you giveto not get anything back.
00:16:39.490 --> 00:16:43.928
But here's the amazingthing, God always rewards that.
00:16:44.028 --> 00:16:46.964
Hebrews 11:6 says, "Withoutfaith it's impossible to please
00:16:47.065 --> 00:16:52.103
him for he who comes toGod must believe that he
00:16:52.203 --> 00:16:54.472
is and that he is a rewarder ofthose diligently seek him".
00:16:54.572 --> 00:16:59.977
This word, "rewarder", comesa Greek word that's only
00:17:00.078 --> 00:17:03.047
in the Bible one time.
00:17:03.147 --> 00:17:04.882
Only in the NewTestament one time.
00:17:04.982 --> 00:17:07.652
And it's a five syllableGreek word and nearly every
00:17:07.752 --> 00:17:11.255
syllable means when you putthem together from the root
00:17:11.355 --> 00:17:14.659
and all means topay what is due.
00:17:14.759 --> 00:17:16.594
But there's one syllablethat changes it and it means
00:17:16.694 --> 00:17:20.231
to reward with extravagance,to give more than what is due.
00:17:20.331 --> 00:17:24.302
It's like if someone losthis wallet and you returned
00:17:24.402 --> 00:17:27.772
it and instead of giving youa fifty-dollar reward
00:17:27.872 --> 00:17:30.274
he gives you afive-thousand-dollar reward.
00:17:30.374 --> 00:17:33.478
You said, well there'sfifty-dollars in the wallet,
00:17:33.578 --> 00:17:37.181
this, is too much.
00:17:37.281 --> 00:17:38.850
Okay?
00:17:38.950 --> 00:17:39.951
He's not rewarding theamount that you returned,
00:17:40.051 --> 00:17:45.289
he's rewarding your honesty.
00:17:45.389 --> 00:17:48.259
The attitude of your heart.
00:17:48.359 --> 00:17:50.094
See, it's not the amountit's the attitude of our heart
00:17:50.194 --> 00:17:52.964
that God rewards.
00:17:53.064 --> 00:17:55.633
And he always rewards.
00:17:55.733 --> 00:17:57.268
You have to understand,let me say,
00:17:57.368 --> 00:17:59.837
a double negative grammatically.
00:17:59.937 --> 00:18:01.606
God cannot not reward you.
00:18:01.706 --> 00:18:06.043
He's going to reward you if yougive with the right heart.
00:18:06.144 --> 00:18:07.879
Here's the reason why,because it says,
00:18:07.979 --> 00:18:09.413
"God is a rewarder".
00:18:09.514 --> 00:18:12.950
He is.
00:18:13.050 --> 00:18:13.718
This is something he is.
00:18:13.818 --> 00:18:15.086
In other words, God can'tlie to you because he is truth.
00:18:15.186 --> 00:18:18.556
He can't liebecause he is truth.
00:18:18.656 --> 00:18:20.791
He is truth.
00:18:20.892 --> 00:18:21.792
He is a rewarder.
00:18:21.893 --> 00:18:26.030
Lots of times God hasblessed us financially
00:18:26.130 --> 00:18:30.234
but there's a difference betweenbeing blessed
00:18:30.334 --> 00:18:31.402
and being rewarded.
00:18:31.502 --> 00:18:34.372
He blesses us with financesbut Genesis 12 tells
00:18:34.472 --> 00:18:39.143
us what his reward is.
00:18:39.243 --> 00:18:40.144
He said, "Yourreward will be me.
00:18:40.244 --> 00:18:44.615
I'll reward youwith myself".
00:18:44.715 --> 00:18:46.250
He rewards you with himself.
00:18:46.350 --> 00:18:48.452
In other words, it effectsover and over your life.
00:18:48.553 --> 00:18:50.354
So I'm going to tell yousomething that happened and,
00:18:50.454 --> 00:18:52.590
then I'm going to give youthe rest of the story that
00:18:52.690 --> 00:18:54.292
I've never told you.
