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Speaker 1: Life Audio.

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Speaker 2: For more resources to help you in your walk with Christ,

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Speaker 2: please visit us at Bible Studyheadquarters dot com. And I've

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Speaker 2: confessed to you that Psalm one twelve tends to be

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Speaker 2: It's one of my favorite psalms. It's one of my

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Speaker 2: one hundred and fifty top psalms, but I really love

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Speaker 2: this one.

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Speaker 1: This is one that truth be told.

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Speaker 2: I read regularly just as counsel to myself and encouragement

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Speaker 2: to myself, something that I want ringing around in my

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Speaker 2: mind and ringing around in my heart. Because when you

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Speaker 2: look at what Psalm one twelve teaches, it shows us

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Speaker 2: what it's like to go through life with unshakable character,

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Speaker 2: and it shows us what it looks like to be

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Speaker 2: enthusiastic for God's ways in the midst of a world

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Speaker 2: that wants its own way. And as we've been working

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Speaker 2: our way through this Psalm, we've been looking at it

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Speaker 2: just one verse at a time, and this week we're

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Speaker 2: at verse five of Psalm. Now, in just a moment,

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Speaker 2: I'm going to read the whole psalm, but in verse

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Speaker 2: five you're going to see that it talks about this

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Speaker 2: concept of generosity. And so today we're going to be

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Speaker 2: focusing our attention on that concept and just talking about

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Speaker 2: this idea of setting the stage for intentional generosity. So

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Speaker 2: what does it look like for you and for me

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Speaker 2: in the context in which we live with the gifts

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Speaker 2: that the Lord's blessed us with, to ultimately be very

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Speaker 2: intentional about this concept of generosity like it describes here

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Speaker 2: in Psalm one twelve. So if you would take your

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Speaker 2: bibles in turn with me to Psalm one twelve, like

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Speaker 2: I said, I'll read through the whole thing. But our

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Speaker 2: focus today is primarily going to be on verse five,

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Speaker 2: and this is what it says, starting with verse one,

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Speaker 2: Praise the Lord blessed is the man who fears the Lord,

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Speaker 2: who greatly delights in his commandments. His offspring will be

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Speaker 2: mighty in the land. The generation of the.

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Speaker 1: Upright will be blessed.

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Speaker 2: Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness

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Speaker 2: endures forever. Light dawns in the darkness. For the upright

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Speaker 2: he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. And then this verse

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Speaker 2: is our focus today. It says, it is well with

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Speaker 2: the man who deals generously and lends, who conducts his

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Speaker 2: affairs with justice, for the righteous will never be moved

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Speaker 2: he will be remembered forever. He's not afraid of bad news.

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Speaker 2: His heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart

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Speaker 2: is steady. He will not be afraid until he looks

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Speaker 2: in triumph on his adversaries. He has distributed freely, he

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Speaker 2: has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His

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Speaker 2: horn is exalted in honor. The wicked man sees it

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Speaker 2: and is angry. He gnashes his teeth and melts away.

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Speaker 2: The desire of the wicked will perish. Let's pray, Lord,

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Speaker 2: as we continue our look at Psalm one twelve, that

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Speaker 2: you just continue to give us your insight and your

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Speaker 2: guidance as your spirit empowers us to.

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Speaker 1: Have these things.

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Speaker 2: As we look at these verses, Lord, we know that

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Speaker 2: as we look at this portion of scripture, you paint

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Speaker 2: a picture for us of what it's like to value

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Speaker 2: true character, character that you can foster within anyone who

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Speaker 2: trusts in you.

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Speaker 1: And so, Lord, we know.

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Speaker 2: That there are times, just in our own human frailties,

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Speaker 2: that we feel like we waiver on so many of

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Speaker 2: these issues. And then there are also the influences that

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Speaker 2: come at us from the outside that try and encourage

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Speaker 2: us to go in a different direction from what you've

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Speaker 2: outlined in this portion of scripture. But Lord, we thank

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Speaker 2: you for your grace and your strength and your power

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Speaker 2: and how you enable us to live a life that

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Speaker 2: ultimately glorifies you. And so that's our desires. We walk

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Speaker 2: by faith in your son, Jesus Christ, that we would

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Speaker 2: honor you, that we would glorify your name. And then

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Speaker 2: we put into practice the type of counsel that you

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Speaker 2: give to us in a psalm like this. So, Lord,

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Speaker 2: thank you for allowing us to start off our week

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Speaker 2: right now looking at this portion of scripture, and we

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Speaker 2: pray that this truth would just seep into us and

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Speaker 2: just reverberate into all areas of our lives. And we're

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Speaker 2: just so thankful Lord for the privilege to be able

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Speaker 2: to look at it together right now. We pray this

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Speaker 2: all in Jesus' name.

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Speaker 1: Amen.

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Speaker 2: So not long ago, I read the story of a

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Speaker 2: young guy named Fred Barley. He was nineteen years old

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Speaker 2: and he was found living on a college campus in

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Speaker 2: Georgia in a tent. It was at Gordon State College

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Speaker 2: in Barnesville, Georgia, and when the police found him, it

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Speaker 2: was their intention to a victim from the property I'm

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Speaker 2: not sure if somebody reported him or exactly how they

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Speaker 2: came across him, but when they found him living in

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Speaker 2: an attent on that campus, they intended to a victim

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Speaker 2: from the property, but in the process of trying to

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Speaker 2: go through with that, they learned the rest of his story.

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Speaker 2: Barley was actually registered to take classes at the school,

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Speaker 2: so he wasn't just passing through or anything like that.

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Speaker 2: He wasster as a student there. He was a biology major.

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Speaker 2: He was actually about to begin his second semester there,

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Speaker 2: so he'd already completed one semester and now he was

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Speaker 2: starting a second one. But because of his lack of finances,

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Speaker 2: he had to do something a little bit creative. He

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Speaker 2: didn't have transportation to get from his home back to

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Speaker 2: the campus for the new semester, so he actually he

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Speaker 2: asked his younger brother if he could borrow his younger

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Speaker 2: brother's bike. Just picture a bike that's a little bit

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Speaker 2: too small for a nineteen year old, and he rode

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Speaker 2: that bike for six hours from his home to the

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Speaker 2: campus while carrying as many of his possessions on his

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Speaker 2: back as he could, along with two gallons of water

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Speaker 2: and a box of cereal. And when I read this story,

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Speaker 2: I was thinking to myself, I'm like, all right, forget

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Speaker 2: all the other possessions. Just adding two gallons of water

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Speaker 2: would be enough of a workout, wouldn't it. You know,

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Speaker 2: riding a kid's bike carrying two gallons of water, that's

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Speaker 2: something that's small task. And Barley's goal was to arrive

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Speaker 2: before the semester began with the goal of landing a job.

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Speaker 2: He wanted to try and find a job, and so

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Speaker 2: he got there a little bit before the semester began

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Speaker 2: and started looking for a job, but he couldn't find anything.

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Speaker 2: And when the police officers found him living in that

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Speaker 2: tent on the fringes of campus, and they heard his story,

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Speaker 2: they felt compassion for him, and they, out of their

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Speaker 2: own pockets, decided to pay for him to actually get

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Speaker 2: a hotel, and so they were able to reserve a

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Speaker 2: hotel room for him. They paid for it out of

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Speaker 2: their own pockets, and then word of this story started spreading,

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Speaker 2: and then others decided, well, let's we'll contribute to his

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Speaker 2: subsequent expenses and his fees for staying at the hotel,

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Speaker 2: and so a bunch of people started chipping in, and

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Speaker 2: then a local pizza shop heard the story how he

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Speaker 2: couldn't find a job, and so the pizza shop hired

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Speaker 2: him to begin working there, and so he started working there.

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Speaker 2: And then another woman, and I think it was somebody

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Speaker 2: that was pretty close to his age, set up an

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Speaker 2: online campaign to raise additional funds to pay for his

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Speaker 2: ongoing educational expenses.

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Speaker 1: And when that online.

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Speaker 2: Campaign was finished, she had raised one hundred and eighty

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Speaker 2: four thousand dollars. One hundred and eighty four thousand dollars,

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Speaker 2: and what they did was they put it in an

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Speaker 2: educational trust to cover all his college expenses and all

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Speaker 2: the things around the edges of that for the rest

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Speaker 2: of his time at the college. And when I heard

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Speaker 2: that story, I couldn't help but feel impacted by that

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Speaker 2: kind of generosity, because that's above and beyond. That's not

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Speaker 2: the most common thing that we typically hear. And certainly,

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Speaker 2: when you look at this, you could say Fred Barley

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Speaker 2: was certainly blessed by those that stepped up to meet

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Speaker 2: his needs and to help him out in the midst

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Speaker 2: of all of this. But I'm certain that those who

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Speaker 2: did this, those who helped him, could also testify to

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Speaker 2: the fact that they felt just as blessed as Barley did,

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Speaker 2: if not more, when they chose.

