Generosity is Love in Action — Part 3

Hi, I'm Rick Warren, and Merry Christmas. Christmas is gonna be here very soon.

And Jesus said in Luke 14:23, Go.

Out into the highways in the countryside.

And urge everybody you find to come.

In so that my house will be full. Who are you thinking of to bring to your church? Maybe it's a friend or a neighbor or maybe your accountant or the person who rings up your groceries at the local market. Whoever it is, I wanna challenge you to be a light at Christmas and invite them to services at your ch.

Hey, everyone, this is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. You know, sharing your faith with the next generation. Well, it's one of the most important things you can do. And we're so glad you're here because today, Rick is continuing in his Leaving a Lasting Legacy series. Rick gives you some very special tools to help you share the biblical principles of faith, hope, love and generosity with the next generation. And now let's get right to Rick with the final part of a message called Generosity is Love in Action.

I'll never forget the first time I let God test my faith about giving. I was 19 years old. I was going to college and I was in debt. I owed a $500 bill that was due to the college. At the end of that month, I owed 10 bucks to a friend, and I didn't have any money. All I had was $50 in a savings bank account at a bank. Now, I knew that wasn't going to pay for all that debt. And so I just thought, well, shoot, I may as well try this. God says, put me to the test. Try me. Give and it shall be given to you. All that kind of stuff Tom was just talking about. And so I went down to the bank. I took the 50 bucks out of the bank and I put it in an envelope and I decided, okay, I'm gonna send it to a Christian organization. It didn't really matter. It was just I was doing it in faith. I chose the American Bible Society. They print Bibles and then they give them away free. So I put the 50 bucks and I wrote a little note and I said, whoever opens this letter, would you pray for me? I'm a poor, starving college student.

And.

I've got some personal debts I need to pay off. And I'm just trusting God that when I put him first in my life, that he'll meet all my needs. Please pray. I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't know it was going to work or what I think it was. About three weeks later, I got invited to speak in a church over in Norwalk, Nor Rock, California. And I spoke there Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday morning, Sunday night for a youth kind of thing. Cause I was just a kid at the time, and I fell in love with these kids. I was just helping them out. And when they were through, the pastor said, now we've taken up an offering for you, Rick, for you being here with us this weekend. I go, no kidding? You know, I wasn't even thinking about that. I was just going over to help the kids. I go, yeah, yeah, that's cool. So he gives me this envelope with some money in it, and I'm scared to death to open it. So I take it home, back to the dorm, and I open it up, and inside is $561. So I take 500 of it, and I pay off the College. I take 10 bucks and I give it to my friend, and I take the $51, which is the tithe on that offering, and I give it back to God. Paid off all my debts now. Still as poor as could be, but at least I wasn't in debt. Since that time. I have done that hundreds of times. So when the book came out, for 31 years, I've been playing a game with God where God says, rick, you give to me and I'll give to you, and we'll see who wins. And I have lost that game every year for 31 years. You know what? I pity you if you've never tried it. You see, I used to wonder, why don't people trust God? I don't understand it. People say, well, I trust God with my salvation, and I trust God with my forgiveness, and I trust God to take me to heaven, and I trust God with my freedom, but I don't trust him with my finances. Huh? What's the logic of that? If you can't trust God with your money, how do you know you're going to make it into heaven? How do you know he's not going to keep that promise? How could you trust God with your eternal destiny and not trust him with your money? That doesn't make sense, friends. It's pretty illogical. At some point, you have to decide, can God be trusted with my finances? Can he be counted on to keep all those promises that are in the Bible? Now, here's one of those promises. Look at the next verse. 2nd Corinthians 9. Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. And whoever sows generously will also reap generously. He's talking about you know, spreading seed. Like a farmer. You're sowing seed, you're throwing it out. You throw out a little bit of seed, you get a little bit of harvest. You throw out a bunch of seed, you get a bunch of harvest. Sow generously, you reap generously. Each one talking to each of us should give what he has decided in his heart to give. No one should ever tell you what or how much to give of anything. Cause God says each person should decide in his heart what to give. Not reluctantly or under compulsion. Now look up here. If you ever feel pressured to give anything anywhere, don't do it. Don't. Because you don't get any credit for it. You don't get any credits in heaven. He says, never give under pressure. Never give reluctantly. If you can't give it with a cheerful eye. He says, don't do it. Because God doesn't want your money. He wants your heart. So if you're ever, like, at a fundraiser and you feel like I'm being pressured to give, you just go, my pastor told me not to give. And then you're off the hook. Okay? If you ever feel pressured by me to give, don't give. Shoot. I feel pressured just by you talking about it. Well, that's your problem, friend. The point here is this. He says, sow generously, reap generously. Don't give under pressure. For God loves a what? Cheerful giver. You know, in the Bible, it's written in Greek. You know what that word is in Greek? It's the Greek word hilarios. I bet you can't guess what word we get from that. Hilarious. In the Bible, when people gave their offering, it was like the high point of the service. They were having a good, fun time. They're all laughing. It was hilarious. Hey, we get to give to God. Look what he's going to do in our lives. Now, let's just admit it. Today in most churches, when you take the offering, that's like the low point in the service. Now look at this next verse. This is a contract that even an Orange county attorney could not break. Here's what God says, and God is able. I want you to circle all the alls in this verse. And God is able to make all grace abound to you. So that in all things at all the time, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. That's pretty airtight. I dare you to try that verse. God says, you put me first in your finances. And you know what? You'll have all you need all the time at all. Grace in every good work. You don't know that till you try it. Now, here's the principle. It's the principle of the harvest. What you sow, you're gonna reap. Now, friends, that's true about money, but it's true about everything else. If you sow criticism, what are you gonna get back? Yeah, people are gonna criticize you. If you sow gossip, guess what? They're gonna gossip about you. Here's the law of life. Whoever gossips to you will also gossip about you. Never, ever listen to gossip. The Bible calls it a sin. Don't listen to it. Say, uh, thanks. I don't wanna hear it. Why? Because you are partaking in stolen goods. And in the law, someone who receives stolen goods is as bad as the person who stole it. Don't listen to gossip. Cause I tell you, if they tell you, they're gonna tell somebody something about you. A gossip is not your friend. So whatever you give out, you need more energy. You know how you get more energy? Whatever you need more of, give it away. You need more energy. You have to exercise. And when you exercise, what happens? You have more energy. That's true in every single area of life. Whatever you need more of, give it away and you'll get more back of it. Do you need more affirmation in your life? Give it away. Start affirming other people. You know what? You're gonna get more back. Now, here's the point. If you take a kernel of corn and you plant it in the ground, do you get one kernel back? No, I've actually planted corn. I actually raised some in the house we had over in Laguna Niguel. Back on the slope, Farmer Rick. You know, Ed, I had corn growing in my yard. Now, when you plant one corn in the ground, you don't get one kernel back. You get a stalk with a bunch of ears with thousands of kernels. Here's the point.

