205. How Do I Become A More Generous Christian.

[00:00:00] Music

[00:00:09] Friends, welcome to Making Disciples. My name is Cris and I'm your host Cris Rogers

[00:00:15] and I am so pleased that you are giving me just a little bit of your time as we explore another topic of discipleship together today.

[00:00:23] I am loving how you as listeners are getting more confident in asking me questions or topics to cover.

[00:00:32] And one of the questions that has been asked by a few people would be a question that goes something like this,

[00:00:39] How do I become a more generous person? Or how do I become a more generous Christian?

[00:00:46] And that's come from a number of different ones of you who are asking that same kind of question.

[00:00:50] You know, I want to be more generous. How do I become more generous?

[00:00:53] You know, I'm a new Christian. How do I become a generous Christian?

[00:00:57] So there's a whole number of different questions that kind of bundled in there that I want to cover in today's episode.

[00:01:03] And what's really cool is in a few weeks time, I'm going to be preaching at my church on this topic of generosity,

[00:01:09] living a life of generosity.

[00:01:11] So you've kind of caught me at a moment where I'm doing a bit of thinking on this as well.

[00:01:15] So some of the things I want to share today will be the formation of the talk that I'm going to be giving at my own church in a few weeks time.

[00:01:27] So this is what we're going to explore today, this idea of generosity and how do I become more generous?

[00:01:33] Is it something that I can, you know, kind of like chivey up like, come on, I'm going to be more generous?

[00:01:39] Or, you know, is it something that comes in from the outside? Is it something that God gives generosity?

[00:01:45] Is it something that I choose to be?

[00:01:47] I think the answer is, you know, all of it. You know, God stimulates but we unlock and release.

[00:01:55] And, you know, we can know we need to be more generous, but they, you know, we just not quite get there.

[00:02:00] We do need to have God who comes to kind of break down some of those barriers for us that might be stopping us from becoming more generous.

[00:02:07] So we're going to kind of explore this topic around generosity a little while.

[00:02:12] And I'm interested really in exploring it in terms of whole life generosity.

[00:02:17] And I've heard lots of sermons over the years about generosity and I would say the underlying issue or topic that most of those sermons would be around is financial gift giving.

[00:02:31] I think what I have noticed is that churches tend to talk about generosity when it's to do with giving finances and giving financially and being generous financially to the church.

[00:02:46] I think giving generously financially to your church is a part of generosity, but it's not the whole picture of generosity.

[00:02:54] So I'm going to explore, you know, what is generosity and, you know, what does that look like?

[00:02:58] There's a whole ton of stuff going to jump in on. So I hope this is interesting and helpful for you as we explore this idea of how do I become more generous?

[00:03:06] Because there may be areas where you see yourself at the moment as not being very generous, but then as we unpack it, you might go, actually, there are other areas where I'm being really generous.

[00:03:14] I've just, you know, it's not cost the whole board.

[00:03:17] So I need to think of generosity as a broader picture than just finances.

[00:03:22] So we'll have a look at that. Let's jump in.

[00:03:26] If you want to ask a question, by the way, the way to do it would be to send an email.

[00:03:31] So if you sent an email to questions at wearemakingdisciples.com, that would get put then onto a growing list of questions that the listeners, you listeners are asking.

[00:03:44] And then that will become a part of future episodes as we gather those questions together.

[00:03:51] And, you know, I love to answer questions rather than just doing random topics.

[00:03:55] I love to be able to answer something that you're grappling with around discipleship.

[00:03:59] So questions at wearemakingdisciples.com. That would be the email address. Send it through to you.

[00:04:06] So let's jump in then as we think a little bit more about how do I become a more generous Christian?

[00:04:14] Generosity.

[00:04:23] Gosh, it's a difficult topic. You know, I think it's a loaded topic that we know we need to be more generous, but often they don't feel like we're being generous enough.

[00:04:33] And we often feel it's all about money.

[00:04:35] And one of the key passages, you know, that gets used a lot around generosity would be Acts 2035.

