The Paradox of Generosity: Trusting God Over Gold

• Generosity and Stewardship [00:34:40 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that church funding is an indicator of God's work in hearts, not the primary motivation for giving; true generosity stems from encountering a generous God.
• Life Goals and Legacy [00:36:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor urges the congregation to define their life's aims explicitly, focusing on 'common good' things that benefit others rather than personal comfort or wealth.
• Exegesis of [Proverbs 11](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+11&version=KJV) [00:35:49 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains the literary device of 'inclusio' in Proverbs 11:23 and 27 to frame the section's theme of willing what is good.
• Generosity and Heart Alignment [00:39:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that true generosity stems from heart alignment with God's values rather than mere habit change, citing Matthew 6 on treasure and heart.
• Social Capital and Reciprocity [00:44:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains the logical benefit of giving through sociological research by Christian Smith, noting that generosity builds 'social capital' and reciprocal relationships.
• Divine Providence and Financial Blessing [00:46:27 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor discusses the theological reason for giving, asserting that God blesses the generous with more resources to steward, while explicitly debunking 'prosperity theology' as a manipulative force.
• The Paradox of Giving [00:51:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor concludes with the principle that 'whoever waters will himself be watered,' illustrating that the act of giving refreshes the giver emotionally and spiritually.
• Generosity and Blessing [00:51:17 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that those who give and water others will themselves be enriched and watered, contrasting this with the curse on the stingy.
• Value and Faith [00:55:46 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using the analogy of a valuable Pokemon card and fiat currency, the pastor argues that value is derived from the faith people place in it, warning against putting more faith in stuff than in God.
• Exclusive Trust in Jesus [00:59:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > Citing Matthew 6:24, the pastor asserts that one cannot serve two masters, requiring exclusive trust in Jesus rather than finances.
• Communion as Covenant Renewal [01:01:53 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines communion as a covenant renewal ceremony where believers rededicate their lives to Jesus and pursue generosity like Him.
• The Lord's Supper / Communion [01:06:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor reads from 1 Corinthians 11 regarding the institution of the Lord's table, emphasizing remembrance and the body and blood of Christ.
• Divine Generosity vs. Human Stinginess [01:07:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts God's generous sacrifice with human tendencies toward stinginess and miserliness, praying for believers to reflect God's generosity.
• Repentance and Forgiveness [01:11:48 ▶️ 📄]
  > A corporate confession of failing to love God and neighbors fully, appealing to Jesus' blood for forgiveness rather than personal merit.

• Sermon Illustration [00:33:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > A humorous anecdote about a preacher and Deacon Jones where the preacher tries to get the church to 'fly' (implying a need for more money), but the deacon repeatedly responds 'let it walk,' highlighting the tension between church ambitions and financial reality.
• Sermon Illustration [00:04:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal moment looking at stars through trees in his backyard, which reminded him of the vastness of God and the smallness of his own problems.
• Sermon Illustration [00:37:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts personal desires (lunch, hamburgers) with the biblical 'common good,' using a cruise vs. homeless ministry example to define righteous aims.
• Sermon Illustration [00:40:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > An analogy of a company's stated values versus its actual behavior (maximizing profit cheaply) to illustrate how actions reveal true heart treasures.
• Sermon Illustration [00:50:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > A personal anecdote about fearing the 'gift of giving' on a spiritual gifts test as a teenager, only to discover later that God entrusts more resources to those who are already generous.
• Sermon Illustration [00:51:53 ▶️ 📄]
  > A relatable scenario of spending too much on Christmas presents for grandchildren, illustrating that the joy of seeing their faces refreshes the giver.
• Sermon Illustration [00:58:40 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about being in the hospital with his first child while the Lehman Brothers collapsed during the 2008 mortgage crisis, illustrating the instability of trusting in financial systems.
• Sermon Illustration [00:57:40 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of being generous with Monopoly money because he doesn't trust its value, contrasting this with how believers should view worldly riches.
• Sermon Illustration [00:55:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references Logan Paul wearing a valuable Charizard Pokemon card on a chain in the boxing ring to illustrate how items derive value from the faith/belief people place in them.

• Pastoral Charge [01:04:27 ▶️ 📄]
  > Unbelievers are asked to abstain from communion and instead pray for a relationship with Jesus.
• Pastoral Charge [01:05:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > Unbaptized believers are asked to commit to baptism and starting their relationship with Jesus.
• Pastoral Charge [01:05:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > Baptized believers are asked to recommit their lives to Jesus and specifically to pursue generosity.
• Pastoral Charge [01:13:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > Invite individuals to come forward for personal prayer and response in faith.
• Pastoral Charge [01:17:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > Direct the congregation to participate in a collective hymn of response.

[00:00:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:00:39] Check. There we go.

