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Living Generously: The Heart of an Ambassador
This podcast episode emphasizes the theme of being ambassadors for Christ, highlighting the vital role of grace giving in the life of a believer. Pastor Josh Massaro discusses how transformation in Christ results in a new identity, purpose, and a desire to serve others selflessly. He underscores the importance of giving cheerfully and generously, not just in financial terms but also through time, talents, and love. The message encourages listeners to reflect on their motivations for giving and to trust in God’s sufficiency in all areas of life. By understanding God's incredible gift of grace, believers are inspired to share that grace with others, ultimately glorifying God and building His kingdom.
Pastor Josh Massaro delves into the profound concept of being an ambassador for Christ, as outlined in the scriptures, particularly focusing on 2 Corinthians. He emphasizes the transformative journey that believers undergo upon accepting Christ, where their identity shifts from being rooted in sin and inadequacies to becoming new creations in Him. This transformation is not just about personal salvation but is coupled with a divine purpose: to spread the message of reconciliation through the Gospel. Pastor Josh draws parallels between the early church's zeal and the modern church's mission, urging listeners to rekindle their passion for serving and giving as a reflection of their faith. The discussion highlights the importance of grace giving, illustrating that true generosity stems from a heart transformed by Christ's love, rather than a transactional mindset often seen in the world.
As the sermon progresses, Pastor Josh elucidates the principle of sowing and reaping, encouraging congregants to give cheerfully and abundantly, reflecting the grace they've received. He introduces the concept of grace giving, which transcends mere financial contributions to encompass time, talents, and resources dedicated to God’s work. The message resounds with the idea that a believer’s new identity should be characterized by a spirit of generosity and service, impacting not only their lives but also the community around them. The call to action is clear: as ambassadors, Christians are tasked with living out their faith in tangible ways that demonstrate God's love and grace to a world in need.
The episode culminates in a heartfelt invitation for those who have yet to know Christ, underscoring the urgency and beauty of the Gospel. Pastor Josh reminds listeners that the greatest gift is not material wealth but the salvation offered through faith in Jesus Christ. The sermon is an encouragement to embrace one’s role as an ambassador, equipped with the understanding that every act of kindness, every moment of service, and every generous gift is a reflection of Christ’s love and an opportunity to glorify God. This powerful message provides both encouragement and challenge, urging believers to assess their lives, reignite their zeal for the Gospel, and embody the grace of giving in their everyday interactions.
Takeaways:
- Christians are called to be ambassadors for Christ, representing Him everywhere they go.
- Our identity in Christ transforms us into new creations with a divine purpose.
- Grace giving is not just financial; it includes the giving of time and talents.
- We should approach giving with a cheerful heart, reflecting God's grace towards us.
- God's sufficiency enables us to give abundantly, trusting in His provision for our needs.
- Living with gratitude and contentment leads to a fruitful and generous Christian life.
Thank you for joining our podcast. Visit our website at https://middletownbaptistchurch.org/
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This podcast is produced by Ralph Estep, Jr., host of the Ask Ralph Podcast, a daily podcast on Christian Finance you can find it at https://www.askralphpodcast.com/
Transcript
Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, where we are proclaiming the truth to the world.
Pastor Josh:My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to this podcast.
Pastor Josh:I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen you in the word of God.
Pastor Josh:Now come along.
Pastor Josh:Let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here.
Pastor Josh:Today.
Pastor Josh:We're going to be picking up our study in 2 Corinthians.
Pastor Josh:It's been a little while.
Pastor Josh:We broke into some study in December, looking at the greatest gift that was ever given in Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh:And then we looked at how we can use the gift of the Spirit in our life to serve others.
Pastor Josh:And then we looked at, for the last three weeks, goals for a growing church.
Pastor Josh:And we looked at the first goal being that our church must be centered in the Gospel, in what we preach, in what we live, in, what we share.
Pastor Josh:The Gospel must be the centerpiece.
Pastor Josh:But then we realize that though many times we can be focused on the Gospel, we might not be unified in the Gospel.
Pastor Josh:And so the second aspect of a growing church would be to.
Pastor Josh:To group, to come together, to.
Pastor Josh:To unify, to be, as the Bible says, in one accord in our purpose for the gospel.
Pastor Josh:And then if we have our individual life centered in the gospel, we're unified as a church in the gospel.
Pastor Josh:The next step, Scripturally speaking, in the Great Commission is to go right, to take that into the world.
Pastor Josh:Um, and we know the Great Commission is to go and to preach the gospel to all the world, to demonstrate who Jesus is and what he has done for us to this world.
Pastor Josh:And.
Pastor Josh:And so we are gonna continue on with that here this morning.
Pastor Josh:The theme go, but how do we go?
Pastor Josh:We go as ambassadors for Christ.
Pastor Josh:That's really the theme of 2 Corinthians, chapter 5.
Pastor Josh:And we're going to be in 2nd Corinthians chapter 9 here this morning.
Pastor Josh:But I want to recap just a little bit with you, because I know it's been a while since we've been in Second Corinthians, so I want to go back to Second Corinthians chapter five.
Pastor Josh:And we're going to start in verse number 17, our scripture reading for this morning.
Pastor Josh:And we're going to see that as believers, and that's the starting place for going.
Pastor Josh:To be a believer means to be transformed.
Pastor Josh:To be a believer means that we are new creations in.
Pastor Josh:In Christ.
Pastor Josh:And so 2 Corinthians chapter 5 tells us, verse 17.
Pastor Josh:It says this.
Pastor Josh:Therefore, if any man be in Christ, and I, I Love that phrase in Christ because it speaks of our identity in Him.
Pastor Josh:We're not just people that go to church.
Pastor Josh:We're not just people that have had some help in our lives.
Pastor Josh:We are people that are identified in Christ.
Pastor Josh:Christ is our life.
Pastor Josh:Christ is our hope.
Pastor Josh:Christ is our everlasting destination.
Pastor Josh:And that is to be with him in heaven forever.
Pastor Josh:Eternal life.
Pastor Josh:And so I, I, I thought about it this way.
Pastor Josh:Verse 17, it says this.
Pastor Josh:Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.
Pastor Josh:Old things are passed away.
Pastor Josh:Behold, all things are become new.
Pastor Josh:And so when God saves us, and that means we come to him in faith, we trust in him, and he extends grace and salvation to us.
Pastor Josh:So when he saves us, he transforms us into a new creation.
Pastor Josh:And so if you have your notes on the back of your bulletin, I, I know that that's one of the blanks there.
Pastor Josh:But I, I want you to understand what that means.
Pastor Josh:That means this.
Pastor Josh:We are no longer identified by who we are in our flesh, in our sin, in our failures, in our inadequacies.
Pastor Josh:No.
Pastor Josh:God now transforms us to be a new creation, a new creature in Him.
Pastor Josh:And that means that we have power given to us.
Pastor Josh:That means that we have provisions given to us.
Pastor Josh:That means that we have peace given to us.
Pastor Josh:There's a lot of things that fall in that category of having a new identity in Christ.
Pastor Josh:But with that identity in Christ comes a purpose, right?
Pastor Josh:God doesn't just save us and change us and say, okay, now just keep living the life that you want to live.
Pastor Josh:No, with that transformation comes a purpose.
Pastor Josh:And what is that purpose?
Pastor Josh:Well, he goes down further, right?
