RESPONSIBLE GENEROSITY PART 2: FOLLOWING THROUGH

Cielo Vista Church – Value 3: “Life Changing Generosity”

• Proverbs 11:24-25 Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. 25 The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
• Proverbs 22:9 Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor.

“Give without remembering. Receive without forgetting. Because you never become poor by giving.” Charles Stanley

• The ultimate giver and gift is , and the ultimate gift is Jesus, who paid the penalty for our sins.
• Since this church’s inception 72 years ago, its leaders have used the tithe as a grace for giving. A tithe means 10.

• How we manage the money God places in our hands could be one of the greatest tests of our spiritual . Why? Because money is often at the root of our lives.
• God owns it all:
  Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.
  Psalm 50:10 For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.
  Psalm 50:12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it.
• Money matters to God because how we use it is an of our values.

“Our use of money and possessions is a decisive statement of our eternal values. What we do with money loudly affirms which kingdom we belong to.” Randy Alcorn

• Our attitude toward giving money is a thermometer.
• Mark 10:21-22 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
• Money doesn’t mean freedom; being right with Jesus does.

• gross income belongs to the Lord. Not a part, but the full tithe. ALL I have is His.
• The most common objection to giving 10% of gross income is:
  That’s not grace.
• We don’t give to:
  1. God back.
  2. with God (I’ll give, and now, what will you do, God?)
  3. others.
  4. trouble. That’s superstitious.
• In the end, the goal of giving is not financial expansion. The real goal is spiritual .

Lord Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner. I know that the penalty of my sin is physical, spiritual, and eternal death. I acknowledge that I can’t do anything about my situation. But I know that You came to pay the penalty for my sin. I trust in You alone as the One who died in my place. I repent of my sin and trust in You alone as the only One who can place me in an eternal relationship with the living God. I desire to be Your child. I desire to live as Your child. In Your name. Amen.

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