[00:00:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:00:41] This is Kirsten Adams. I'm here to talk to you guys about Panama.
[00:01:09] We just had our movie night fundraiser on Friday night and it was a really good success.
[00:01:14] Thank you to everyone who came out for that.
[00:01:17] I wanted to just remind you guys to continue to be in prayer about our trip and reach out to everyone you know to support us and anyone who has a heart for missions and remind them of our need.
[00:01:28] whether you can pray for us support us financially or tell people about our trip everything that you do helps us it's getting really close we're really excited so thank you guys so much

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:01:41] good morning church good morning it's good to be back in the house of the lord with you this morning um excuse me let me get let me get rolling here there we go well church i'm so glad
[00:02:08] to see each and every one of you. And we know that the Lord takes delight in those who enter in his house of worship. So we just want to take a moment to tell you that whether you have been a
[00:02:18] member here with us for a while, or maybe this is your first or second Sunday, maybe you're here with a family member or a friend checking us out. We just want to tell you how glad we are that you
[00:02:28] are here with us this morning. We know that you are not here by accident. We know that God has you here not only to maybe begin a relationship with him or to continue as um as we do that
[00:02:41] together so um we're really glad that you're here and if we don't already have a relationship with you two then we would like to begin one and one of the ways that we know how to do that is to have
[00:02:52] you fill out a connection card you can find that in the pew right in front of you if you wouldn't mind taking one of those out and filling that out with your information so that you can place it in
[00:03:01] the offertory plate as it comes along a little bit later on in our service. That is one of the best ways that we can get connected with you today. And of course, if you have a prayer request
[00:03:12] that is heavy on your heart that has not been heard yet this morning, we want to know what that is. If you would flip your card over and write that prayer request on the back, they will get
[00:03:24] prayed over later on in the week. We pray over them during our staff meeting. So we want to know what that is. If you have a prayer request that hasn't been heard yet this week. Well, church,
[00:03:36] as we get into our time of worship this morning, I want to share a very simple Psalm out of the book of Psalms. Shocker. I did not have enough caffeine this morning in church. Can you tell?
[00:03:55] So Psalm 145 verse three says, great is the Lord and most worthy of praise. His gratefulness, no one can fathom. It's short and simple and I was reminded of this psalm last night actually. I was
[00:04:10] out in our backyard and I was looking up at our trees. We have these big beautiful mature trees in our backyard and I was looking up through them at the stars that were out and sometimes when
[00:04:24] when I'm out there and looking up at the stars through these already very tall trees and at the sky that is just so big and so far away. I'm just reminded of how small I am and how small
[00:04:37] all of my problems are and how big a God we serve. This is the creator of the universe we're talking about and that is the God that not only created everything but created you so specifically and
[00:04:51] with your many gifts and talents and downfalls he created you intentionally. So would you stand with us as we praise the Lord for that this morning. He is worthy of our praise. Amen. Amen.

[00:05:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:05:23] I'm David Hannon, and I am blessed and honored to be a deacon here at Southside Baptist Church

[00:08:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:08:35] for now. Some of you got that, some of you didn't. But welcome. Good morning. It's so good to be in the house of the Lord this morning. We have some prayer requests that we would like to remember
[00:08:52] this morning. Phoenix, bless her heart. We love her and she's not doing that great. Um, but we want to definitely lift her up again to the Lord, uh, to ask that he would be with her and Jeff
[00:09:03] and, and just bless, bless that family. They're such wonderful Christian people. I love them to death. So if you would, let's, let's join in prayer on there. Um, Peggy Cresswell has been having some issues. Her daughter, Sharon had us had a, uh, surgery. And so there's, there's some
[00:09:21] difficulty there trying to get everything taken care of so let's keep her in prayer Peggy's knee was was one of the problems um Fran has pneumonia and then I found out this morning I didn't realize it was this bad but Helen Carberry is having some they're trying to figure
[00:09:38] out what's going on with her heart and she's she's passed out a time or two and things like that so we want to lift her and Harry up too so we we want to do that in prayer this morning but
[00:09:49] Right before we do that, I found out something else this morning, and I was told this had to come forward.
[00:09:56] Eloise, will you help me sing happy birthday to Eloise, please?

[00:10:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:10:07] Oh, another one. Okay.

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:10:13] Okay, and I understand Stacey's having a birthday.
[00:10:16] Stacey Young's having a birthday, too.
[00:10:19] We can't do them all.
[00:10:22] But for...
[00:10:23] Okay, who's having a birthday?
[00:10:25] Okay, for Eloise and Stacey and John Hunter.
[00:10:34] Okay. All of them. But when we get to happy birthday, Eloise, that's what we're going to

[00:10:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:10:39] say. Okay. After that little bit of levity, let's go to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly father,

[00:11:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:11:09] we come to you this morning, grateful that you are God on the throne in heaven. Lord, we're grateful that we can be called your children. We're so thankful that you sent your son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins, to take on our sins, to take on the
[00:11:26] pain of the cross and father to take on the pain unbelievable pain of being separated from you from that time for that time lord because of that we don't have to be separated from you and we just
[00:11:40] bless your name for that father we lift up all of these people that we have lifted up this morning for prayer you know exactly what's needed your will be done in their lives lord we give you all
[00:11:51] the blessings and thank you thanks for that in jesus christ holy name we pray amen amen would

[00:11:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:11:59] you stand with us as we continue to worship the lord together this morning

[00:12:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:12:02] we come to the point in our service in which we continue to worship the lord but we do so

