Abounding Grace

Guest (Male): Today on Abounding Grace, we're talking about grace that leads to generosity. Another practical outgrowth of grace, and it's this: you are a generous person in the broader sense. You are a generous person. Grace will make you generous. Generosity flows from the love of God, of how much He's done for us. And when you see people's needs, it will move you.

Guest (Male): It's good to be with you again. Welcome to Abounding Grace. We're at the tail end of our study in Galatians with another stop in chapter six today. We've been exploring what love or grace looks like in action. And as you'll see in a moment, a big part of that is generosity. Yes, grace will make you generous. Here is Pastor Ed Taylor to explain.

Pastor Ed Taylor: Open your Bibles to Galatians chapter six, actually two places, 2nd Corinthians chapter five and Galatians chapter six. We're going to pick up where we left off last time in our verse-by-verse study through Galatians. But we're going to go through 2nd Corinthians chapter five. I've entitled our Bible study "Grace Leads to Generosity."

By now you know that we're here by the grace of God. That we have been saved by the grace of God, that we live by the grace of God, that we love by the grace of God. The churches in the region of Galatia were established as a grace gift from God to them by sending Paul the Apostle as a missionary to share the gospel with them. It was completely and totally a gift of God by His grace.

Now we fast forward to where we are today and we think of the grace of God in our own lives and it's a sobering thought, is it not? It's a sobering thought to consider and to think of where we might be or who we might be if it were not for God's grace upon our lives. I don't want you to think too much about it, but I can't help but think if it wasn't for the grace of God, my life would not be what it is today.

I don't even know if I'd be alive today, the life that I was living. It would not have ended well. It would have crashed and burned not only for me but all those that love me. And what's true for me is true for you. Had it not been for the grace of God, and maybe not in your life, it could have been in your parent's life or your grandparent's life, thinking about the stream of generational change that God brought into your family.

If it wasn't for the grace of God, it's a sobering thought to think of where we might be today, very dangerous and difficult position and place to be. And His grace is extended not through a list of rules and regulations and this rigidity of religion and man-made religion. That's the whole point of Galatians, that this group of men and women were saved and born again by the grace of God and then these false teachers come in and they go, "Oh no, no, no. It's not that easy. Not that easy."

"You just don't believe in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection. No, no, no, you have to be circumcised." Not the best evangelistic message for sure. You have to be circumcised and that is exactly what you think it is. You need to be cut physically in order to show that you are part of God's people. And that cut physically for the men would then lead the family to live in relationship with God by rules and to keep the law.

As we have learned in now 23 previous studies, we have learned that it's impossible to keep the law. That is not why God kept the law, so that we could keep it with perfection. He gave the law to reveal to us that we can't. It's a schoolmaster, a teacher. And the thing that the law teaches us is not only the holiness and righteousness of God, of who He is and what He expects of us, but it also is a revelation that we could never be perfect and that we need a Savior.

The law reveals our own sinfulness. You see rules and regulations, they certainly are used by others to move and manipulate you, but God doesn't use manipulation. Did you know? God doesn't use manipulation in your life or guilt. Guilt and manipulation, although they're popular tools today within religious circles, those aren't God's tools. He doesn't put guilt trips on you.

Some of you know, when I say the word "guilt trip," you know exactly what I'm talking about because that's the environment in which you grew up or the environment in which you live, where you're just so easily, especially if you have more of a sensitive disposition, you're very easily moved by guilt and manipulation. But that's not God. You know what God moves you with? Love.

Love is the greatest motivator in any of our lives. I think of you moms today, I think of the great sacrifice, moms and dads, you parents, the things you will do for your kids. You won't even think twice about it. You won't even measure it, it doesn't matter what it costs, it doesn't matter what it takes, it doesn't matter, it's my kids. Now the things you would do for your kids, you probably wouldn't do for someone else's kids.

Oh, it's not that you don't love them, I'm sure you do, but they're not your kids. You have a heart perhaps for the orphan, you have a heart for those that need for sure, but for your kids, I mean you'll move heaven and earth for them. Why? Well, because you love them. It's not like they can give you anything back. "So okay, here you go, I'm going to get 10 different jobs so I can put you through college and when you're out of college, you're paying me back with interest."

Now you may have said that, but don't ever do that. You don't do that. You don't send your kids through college so they can pay you back. You send your kids through college because you love them. Or with us, we actually didn't send our kids through college, we made them pay their own way. Why? Because we love them. We want them to learn responsibility.