Pastor Josh:He talks about the ministry of reconciliation, which means we now have a job to proclaim that to the world.
Pastor Josh:Like the ministry of reconciliation means this.
Pastor Josh:We have a job to reconcile people to Christ, to, to bring the message of reconciliation to Christ.
Pastor Josh:And so he says, you have the ministry of reconciliation, verse 19, the word of reconciliation.
Pastor Josh:That's the gospel.
Pastor Josh:Then he says in verse number 20, now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ.
Pastor Josh:What's an ambassador?
Pastor Josh:An ambassador is someone who represents somebody else in another place.
Pastor Josh:So now we as Christians are, are living in a foreign land.
Pastor Josh:You say what?
Pastor Josh:I'm not a foreigner.
Pastor Josh:I, I live, I'm born and raised in America.
Pastor Josh:Well, here's the thing.
Pastor Josh:This world is not our home.
Pastor Josh:That the Bible says that now that we are saved, we are ambassadors for Christ in a foreign land.
Pastor Josh:Because where's your identity?
Pastor Josh:Where is your residency for eternity?
Pastor Josh:Heaven.
Pastor Josh:Right?
Pastor Josh:You are an ambassador for Christ in this world.
Pastor Josh:And so the Bible says you are an ambassador for Christ, as though God did beseech you, plead with you by us, meaning we pleaded with you to come to Christ.
Pastor Josh:Now he is pleading with you to be an ambassador.
Pastor Josh:He says, we pray you in Christ's stead, be reconciled to God.
Pastor Josh:And then he explains how that all can happen.
Pastor Josh:Verse 21.
Pastor Josh:For he hath made him to be sin for us.
Pastor Josh:He's talking about Jesus here.
Pastor Josh:So, so he says, the one who did no sin, who knew no sin, he is the one that bore the weight of sin on his shoulders.
Pastor Josh:He's the one that paid the price for you so that you might.
Pastor Josh:That we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Pastor Josh:And so it's not our righteousness, it's Jesus's righteousness on our account that gives us the opportunity to be on God's side, to be his ambassador.
Pastor Josh:So we are ambassadors as we go.
Pastor Josh:And so the next blank there means this.
Pastor Josh:We have a new life in Christ, that new life is a new purpose.
Pastor Josh:That, that new life is a new way of thinking, that new life is a new way of reacting.
Pastor Josh:It's a new way of loving, it's a new way of serving, it's a new way of giving.
Pastor Josh:We're going to talk all about that in this study.
Pastor Josh:So he says, this is your new life, this is your new purpose.
Pastor Josh:And that is God calls us to be ambassadors.
Pastor Josh:He calls us to be ambassadors.
Pastor Josh:And so if you are a believer this morning, if you have trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have a job.
Pastor Josh:And that job is to be an ambassador.
Pastor Josh:Now you might say, well, what does that mean for me?
Pastor Josh:Do I have to preach every Sunday morning?
Pastor Josh:Well, that might not be what your role is as an ambassador.
Pastor Josh:And that's why we talked about the spiritual gifts back around Christmas.
Pastor Josh:Remember that?
Pastor Josh:We talked about how different people are equipped different ways in the power of God to utilize what God has given you in the message of the Gospel to the world.
Pastor Josh:So some people might be serving in the area of mercy, some people might be serving in the area of ministration, some people might be serving in the area of proclamation of preaching.
Pastor Josh:And so that list goes on and on.
Pastor Josh:And the Bible tells us that everyone comes together in different ways to be an ambassador for Christ.
Pastor Josh:So that's the purpose, that's the mission.
Pastor Josh:And so that's the context, the recap of what Second Corinthians, chapter five was all about.
Pastor Josh:And it was pushing us towards something called grace giving.
Pastor Josh:Grace giving.
Pastor Josh:And, and we left off in Chapter eight.
Pastor Josh:And it was speaking specifically of how God had materially blessed the church in Corinth and how he was challenging the church at Corinth to give back what they had been blessed with, with their talents and with their treasure, specifically speaking with their material blessings that God had given them.
Pastor Josh:And they used the Macedonian church.
Pastor Josh:So there was another church in Macedonia that was used as an example.
Pastor Josh:They gave out of their poverty, they gave out of their struggle, but they did it cheerfully, they did it with excitement, and God used their investment for the kingdom.
Pastor Josh:And so we're gonna go to chapter nine, Second Corinthians, chapter nine.
Pastor Josh:This is gonna be our main text here this morning.
Pastor Josh:And we're gonna talk about grace giving as an ambassador for Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh:You know, the way that we live our lives now, as ambassadors, must be different.
Pastor Josh:We must think differently.
Pastor Josh:And.
Pastor Josh:And one of those things would be thinking about giving differently, because usually what the world teaches about giving is this.
Pastor Josh:And by the way, I'm not just talking about financial giving, even though that would be an area of giving, but I'm talking about giving in general.
Pastor Josh:Giving of your time, giving of your.
Pastor Josh:Of your talents, giving of your family, giving of anything in your life.
Pastor Josh:And the Bible says that giving should be different.
Pastor Josh:As Christians, as ambassadors, we should be giving differently than the world gives.
Pastor Josh:The way the world gives in many ways is this, hey, let me give to you so that you give back to me.
Pastor Josh:You've heard that before.
Pastor Josh:Scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.
Pastor Josh:And it's that idea that the world teaches that, hey, you only give if you can afford to give, or you only give if you get something back or if it benefits you.
Pastor Josh:But the Bible says that there's a different way of giving.
Pastor Josh:Some people say, you know what?
Pastor Josh:I.
Pastor Josh:I will give if it makes sense to me, or I will give if it doesn't hurt me.
Pastor Josh:And the Bible says, though, there's a different type of giving.
Pastor Josh:And so in Second Corinthians, chapter nine, we're going to see that in our salvation, in our transformation, there is a renewal of thinking, a renewal of giving.
Pastor Josh:And so, Second Corinthians, chapter nine.
Pastor Josh:Let's look at verse number one.
Pastor Josh:It says, for as touching the ministering to the saints, meaning the service to other Christians, it is superfluous for me to write to you, meaning, hey, I don't really need to write this to you, but I'm gonna write to you anyway.
Pastor Josh:It's kind of like when I'm teaching.
Pastor Josh:I said, you guys all know the story.
Pastor Josh:And then I Tell you the story.
Pastor Josh:That's what Paul's doing.
Pastor Josh:He says, you guys know how to serve.
Pastor Josh:You guys know what it looks like to serve.
Pastor Josh:You guys know what it looks like to give.
Pastor Josh:And it's superfluous that I have to do this, but I'm going to do this anyway.
Pastor Josh:That's what he says.
Pastor Josh:Verse 2.
Pastor Josh:For I know the foreignness of your mind for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, meaning, remember the Macedonians that were the good examples of giving.
Pastor Josh:The reason why the Macedonians were giving so well is because of your example.
Pastor Josh:He says, there was a time where you understood what it meant to serve.
Pastor Josh:There was a time where you understood what it meant to give, but you've slipped, you've regressed.
Pastor Josh:And he says, I've actually used you as an example for other people.
Pastor Josh:And so I know you know what to do.
Pastor Josh:And so he says, I.
Pastor Josh:I boasted of you to Macedonia that.
Pastor Josh:That IKEA was ready a year ago, and your zeal hath provoked very many.