[00:22:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:22:25] through giving our tithes, our offerings, and our gifts of thanks. And I'm grateful that in this Sunday in summer, we actually have a good amount of new faces today. And so if you are new with us,
[00:22:38] we would love for you to take the opportunity to fill out a connection card and make that your offering this morning. You can fill that out and put that in the plate as our deacons come by. We
[00:22:47] would love to get to know you. We really believe in relationships here at Southside Baptist Church.
[00:22:52] We want to celebrate your birthday.
[00:22:54] We want to walk with you in the hospital room.
[00:22:57] We want to walk with you as your kids graduate and all the life in between.
[00:23:01] But that begins with getting to know you through filling out that connection card.
[00:23:04] We'd love to see that in the offering plate.
[00:23:06] But you can also scan the QR code that's in your bulletin, and that allows you to go to our website, www.sbcmoresville.com, and you can fill out some information on the I'm New section there.
[00:23:20] And while you're there, if you feel led, you can also give.
[00:23:23] Now, what I'm saying to everybody in this room also applies to those watching online as well.
[00:23:29] We'd love to have you participate in giving and connect with us at www.sbcmoresville.com in the giving and tithing section there as well.
[00:23:39] So will you join me as we go for the Lord in a prayer asking that he would bless all that we give to him?
[00:23:44] Father God, we are grateful.
[00:23:46] And God, I can't think of a single bad day where I wasn't grateful.
[00:23:54] I can't think of a single bad day in which I've had a bad day because I was grateful.
[00:24:01] And so, God, we are grateful this morning for all that you have done for us.
[00:24:05] You have given your son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sin.
[00:24:08] You have given us your Holy Spirit to raise us up to new life and to walk in freedom.
[00:24:14] And so, Father, we freely give to you this morning out of the abundance of what you have given to us.
[00:24:20] God, I pray that you would bless and multiply all that we give to you for the furthering of your mission in our community.
[00:24:27] But, God, not just our community, but all around the world.
[00:24:31] For you are worthy of the global praise of all peoples.
[00:24:35] And we pray that you would continue to make us a part of that mission.
[00:24:38] And we ask that you would be pleased also by what we offer to you, motivated by love and motivated by gratitude.
[00:24:46] And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

[00:24:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:24:49] We are going to sing momentarily, however, we don't need the music just yet.

[00:25:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:25:20] Can we cut the music real fast? Thank you.
[00:25:25] I have a very loud voice, but not that loud.
[00:25:30] Sometimes when we are listening to the tune of a beautiful hymn, We may miss the meaning of the words or maybe not even hear them at all.
[00:25:43] But this particular hymn we're about to sing has a very prophetic meaning.
[00:25:50] What can wash away my sin?
[00:25:54] Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
[00:25:57] What can make me whole again?
[00:26:00] Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
[00:26:04] Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow.
[00:26:10] No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
[00:26:16] For my pardon, this I see, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
[00:26:22] For my cleansing, this my plea, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
[00:26:30] This is all my hope and peace.
[00:26:34] nothing but the blood of Jesus.
[00:26:38] This is all my righteousness, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

[00:26:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:26:45] And at this time, our children ages three through third grade