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Speaker 1: To help him. There's an interesting thing that.

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Speaker 2: Happens when we choose to be generous. Jesus himself said

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Speaker 2: it said it's better to give than it is to receive.

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Speaker 2: Something about it that is better. Well, what did he

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Speaker 2: mean when he said it's better? Why is it better?

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Speaker 2: Because there's certain things in my life that I could

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Speaker 2: look at and I say, yeah, I received that and

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Speaker 2: I really really enjoyed it. And then there are other

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Speaker 2: times in my life though I could look at and

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Speaker 2: I could say, you know what, it's hard to think

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Speaker 2: of a feeling that felt better than being able to

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Speaker 2: help in.

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Speaker 1: This context or that context.

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Speaker 2: And so what does this look like for you and

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Speaker 2: for me when we actually try and live out generosity

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Speaker 2: the way Psalm one twelve talks about it, and the

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Speaker 2: way we can see certain examples of how people have

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Speaker 2: demonstrated that. You see in Psalm one twelve, verse five,

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Speaker 2: this topic of generosity, and we're told here that the

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Speaker 2: person of unshakable character looks for opportunities to share their resources,

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Speaker 2: to use their resources to benefit the lives of others.

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Speaker 2: We're told in this verse, let me highlight it again.

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Speaker 2: I'll bring it up behind me. It says it is

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Speaker 2: well with the man who deals generously and lens, who

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Speaker 2: conducts his affairs with justice, who deals generously and lens.

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Speaker 2: It's very interesting when you look at what this scripture

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Speaker 2: tells us and the different things that this scripture reveals,

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Speaker 2: because it's walking us through the process of all these

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Speaker 2: different elements of what an individual who follows the Lord seeks.

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Speaker 1: To implement in their day to day life. It's giving

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Speaker 1: you a picture.

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Speaker 2: I think a lot of times for me throughout the

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Speaker 2: course of my Christian walk, I've looked for blueprints, and

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Speaker 2: I've looked for mentors, and I've looked for people who

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Speaker 2: model what it actually looks like to live out great faith.

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Speaker 2: And when you look at Psalm one twelve, it gives

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Speaker 2: us a great picture of how this is demonstrated in

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Speaker 2: multiple areas, including generosity, and here it reveals to us

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Speaker 2: when you look at this verse, it reveals to us

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Speaker 2: that the nature of this person's character offers a great

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Speaker 2: picture of the heart of Jesus Christ. When you take

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Speaker 2: this portion of scripture and you look at it through

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Speaker 2: the lens of what scripture reveals to us about Jesus.

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Speaker 2: We see here a great picture of what Christ's heart

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Speaker 2: actually looks like. In many ways, when you look at

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Speaker 2: Christ's earthly ministry, Jesus demonstrated his desire to bless others.

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Speaker 2: And when you look at his earthly ministry, you also

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Speaker 2: notice something else. Jesus was very active about trying to

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Speaker 2: ease the suffering of other people. He would do it

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Speaker 2: in a variety of ways. Sometimes he would meet different needs,

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Speaker 2: he'd provide different things that people needed. He would provide food,

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Speaker 2: he would provide healing. We also see the generosity of Christ,

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Speaker 2: the generous heart of Christ, as he would seek to

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Speaker 2: share the joys of his eternal kingdom with those who

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Speaker 2: would trust in him. The fact that Christ would look

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Speaker 2: at us and he would say, listen, I don't want

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Speaker 2: to just give you a momentary blessing. Even when you

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Speaker 2: think of the woman at the well in John chapter four,

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Speaker 2: He's saying, listen, your whole life up to this point

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Speaker 2: has been trying to seek momentary blessings. And I'm telling

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Speaker 2: you I can give you water that will make you

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Speaker 2: thirst no more. It will satisfy your thirst forever. And

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Speaker 2: he was trying to illustrate to her a spiritual reality

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Speaker 2: that up to that point she was missing. And Christ

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Speaker 2: offers that to you and to me. He's not just

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Speaker 2: offering us momentary blessings this side of heaven. He's saying,

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Speaker 2: I want you to experience the eternal joys of my

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Speaker 2: eternal kingdom through trusting in Me. And that's the heart

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Speaker 2: of Christ. That's what he offers to us. And I

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Speaker 2: think a generous person shows a desire to treat others

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Speaker 2: and to try and meet others' needs with the same

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Speaker 2: kind of generosity that Jesus Christ exemplified during the course

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Speaker 2: of his earthly ministry. Now when you look at Psalem

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Speaker 2: one twelve, and it speaks of the man who deals generously,

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Speaker 2: speaks of a person who has chosen to go through

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Speaker 2: life thinking about more than just his personal benefit.

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Speaker 1: The generous person has their.

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Speaker 2: Whole community in mind when they try and sow the

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Speaker 2: seeds of generosity among the people that they're interacting with.

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Speaker 2: They're thinking about others, They're thinking about the whole community.

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Speaker 2: They're thinking about everyone they have the opportunity to interact with.

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Speaker 2: So this may include helping the poor, and we see

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Speaker 2: examples of this in this Psalm. Later in the Psalm,

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Speaker 2: it brings it up again, So we're going to be

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Speaker 2: looking at that again.

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Speaker 1: In just a few weeks.

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Speaker 2: But in addition to that, it may also include just

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Speaker 2: easing the suffering of a loved one or someone that

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Speaker 2: we care about who might be going through an unexpected trial.

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Speaker 2: Recently read something and this actually made national news, which

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Speaker 2: I thought was kind of interesting because it actually took

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Speaker 2: place in Churchville, so just a few minutes away here

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Speaker 2: from the church.

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Speaker 1: But I recently heard of a woman in.

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Speaker 2: Churchville whose husband was going through a year long battle

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Speaker 2: with something. I don't know the details of the medical

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Speaker 2: condition that he had, but he was in the hospital

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Speaker 2: for essentially a year.

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Speaker 1: And her comment was in the.

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Speaker 2: Midst of all of that, while she was trying to

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Speaker 2: be with her husband every day at the hospital, spending

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Speaker 2: time at his bedside, trying to meet his needs as

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Speaker 2: best as she can, as she's partnering with the medical

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Speaker 2: professionals in the process of prioritizing his needs. She made

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Speaker 2: the comment she said, my house was left to fend

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Speaker 2: for itself. My house was left to fend for itself,

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Speaker 2: which anyone could understand. And one evening she came home

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Speaker 2: from spending the day at her husband's side, and she

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Speaker 2: discovered that the flower boxes all around her house that

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Speaker 2: normally she would care for and normally look beautiful, but

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Speaker 2: had been neglected now for a period of time. She

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Speaker 2: came home and she discovered they were all brimming with flowers.

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Speaker 2: They were all just exploding with flowers, beautiful colors, all

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Speaker 2: these things all around her house. They were all full,

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Speaker 2: they were all watered, they all looked amazing, and she

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Speaker 2: was trying to figure out what was going on with that.

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Speaker 2: And basically, one of her neighbors, who was aware of

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Speaker 2: everything she was going through, wanted her to have something

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Speaker 2: nice to look at every day when she arrived back

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Speaker 2: home from the hospital. And so this neighbor took the

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Speaker 2: time to just take care of all those flower boxes

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Speaker 2: for a season so that she could see that when

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Speaker 2: she got home. And I thought, what a wonderful demonstration

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Speaker 2: of neighborly generosity for a neighbor to do something like that.

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Speaker 2: And maybe you've done things like that for your neighbors,

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Speaker 2: or maybe you've been on the receiving end of a

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Speaker 2: neighbor demonstration generosity toward you. Kind of reminds me of

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Speaker 2: Proverbs chapter fourteen, verse twenty one. There it tells us

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Speaker 2: the reverse of that, but it says, whoever despises his

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Speaker 2: neighbor is a sinner, But blessed is he who is generous.

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Speaker 1: To the poor.

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Speaker 2: So all throughout Scripture we have this idea of demonstrating

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Speaker 2: very intentional generosity.

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Speaker 1: We see it in Psalm one twelve. We see it

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Speaker 1: elsewhere in scripture.

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Speaker 2: We see it in Proverbs fourteen twenty one, this idea

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Speaker 2: of being generous to those who need the generosity, and

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Speaker 2: the Bible speaks of generosity and hospitality as virtues that

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Speaker 2: are near to the heart of God. You think about

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Speaker 2: what God is like, when you think about how He

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Speaker 2: operates and how he interacts with people, and what he

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Speaker 2: demonstrates to us, we see generosity and hospitality as virtues

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Speaker 2: that are very dear to the heart of God. And

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Speaker 2: something else we could see from scripture is that those virtues,

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Speaker 2: the virtues of generosity and hospitality, these are things that

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Speaker 2: have a great opportunity to be demonstrated in the context

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Speaker 2: of community. So it could be in a context of

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Speaker 2: a neighbor, or it could be in other context as well.

