The Blessed Life: Reclaiming Hope by Giving It All Away

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Good morning.
[00:01:40] Welcome to Peninsula.
[00:01:42] My name is Adam and we are so thankful you're here to worship with us today.
[00:01:46] As we come into December, there's a couple of things we want you to know about.
[00:01:49] You know, we know this is a busy time of year, but there are several really important things happening here at Peninsula.
[00:01:54] First, it's coming up very soon.
[00:01:56] Our annual meeting is going to be December 3rd at 7 p.m.
[00:02:00] This is going to be an opportunity for the members of our church to hear about the 2026 budget, to vote on it, to approve it,
[00:02:07] and it is just a great time as we look ahead to what God is going to do through our church family this year also that sunday december 7th is an event we have called starting point so maybe you're newer here to penicill you're like what is happening what do ministries here look like how do i get involved all sort of questions like that this event is for you it's going to be immediately following our second service about 12 15 we have lunch we have child care provided we'd love for you to join us you can sign up online and join us on december 7th for
[00:02:37] Starting Point.
[00:02:38] Also, we know as we're coming to December, it is Christmas time, and we just want to say we are so excited.
[00:02:43] I love this time of year.
[00:02:45] We have a lot of fun.
[00:02:46] We also think a lot about families and how we can help as we talk about Advent.
[00:02:51] Advent is that waiting.
[00:02:52] If you have kids, you know right now they are waiting for Christmas, but also it reminds us that God's people were waiting for the coming of Christ, and just like we wait for Him to come again,
[00:03:02] and one of the things we do every year is we help out providing a resource for Advent you can pick those up at several places throughout the campus today and that is a way for you and your family to spend a little bit of time each day just thinking about the coming of Christ and the salvation that he brings so take that resource and in all the fun make sure that we have the opportunity to remind our families what this time is about
[00:03:24] But also, we don't want to forget the fun.
[00:03:26] We do have a lot of good things here.
[00:03:28] One of our favorite events we have for particularly our families with kids is called Jingle Jam.
[00:03:33] It's going to be Monday, December 15th.
[00:03:36] It's from 6 to 7.30.
[00:03:37] It's a free event.
[00:03:38] There's treats, crafts, games, music.
[00:03:41] They have a great time.
[00:03:43] You get to do that together as a family.
[00:03:45] It's going to be geared toward our preschool and elementary age families.
[00:03:50] families with teens are welcome too but don't forget space is limited for that it's because there's only so much room so this is one that sign up does matter so jump online right now if you're sitting here take a moment and register for that uh the register for that by december 10th but we look forward to jingle jam
[00:04:09] also a great opportunity for you and your family to kind of serve others during this christmas season is through operation christmas shop we have the shoe boxes we have a goal this year of sending 500 shoe boxes through samaritan's purse and this is a great opportunity not only to bless a kid as they have a chance to get the box and the fun things and the gifts in there but this provides this ministry a great opportunity to share the gospel with these kids
[00:04:35] So it's a great ministry to partner with.
[00:04:37] You can pick up those boxes downstairs in the lobby as well.
[00:04:42] You can drop them all off in a cart we have in our On Mission area in the lobby.
[00:04:47] So make sure to drop those off.
[00:04:49] The deadline for that to bring them back is going to be Sunday, December 14th.
[00:04:53] So don't forget that.
[00:04:54] Grab a box, fill it up, and bring it back by the 14th.
[00:04:57] The last thing I want you to know about as we come into Christmas is our Christmas Eve services.
[00:05:02] This year we're going to have four identical services at 12, 1.30, 3.30, and 5.
[00:05:09] All services are going to be the exact same.
[00:05:11] It's a great opportunity for you to invite someone to come with you.
[00:05:13] They actually say that this is one of the most likely times of year that if you invite someone to attend a service with you that they are likely to say yes.
[00:05:21] So maybe you've got a neighbor, a friend, someone at work.
[00:05:24] You've been thinking about inviting to church with you.
[00:05:26] This is a great opportunity to do so.
[00:05:28] But as you invite them, don't forget, register on our website for this spot.
[00:05:34] You can go to peninsulabaptist.com slash christmas.
[00:05:37] You can register for that.
[00:05:39] What this is going to help us do is make sure that we have space for everybody who comes.
[00:05:42] so it'll let you know how the services are filling up we need to use all four of those um ideally we would love to see all four full um and that will help us do that make sure there's space for people who come that day so join us on december 24th for christmas eve at 12 1 30 3 30 or 5.
[00:06:02] But again today we are so thankful to be here to worship together to get to kick off this Advent season as we remember not only the coming of Jesus but the salvation he brings and we look forward to worshiping with you today.
[00:06:15] Thanks for being with us.