[00:30:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:30:15] are excused to Children's Church.
[00:30:17] There's an age-appropriate lesson for them.
[00:30:20] They can come to the front and exit to my left this morning.
[00:30:24] For all of those going to Children's Church today, if you can come to the front and exit to my left, where Mr. Hannon is.
[00:30:32] and he'll take you where you need to go. For those of you that remain, we're going to continue in our sermon series on God's wisdom for our finances in the book of Proverbs chapter 11. I'm going to
[00:30:44] be reading verses 23 through 28 this morning. So Proverbs chapter 11, 23 through 28. Now before I do, Toby Trivett informed me that Bruce Belk, who's a member of our church, he suddenly lost his sister, and we just found out today. And so if you could keep him and his family in prayer,
[00:31:08] and I'll pray for them as I pray for the scripture as well. But I just wanted to inform everybody that we're aware of what's going on for him and his family. But to the scripture this morning,
[00:31:17] I have Proverbs 11, verses 23 through 28. I'm going to read out loud. I'd love for you to follow along in your bibles verse 23 says the desire of the righteous ends only in good
[00:31:31] the expectation of the wicked in wrath one gives freely yet grows all the richer another withholds what he should give and only suffers want whoever brings blessing will be enriched and one who waters will himself be watered. The people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on
[00:31:56] the head of him who sells it. Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor, but evil comes to him who searches for it. Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. Let us pray. Father God, we ask your blessing on the reading of your word today.
[00:32:21] We pray that your word would go forth powerfully and work in each and every one of our lives so that we are more and more conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Father, we pray that
[00:32:36] especially in our finances, that it would be obvious that you are the one we look to, you are the one we trust, so that in our flourishing, people will recognize your hand upon our life. Father God, as we get ready to hear the proclaimed word, we first take a moment to
[00:32:56] remember the Belk family and the loss of Bruce's sister. Father, we pray that your hand of blessing would be upon him. Father, give him comfort in this time of great distress and fill him with
[00:33:09] all the hope that is ours because of Jesus. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. I heard a story one time about a preacher out in the country who ended his sermon this way. He said as his response,
[00:33:26] now let the church walk. And it was one of those churches where the deacons would answer the pastor as the pastor says, now let the church walk. There's a deacon by the name of Deacon Jones. And
[00:33:38] he said, amen, let it walk. The preacher, feeling emboldened, goes a little bit further and says, let the church run. Deacon Jones says, amen, let it run. And finally, the preacher says, let it fly. Deacon Jones says, amen, let the church fly. And the preacher follows it up by
[00:34:01] saying, well, it's going to take some money to see the church fly. And Deacon Jones says, let it walk.
[00:34:11] I love that story. I feel that deep in my bones. I understand that very, very well.
[00:34:20] Obviously, churches can do a lot with the generosity of their people, and it's a motivation for pastors and church leaders to talk about generosity, because if we want the church to fly, more and more people have to give. But that's not our approach this morning. I believe the
[00:34:40] church doesn't fly because we have more funds. I believe having more funds is an indicator of the work of God in the hearts of our people, that we're the kind of people that are generous because we've
[00:34:53] come into an encounter with a generous God. And so the real work of giving and stewardship and all of that is a heart that's changed into a generous heart. It's one of the ways that the
[00:35:10] world can even recognize God at work in our midst is that we become generous people. And so this morning in the book of Proverbs, we're looking at a section of the Proverbs that deals with this
[00:35:22] issue of generosity. And so this morning, I just briefly want to touch on what our Proverbs say when it comes to being generous, and just four quick principles of how we can live a generous
[00:35:36] life. Well, the first one in the book of Proverbs chapter 11, verse 23, what I started with, says that the desire of the righteous ends only in good, the expectation of the wicked in wrath.
[00:35:49] Now, the same concept is repeated in verse 27. Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor, But evil comes to him who searches for it.
[00:35:59] And so these two verses form what's called an inclusio.
[00:36:02] They start the idea and then they repeat the idea later so that it tells you everything in between is connected.
[00:36:10] And so when we see these inclusios in the book of Proverbs, it tells us that there's a section that these Proverbs are dealing with.
[00:36:17] And it has to do with the idea of willing what is good.
[00:36:23] Having good ends.
[00:36:25] Making sure that our goals in life are for good things.
[00:36:31] And so your first note this morning is simply, a generous life starts with good goals.
[00:36:40] And I think it's worth all of us taking some time to make our goals, our aims in life explicit.
[00:36:51] What is your life really aiming at?
[00:36:55] What are you trying to do?
[00:36:58] And when I say that, I don't mean what's on your to-do list for today.
[00:37:01] I mean when somebody is giving your eulogy, what kinds of things do you want in that eulogy?
[00:37:10] Who do you want to become and what kind of mark do you want to leave on the world?
[00:37:14] And we talked about that last week when it comes to legacy.
[00:37:17] And the reason that's so important for us to clarify is because we're all aiming at something, whether we realize it or not.
[00:37:26] And it's worth making sure that our aim is for good things.
[00:37:31] Now, when I'm talking about good things because of the passage, I don't mean good things for us personally.
[00:37:38] Some of you are thinking of a good thing right now as I am talking, and it's called lunch.
[00:37:43] and you're thinking about the good of a hamburger or pizza or whatever you're thinking about for lunch, that's not what the Bible is talking about when we're talking about good things.
[00:37:55] So in the book of Proverbs, especially in the context of this passage, the good things here are what we would call common good things. They're good for everybody. Everybody is going to benefit from these kinds of aims in life.
[00:38:12] So going on a cruise is a good thing.
[00:38:17] But using my money to fund homeless ministries is a common good thing.
[00:38:24] And so the righteous aim at good for everyone.
[00:38:29] And God blesses those kinds of ends and those kinds of desires.
[00:38:35] But meanwhile, if you see the contrast, um the expectation of the wicked ends in wrath that that what the wicked are hoping for that that their ends and their goals is only going to come to wrath because they will face judgment for
[00:38:55] the things that they've done in this world and so when we are looking at our goals our desires what our ends are. We're talking about where our treasure is. What is it that we value that
[00:39:10] motivates us? And Jesus understands this is more than just habits. This is getting at to our hearts because a generous life has to come from the heart. It means that our goals are aligned with
[00:39:26] God's goals. And so Jesus makes this explicitly in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew chapter 6, verses 19 through 21, Jesus puts it this way. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves