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Speaker 2: But God values community. We see this and how he

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Speaker 2: established the family. We could see this concept of community

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Speaker 2: and how it functions when you look through the Old

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Speaker 2: Testament and you watch how the Lord established ancient Israel

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Speaker 2: to operate. We also see this in present day in

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Speaker 2: how the Lord has designed the Church to operate. And

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Speaker 2: you can even see that lived out in very specific

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Speaker 2: ways when you read the Book of Acts. And we

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Speaker 2: take great encouragement from the example set for us by

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Speaker 2: the early Church, as they would share all things with

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Speaker 2: one another and meet one another's needs and go out

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Speaker 2: of each other's go out of their way to meet

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Speaker 2: each other's needs, so that nobody went without what they needed.

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Speaker 2: And I think that that's a beautiful example for us

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Speaker 2: as believers. You know, when you see the heart of

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Speaker 2: God demonstrated through his people, it can't help but make

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Speaker 2: an impact on us. I love what Corey ten Boom said.

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Speaker 2: She said, the measure of a life after all is

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Speaker 2: not its duration, but it's donation. So think about that

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Speaker 2: statement of what she meant. She's someone who loved the

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Speaker 2: Lord very much, somebody that was certainly tested in a

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Speaker 2: variety of ways during the course of her life. But

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Speaker 2: she made the comment she said, the measure of a

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Speaker 2: life after all is not its duration.

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Speaker 1: But it's donation.

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Speaker 2: And the idea was She's saying, all right, if the

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Speaker 2: Lord blesses you with the life that he's blessed you with,

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Speaker 2: the idea isn't so much getting for yourself. The idea

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Speaker 2: is giving away, using the life that he's given you

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Speaker 2: to be a blessing to the people that he's placed

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Speaker 2: in your life. Now, I think if you ask most

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Speaker 2: people what they hope for in this world, I think

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Speaker 2: that many would probably say something to the effect of this.

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Speaker 2: I think this would probably be a statement hear. I

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Speaker 2: think you'd hear people say, all right, I'd like to

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Speaker 2: live a long time in good health, with all my

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Speaker 2: needs met and with enough extra that I don't need

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Speaker 2: to worry.

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Speaker 1: Wouldn't you say?

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Speaker 2: That's a generally good, accurate summary of how most people

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Speaker 2: would summarize.

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Speaker 1: The good life.

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Speaker 2: Right, like to live a good long time in good health,

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Speaker 2: with my needs met and with enough extra that I

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Speaker 2: don't really feel like I need to worry. And if

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Speaker 2: we want to act super spiritual, we can pick that

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Speaker 2: mindset apart.

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Speaker 1: We could probably point out some of its weaknesses.

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Speaker 2: But the truth is, I think that's a statement that

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Speaker 2: just about every person I have ever met on the

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Speaker 2: face of this earth could make to one degree or another,

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Speaker 2: because I think all of us probably feel like, well, yeah,

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Speaker 2: I'd like to live a long life. It's like, all right, well,

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Speaker 2: would you like to be healthy or unhealthy? Well, no,

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Speaker 2: I'd like to be healthy.

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Speaker 1: All right. Would you like to have your needs met

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Speaker 1: or not? Well?

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Speaker 2: Yes, I would like to have my needs met. Do

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Speaker 2: you want to have extra as well? I wouldn't mind extra.

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Speaker 1: Sure.

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Speaker 2: So you know, we look at statements like that and

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Speaker 2: sometimes we think, oh, my goodness, so selfish these other people,

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Speaker 2: And then we do some introspection we're like, wait a second,

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Speaker 2: I think I kind of like the same stuff.

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Speaker 1: So it's the balance with this.

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Speaker 2: Well, one of the things I think tell one of

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Speaker 2: the biggest thing I should say that gives us balance

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Speaker 2: here is our relationship with Christ and how that adds

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Speaker 2: something to that equation that will be missing apart from

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Speaker 2: that relationship for those of us who know Jesus Christ,

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Speaker 2: we're learning to value eternal things as well. Because that

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Speaker 2: statement that I just made, that summary of what I

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Speaker 2: think most people would say, is they described you know,

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Speaker 2: what a good life might look like. I think it

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Speaker 2: misses eternal things. It speaks about day to day life

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Speaker 2: apart from eternal things. But in Christ, we've been taught

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Speaker 2: to value eternal things as well, and he's teaching us

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Speaker 2: that our lives are about more than the accumulation of stuff.

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Speaker 2: Our lives are about more than the accumulation of things.

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Speaker 2: We see our lives and their use from a much

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Speaker 2: longer timetable than just a brief ten decades or less.

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Speaker 2: That we were blessed with this planet. And as Jesus

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Speaker 2: gave his life for the benefit of others, as we

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Speaker 2: could see him doing that, we seek to do likewise

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Speaker 2: because we're seeking to follow his example, or we're seeking

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Speaker 2: to operate with the power that he gives to us.

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Speaker 2: Our earthly lives are on loan from God, and these

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Speaker 2: lives are meant to be used for His glory by

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Speaker 2: investing in others, as he enables us to do so.

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Speaker 2: And so if we can identify some of the ways

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Speaker 2: in which the Lord has blessed us through his generosity,

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Speaker 2: and when you think about the course of your life

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Speaker 2: and the different ways that the Lord has blessed you

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Speaker 2: through his generosity, and if we'd like to demonstrate Christ's

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Speaker 2: centered generosity within our culture and within the generation of

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Speaker 2: people that we've been intentionally placed.

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Speaker 1: How should we go about doing that?

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Speaker 2: Practically speaking, if you want to be a person like

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Speaker 2: is described in Psalm one twelve, verse five, someone who

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Speaker 2: deals generously, someone who lends, someone who cares about the

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Speaker 2: well being of other people, practically speaking, what does it

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Speaker 2: look like? How can we go about doing that in

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Speaker 2: a Christ centered fashion? I think one of the things

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Speaker 2: that is wise for us as believers in Christ, if

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Speaker 2: we're seeking to be generous in the ways that Christ

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Speaker 2: has demonstrated generosity in Scripture, in the ways that He

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Speaker 2: impresses that upon our hearts, I think first of all,

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Speaker 2: we need to recognize.

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Speaker 1: That we have been gifted to be generous.

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Speaker 2: And I want you to think about this. I'm going

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Speaker 2: to read a portion of Scripture for us in just

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Speaker 2: a second, and it's a portion of Scripture that applies

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Speaker 2: to every believer. But I think a lot of times

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Speaker 2: people think that you only need that you must be

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Speaker 2: somebody of great earthly means in order to be generous

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Speaker 2: in this world. But what Scripture is teaching us to

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Speaker 2: do is wherever you are, on whatever scale or however

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Speaker 2: you would evaluate what you have access to or what

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Speaker 2: you can utilize with whatever you have been given.

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Speaker 1: Be generous with that.

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Speaker 2: That's the concept that scriptures teaching you don't have to

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Speaker 2: be You're not responsible for being generous with somebody else's

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Speaker 2: lot in life. Be generous with what the Lord has

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Speaker 2: blessed you, specifically with, because he's got a puzzle that

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Speaker 2: he's putting together. He's got very intentional designs for what

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Speaker 2: he's doing in the lives of believers, and he's giving

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Speaker 2: certain believers access to certain things so that they could

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Speaker 2: be generous with it, and other believers access to other

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Speaker 2: things so that they could be generous with that. And

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Speaker 2: I love what scripture tells us when you look at

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Speaker 2: tewod Corinthians, chapter nine, verse eleven, as it speaks about this,

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Speaker 2: it says, now, just think about this, all right. Take

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Speaker 2: this to heart, because it says you will be enriched

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Speaker 2: in every way to be generous in every way, which

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Speaker 2: through us will produce thanksgiving to God. Not a cool statement.

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Speaker 2: You will be enriched in every way to be generous

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Speaker 2: in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

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Speaker 2: Enriched in every way to be generous in every way

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Speaker 2: when we read about the Lord enriching us by the way,

440
00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:05,080
Speaker 2: I think it could be easy for us to think

441
00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:08,439
Speaker 2: that maybe that's exclusively financial. And by the way, as

442
00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:10,560
Speaker 2: Paul was writing these words to the Church at Corinth,

443
00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:13,240
Speaker 2: the Church at Corinth was known for having a lot

444
00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:14,919
Speaker 2: of wealth in it. There were certainly people that were

445
00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:16,639
Speaker 2: part of it that weren't wealthy, but there were a

446
00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:20,000
Speaker 2: lot of people that were known for being rather wealthy

447
00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:21,920
Speaker 2: in that church, and Paul was trying to help them

448
00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,919
Speaker 2: see beyond that, so they didn't just think that that

449
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:29,159
Speaker 2: was somehow their source of sustenance. And it could be

450
00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:31,199
Speaker 2: easy for us, I think, you know, especially in our

451
00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:32,840
Speaker 2: culture and in our day and age, for us to

452
00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:36,639
Speaker 2: think that what Paul's referencing here might be exclusively financial.