[00:06:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, good morning.
[00:06:30] So good to see you here today.
[00:06:31] A lot of smiles on people's faces as if you ate well this week.
[00:06:37] How many of you had pie this week?
[00:06:38] You had any kind of pie?
[00:06:40] How many of you had zero dessert?
[00:06:43] Okay, that's good.
[00:06:45] Good testimony.
[00:06:45] We're all among good company here.
[00:06:47] We're so glad that you're here.
[00:06:48] I know that people were raising their hand in the video venue as well because it was just a pie-eating week.
[00:06:54] Just so you know, for future reference, I'm pie over cake all day long, so just wanted you to know that.
[00:07:00] Just a little bit of trivia in case you ever wondered, you know.
[00:07:03] Today we go into Advent and our word for today is hope and we're going to be looking at Acts chapter 20 as we're talking about hope and what hope is really in and what it should look like.
[00:07:18] We're going to look at Acts chapter 20 in a little bit different light this time as what you're used to when we're talking through Acts chapter 20.
[00:07:25] There's a lot there and I know that we're going to be excited about going into that.
[00:07:29] In just a few moments we're going to be singing worship.
[00:07:32] Let's all stand at this time as we get ready to prepare our hearts for singing and to worship and to open up God's word and to see where he greets us here today as we corporately worship through song.
[00:07:49] Let's go to the Lord in prayer.
[00:07:50] Father, we thank you for your grace and mercy that meets us every day when we wake up.
[00:07:55] A God that loves and knows everything about us, meets us where we are and in your love, moves us to the next step to understand and appreciate your presence even more.
[00:08:06] So as we worship you today, Father, through song, through truth, through our hearts, may your spirit lead us that our worship would become true and would become a way of connection with you today.
[00:08:19] That we leave here changed, not simply because we were together, but because we worshiped you, we heard your word, and we experienced you.
[00:08:30] So Lord, be blessed today as we lift our hearts to you in song.
[00:08:35] For it's in Jesus' name we pray.
[00:08:38] Amen.

[00:08:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Good morning, Peninsula.
[00:08:48] We're so glad you're here.
[00:08:49] Let's join together as we sing on this awesome song, Holy, Holy, Holy.

[00:09:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Our song shall rise to Thee Holy, Holy, Holy Merciful and Mighty God in three Persons Blessed Transcendent

[00:10:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
All things are possible in this world.
[00:11:08] Are you Lord God Almighty Worthy is the Lamb Worthy is the Lamb You are holy, holy Are you Lord God Almighty Worthy is the Lamb

[00:11:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
All worthy is the Lamb, Amen Hallelujah, Hallelujah
[00:12:09] Alleluia!
[00:12:21] Alleluia!
[00:12:21] For the Lord God above!

[00:12:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Holy, our new Lord God Almighty Worthy is the Lamb, Worthy is the Lamb You are Holy, Holy
[00:13:27] Holy is the Lamb

[00:14:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Let's sit gently.

[00:14:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem Come and behold Him, born the King of Israel
[00:15:09] O come let us adore Him O come let us adore Him O come let us adore Him

[00:15:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Choirs of Angels Sing in exultation Sing all ye citizens

[00:16:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Today, Lord, we greet Thee Born this happy morning Jesus, to Thee be our glory given

[00:17:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Let us adore Him

[00:18:32] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let us pray.

[00:18:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
All the saints and angels they bow before your throne All the elders cast their crowns before the Lamb of God and sing

[00:19:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
You're worthy of it all For from You are all things And to You are all things You deserve the glory
[00:20:21] Crowns before the Lamb of God and sing You're worthy of it all You're worthy of it all For from You are all things And to You are all things
[00:21:08] For from you are all things, and to you are all things, you deserve glory You deserve, you deserve it all
[00:21:41] The Lord gives our praise to you Father

[00:21:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Day and night, night and day, let incense arise.
[00:21:57] Day and night, night and day, let incense arise.

[00:22:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Day and night, night and day, let incense arise.
[00:22:11] Day and night, night and day, let incense arise.

[00:22:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Day and night, night and day let incense arise Day and night, night and day let incense arise Day and night, night and day let incense arise

[00:23:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Father God, to you, Father, you receive glory.
[00:23:50] For you, you receive glory this morning.
[00:23:54] Father, may our voices always praise you, even as we read your word, that our hearts are praising you.
[00:24:00] We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ.
[00:24:01] Amen.
[00:24:03] Would you be seated?