[00:04:39] But, you know, I've heard this preaching quite a few times.

[00:04:41] But in everything I do, I show you that by this kind of hard work, we must help the weak.

[00:04:48] Remember the words the Lord Jesus said himself is more blessed to give than to receive.

[00:04:56] And what I love about this verse is here, a lot of what Paul talks about around finances.

[00:05:02] And these aren't the words of Paul, by the way, this is from the book of Acts.

[00:05:05] But a lot of Paul talks about is generosity around giving because it's that there's a topic there of financial giving that is there to bless the church.

[00:05:15] But what we find here in words like this from the book of Acts, in everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work,

[00:05:27] we must help the weak receiving the words that Lord Jesus himself said it is more blessed to give than to receive.

[00:05:34] But you know, there's a whole bunch of things you could draw out.

[00:05:36] You know, it's more blessed to give than it is to receive.

[00:05:38] You know, when you give generously to others, there's something that unlocks a hormone or chemical in your body that actually is good for your soul,

[00:05:50] is good for your mind, it feels good to be generous.

[00:05:53] You know, yes, it is more blessed to give than it is to receive.

[00:05:57] There's something about when we are generous with what we have, we are blessed in a way that we are blessed when we receive a gift.

[00:06:05] Something different about giving.

[00:06:07] I also love the passage, how it says in everything I did, in everything, you know, that generosity is not just about finances,

[00:06:13] it's about everything that is going on.

[00:06:15] So I want us to kind of broaden our understanding of generosity in this kind of thought together.

[00:06:23] So where do we start?

[00:06:24] Let's talk about head, hands, heart because this opportunity is all about the head, the hands and the heart.

[00:06:28] We may know that we should be generous in our heads, but actually unlocking that with our hearts so that our hearts become generous

[00:06:38] and that our hands become generous is really key.

[00:06:41] And I think we may know that we want to be generous with what we've got, but actually becoming generous is hard work.

[00:06:48] And I think there's a reason for that.

[00:06:51] Generosity is not just about giving things, it's about giving of yourself.

[00:06:57] Let's start thinking about generosity wider than money.

[00:07:01] When we are generous to others, what is happening in that moment is we're not just giving stuff,

[00:07:06] we're giving of ourselves.

[00:07:08] And I want you to just think about having a heart for a moment that is bent inward on itself.

[00:07:15] The way the world trains us through our trauma, through poverty sometimes, through the words that have spoken over us,

[00:07:23] the way the world shapes us is it ends up bending our heart inward so we end up with this every person for themselves kind of mentality.

[00:07:31] And if our heart starts to bend inwards where it becomes self-preservation, self-security, trying to defend ourselves, look after ourselves,

[00:07:43] what we end up with with that heart that's bent inward is we're never happy, we're never content.

[00:07:49] We're not content with what we've got, we're not happy with the life that we're living.

[00:07:54] We're never pleased for other people.

[00:07:57] We end up bitter, wishing that we had more or thinking that we should be owed more.

[00:08:03] So when our hearts are bent inwards, we end up pointing at ourselves.

[00:08:08] Then as we encounter Jesus and Jesus is at work in us, there's something starts to happen to our hearts and our hearts start to bend outwards.

[00:08:19] If you were to look at the life of Jesus, there's two characteristics to the life of Jesus that really mean that Jesus stands out.

[00:08:27] One would be love. There's a clear characteristic of the life of Jesus of love but there's also a clear characteristic of generosity and these two things are linked.

[00:08:39] I don't think you can be generous without love.

[00:08:42] What we see in Jesus is here is somebody that is 100% loving and 100% generous and these two together mean that he ends up living a life where he gives himself for the world.

[00:08:57] Jesus, if he just loved the world then he may not have died on the cross.

[00:09:04] The cross is this moment of utter generosity where not only does he love us, he's also pivoting his life towards us and freely giving of himself for us.

[00:09:16] It's this sacrificial love.

[00:09:18] So a sacrificial love is a love that's pivoting around generosity towards others.

