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The Spirit of Generosity vs. Scarcity: A Biblical View of Giving · Fostering Faith

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Welcome back, guys. Welcome to Fostering Faith.
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I'll be your host, Tracy, and we are in the episode
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where the month of May, we are talking about
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faith that moves. And we're going to be talking
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about generosity and radical kindness because
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we live in a world when we're obsessed with getting
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more, getting ahead, getting noticed, getting
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credit and getting what's mine. But the kingdom
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God flips upside down because in the kingdom,
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greatness is measured by what you give, not what
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you keep. and strength is measured by what you
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pour out and not what you hold on too tight and
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love is measured by the willingness to be radically
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kind especially when kindness costs you something
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and this week we're going to be talking about
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kingdom generosity and no we're not talking about
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money you can keep your money in your wallet
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it's fine we're not asking for a donation we're
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not asking you to give it's not just about money
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guys it's about your time your words your presence,
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your compassion, your presence, your forgiveness,
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and your heart. Because you cannot follow Jesus
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closely without becoming generously deeply. And
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generosity isn't a personality trait. It's a
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discipleship trait. Kindness isn't a soft kill.
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It's a spiritual weapon. And giving isn't quote
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unquote extra. It's essential. And with the Holy
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Spirit transferring your heart, generosity becomes
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a reflex. And God is the most generous person
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that you will ever know. Everything in your faith
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begins with this truth. For God so loved the
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world, He gave. John 3 .16 God didn't give alone.
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He didn't bargain. He didn't negotiate. God didn't
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partially or cautiously. He gave. fully, sacrificially,
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joyfully, lavishly, freely, and most importantly,
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willing. You serve the most generous being in
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existence. And when you follow Jesus, His generosity
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becomes your blueprint. We give because He gave
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first. And genuine generosity is more than money.
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Money is the smallest part of generosity. Jesus
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never applauded the rich. He applauded the widow
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who gave the two coins. Not because of the amount,
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but because of her heart. Generosity shows up
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when how quickly free you forgive, how freely
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you compliment, how willing you help, how kindly
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you speak, how patiently you respond, how intentionally
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you include people, how you gently Correct. How
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you humbly serve. How you sacrificially love.
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And how often you say yes to God. And generosity
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is a heart posture. It's not transactional. Some
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of the most generous people never wrote a big
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check. They gave big kindness. Radical kindness
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is a spiritual warfare. Kindness looks soft on
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the outside. but it is violent against darkness.
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Scripture says it like this, do not be overcome
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by evil, but overcome evil with good. In Romans
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12, 21, and kindness breaks bitterness, coldness,
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indifference, entitlement, division, hostility,
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resentment, spiritual resistance, kindness, disarms
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the enemy. Kindness interrupts the cycle of hurt.
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Kindness heals wounds that you never see. Kindness
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reflects the Father's heart, and hell cannot
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imitate God's heart. And you know that the most
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underrated spiritual gift is kindness. We talked
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about it in an episode In the beginning, we went
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through the fruits of the spirit last year in
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December and we went through the fruits of the
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spirit where our love, joy, peace, patience,
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kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self -control.
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And I think we bundled kindness and gentleness
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together. But kindness shakes the atmosphere
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in a room quicker than a sermon. And so spirit
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of generosity versus a spirit of scarcity. And
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so scarcity means there isn't enough. Scarcity
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produces fear, stinginess, self -protection,
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anxiety, jealousy, comparison, withholding, resentment
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when others are blessed. Scarcity says, I have
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to hold on to mine because I might lose it. And
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please know, I can't talk about things that...
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It has not affected me. So several years ago
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I had a mindset of scarcity. There's not enough.
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I grew up poor. I grew up not, we didn't have
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a lot of money. I had a great childhood. Don't
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get me wrong. But in that same instance, scarcity,
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I had a scarcity mindset because what if I don't
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have enough? What happens if I don't have enough
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to take care of my family? What happens if I
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don't have enough for this? Not trusting of a
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God who makes it all. And so I had fear. I had
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steadiness. I had self -protection. I was going
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to save all this money because that was going
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to keep me. And you had Steve Jobs and he said,
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I have all the money in the world and I'm still
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going to die of pancreatic cancer. You have people
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that have the fame, the fortune, and it's never
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enough. And then when I think it's going to be
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enough and we can talk medical for a second.
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And so there's never enough. There's always another
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one. There's always another one. It's dopamine
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after dopamine. And then you get to the final
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top. and then you're disappointed because it's
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never gonna be enough. And so when is enough
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enough? A million dollars? A billion dollars?
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You're taking four months vacation? When is enough?
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And so ask yourself that question, will there
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ever be enough? And so I had that spirit of scarcity
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and I read a book by Robert Morris called The
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Beyond Blessed Life or The Blessed Life. And
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it broke the chains of scarcity, because my God
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is not a God of scarcity. He's a God of generosity.
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He's a God of overabundance. And what is mine
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was His first. And so I have nothing. So everything
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I have is His. And so if He gave it to me, He
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can have it. will give and do time, money, words,
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whatever he puts on my heart, I'm gonna do it,
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because I did not follow him for a very long
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time. And living generous, that is where it's
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at, guys. That is where it's at, just to give
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generously above and beyond your time, your effort,
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your talents, your wisdom, just pouring into
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the next generation. And it is just, it's so
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much more fulfilling. And so we move into generosity.