[00:24:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Day and night, night and day, let incense arise.
[00:24:50] This is an Old Testament reference of the incense that would burn in the temple that was supposed to fill up to know that there was worship going on and it was supposed to please the nostrils of God.
[00:25:01] Something that he expected in the New Testament time, the incense that we burn is the worship that comes from our hearts.
[00:25:07] It's how we live, how we walk, how we do life, and how we bring glory to his name brings incense before him.
[00:25:14] So may we be people that walk in that type of glory-making lifestyle to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
[00:25:25] Let me ask you a question.
[00:25:26] Is it too early to say Merry Christmas?
[00:25:29] How many of you decorated your house like at the beginning of November?
[00:25:34] Anybody?
[00:25:34] Okay, we have a few.
[00:25:36] How many of you have already been singing Christmas carols?
[00:25:39] All right.
[00:25:40] How many of you have it locked on the radio station?
[00:25:42] It's Christmas all the time.
[00:25:44] Does anybody listen to Christmas music year-round?
[00:25:46] Raise your hand.
[00:25:47] There's a few.
[00:25:47] There's a few that listen to Christmas music all year.
[00:25:49] Do you keep a tree up all year?
[00:25:54] Okay, keep it up through February.
[00:25:55] Any record breakers on that one?
[00:25:57] We're giving away prizes.
[00:25:59] We love the Christmas time.
[00:26:01] We're coming into the Advent season, which is very exciting.
[00:26:05] The beautiful creativity of people who can decorate the stage and kind of get us in that mindset of it is Christmas time.
[00:26:13] You know that once Thanksgiving passes, Christmas is upon us very quickly, and we want to jump in.
[00:26:19] Today's word for Advent is hope.
[00:26:23] And we're going to look at hope in a different way.
[00:26:25] Although I'm not going to say the word hope a whole lot, you're going to hear that as we're talking about the blessed life, you'll understand what the hope is actually in.
[00:26:34] I want to give a little bit of a caveat to the title of the message today, The Blessed Life, Living to Give, because you hear a lot in today's culture about the prosperity gospel.
[00:26:46] In other words,
[00:26:47] If you give to God, He will give to you.
[00:26:51] And that's kind of a bent theology.
[00:26:54] I say kind of just to be nice to those who might be leaning into it.
[00:26:57] But you need to really examine what you believe about Scripture if you believe that's the way life works.
[00:27:03] So we're going to talk a little bit about it because the world says the blessed life is all about yourself and what you get, what you obtain.
[00:27:11] But the way the apostles and the way Jesus taught about the blessed life, it was a total different game.
[00:27:17] It was a total different thing.
[00:27:20] Being blessed is not perfect health.
[00:27:23] It's not owning more things.
[00:27:25] It's not a pain-free life.
[00:27:27] Although, those are wonderful things when they happen.
[00:27:31] And we do strive for that.
[00:27:32] It's not wrong to necessarily strive for those things.
[00:27:36] But it's not what the blessed life spiritually is about.
[00:27:39] And that's a lot of times what we think.
[00:27:41] You hear this often.
[00:27:43] People say, well, you're going through this and this and this.
[00:27:46] Maybe there's some things you're not doing right before God.
[00:27:49] Maybe He's looking to bless us in the pain.
[00:27:52] And that's the way we need to look at it.
[00:27:54] Those things that we're looking for, we need to understand whether we're on the mountaintop or in the valley, we can still be blessed.
[00:28:04] You can be sick and still be blessed.
[00:28:09] Your wallet can be broke and you can still be blessed.
[00:28:12] You can be struggling in life and still be blessed because the blessing of God is His presence
[00:28:21] Not just as provision in our lives.
[00:28:25] It's not measured by what we get from God.
[00:28:27] It's measured by how much we give of ourselves to God.
[00:28:32] That's where you measure the blessing.
[00:28:34] And that's a little bit of the change in what we're going to be looking at and talking about today.
[00:28:39] True blessing is not about prosperity.
[00:28:42] It's about purpose.
[00:28:44] It's about living fully surrendered to Christ, that His generosity flows through our hands and to others.
[00:28:54] Paul understood this kind of blessing, and that's what we're going to look at in Acts chapter 20 today, as he told the Ephesian elders that we'll see in a few moments in Acts 20, when he quoted Jesus saying, "'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
[00:29:10] So today's message is not prosperity gospel.
[00:29:15] It's actually discipleship gospel.
[00:29:18] And that's what we're going to be looking at here in just a moment.
[00:29:22] It's what it means to live as Jesus did, open-handed, others-focused, and joyfully generous.
[00:29:31] And so the blessed life, living to give, is where we find our hope.
[00:29:37] And I pray.
[00:29:39] that those who have ears to hear will hear.
[00:29:45] And the reason I say that is many people who claim the Christian faith miss the true blessing of what it means to walk with Christ because of this one concept that is missed.
[00:29:59] And so we're going to walk through Acts chapter 20.
[00:30:02] We are picking up the pace in Acts now.
[00:30:05] We're going to complete the book of Acts by the end of December.
[00:30:09] And so we're going to pick up the pace and I'm going to trust that you'll read Acts 20 through 28 on your own pace and in your own way.
[00:30:18] We're just going to hit highlights between now and the end of December as we see where God's walking us through this Advent season.
[00:30:25] It's not that portions of Acts is not important.
[00:30:29] There's a lot of things that happen similar to Paul where he preaches, gets put in jail, and he talks about the gospel while he's in jail.
[00:30:37] You see that Paul did a lot of his writing while he was actually in jail.
[00:30:42] And so we're going to look at a portion of that today as we talk through it.
[00:30:46] But we're going to be picking up the pace.