[00:39:48] treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where the thieves do not break in in steel. Verse 21 makes this point, explicitly says, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. What you ultimately value is what you will pursue in this life. We've all worked
[00:40:13] for these companies that say, hey, at this company, these are our values. And then you actually work for that company. And you're like, no, they're not. Your values are to make as much money as
[00:40:27] you can as cheaply as possible. Let's face it. That's actually what you value. That is what your treasure is. And your heart is betraying you. Okay. And we know people like that too.
[00:40:39] People who will tell you that they're a certain kind of person, but then you get to know them.
[00:40:45] and it's very clear that their treasure is not actually what they claim it is.
[00:40:51] And so, brothers and sisters, the book of Proverbs is making it very clear that if we want to be generous people, we have to make sure that our treasure is aligned with the things of God,
[00:41:02] what we ultimately value, because that is what our hearts will pursue.
[00:41:08] So more powerful than changing some habits in our life is the change of our hearts to align with the things of God.
[00:41:19] And when God does that work in us, a couple of things will happen.
[00:41:23] We will start acting like God and we will become generous like him.
[00:41:28] And the beautiful thing is as we become generous, we start to see God's blessing in our life.
[00:41:34] So the second point this morning is simply this.
[00:41:37] givers increase while misers lack verse 24 says one gives freely yet grows all the richer another withholds what he should give and only suffers want now the Hebrew here is not fully explicit it is deliberately ambiguous when it comes to this word
[00:42:04] this phrase when it says, another withholds what he should give. So the what he should give is provided by our translators for clarity, but it's deliberately ambiguous because somebody is either withholding what they should give, or they're just withholding because they're just
[00:42:25] trying to save. So it's either they're deliberately doing something wrong, they know they should give it and they won't, or they're doing something morally neutral, meaning that they're just planning and saving. And I actually think it's the latter point here. The point that the Proverbs is
[00:42:43] making is that a person whose total focus is even legitimate savings is missing out on the blessing of giving. Now, the Proverbs will warn us that we should do things like save. And it's good for us
[00:42:59] in our lives to have a habit of not spending everything we receive by living on less. Those who have more to give are those who can live on less and save. But what we don't want to do is to
[00:43:12] save for the sake of saving. We want to save for the sake of giving. Because those who give paradoxically increase. Those who withhold decrease. Now that might not make sense to a lot of us, but I'm going to give some practical reasons why it actually is true in life. There's actually
[00:43:38] been some research by Christian Smith, a sociologist from Notre Dame, in which he actually spells out how in the real world it actually works that generous people, people who give, are people who actually gain over time and in life.
[00:43:53] And part of that reason is, is that in our giving, we kind of develop what's called reciprocal relationships with other people.
[00:44:01] You know that feeling you get when somebody gives you something, you're like, I need to do something in return, right?
[00:44:08] I hope you feel that way.
[00:44:09] If not, you need to come see me.
[00:44:11] You need Jesus in your life.
[00:44:14] The norm is supposed to be that you feel some sense of what's called reciprocity for receiving something good.
[00:44:23] That is a good thing.
[00:44:24] That is a God thing that we should have in our lives.
[00:44:26] And so people who are generous tend to develop what's called social capital.
[00:44:34] Social capital is your ability to go to somebody and say, hey, I need a favor.
[00:44:42] Generous people have lots of somebodies that they can go to and need a favor.
[00:44:47] And by the way, that social capital is why some people will lose everything and still be able to kind of get through life until they can recoup it because they've developed a lot of social capital.
[00:45:00] And so part of what the Proverbs is helping us to understand is when you are giving to others and you are blessing others, you are developing social capital and you will have from others what you need when you face tough times in life.
[00:45:17] Now, again, this is a biblical wisdom principle.
[00:45:22] This is kind of how God has designed life to work.
[00:45:26] God did not design life to work so that everybody takes as much as they can and those who can't just get left with nothing.
[00:45:35] God has actually designed his economy so that we get what we can so that we can give to those who can't.
[00:45:42] For whatever we have in excess is somebody else's blessing.
[00:45:49] That's the way that God wanted life to be.
[00:45:52] And in doing that, we are enriched by others because when we are in need, people are inclined to give to us.
[00:46:03] And so we want to be the kind of people that are rich in social capital because we've given to other people.
[00:46:11] And so that's the logical reason why those who give increase.
[00:46:17] But there's also a theological reason for why people who give increase, and that is because of God's providence.
[00:46:27] When we operate in the world according to God's ways, God blesses us.
[00:46:35] And a lot of times that blessing is a fiscal blessing.
[00:46:41] Meaning that God is the kind of person who likes to put money into our pockets.
[00:46:47] Now, again, I always try to qualify this.
[00:46:51] There is a heretical teaching out there called prosperity, theology, health, wealth, gospel stuff.
[00:46:58] Basic claim is, is that God, Jesus on the cross has accomplished all of your financial needs by his death on the cross.
[00:47:08] So you have like a bank account in heaven spiritually, but you don't have it physically.
[00:47:15] And the way you can access that spiritual bank account of God's blessings in the material financial world is by claiming it that it's yours and believing it.
[00:47:30] So they'll say, I'm believing God for a million dollars.
[00:47:33] So those people you see on TV who say, you know, I'm believing God that this bill is going to get paid.
[00:47:41] I'm believing God this and believing God that.
[00:47:43] Listen, we do not believe God.
[00:47:46] Our belief doesn't force God to do anything.
[00:47:49] God is absolutely free.
[00:47:50] God is absolutely sovereign.
[00:47:52] And regardless of how much you want it, he has the right and ability to say no.
[00:47:58] Okay?
[00:48:00] Now, in saying that, we don't want to develop Christians who think they can boss God around to put money in their piggy banks.
[00:48:07] But we also don't want Christians who are afraid to ask God for financial blessings.
[00:48:13] Listen, some of you need money.
[00:48:16] God's a really great person to ask for it.
[00:48:19] And some of the ways that you can tell that God is blessing your life is that you are actually making money.
[00:48:26] I remember when I was talking to some friends, And they said, Pastor David, we really believe that God wants to give you a financial blessing.
[00:48:34] I was like, I don't know. We'll see.
[00:48:36] And sure enough, I got a raise.
[00:48:38] Praise God.
[00:48:41] God is not off limits from blessing us financially.
[00:48:47] And one of the ways that he does that is he makes us generous so that we're the kind of people that can be entrusted with more financial blessings.