Pastor Josh:Meaning you had zeal at one point.
Pastor Josh:I think all of us, if we are believers for long enough, we've gone through seasons of zeal for the Lord, of excitement for the Lord, but it's very tempting because of a lot of reasons, distractions, pain, difficulties that we might regress in our zeal for the things that God has called us to do.
Pastor Josh:And so in the renewal in our salvation comes that passion to change the old ways and to live in the new.
Pastor Josh:And so there's that zeal there.
Pastor Josh:I mean, one of the most exciting things that I can see is a new Christian and their excitement to do the things of God.
Pastor Josh:But one of the saddest things to see is a Christian that has waned in that.
Pastor Josh:That they've.
Pastor Josh:They've gone back to the point.
Pastor Josh:Well, you know what?
Pastor Josh:What's the use?
Pastor Josh:Almost we get to a place where there's jaded Christians.
Pastor Josh:Meaning, yeah, look, we serve here and look what happens.
Pastor Josh:I get hurt again.
Pastor Josh:I stretch my neck out too many times and see, I'm paying the price.
Pastor Josh:And the idea is, is that's not the spirit that we're supposed to have as believers.
Pastor Josh:Verse 3.
Pastor Josh:He says, yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you be in vain in this behalf, that, as I said, ye may be ready.
Pastor Josh:Meaning, look, you were passionate at one point, but we're sending some people to you to be stirred, to be renewed in your grace, giving into your ministry.
Pastor Josh:Verse 4.
Pastor Josh:Less haply if they of Macedonia come with me and find you unprepared we.
Pastor Josh:That we say not ye should be ashamed.
Pastor Josh:In the same confident boasting.
Pastor Josh:So he says, hey, I.
Pastor Josh:I don't want to be ashamed of your testimony.
Pastor Josh:If they come and find you and you're not in a place where you were before, you don't have that same zeal that we told them about.
Pastor Josh:And.
Pastor Josh:And I thought about that, and.
Pastor Josh:And I thought about what that looks like.
Pastor Josh:And again, I.
Pastor Josh:I think that as Christians, one of the things that we need to think about is.
Pastor Josh:Is.
Pastor Josh:Is how or who we are serving.
Pastor Josh:You know, we.
Pastor Josh:We are serving people, but ultimately we're serving God.
Pastor Josh:And if God was to come and inspect my life, if God was to come and inspect Middletown Baptist Church, what would he say?
Pastor Josh:Would he say, hey, you know what?
Pastor Josh:Great job.
Pastor Josh:Keep it up.
Pastor Josh:Or if he walked in our midst, even though we know he's here, we know that his presence is here, sometimes we forget about that.
Pastor Josh:And if Jesus walked through those doors and he said, okay, I'm time.
Pastor Josh:Time to inspect Middletown Baptist Church, where do we stand?
Pastor Josh:How many of us would say, hey, you know what?
Pastor Josh:Praise God, he's here.
Pastor Josh:How many of us would say, oh, boy, I gotta get some things in order.
Pastor Josh:I got.
Pastor Josh:I gotta.
Pastor Josh:I gotta organize a few more things.
Pastor Josh:You know, we have family in town.
Pastor Josh:It was Silas's birthday.
Pastor Josh:And as people are coming into our house, you know, Alicia and I are scrambling to get everything ready.
Pastor Josh:And, you know, I guess we're never really ready to have people here and get prepared.
Pastor Josh:They don't care.
Pastor Josh:But, you know, I'm the type of person, I want to make sure everything's just right.
Pastor Josh:And it's not always just right.
Pastor Josh:All right?
Pastor Josh:Every time you try to have a plan, it doesn't work.
Pastor Josh:And so I'm not saying, is your life perfect?
Pastor Josh:Because none of us.
Pastor Josh:None of us will have a perfect life.
Pastor Josh:But the point is, is that, are we living because God's always concerned about our heart?
Pastor Josh:Where is our heart in the matter of service?
Pastor Josh:Where is our heart in the matter of giving?
Pastor Josh:So he's going to talk about giving here in verse number five.
Pastor Josh:And we're going to see that in the renewal process, he's going to give us, number one, a new desire.
Pastor Josh:Our desire is no longer to only receive, but now we have a new desire to give to others and to give to the Lord.
Pastor Josh:Verse 5.
Pastor Josh:Therefore, I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren that they would go before you and make up beforehand your bounty.
Pastor Josh:Whereof ye had noticed before that the same might be Ready as a matter of bounty and not as a covetousness, but this.
Pastor Josh:I say, he that soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly.
Pastor Josh:And he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
Pastor Josh:So.
Pastor Josh:So he says, hey, there's a principle here.
Pastor Josh:There's a principle that if you are looking to invest into the kingdom of God and receive these benefits, hey, you need to give.
Pastor Josh:Now, he's not talking about this prosperity gospel that if you give to God, he's gonna give you back more money.
Pastor Josh:Okay, that's not how it always goes.
Pastor Josh:But he's speaking of the blessings here.
Pastor Josh:He's speaking of a new desire.
Pastor Josh:He's speaking of the desire that I want to invest into the kingdom of God.
Pastor Josh:If God has blessed me financially, I want to use that for the kingdom of God.
Pastor Josh:Maybe God hasn't blessed me as much as someone else financially.
Pastor Josh:He talks about that.
Pastor Josh:He talks about the proportion of which you have been blessed financially.
Pastor Josh:But again, it's not always about the finances.
Pastor Josh:It's about how God has blessed me.
Pastor Josh:Maybe God hasn't given me millions of dollars.
Pastor Josh:Maybe he's given me an opportunity to serve in certain areas of the church.
Pastor Josh:And I can give that.
Pastor Josh:I can give everything that I possibly can to the Lord.
Pastor Josh:And so it gives us a new desire.
Pastor Josh:The renewal in Jesus Christ gives us a new desire to invest in different ways.
Pastor Josh:You know, we talk about investments in this world, and I'm not talking about that.
Pastor Josh:I'm talking about eternal investments.
Pastor Josh:But before you're a Christian, you want to invest in things that are for yourself.
Pastor Josh:Before you're a believer in Jesus Christ, you want to invest in things that are going to lift you up.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says after that renewal, after that transformation, the new desire is not to lift ourselves up, but to lift God up and lift others up in that process, to edify, to put others before myself.
Pastor Josh:That's the humility of Christ.
Pastor Josh:And so now it's not, hey, I, I, I just can't afford to give because, you know, if I do this for that person, I might not be able to get my extra stuff that I wanted this year.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says, it's not about you, it's about him and about others.
Pastor Josh:And so that's what that new desire is.
Pastor Josh:That new desire is a desire to see God lifted up, others lifted up.
Pastor Josh:But then we see another thing.
Pastor Josh:It's, it's, it's new faith, right?
Pastor Josh:We, before we are saved, we have faith in something.
Pastor Josh:After we are saved, our Faith should be in him and him alone.
Pastor Josh:And so that's what we go back and we look at verse number six, that, that idea of sowing and reaping, you know, if I trust God, I'm willing to allow him to give me the, the, the, the bountiful blessing, right?
Pastor Josh:I'm willing to invest in him if I trust in him, right?
Pastor Josh:Let's say, let's say someone came in today and they said, I have this million dollar idea and all you guys have to do is trust me and give me this money and I will turn it around fivefold.