[00:30:47] And so even though we're going to look at all of chapter 20, we're not going to read the whole entire chapter.
[00:30:53] I'm just going to read sections out of it.
[00:30:55] And so there's a portion in...
[00:30:58] in Acts chapter 20 where there's a young man who was a servant and he was sitting in a window and Paul was preaching extra long and this young man who was a servant, obviously tired, sitting in the window trying to get some air to stay awake, falls asleep and he falls out of the window third story high and he falls to his death.
[00:31:18] Remember that?
[00:31:18] Have you read that yet in Acts chapter 20?
[00:31:21] So I'm not going to preach that long.
[00:31:24] I don't want anybody falling out in here, but I also don't want you to use this young man as an excuse to say, I'm going to go find an open window somewhere.
[00:31:31] I'm out of here.
[00:31:33] But that's one reason we're not going to read all of 20.
[00:31:35] It's just because it can get long, and I want us to bring to the top
[00:31:40] What I feel God is wanting to say to us today about what the blessed life truly is and how we can kind of flip the script on what the world says is the blessed life and what the Bible teaches us is the blessed life.
[00:31:55] So that's kind of how we're going to look at it today.
[00:31:58] So let me bring some context to chapter 20.
[00:32:01] We're coming out of chapter 19.
[00:32:04] There was a mob that kind of got all excited and joined in the local arena there.
[00:32:10] And they were so angry at what Paul was doing that a few leaders got this mob together, possibly up to 10,000 people, some commentaries say, that got in this arena and for hours
[00:32:26] We're saying, ours, they chanted the phrase of the Diana Temple.
[00:32:32] Diana was one of the pagan gods that they followed and they just chanted this over and over and over and over.
[00:32:38] They were so excited.
[00:32:39] Paul, in his way, he looked at that and he said, wow, there's a lot of people together.
[00:32:46] Let me go tell them about Jesus.
[00:32:48] I mean, he wanted to get in the arena.
[00:32:50] He saw it as an opportunity to share the gospel with numerous people.
[00:32:53] And his friends, who lovingly and leadingly so from the Spirit, I believe, said, no, Paul, you do not want to walk in that mess.
[00:33:01] That is a horrible mess.
[00:33:02] It was a mob.
[00:33:04] In fact, Paul later talks about the monster in Ephesus.
[00:33:08] He's referring to this mob.
[00:33:11] Benjamin Franklin said that a mob is a monster with plenty of heads and no brains.
[00:33:19] That kind of explains it, right?
[00:33:21] That's what he was facing of what he was looking at.
[00:33:26] And so this is what kind of comes out of Acts chapter 19.
[00:33:31] And it's interesting because Paul actually gives a list of what he went through on his missionary journeys.
[00:33:40] Now you could very easily probably just walk through the book of Acts and go, okay, this happened to him.
[00:33:45] This happened to him, this happened to him, and this happened to him.
[00:33:49] But he actually lists it in 2 Corinthians.
[00:33:52] And so I know that we're covering all of Acts 20, but I do want to read a portion out of 2 Corinthians 11 so I can set the context of who Paul is and how it leads up to that final statement when he says, remember what Jesus said, it is more blessed to give than to receive.
[00:34:10] That is someone, by the way, who has an eternal perspective.
[00:34:16] Now we get in our bubbles here on this earth.
[00:34:19] We get in our bubbles of what tomorrow is bringing.
[00:34:21] What are we eating for lunch today?
[00:34:23] What's next?
[00:34:24] If I can only look forward to this next thing and we get kind of stuck in this bubble of who we need to be today and now and we lose perspective of eternity.
[00:34:35] Paul had a grasp
[00:34:37] Let's look at this list of things he went through as he was explaining, pouring himself out for the gospel in 2 Corinthians 11.
[00:34:50] I know that's a switch on you.
[00:34:52] You're like, wait, I thought you were covering Acts.
[00:34:54] This sets the context for it.
[00:34:55] Listen to this.
[00:34:57] He said, are they servants of Christ?
[00:34:59] I am a better one.
[00:35:00] I am talking like a madman.
[00:35:02] You're going to see in just a moment why he's talking like a madman.
[00:35:04] It's because when you hear what he's going through, you want to say, why didn't you just quit?
[00:35:10] Why on earth did you keep showing up to work when this was the type of work that you were showing up to?
[00:35:16] He says, I'm talking like a madman with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.
[00:35:27] Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.
[00:35:34] Three times I was beaten with rods.
[00:35:37] Once I was stoned.
[00:35:39] Three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I was adrift at sea, on frequent journeys in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers,
[00:36:02] In toil and hardship, though many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, and cold and exposed.
[00:36:12] Anybody want to go on a mission trip with Paul?
[00:36:15] Listen, we're taking sign-ups.
[00:36:18] But this next one is the one that I resonate with and it chokes me up.
[00:36:24] Because even in the midst of that, of him wanting to share the gospel, listen to Paul's heart.
[00:36:29] And apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.
[00:36:39] Paul wanted the churches to remain unified, as did Christ, who prayed for the unity of the church.
[00:36:46] As the Father and I are one, so may we be one also.
[00:36:51] That we would be unified, that the church would remain unified.
[00:36:54] This was on Paul's heart, and he is still talking in a way that brings people back to what the blessed life is, which points to this.
[00:37:04] We are most like Jesus when we give ourselves away.
[00:37:11] That is the spiritual statement that people take a lifetime to grasp.
[00:37:21] What it means to give ourselves away, to give our hearts away, to give our lives away, to give our emotions away, to give our resources away to other people is what
[00:37:33] We've been called to.
[00:37:34] So, we're going to read just some short portions out of Acts chapter 20.