[00:48:59] Now, in saying that, I don't want to give the impression that Proverbs is a book that guarantees you riches.
[00:49:07] Some of you are going to do this stuff, and in God's sovereign will, it's not going to work out that way.
[00:49:16] That is okay. Your blessing, your riches will be in eternal life in heaven.
[00:49:21] But for the most part, the best bet that we can make in this life is to do this kind of wisdom stuff and be generous because this is plan A for how we receive God's blessing.
[00:49:39] So God actually wants to bless people who are generous.
[00:49:45] He tends to entrust more of his stuff to people who give his stuff away for his purposes.
[00:49:52] I used to hate and get so scared of filling out my spiritual gifts test because I thought I might have the gift of giving, and that scared me.
[00:50:03] When I was a teenager and I would fill that out, and I was like, you can mark me safe from the gift of giving, right?
[00:50:10] If you're afraid you have a spiritual gift, you probably don't have it.
[00:50:14] But, you know, I was a teenager.
[00:50:15] I didn't know how this stuff worked back then.
[00:50:18] And over time, you know what I've discovered?
[00:50:21] People with the gift of giving, God tends to bless them with a lot to give.
[00:50:30] The most generous people I've met in the church tend to be people who have the resources to be very generous.
[00:50:37] Why is that?
[00:50:38] Because if you're a generous person, God can trust you with his stuff to bless other people with it.
[00:50:47] So those who give increase because of social capital, because of reciprocity.
[00:50:54] So there's a logical reason for that.
[00:50:56] But the theological reason is, is because God can entrust you with more stuff if you can be faithful to be generous with the stuff you have.
[00:51:05] And so look at the next passage.
[00:51:09] It says, whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.
[00:51:17] Verse 26 says, the people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it.
[00:51:24] So givers are given while the stingy are cursed.
[00:51:31] I love this image here.
[00:51:33] Whoever brings blessing will be enriched.
[00:51:36] financially, spiritually, and one who waters will himself be watered. As we refresh others with the things that we have, we ourselves are refreshed. And brothers and sisters, isn't that true?
[00:51:53] There's a reason why you spend entirely too much money on Christmas presents, right? I mean, I understand your credit card bill goes up because it's Christmas time and you know what your grandkids want. Why do you insist on buying grandkids presents? Because you love and you are
[00:52:13] refreshed by their little faces when they open them on Christmas day. Those who enrich others will be enriched. Those who are give blessings will be blessed. Those who water others will be watered. So givers are given. You are supplied not only with riches because God wants to bless
[00:52:34] those who know how to bless others, but it actually is just feels good to give to other people. We actually receive a blessing ourselves in the act of giving. But notice the contrast for the stingy people. The people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on the head of him
[00:52:55] who sells it. Now, I want to just help you understand what this proverb is saying. If somebody is stingy and holding back things like grain, nobody is like, well, that makes sense.
[00:53:07] I'm so glad you did that. Yeah, we're in a drought. Yeah, we need water. I mean, some of you know that there are some restrictions coming to the town of Mooresville on June the 1st. How many of
[00:53:17] you are like, man, that's gonna be awesome. I can't wait to water my grass less. No, right? Like, we even understand the reasons for it, but I want to know who made that decision so I can share my
[00:53:30] thoughts with them, right? But imagine the Bible is saying that if we feel that way about people who withhold, we even feel better about people who sell things. The contrast here is not just the generous, but even those who are willing to give for a profit. We are so hardwired to bless
[00:53:58] those who give their stuff, even when it comes with a fee, that we'll be like, yeah, that's awesome. If the town was like, yeah, you can water more of your water, but it's going to come with a
[00:54:12] price, you're like, yeah, sure, man, that's great. So the point is, is how much more do we receive a blessing when we give away for free? If we bless those who sell grain, imagine the blessing that
[00:54:29] comes for those who give grain. Rich they are indeed. And so the blessing comes from giving and the cursing comes to stinginess. And so we have a lot of reasons to be generous.
[00:54:50] But brothers and sisters, I want to tell you the ultimate heart that will determine whether you word generous or stingy, whether you're going to be a person who is enriched or you're going to be
[00:55:03] a person who's cursed, has to do with where you are placing your trust. So your final note this morning is our wealth is not worthy of our faith. Our wealth is not worthy of our faith. And I want
[00:55:23] you to understand how important this point is. Proverbs puts it this way. Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. Whoever puts his trust in riches. And this is so important because stuff has value to the degree that people put their
[00:55:46] trust in it. Let me explain. There is a YouTube celebrity by the name of Jake Paul or Logan Paul, I can't remember which one.
[00:55:55] One of them became a boxer.
[00:55:57] And one of the things that is true about him when he goes out to the boxing ring is he likes to set himself apart because he has this beautiful chain around his neck.
[00:56:08] And on that chain is a Pokemon trading card.
[00:56:13] for those of you in the know possibly doug uh that trading card is a charizard from the first edition yeah yeah so for those of you in the know you understand that that pokemon trading card was
[00:56:35] probably worth more than some of the diamonds on his necklace why is a pokemon trading card worth so much money. That's crazy. It's printed on like cardboard. It's got ink on it. There is nothing about that trading card that has any value. What's valuable because people believe
[00:56:56] it's valuable. It derives its value from faith. By the way, so does the money you have in your pocket. You know, your money is only worth what I'm willing to accept that money for.
[00:57:11] it totally runs on faith. And brothers and sisters, it is a shame for us because we put more faith in this stuff that runs on make-believe than we put in Almighty God.
[00:57:26] And so our generosity really is a measure of our trust. Hey, you know what? If you want some monopoly money, you come to my house. I will give you as much monopoly money as you want.
[00:57:40] I am willing to be super generous with monopoly money. Why am I willing to be generous with monopoly money? Because I just don't trust it's that valuable. Now, I might put a limit on how
[00:57:56] much you can take depending on when we're going to play monopoly next, but I'll be pretty generous with monopoly money. But the Bible wants us to consider the world's riches in a very similar way,
[00:58:09] That we have the opportunity to be generous with it because we don't put our trust in it.
[00:58:17] That's not where our ultimate source of security is.
[00:58:21] Because we understand that ultimately you're going to have a major fall when you put your trust in that.
[00:58:29] Now, some of you understand that in real terms because you survived the mortgage crisis of the late 2000s.
[00:58:40] Do you know, they announced the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
[00:58:43] I think it was the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
[00:58:45] When I was in the hospital with my first child, that was a fun way to face the world.
[00:58:51] Hey, we've got this new baby that's going to be very expensive.
