Generosity – Developing A Grander Vision

Would you agree with me that we all need to know that we are loved?  I think all of us understand that we are broken people, and things within us often lead us toward rebellion and disobedience toward God.  Because we are so aware of our brokenness, we often carry this shadow of shame around with us.  But when we know that we are loved with an unconditional and unending love.  When we understand that we are loved with a love that can’t be earned and can’t be lost; this kind of love transforms our lives.  It changes us from broken, rebellious people living in shame into people with a new identity, purpose and hope.

This is the message of the gospel. Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection show us this unconditional, unending love. 

This love that God has for you is not dependent upon you.  It is all based on him. 

Rom 5:6-8 (NLT)—When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

God doesn’t wait for us to get cleaned up.  He doesn’t make any stipulations, there is no checklist.  While we were still broken people, Christ died for us.

Rom 3:23-24 (NLT)—For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

Rom 3 goes on to say that we are made right with God when we believe that Jesus sacrificed his life and shed his blood for us. Jesus was punished for our sins so that we could be justified.  In other words, Jesus was punished so the slate could be wiped clean regarding our sins.  

This incredible demonstration of love comes to us because of God’s grace it says in Rom 3:24

What is God’s grace?  Here is a very simplified way to remember what grace is.

Grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense

In other words, we receive a tremendous list of things from God because of the price that Jesus paid for us.  

• At Christ’s expense we are called sons and daughters of God.  
• At his expense we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live holy lives.  
• At Christ’s expense we have access at any time or any place to the very throne of God, when we pray.  
• At Christ’s expense, God doesn’t leave us as broken, lost, sinful people but changes us into the glorious image of His Son.

Grace is the generosity of God.

Look at what 2 Cor says about this grace.

2 Cor 12:8-10 (CSB)—Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”

Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

God’s grace tends to shine most powerfully when we are at our weakest and when we need it the most.

The Apostle Paul wrote all of these verses I just read to you. He wrote a letter to the church in Rome, which we call the Book of Romans. He also wrote both letters to the church in Corinth, which today we call 1st and 2nd Corinthians.

In fact, Paul wrote 13 or 14 of the 27 books in the New Testament, depending on where you fall on the Book of Hebrews. In those letters, Paul uses the word grace over 100 times, while all of the other New Testament writers combined use the word grace only 55 times.

Paul is passionate about God’s grace.  He loves talking about grace.  Why, because He knew what it was like to experience God’s grace.

Did you know that the Apostle Paul’s name was originally Saul? He first appears in the early part of the Book of Acts.

In Acts 6, a man named Stephen, one of the original 7 deacons ordained by the Apostles to serve the Greek community in the early church in Jerusalem, starts speaking out about Jesus. It says He was full of grace and power and was performing all of these great wonders and signs, but the religious leaders hated him because they couldn’t stand up against his wisdom.  

One day Stephen is engaging some of the religious leaders and they are pretty unhappy with Him and look what happens:

Acts 7:57-58 (CSB)—They yelled at the top of their voices, covered their ears, and together rushed against him. They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. And the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Saul literally held their jackets while they murdered Stephen.  It the next chapter it says that Saul approved.  Saul was a Pharisee, a religious leader in Jerusalem, and he hated the Christians.  He thought they were blasphemers and deserved to die.  Saul started this great persecution of the church that forced Christians to flee Jerusalem for their lives.  Saul was the guy who would kick down your door in the middle of the night if he thought you were a Christian and haul you off to prison.  

That is until he came face to face with Jesus.

Act 9:1-9 (CSB)—Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul said. “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,” he replied. “But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the sound but seeing no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. He was unable to see for three days and did not eat or drink.

Saul’s sight is healed by a guy named Ananias.  He is baptized and then begins to go into the synagogues in Damascus, declaring that Jesus is the Son of God.  People begin scratching their heads and asking what is going on here.  It says that all who heard Saul were astounded.  

The very people Saul had worked with to imprison Christians now turned on him and wanted him dead.  So he escapes to Jerusalem.

Acts 9:26 (CSB)—When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple.

Imagine that.  They have a few concerns. They didn’t believe he was really a disciple. They thought he was like an informant or something. This guy’s lying. He’s probably trying to

act like a disciple so we can find out where we meet and kill us all. 

What happens next is, I think, kind of interesting.  Someone steps up to speak on Saul’s behalf.  His name is Barnabas.

Acts 9:27 (CSB)—Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles. He explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road, that the Lord had talked to him, and how in Damascus, he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.

When the Apostles were ready to reject Saul, Barnabas stepped up, grabbed Saul, brought him in, and said, hey everybody, chill out. Let me tell you what God has done in Saul’s life. Let me tell you how the grace of God has transformed him. Let me tell you how God met him on the road and how he preached fearlessly in Damascus. Let me tell you that this is a changed and transformed man. He has experienced God’s grace.  How do the disciples’ responsd to Baranabas? They are like, okay. If you say so. They’re okay with it and take Saul in just because of what Barnabas says to them. 