[00:09:25] And as we encounter this God of love and generosity, that does something in us.

[00:09:31] It softens us and in that something happens where our whole life stops bending inward but starts bending outward because we're now generous.

[00:09:42] We're filled with love. We're filled with this generosity.

[00:09:46] We point in outwards and what we see is that we start to become much more content with what we've got.

[00:09:51] We're much more happy with the direction that our lives are going in and we become much more pleased for others and what they've got.

[00:09:57] We no longer jealous of what somebody else has because our hearts are filled with such generosity that we're excited for what others have got even though we may not have that.

[00:10:08] So I would say a whole life generosity is one where we are becoming so caught up in the love and generosity of Jesus that this is now transforming and shaping us.

[00:10:21] And the outworking of that then is that our lives and our hearts bend outwards and we become far more proactive in being a generous, loving, compassionate change in the world.

[00:10:35] Life stops focusing inwards but starts focusing outwards.

[00:10:40] So generosity, think about your head, your hands and your heart.

[00:10:44] Activating generosity with your hands is one part of it.

[00:10:47] Learning about generosity is one part of it with your head.

[00:10:51] Activating it with your hands is one part of it.

[00:10:54] But a big part of generosity is around the heart and asking ourselves why am I not being generous?

[00:10:59] What is it that causes me to struggle with generosity?

[00:11:03] Is it fear that I may not have enough?

[00:11:07] Is it fear that one day I may find myself completely bankrupt and I have no relationship, there's nobody out there that's going to look after me.

[00:11:19] I'm completely on my own.

[00:11:21] Is it fear?

[00:11:23] Is it from past trauma where people have let you down and you've just not seen people come through for you?

[00:11:31] So asking yourself why is it that I'm being less generous or no generosity at all?

[00:11:38] Ask yourself, why is that?

[00:11:40] What is stopping me from having that heart of generosity?

[00:11:44] What's causing my heart?

[00:11:46] It says in Ezekiel that when the Holy Spirit comes he'll take away our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh.

[00:11:52] So to have a heart that is becoming bent outwards does need to be a heart that is being filled with the Holy Spirit and that God is at work in releasing that heart.

[00:12:03] So is generosity something that you do? Is it something that God's doing in you? I think it's both.

[00:12:09] Through the work of the Holy Spirit God is doing something but also with our hands we activate that generosity over with our hands.

[00:12:16] So these things need to come together.

[00:12:19] A generosity isn't just something that God is wanting to do in you.

[00:12:23] It has to be something that you're wanting to activate and live in.

[00:12:26] And I would argue that we've all got what we describe as a generosity muscle and that muscle's pretty flabby.

[00:12:32] But as we start to be more generous, that muscle strengthens and we become people who are muscular in our generous giving.

[00:12:42] I often see people start by being generous in small ways and then they expand and grow and get bigger and bigger and bigger because they're expanding that generosity muscle.

[00:12:52] So when we talk about generosity what are we talking about?

[00:12:55] I think this is, I'm going to, the seven areas of generosity I think are really important for us to look at.

[00:13:01] And I'm going to tell you now money is the last one I'm going to mention.

[00:13:04] So the first area of generosity is around our thoughts towards others and choosing to think the best of others.

[00:13:14] I would say forgiveness and being somebody who is quick to forgive starts with choosing to be a person that has thoughts towards others that are positive not negative.

[00:13:33] So you can choose to see an individual and see them as somebody who is out to get you.

[00:13:39] There's somebody who they've said things or done things that, that anger you and that you know they're obviously just in you know a bad person, they're evil person.

[00:13:49] And we love to demonise people and make them into the devil.

[00:13:52] That is somebody that is, is the devil has so far gone.

[00:13:57] But actually with generosity choosing in your thought patterns to say, do you know what I'm going to choose to maybe think maybe they've had a bad day.

[00:14:04] Maybe they've had a bad week or a bad year.

[00:14:06] Maybe they're in pain.