[00:37:39] In Acts 20, the Apostle Paul is on his way to Jerusalem.
[00:37:43] He is pretty sure that when he gets to Jerusalem, he's going to be in trouble.
[00:37:48] He's heading there for Pentecost.
[00:37:49] He knows he's going there.
[00:37:51] Maybe even imprisonment is awaiting him, but he is still going there.
[00:37:56] And he stops in Miletus, and he calls for the elders of the church of Ephesus.
[00:38:01] And they're men that he had discipled and had done ministry with for years.
[00:38:08] And what we're about to hear are some of Paul's final words to them, a kind of farewell speech.
[00:38:15] As he was going there, knowing he was getting ready to be put in prison, that's one of the reasons he spoke so long into the evening, because he was sharing what he thought might be the last time he talked with them.
[00:38:27] That's why that young man stood in the window.
[00:38:29] He wanted to be there.
[00:38:29] You think, why didn't he just go home and go to bed?
[00:38:31] He could see Paul tomorrow.
[00:38:32] He knew Paul was leaving.
[00:38:34] He wanted to be there.
[00:38:35] He wanted to hear what was being said.
[00:38:38] And what he says here is deeply personal and it shows what mattered most to him after decades of following Jesus.
[00:38:48] He doesn't talk about success, you'll note here in a moment.
[00:38:51] He doesn't talk about comfort.
[00:38:53] He talks about serving.
[00:38:55] He talks about finishing well and giving his life away for the gospel.
[00:39:00] So now let's look at Acts chapter 20, but we're going to start at verse 17.
[00:39:03] Verse 17 is where we're going to lean into.
[00:39:10] Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.
[00:39:17] And when they had come to him, he said to them,
[00:39:21] You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews, how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable.
[00:39:41] and Teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:39:52] And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.
[00:40:12] But I do not account my life of any value, nor as precious to me, if only I may finish my course in the ministry that I receive from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."
[00:40:31] That is a man who has an eternal perspective, who is willing to pour himself out as an offering for the gospel.
[00:40:41] How close are you and I to that?
[00:40:43] Are we willing to say we throw it all out in order for the gospel to move forward?
[00:40:52] That's the life we should be pursuing.
[00:40:53] Now let's jump down to verse 32.
[00:40:59] And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
[00:41:09] I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel.
[00:41:15] You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me.
[00:41:22] In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak.
[00:41:30] And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
[00:41:40] Now you've heard this list of things that Paul is going through, that he went through.
[00:41:46] You hear that he is now telling the people of who he is and what he wants to finish well, and he is still saying it is more blessed to give than to receive.
[00:41:58] Paul just didn't quote that line, he lived it.
[00:42:04] In Acts 20, as his farewell message to the Ephesian elders, he isn't boasting, he's showing them what it looks like to walk with Christ in real time.
[00:42:17] It's not something that he's saying, hopefully out there, he's saying, this is my biography.
[00:42:27] We're beginning today our Advent season.
[00:42:30] Today marks the beginning of our International Week of Prayer for our international mission partners.
[00:42:38] We'll be looking at taking our international mission offering soon.
[00:42:44] And with all of this, it resonates to me with this one big statement.
[00:42:50] The most blessed people are the ones who live open-handed before God.
[00:42:57] I've felt it in my own life, and I've seen it in others.
[00:43:01] It's a becoming more like Christ.
[00:43:06] And maybe I repeat myself, but I want you to understand, I'm not championing Paul here, I'm championing Jesus, who Paul was fashioning his life after.
[00:43:18] So we'll land there in just a few moments as you see how Paul is demonstrating this in Acts chapter 20.
[00:43:25] So in order to cover the whole entire chapter, I want to very quickly just go through a list based on what we're getting out of sections that leads us to verse 35.
[00:43:35] Because I think verse 35 is the summit of Acts 20.
[00:43:41] So let's look at this.
[00:43:41] Verses 1 through 12, we see giving time and encouragement.
[00:43:46] Paul is giving time and encouragement.
[00:43:48] Paul travels through Macedonia and Greece.
[00:43:51] He encourages the believers and he's present with them.
[00:43:55] In Troas, he preaches late into the night because he wasn't sure if he was going to be with them again.
[00:44:01] Paul is allowed to go down and hold the young man who falls out of the window.
[00:44:07] God restores his life, which encourages the church even further.
[00:44:12] Paul gives his presence, his patience, and his comfort.
[00:44:17] Generosity, by the way, starts with presence, being present with the people.
[00:44:25] Before we ever give money, we provide time.
[00:44:29] The people who spoke the gospel into your life, whoever it is, whoever allowed you to know that the gospel was something that you could receive
[00:44:42] Show generosity to you by doing that.
[00:44:48] Be thankful for them, that they were willing to be present in your life to give you that time to say, this is what life is about, that Jesus brings life.
[00:45:00] Then we look at verses 13 through 16, we see giving purpose and priority.
[00:45:06] Paul hurries toward Jerusalem for Pentecost.
[00:45:08] He skips the comfort of staying any longer in Ephesus.
[00:45:12] Why?
[00:45:12] Because his mission is driving his schedule.
[00:45:18] He gives up what is pleasant to pursue what's purposeful.
[00:45:25] Most of the time, generous people are mission-minded people and vice versa.
[00:45:33] I remember when I was growing up, my family would pull the church calendar out and look and see what was on the church calendar before other family plans were made.
[00:45:44] What did that teach me?
