Pastor Bill Hybels
February 15, 2015 - W1507

The topic for today is about generosity. I’m going to share three stories from the Bible with you that hold in common the theme of faith and generosity. The first is from the verses found in the Old Testament 1 King 17:

 “Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Get up and go to Zarephath that belongs to Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a woman who is a widow to provide for you there. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow woman gathering wood. Elijah called to her and said, ‘Please bring me a little water in a cup and let me drink.’ As she went to get it he called and said, ‘Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.’ But she said ‘As the Lord your God lives, I don’t have anything baked only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil in the jug, Just now I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.’ Then Elijah said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid go and do as you have said. But first make me a small loaf from it and bring it out to me. Afterward you may make some for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘The flour jar will not become empty and the oil jug will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the surface of the land.’” (1 King 17:8-14)

 This is the story of the widow and her son. This story takes place in the time of Elijah, where there was a famine throughout the land. They have reached the moment where she and her son are facing death, there are no options. In fact there is only enough flour and oil for one more loaf of bread. After that they will just lie down to get ready to die.

 Meanwhile in another part of town is the Prophet Elijah. He has been a very powerful servant of God and who is also faced with the famine. But God has a very interesting plan for him. He wants him to go to the city of Zarephath and find a starving mom and her only son. What was meant to happen is that if they house the prophet and feed him before themselves then God will provide for them in return. I know if I was in that situation, I would have a difficult time believing that. I’m sure this widow with her son had a lot of doubts about whether God will “resupply” them or not.

Now I am sure also that you and I feel that same way too. Every time we are prompted by God to give money to a friend, or every time we tithe or are challenged to sacrifice funds to a building project or a mission trip we question the integrity of the giving. We are all basically generous people, we want to give openly, but in the back of our minds we are wondering if God really is backing us up. Will He provide when we need to pay that next bill or tithe that next week; is He really going to honor our giving, is He going to resupply or not? But we don’t know that for sure. If we knew that God will definitely resupply us, then we would probably have no problem giving all the time.

One example of this was when I was in college. There was a missionary from Central America and he gave such a great testimony, but as the offering basket to help build churches in Central America came by I pondered over the last $20 that I had in my wallet. It was all I had and I knew that on my way home from this meeting I would encounter a toll area which required a $1.05 fee. I hesitated and kept thinking about what I should do, then I heard the voice of God say “Bill, just give it.” So I did. As I was driving home, I approached that toll gate and said to myself, “Ok this is it. Are they going to arrest me or what?” I drove up to the window, and I told the lady, “I’m sorry but I don’t have any money” and I even showed her my wallet. The she said, “Oh don’t worry, this is your lucky day, the car in front of you said that he will also pay for the next car that comes through.” I was so overcome that after I pulled away from the gate, I pulled off to the side and I cried. It was the first time in my life that I experienced the miracle of the resupplying power of God.

Through the years, this hasn’t been the only time that the miracle of God’s resupply occurred and my favorite verse is from Philippians 4:19

“My God will supply (or resupply) all your needs according to His riches in the glory of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 4:19)

So now in my life I make sure I tithe. I make sure I give to whatever God prompts me to give to because I know that God will provide through His miraculous power of resupply.

Let me tell you a story about two guys, who attend the same church and maybe sit two pews away from each other. They both go to church one day and both hear the same message about giving. Let’s just say one guy is named Fred and the other is Ted. Okay so here is Fred, he says to himself that “I have to get through the course of my life on 100% of all that I earn. But Ted says “I think I can live on 90% by faith” so his10% will go to tithing. Now think about this, Fred and Ted think that the other guy is the idiot. Fred is saying “You idiot Ted, you really think you can live on 90%. You bought the whole bottle of Kool-Aid and drank it all.” Now Ted is saying “Fred, you idiot, you are never going to experience what greater things God has in store for you.” So which kind of idiot are you? I hope all of you will be a Ted-like idiot and make an ongoing covenant with God saying, “I will honor Your word and honor You, trusting You to resupply my needs.”

So back to the Bible story, the widow does make that last loaf of bread for the prophet. She goes back into the kitchen and the flour and oil has been resupplied. So she makes bread for her son. Then she goes back in and yet another supply of flour and oil is there. And the story goes on to say that this resupply lasted throughout that time of famine. Please believe on the resupply of God, He will do it over and over again.