[00:14:07] Maybe that there's a health thing that's causing, been paying that's causing this kind of behaviour and choosing to think positively about people rather negatively.

[00:14:15] And if you can choose to look positively towards other people.

[00:14:20] I think a lot of conflict is often through people choosing to look at others as the other.

[00:14:27] We dehumanise somebody and that thought that's within us actually stops us then from, from actively activating, you know the ability to forgive.

[00:14:39] So generosity around your thoughts, the way that you think towards other people.

[00:14:44] Generosity around your words, our speech.

[00:14:47] You know, do you build people up?

[00:14:50] Or do you choose to tear somebody down?

[00:14:53] Do you choose to speak well of others?

[00:14:56] Or do you choose to use bad, you know, bad mouth people?

[00:15:01] Generous heart is somebody who chooses to speak well of other people.

[00:15:04] And yeah, the number of times I find myself in places where somebody's desperately trying to bad mouth somebody and they're trying to draw me into their way of thinking.

[00:15:16] This, this ungenerous way of thinking.

[00:15:18] It's really hard because I'm like, I can't go with you there.

[00:15:21] I don't want to think about that person in that way.

[00:15:24] I just don't want to be even if it's true, I choose not to think about that person in that way.

[00:15:29] I'm not going to dehumanise them in that way.

[00:15:31] I'm not going to use words in that way.

[00:15:34] So thoughts and words, you know, do go together.

[00:15:36] What's in your head will come out your mouth.

[00:15:38] But choosing to use words that build up.

[00:15:41] So generosity around your thoughts, generosity around your words.

[00:15:44] Then you got generosity around your time, the way that you choose to use the time that you have well and to be generous with your time.

[00:15:55] Thoughts, words, time.

[00:15:57] What about generous, generous around the way that you influence?

[00:16:01] Now that could be influencing terms of how others see somebody.

[00:16:06] Do you choose to influence positively towards somebody speaking well of somebody?

[00:16:11] But also, are you choosing to use your influence generously in terms of helping somebody achieve what they want to achieve or do what they want to do or they're trying to activate or do?

[00:16:24] Are you willing to use your influence well?

[00:16:27] You know, I do a lot of work with counsellors and, you know, right into the local mayor.

[00:16:33] You know, I've got a position of influence.

[00:16:35] I would argue we've all got positions of influence.

[00:16:38] So choose to use that position of influence generously towards issues and topics that don't get spoke about very often.

[00:16:45] So influence, generous with your influence.

[00:16:48] What about generous with your attention?

[00:16:50] Giving attention to those that are often overlooked.

[00:16:54] The elderly are often overlooked.

[00:16:57] Children and young people are often overlooked.

[00:17:00] Those that are disabled are often overlooked.

[00:17:03] Those with additional needs are often overlooked.

[00:17:07] And choosing to pay attention to the people in the room that are often overlooked.

[00:17:13] Should be generous in the way that you engage with others that you're not going to get anything back from them.

[00:17:19] You know, you're not going to benefit from spending that time with them in terms of them giving you something back.

[00:17:24] So do you choose to give your attention to those that maybe not gonna, they're not going to reward you for that time.

[00:17:31] So giving your attention to people that would often be overlooked.

[00:17:35] So thoughts, words, time, influence, attention.

[00:17:38] And then yet with your belongings, with your homes and with your money.

[00:17:44] Belongings is one and money is the other.

[00:17:47] Choosing to be generous with your belongings.

[00:17:49] These are seven areas of generosity that we could choose to be generous with.

[00:17:54] And actually if you push me on them I can find Bible passages to show you where all of these kind of get seen in Scripture.

[00:18:02] The way that Jesus would use words to build up not to tear down.

[00:18:06] How Jesus used his time to deviate to those and give attention to people that would be overlooked, you know, the leper.

[00:18:15] So I could draw out many analogies in Scripture where these seven areas of generosity are activated in Jesus' teaching.

[00:18:23] My question there is then, you know, out of these seven areas of generosity, where are you being generous?

[00:18:27] Where could you see your generosity right now?