[00:45:45] That taught me that the purpose that God has for our life and being with God's people mattered.
[00:45:53] Being present with them mattered, giving purpose and priority to the decisions that I was to make in life.
[00:46:01] I guess the question that rises to the top here is what might God be asking you to release so that you can join His mission?
[00:46:12] Some of us in here are being called to go somewhere, but you don't yet have your passport.
[00:46:21] Maybe that's the first thing you do is get your passport and see where God opens the door for you to go.
[00:46:27] In fact, if you feel that's a call on your life, come and talk to me.
[00:46:29] I'll help pay for your passport.
[00:46:33] Well, not if you're going on a cruise.
[00:46:38] Need to qualify that.
[00:46:40] I'll help you pay for your passport if you feel God's calling you to be available for Him to send you anywhere.
[00:46:47] That's that giving purpose and priority.
[00:46:49] It's raising that priority bar to be able to be ready for God to be able to call us.
[00:46:54] Verses 17 through 21 we see giving humble service.
[00:46:59] He says, you know how I lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, and with trials.
[00:47:07] And by the way, church, humility isn't weakness.
[00:47:11] It's strength under surrender.
[00:47:15] Surrender to the King of Kings.
[00:47:18] Paul's ministry wasn't designed to be impressive.
[00:47:21] It was designed to show us investment.
[00:47:26] Legacy building investment.
[00:47:28] The most generous leaders are the most humble ones most often.
[00:47:35] So in verses 1-12 we see giving time and encouragement.
[00:47:39] In verses 13-16 we see giving purpose and priority.
[00:47:42] In verses 17-21 we see giving humble service.
[00:47:46] But in verses 22-24 we see giving up control.
[00:47:52] I am bound by the Spirit.
[00:47:55] I do not account my life of any value if only I could finish my course.
[00:48:05] Paul knows hardship awaits, yet his hands remain open to be used by God.
[00:48:14] A closed fist gives nothing and receives nothing.
[00:48:18] An open hand receives and can give.
[00:48:24] The blessed life begins
[00:48:26] with release of control to God.
[00:48:33] In verses 25 through 31, we see giving care and warning.
[00:48:38] For three years, it says, Paul did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.
[00:48:44] He was pouring his life into these people.
[00:48:48] That's emotional generosity.
[00:48:53] He gives spiritual protection.
[00:48:55] He gives spiritual guidance.
[00:48:57] Even when Paul had to say some things that seemed very not nice, he had to correct them in ways.
[00:49:07] But the whole thing here is that true shepherds protect people, not positions.
[00:49:13] Paul wasn't worried about his position.
[00:49:14] He wanted to protect the people.
[00:49:16] He wanted the believers to continue to walk with him.
[00:49:19] Generosity sometimes means saying to others what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.
[00:49:26] That's what Paul did.
[00:49:29] But then we see in verse 32, giving it all back to God.
[00:49:35] I commend you to God and to the word of His grace.
[00:49:40] That's trusting in a sovereign God.
[00:49:44] Paul didn't question God's sovereignty.
[00:49:48] Couldn't Paul have questioned his sovereignty when he was in prison?
[00:49:52] Couldn't Paul have questioned God's sovereignty when he was being stoned or beaten with rods?
[00:49:59] Couldn't he have said, God, I don't believe you're there?
[00:50:03] But he didn't because he understood the blessed life and what it was.
[00:50:06] He says, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace.
[00:50:10] Paul releases them.
[00:50:12] He trusts God to sustain what he had started.
[00:50:17] Generosity ends with trust in God.
[00:50:22] Releasing what we have for God to be able to use.
[00:50:26] Not clenched, but releasing and giving it to God.
[00:50:32] Then in verses 33 and 34 we see giving without greed.
[00:50:35] He says, I coveted no one's silver or gold, these hands provided for my needs.
[00:50:40] Paul worked hard to make sure that no one could accuse him of using the gospel for his own personal gain.
[00:50:49] He gave his labor freely.
[00:50:52] The gospel never smells like, looks like, or acts like greed.
[00:50:58] If it does, turn and run the other way, you're not hearing the gospel.
[00:51:03] Integrity keeps generosity believable.
[00:51:08] When people see our freedom from greed because we've been freed in Christ, they're more open to the grace.
[00:51:19] So let me recap.
[00:51:20] Verses 1 through 12 is giving time and encouragement.
[00:51:23] Verses 13 through 16 is giving purpose and priority.
[00:51:27] Verses 17 through 21 is giving humble service.
[00:51:31] Verses 22 through 24 are giving up control.
[00:51:34] Verses 25 through 31 is giving care and warning.
[00:51:41] Verse 32 is giving it all back to God.
[00:51:44] Verses 33 through 34 is giving without greed, which brings us to verse 35.
[00:51:53] Giving like Jesus.
[00:51:57] This is what Paul was demonstrating all along.
[00:52:02] Like Jesus.
[00:52:03] Let's look at verse 35.
[00:52:04] It says, In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
[00:52:20] Everything Paul said, everything Paul gave, his time, his tears, his toil, leads to right here.
[00:52:29] Which makes me want to break it down a little bit.
[00:52:33] A. Paul lived it before he quoted it.
[00:52:40] Paul's entire life since his conversion was a sermon on giving, giving of himself, walking in the fashion of what Christ called him to.
[00:52:52] Remember what we talked about last week is that the same spirit that Paul got his power from is the same spirit that you and I fellowship in.
[00:53:04] The Spirit of God is alive in us.
[00:53:07] Becoming more like Christ is not out of reach for us.
[00:53:12] It is a call for us to become more like Christ.
[00:53:18] So walking back through it, he lived it before he quoted it.
[00:53:22] Paul gave encouragement, he gave time, he gave humility, he gave his life, he gave care, he gave trust, and he gave labor.
[00:53:34] Then he says, now remember the words of Jesus.
[00:53:39] He's not preaching theory, he's describing his life.