Pastor Josh:But he really didn't show you reason to believe that hopefully none of you are going to give him your life savings, okay?
Pastor Josh:You need to do your due diligence because that person is not trustworthy right there.
Pastor Josh:There's no reason to believe that person in faith.
Pastor Josh:And so some of us actually treat God that way.
Pastor Josh:Some of us say, you know what, a guy's sitting up here on the front pew and I say, okay, let me tell you, brother, I know where you work and I know what you drive and I know what you do.
Pastor Josh:So therefore you should be giving this.
Pastor Josh:And if you don't, you got some issues.
Pastor Josh:You're not where you really need to be in Christ.
Pastor Josh:I have now gone into that person's life and tried to manipulate his consciousness to and, and be the Holy Spirit in his life, to try to delegate or to delineate what he should give.
Pastor Josh:You know what the Bible says here?
Pastor Josh:It says, every man as he purposes in his heart, so let him give.
Pastor Josh:This has got to be a change of heart.
Pastor Josh:This has to be a change of desire.
Pastor Josh:It has to be a change of faith.
Pastor Josh:I could come in and say, hey, this is the person.
Pastor Josh:This is the percentage you have to give.
Pastor Josh:This is the amount you have to give.
Pastor Josh:Give me all your W2s and then we're going to see, you know, that's right.
Pastor Josh:But, but again, we're looking at this in the New Testament.
Pastor Josh:We're seeing that this is a heart issue.
Pastor Josh:This is a heart issue.
Pastor Josh:Why you say why?
Pastor Josh:He says, because they're supposed to give.
Pastor Josh:Not grudgingly, not with animosity, not with like, oh, I gotta give.
Pastor Josh:Another time this week, Pastor's up asking for another project.
Pastor Josh:It's this, it's this idea that we don't give with a sense of man apprehension or ah, I, I just wish I could have bought this.
Pastor Josh:I could have gone on a cruise.
Pastor Josh:I, I, I could have done this, I could have done this.
Pastor Josh:And there's all these different elements to that.
Pastor Josh:That could be.
Pastor Josh:But he says, don't give grudgingly or out of necessity.
Pastor Josh:Why, here's the principle behind it.
Pastor Josh:Here's the heart issue behind it.
Pastor Josh:For God loveth a cheerful giver.
Pastor Josh:Now, let me just rewind.
Pastor Josh:There are some things in scripture that give us what we would say maybe is a minimum, a good standard.
Pastor Josh:Right.
Pastor Josh:You know, obviously, in the Old Testament, we see that there's the 10%.
Pastor Josh:We see that there is that example.
Pastor Josh:And so some people would say to me, well, if I'm not giving 10%, am I going to get turned away from God?
Pastor Josh:Well, the truth is, is that God's going to not take away your salvation if you don't give 10%.
Pastor Josh:Okay?
Pastor Josh:So it's not a matter of the law, but it is a matter of the heart.
Pastor Josh:And so I would say Inspect your life.
Pastor Josh:10%.
Pastor Josh:Hey, it's a good number.
Pastor Josh:I think it's a good.
Pastor Josh:It's a scriptural number that we can see in the Old Testament as an example.
Pastor Josh:But if someone says to me, well, Pastor, I'm giving my 10%, and I've done it and I'm good and I've checked my box, and God's pressing upon your heart for more, you really want to get into the.
Pastor Josh:The details of the 10%.
Pastor Josh:So it's actually was a lot more than that.
Pastor Josh:Okay.
Pastor Josh:There.
Pastor Josh:And I don't have time to go into that because this isn't a message about tithing or giving only financially.
Pastor Josh:It's about the idea of giving your life to Christ.
Pastor Josh:But what I would say is this.
Pastor Josh:Give cheerfully.
Pastor Josh:You could be giving 50% to the church.
Pastor Josh:And some say, pastor, be careful, be careful here.
Pastor Josh:Don't offend somebody, because we.
Pastor Josh:But here's the truth.
Pastor Josh:You could be giving 50% of your income to the church, but doing it in anger and doing it with animosity and doing it with another purpose outside of the purpose of glorifying God.
Pastor Josh:And God is not pleased with that.
Pastor Josh:Pastor Josh might be pleased with it.
Pastor Josh:Hey, we might be able to build a new building, okay?
Pastor Josh:But here's the truth.
Pastor Josh:At the end of the day, at the end of the day, who are we trying to impress?
Pastor Josh:Who are we trying to glorify?
Pastor Josh:Who are we trying to exalt is Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh:And so our heart.
Pastor Josh:It's a heart issue.
Pastor Josh:Giving is a heart issue.
Pastor Josh:And he says, here it is a new joy.
Pastor Josh:There should be joy in giving.
Pastor Josh:There.
Pastor Josh:There should be an excitement in giving.
Pastor Josh:I get to give to the church.
Pastor Josh:Not, hey, you know what?
Pastor Josh:I better give, or someone might be coming and checking on me.
Pastor Josh:I better give or God's gonna strike me down with lightning.
Pastor Josh:That's not the way that God's economy works.
Pastor Josh:But what we see is that God is characterized by grace.
Pastor Josh:But in so doing, we should be characterized by grace as well, and we should be grace givers.
Pastor Josh:And so this isn't a message to say, well, if you don't love God, then don't give.
Pastor Josh:It's, it's saying this, love God.
Pastor Josh:It's, it's always at the heart of the issue.
Pastor Josh:I, I, I hope that none of you are murderers here today, okay?
Pastor Josh:If you are, there's forgiveness in Christ.
Pastor Josh:But I will say, you know, we keep an eye out for you.
Pastor Josh:But, but here's the thing.
Pastor Josh:Just because we aren't murderers, the Bible says that there is, there's hatred that can be in our hearts.
Pastor Josh:Remember Jesus, he took it a little bit further.
Pastor Josh:He said, hey, hey, you know, you've been told not to murder people, but also don't hate a brother because it's a heart issue.
Pastor Josh:Why don't commit adultery?
Pastor Josh:He says, okay, well, then maybe you don't commit adultery on the outside, but there's a heart issue.
Pastor Josh:There's, if you're lusting after another person, you've committed adultery in your heart.
Pastor Josh:You see that God is always more interested in the heart.
Pastor Josh:It's manifested by your actions.
Pastor Josh:But sometimes what we can do as good Christians and people that can look the part is we can make sure everything on the outside looks good, but on the inside, it's not where it needs to be.
Pastor Josh:He's addressing here in verse number seven, God loves a cheerful giver.
Pastor Josh:Only you and God know if you're cheerful as you give to him in your finances and your time and your talents and your, and your family and all those areas.
Pastor Josh:And so God loves a cheerful giver, but he gives you a new desire, a new faith, and a new joy.
Pastor Josh:So as we are walking in the spirit, as we are walking in the renewal in Jesus Christ, we will be characterized as Christians who have a new desire to give to God, a new faith in giving to him and trusting him in the sowing and reaping principle.
Pastor Josh:And then number three, a new joy in giving.
Pastor Josh:So let's move forward.
Pastor Josh:I put down this.
Pastor Josh:As we grow in the knowledge of the goodness of God, we all should be growing in the knowledge of the goodness of God, how good he is.
Pastor Josh:He's amazing.