So we have to ask the question, who’s Barnabas? Why would Barnabas have this much weight? Why would he have this much pull? Why would they listen to Barnabas, and why would they trust him?

Earlier, Acts 4 describes the generosity of all the believers in Jerusalem, how they provided for everyone’s needs, and how no one went without. Here it points to one individual’s generosity in particular.

Acts 4:36-37 (CSB)—Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas (which is translated Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Barnabas’ real name was Joseph, but they called him Barnabas because he was such an encourager.  You could say he was known because of his generosity with his words.  And not only his words but he was generous with what he owned.  

Barnabas owned land, which he decided to sell and give the proceeds to the Apostles in Jerusalem to help the poor.

I’m sure many people contributed to help the poor in the church in Jerusalem but Barnabas is singled out for his willingness to be generous.  

This generosity gave Barnabas a unique opportunity to step up and speak for Saul.

When no one else would trust Saul, when no one else wanted to be associated with Saul, when literally no one else believed in Saul, Barnabas did.  Because of his generous nature, he stepped up and said I’m willing to do for Saul what he can’t do for himself.  I’ll believe in Him, and I’ll speak for him before the Apostles.  

“You can give without loving, but you can not love without giving.”

—Amy Carmichael

And it was Barnabas’ reputation for generosity that won him that opportunity.  The Apostles knew Barnabas was all in, they knew his heart and his desire to protect and meet the needs of their community.  It was Barnabas’ generosity, quite literally, that brought Saul before the Apostles.  And the rest, as they say, is history. 

The letters that Saul, later called Paul, wrote to the churches in Rome, Corinth, Phillipi, and Thessalonica, the letters that he wrote to Philemon, Timothy, and Titus, make up much of the N.T. These letters speak so clearly of the gospel and the grace of God that we have because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. We have these letters and this testimony of Paul because of the generosity of Barnabas.

Because of the generosity of Barnabas, we know that …

Rom 5:6-8 (NLT)—When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

We have these words, because of the generosity of Barnabas.

Here is what I want you to see in the story of Barnabas and Saul:

Generosity made a way for grace.

It was Paul who penned the words that let us know we are loved.  It was Paul who penned the words that remind us that even though we are broken people, God, through His grace, made a way for us to experience our creator’s forgiveness, restoration, and unending love.  And would we have these words if it weren’t for the generosity of Barnabas?

Now, I know God is sovereign.  He could have used anyone and any means to communicate the message of His grace. God’s plan doesn’t hinge on any of us.  God’s plan didn’t depend on Barnabas and it didn’t depend on Paul, but He chose to use them in the way He did.  And I believe that God still uses the generosity of His people to communicate His grace.

Generosity still makes a way for grace today.

Generosity: “The spirit and action of freely and frequently giving to others.”

I want you to have a grander vision for your generosity.  I want you to see that when you are generous, there is no limit to what God may do with your generosity and the power your generosity has in the Kingdom of God.  

Those few dollars a month you give to Compassion International to support a child so he can have food and clothing and an opportunity to hear the gospel message may lead to the lives of generations of people being changed.  You don’t know.

The time that you generously give volunteering at VBS or in Kids Ministry is a powerful tool in God’s Kingdom.  You have no idea how God may use your simple act of generosity to change someone’s life for eternity.

You don’t know how your generous words of encouragement will impact the person those words are spoken to.  In God’s Kingdom, words are powerful.

Prov 18:21 (CSB)—Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.  Your generous words of encouragement have the power of life.

When you give financially to New Hope, 10% of that money goes to support local and foreign missionaries. Your giving is spreading the message of God’s grace worldwide.

When you give financially to New Hope, yes, those dollars go to keep our facilities working and pay the salaries of the pastors. Right now, we are trying to figure out how to pay for a new projector, as our projector of 21 years is ready to breathe its final breath. Those may seem like mundane things, but all of those things are tools to help make a way for the message of grace.

Your generosity is a powerful tool in God’s Kingdom.

My heart is not simply to motivate you to be generous. My heart is that you will find a grander vision for your generosity and see that there is more to it than simply meeting a need.

Generosity makes a way for grace.

As base a thing as money often is, yet it can be transmuted into everlasting treasure. It can be converted into food for the hungry and clothing for the poor. It can keep a missionary actively winning lost men to the light of the gospel and thus transmute itself into heavenly values. Any temporal possession can be turned into everlasting wealth. Whatever is given to Christ is immediately touched with immortality.

– A.W. Tozer

And like Barnabas, we may not even live to see the full extent of our generosity, but when we are faithful in our generosity,  God can take that and do more than our small finite minds could ever imagine.  As God moves in your heart in regards to generosity, may that be your vision. 

Reflection:

• How would you characterize your heart towards generosity?
• Does your heart reflect God’s heart for generosity?
• Ask God to give you his heart and vision for generosity.