[00:58:53] Oh, the global financial system is collapsing.
[00:58:58] Maybe we can't put our faith in that.
[00:59:02] Maybe our faith really does need to go to the Lord.
[00:59:05] And so brothers and sisters, we become generous people.
[00:59:09] We become righteous people because our faith is not in our riches, but our faith is in Jesus.
[00:59:18] And so what is Jesus going to do with our faith?
[00:59:22] Well, first of all, Jesus is going to require exclusive faith.
[00:59:26] Matthew 6, verse 24 puts it this way.
[00:59:30] He says this, No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
[00:59:38] You cannot serve God in money.
[00:59:41] You cannot put your trust in Jesus and your trust in your finances.
[00:59:48] He is going to require exclusive trust.
[00:59:53] But he is also going to find, you are going to find that Jesus is worthy of that kind of trust.
[01:00:00] You can trust Jesus for your eternity and you can trust Jesus for your today.
[01:00:07] And one of the great things that Jesus does is as we put more and more of our trust in him, we become more and more like him.
[01:00:17] And brothers and sisters, is there anybody who has ever lived that is as generous as Jesus?
[01:00:27] Jesus gave his own life so that we can become heirs of eternal life.
[01:00:36] And so as we go into our time of communion, as Emily Rudd comes, takes her place on the piano, We prepare our hearts for a generous Jesus.
[01:00:52] We talked about it in Sunday school this morning about the way memorials worked in the Old Testament.
[01:00:58] And memorials weren't just simple reminders, but memorials were opportunities for new encounters.
[01:01:06] and I want to tell you that the communion table and its memorial function gives us a new opportunity for a new encounter with Jesus as I told my class we don't meet Jesus on the table
[01:01:21] but we do meet Jesus at the table and so as we partake in communion today we really want to highlight the special significance of Jesus's generosity giving for us what we could not give to pay for us what we could not pay.
[01:01:42] And the reason why we want to reflect on that is because as we partake in communion, we become like Jesus and we want to become generous too.
[01:01:53] And so brothers and sisters, as we come to the table today, I told my class this morning, communion is what we call a covenant renewal ceremony.
[01:02:03] For those of you who grew up in Baptist churches and the pastor would say, hey, does anybody want to rededicate their life to Jesus? Every time you take communion, you rededicate your life to Jesus. And as you rededicate your life to Jesus, you rededicate
[01:02:20] to the goal, the good end of becoming like Jesus. And so before you take this morning, I'm going to ask you this. Are you a generous person like Jesus? Or do you still need some
[01:02:36] transforming grace? Does God still need to work in your heart to make you a generous person?
[01:02:45] Now, I know in saying that, some of you are going to be like, but pastor, you don't know my bills.
[01:02:50] You don't know what my paycheck looks like. I don't. I really don't. And that's probably better that way because if you're having a make-believe conversation with me, then there's probably some other things going on than your bills. But I do know this. I do know that God can start right
[01:03:09] where you're at, with whatever financial pressures you have, whatever situation you're in, and he can make you a generous person. Generous wisely, generous effectively, but generous like Jesus.
[01:03:31] So as we're concluding our sermon series on God's wisdom for our finances, let's think about Jesus, his generosity to us so that we can imitate him in our generosity to others.
[01:03:44] and so for those of you who may be new with us we're going to go into what's called the lord's table or communion at the table we remember that christ died on the cross for our sins that he gave
[01:03:57] his body for us that we symbolize in the bread but that his blood was shed for us that we symbolize in the juice and so we first pray for the bread we first pray for the juice and then we partake
[01:04:12] together as an assembly. And I want to let you know that just because you're not a member of Southside Baptist Church doesn't mean you're excluded from the table. We would love for you to join in communion with us. However, two things need to be true. I said this is a covenant renewal
[01:04:27] ceremony. So it's a relationship recommitment. But if you don't have a beginning relationship with Jesus, then I'm going to ask that you would take this opportunity not to take communion, but to spend some time in prayer with him ask him about starting a relationship with him
[01:04:48] secondly the the inauguration ceremony for the christian life is what's called baptism so if you have not been baptized then then you can't recommit what you didn't start you can't have a wedding renewal of renewal of your vows if you haven't taken vows in the first
[01:05:11] place. So I'm going to ask that if you haven't been baptized, that you would talk to the Lord about being baptized this morning and start that relationship with him. But if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, if you've been baptized, then as you are recommitting your life
[01:05:29] to him this morning, I'm going to ask that you would recommit to pursuing generosity like Jesus, that you would allow him to do the work in your heart so that people can see in your life
[01:05:44] the evidence of him working in your heart.
[01:05:48] And so as we do so this morning, I believe the church will really fly.
[01:05:54] As we become more generous people, the world will notice Jesus at work in us and they will give all glory and honor to him.
[01:06:05] Corinthians chapter 11.
[01:06:29] The Apostle Paul gives us these words about the Lord's table.
[01:06:35] He says in verse 23, For I received from the Lord, but I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread.
[01:06:44] And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you.
[01:06:49] Do this in remembrance.
[01:06:53] Let us pray God's blessing.
[01:06:56] Father God, we come before you.
[01:06:59] Lord, I love that the communion table is set.
[01:07:03] We don't put it together because we're not the ones who ultimately provided the sacrifice.
[01:07:12] As we come to the table, we recognize that you have generously given your son.
[01:07:18] You have given his body, his life in place of ours.
[01:07:24] So, Father, we pray that as we partake today, we would become generous like you.
[01:07:33] We pray this in Jesus' name.
[01:07:34] Gentlemen, if you could prepare them after supper saying, this is the new covenant in my blood.
[01:11:34] Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
[01:11:40] Let's pray.
[01:11:42] Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners.
[01:11:48] We have not loved you with our whole hearts.
[01:11:50] We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
[01:11:54] We have taken your generosity and we have turned it into stinginess, miserliness, and we are deeply sorry and humbly repent but we thank you that relationship with you is not because of our performance that we get to be your witnesses in spite of the fact that
[01:12:22] we are not in your exact likeness yet so we pray that where we have fallen short we appeal to your precious blood as the basis of our forgiveness we ask that through your holy spirit you would make us generous like you so that more people can see your overflowing work
[01:12:51] in our lives so that they could come to know you in the way that we have come to know you We pray this, Lord Jesus, in your name. Amen.
[01:13:03] We now have the opportunity that if you would like to respond in personal faith, come forward and pray with me. You certainly can.
[01:17:07] And we're going to respond collectively as a church with our hymn of response this morning.
[01:17:12] Gentlemen, thank you.