Pastor Josh:As we grow in the knowledge of the goodness of God, we then will see the blessings of giving to God and to others.
Pastor Josh:When we don't understand the goodness of God, we then sometimes will not make the connection of the blessing that it is to be a grace giver.
Pastor Josh:Why, let's look at it here, verse 8 and God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye always having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every good work.
Pastor Josh:Meaning this, as you grow in the grace of God and the goodness of God, you will begin to see that there's blessings in giving and not looking at it as losing something.
Pastor Josh:Going back to the world.
Pastor Josh:Going back to the world.
Pastor Josh:What am I losing by helping?
Pastor Josh:The Bible says.
Pastor Josh:Another perspective.
Pastor Josh:What am I gaining by helping?
Pastor Josh:I'm gaining the blessing of being a part of God's plan and purpose in somebody's life.
Pastor Josh:So if I look at someone and they're in need and I go, I could help them, but it's going to put me out.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says no.
Pastor Josh:Think about it as how can I be a blessing to that person?
Pastor Josh:And let's, let's attach it to our mission.
Pastor Josh:Go.
Pastor Josh:Well, we know there's a lot of people in Middletown that need help.
Pastor Josh:Maybe they need help financially, maybe.
Pastor Josh:Maybe they need help with resources.
Pastor Josh:Maybe they need help with connections.
Pastor Josh:Maybe they need help with a community.
Pastor Josh:Maybe they need help with parenting.
Pastor Josh:Maybe they need help with counseling.
Pastor Josh:What do we say?
Pastor Josh:We say, well, we'll help them and then when they get fixed, then they can come here and be a part of us and we'll show them the love of Christ.
Pastor Josh:No, we show them the love of Christ by giving them the things that they need.
Pastor Josh:Hey, let's feed you.
Pastor Josh:But we're doing it in the name of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh:The reason why we love you is because Jesus told us to love you.
Pastor Josh:And Jesus loves you and therefore you can come to know him in salvation.
Pastor Josh:We connect the gospel with the giving.
Pastor Josh:So as a grace giver, we're grace giving the gospel.
Pastor Josh:And you say, well, how does that look when I give my tithes and offerings to the church?
Pastor Josh:That.
Pastor Josh:That looks that way because you're then investing into the kingdom of God so that we're able to reach more people, we're able to go further, we're able to do more things in the name of the gospel.
Pastor Josh:Folks, I would encourage you individually and corporately as a church, when we help people, in which we should be helping people.
Pastor Josh:When we help people, we do it in the name of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh:Unapologetically.
Pastor Josh:I do this because I love you, not because you deserve my love, but because Jesus loves you and he called me to love you.
Pastor Josh:And so we do that in the gospel.
Pastor Josh:So as we grow in the knowledge of the goodness of God, we see the blessings of giving.
Pastor Josh:But then I want you to go back and look with me to verse number eight.
Pastor Josh:And God is able.
Pastor Josh:We could just stop there.
Pastor Josh:He's able and God is able to make all grace abound toward you.
Pastor Josh:God has abundant grace upon your life.
Pastor Josh:But I want you to see this next point as we grow in the understanding of God's grace.
Pastor Josh:By the way, what is grace?
Pastor Josh:Things that God gives us that we do not deserve.
Pastor Josh:Okay, Salvation and everything else.
Pastor Josh:As God is able to make all grace abound towards you.
Pastor Josh:That ye always having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every good work.
Pastor Josh:Meaning this, as we grow in the understanding of God's grace in our life and the scope of God's grace in our life, we begin to trust in his sufficiency for our life.
Pastor Josh:Meaning all I need is Christ.
Pastor Josh:All I need is Him.
Pastor Josh:He will not let me go without.
Pastor Josh:He will not let me get to a place in my life where I cannot recover.
Pastor Josh:He will always continuously, forever pour out grace and be enough for me.
Pastor Josh:So therefore we don't look at what we're losing again.
Pastor Josh:We're looking at what we're gaining in Christ and the sufficiency of knowing Him.
Pastor Josh:Folks, some of us need to.
Pastor Josh:And I'm a love.
Pastor Josh:I love you when I say this, and I'm saying this to myself.
Pastor Josh:Some of us need to rely on God more.
Pastor Josh:Some of us need to trust in Jesus more instead of trusting in things that we have that give us that security.
Pastor Josh:How.
Pastor Josh:I don't know how many of you, when you were growing up, maybe had a security blanket.
Pastor Josh:You needed that blanket with you when you were a child.
Pastor Josh:And, and.
Pastor Josh:Or maybe some of us have left a security blanket, but we've gone to something else to give us our security.
Pastor Josh:And you can fill in the blank for that.
Pastor Josh:I can sit here and give you a thousand different things that could give us security.
Pastor Josh:Folks, the only thing that's going to bring you sufficiency is forever, is Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh:And that's what verse eight is saying says, God is going to pour out his grace.
Pastor Josh:And when you understand his grace, you begin to trust in him because you know that he's enough.
Pastor Josh:I'm not afraid of losing anything.
Pastor Josh:I'm not afraid of missing out.
Pastor Josh:Sometimes I have the.
Pastor Josh:What do they call it?
Pastor Josh:Fomo?
Pastor Josh:Fear of missing out.
Pastor Josh:Folks, as a Christian, we're not missing out.
Pastor Josh:This world has nothing to offer.
Pastor Josh:There's no sufficiency in the things of this world.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says it is only Christ and Christ alone who extends as sufficiency to us in every area.
Pastor Josh:You name it, you name it.
Pastor Josh:As a pastor, you know, you hear, I don't know what I'm going to do with my kids.
Pastor Josh:I don't know what I'm going to do with my spouse.
Pastor Josh:I don't know what I'm going to do with my own life.
Pastor Josh:I don't know what I'm going to do with my finances.
Pastor Josh:I don't know what I'm going to do with my job.
Pastor Josh:Folks, I'm going to tell you, I don't know either.
Pastor Josh:But I know God has got it.
Pastor Josh:God has got our country.
Pastor Josh:God has got our world.
Pastor Josh:God is in control.
Pastor Josh:He is on the throne.
Pastor Josh:And so the sufficiency is this.
Pastor Josh:Hey, we can take steps.
Pastor Josh:We, we, we can take a risk.
Pastor Josh:We can go, we can trust, because God has got us.
Pastor Josh:Now what can happen is.
Pastor Josh:Let me, let me just play the other side of the card.
Pastor Josh:Well, I'm a Christian and I can make decisions that I want to make and I can be risky and I can not be discerning and I can just make decisions and then just hope God blesses them.
Pastor Josh:That's not what this is talking about.
Pastor Josh:Because.
Pastor Josh:Because if you're not resting in the truth of God, if you're not resting in the righteousness of God, if you're not resting in his will and His Word, then you can make a ton of decisions that can pull you away from understanding his sufficiency.
Pastor Josh:The goodness is, is that God is big enough to even grace us in our shortcomings.
Pastor Josh:But a lot of times what happens is that people say, well, you know what?
Pastor Josh:God doesn't love me.
Pastor Josh:And the truth is, is that it might be that he does love you.
Pastor Josh:And he loves you enough to let you make some decisions in your life.
Pastor Josh:He gives you the freedom to make decisions.
Pastor Josh:God didn't create robots.
Pastor Josh:And so we have to make the decisions that align with Him.