Of course we help them along the way and create the environment, but for us we said, "No, we're going to teach you what it's like to be in the world and it's going to be a very expensive world you're entering into." And they, part of that discipleship is because we love them and we'll move heaven and earth for them. Love is the greatest motivator when it comes to the things of God.

If it's true parenting, then it's true in every area of life. Notice with me in 2nd Corinthians chapter five, in verse 14, Paul's writing and he's speaking of himself here when he says, "For the love of Christ constrains us." Or some of your translations may say "compels us," some of your translations may say "moves us." That's the idea there. It's the love of Jesus that moves us, compels us, because we judge thus: if one died for all, then all died.

And He died for all, verse 15, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and rose again. That is the greatest mark of a believer, is that that man and that woman that is following Jesus doesn't live for themselves anymore. It's actually the constant battle in our lives to put ourselves first, to put others first, to put ourselves first, to put others first.

Just like in Philippians where Paul would write to the church in Philippi and he would say, "Think of others more highly than you think of yourself." Why would he need to tell us that? It's because we think of ourselves more highly than others many times, perhaps even most of the time. But we see not only in the book of Galatians, but Paul sharing with the Corinthians or Jesus living out His life, that the pathway of grace will always lead to others.

Paul was compelled and moved and motivated by the love of Jesus and it broke his heart to see people lost and separated from God. It moved him. The love of God for the lost moved him, which is where we are in Galatians six now, this practical part of the letter. Coming to the end of the letter, this practical part is what love looks like or what grace looks like in action.

In verse one, grace will move you to help those that have wandered away. You'll actually care about them. You'll pray for them. You'll look for them. You who are spiritual, you who are motivated and captivated and constrained by love, you're going to be the spiritual one to help restore such a one. You have a heart of restoration, reconciliation. You're verse one going to consider yourself knowing that you're going to be delving in difficult scenarios, you don't want to be tempted yourself.

Then we learn grace in verse two is going to lead you to help other people with the heavy burdens in their lives. Like you just carry these heavy things and you're not just going to overlook them and you're not going to say, "Well everybody has problems," or even worse sometimes you're like, "Well I can't really help other people with problems because I've got my own problems." Yeah, but then we also learn grace is going to lead you to take care of your problems.

You're going to get your own house in order. You're going to look yourself, as we saw in that visual last time, you're going to look yourself in the mirror and get your house in order. Why? So that you not only can please God, but you can help others. If your house is not in order, then you're not going to think much about helping other people and grace will always lead you to get your house in order, bearing one another's burdens.

Then he says in verse three, we studied these in previous studies, but he said in verse three, "If anyone thinks himself to be something when he's nothing, he deceives himself." That's just having a right estimation of who you are. Whether you need help and you let somebody help—oh I don't need any help, I don't—no, actually you do need help, that's why God's sending me into your life. Or you're too good to help.

Grace is not going to be either side. "Well I don't need any help, that's the church's job." Well you are the church, so it is your job. You are the church. And so you are going to and I am going to make sure that I'm not prideful and taken down by spiritual pride. Then in verse four, let each one examine his own work. He can have rejoicing. Really that's and each one shall bear his own load in verse five has everything to do with getting our house in order.

Now come to verse six, we'll pick up where we left off. "Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches." Another practical outgrowth of grace and it's this: you are a generous person in the broader sense. You are a generous person. Grace will make you generous. Generosity flows from the love of God of how much He's done for us. And when you see people's needs, it will move you.

It will move you, generosity. But this is a very narrow generosity that's important to be reminded of in the church. And that is, let him who is taught the word. So let's just say yes or no, are you someone that has been taught the word? Okay good, so this is your responsibility. You are then to share financially in the work of the ministry that God has used to teach you the word.

This is a giving verse. This is one of those verses that make people uncomfortable and you're like, your first time here, you go, "Oh, there it is. The guy's already talking about money." Yeah, I mean I know you're skeptical and I'm sorry about that, but you totally don't understand the heart of God or the heart of this ministry. This is just what the Bible teaches, that God has given us so much and that we're not to keep it for ourselves.

