Be Generous Like God Is Generous with You

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Financial Fitness   Be Generous Like God Is Generous with You By Rick Warren — Feb 22, 2015 “Be generous: Invest in acts of charity. Charity yields high returns. Don’t hoard your goods; spread them around. Be a blessing to others.” (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 MSG) God wants you to use some of your money to help people in need. God didn’t put us on this earth to live for ourselves. He blesses us so that we can bless others. This is all part of God making us more like himself. God is generous. Everything we have in life is because of God’s generosity. We wouldn’t have anything — we wouldn’t even be alive — if it weren’t for God’s generosity. And God wants us to be generous like he is. Imagine if your father was a billionaire, and he wanted to share his fortune with you. But he knew you needed to be tested first to see if you would be able to handle it. So he gives you a set amount of money and says, “I want you to learn to live on less so you can use the rest to help others. I’m going to be watching you to see how you manage and distribute my resources. If you do well, I’m going to will it all to you.”                                            How would you use that money? God particularly wants us to be generous with the poor. Throughout the Bible, God tells us he is watching how we help the poor, and he attaches tremendous promises if we do so. For example “Give to the poor and you will never be in need. If you close your eyes to the poor, many will curse you”(Proverbs 28:27 TEV). “When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the LORD, and the LORD will pay you back” (Proverbs19:17). The more we help others, the more God blesses us. He gives to us so we can give to others.         Why? Because God wants you to be like him, and God is a giver!

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” John 20:21   There’s no sin that can keep you out of heaven. And there’s no religion in the world that can get you in. The only way you can go to heaven is through the pardon brought about through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And when you accept that pardon, Jesus takes you and changes you…and then He empowers you by His presence for a truly abundant life! In the New Testament, this is called conversion. It’s called the new birth. It’s called salvation, getting saved. And this new birth is for everyone. That’s why you and I as believers are on a mission of mercy…the same mission that brought Jesus to this earth. We are to go into the world where people are living in their brokenness and sin. We are to go into this world on a mission of mercy and say, “Jesus loves you and He will forgive you because of what He’s done on the cross and by the power of His resurrection.” Most of the people in the world today believe God is angry at them…that because of their sin they can never be saved. But we have a message of hope and grace…that God loves them and desires that they be saved. Which is why Jesus voluntarily gave His life! Are you willing to voluntarily give your life as a mission of mercy so that others may know Him? PS...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGQpm3i3mXw