Pastor Josh:And so as you understand his grace and as you understand his goodness, you begin to trust in his sufficiency and ultimately, ultimately to the sufficiency of His Word.
Pastor Josh:Folks, you know what?
Pastor Josh:This, this Bible that I'm holding in my hand, the Bible that you have there in your lap or that you can read on your tablet or your phone, all things, all scripture is given by inspiration of God.
Pastor Josh:And it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction, righteousness.
Pastor Josh:It's enough.
Pastor Josh:This is enough.
Pastor Josh:You don't have to say, well, I know the Bible says this, but look at what's going on.
Pastor Josh:I know the Bible says this, but you don't know my situation.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says this, but I can't afford folks, that's.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says this, period.
Pastor Josh:Thus sayeth the Lord, we trust it, and there's sufficiency there.
Pastor Josh:What the world is trying to tell us is this, hey, the Bible's okay, and it could be a.
Pastor Josh:A thing that you have in your life as a guidebook, but when something else contradicts it, we might need to pick that.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says, if something contradicts the Bible, it's not worth our time, it's not worth our investment.
Pastor Josh:And so he goes further here.
Pastor Josh:He says, as we grow in our understanding of God's grace, we trust in his sufficiency.
Pastor Josh:And, and so we.
Pastor Josh:Let's go further.
Pastor Josh:Let's look at verse nine.
Pastor Josh:Says, as it is written, he hath dispersed abroad.
Pastor Josh:He have given to the poor.
Pastor Josh:His righteousness remaineth forever.
Pastor Josh:Here in this passage of Scripture, he's actually quoting an Old Testament passage, and which, which Paul frequently does.
Pastor Josh:And I think it's important to see that as, as a believer, God has been faithful not just in one area of our life, but he's been faithful in all areas of our life, and he's been faithful to those before us.
Pastor Josh:And he will continue to stay faithful to us for as long as he has given us life.
Pastor Josh:And so I think so many times we forget about the full scope of God and His goodness.
Pastor Josh:And so, so he quotes there in Psalm 119, and he says, as it is written, he hath dispersed abroad.
Pastor Josh:He hath given to the poor.
Pastor Josh:His righteousness remaineth forever.
Pastor Josh:Remember what 2 Corinthians, chapter 5 said, It's his righteousness on our account.
Pastor Josh:His righteousness remains forever in our lives.
Pastor Josh:And so this perspective, this perspective of God's goodness and his grace allows a believer to live with gratitude, contentment, and fruitfulness.
Pastor Josh:Let's see the passage of Scripture that points us to that.
Pastor Josh:Okay, he says now, verse 10.
Pastor Josh:Now, he that ministereth seed to the sower, both minister bread for your food and multiply your seed, sown and increase fruits of your righteousness, meaning he that ministers, he's that.
Pastor Josh:He's that sowing that seed to the sower.
Pastor Josh:He's the one that is ministering the provisions and multiplying those provisions and giving us fruitfulness, verse 11.
Pastor Josh:Being enriched in everything to all bountifulness which causeth through us, thanksgiving to God for the administration of this service not only supplieth the wants of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God.
Pastor Josh:So the Bible says here that as we have this perspective of grace, giving and being ambassadors for Christ, it allows us to live with gratitude.
Pastor Josh:We see it there.
Pastor Josh:It says, thankfulness, thanksgiving to God.
Pastor Josh:Verse number 11.
Pastor Josh:We live with gratitude like, I'm thankful for what I have.
Pastor Josh:The world says, don't be thankful for what you have.
Pastor Josh:Get more.
Pastor Josh:Be discontent with what you have.
Pastor Josh:And the Bible says, no, live with gratitude.
Pastor Josh:And when you live with gratitude, you will live with contentment.
Pastor Josh:So think of from this perspective, what do I deserve?
Pastor Josh:I deserve nothing.
Pastor Josh:What do I have?
Pastor Josh:I have everything in Christ.
Pastor Josh:Therefore I can live with gratitude and contentment.
Pastor Josh:I have enough.
Pastor Josh:I'm good.
Pastor Josh:And then what happens is, is that when we live our lives with gratitude and contentment, what does he say in verse number 11?
Pastor Josh:Bountifulness comes fruitfulness.
Pastor Josh:You want to be a fruitful Christian, Live with gratitude, live with contentment.
Pastor Josh:When you live that way, God is going to bless us with wonderful fruit in our life.
Pastor Josh:Verse 13.
Pastor Josh:Whilst by the experiment of this ministration that they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ.
Pastor Josh:Meaning when we.
Pastor Josh:I know that's hard to kind of fathom what he's saying there, but what it says is this.
Pastor Josh:When you put yourself into the obedience of the gospel, other people will glorify God by you glorifying God by you living out the gospel in your life, by you giving the gospel to other people.
Pastor Josh:What will happen is that other people will then begin to trust and glorify God as well.
Pastor Josh:And so with the gratitude and the contentment and the fruitfulness, comes the results.
Pastor Josh:And I want you to see the results here.
Pastor Josh:Biblically speaking, we see that the needs are supplied.
Pastor Josh:So, so initially, the needs of the people are supplied.
Pastor Josh:I.
Pastor Josh:If you go back to verse number 12 says for the administration of this service, this type of grace giving not only supplies the want of the saints.
Pastor Josh:Okay, so, so what this means is that people's needs are supplied.
Pastor Josh:People are taken care of with this lifestyle.
Pastor Josh:When we live in the grace of God, it's.
Pastor Josh:And we live in the sufficiency of God, people's needs are taken care of.
Pastor Josh:No one's gonna go without.
Pastor Josh:But then we see number two.
Pastor Josh:We see that there's thankfulness, he says, but is abundant also by Many thankfulness, thanksgiving unto God.
Pastor Josh:So there's thankful hearts to God.
Pastor Josh:So how we can impact our community with this type of living would be that people's needs are supplied.
Pastor Josh:Number two, people are thankful to God, not just for us, but they're thankful to God, which then brings em to a place where God is glorified.
Pastor Josh:That that's what we see there in verse number 13 was by this experiment of this ministration, meaning by living out this ministry, people glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ.
Pastor Josh:Meaning the more that you live the gospel, the more people will glorify God.
Pastor Josh:Matthew 5:16, Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Pastor Josh:The whole purpose is to proclaim the gospel not so that we can grow the church, but so that we can get glory to God.
Pastor Josh:And glorifying God would mean that the church grows, but it would also mean that we give to those in need, that we produce folks that are thankful to God.
Pastor Josh:And then ultimately what we see here is this verse 13.
Pastor Josh:Your professed objection to the gospel of Christ and for your liberal distribute distribution, meaning your, your gracious giving on unto them and to all men.
Pastor Josh:So, so you give verse 14 and by their prayer for you.
Pastor Josh:And so what happens is, is actually the Bible tells us here that we lead people by giving them needs, by giving them the gospel that brings them to a thankfulness to God, which means God is glorified.
Pastor Josh:Which means then it says that they're gonna pray for you.
Pastor Josh:So, so essentially this is discipleship.
Pastor Josh:It's winning people to Christ and then them praying.
Pastor Josh:If they're praying for you, that means that they're growing in their faith and that, that we can understand that there's this reciprocal giving back and forth.
Pastor Josh:And so he says by their prayer for you, which long after you, for the exceeding grace of God in you.
