Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:06 One Timothy is a passage of scripture that I started with, and I'm gonna just expand on it a little bit this morning, and it begins in chapter six from verses 17 to 19. I'm gonna read from the amplified version of the Bible. Obviously, look at whatever version you have. Can I encourage you even with that, that you would cross research different, uh, versions of the Bible. One Timothy six, verse 17, it says this, As for the rich in this present world, instruct them not to be conceited and arrogant, nor to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God. So where is our hope? Is it in the uncertainty of the times, in the circumstances of life, in the systems of the world? Or is it on God who is so certain, who rich, who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for our enjoyment?
Speaker 1 00:01:16 And that is the one line that really struck me and spoke to me significantly, and it's what I wanted to speak to us about over the last few weeks. And so that is why I've titled the series on provision, the provision of God. And when we speak about provision, what we're speaking about is God supplying that whatever we might be navigating there is supply found in God. But it goes on to say this, He's the one who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for our enjoyment, instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous, willing to share with others in this way, storing up for themselves the enduring riches of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. There's so much in that passage of scripture, and I would ask that you would go to it and read through it, meditate on it.
Speaker 1 00:02:23 But just a slight recap for those that haven't been around. Um, and a reminder that all of our teaching is available online through our website. There's a teaching section, there's podcasts, there's the video messages there. So please, if you want to catch up, go and catch up. But week one, what we spoke about essentially was that God desires for us to flourish and be fruitful. There are promises at very key points in the creation of God from Genesis 1 28 to, uh, Noah, to Abraham, and even now in a new covenant through Jesus, where there is a blessing that comes by God, but the promise is, and the instruction is, or the calling is flourish and be fruitful. So the intent of God is that we would live in a state of life that is bearing fruit. Now, remembering that fruit isn't constant and all of the time it is seasonal.
Speaker 1 00:03:29 There are times of winter, there are times of sewing, there are times of navigating the complexities of the environment. But the ultimate end of God for you and I, is that we would live fruitful lives. And that for us, Jesus is that source of fruitfulness. You could say that in the beginning there was a breakdown in the supply chain, God being the supplier, but he being the supplier chose to remedy that through Jesus. That Jesus now is the bridge in the breakdown of the supply chain. And in John 15, Jesus calls us into abiding with him, and that as we abide with him, we will bear fruit. Week two, what we looked at, um, was seeing with a healthy eye. It comes from Luke chapter 11 and is a passage where Jesus speaks of having a healthy eye or an unhealthy eye. And what it was speaking about was our perception towards God and the world.
Speaker 1 00:04:37 Our perception is the way that we see things. The way that we see is the way that we will be. It's not so much about what we see, it's more about the way that we see it. So numbers chapter 13 is the passage that we've already looked at as to the example of the power of perception. It's the scenario where Moses sends out 12 liters to scout out the land that God had promised to the people of God. They come back with the report, all 12, seeing the same thing, but 10 of them chose to see it differently than two of them. And in my Bible, I've got a big leather bound, which makes me look so much more intelligent than I am. Uh, study Bible. There's a little footnote in my Nrv study Bible, um, with regards to this scenario. And this is what it says, The goodness of the land was offset in their fearful eyes.
Speaker 1 00:05:43 So they chose to see one thing in two different ways. And really what it speaks about is having a healthy eye is an eye of generosity or of abundance. An unhealthy eye is to see scarcity and lack. And the reality is, is that we are faced with that scenario every single day where we choose to either see the abundance or generosity of God or the scarcity of the world in which we live. And we spoke a lot about what scarcity can do to us. It creates a protectionism about us. It creates a defensiveness about us. It causes us to accumulate rather than to allow to flow through our lives today, which is week three. Um, I wanna speak to you about blessed to give in Acts chapter 20, verse 35. The apostle Paul is speaking and he says it like this, In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work, we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord.
Speaker 1 00:07:03 Jesus himself when he said, it is more blessed to give than it is to receive that word. Blessed. If you want to look at it in, uh, the New Testament, it being written in Greek, and then you can correlate to what the original language was in a more, uh, relevant context, that being Hebrew, what that word is speaking about is happiness. Now in the co you're gonna see an article, uh, written by Christie Christie. Herman is somebody who came and brought some very incredible insight and practical wisdom for us as parents and how to navigate the times in which we live. But Christie writes about this pursuit of happiness. So when we see a word that says, blessed are those who give rather than receive, or it is more blessed to give than to receive and blessed talking about happiness, we have to understand the depths of what this word happiness is in the context of the Bible.
Speaker 1 00:08:09 That it isn't just speaking of an emotional state. It has a far more holistic approach to what it means to be happy in the context of life in God, life following Jesus. And that it speaks to things like wellbeing. It speaks to things like being well off, materially speaking and financially speaking. It's not something that we can ignore in the context of being blessed, but it is not the specific focus of it. It's not the emphasis of it. What it speaks about is you and I being in a position of life really that is flourishing and fruitful. And so in the context of provision, which is what this is about, from that passage in Timothy where we are talking about the God who provides that there is supply in God, when we speak about provision, we can't separate out the principles and practices of given because they are interwoven, they are interconnected.