[00:18:29] But also where are you struggling to be generous?

[00:18:32] And I think money is a part of that.

[00:18:34] But actually all these areas of thoughts and words, and it is my opinion and my opinion only.

[00:18:42] I tend to find that those that are generous in the small things tend to be more generous with the big things.

[00:18:48] And I think those that are generous with the big things tend to often be generous with the small things as well.

[00:18:53] Generosity bubbles up in your life in all areas.

[00:18:55] It's very rare. I find something that's totally generous in one area, but not generous in the other.

[00:19:00] But you know, that can happen.

[00:19:02] But I think if you've got a heart that's built and bent towards generosity, then you are likely to be generous in all these areas of your life.

[00:19:13] But it's possible that there are an area of that generosity.

[00:19:16] You think, actually, I could be more generous with my dot, dot, dot.

[00:19:21] So within a world that is being bent inward, Jesus is calling us to be bent outward, to face outward.

[00:19:28] And when you have met with the generosity of new life that's found in Jesus, you can't help but be postured towards giving and being generous to other people.

[00:19:39] And this is what we see in the Book of Acts.

[00:19:41] I love how the Book of Acts talks about the early church.

[00:19:45] And I think, you know, do not romanticize the early church. It had its issues.

[00:19:50] But it's clear that as this group of people had even encountered the love and the generosity of Jesus, that had transformed them and they became something.

[00:19:59] So Acts 2, they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching to fellowship, which is the communal life, to the breaking of bread and prayer.

[00:20:06] Everybody was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

[00:20:10] All the believers were together. They were given each of the time and had everything in common.

[00:20:14] They were sharing their belongings. They sold their property and possessions, so possessions to give to anybody who had need.

[00:20:22] They gave attention to those who were in need.

[00:20:24] Every day they continue to meet together again, sharing of their time in the temple courts.

[00:20:29] They broke bread in their homes.

[00:20:31] They opened up their homes for people to come and be a part of their lives.

[00:20:35] They ate together with glad and sincere hearts of people added to their number daily those that he was saving.

[00:20:40] The early church, they were sharing of their time, their belongings, their possessions, their attention.

[00:20:46] They were sharing in on these words. They were speaking well the apostles.

[00:20:51] So here we have all of these areas of generosity at work.

[00:20:57] But you know, could it be a romanticized idea? Were they really making a difference?

[00:21:01] Well in Acts 4, two chapters later we told this, that there were no needy persons among them.

[00:21:07] For from time to time those who had owned land or houses sold them and brought the money from the sales and put them into the apostles feet.

[00:21:14] And this was distributed to anybody that was in need.

[00:21:17] So here you had in Acts 4, this church would be so generous with what they possessed and had,

[00:21:23] that they actually were giving it away and they eradicated poverty in Jerusalem.

[00:21:28] Oh Chris, is it still a romanticized idea though of this early church?

[00:21:32] Well let's ask this. In AD 137 a guy called Aristades was writing to the emperor.

[00:21:37] So a pagan historian and to a pagan emperor is writing about the church of Jesus 100 years after Jesus.

[00:21:44] Friends this is what he writes. This is Aristades in AD 137.

[00:21:49] Oh emperor, which is the Christians that have sought and found the truth.

[00:21:52] For they acknowledge God, they do not keep for themselves the goods that they are entrusted to them.

[00:21:56] They do not cover what belongs to others but they show love to their neighbours.

[00:22:00] They do not do to another what they would not have done to themselves.

[00:22:04] They speak gently to those who oppose them and in this way they make their enemies their friends.

[00:22:08] It has become their passion to do good to their enemies.

[00:22:11] They live in the awareness of their own smallness. I love that line.

[00:22:14] They live in the awareness of their own smallness.

[00:22:18] Every one of them who has anything gives and grudgingly to the one who has nothing.

[00:22:22] If any of them sees a homeless stranger they bring him into their own home.

[00:22:26] Into their own roof.