And if you've been taught in the word, then you and I, we have a responsibility to share with all that we have with those who teach us in the word of God. Now if you're taking notes in your Bible, you can circle the word "share" there, share. It's a very familiar word. It's the word koinonia in the verb form. It means to share in common. So part of this verse, the application is that there's been so much division, so much difficulty and then people have come against Paul.

He's like, "Whoa, whoa, hold on a minute. If you're walking in grace, you're not going to come against me. I'm your teacher. I love you. I care about you. You're to share life, share life with me." It's important that we not be divided in the body of Christ. That's certainly an application of this verse. However, the specific application is related to the giving of your money through the ministry that has taught you.

Those that give to you and me spiritually are to be blessed and given back to materially. This is a mark of living in the spirit. The desire and the decision to give financially and support the ministry. The theme already has been to think of others more highly than yourself. And a great measurement, if I wonder where I am as a follower of Christ of how much I'm thinking of others more highly than myself, I can just look at how I use money.

I can look at how I use my discretionary money. Right? I have to pay the rent, I've got to make the car payments or whatever it might be, they're necessities. But with that discretionary money, what do I do with it? But before I ever make a house payment and before I ever pay the rent or any of that, what do I do with the first fruits of what God has given me? Do I give it unto the Lord like He commands?

It's interesting as we field questions about this on the radio often, the question almost always is formed in a way to get out from under the burden or the responsibility of giving. You know, somebody might ask, "Well you know what, Pastor, I don't know, I don't want to give. I can give wherever I want because you know tithing is an old covenant responsibility and so I'm a new covenant believer so I don't need to tithe."

Oh, okay, you're a Bible scholar now on giving, I get that. And now you don't have to give. You can do whatever you want because you're not under the old covenant. And the new covenant, of course the new covenant is much less than the old covenant, so now you know, now you've made a way to excuse yourself from giving. Can I just say today, there is no excuse for not giving.

Let me also say that if you come to the conclusion that tithing is an old covenant principle, you're actually right. You're actually right. It was part of the old covenant. It was a requirement. But if you follow the pattern of the Bible, by the time you get to the new covenant, did you know that God requires more from you as a new covenant believer than you are as an old covenant believer?

And some of you are like, "Covenants, what is all that?" Okay, here, Old Testament, New Testament. Old Testament sacrificial system, God said I want you to give 10% of your first fruits, of your grain and your barley. Which also people, "I don't have any grain or barley so I've got nothing to give." But the principle, that's what they had. That's how they did business. That's how they bartered.

That was the first, that's what God gave them and they were to give 10% back. They were also to take care of the priest and the Levites and take care of the temple and the tabernacle. There was a significant need for the people of God to collaborate in their giving. The new covenant principle of giving is far more. The tithe represents 10% but the new covenant principle of giving is far more.

You know what it is? All of you. You're supposed to give all to God. You go, "Well Ed, what do you mean by that?" Romans chapter 12, verse one, you and I are to give ourselves to God as a living sacrifice that's not consumed but constantly giving. So that when you choose to give and obey a verse like this—and by the way, if you want to know the heart of our church in giving, I did a verse-by-verse series on giving in 2nd Corinthians chapter eight and nine, probably four or five weeks.

Explaining exactly what the Bible has to say about giving because it's very, very clear that we are to give. And Paul says in a divisive church, one that's gone off on legalism, "Hey you guys need to share. Don't forget that sharing and giving is very important." Let me paint the picture of what it looks like in a church. The Lord has called me in the ministry life for my life, He has called me to be a pastor.

You would call that vocational. You might hear that word. My vocation is a pastor. I have a responsibility to lead this church. You could even use this word. I don't like the phrase, but we've got to use it because you'll all understand it. My job is to be a pastor. That's my full-time 80 hours a week or whatever it is, that's my job. Seven days a week, I'm a pastor.

That is what God has called me to do. And as a pastor, I have a job description. Now over the years, people have emailed me thinking they know my job description, but the Bible gives me the job description. It's actually not as complicated as you might think. Here's my job description in Acts chapter six, verse two: "The 12 summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables."

"Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word." That's my job description. I need to give myself continually to prayer and the ministry of the word of God, which includes studying, putting messages together and teaching them.

And then exercising my gift of leadership over the team that He's given me because we have other pastors here. The church hasn't always been large. We started out very small and when we were small, I had a job. I worked. And I enjoyed my job and it was, I was very successful in what I was doing and I worked and then I also began planting the church because part of my calling in life was to be a church planter.