Pastor Josh:And so there's this wonderful idea that there's going to be prayer.
Pastor Josh:We pray for them, they pray for us.
Pastor Josh:And there's this hope that we can see that the, the gospel of Jesus Christ is spread through the exceeding grace of God in us.
Pastor Josh:And so he goes on to say verse 15 and this is, this is awesome here he says he's talking about giving Christians giving.
Pastor Josh:He's talking about Christians giving materially and all these other ways.
Pastor Josh:But then he, he kind of changes it.
Pastor Josh:He kind of changes to make the bigger picture.
Pastor Josh:He says verse 15, thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
Pastor Josh:So what is he saying here?
Pastor Josh:He says, if you want to know what it means to be a grace giver, watch God.
Pastor Josh:God is the greatest gift giver ever.
Pastor Josh:And he says, thanks be to God for this unspeakable gift.
Pastor Josh:Or in the Greek, you could also kind of see it as indescribable.
Pastor Josh:It doesn't mean that we shouldn't describe it.
Pastor Josh:It doesn't mean that we shouldn't speak it.
Pastor Josh:It means that it's so big, the gift that God gives us in salvation is so big that we cannot do it justice.
Pastor Josh:We cannot mind the depths of what it means to be resting in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh:You could sit here for days and talk about how awesome the gospel is and you wouldn't do it justice.
Pastor Josh:That's what he's talking about here.
Pastor Josh:So he says, okay, you want to be a grace giver, follow your father.
Pastor Josh:Now what's this unspeakable gift?
Pastor Josh:We know that ultimately God is a gift giver in giving us wonderful things here on this earth.
Pastor Josh:But the greatest gift that God gives us is that God gives us the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh:So you could look at it this way.
Pastor Josh:Jesus is that greatest gift.
Pastor Josh:God the Father is the greatest gift giver.
Pastor Josh:Jesus and the salvation that he extends to us is the greatest gift.
Pastor Josh:So he says.
Pastor Josh:And so I think of this.
Pastor Josh:Paul's explaining how to give.
Pastor Josh:And the whole time Paul's explaining how to give as a gospel tool.
Pastor Josh:He says, man, he's just thinking about the gospel.
Pastor Josh:He's thinking about what God has done for him.
Pastor Josh:And so he gets to the end of the style and he just goes, thanks be to God for this unspeakable gift.
Pastor Josh:And, and, and by context, we know he's not talking about the gift that we give.
Pastor Josh:He's talking about the greatest gift that was given to us in Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh:And that is the salvation that we all have extended to us.
Pastor Josh:And so how do we understand to be a grace giver?
Pastor Josh:How do we grow in being a grace giver?
Pastor Josh:Well, it's understanding what God has done for us.
Pastor Josh:This next slide's gonna be a little small, so you might not be able to read it up there, but I will try to read it for you.
Pastor Josh:Yeah, way too small.
Pastor Josh:Sorry.
Pastor Josh:I will read that for you.
Pastor Josh:As we experience God's greatest gift of grace, we share that grace with others in our life.
Pastor Josh:Meaning this.
Pastor Josh:The more you understand what God has done for you, the more you share that with other people, the more you understand the depth of God's Love, the more you share that with other people, the more you understand what God has given you, the more you give to others, the more that you understand God's forgiveness, the more you forgive others, the more you understand God's grace, the more grace you give to others.
Pastor Josh:And so it's not trying harder, it's understanding Jesus more.
Pastor Josh:It's not.
Pastor Josh:It's not losing out.
Pastor Josh:It's what I'm gaining and growing to be more and more like Christ.
Pastor Josh:And so he starts with the challenge of being a grace giver.
Pastor Josh:He ends with the reason why we should be grace givers.
Pastor Josh:Because of the greatest gift that was given to us in Jesus Christ, folks, we have an awesome message to tell the world.
Pastor Josh:We have an awesome message to go and be ambassadors for Christ.
Pastor Josh:You say, well, what does that mean?
Pastor Josh:That means I go pass out tracks, maybe.
Pastor Josh:What does that mean?
Pastor Josh:I go build a building in the darkest place in another continent, maybe.
Pastor Josh:But it also might start here.
Pastor Josh:Remember what we talked about last week?
Pastor Josh:Acts, chapter one, verse eight.
Pastor Josh:Where does it start?
Pastor Josh:It starts in Jerusalem.
Pastor Josh:It starts in my closest area.
Pastor Josh:So therefore, what does that mean?
Pastor Josh:That means, am I in my life being a giver, a grace giver.
Pastor Josh:As every man, as every person purposes in his heart before God, as God has given to you, so we give back, stewards of God's grace.
Pastor Josh:Stewards, you say, well, how can I give back?
Pastor Josh:I don't have much.
Pastor Josh:Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.
Pastor Josh:Even if you were, Even if you didn't have anything materially, you have the greatest gift.
Pastor Josh:If you're a believer in Jesus Christ this morning, I hope that you are.
Pastor Josh:You have the greatest gift ever given to you.
Pastor Josh:You can share that gift with other people.
Pastor Josh:But if we're honest with ourselves, most of us are bountifully blessed above and beyond our salvation.
Pastor Josh:So what do we do?
Pastor Josh:We look and pray for opportunities for God to guide us to where we can give to his kingdom.
Pastor Josh:His kingdom might be, hey, we're trying to move forward in this project to reach these people for Christ.
Pastor Josh: Unreached people in the: Pastor Josh:Hey, that might be what our goal is.
Pastor Josh:There's an unreached tribe in another land.
Pastor Josh:Or it might be, hey, Middletown has a lot of people moving in and we need to reach people for the gospel here in Jerusalem.
Pastor Josh:And so I want you to be praying.
Pastor Josh:I am going to be praying about how God can lead me and the Spirit can guide me to a place of where I need to give.
Pastor Josh:And I might need to give with that Agape.
Pastor Josh:Remember what agape means?
Pastor Josh:Sacrificial, not seeking my own self interest.
Pastor Josh:This is hard.
Pastor Josh:I mean, I know, I know the economy, I, I, I know, I know that sometimes it, it, it's, it's difficult.
Pastor Josh:Trust me.
Pastor Josh:I know what my flesh tells me when God puts upon my heart to help someone.
Pastor Josh:Well, by the way, some of us have that supernatural gift of giving.
Pastor Josh:Some of us don't.
Pastor Josh:I don't have the supernatural gift of giving.
Pastor Josh:That's not one of the things that God has poured out upon my life.
Pastor Josh:And so I rationalize my lack of desire to give.
Pastor Josh:I start saying, well, yeah, but look, I've got kids in my house.
Pastor Josh:Look, I gotta take care of this.
Pastor Josh:Look, I gotta do that.
Pastor Josh:We all could have excuses.
Pastor Josh:Now, some of you are supernaturally gifted in the gift of giving.
Pastor Josh:You'd give someone the shirt off your back today.
Pastor Josh:You'd be like, hey, you want a car?
Pastor Josh:Here, take it.
Pastor Josh:You know, I, I love guys.
Pastor Josh:I, I, I, I'll come up to someone and I'll say, hey, I love your shirt.
Pastor Josh:You want it?
Pastor Josh:And I was like, no, no, I don't want your shirt.
Pastor Josh:I don't want your shirt.
Pastor Josh:That, that's a giver, right?
Pastor Josh:Praise God for that.