You.

You always get back more than you put in. Now, you plant an avocado pit, it grows a tree. Do you get one avocado back? No, you get hundreds back. So the law of harvest is number one. You always get back more than you put in. It's the way God made the world. You plant for good or for bad, negative or positive. Whatever you plant, you're gonna get more backup. You plant resentment, you're gonna get people resenting you. Now, law number two is there's always a delay between planting and harvest. When you plant a seed in the ground, you get an ear of corn the next day? No, of course not. You plant in one season and you harvest in another. And the same is true in giving. You give to other people. You give to God.

You.

You give your life away. And do you instantly reap the result the next day? No. There is a season of waiting before God gives you the harvest. Why? He's testing your faith. He's testing your faith to see if you'll trust him while there's the delay in the planting and the harvesting. But you cannot out give God. And so you ought to get excited. It's not an obligation. It's an opportunity. Giving is not a debt we owe. It's a seed that we sow. And really the issue is fear. Will I trust God? Will I believe that God will keep his promises. Now, number eight, the last one is, we need to teach generosity to the next generation. Because generosity is a deposit in eternity. It is a deposit in eternity. Jesus said it like this. Store up for yourselves treasure in heaven. I want you to circle the two words, treasure for yourselves. It doesn't say store up in heaven for God. God doesn't need your money or your resources. It says store up for yourselves. Did you know that there's a way to bank in heaven? And then you'll have that to use when you're there. Now this is so important. Jesus said this not once, not twice, not three, not four. He said it five times. In the Bible, anything Jesus says five times means you better listen. Store up for yourselves treasure in heaven. Are you doing that? You got any treasure in your bank account in heaven? Do you even know how to do that? God says, now you can either store it up here on earth or you can store it up in heaven. You can get a pile on earth or you can get a pile in heaven. Now whatever you store here on earth, you only get to use it while you're here. Cause you're not taking any of it with you. But if you store it up in heaven, you get to use it for trillions and trillions and trillions of years. It's all where you wanna use it here for 70, there for trillions. He said, don't store up on earth, store up in heaven. I've been doing this for a long time. I've been banking in heaven. I'm gonna have a lot when I get up there. I'm not storing up treasure on earth. I'm storing up treasure in in heaven. How do you do that? Next verse, Tell those who are rich. Now let me stop right there. That's Everybody here, if you're an American, you're rich. The poorest person in America is rich. Half the world lives on less than $2 a day. One billion people live on less than $1 a day. In Rwanda, the average income is 67 cents a day. If your children have any change in their pocket, they are among the world's 5% wealthiest people. If you have any money sitting at home in a dish or a cup, coins, you're wealthier than 95% of the people in the world. So this verse is talking about all of us. Tell those who are rich not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. Obviously, you can lose it as quick as you make it. Tell them to use their money to do good. Circle that phrase. Use their money. Money is a tool. You might write that down. Money is a tool. You say, well, isn't money evil? No, it's not evil. Well, doesn't the Bible say, money is a root of all evil? No, it does not. It says, the love of money is a root of all evil. You use money, you love people. And God use money, love people. Now, if you get that reversed, you start loving money, you're gonna use people. You'll climb all over them to get more money, to get to the top. God says you're to love God and you're to love people and you're to use money. Money is a tool, and you use it for good, you can use it for bad. But God says, use it for good. They should give happily to those in need, always ready to share with others whatever God has given them. And by doing this, what? By being generous, they will be storing up real treasure in heaven. It is the only safe investment for eternity. How do you store up treasure in heaven? By giving it away. Here, anything I spend on myself is stand here. Anything I give away to help others, to help further the kingdom of God. God's work, it's going to heaven. It's banking in heaven. So God says, you want to enjoy it here, you want to enjoy it there. Why does he do this? So we learn to be like him, to have a generous heart. Now, you've heard me say many times, you can't take it with you, but you can send it on ahead. And you send it on ahead by investing in people who are going there. And there's no greater investment than the kingdom of God. It pays better dividends, it's proven, it's reliable, it's risk free. It's God and sons doing business with people. Like you for 2000 years, how much are you investing in eternity? Look at this last verse. If you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, in other words, what God allows you to have on this planet, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? This is a test. Now, the fact is, all of us, you have been benefiting from the legacy of generosity of other people Sitting here today. You're in a building that somebody paid for. You drove across the bridge that somebody paid for, or you came onto campus in a parking that somebody paid for, or you put your children in. This campus cost tens of millions of dollars. And where did that money come from? From people who were banking in heaven. That tens of millions of dollars that built this campus, that's money we could have all spent on plasma TVs or new cars or vacations in Tahiti or bigger homes. And people for 26 years in this church have been saying, I will not use it all on me. I'm going to store up treasure in heaven. And they have been willfully choosing to not spend it on themselves in order to do something of use for the community, for the kingdom, and for the glory of God. What legacy are you going to leave to the next generation? I'm going to pray a prayer personally, and if you want to follow me in it, you can pray it too. Dear God, I know that everything I have is a gift from you. And I'd have nothing if it weren't for your generosity. And I know you want me to learn to be generous just like you. Help me to remember that every time I'm generous, with time, with money, with energy, with resources, with kindness, every time I'm generous, that I'm displaying your character, I'm being like you. I'm being more godly. Help me to remember that I'm defeating materialism, that I'm demonstrating faith and my love and joy. Help me to remember that it's a deposit for eternity. Jesus, I know I'll never be able to repay you for all you've done for me, but I want to be learned to be generous like you and leave a legacy of love to the next generation. In your name I pray. Amen.