[00:22:28] If any one of them becomes poor while the Christians have nothing to spare,

[00:22:32] then they fast for two or three days until everybody can eat.

[00:22:35] In this way they simply...

[00:22:37] So in this way they supply to the poor exactly what they need.

[00:22:41] This oh emperor is the rule of life for the Christians.

[00:22:44] This is how they live.

[00:22:46] Wow isn't that incredible?

[00:22:48] Testimony of the early church.

[00:22:50] I'd love them to say those kind of things about me.

[00:22:54] I wonder what people will write about us a hundred years later.

[00:23:00] So generosity welled up in this early church and it was eradicating poverty all around them.

[00:23:06] People were giving their time, their belongings, their attention, their homes were opened up

[00:23:10] to people to come eat and their tables had food together.

[00:23:14] This incredible act of generosity of the whole of their lives

[00:23:18] was being opened up to other people.

[00:23:22] Let's just look at the world for a minute.

[00:23:26] I'm being very caricatured here but I would say that when you look at generosity in the world

[00:23:33] often that generosity is there because of what people will receive back from being generous.

[00:23:39] So when people are generous, very often they're generous because it builds up their reputation.

[00:23:43] It's good reputation for them.

[00:23:45] Sometimes people give generously because what they want to do is buy your friendship.

[00:23:50] It gives some people publicity, some people give with big charity checks.

[00:23:55] Some people give with strings attached.

[00:23:58] I'm going to give you this gift because I'm going to cash it in later down the line

[00:24:01] and I want you to do something for me to gain advantage.

[00:24:05] Some people give for vanity just how it makes them look.

[00:24:08] I'm being seen to do good, wanting something in return to buy their influence in a situation.

[00:24:15] I've been in situations where people were generous to me in the past

[00:24:18] and then a year later would come back and say,

[00:24:20] do you remember that thing that I got for you when you were in need?

[00:24:23] Well now I need this from you.

[00:24:26] I was totally shocked when that happened to me.

[00:24:28] It happened to me in the church.

[00:24:29] Somebody who'd blessed not the church I'm in now but a previous church

[00:24:33] somebody had been very generous to the youth ministry

[00:24:35] and then wanted to cash it in a year later for my vote on something.

[00:24:39] They wanted me to vote in the same direction as them.

[00:24:41] I was like, what?

[00:24:43] I thought you'd been giving generously but what you've done is you were buying my vote a year early.

[00:24:48] So the world has this gives out of what you would give back

[00:24:53] but kingdom generosity, Jesus' generosity gives not because of what you would get back

[00:24:58] but because you are representing the love and generosity of Jesus to the world.

[00:25:03] So it's the official living into the world.

[00:25:07] So through Jesus we now see a world through him and through this we are also being shaped by him.

[00:25:15] The shaping of us is affecting our heads, our hands and our hearts.

[00:25:19] It's how we think about the world, it's how we feel about the world around us

[00:25:22] people around us and the hands and the way that we serve and use what we've got.

[00:25:26] Rather than being inward looking at looking, we are now outward looking people.

[00:25:32] This is so radically transforming us in our heads and our hands and our hearts

[00:25:37] that our posture towards the world looks more like Jesus.

[00:25:41] Which means we're not being defensive, we're not being protective of ourselves,

[00:25:45] we're not inward looking, we're not being bitter

[00:25:47] but we are now like arrows pointing out with generosity, with compassion, mercy, grace

[00:25:53] and love being bent outwards.

[00:25:56] So the question I was asked was how do I become a more generous Christian?

[00:26:00] Learning more about generosity in the Bible in your head,

[00:26:03] that's one part of the generosity trilogy of things in your head.

[00:26:09] Then you've got your heart, the Ezekiel having the Holy Spirit transform your heart

[00:26:14] taking away your heart of stone for your heart of flesh.

[00:26:16] Saying God move my heart from being bent inwards to being bent outwards.

[00:26:20] So that would be with your heart, so head information, heart

[00:26:24] having a more compassionate heart, you've got the Holy Spirit

[00:26:27] to make your heart more generous but then you've got to activate it.

