Sermon Central
-
The Blessed Life - Pt. 1 - The Generous Life Series
Contributed by Steve Ely on Feb 10, 2011 (message contributor)
Summary: Fortune cookies, horseshoes, 4 leaf clovers, rabbit’s foot . . . Luck. Athletes would often rather be lucky than good.However, living a blessed life is even better than trying to live lucky.
The Blessed Life
Part 1 – The Generous Life
I. Introduction
Fortune cookies, horseshoes, 4 leaf clovers, rabbit’s foot . . . Luck. Athletes would often rather be lucky than good. Crooners sing about it. Everyone wants to be lucky. Poor people use money they don’t have playing a game of luck in which the odds are so stacked against them that it boggles the mind. It seems our society and even some in the church think that the best and highest level of living is the lucky life. However, I declare to you that living a blessed life is even better than trying to live lucky. Why bank on chance when you can have guarantees?
II. Text
1This is the written account of Adam’s family line. When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. 2He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind” when they were created.
(So from the very beginning we have been set up to be blessed. We are born under a curse due to Adam and Eve’s disobedience, but God from moment one was intent on blessing us!)
Duet. 28:1-14
Duet. 28:6 6You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
(Don’t have time to read the entire passage to you, but you should go back and read how many promises of blessing there are for obedient people. Blessed in family, field, finances, so blessed that a summary is verse 6 . . . going in and coming out. Blessings from every direction for obedience!)
We are destined for blessing! I want to be blessed! The alternative isn’t a very good one! So how do we live the blessed life? I believe there are four ways to live that ensure that we will be blessed!
III. Text
In order to live a blessed life we must live a generous life!
In fact, say this with me . . . The Generous Life is a Blessed Life!
24One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. 25A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
10“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? 13“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
So it is very clear that in order to live a blessed life you must live a generous life!
IV. The Generous Life
Generosity is a cornerstone in having a blessed life because the presence of or lack of generosity in our lives gives us a very clear peek into our soul, spiritual condition, and life!
A. Without generosity you cannot become spiritually mature.
Some of you think that statement is a bit strong or even wrong! However, generosity is and always will be one of the genuine character traits of the followers of Jesus! We have changed the standard of measurement to how people dress, sing, dance, shout, and operate in the gifts. However, if you go back to the Bible you discover that in Acts, the community around the church recognized the believers as followers of Christ by their generosity that stood in such stark contrast to the society that they lived in! They marveled at the generosity of the church. The body would sell everything they owned and pool it to take care of the widows, orphans, and the needy. The NT church had a culture of generosity that we have lost!
Randy Alcorn said it like this, “If Christ is not Lord over our money and possessions (and I would add time and talent), then He is not our Lord.” Jesus understood and made it very clear that where our treasures are our hearts would follow! If He doesn’t have those things then He doesn’t have our heart! He teaches us Matthew 25 that we are each given an allotment of talents (that is the concept of money, time, and abilities) and we are expected to develop those talents and then generously give back to the Master. Anything other than that is cursed!
Alcorn goes on to say, “I have never seen a mature Christian who was also not a mature steward. Giving is a part of growing!”
Your generosity with your time, money, and talent reveals your maturity level! Remember disobedience in one area overrides obedience in another area. Partial obedience is really complete disobedience. Lack of giving in any area shows immaturity!