Speaker 1 00:09:18 Now, we have to come back to the bigger perspective when it comes to this concept of God providing a, we believe that it is God's intent. We believe that the way that we see will affect our experience of how we be and that all of this is about faith and us growing in love. It's not about us getting more stuff, but it is about more love. Because ultimately, if you think about being in a position where we are flourishing and fruitful, we are better positioned to extend what we have received in our life to those around us. That this more love is about us receiving more love from God, love to God, but love to others. And John chapter 13, Jesus himself speaks of how us following him is most evidenced in our love for others. And so this concept of provision, we can't narrow it down to just a material thing, but we can't ignore the material aspect of life either. We live in a material world, we live in a tactile world. We are alive in time and space. And so there is objectivity and material aspects to it. Know that God is interested in that side of your life as well. Fruitful, flourishing. There is provision in God. Timothy again says it like that, Instruct them to do good, To be rich in good works, to be generous.
Speaker 1 00:11:08 The world tells us that to be happier, it will come in us receiving. Jesus speaks about being happier in us giving. Um, I was listening to a teaching series from a pastor leader, teacher by the name of John Macomber, who I know some of us have come across. I've started really listening to and following a lot of what he has to teach over the last couple of years. He's based in Portland, in, um, the United States, and he did a series in their church called Bridgetown Church. And I wanna encourage you to go find it as well. In 2019, they did a vision series and the message that he titled was Becoming People of Generosity. And it's where I heard him speak about a book that was written by sociologists. Essentially, sociologists are scientists of human behavior, and they wrote this book, I love the title, The Paradox of Generosity.
Speaker 1 00:12:19 And you might not be able to see the subheading, but it says, giving, We receive grasping, we lose. This is not a Jesus centric Christian classic faith. This is a scientific, studied, researched human behavior book. And I'm gonna read some excerpts from it, speaking about the power of generosity in Allah. So we speak about being more blessed in giving than receiving. I love that the Bible has eternal truths, age old time tested truths. But I appreciate we live in a world of skepticism where we can, uh, negate the authority and the authenticity of the word of God. I would love for us to be a church that we live by the audiences of the Bible, that it is from scripture, that we allow our lives to be shaped. But also there is evidence that is produced in a scientific sense that validates the words of Jesus.
Speaker 1 00:13:40 In the book, they say this generosity is paradoxical. Those who give receive back in return, generous practices actually create enhanced personal wellbeing. The association between generosity and wellbeing is not accidental. The Bible says it like this in two Corinthians chapter nine in verse six. Remember this, Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. Whoever, whoever's so generously will reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly, not under compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver, and God is able to bless you abundantly. So that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound. In every good work as it is written, they have freely scattered the gifts to the poor, the righteousness and jurors forever. So we're starting to see this biblical truth of provision coming by way of faith expressed in our giving, in our generosity.
Speaker 1 00:15:05 It is being supported and validated by behavioral scientists that actually have studied the effect of you and I living from a place of generosity that if we choose to extend ourselves towards others, there is a receptivity of blessing. There is provision in our lives. What they did was they created nine categories of giving and then studied the effect of those nine categories. And this is what it says about five of them speaking specifically of what the giving was and the effect it had in people's lives. Giving money, volunteering, being relationally generous, being a generous neighbor and friend, and personally valuing the importance of being a gener, a generous person, are all significantly positively correlated with greater personal happiness, physical health, a stronger sense of purpose in life, the avoidance of depression symptoms and a greater interest in personal growth.
Speaker 1 00:16:28 Those who sow sparingly will also reap sparing. The paradox of generosity is that those who give receive and if we choose to live from a place of being generous, and I love that they've identified specific areas of life, that it's not just being generous in one thing and one thing only, but it is this broad spectrum of generosity. But if you look at that list, uh, giving money, being generous to a neighbor, uh, volunteering, all of those come by way of the foundation of what the church actually is. When we speak about becoming a church, that is the essence of community. We've spoken about where community is actually formed, community is formed at the meeting point of need and gift where there is vulnerability enough to express need in our life, and then there is generosity enough to give a gift to meet that need.
Speaker 1 00:17:36 And it's at that intersection that community occurs. And so if you think about living a life that is more fulfilling, that is more content. If you want to a life that is happier, not just emotionally speaking, not just surface speaking Bible. And sociologists tell us that it comes by way of generosity. How generous are we living? In what areas of our life can we be more generous? I've heard it said like this before, especially in the context of church, everything of what you are hoping to receive. And let's just be honest, we don't have to put our hands up. We all have a desire to receive something from what this is, whether it's belonging, friendship, discipleship, spiritual formation, uh, you know, wisdom, uh, all of those things. Everything of what people come into a church environment with, There is a desire to receive something. The very thing that you desire to receive is most probably the thing that you should be giving. And we often wait to receive before we give. The Bible speaks to us about sewing. And in sewing we receive. And I know it's easier said than done, right? I'm the guy that lacks a phone call from somebody every now and again to see how they're doing. And then when I get upset that nobody has phoned, I ask myself the question, instead of waiting to receive the phone call, why don't I give the phone call? So you have to ask yourself the question like, uh, what is it that stops us from being generous?