00:18:54.392 --> 00:18:56.093
Okay?
00:18:56.194 --> 00:18:57.128
I shared, one time, thiswith you a testimony
00:18:57.228 --> 00:18:59.864
but I've never shared therest of the story.
00:18:59.964 --> 00:19:02.667
There was a single mom inour church and the Lord
00:19:02.767 --> 00:19:06.237
was dealing with herabout tithing.
00:19:06.337 --> 00:19:08.539
And I shared the messageabout the thousand dollars.
00:19:08.639 --> 00:19:11.676
And this was afew years ago.
00:19:11.776 --> 00:19:13.144
I shared the message about athousand dollars,
00:19:13.244 --> 00:19:14.612
how much to tithe, and that weekshe made a thousand dollars
00:19:14.712 --> 00:19:17.081
and it was the first time shehad made a thousand dollars
00:19:17.181 --> 00:19:18.816
in a week.
00:19:18.916 --> 00:19:20.051
And I'm sharing about athousand dollars and the tithe
00:19:20.151 --> 00:19:21.686
is a hundred dollars.
00:19:21.786 --> 00:19:23.221
And she's getting more andmore convicted
00:19:23.321 --> 00:19:24.855
that she need to put God firstin her life.
00:19:24.956 --> 00:19:27.558
So at the end of the service,she gets her checkbook out.
00:19:27.658 --> 00:19:29.860
She writes out a check andwatch, when she's about
00:19:29.961 --> 00:19:31.829
to put a $100, theLord said to her, add $20.
00:19:31.929 --> 00:19:37.001
And she said, "Lord, this isgoing to be a struggle for me
00:19:37.101 --> 00:19:40.504
to do this, a tithe".
00:19:40.605 --> 00:19:43.774
And he said, well, yeah,but I want you to give
00:19:43.874 --> 00:19:45.276
an offering also.
00:19:45.376 --> 00:19:47.478
And she said, "I sat thereand struggled and struggled
00:19:47.578 --> 00:19:49.213
and struggled, finally,I wrote the check
00:19:49.313 --> 00:19:50.481
for $120, put it in the offeringbox before I left".
00:19:50.581 --> 00:19:53.851
She's walking out to hercar, now, I need you to know
00:19:53.951 --> 00:19:56.287
this, there is a man in ourchurch that for years
00:19:56.387 --> 00:20:01.259
and years and years has carried$100 bills in his wallet
00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:04.395
and gives them topeople when God tells him.
00:20:04.495 --> 00:20:07.331
He sees this woman walkingto her car and the Lord says,
00:20:07.431 --> 00:20:11.269
go give that womana $100 bill.
00:20:11.369 --> 00:20:13.371
So he reached in his wallet,pulls it out,
00:20:13.471 --> 00:20:15.406
and right beside the$100 bill was a $20 bill
00:20:15.506 --> 00:20:18.109
and the Lord said, give her the$20 too.
00:20:18.209 --> 00:20:22.647
And he said, "Lord, I give$100 bills".
00:20:22.747 --> 00:20:29.754
And I've been doing thisfor years and this is --
00:20:29.854 --> 00:20:31.722
and the Lord said, no, youobey, that's what you do.
00:20:31.822 --> 00:20:36.027
And he said, when you giveher the other $20
00:20:36.127 --> 00:20:38.396
she'll know why.
00:20:38.496 --> 00:20:40.731
Now, isn't that amazing?
00:20:40.831 --> 00:20:41.699
She writes a check for$120.
00:20:41.799 --> 00:20:43.267
There's a guy that giveshundreds but he gives
00:20:43.367 --> 00:20:44.468
her a twenty.
00:20:44.568 --> 00:20:45.469
So I tell this story to thewhole church
00:20:45.569 --> 00:20:47.438
just a few years ago.