Pastor Josh:But, but I would say, where, where can we all look into our own life and say, lord, what do you want me to give for your kingdom?
Pastor Josh:How can I give as I go?
Pastor Josh:And we can use giving as the gospel.
Pastor Josh:And I encourage you to think about that as, as we move further.
Pastor Josh:Now, I'm gonna challenge us to come back next week, because next week we're gonna talk about going and how we think, believe it or not, how we think affects how we go.
Pastor Josh:And just as much as you can give the gospel by giving, by the way, that you think can be a testament of the gospel as well.
Pastor Josh:And so we're going to talk about some deep topics coming up in the next few weeks in Second Corinthians, chapter 10, about how we can deal with thoughts that come into our mind and how we allow those thoughts to dictate our lives.
Pastor Josh:And are we going to allow ourselves to have the word of God dictate our thinking?
Pastor Josh:Are we going to allow our emotions or our culture or our pain to dictate our feelings and our actions?
Pastor Josh:And so we're going to talk about that when we come back in this series of, of going for ambassadors for Christ.
Pastor Josh:So guess what?
Pastor Josh:If you're a Christian this morning, you are qualified as an ambassador, which means you got a responsibility, you got a Responsibility to represent Christ wherever you go.
Pastor Josh:Not just at Middletown Baptist Church, but in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, into the uttermost part of the earth.
Pastor Josh:And so I want you to go out now just as much as you are.
Pastor Josh:Hey, some of you grabbed the magnets that we had back there, and some of you are going to put that in your car, maybe.
Pastor Josh:By the way, you are representing the Lord, but you're also representing Middletown Baptist Church.
Pastor Josh:So make sure that you're careful about how you live publicly if you're going to put your.
Pastor Josh:Put our name out there.
Pastor Josh:Okay?
Pastor Josh:But.
Pastor Josh:But I would say there's a.
Pastor Josh:There's a greater purpose, right?
Pastor Josh:So how I live my life in my workplace dictates who I trust in how I love my wife dictates who I believe.
Pastor Josh:If I believe myself before God, I'm gonna act certain ways.
Pastor Josh:If I believe the world more than God, I'm gonna act certain ways.
Pastor Josh:So I would say in the bigger picture, yeah, you're representing Middletown Baptist Church, but ultimately, how you live your life represents who you are in Christ.
Pastor Josh:And that's the identity that we all should be striving to fulfill.
Pastor Josh:And so I'm gonna ask if you're able to this morning, every head bowed, every eye closed as the music plays.
Pastor Josh:I do know that we've talked about a lot of concepts this morning, but if we go back to that idea of being an ambassador, the question is, is, am I walking?
Pastor Josh:God has already made me a new creation if I'm a believer this morning.
Pastor Josh:But am I walking in that new joy, that new faith, that new desire, that new.
Pastor Josh:Am I willing to sow and be patient?
Pastor Josh:Because by the way, when we sow seeds, at least in my garden, they don't come up right away.
Pastor Josh:And the truth is, is that sometimes when we sow the seed of grace giving in our life, we may or may not see the result the way that we expect it to come, in the timing that we expect, in the way that we expect.
Pastor Josh:But the Bible doesn't say, hey, you know what?
Pastor Josh:If you give a thousand dollars, God's going to give you 2,000.
Pastor Josh:He might.
Pastor Josh:But you might give a thousand dollars and God gives you no financial back, but he's going to give you fruit that means way more than what our money system can provide, folks.
Pastor Josh:The greatest fruit that we can ever see in our life is the fruit of people coming to Christ, furthering the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Josh:That is the purpose, folks.
Pastor Josh:I believe in a prosperity gospel, but not the prosperity gospel material blessings.
Pastor Josh:I believe in the prosperity of the kingdom of God.
Pastor Josh:I believe in the prosperity of the grace of God.
Pastor Josh:And yes, is God going to bless you financially?
Pastor Josh:He might choose to bless you financially.
Pastor Josh:Some of you in this room have been blessed beyond measure in the finances.
Pastor Josh:True, true.
Pastor Josh:Question, what are you doing with it?
Pastor Josh:But secondly, maybe God has not blessed you with financial blessings, but he's blessed you in many ways of service, many ways.
Pastor Josh:Are you stewarding that for the kingdom of God?
Pastor Josh:It's a convicting message this morning, but I pray that we all can move forward as grace givers as we go as ambassadors of Christ.
Pastor Josh:If you have not trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior.
Pastor Josh:We've talked a lot about the gospel this morning, but here's the invitation.
Pastor Josh:The invitation is this.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says to believe in the name of Jesus Christ, not believing in the existence of a God, but to believe that Jesus is the one who can save you from your sins.
Pastor Josh:For all have sinned to come short of the glory of God for the wages of sin is death.
Pastor Josh:But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Pastor Josh:The gift is not he makes your life the better.
Pastor Josh:The gift is that he saves you and gives you everlasting life.
Pastor Josh:And so this morning, if you have been trusting in anything outside of complete, complete salvation in Jesus Christ, you can come forward and you can trust in him as your Savior today.
Pastor Josh:The Bible says that if you believe on the name of Jesus Christ, ye will be saved.
Pastor Josh:You will be saved.
Pastor Josh:There's no if, ands or buts about that.
Pastor Josh:There's no hesitancy in God's grace.
Pastor Josh:God is desiring.
Pastor Josh:He was not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance.
Pastor Josh:And all repentance means is I'm turning away from my way of doing things and I'm turning to Christ.
Pastor Josh:I'm doing an about face.
Pastor Josh:So someone in this room might need that here this morning.
Pastor Josh:Someone might need to repent and come to Christ and trust in him and him alone for salvation, for eternal life.
Pastor Josh:That be the case, we've got a few folks up here that are willing to show you in the word of God what it means to know Jesus as your Savior.
Pastor Josh:But if you've trusted in Jesus as your Savior, this morning is a challenge for us.
Pastor Josh:How are we going to go?
Pastor Josh:How are we going to give, as verse 7 said, are we gonna do it cheerfully?
Pastor Josh:Are we gonna do it in a place of bitterness and anger and frustration?
Pastor Josh:Are we gonna do it with trusting the sufficiency of Christ or trusting in the sufficiency of anything else this morning.
Pastor Josh:I encourage you to trust in the sufficiency of Jesus Christ in every area of your life.
Pastor Josh:Lord, I pray that you be in this time of invitation work in hearts.
Pastor Josh:I encourage you Please encourage us this morning as you've encouraged us so many times in the grace of God, Lord, in in the forgiveness that you've extended to us.
Pastor Josh:Lord, I pray that we can be encouraged and and equipped and engaged to go and to proclaim the Gospel message by everything that we do in our lives.
Pastor Josh:Lord, help us to give you all that we can for the cause of the kingdom.
Pastor Josh:We ask all these things in Jesus name.
Pastor Josh:Amen.
Pastor Josh:As the music plays follows the Lord leads here this morning.
Pastor Josh:Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast.
Pastor Josh:I I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you.
Pastor Josh:If you would like to find out more information about our church or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org or find us on Facebook or YouTube.
Pastor Josh:You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast.
Pastor Josh:Please subscribe and follow along for future podcasts and updates.
Pastor Josh:Thank you so much.
Pastor Josh:God Bless.
Pastor Josh:Have a wonderful day.