[00:26:30] And I think activating it and your heart kind of come together,

[00:26:34] I think what I've experienced is as somebody is just a little bit more generous

[00:26:38] there's a softening of the heart.

[00:26:40] If you're a little bit more generous there's a softening of the heart.

[00:26:42] More generous, more softening, more generous, more softening

[00:26:45] and it goes on and goes on and goes on to the point where you see people

[00:26:48] who are being radically generous because their hearts have become so soft.

[00:26:51] So how do we practice being generous?

[00:26:55] And I think it's choosing every day to use those seven areas of generosity

[00:27:01] and choosing which ones are those that you can activate today.

[00:27:05] Can you be more generous with your thoughts?

[00:27:07] How you choose to look at others, with your words, how you speak of others

[00:27:10] with your time and how you use it, your influence, who you give your attention to

[00:27:14] your belongings and your money.

[00:27:18] These are all the areas that you could choose to activate generosity.

[00:27:23] So how do we practice that each day?

[00:27:26] Well, here are some thoughts.

[00:27:27] One way, by volunteering your time you're doing a number of things.

[00:27:32] You're giving your attention to somebody different.

[00:27:34] You're giving your time to something different.

[00:27:36] You're choosing to use your attention in a different way.

[00:27:40] So by volunteering your time you're actually activating

[00:27:43] a number of different kinds of generosity in your life.

[00:27:46] Paying it forward, if somebody's done something amazing for you

[00:27:49] choosing to pay that forward onto somebody else

[00:27:52] so somebody's been generous to you, it's then saying

[00:27:55] actually now I'm going to be generous to other friends

[00:27:57] and what this does not mean is taking that Christmas present

[00:28:00] that you received, that you hate and choosing to pass it on to somebody else.

[00:28:03] That's not passing it forward.

[00:28:05] That's just palming off something that you don't want.

[00:28:08] Paying it forward is choosing to say

[00:28:10] do you know what somebody's been generous to me in this way

[00:28:12] I'm going to choose to be generous to others in this way.

[00:28:14] So for example, of course that I've been doing recently

[00:28:18] I needed to turn to somebody to get help on some

[00:28:22] think and some information and I need to turn to them

[00:28:25] and say look can you help me?

[00:28:26] They were really generous in the way that they helped me.

[00:28:28] I then choose to use what I had learnt

[00:28:31] and shared that with others on the course

[00:28:33] that would actually help them as well.

[00:28:35] So rather than saying this is my information,

[00:28:37] I've learnt this, I'm going to make my life easier

[00:28:39] but nobody else.

[00:28:40] I chose to pay it forward and use that information

[00:28:42] to help others, you know not cook corners

[00:28:45] but really shave off numbers of hours of work on something.

[00:28:49] Paying it forward, choosing to give compliments,

[00:28:53] choosing to say do you know what you did a great job the other day

[00:28:57] and that is actually something that doesn't cost you a great deal to do

[00:29:01] but makes a big difference in somebody else

[00:29:03] but when you start speaking well of people

[00:29:06] and saying to yourself did you see what so-and-so did the other day

[00:29:08] how amazing that is so life-giving.

[00:29:11] You know we seem to be quite used to in culture

[00:29:13] cutting people down, did you see the bad job that they did?

[00:29:15] Gosh aren't they terrible, they're lazy.

[00:29:17] Actually choosing to say I'm not going to talk like that about people

[00:29:20] I'm going to speak well of people

[00:29:22] so choosing to give compliments freely.

[00:29:24] Maybe donating things that you have

[00:29:29] excess of or you know you don't need very much

[00:29:31] clearing out, donating items that you might have

[00:29:36] that you don't need that can be really helpful

[00:29:38] in liberating your heart from possessing things to giving away.

[00:29:42] Surprising somebody with an anonymous gift

[00:29:47] you know choosing to say look I'm going to give some anonymous gifts to people

[00:29:51] and by doing that it's going to,

[00:29:53] my generosity muscle will start to kind of build up

[00:29:56] because I'm giving but I'm not getting the gratification

[00:30:00] it's not coming back to me.