00:20:47.538 --> 00:20:48.372
I tell all of you.
00:20:48.472 --> 00:20:50.841
I go home and that nightwe'd invited the kids over
00:20:50.941 --> 00:20:52.777
for dinner and it was justshortly after my daughter
00:20:52.877 --> 00:20:56.547
had come back to the Lord.
00:20:56.647 --> 00:20:57.581
My daughter lived a doublelife for a while
00:20:57.682 --> 00:20:59.483
and I've shared that with you.
00:20:59.583 --> 00:21:00.418
And she shares itwhen she speaks.
00:21:00.518 --> 00:21:03.721
But it wasn't very longand I was so grateful
00:21:03.821 --> 00:21:06.190
for my daughter comingback to the Lord.
00:21:06.290 --> 00:21:09.026
So all the kids come overand my daughter says,
00:21:09.126 --> 00:21:10.861
"Can I talk to youfor a minute"?
00:21:10.961 --> 00:21:11.829
And I said, yeah.
00:21:11.929 --> 00:21:12.963
So we went in my office andshe gets these tears
00:21:13.064 --> 00:21:16.434
in her eyes and she says, "Thestory you told today
00:21:16.534 --> 00:21:20.237
about that man that gives the$100 away".
00:21:20.338 --> 00:21:23.874
I said, "Yeah".
00:21:23.974 --> 00:21:28.179
She said, "That'syou, isn't it"?
00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:35.419
I said, "Yeah,sugar that's me".
00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:37.855
And just so you know, by theway, I didn't lie to you guys.
00:21:37.955 --> 00:21:40.358
I just said there'sa man in our church.
00:21:40.458 --> 00:21:42.493
And I'm inthe church, okay?
00:21:42.593 --> 00:21:46.097
But I just didn'twant to say it was me.
00:21:46.197 --> 00:21:47.331
I just wanted to -- I wantedthe emphasis to be on what
00:21:47.431 --> 00:21:49.700
God had done.
00:21:49.800 --> 00:21:51.068
And so, I said, "Why didyou think that was me"?
00:21:51.168 --> 00:21:59.477
She said, "Because the wholetime we were growing up,
00:21:59.577 --> 00:22:01.712
when you started tellingthat story, I was remembering
00:22:01.812 --> 00:22:05.349
all those timesthat you would get out
00:22:05.449 --> 00:22:06.917
of the car and you'd go talk tosomeone and you would put
00:22:07.017 --> 00:22:10.187
something in their hand".
00:22:10.287 --> 00:22:13.391
She said, "I had probablyten or fifteen memories
00:22:13.491 --> 00:22:15.092
come back to me".
00:22:15.192 --> 00:22:18.329
She said, "You were giving$100 bills weren't you"?
00:22:18.429 --> 00:22:22.433
I said, "Yeah".
00:22:22.533 --> 00:22:24.268
And my daughter, who hadbeen away from the Lord looked
00:22:24.368 --> 00:22:26.070
at me and said,"Daddy, I want to be like you.
00:22:26.170 --> 00:22:37.581
I want to be likeyou one day".
00:22:37.681 --> 00:22:43.254
That's a reward.
00:22:43.354 --> 00:22:44.355
That was one of the mostmeaningful moments of my life.
00:22:45.256 --> 00:22:50.394
When my daughter said to me,"Daddy, I want to be like you".
00:22:50.494 --> 00:22:55.499
And that is one of the mostprecious rewards for being
00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:59.036
a generous giver is that itextends to our children
00:22:59.136 --> 00:23:03.908
and to our family.
00:23:04.008 --> 00:23:05.443
I want to encourage you to giveas the Holy Spirit leads you.
00:23:05.543 --> 00:23:09.013
And I also want to encourageyou to get this series because
00:23:09.113 --> 00:23:11.916
I can't go into all the detailthat I'd like to in the short
00:23:12.016 --> 00:23:15.319
amount of time we have in thetelevision program.