[01:17:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[01:17:13] Would you stand with me as we sing together?

[01:17:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:17:45] Of every blessing, tune my heart to sing that grace.
[01:17:58] Streams of mercy never ceasing.
[01:18:03] Call for songs of loudest praise.
[01:18:07] Great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to Thee.

[01:19:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[01:19:25] Let Thy grace, Lord, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.

[01:19:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:19:35] This is our time of response.

[01:20:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:20:51] Father God, we are privileged to come into Your presence.
[01:20:55] And God, that privilege is not because of our credentials, because of our family history, because of our membership.
[01:21:06] Father, we only can come into your presence because of the death of Jesus Christ in our place and his resurrected life working through us.
[01:21:18] So, God, as we come to you, as we recognize your goodness, your faithfulness, your generosity, we know that we are pretty bad imitations on our best days.
[01:21:37] but God let us not fear but instead let us rejoice because your power at work in us can change us, can transform us into people who reflect you in fuller ways so Lord as we come this morning
[01:21:58] we thank you that you are that kind of God we thank you for that kind of grace we pray that that grace would be evident in the way we live as we leave this morning
[01:22:09] We pray all this in Jesus name. One of the ways that as a church, we bless our community is we have a partnership with the Christian mission. And because of the generous donations of our
[01:22:25] members, the Christian mission offers assistance with people's water bills. And so at the end of our communion services every day, because God is so richly provided for us, we are generous to those in our community. And so the deacons will have the opportunity to collect on your way out
[01:22:43] free will offerings, just gifts of blessing that you want to give. And that goes to paying the water bills of those who are in need in our community. Okay. So I just want to mention that
[01:22:55] with that, let us lift our heads and hands and hearts to receive the Lord's blessing as we go.
[01:22:59] May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that he has lavished upon you be with you this week as you live a life trusting him and generous to those around you in Jesus name. Amen.