[00:53:44] But here's the other thing that jumps out at me about this statement is this, Jesus said it and then lived it.
[00:53:55] We don't read these exact words in the Gospels.
[00:53:58] This is the first time we see this is Paul quoting him.
[00:54:02] But everything about Jesus echoes these words.
[00:54:05] Matthew 10, freely you received, freely give.
[00:54:09] Mark 10, the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give His life.
[00:54:16] John 3.16, God so loved the world that He gave.
[00:54:21] Paul didn't invent generosity, he inherited it from Jesus.
[00:54:30] To follow Christ is to adopt His rhythm of self-giving love.
[00:54:36] If Jesus is the greatest giver, then giving is how we look most like Him.
[00:54:46] Let's talk for just a moment why giving is more blessed.
[00:54:51] This is what it says, it is more blessed to give than to receive.
[00:54:53] Why giving is more blessed?
[00:54:55] Number one, it brings joy now.
[00:55:00] In fact, the original Greek word there for blessed means deeply favored by God.
[00:55:07] Now I know that starts sounding like I'm leaning toward prosperity gospel.
[00:55:11] I'm going to give so God will favor me more.
[00:55:14] No, it's all in that heart and walking with God and the reason we give.
[00:55:18] But joy does grow as we give.
[00:55:22] Our hearts expand as we explore giving grace to other people.
[00:55:28] And grace, by the way, is where we start.
[00:55:31] We as a culture, we as a society, with claiming Christianity as our faith in front of people, grace is the first place we should be generous.
[00:55:48] And sometimes it is the last.
[00:55:53] We love because Christ first loved us.
[00:55:57] Christ didn't stand in heaven and look down and say, you know, when you get your act a little bit more together, I'll come down out of heaven.
[00:56:05] No, it was in our brokenness, it was in our need, it was in our desperate state that through His grace and mercy that He said, here I am, and He stepped out of heaven and He came down to dwell among us.
[00:56:19] That's hope.
[00:56:20] And that's through grace, and it should be the first place that we're generous, not the last.
[00:56:27] Well, you know what?
[00:56:28] If that person does this, then I'll consider showing some grace.
[00:56:34] That is probably one of the most non-Christian points of view I could ever hear.
[00:56:43] Grace should be the first thing we offer.
[00:56:45] Well, if I show them grace, then they'll use me like a doormat.
[00:56:51] That's on them, not on you.
[00:56:53] If that's what somebody chooses to do with the grace that you get from Christ to show them, that's on them.
[00:57:01] But I can guarantee you it will not return void.
[00:57:04] Because when you are obedient to what you're called to do, it opens up the door for God to do His work in their life.
[00:57:12] But when you try to grab control and try to be the joy and don't realize that being generous with grace is the first place you begin, when you try to do that, God's sitting there going, when you get out of the way, when you get tired, let me know.
[00:57:28] I want to move because He says it's not by might, it's not by power, but it's through the gentleness of His Spirit that He will move in our lives.
[00:57:35] Let's start by being obedient to God and showing grace to other people.
[00:57:39] That's the best generosity you'll ever give anybody in this day and age, is just the simple word grace.
[00:57:48] Can you say that word with me?
[00:57:50] Grace.
[00:57:52] What we need to be giving.
[00:57:54] It breaks change.
[00:57:55] Every gift weakens greed's grip.
[00:57:58] Giving says my trust is in God and not what I own and not what I have, not the power that I possess.
[00:58:04] It builds eternal impact.
[00:58:06] What we keep will fade away, but what we give multiplies forever.
[00:58:12] Every missionary sent, every Bible translated, every child reached is an echo of someone's generosity.
[00:58:22] You are never poorer for giving, only richer in grace.
[00:58:30] And then he says in there, helping the weak.
[00:58:35] Paul began the verse, we must help the weak.
[00:58:37] Generosity is never abstract, by the way, it's an action.
[00:58:43] When we give to the International Missionary Offering, when we spend time in prayer for those who are on mission for the Lord around the globe, when we are giving of ourselves, we are helping the weak, those who have not yet had a divine appointment with God to understand their need for the gospel.
[00:59:03] Our time, our effort, our dollars become discipleship, our prayers become power in places that possibly we'll never visit.
[00:59:14] But then we talk about the blessed exchange.
[00:59:18] There's a transaction that happens in this.
[00:59:21] It is more blessed to give than to receive.
[00:59:24] Kind of indicates that there is something that's going to happen out of this.
[00:59:31] Receiving feels safe.
[00:59:34] Giving feels risky.
[00:59:38] But Jesus lost his life and gained salvation for the world.
[00:59:45] Paul gave everything and gained a worldwide spiritual influence.
[00:59:51] When we give, God turns our loss into legacy.
[00:59:59] The world says keep, Jesus says give.
[01:00:02] The world says you'll run out, Jesus says I will fill you.
[01:00:09] Picture this, Paul kneels on a bench in Miletus.
[01:00:13] The elders are weeping with him.
[01:00:15] They know that they may never see him again.
[01:00:18] He is given of himself completely.
[01:00:21] Everything that he could possibly pour out and he is empty handed and yet completely full.
[01:00:35] That's the blessed life.
[01:00:39] Oh let the one who has ears hear.
[01:00:44] That's the blessed life.
[01:00:47] Pouring yourself out for the kingdom.
[01:00:57] Let's step into the very joy that Jesus promised.
[01:01:00] It's more blessed to give than it is to receive.
[01:01:06] We as a human group of people ask this question all the time.
[01:01:12] What's in it for me?
[01:01:15] That's human, by the way.
[01:01:16] I'm not saying you're sinful in asking that question.
[01:01:19] I'm saying that is a human endeavor.
[01:01:21] What's in it for me?
[01:01:23] You think about how we take this particular thought process.
[01:01:27] What's in it for me?
[01:01:29] Hey, where do you want to go eat lunch today?
[01:01:30] Well, I want to go here.