00:23:15.419 --> 00:23:18.389
Thank you so muchfor watching.
00:23:18.489 --> 00:23:20.291
I love you so much.
00:23:20.391 --> 00:23:21.625
I love your hungerfor God's word.
00:23:21.725 --> 00:23:24.028
I'm going to continuethis series next time.
00:23:24.128 --> 00:23:26.797
See you then.
00:23:26.897 --> 00:23:28.365
ANNOUNCER: It's our desire foryou to live a blessed life.
00:23:29.133 --> 00:23:30.935
But all too often, greed andmaterialism can choke out
00:23:31.035 --> 00:23:34.038
the true spirit ofgenerosity that's found
00:23:34.138 --> 00:23:36.273
only in Christ.
00:23:36.373 --> 00:23:38.509
The enemy will do anythingto keep you from discovering
00:23:38.609 --> 00:23:41.011
God's principles forfinancial stewardship,
00:23:41.111 --> 00:23:43.581
giving, and blessing.
00:23:43.681 --> 00:23:45.216
And it's because once youapply these godly principles
00:23:45.316 --> 00:23:48.018
as Pastor Robert hasoutlined in this series,
00:23:48.118 --> 00:23:50.588
you'll begin to see changein every area of your life.
00:23:50.688 --> 00:23:53.724
From your marriage, to yourhealth, to your finances.
00:23:53.824 --> 00:23:56.627
Your life will betransformed for the better,
00:23:56.727 --> 00:23:58.662
and you will be positionedto make an even bigger impact
00:23:58.762 --> 00:24:01.499
for the kingdom of God.
00:24:01.599 --> 00:24:03.701
We would like for youto have a copy of these
00:24:03.801 --> 00:24:05.202
life-changing messages.
00:24:05.302 --> 00:24:06.904
Right now, for your gift ofany amount, we'll send you
00:24:07.004 --> 00:24:09.540
Pastor Robert's signatureseries "The Blessed Life"
00:24:09.640 --> 00:24:12.243
on CD as our thank-you forhelping us to continue
00:24:12.343 --> 00:24:14.879
ministering to peoplearound the world.
00:24:14.979 --> 00:24:17.815
And if you give a gift of$75 or more, we'll send you
00:24:17.915 --> 00:24:20.851
this series on both CD andDVD, as well as
00:24:20.951 --> 00:24:23.754
"The Blessed Life" book andcompanion study guide.
00:24:23.854 --> 00:24:27.157
Finally, if you are able togive a gift of $95 or more,
00:24:27.258 --> 00:24:30.794
we'll add a second copy ofthe book and companion study
00:24:30.895 --> 00:24:33.264
guide so that you can sharethis incredible message
00:24:33.364 --> 00:24:35.933
with someone else in your life.
00:24:36.033 --> 00:24:38.536
Log on to PastorRobert.comor give us a call today.
00:24:38.636 --> 00:24:41.405
And thank you for yourcontinued support
00:24:41.505 --> 00:24:43.407
of The Blessed Life.
00:24:43.507 --> 00:24:45.442
♪ ♪
00:24:45.543 --> 00:24:49.346
DANA PHELPS: We started cominghere to Gateway Church about --
00:24:49.446 --> 00:24:51.582
REBECCA PHELPS: A year and ahalf ago.
00:24:51.682 --> 00:24:52.816
DANA: About a yearand a half ago.
00:24:52.917 --> 00:24:53.951
We were at one of thesermons and Pastor Robert
00:24:54.051 --> 00:24:58.155
was talking aboutThe Blessed Life.
00:24:58.255 --> 00:24:59.423
REBECCA: After the sermon wedown and purchased the book
00:24:59.523 --> 00:25:02.927
and so, I went home and read itand afterwards it was, like,
00:25:03.027 --> 00:25:08.832
oh my gosh, this issomething we need to do.