453
00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:39,159
Speaker 2: But there are other ways in addition to that that

454
00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:42,359
Speaker 2: the Lord enriches people. Scripture tells us that we have

455
00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:47,040
Speaker 2: been enriched in every way to be generous in every way.

456
00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:49,639
Speaker 2: So when you think about that, what are some of

457
00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:52,719
Speaker 2: these ways in which the Lord enriches people. Well, the

458
00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:57,600
Speaker 2: Lord enriches all of his children with spiritual gifts, and

459
00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:00,800
Speaker 2: these spiritual gifts are meant to be utilized as we

460
00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:04,600
Speaker 2: serve one another. So every believer in Jesus Christ has

461
00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,119
Speaker 2: been spiritually gifted in order to be able to serve

462
00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:11,000
Speaker 2: other people so that the Church would be mutually built up.

463
00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:14,120
Speaker 2: You have certain gifts, I have certain gifts. We're supposed

464
00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:17,359
Speaker 2: to use them together so that other believers will be

465
00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:19,600
Speaker 2: built up and so that the Church will become stronger,

466
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:21,800
Speaker 2: and that will glorify the Lord together. So that's one

467
00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:24,640
Speaker 2: of the ways that the Lord enriches his children. Some

468
00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:28,520
Speaker 2: of us can also also identify some physical resources that

469
00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:31,359
Speaker 2: we have been entrusted with. So if you've been entrusted

470
00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,200
Speaker 2: with some physical resources that could be used to bless

471
00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:38,040
Speaker 2: the lives of other people, that you could use to

472
00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:42,280
Speaker 2: just demonstrate Christ's center generosity than use those. Some of

473
00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:45,560
Speaker 2: us have been blessed financially, So if you've been blessed financially,

474
00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:49,439
Speaker 2: glorify the Lord with whatever he's blessed you with. I

475
00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:52,240
Speaker 2: was actually watching a video. I think it was just

476
00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:54,600
Speaker 2: last evening. I was watching it and it was a

477
00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:58,080
Speaker 2: man on the Street interview in Newport Beach, California, and

478
00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:00,960
Speaker 2: somebody was just randomly walking up to people and asking

479
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,000
Speaker 2: them personal financial questions, which I thought was a bit risky,

480
00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:06,879
Speaker 2: but it was also kind of interesting video to watch.

481
00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:09,560
Speaker 2: And he walked up to this one man who was

482
00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:11,600
Speaker 2: eighty years old, and he said to the guy, and

483
00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:15,640
Speaker 2: the guy looked very healthy and very fit, and apparently

484
00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:18,480
Speaker 2: he was very wealthy too, and so the man asked him.

485
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:20,680
Speaker 2: He said, all right, how did you make your wealth?

486
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:22,159
Speaker 2: And he said, well, I made most of my wealth

487
00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:23,879
Speaker 2: through real estate. And then he was going through some

488
00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:26,320
Speaker 2: of the details and how he made most of his wealth,

489
00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:28,159
Speaker 2: and then he asked him some follow up questions and

490
00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:30,399
Speaker 2: the man said, listen, this is my thought when.

491
00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:31,080
Speaker 1: It comes to wealth.

492
00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:34,360
Speaker 2: All of these things, he said, you know, in short order,

493
00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:36,119
Speaker 2: I'm going to be seeing the Lord face to face.

494
00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:37,480
Speaker 1: And here's the thing.

495
00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:39,560
Speaker 2: All of these things I recognize are just gifts that

496
00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:42,000
Speaker 2: are on loan to me from God. So I try

497
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:43,960
Speaker 2: and be intentional about earning, but I try and be

498
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:47,440
Speaker 2: even more intentional about giving. And he said, my goal,

499
00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:49,800
Speaker 2: in my wife's goal, our goal is to finish up

500
00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:51,879
Speaker 2: with zero. We're not trying to finish up with a

501
00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:53,840
Speaker 2: whole bunch in the bank, he said, our goal is

502
00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:55,920
Speaker 2: to actually finish up with zero. And so we're looking

503
00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,200
Speaker 2: for ways to be very intentional about just giving it

504
00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:02,280
Speaker 2: all away. The Lord has met every need we have,

505
00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:05,080
Speaker 2: and we're trying to finish with zero and give it

506
00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:07,360
Speaker 2: all away. Now you could look at that and say, well,

507
00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:09,919
Speaker 2: doesn't scripture say, you know, leave an inheritance for your

508
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:10,800
Speaker 2: children's children.

509
00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:11,600
Speaker 1: I get that.

510
00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:15,000
Speaker 2: I think my personal goal with that would be give

511
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:16,879
Speaker 2: a whole bunch of it away and leave some for

512
00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:21,040
Speaker 2: your family. But this man, his thought was, he said,

513
00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:22,760
Speaker 2: there's nothing I've done in life that's brought me as

514
00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:25,680
Speaker 2: much joy as just blessing the lives of other people

515
00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:26,240
Speaker 2: with things that.

516
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:27,359
Speaker 1: The Lord's entrusted me with.

517
00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:29,320
Speaker 2: And so he's like, I'm just going to keep doing

518
00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:31,200
Speaker 2: it until the Lord calls me home because it doesn't

519
00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:33,359
Speaker 2: belong to me. Now, this wasn't a Christian video that

520
00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:35,280
Speaker 2: I was watching. That was the only part of the

521
00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:37,399
Speaker 2: video where it referenced things of that nature.

522
00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:39,720
Speaker 1: But I so appreciated hearing.

523
00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:41,719
Speaker 2: That man's perspective, and I was really glad that they

524
00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:44,240
Speaker 2: included it in it. So he's like, all right, the

525
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:47,240
Speaker 2: Lord blessed me with smarts to know how to get finances,

526
00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:49,840
Speaker 2: and then a desire to give the finances a way

527
00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:52,320
Speaker 2: that he blessed me with. That's what that man was saying.

528
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:54,919
Speaker 2: Some of us have been blessed with skills. There are

529
00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:58,000
Speaker 2: people in our church that I watch just kind of

530
00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:01,440
Speaker 2: covertly and secretly use the skills and the talents that

531
00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:05,240
Speaker 2: the Lord has given them to go around like agents

532
00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:08,560
Speaker 2: of blessing to help meet the needs of other people

533
00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:12,400
Speaker 2: in the church through the skills that they've blessed with.

534
00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:15,359
Speaker 2: Some people that I've noticed in our church, family and

535
00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:18,640
Speaker 2: just in my relationships in general, are blessed in the

536
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:22,360
Speaker 2: area of relationships, and they use the relationships that they

537
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,400
Speaker 2: have to introduce this person to this person and develop

538
00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:27,640
Speaker 2: a friendship or oh I know someone that can help

539
00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:29,320
Speaker 2: you with that, and then they make the connection. They

540
00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:32,480
Speaker 2: just go through life connecting this person, this person, this person,

541
00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:38,840
Speaker 2: and this person. And basically there isn't a category of enriching.

542
00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,520
Speaker 1: I mean, even the flower in your house is enriched. Right.

543
00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:45,760
Speaker 2: That was a funnier joke than I think I think

544
00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:50,159
Speaker 2: you gave it credit for. But anyway, Sarah, thank you

545
00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:55,560
Speaker 2: for smiling in the back. There isn't a category of

546
00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:58,200
Speaker 2: enriching that the Lord hasn't blessed you and I with

547
00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:03,320
Speaker 2: that we can't use to be a blessing to somebody

548
00:27:03,359 --> 00:27:07,080
Speaker 2: else that we couldn't use to share that blessing with

549
00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:08,639
Speaker 2: somebody else in our lives. So if we want to

550
00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:14,679
Speaker 2: bless others, let's first acknowledge that we've been blessed. But

551
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:16,600
Speaker 2: can I give you just like a side piece of

552
00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:19,720
Speaker 2: advice to that, don't compare your blessing to somebody else's.