The second story is about King David, the man after God’s own heart. Early in David’s life, he does everything God’s way and becomes a great leader, a poet, a warrior, he’s a renaissance kind of man. But along the way, something happens to David, the same thing that happens to wealthy and powerful people, the blessing of God went to his head. David began thinking that all he did was done by his own hand. So he does something prideful. He asks that his troops be counted. His general and friend, begs him not to do this, but David insists upon it because he wants to know how strong his army is and to be able to boast about it.

Think about this, how many of you as you were developing your life and honing your skills, are relying on God to see you through every aspect of your life. Then as you struggle with low end jobs all of a sudden opportunities pop up and doors are opened, and things change. Now instead of being ever thankful to God and how He got you to where you are, it turns around to be only about you and how YOU got to where you are.

Well, now when the general comes back to David to report the count, he tells David, your troops number 1,300,000. The moment that David heard that number his heart was convicted. He knew he had done the wrong thing. For the next several years, his life was challenged because of his disobedience. God severely disciplined David. You can read this story in 2 Samuel 24. So after that was done, David wants to make a new covenant with God. He seeks to buy a piece of land and build an altar to God. The landowner said he will give him the land and the hands to build the altar, but David said he will not build an altar on a land that would cost him nothing nor place an altar for the Lord unless it was made with his own hands. He wanted to give back to God all that God has given him because everything he had was of God.

You see, expressions of generosity reveal the true conditions of our hearts. Now I am going to confess something to you that I did in my first year of marriage. I knew that my wife loved flowers so every week I would drive into this little town and stop at the flower shop. They had beautiful flowers and made gorgeous arrangements, but they were a trifle expensive. My wife would be so surprised and thrilled to receive such a lovely gift every week. One day there was a man parked right outside our church in a 98 Oldsmobile. He was selling flowers. I asked how much a dozen roses were and he said $10.00. I thought of the money I would be saving, so I bought a bunch from him, just to find out that the color of the roses were sprayed over. They didn’t even make it through the night. I learned my lesson of giving from the heart. It was a difficult lesson to learn. Gifts reveal your heart. My wife saw mine. God sees your heart too. Every time you tithe or give to a cause, God sees your heart,

David wanted to reveal to God his changed and renewed heart. So he bought that land with his own money and built that altar with his own hands so that God will see that his heart had been changed. So what is the level of your heart when you give to God? Do you give from your heart or are you a begrudging giver or even a legalistic one?

The third story I want to tell you is known as the Widow’s Mite. This is the story of the widow who put her last 2 coins into the offering platter. This story is found in Luke 21.

“He looked up and saw the rich dropping their offerings into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins. ‘I tell you the truth,’ He said ‘This poor widow has put in more than all of them, for all these people have put in gifts out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she has to live on.’ ” (Luke 21:1-3)

Jesus is in the synagogue with His disciples and He looks around and watches how everyone is giving to the treasury. He tells His disciples that small gifts really do matter to the Father. Large gifts are appreciated as well. It’s nice when people can afford to give large gifts, but it’s very different when that person with little means gives of all that they have. In referring to the widow who put in her last 2 coins, He says that it’s not the size of the gift that you give, but the size of the faith that is required to give that matters.

In my journey to Zambia I was invited to dine with a pastor’s family. I saw that the family was eating plates filled with rice and vegetable but on my plate was a nice piece of chicken. I didn’t think anything about it and went about enjoying my meal. On the way home I asked my friend, “How often does a pastor eat meat here in Zambia?” He said “About once a year so if you had meat for your meal last night that was their yearly allotment”. Next year when I return to Zambia I will bless that family so much, because, I who has much, was given more by they who had so little. So again it is not the size of the gift, but the condition of the heart in the giving. The Father sees your heart and knows the faith that is required to give. In conclusion, I urge you that depending on your means, and what you can afford, give. God will honor even the smallest of gifts and will resupply your needs. Believe it.

1) What is an example of God resupplying your needs?

2) What is the level of your heart as you give to God?

3) How have you trusted God in your giving especially when you lack the means?

4) Why do you question Him or openly give with heartfelt faith?