Speaker 1 00:19:44 I'm sure we've all exited the words at some point. I can't afford that. It's a reality. I can't afford that. Uh, I I can't afford to be more generous. So when I have more, then I'll give more. That's often our thinking. When I have more time, I'll give more time. When I have more money, I'll give more money. But unfortunately, it's a lie. We're not gonna give more when we have more if we are not able to give right now. And understanding that the giving and the generosity is all relative. It's all in context of our individual lives. The greatest example to me, and it's something that I'll probably touch on next week, is there is a scenario and the New Testament where Jesus is with his followers and they are in church. They're in the temple, and they're standing opposite the Temple Treasury where people are giving money.
Speaker 1 00:20:53 And what he notices is he notices a whole bunch of rich people giving in a lot of money. I e and amount is big, but then a very poor widow comes along and gives just two small coins. And the two small coins is what gets Jesus' attention to the point where he has to call his disciples, give the attention to them because this is a learning experience. And what he says is that this poor widow gave more than the rich people because generosity is all relative. It's relative to your situation, to your capacity, to your context.
Speaker 1 00:21:34 But that lie of when I have more, I will give more. I I'm reading another book, and I haven't got it on the presentation this morning, but I've mentioned it. It's called Sacred Economics again, it's a, it's not a Jesus centered faith book, Okay? Secular book, uh, research. And what it's looking at is the sacred aspect that has been lost in wealth or in economics of the world. And so he highlights where money has come from, essentially this whole gift, uh, need exchange. Then it was monetized. And how in the world in which we live, certain things have been lost and how they can come back again. But he highlights something which I find fascinating. Um, if I have more, I'll give more. Also, we might think that greed is the issue. So we've got greed and we need to deal with greed. He says this greed makes sense in the context of scarcity.
Speaker 1 00:22:35 So week two, how we see things is how we will be. We can either see scarcity or we can see abundance. We are faced with scarcity all of the time. And it is artificially created constantly because from scarcity comes fear. And from fear comes the ease for behavioral modification. And if we wanna bring control, if we wanna bring influence, the greatest thing we can do is create fear. And from fear change people's behaviors. And so scarcity is something that is constantly put in front of us. The world is not scarce, it's actually abundant. The issue is not producing more. The issue is generosity in what is already being produced. But he says greed makes sense in the context of scarcity. But what if the assumption of scarcity is false, a projection of our ideology and not the ultimate reality? If so, then greed is not written into our biology, but is a mere symptom of the perception of scarcity.
Speaker 1 00:23:47 Now, he's not quoting Bible here. This is not a disciple of Jesus. Okay? So just hear what he has to say and give it some thought. An indication that greed reflects the perception rather than the reality of scarcity, is that rich people tend to be less generous than poor people. A large 2002 survey by independent sector, a nonprofit research organization, found that Americans making less than $25,000 per year gave 4.2% of their income as opposed to 2.7% of people making more than a hundred thousand a year. More recently, uh, Paul Piff, it's a good name, Paul Piff, uh, a social psychologist out of the University of California. He said this, lower income people were more generous, charitable, trusting, and helpful to others than those who were more well off. He found that the research subjects who were given money to anonymously distribute between themselves and a partner, their generosity correlated inversely in their socioeconomic status.
Speaker 1 00:25:14 In other words, poor people gave more in context to rich people. While it is tempting to conclude from this, that greedy people become more wealthy, and an equally plausible interpretation is that wealth makes people more greedy. Why could this be in a context of abundance? The way that we see in the context of abundance, greed is silly. Only in the context of scarcity is greed, rational. The gist of the study found that it is a lie to say that the more we have, the more generous we will be. That generosity begins right where we are right now in our context. Let me finish this with two Corinthians nine, and then we're gonna finish it off by playing a video. You all know that I love the Bible project and that again, have put such a, a great, um, video together about generosity. But let me finish with this two Corinthians chapter nine.
Speaker 1 00:26:24 Again, we touched on that verse, and now we're gonna bring it to a conclusion with verses 10 and 11, verse 10. Now, he who supplies seed to the sewer, God provides, he is the provider. But notice who he provides to. He provides to the sewer, not to the reaper. The sewer and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion and through us, your generosity will result in Thanksgiving to God, seed to the, So we're coming into a time, if not already, in a time where I believe that more than ever it's imperative for us to live from God's supply, not from our human intellect and our human endeavor, but to believe for that divine hand upon our lives, the seed to the so wholeness, contentment through generos.
