In It To Win It
In the month of November, leading up to Thanksgiving, Pastor Dan did a three part sermon series entitled, “In It To Win It”. The focus was on generosity — how can we as believers, have a generous spirit and be willing to give?
Pastor Dan began with a passage you may have heard before, Matthew 6:19-21, where Jesus is teaching. Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (NIV)
This scripture is saying that:
- A generous heart is committed to the eternal.
- A generous heart is motivated by missional principles.
- A generous heart is all-in with its generous ruler.
Pastor Dan shared that there are 2,300 verses in Scripture about money and wealth. He said, “Your heart’s desires are what drive you to what you give to. How you budget your money shows your priorities. We either love money and use people or love people and use money. Your generosity and stinginess show where your heart is.”
The point of this message is “Generous people create excess to bless others”.
The second week of November, Pastor Dan shared that “more money can cause more problems”. He shared from Proverbs 30:7-8, 9; Exodus 16:4-5; and Psalm 104: 24-28.
In the Proverbs passage, a man named Agur is speaking to the Lord, and this is what he says, “Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”
This message is talking about “the two flavors of greed: Gluttony (Luke 12:13-21), which is motivated by the high of abundance and Scarcity (Matt. 6:25-34), which is motivated by the fear of loss or limits.
Pastor Dan shared that the majority of Americans in today’s world has 10,000 – 40,000 items in their home.
The point of this message is “Generous people live off of enough”.
In the final message in the In It To Win It series, on November 19, 2023, Pastor Dan shared Luke 21:1-4, another passage, you may be familiar with. This passage says, As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
Pastor Dan said, “It’s not about the amount given. It’s about the sacrifice. It’s not about the money. Your money is lended to you by God. You wouldn’t have your job or your money if God hadn’t given you the ability to do the job and opened the door for you to be hired.”
The point of this particular message is: Generous people give because it hurts.
Disciplined giving consists of three acts:
- Disciplined giving is an act of submission. (2 Corin. 9:7, Psalm 24:1)
- Disciplined giving is an act of faith. (2 Corin. 9:10, Matt. 6:33)
- Disciplined giving is an act of worship. (Deut. 4:22-23, Prov. 3:9, 2 Corin. 9:11-13)
Each of these weeks Pastor Dan challenged us to “be the person others are thankful for” for the month of November.
However, as believers, we should take on this challenge during every month of every year.