553
00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:23,320
Speaker 2: Don't compare the ways that the Lord's blessed you with

554
00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:25,480
Speaker 2: the ways that he's blessed somebody else, because when you

555
00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:27,120
Speaker 2: do that, you're always going to be able to find

556
00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:31,399
Speaker 2: somebody that you have a little bit more than, and

557
00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:33,359
Speaker 2: you're always going to be able to find somebody that

558
00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:36,639
Speaker 2: you have a little bit less. Then, and instead of

559
00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:40,280
Speaker 2: engaging an unhealthy comparison, when you analyze the ways in

560
00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:44,879
Speaker 2: which the Lord has blessed you, just gratefully acknowledged what

561
00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:48,919
Speaker 2: he's entrusted to your oversight and care and remind yourself

562
00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:51,280
Speaker 2: that you've been divinely blessed in order that you might

563
00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:54,240
Speaker 2: have the privilege to be a blessing to somebody else

564
00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:58,040
Speaker 2: with whatever you've been blessed with. So I think it

565
00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:00,199
Speaker 2: all starts with this idea of recognizing that you have

566
00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:04,240
Speaker 2: been gifted to be generous. Something else that I think

567
00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:07,120
Speaker 2: is a great Biblical principle for us, if we want

568
00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:10,560
Speaker 2: to be intentionally generous, is just keeping our eyes open

569
00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:13,840
Speaker 2: to the needs that the Lord shows us. Keep your

570
00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:15,320
Speaker 2: eyes open to the needs that.

571
00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:16,160
Speaker 1: The Lord shows us.

572
00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:18,600
Speaker 2: Look at what it tells us in First John, chapter three,

573
00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,440
Speaker 2: verse seventeen. In that verse, it says this, but if

574
00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:25,920
Speaker 2: anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need,

575
00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:31,160
Speaker 2: yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love

576
00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:35,159
Speaker 2: abide in him? It's very direct statement, isn't it. The

577
00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:38,440
Speaker 2: apostle John writing that to the early Church. One of

578
00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:42,239
Speaker 2: the things that I think happens. First of all, if

579
00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:46,640
Speaker 2: you're someone who knows Jesus Christ, I'm sure that you've

580
00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:49,440
Speaker 2: come to terms with the fact that he loves you deeply.

581
00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:51,920
Speaker 1: And as one who is loved by him.

582
00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:54,680
Speaker 2: What ends up happening is you learn to love him,

583
00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:58,840
Speaker 2: not just emotionally, but actionally and all the different ways

584
00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:03,080
Speaker 2: that love gets. And as your love for Jesus grows,

585
00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:05,680
Speaker 2: I believe that your desire to meet the needs of

586
00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:08,360
Speaker 2: your brother or your sister, I believe that that will

587
00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:10,959
Speaker 2: grow as well, because you start to love those that

588
00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:15,560
Speaker 2: Jesus loves. And when the Lord places within your heart

589
00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:19,160
Speaker 2: the desire to be generous, he's actually giving you the

590
00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:23,560
Speaker 2: opportunity to understand how his mind and how his intentions work.

591
00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:26,880
Speaker 2: He's giving you a little picture. He's letting you close

592
00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:29,200
Speaker 2: to his heart so that you can understand how he

593
00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:34,120
Speaker 2: tries to interact with people. He delights to share good

594
00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:38,360
Speaker 2: things with his children. And I think he'll place that delight.

595
00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:39,440
Speaker 1: Within you, you know.

596
00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:41,760
Speaker 2: If you want to be the generous person like it's

597
00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:45,400
Speaker 2: described in Psalm one twelve, verse five. I think ultimately

598
00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:47,680
Speaker 2: it comes back to the fact that Christ places that

599
00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:50,960
Speaker 2: delight within you. It's a delight that he has that

600
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:54,400
Speaker 2: he starts to reflect and emanate from your life and

601
00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:56,120
Speaker 2: from my life as we walk with him, as we

602
00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:58,719
Speaker 2: learn to love him. I think he'll show you where

603
00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:01,800
Speaker 2: to exercise general as well. And I also think he'll

604
00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:05,120
Speaker 2: help you to be very cautious about those who may

605
00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:08,479
Speaker 2: be deceptively trying to take advantage of your giving nature.

606
00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:14,880
Speaker 2: And I think he'll show you where to use what

607
00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:17,200
Speaker 2: he's blessed you with, and he will caution you and

608
00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:20,560
Speaker 2: put a check in your spirit about where not to

609
00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:23,680
Speaker 2: use these things. And what I would say is, don't

610
00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:26,240
Speaker 2: drown out the voice of the Holy Spirit when he

611
00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:28,800
Speaker 2: speaks to you about the needs that you've been called

612
00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:32,320
Speaker 2: to me seek his wisdom to know which needs are

613
00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:37,000
Speaker 2: actually genuine. Even when you look at this portion of

614
00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:39,040
Speaker 2: scripture from First John, chapter three, what does it say,

615
00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:41,479
Speaker 2: but if anyone has the world's goods and sees his

616
00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:44,320
Speaker 2: brother in need. Think of that statement for a second,

617
00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:49,240
Speaker 2: and sees his brother in need? Scripture uses this example

618
00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:52,200
Speaker 2: of seeing your brother in need. What's it getting at? Well,

619
00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:56,000
Speaker 2: your brother is someone whose life you can observe. There's

620
00:30:56,000 --> 00:31:00,840
Speaker 2: a level of accountability there that can help you you

621
00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:05,680
Speaker 2: not make the mistake of unintentionally funding reckless or godless behavior.

622
00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:09,120
Speaker 2: It's the idea of all right, this is someone who's

623
00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:12,200
Speaker 2: made themselves accountable to me, they're being transparent with their life.

624
00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:15,400
Speaker 2: I see that my brother actually has a genuine need,

625
00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:18,440
Speaker 2: and then meeting that need is the Holy Spirit implores

626
00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:20,560
Speaker 2: your heart to do so. But can I encourage us

627
00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:24,520
Speaker 2: to do one additional thing? We want to be generous

628
00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:27,040
Speaker 2: in a way that honors the heart of Christ. Can

629
00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:29,200
Speaker 2: I just encourage us, as a church family and as

630
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:35,200
Speaker 2: individuals to become intentional stewards of this world's resources. Now

631
00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:37,040
Speaker 2: what do I mean by that? When I say be

632
00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:41,120
Speaker 2: intentional stewards of this world's resources. I have to admit

633
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:42,840
Speaker 2: there was a season of my life I was not

634
00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:47,200
Speaker 2: a very intentional steward of this world's resources. Now I'm

635
00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:49,680
Speaker 2: trying to do better at that, But over time, the

636
00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:54,200
Speaker 2: Lord's convinced me that it's careless and ignorant for me

637
00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:55,360
Speaker 2: to waste any.

638
00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:57,240
Speaker 1: Of the resources that he's entrusted to me.

639
00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:01,440
Speaker 2: I think Christian should be an example to this world

640
00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:05,840
Speaker 2: of what generosity really looks like. But I think for

641
00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:08,720
Speaker 2: that to happen consistently, we need to learn to value

642
00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:12,680
Speaker 2: intentional stewardship of the resources that we have access to.

643
00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:14,400
Speaker 2: And I think the most visible way, or the most

644
00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:16,840
Speaker 2: obvious way that plays out, is in the area of

645
00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:20,760
Speaker 2: our finances, because it ends up impacting the other areas

646
00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:24,000
Speaker 2: of our life and our opportunities to be generous. Now,

647
00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:26,920
Speaker 2: I have to confess to you, I used to follow

648
00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:30,080
Speaker 2: this world's patterns when it came to my personal finances.

649
00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:33,120
Speaker 2: You know, the scripture here we're looking at today talks

650
00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:36,040
Speaker 2: about generosity, and I had basically put myself in a

651
00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:39,760
Speaker 2: spot where I was robbing myself of the opportunity to

652
00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:43,360
Speaker 2: be generous to the level that I really could have

653
00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:46,840
Speaker 2: been generous because I was following the world's pattern in

654
00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:50,200
Speaker 2: regard to my personal finances, so that meant I bought

655
00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:54,200
Speaker 2: things I could not afford. Right now, I know I'm

656
00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:56,960
Speaker 2: not the only one that's ever done that, but that's

657
00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:01,000
Speaker 2: what I was doing. I wasn't saving for emerging That

658
00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:04,720
Speaker 2: seems dumb, you know, especially when I realized I was like,

659
00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:06,360
Speaker 2: you know, the Lord's bless you with four kids, you.

660
00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:08,040
Speaker 1: Think you might have an emergency now and then?

661
00:33:08,400 --> 00:33:12,440
Speaker 2: Yeah, and not saving for emergencies with four kids, How

662
00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:16,440
Speaker 2: dumb is that? I wasn't investing in the future. Oh,

663
00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:18,320
Speaker 2: that's a good idea, Like, don't invest in the future.

