Strengthen Your Core Series

Giving My Resources: All for Jesus

January 26, 2020

Pastor John Lloyd

Our physical bodies are made up of several core muscles. If kept in shape through exercise, they will function properly. God’s goal for followers is to make us more like Jesus. This happens when we think like Jesus, CORE beliefs, act like Jesus, CORE practices, and be like Jesus, CORE virtues. We need to exercise our CORE in order to glorify God. The journey of becoming like Jesus begins by thinking like Jesus. When we start thinking like Jesus, we are well on our way to becoming like Jesus. Today, we will consider the spiritual practice of giving our resources to God. Jesus has been extremely generous to all who call on Him. As an act of worship and thanksgiving, we recognize everything is a gift from our heavenly father to generously give back to God and His purposes.

Practices covered so far: Worship, Prayer, Bible study, Single-Mindedness, Total Surrender, Biblical Community, Spiritual Gifts, Offering my Time and Giving my Resources.

I Timothy 1:12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

Memory Verse: 2 Corinthians 8:7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

Key Question: How do I best use my resources to serve God and others?

Key Idea: I give my resources to fulfill God’s purposes as an act of worship.

I. Our God has generously poured out his ____________ and ____________ upon all who call upon Jesus.

Thank- a constant attitude of gratefulness

Given me strength- Nothing Paul is doing is being done in his own strength. He is constantly being infused with strength from God.

Faithful- faithful to the trust God has given to him.

But I received mercy- I was literally an object of God’s mercy. (Titus 3:5)

I Timothy 1:14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

Takeaway: God has been extremely generous to us!

I “get to” be a vessel for the generosity of God to flow through.

Of the thirty-eight parables of Jesus in the Bible, sixteen of them deal with how to handle possessions; all told, 288 verses in the Gospels- one out of every ten-refer to money. Over two thousand Bible verses talk about our personal resources, compared with approximately five hundred on prayer and fewer than five hundred on faith. We can’t conclude from these statistics that Jesus’ heart was focused on money, but rather that he knew ours would be. His teaching continually directs us toward using all we have-including our money and our possessions-to love him and others. Randy Frazee Think, Act and Be Like Jesus

II. Giving my resources generously allows me to be a ______________ for God’s purposes and breaks the hold of a materialistic culture.

2 Corinthians 8:1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. I Cor.16:1-2

Proverbs 22:7b the borrower is the slave of the lender. I Timothy 6:9-10

Homework: Walk through your spending for the past month: What patterns do I see? What priorities are evident in spending? Where am I pleased in my money management? Where am I disappointed with my findings? What changes should I consider making? Pray about it!

Help me to be more generous towards your kingdom work!

I get to be a vessel for the generosity of God to flow through.

III. God multiplies and blesses ______________________ resources.

2 Corinthians 8:7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Three kinds of giving: Grudge giving, duty giving and thanksgiving.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

2 Corinthians 9:10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

Acts 20:35 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.’”

Many people see giving as an obligation, but it is really an act of worship from someone who has embraced in their heart the key beliefs of the Christian faith. The one true God is good and has provided the way to eternal salvation. When we accept this gift of life we are given a new identity and called to a new purpose to fulfill God’s mission on earth until he returns. We give away our resources with that motivation and purpose in mind. The people of the Old Testament gave the first ten percent to God as a declaration of their allegiance to him. But they gave beyond the tithe out of willing heart because of God’s great love for them. The words of the wisdom writers and the lives of the wise men who visited the baby Jesus illustrate the importance and benefits of being content and generous with our resources. Jesus reminds us that we should strive to think bigger than our earthly lives and use our resources to strengthen God’s kingdom. God is more concerned about the reasons we give than about the size of the gift. Randy Frazee

All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him,

In his presence daily live. I surrender all, I surrender all.

All to thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.

All to Jesus, I surrender, Lord I give myself to Thee;

Fill me with thy love and power, Let thy blessing fall on me.

God multiplies blessings to his generous followers!

I get to be a vessel for the generosity of God to flow through.

Spiritual Growth Questions for January 26, 2020

(take one question each day and grow deeper in Bible study)

Use a scale of 1-6 to rate how well you are living out the statements below: (1 = not living out at all, 6 living out completely).

___ I give away 10 percent or more of my income to God’s work.

___ I regularly give money to serve and help others.

___ My first priority in spending is to support God’s work.

___ My spending habits do not keep me from giving what I feel I should give

to God.

1. Read Proverbs 3:9-10, 11:24-25, 28 and Ecclesiastes 5:10-20. What truths can be found in the Scripture you just read together? Solomon was one of the wealthiest men to ever walk the earth. In what ways, if any, are you surprised by his comments on wealth and money?

2. Read Genesis 28:10-22. In the ancient world giving a tribute or tax of a tenth (tithe) to the king was customary. This offering demonstrated allegiance to the monarch’s kingdom. When we give the first tenth of our income to God’s purposes, we declare our allegiance to God and his kingdom. What did God promise Jacob and his followers? What was Jacob’s response?

3. Read 2 Corinthians 8:1-9 two times. What stands out to you from this passage? What principles about giving is Paul teaching the Corinthian church? How could they apply to us?

4. Read Matthew 6:19-24 Luke 12:13-21 together and one time alone. Jesus said more about money than the topics of heaven and hell combined. What stands out to you from each passage?

5. Read Luke 6:32-36. What is Jesus teaching in this passage? If someone asked you to summarize what Jesus taught about money and giving, what would you say?

6. Read 2 Corinthians 8:7-9 & 9:6-10. Work on the memory verse together. What example does Jesus give us for grace giving? What promises does Paul make to the Corinthian church about their generosity to God’s purposes?

7. What is impeding your ability to incorporate this practice into your lifestyle? How can you overcome this obstacle?

Personal Exercise: Walk through your spending for the past month: What patterns do I see? What priorities are evident in spending? Where am I pleased in my money management? Where am I disappointed with my findings? What changes should I consider making? Pray about it!

Memory Verse: 2 Corinthians 8:7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

Sermon Podcast

John Lloyd - Giving My Resources: All for Jesus

Dolores Park Church