00:25:08.933 --> 00:25:11.902
DANA: So after we started,we've been going to church
00:25:12.002 --> 00:25:14.838
for about a little over ayear and I thought it was time
00:25:14.939 --> 00:25:17.641
to go ahead and becomea member of the church.
00:25:17.741 --> 00:25:19.944
And so, I was onlineWednesday night and I actually
00:25:20.044 --> 00:25:23.347
noticed on the website alocation where you go
00:25:23.447 --> 00:25:26.517
and look at yourtithing account.
00:25:26.617 --> 00:25:29.019
And so, I did and I had notkept track and I had just done,
00:25:29.119 --> 00:25:33.190
you know, I just did it anddidn't think much about it.
00:25:33.290 --> 00:25:36.093
And I looked on the accountand I just was, kind of,
00:25:36.193 --> 00:25:38.529
taken back.
00:25:38.629 --> 00:25:39.496
I was, like, wow,that's a lot of money.
00:25:39.597 --> 00:25:40.898
I didn't realizeI had done that.
00:25:40.998 --> 00:25:42.466
And then, the next day,Thursday, I had gotten called
00:25:42.566 --> 00:25:45.769
into a meeting,a very high-level meeting
00:25:45.869 --> 00:25:48.205
and I normally don't gointo that meeting and,
00:25:48.305 --> 00:25:50.474
so I thought it was, kind of,odd that I got pulled into it.
00:25:50.574 --> 00:25:52.843
You know, you think, oh,what did I do wrong or,
00:25:52.943 --> 00:25:54.979
you know, am I going to begetting a new assignment
00:25:55.079 --> 00:25:56.480
or what not.
00:25:56.580 --> 00:25:57.881
And go into the meeting andI had gotten
00:25:57.982 --> 00:25:59.650
a recognition award.
00:25:59.750 --> 00:26:01.151
I opened the recognition awardand with that came a check.
00:26:01.251 --> 00:26:05.022
And that check was exactlyto the dollar value of what
00:26:05.122 --> 00:26:09.393
I had seen the night before.
00:26:09.493 --> 00:26:11.862
And I was in awe and I just-- that's all I could think
00:26:11.962 --> 00:26:19.069
about, what, whata blessed life.
00:26:19.169 --> 00:26:21.872
Things have changed in ourfamily and we wanted to thank
00:26:21.972 --> 00:26:25.242
the church for our family, forthe message that we received.
00:26:25.342 --> 00:26:31.115
Without that message ourfamily wouldn't have got
00:26:31.215 --> 00:26:33.951
back on track.
00:26:34.051 --> 00:26:35.552
And our family wouldn't havebeen doing the right thing.
00:26:35.653 --> 00:26:38.389
It was God.
00:26:38.489 --> 00:26:40.424
He was showing the pathwayand I guess if I went to bed
00:26:40.524 --> 00:26:44.895
with any kind of a doubt,I don't have a doubt now.
00:26:44.995 --> 00:26:49.633
♪ ♪
00:26:49.733 --> 00:27:00.544
ANNOUNCER: Introducing,the all-new PastorRobert.com.
00:27:00.644 --> 00:27:04.348
Where we've made it even easierfor you to connect with us.
00:27:04.448 --> 00:27:07.985
You can watch currentand previous episodes
00:27:08.085 --> 00:27:10.087
of our television program,
00:27:10.187 --> 00:27:12.523
shop at our online storewith enhanced security,
00:27:12.623 --> 00:27:16.026
and access a freeweekly devotional.
00:27:16.126 --> 00:27:19.129
We hope that our new featureswill help you find
00:27:19.229 --> 00:27:21.298
exactly what you needto continue to grow
00:27:21.398 --> 00:27:23.567
in your relationshipwith the Lord.
00:27:23.667 --> 00:27:25.736
To learn more visitus at PastorRobert.com.
00:27:25.836 --> 00:27:29.773

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Am I Generous

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