Thanks so much for listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. You know, your prayers and financial support have a huge impact on millions of people here and around the world. So we really appreciate that. Thank you. And now Rick's going to share a letter from one of our listeners who says Daily Hope is making a real difference in their life.

Today. I want to share with You a letter from Debbie that really, truly touched my heart. She wrote, Pastor Rick, I'm not sure how many times I've thought about emailing you, but I didn't. I'm not sure why. But today I listened to your daily Hope message on facing giants in life and work, and I knew that I needed to say thank you. My story started when my husband of almost 24 years died suddenly at our home of a blood clot. He was just 49 years old. My daughter was the one who called 911 and life just seemed to stop. We were in shock after that death. At the funeral, my brother told me about your message series, how to get through what yout're Going Through. So I listened and I held onto those words and what Kay had spoken, not knowing how significant they would become. My own son had been struggling with what we now think was undiagnosed bipolar disorder. He'd been struggling for about three years and 11 weeks after my husband died, he took his life. Life stopped again. I have an incredible family and a group of friends, and they, along with my faith, got me and my daughter through things I never thought I could live through. But the resource that I kept turning to and listening to over and over again was your series, how to get through what you're going through. When you lost your son, you and Kay truly understood how I felt and how I still feel. We're part of a club that nobody wants to be a member of. Rick. I've learned so many things through this journey of grief, but the most important is that God keeps his promises and he does bring beauty out of ashes. So I wanna thank you and Kay from the bottom of my heart for sharing your story and not wasting your pain. Even though we've never met, I feel as though we're friends. Well, we are. And I ask God daily to help me use my pain to help others. I still struggle some days with guilt and grief, but I know that God is faithful with me every step of the journey with a thankful heart. Debbie. Well, Debbie, my dear sister, this touched me, obviously, your message. And as somebody who's walked in your shoes, having lost a son, I can tell you without a doubt that God is faithful. And I just wanna say that I'm so proud of you that God does not want us to waste our hurts. Never waste a hurt. You're gonna go through the pain, so you may as well use it to help other people. And in 2 Corinthians 1, the Bible says God takes us through problems and comfor so we can then comfort others with the same comfort we've been given. And that's the motivation behind everything we do at Daily Hope. Friends, if you can give a gift to help Daily Hope, you can help people like Debbie who's walking through the grief of having lost a husband and a son but found new hope through this broadcast which shares the message of Jesus. You who gave helped Debbie find healing and you who gave have helped thousands and thousands of other people find hope and healing in Christ because of your gift. So thank you for your gifts today. God bless you.

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