664
00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:22,160
Speaker 2: Why would you not invest for the future? Mostly because

665
00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:24,240
Speaker 2: I was choosing to live in ignorance and I wasn't

666
00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:27,800
Speaker 2: thinking about that. I watched TV during the hours of

667
00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:30,400
Speaker 2: the evening when I could have been developing additional streams

668
00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:33,800
Speaker 2: of income. I treated debt like it wasn't a threat

669
00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:38,080
Speaker 2: to my family's well being. And again I robbed myself

670
00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:40,800
Speaker 2: of opportunities to be generous because I didn't give myself

671
00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:43,400
Speaker 2: any margin by which I could do so, because I

672
00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:47,120
Speaker 2: was always living right on the edge financially. I did

673
00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:51,400
Speaker 2: that for the first chunk of my adult life. And

674
00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:53,640
Speaker 2: then I remember, at one point this all started to

675
00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:55,800
Speaker 2: become clear to me. I realized that it was keeping

676
00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:58,840
Speaker 2: me up at night. I realized I felt very uncomfortable

677
00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:02,000
Speaker 2: about this. And when this started to become clear to me,

678
00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:05,080
Speaker 2: at the time, I happened to be driving a brand

679
00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:09,280
Speaker 2: new truck with a very hefty payment and really really

680
00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:13,040
Speaker 2: poor gas mileage. But that truck looked so sweet and

681
00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:17,280
Speaker 2: had every bell and whistle that car companies had thought

682
00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:21,040
Speaker 2: of up until that time. And everywhere I went, people

683
00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:22,879
Speaker 2: would look at that thing and they were like, dah

684
00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:23,320
Speaker 2: is sharp?

685
00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:24,160
Speaker 1: Tell me about that?

686
00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:26,040
Speaker 2: And I'd get to tell people about my truck, and

687
00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:28,600
Speaker 2: I thought that was really cool. And then people want

688
00:34:28,640 --> 00:34:30,240
Speaker 2: to see the inside, and I'd show them the inside,

689
00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:32,600
Speaker 2: and it had different doors on it and all sorts

690
00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:33,000
Speaker 2: of things.

691
00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:33,840
Speaker 1: It was just great.

692
00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:38,600
Speaker 2: And unfortunately, and I didn't even think about this. I

693
00:34:38,640 --> 00:34:41,560
Speaker 2: remember being shocked when I got my insurance bill after

694
00:34:41,640 --> 00:34:43,799
Speaker 2: I first bought the truck. It didn't even occur to

695
00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:45,799
Speaker 2: me at the time. When I bought it that my

696
00:34:45,880 --> 00:34:49,959
Speaker 2: insurance was also going to go way up, but it did,

697
00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:52,360
Speaker 2: and so I had this hefty payment with a gas

698
00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:54,839
Speaker 2: guzzling vehicle that I really couldn't afford the gas for,

699
00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:58,279
Speaker 2: and then my insurance went through the roof and I

700
00:34:58,320 --> 00:35:01,520
Speaker 2: was like, Oh, this was really wise, John, like really wise.

701
00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:03,479
Speaker 2: And I drove that truck around for about a year,

702
00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:06,839
Speaker 2: and I remember doing the math and realizing how much

703
00:35:06,880 --> 00:35:10,000
Speaker 2: I could save each month if I just got rid

704
00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:12,239
Speaker 2: of that truck. And I started thinking about that a lot.

705
00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:13,640
Speaker 2: And so I woke up one day and I told

706
00:35:13,640 --> 00:35:16,200
Speaker 2: my wife. Now she knew how much I enjoyed that truck,

707
00:35:16,400 --> 00:35:19,400
Speaker 2: but I basically said to her, I was like, Andrea,

708
00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:23,200
Speaker 2: I'm getting rid of the truck today and I'm buying

709
00:35:23,239 --> 00:35:25,719
Speaker 2: something that we can actually afford. And she's like, and

710
00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:28,480
Speaker 2: her comment was supportive, but she looked at me and

711
00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:33,240
Speaker 2: she goes, are you sure, like you really like that truck?

712
00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:35,200
Speaker 2: And I was like, no, I'm one hundred percent positive.

713
00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:39,359
Speaker 1: She was shocked. She was supportive. But later that day I.

714
00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:45,279
Speaker 2: Came home with a base model Sedan that was a

715
00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:49,719
Speaker 2: few years older than that truck. It had crank windows

716
00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:55,080
Speaker 2: and zero frills except one. It did have one frill,

717
00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:57,960
Speaker 2: and the one frill it did have AC so that

718
00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:02,279
Speaker 2: was a pretty acceptable frill, right, but nothing else.

719
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:03,279
Speaker 1: Crank windows.

720
00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:07,640
Speaker 2: It didn't even have like electric mirror adjustment, so like

721
00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:11,240
Speaker 2: if anyone dared bump the mirror on the passenger side,

722
00:36:12,239 --> 00:36:14,520
Speaker 2: that meant I had to like reach over and then

723
00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:17,759
Speaker 2: adjust it through a little like manual button. It wasn't

724
00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:19,239
Speaker 2: power or anything that I had to sit back and

725
00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:22,839
Speaker 2: look nope, not right, fix it and be like now

726
00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:24,480
Speaker 2: we're good. And then you'd actually get on the road

727
00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:26,000
Speaker 2: and you're like, no, it's not good at all. I

728
00:36:26,040 --> 00:36:32,719
Speaker 2: can't see cars. I'm gonna die, right, But that's what

729
00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:34,719
Speaker 2: I bought. And by the way, we still own that car.

730
00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:36,560
Speaker 2: We bought that car in two thousand and seven. My

731
00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:40,520
Speaker 2: oldest daughter just bought it off me two thousand and seven.

732
00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:42,000
Speaker 2: I feel like that's the US. I look at that

733
00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:44,120
Speaker 2: car with such admiration. I hope she loves it as

734
00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:46,040
Speaker 2: much as I always have. So I look at that,

735
00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:49,160
Speaker 2: I'm like, that's an unsung hero that helped us really

736
00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:54,879
Speaker 2: get ahead in certain areas. That buying that inexpensive two

737
00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:58,799
Speaker 2: thousand and five Honda Civic with no frills was the

738
00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:03,240
Speaker 2: start of our personal financial transformation that honestly has resulted

739
00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:07,400
Speaker 2: in greater peace and greater opportunities for us to be generous.

740
00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:12,080
Speaker 2: And this is my Now, I come down on this

741
00:37:12,239 --> 00:37:15,000
Speaker 2: kind of hard sometimes, so I'm going to try and

742
00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:17,120
Speaker 2: balance this out so I don't say this as hard

743
00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:19,919
Speaker 2: as I really want to say it, but I can't promise.

744
00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:20,560
Speaker 1: That won't sneak out.

745
00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:25,439
Speaker 2: I've seen both sides of life on this one, both

746
00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:29,359
Speaker 2: in my childhood and in my adulthood, and I look

747
00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:32,800
Speaker 2: at it this way, especially because many of the decisions

748
00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:33,920
Speaker 2: we're making are optional.

749
00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:35,560
Speaker 1: They're not being forced upon us.

750
00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:39,400
Speaker 2: I don't see any reason why Christians should follow the

751
00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:43,880
Speaker 2: irresponsible financial pattern that's embraced by our culture. I see

752
00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:46,200
Speaker 2: no reason why we, as believers in christ should do that.

753
00:37:46,239 --> 00:37:48,920
Speaker 2: Now I'm confessing to you I have made that mistake.

754
00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:52,480
Speaker 2: But the idea is, don't keep making the mistake once

755
00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:53,920
Speaker 2: you become aware.

756
00:37:53,600 --> 00:37:56,520
Speaker 1: Of the fact that you've made the mistake in the past.

757
00:37:57,360 --> 00:37:59,719
Speaker 2: Because the mindset of our culture is a mindset that's

758
00:37:59,719 --> 00:38:05,239
Speaker 2: based on consumption, debt, and then sometimes outright fraud, and

759
00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:08,400
Speaker 2: it's a mindset that seeks to get at whatever cost

760
00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:11,600
Speaker 2: it can it's not a mindset that's focused on giving,

761
00:38:11,640 --> 00:38:15,239
Speaker 2: it's not a mindset that's focused on careful stewardship. So

762
00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:17,040
Speaker 2: I think when we look at our lives, when we

763
00:38:17,080 --> 00:38:18,640
Speaker 2: think about this idea, what does it look like to

764
00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:20,759
Speaker 2: grow mature in Christ? I think we need to look

765
00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:23,360
Speaker 2: at all the different categories, and there's probably one of

766
00:38:23,360 --> 00:38:24,960
Speaker 2: these categories we would look at and we would say,

767
00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:26,799
Speaker 2: all right, this is where I'm strong, this is where

768
00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:29,160
Speaker 2: I'm weak, and so submit the area where you feel

769
00:38:29,160 --> 00:38:31,560
Speaker 2: weak over to the Lord and ask him to do

770
00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:34,000
Speaker 2: something miraculous in your life in regard to it. Because

771
00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:36,040
Speaker 2: I think it should be our aim to be spiritually

772
00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:42,680
Speaker 2: mature and spiritually healthy, relationally healthy, emotionally healthy, physically healthy,

773
00:38:42,719 --> 00:38:47,759
Speaker 2: and financially healthy, and to serve as examples to our

774
00:38:47,800 --> 00:38:51,000
Speaker 2: culture of the ways in which the Holy Spirit.

