“Generosity” [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

November 21, 2021

Introductory Comments:

Have you ever been around someone and you really wanted to emulate the traits that they exhibit? Perhaps they are smooth-talking and you think to yourself, “Man, I wish I was smooth-talking.” Or, perhaps someone has a great ability to tell jokes and you think, “I wish I could tell jokes like that.” Maybe you wish you were as athletic as they were, as musically talented as they were, or preached as well as they did. Well, one trait that I see in certain other people that I wish that I was really good at displaying is generosity. I really want to be more generous and I’m challenged and encouraged when I see other people being generous. 

Today, we will be speaking about generosity. Let’s first ask ourselves, from where does generosity come?

Well, what does the Bible say?

James says in James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” [on screen] So, every good thing, including generosity comes from God. 

Also, we see God displaying generosity towards us, do we not?

Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ.” [on screen]

Psalm 36:7-8 says, “How priceless your faithful love is, God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They are filled from the abundance of your house. You let them drink from your refreshing stream.” [on screen]

Of course, God’s greatest act of generosity was in sending His Son, Jesus, to be the sacrifice for our sins. John 3:16 says, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” [on screen]

So, the Bible clearly says that generosity comes from God, is given by God, and is exhibited by God. To be generous is to display the gifts of God in your life and to be like God Himself. 

So, I think it’s fair to say that if we are followers of God, we should seek to be generous. 

Well, let’s talk some about generosity. Before we do, let’s pray together.

(prayer)

So, we know that generosity comes from God, but what is the motivation for generosity in our lives?

Let’s look back at God’s motivation for generosity. Look, again, at John 3:16. “For God loved the world in this way . . .” [on screen]

What was God’s motivation in being generous to the world? It was love!

Because God loves, God is generous. 

So also, when we love, it should lead to us being generous. 

So, first, we must recognize that . . .

Generosity is motivated by love . . . [on screen]

Well, we talk about love around here from time to time, don’t we?

After all, we exist to develop disciples who love God, love the church, and love others. 

So, how do we display generosity in these areas? How is our generosity motivated by love in these areas?Let’s talk about that for a few minutes. 

First, generosity is motivated by love . . .

. . . for God. [on screen]

Because we understand who God is, because we submit to His lordship, and because we love Him, we are motivated to be generous. 

When we understand who God is, we understand that everything belongs to God in the first place. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord.” [on screen]

So, generosity towards God’s ways starts with understanding that everything belongs to God. In fact, the Bible teaches that when we withhold generosity towards God, it’s actually as if we are robbing God. Malachi 3:8-10 says, “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me!” “How do we rob you?” you ask. “By not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions. You are suffering under a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing me. Bring the full tenth i