[00:30:01] The gratification comes in the actual giving away

[00:30:04] so practicing being anonymous in your gifting.

[00:30:08] What else have I got here?

[00:30:10] Being generous with your advice and mentoring of others

[00:30:14] you know you may know things others don't know

[00:30:16] choosing to give that informational way for free

[00:30:19] that's about being generous.

[00:30:21] Choosing to forgive quickly

[00:30:23] and be generous in terms of liberating people

[00:30:25] and forgiving people and setting people free

[00:30:28] when they've harmed you

[00:30:30] that is a key way of being generous.

[00:30:33] There's a whole string of different areas there

[00:30:34] you might be able to come up with some examples as well

[00:30:36] where you can practice generosity

[00:30:40] baking for somebody, time, giving time to somebody

[00:30:44] choosing to use your influence

[00:30:46] is there a way of using your influence in the workplace

[00:30:48] to help somebody else?

[00:30:50] These are all ways of practicing this generosity

[00:30:53] and choosing to say look I need to activate this with my hands

[00:30:57] I need to proactively use what I have got

[00:31:01] time wise energy wise information wise

[00:31:03] my thoughts in a way that's pointed towards helping others

[00:31:07] and making sure that others have what they need

[00:31:11] and as you do those things daily

[00:31:13] as you practice doing those things daily

[00:31:15] then what you will find is your muscle for generosity

[00:31:19] expands and grows.

[00:31:22] So all bunch of things we talked about there

[00:31:24] we talked about hearts that are bent inwards not outwards

[00:31:26] we talked about seven different kinds of generosity

[00:31:28] that we could have

[00:31:29] we talked about the early church

[00:31:30] the way that they were generous

[00:31:32] how that was reflected by pagan historians to the emperor

[00:31:36] you know wow these Christians they know how to live

[00:31:38] they found the truth

[00:31:40] we talked about how the world gives because of how it builds up

[00:31:42] reputation and publicity and vanity

[00:31:45] and those kind of things that actually

[00:31:47] what I did mention was Jesus says

[00:31:49] make sure their left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing

[00:31:52] be generous in such a way that even yourself

[00:31:55] doesn't know that you've done it

[00:31:57] so generosity is tied up for Christians

[00:32:00] not in being seen to be generous

[00:32:02] but actually being hidden with that generosity

[00:32:05] so there's a whole string of thoughts there around generosity

[00:32:09] I wonder which ones you just need to grab hold of

[00:32:12] and think about maybe a little bit more

[00:32:14] or choose to activate

[00:32:16] so how do we become more generous

[00:32:18] yes it's about knowledge

[00:32:19] but it is about activating your heart and activating your hands

[00:32:22] and as you practice generosity

[00:32:24] your heart will grow

[00:32:25] the Holy Spirit's involved

[00:32:26] and you'll become more generous with your hands

[00:32:28] and then it will then continues to build

[00:32:31] so could I give you some homework

[00:32:33] my homework would be this

[00:32:34] look for something each day this week

[00:32:37] that you can do for someone else

[00:32:40] that will be generous

[00:32:42] and it does not point any glory back to you

[00:32:46] but it's something that you can give freely

[00:32:49] and something that you might do

[00:32:51] that would help someone else

[00:32:53] without you getting a pat on the back

[00:32:55] for that thing

[00:32:57] so there you go

[00:32:58] take that

[00:32:59] give it some thought

[00:33:00] and try and activate some form of generosity

[00:33:03] in your life

[00:33:05] friends until next time

[00:33:06] Grace and Peace

[00:33:07] don't forget if you want to ask a question

[00:33:08] questions at wearemakingdisciples.com

[00:33:10] you can ping us an email

[00:33:11] and that will go on to our bank of ideas

[00:33:14] but other topics to look at

[00:33:16] so friends until next time

[00:33:17] Grace and Peace

[00:33:18] and have a fantastic week