775
00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:52,880
Speaker 1: Empowers that kind of health.

776
00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:55,960
Speaker 2: And when it comes to our finances, I believe Christians

777
00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:58,360
Speaker 2: should blaze the trail for the rest of the culture

778
00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:01,040
Speaker 2: to understand what it looks like to earn.

779
00:39:01,239 --> 00:39:04,400
Speaker 1: And save and invest and give.

780
00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:08,279
Speaker 2: For Christ's glory. I don't know if you're familiar with

781
00:39:08,280 --> 00:39:10,040
Speaker 2: the name John Wesley. Do you ever hear the name

782
00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:14,520
Speaker 2: John Wesley. John Wesley was one of the most popular

783
00:39:14,600 --> 00:39:17,759
Speaker 2: evangelists that this world has ever seen. He was very

784
00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:21,239
Speaker 2: active in the seventeen hundreds and, by God's grace, had

785
00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:24,000
Speaker 2: the opportunity to lead many people to Christ and many

786
00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:27,680
Speaker 2: of the things that he did continue to be just

787
00:39:27,719 --> 00:39:30,560
Speaker 2: a powerful example to many believers and many Christian leaders

788
00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:32,120
Speaker 2: and pastors ever since.

789
00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:34,680
Speaker 1: But Wesley once said this. He made this comment.

790
00:39:34,719 --> 00:39:40,760
Speaker 2: He says, when a man becomes a Christian, he becomes industrious, trustworthy,

791
00:39:41,360 --> 00:39:44,920
Speaker 2: and prosperous. Now if that man, when he gets all

792
00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:48,640
Speaker 2: he can and saves all he can, does not give

793
00:39:48,719 --> 00:39:51,920
Speaker 2: all he can, I have more hope for Judas is

794
00:39:51,960 --> 00:39:56,839
Speaker 2: Scariot than for that man. That's what Wesley said. What

795
00:39:56,960 --> 00:39:59,000
Speaker 2: is he saying. He's saying, you know, it's a really

796
00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:02,719
Speaker 2: good thing. If you become industrious, it's a really good thing.

797
00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:06,000
Speaker 2: If you become trustworthy, it's actually not a bad thing.

798
00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:08,319
Speaker 2: If you become prosperous, If the Lord blesses you and

799
00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:11,319
Speaker 2: you just have like a great entrepreneurial mind and you

800
00:40:11,360 --> 00:40:14,320
Speaker 2: become prosperous and the resources of this world, there's nothing

801
00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:18,799
Speaker 2: wrong with that. But if you start worshiping it and

802
00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:20,839
Speaker 2: it becomes the thing that governs your life, and it's

803
00:40:20,840 --> 00:40:22,960
Speaker 2: the only thing you think about, and you can't you

804
00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:26,400
Speaker 2: can't give it away, you can't bless the life of

805
00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:28,880
Speaker 2: somebody else with it. Then that in fact has become

806
00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:32,239
Speaker 2: your God. And that's what Wesley is saying. He's saying, Look,

807
00:40:32,320 --> 00:40:36,560
Speaker 2: be industrious, be entrepreneur, be prosperous. It's all wonderful, but

808
00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:39,879
Speaker 2: make sure you recognize who the real God is. Make

809
00:40:39,880 --> 00:40:43,200
Speaker 2: sure you realize that Christ is Lord, not the resources

810
00:40:43,239 --> 00:40:46,120
Speaker 2: he entrusts to us. And so when we think about

811
00:40:46,120 --> 00:40:49,600
Speaker 2: this idea of Psalm one twelve, verse five, as it's saying, listen,

812
00:40:50,320 --> 00:40:54,440
Speaker 2: the righteous man is a generous man. The righteous woman

813
00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:58,080
Speaker 2: is a generous woman. What are you doing with what

814
00:40:58,120 --> 00:41:01,400
Speaker 2: the Lord has made available to you? Are you wasting it?

815
00:41:01,520 --> 00:41:05,480
Speaker 2: Or are you shaping it? Are you figuring out new

816
00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:08,200
Speaker 2: ways that you can earn? I love hanging out with

817
00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:12,839
Speaker 2: entrepreneurial people. I think it's so fun. Are you thinking

818
00:41:12,840 --> 00:41:16,839
Speaker 2: about wiser ways that you can save? Are you thinking

819
00:41:16,880 --> 00:41:21,239
Speaker 2: about maybe more effective ways you can invest so that

820
00:41:21,280 --> 00:41:23,319
Speaker 2: you could then be a blessing to those who have

821
00:41:23,440 --> 00:41:26,239
Speaker 2: genuine needs Because the Lord's given you the smarts and

822
00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:30,000
Speaker 2: the intelligence and just that action oriented personality that gets

823
00:41:30,040 --> 00:41:36,000
Speaker 2: stuff done and then through you blesses many people. Or

824
00:41:37,280 --> 00:41:41,520
Speaker 2: are you choosing to stay needy because of excess and

825
00:41:41,719 --> 00:41:46,640
Speaker 2: irresponsibility far beyond what was actually necessary because you're following

826
00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:50,040
Speaker 2: the world's pattern in regard to how you steward what's

827
00:41:50,080 --> 00:41:54,240
Speaker 2: been entrusted to you. Again, I've lived on both sides

828
00:41:54,239 --> 00:41:59,040
Speaker 2: of that line, and I would not want to go

829
00:41:59,120 --> 00:42:06,120
Speaker 2: back to that, at least not by choice. Generosity at

830
00:42:06,120 --> 00:42:08,000
Speaker 2: its core, when you think about it, at its core,

831
00:42:08,080 --> 00:42:13,799
Speaker 2: it's the fruit of spiritual discipline and spiritual maturity. So

832
00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:16,120
Speaker 2: what are we doing with what we've been given?

833
00:42:16,760 --> 00:42:17,400
Speaker 1: And if our.

834
00:42:17,320 --> 00:42:22,160
Speaker 2: Current pattern continues, will it lead to more opportunities for

835
00:42:22,239 --> 00:42:28,759
Speaker 2: generosity or less? If our current pattern continues, will it

836
00:42:28,840 --> 00:42:35,000
Speaker 2: lead to more opportunities for generosity or less opportunities for generosity? Well,

837
00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:37,759
Speaker 2: last thing I want to share with us as we

838
00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:41,640
Speaker 2: finish up. It's another Wesley quote, and I just want

839
00:42:41,680 --> 00:42:43,960
Speaker 2: to end with this today because I think it's really appropriate.

840
00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:44,880
Speaker 1: But Wesley said this.

841
00:42:45,520 --> 00:42:49,040
Speaker 2: He said, do all the good you can, by all

842
00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:52,560
Speaker 2: the means you can, in all the ways you can,

843
00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:56,320
Speaker 2: in all the places you can, at all the times

844
00:42:56,360 --> 00:43:00,800
Speaker 2: you can to all the people you can, as long

845
00:43:01,480 --> 00:43:06,759
Speaker 2: as ever you can. Let's pray, Lord, thank you so

846
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:10,680
Speaker 2: much for your word and the things that we're able

847
00:43:10,680 --> 00:43:12,640
Speaker 2: to look at from a portion of scripture, like we

848
00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:17,319
Speaker 2: just spent time looking at today. Lord, it's interesting to

849
00:43:17,480 --> 00:43:21,280
Speaker 2: just think about this concept of generosity as you've revealed

850
00:43:21,280 --> 00:43:25,440
Speaker 2: it in your word. We see that the person of

851
00:43:25,560 --> 00:43:28,160
Speaker 2: character that you describe in Psalm one twelve is someone

852
00:43:28,160 --> 00:43:32,040
Speaker 2: who's known to be generous and someone who lends to

853
00:43:32,080 --> 00:43:34,759
Speaker 2: those in need, which seems to indicate that this is

854
00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:39,960
Speaker 2: somebody who's also been a bit industrious, and they've certainly

855
00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:43,520
Speaker 2: been blessed with what you've allowed them to steward. And

856
00:43:43,560 --> 00:43:45,400
Speaker 2: so Lord, when I look at that, I think to myself,

857
00:43:45,440 --> 00:43:48,239
Speaker 2: all right, what's the backstory that led to all of this?