[01:01:32] Anybody's family debate on where you're going to eat lunch on Sundays after church?
[01:01:35] Anybody?
[01:01:36] Can I get a witness?
[01:01:38] All right.
[01:01:41] You know why?
[01:01:41] Because there are certain things we like and there are certain things we dislike.
[01:01:46] And somebody says, well, why don't we go to this restaurant?
[01:01:49] And that person's thinking, they're actually literally, and you know this, it's true, you're going through the menu in your head in like milliseconds.
[01:01:57] And you're like, ugh.
[01:02:00] The problem is we don't filter it.
[01:02:02] We look at the person that said it and we go, ugh.
[01:02:08] Why am I talking about that?
[01:02:09] Am I getting hungry?
[01:02:10] I don't know.
[01:02:12] I don't know.
[01:02:13] We need to understand that we are a people that, what's in it for me?
[01:02:17] What's in it for me?
[01:02:18] But we need to challenge that because
[01:02:21] What Christ realized in knowing what eternity was about, what was in it for Him, was winning a people back to right relationship with God the Father who created for communion.
[01:02:38] What we need to ask is, hey, what's in it for them?
[01:02:44] When I feel called or led to give to someone, what's in it for them?
[01:02:52] This past week I was driving somewhere and I was about to be late to an appointment that I had and I drove past a lady who was parked on the side of the road she pulled off and I could tell that she had a bucket stuck up underneath her car and I was like oh poor lady and my heart got heavy and I was thinking you know what if my wife was parked on the side of the road and somebody did that I'd be mad at them plus I knew the Spirit was telling me so I turned around
[01:03:20] And I went back and I said, hey, it looks like, she goes, yeah, I can't get it loose.
[01:03:24] And I said, well, are you okay if I drive your car for a second?
[01:03:27] And I stole it.
[01:03:27] No, I'm kidding.
[01:03:29] I said, can I drive your car for a second?
[01:03:31] She said, sure.
[01:03:31] And so I drove it off into the ditch a little bit and the bucket came loose and I drove it back up on her.
[01:03:35] But while I was in her car, I heard Christian music playing.
[01:03:39] And then I realized why the Spirit was leaning on me.
[01:03:43] He was saying, hey, there's a sister in need here.
[01:03:45] Can you take just another minute before you go?
[01:03:49] It took me all of one minute to turn around, help her, maybe two, and to drive off.
[01:03:55] And as I was walking away, I said, Hey, I hope you have a blessed day.
[01:03:59] Great song choice playing on your radio right now.
[01:04:02] And she said, Thank you very much.
[01:04:04] God loves you.
[01:04:05] And so it was just that moment of willing to be generous.
[01:04:08] I almost missed that blessing because I was late.
[01:04:15] The real funny thing is,
[01:04:17] Every light between that place and there turned green for me and I drove in right on time.
[01:04:24] Which threw me off.
[01:04:25] Anybody ever done that through Mooresville?
[01:04:26] Come on.
[01:04:30] and I was thinking about the preparation of this message thinking it was more blessed to give than to receive and I started kind of understanding it that the application of blessing in life today is the blessing the blessed life begins with receiving grace the blessed life flows through everyday generosity the blessed life extends beyond ourselves the blessed life is sustained by trust in God and the blessed life builds the kingdom that's what the blessed life is about
[01:04:58] Regardless of what He chooses to bring my way situationally, the blessed life is the presence with God the Father, knowing that He is with me in every step, in everything that I do, and being aware of that at every moment of every day.
[01:05:17] That's what Paul is trying to tell us.
[01:05:20] This was my life, I poured it out, and I still feel blessed.
[01:05:27] Let's pray.
[01:05:30] Father, we thank you for your grace that is extended to us first.
[01:05:34] I am so thankful that you did not wait for me to get my life right before you chose to come and offer salvation through your sacrifice.
[01:05:48] I pray that you will help me to have that mindset with others that I'm not going to wait for them to get their life right before I extend grace, before I'm generous emotionally and mentally.
[01:06:01] Spiritually to them.
[01:06:06] I pray, Father, that you help the world to see a difference in us because we've spent time not only with you, not only in your word, but with one another.
[01:06:14] That it would cause pause among people when they see us being generous even though it wasn't asked for.
[01:06:21] It'll open up doors for us to be able to say, hey, I'm generous to you because Christ was generous to me first.
[01:06:28] I'm able to love you because Christ loved me first.
[01:06:32] I'm able to wake up in the morning with purpose and reason because Christ gives me that purpose and reason.
[01:06:39] Keep in my mind a mindset of eternity, not what's here and now, but what is to come.
[01:06:48] That our lives are but a vapor, but eternity means everything.
[01:06:58] Thank you, Jesus.
[01:07:02] It's in your name we pray.
[01:07:03] Amen.

[01:07:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Can we stand in both rooms right now as we sing what he's done?

[01:07:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
See on the hill of Calvary My Savior bled for me My Jesus set me free
[01:07:29] Look at the wounds that give me life Grace flowing from His side No greater sacrifice What He's done What He's done
[01:07:49] All the glory and the honor to the Son My sins are forgiven, my future is heaven I praise God for what He's done
[01:08:12] Sing for the freedom He has won Even death is dead and done His life has overcome Speak, say the name above all names Over every broken place He is risen from the grave
[01:08:38] What he's done, what he's done
[01:08:45] All the glory and the honor to the Son My sins are forgiven, my future is heaven I praise God for what He's done What He's done, what He's done
[01:09:12] All the glory and the honor to the Son My sins are forgiven My future is heaven I praise God for what He's done I praise God for what He's done