So I planted the church and I went to work and I worked all day to provide for the needs of my family. And then God was using us to start the church here as it grew. And God has now, because the church has grown, there's more than just me as a pastor. We have many, many pastors and many people on our team. Although we have a very light staff, we have a very powerful staff and we have all those that are here.

And here's the thing all tied together. So with all that, because we don't talk much about this, but this is the verse we need to. When it says "let him who is taught the word share in all good things," this is what's happening. When you give to the life of your local church, you are supporting those who are serving you in ministry. So let me give you our perspective. It started with me, but then all of us, anyone that receives a paycheck from the church here, here's the thing: we live by faith.

We live by faith. We don't know what a week's going to bring, we don't know what the giving's going to bring, we don't know how what the economy does good, the economy doesn't do good, we live by faith. And that if anything happened in the church, anything happened ever, like financially something happened—although let me just say before I get there—I've been here 26 years and this church is a faithful giving church.

We have never had a need ever go unmet. Not only that, God has not only met every one of our needs, but He's also given us a few wants along the way. Because I remember, I remember when it was just a thought in my mind that God impressed that we would have a radio station. Now when I started finding out how much they cost, I'm like, "Okay, I don't think we're ever going to do that."

But guess what? Two stations later and years ministering to this city, what a great gift this church has given to the city through Grace FM. That's through the faithful giving of all these years, all the believers that have ever come through here. My family, this is where we tithe. This is where we give. This church, our church. So we collectively get to be a part of that.

So living by faith, we don't know what a week's going to bring. And if every one of the guys and gals that have joined our team left a job—they were already working and already serving and then they took this job—most of us when we took a position here, we took far less than we were making in the world because it wasn't about the money, it was about serving the Lord.

Now your faithfulness provides for the needs of families and we live by faith. We live by faith not trusting that you will give, but trusting that God will provide. So there's no pressure on you. That's really, God puts it, He says if you don't want to give, don't give. That's what God says in His word. You want to give grudgingly? Don't give.

That's not the point. The point is not like if the church tanks somehow, something happened, you know what we would do? We'd go get a job because we already know how to work. So we'd go get a job. And I'm pretty confident that those that are serving here, as we would all go get a job, that they would still continue to serve the needs of this church. That they're not here for a job.

So we'll go get a job, provide for the needs of my home, and then continue to serve the Lord because we've already done that. We've already been there. Now of course, I love it when I'm bringing someone on the team and they're in the final interview, I look them in the eye and go, "You understand if something happens, you know we're all going to go get a job." "Yeah, yeah, we're all going to get—yes, it's no problem."

And you understand since you're the last person hired, you're the first one to go get a job. But you know also through the years that has never happened. That's never happened. You see, your giving, it puts turkeys on people's table. Your giving, I mean we don't publicize this kind of stuff because God gets the glory. I don't want to go through a list of everything.

Your giving does so much for the community that you won't even find out until you're in heaven. You go, "What?" Somebody's up there going to thank you and you're going to go, "What are you thanking me for?" "Oh you don't understand, that sacrificial gift that you prayed over with your kids and you offered, it got me through the week." And you're like, "Oh man. Yeah, that was a big deal for us. That was really hard."

But it really wasn't hard because once I did it, it wasn't hard. And so Paul's very clear here. You need to share.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Abounding Grace and part of Pastor Ed Taylor's study in Galatians. Hear it again at aboundinggraceradio.com, oneplace.com, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here in the month of July, we've picked out an excellent book from David Wilkerson, The Jesus Person Promise Book. It contains over 800 promises from the word of God, helping you discover hope, grace, and healing for almost every spiritual and personal problem encountered today.

It would make a meaningful gift for that special someone or a purse companion for you. And we'll send it to you when you support Abounding Grace with a gift of $25 or more today. Reach us toll-free at 877-30-GRACE or go online to calvaryco.store. And thank you for your support. It helps us get the word out on stations like this one all across the nation.

Large or small, God is using your gifts in great ways. I wish I could share all the emails and phone calls that come in as evidence of that. To make a donation, just visit aboundinggraceradio.com or call 877-30-GRACE. Our time together sure goes by quick, doesn't it? But we're already looking forward to our next study in Galatians here on Abounding Grace with Pastor Ed. God bless. Abounding Grace is brought to you by Calvary Church Colorado here in Aurora.