858
00:43:49,640 --> 00:43:52,239
Speaker 2: And I think the backstory is obvious when we read

859
00:43:52,280 --> 00:43:55,360
Speaker 2: through your word. There's certain principles that you've given to

860
00:43:55,440 --> 00:43:58,040
Speaker 2: us that if we put into place, they have certain outcomes.

861
00:43:58,080 --> 00:43:59,440
Speaker 1: It's not a mystery that if we.

862
00:43:59,440 --> 00:44:02,759
Speaker 2: Follow you that results in a better life than if

863
00:44:02,800 --> 00:44:04,520
Speaker 2: we choose to go our own way, or if we

864
00:44:04,600 --> 00:44:07,680
Speaker 2: choose to adopt this world's mindset and patterns and practices,

865
00:44:08,080 --> 00:44:10,640
Speaker 2: and Lord, we know that this world's way, this world's values,

866
00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:12,799
Speaker 2: this world's priority, is the type of thing that can

867
00:44:12,880 --> 00:44:15,000
Speaker 2: easily seep into the Church.

868
00:44:15,080 --> 00:44:16,120
Speaker 1: We see.

869
00:44:17,280 --> 00:44:19,239
Speaker 2: When we look at ancient Israel, we see how the

870
00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:22,040
Speaker 2: surrounding cultures had a negative influence on them. And when

871
00:44:22,080 --> 00:44:24,279
Speaker 2: we look at the Church of present day, we can

872
00:44:24,320 --> 00:44:27,240
Speaker 2: identify different ways that the culture has had a negative

873
00:44:27,280 --> 00:44:29,759
Speaker 2: influence on the Church and the ways that we as

874
00:44:29,760 --> 00:44:31,880
Speaker 2: individuals have to admit that the culture has had a

875
00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:34,279
Speaker 2: negative influence on us. But Lord, we pray that we

876
00:44:34,280 --> 00:44:36,239
Speaker 2: would look at these things differently. That we would look

877
00:44:36,239 --> 00:44:39,560
Speaker 2: at generosity from the perspective of what's been accomplished on

878
00:44:39,600 --> 00:44:41,880
Speaker 2: our behalf through your son Jesus Christ.

879
00:44:42,680 --> 00:44:43,560
Speaker 1: That we would look at the.

880
00:44:43,480 --> 00:44:45,640
Speaker 2: Work that he accomplished during the course of his earthly

881
00:44:45,719 --> 00:44:48,160
Speaker 2: ministry and the ways in which he interacted with people

882
00:44:48,640 --> 00:44:53,719
Speaker 2: and demonstrated his heart to us. That we would look

883
00:44:53,719 --> 00:44:56,759
Speaker 2: at what he accomplished on the Cross and recognize just

884
00:44:56,800 --> 00:44:59,239
Speaker 2: the giving nature of what was demonstrated there. That we

885
00:44:59,280 --> 00:45:03,360
Speaker 2: would look at at the resurrection and the fact that

886
00:45:03,360 --> 00:45:06,120
Speaker 2: that kind of resurrection is being promised to those who

887
00:45:06,200 --> 00:45:08,319
Speaker 2: trust in your son, And that we would even think

888
00:45:08,320 --> 00:45:11,480
Speaker 2: about some of the type of things that Jesus has

889
00:45:11,480 --> 00:45:14,480
Speaker 2: made clear through his followers, but also even what he

890
00:45:14,560 --> 00:45:17,400
Speaker 2: said on the cross to the thief next to him. Today,

891
00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:19,759
Speaker 2: you will be with me in paradise. The fact that

892
00:45:19,880 --> 00:45:24,680
Speaker 2: eternal blessing in your kingdom is something that we have

893
00:45:24,920 --> 00:45:28,160
Speaker 2: the privilege to receive as an act of your generosity.

894
00:45:28,600 --> 00:45:32,440
Speaker 2: Through faith in your son, Lord, we realize that generosity

895
00:45:32,480 --> 00:45:34,359
Speaker 2: is close to your heart. We realize that you give

896
00:45:34,400 --> 00:45:36,239
Speaker 2: to us in ways that we don't deserve, and you

897
00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:39,239
Speaker 2: give us the opportunity to bless others likewise, to be

898
00:45:39,360 --> 00:45:43,840
Speaker 2: stewards of anything that you place in our hands. And

899
00:45:43,880 --> 00:45:45,400
Speaker 2: so Lord, we pray that would be the kind of

900
00:45:45,440 --> 00:45:47,600
Speaker 2: mindset that we have, that we would be shrewd in

901
00:45:47,640 --> 00:45:52,920
Speaker 2: some respects as we go through life, being industrious, being thoughtful,

902
00:45:53,200 --> 00:45:56,840
Speaker 2: coming up with different ways that we could ethically earn,

903
00:45:56,920 --> 00:45:59,879
Speaker 2: and then use those resources to bless the lives about

904
00:45:59,880 --> 00:46:02,840
Speaker 2: other people. Lord, that seems like a good use of

905
00:46:02,880 --> 00:46:07,319
Speaker 2: our time and a great use of the resources that

906
00:46:07,560 --> 00:46:08,880
Speaker 2: can be produced.

907
00:46:08,400 --> 00:46:09,480
Speaker 1: Through something like that.

908
00:46:11,360 --> 00:46:13,319
Speaker 2: So Lord, I'm just grateful for the examples that you

909
00:46:13,360 --> 00:46:16,040
Speaker 2: give to us in your word. I'm grateful for people

910
00:46:16,239 --> 00:46:19,200
Speaker 2: like Wesley, who had interesting things to say about it,

911
00:46:19,239 --> 00:46:23,040
Speaker 2: and Corey Tenboom, who certainly encouraged generosity during the course

912
00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:26,160
Speaker 2: of her earthly life and ministry. And Lord, we pray

913
00:46:26,239 --> 00:46:29,120
Speaker 2: that we would be in that mindset, in that chain

914
00:46:29,160 --> 00:46:34,000
Speaker 2: of people who look at our lives and we recognize

915
00:46:34,040 --> 00:46:36,480
Speaker 2: that stewardship is just a wonderful privilege.

916
00:46:36,480 --> 00:46:37,560
Speaker 1: It's a wonderful blessing.

917
00:46:38,360 --> 00:46:40,600
Speaker 2: And Lord, in addition to finances, you give us the

918
00:46:40,600 --> 00:46:44,640
Speaker 2: opportunity to be stewards of our gifts, these spiritual gifts,

919
00:46:44,680 --> 00:46:48,880
Speaker 2: these opportunities for service, talents that you've given to us, time,

920
00:46:50,040 --> 00:46:52,800
Speaker 2: that you've allowed us to have relationships that we have.

921
00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:55,040
Speaker 1: All sorts of things.

922
00:46:55,040 --> 00:46:56,800
Speaker 2: Lord, and you give us an example in the Early

923
00:46:56,880 --> 00:46:59,040
Speaker 2: Church of what it looks like to meet one another's needs.

924
00:47:00,440 --> 00:47:02,759
Speaker 2: It's a much healthier way to live. It's a much

925
00:47:02,800 --> 00:47:06,840
Speaker 2: healthier way to perceive life when we stop thinking about

926
00:47:06,880 --> 00:47:09,160
Speaker 2: what we can get from this life and start thinking

927
00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:12,720
Speaker 2: about what we can utilize for your glory and share

928
00:47:12,800 --> 00:47:16,160
Speaker 2: for the benefit of those that we care about. So again, Lord,

929
00:47:16,200 --> 00:47:18,520
Speaker 2: thank you for the example of the person of character

930
00:47:18,600 --> 00:47:20,920
Speaker 2: that we see in Psalm one twelve. But we know

931
00:47:20,960 --> 00:47:24,640
Speaker 2: that that's ultimately exemplified in your son, Jesus Christ. And

932
00:47:24,680 --> 00:47:26,640
Speaker 2: we pray that we would reflect the heart of Christ

933
00:47:26,680 --> 00:47:29,879
Speaker 2: and all our dealings, all our interactions, all our relationships.

934
00:47:30,600 --> 00:47:33,160
Speaker 2: We're grateful, Lord that you empower us to do so,

935
00:47:33,200 --> 00:47:35,560
Speaker 2: and we're grateful for even just the privilege to be

936
00:47:35,560 --> 00:47:37,480
Speaker 2: able to start off our week with a reminder of

937
00:47:37,520 --> 00:47:40,239
Speaker 2: these things today. We love you, Lord, and we thank

938
00:47:40,320 --> 00:47:42,839
Speaker 2: you for all of these things. And we pray this

939
00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:44,239
Speaker 2: all in Jesus's name.

940
00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:45,880
Speaker 1: Amen.