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And I learned that God always provides, but He
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doesn't always provide when we need it. He provides
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whatever He feels like we need it. And He provides
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abundantly and above. And my word for this year
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is overflow for next year, for 2026. And so I'm
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recording this the year prior. And so I'm letting
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you guys know that my year in 2026 is overflow.
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My verse this year has been or will be Jeremiah
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29, 11. And so my God provides overtly and abundantly
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because He owns everything. There is nothing
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that He cannot give. There's nothing that He
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cannot fix. And so we serve a generous Father.
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And so generosity produces peace and joy, faith
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and freedom, gratitude and open hands, excitement
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to bless others. Guys, I cannot, I'm like literally
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smiling as I'm just talking about this because
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generosity, I mean, is, there's no better way.
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Just to spend time with people just to sit down
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and hear their stories listen to them and just
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be generous with your time Be generous with your
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offerings be generous with your money be generous
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with your words be generous with gratitude and
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thankfulness it really does just change the atmosphere
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and Generosity says I can give this away because
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God is my source. He is this source. He is the
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water he is the The river that is filling up
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my ocean And so one mindset shrinks your world
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and the other one makes it endless. Jesus notices
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that most unlikely givers is the widow, the woman
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with the alabaster jar, that little boy with
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the lunch, that key is giving back fourfold.
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In the early church, it's selling property to
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take care of the poor. And he never praised the
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amount, only the heart. And so God doesn't measure
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giving the way that people do. People ask how
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much. God asks, how's your surrender? Generosity
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is a heart issue, not a math issue. And please
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know, if you ever are trying to solve God math,
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good luck, because it's not going to work. He
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says, give this. And you said, I don't have that.
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And he says, but do you trust me? And we do this
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all at the end of the year, offering, giving,
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and He has stretched us every year further and
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further. And we do it as a family, we pray about
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it. And I ask for unity in the number that we're
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supposed to give because as a family, I want
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them and my husband and my daughter to see God
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move and how we all, we won't talk about it,
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we pray about it, and we all come up. with the
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same number because we pray about it, because
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we serve the same God. We are going to the guy
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that has the answers and he knows what is sacrificial
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for us. He knows what's in our bank account.
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He put it there. And so if he tells us to give
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and it is just amazing of what he has done to
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my heart, what he's done to my husbands and my
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daughters over the years. And it is such. a blessing
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to bless others. And not just financially, just
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with time and talent and just everything that
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He has put in you to serve others. Guys, there
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is no better job is to be an ambassador of Christ,
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to be a co -heir to Jesus. It's just so good.
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And so the most radical kindness Jesus ever taught
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was the moment in Luke 6. And it cuts deep. It
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says, love your enemies, do good to them, bless
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them who curse you, pray for those who mistreat
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you, not tolerate them, not avoid them, not remain
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neutral towards them, but love them, do good
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to them, bless them, pray for them. That is radical
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kindness. That is super natural generosity. You
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cannot do that without the Holy Spirit. If someone
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curses you, and then you pray for them or they
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are just really in need and for some reason you're
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blessed with something that they need and you
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give it away because it just makes your heart
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sing to help someone else out and that really
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is it changes the atmosphere and why generosity
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and kindness matter to your faith because there's
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three spiritual truths one your trust You trust
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God as your provider. Generosity proves that
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God, not money, not people, and not circumstances,
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is your source. 2. You reflect Jesus. Kindness
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proves that you know what grace feels like. 3.
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You know your purpose. You understand that God
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blesses you to be a blessing. A Sinji Christian
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is a contradiction. A harsh Christian is a contradiction.
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And a self -centered Christian is a contradiction.
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When Jesus fills your heart, kindness overflows.
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And so check your heart. Are you stingy? Are
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you harsh? Are you self -centered? Sit with the
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Holy Spirit and let him just search your heart
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and see how that reflection is. And so what does
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generosity look in real life? This is the part
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where it's really practical and it's what it
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really can look like in life. Praying for someone
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quietly. Paying for someone quietly. Giving someone
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your seat. Encouraging someone intentionally.
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Forgiving quickly. Babysitting for a tired mom.
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Buying groceries for someone that's struggling.
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Sending a Venmo without explaining anything.
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Making space for someone that's lonely. Susprising
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your teen or your co -workers with lunch money.
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Writing a handwritten note. Offering grace when
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someone snaps. Helping your neighbor with yard
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work. Listening when someone needs to talk. Tipping
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generously when the service was slow. Smiling
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at someone who looks unseen. Generosity makes
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the invisible God visible. The enemy can't stay
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in generosity. Why? Because generosity breaks
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selfishness, bitterness, pride, fear, division,
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greed, and insecurity. It just breaks a judgmental
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attitude. It is impossible to be both grateful
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and stingy. And it's impossible to be both spirit
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-filled and unkind. When generosity fills your
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heart, darkness loses its grip. And so in your
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workbook this week, we invite you to go into
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Fostering Faith Media's website, and we have
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month after month, week after week. workbook
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for reflections because we want at the end of
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this year for you to be transformed. And so whenever
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I started seminary and the very first class,
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he said, it's not about your grades, it's about
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your transformation. And so as we foster our
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faith together, as we are walking through this
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and we are imperfect people, just worshiping
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a perfect God, we've created workbooks. And so
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we can write these things down and we can learn
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and we can wrestle with God with them and we
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can sit with the Holy Spirit. And so this week,
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Where is God inviting you to be radically generous
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or kind this week? And so, in your home, in your
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church, in your workspace, in your relationships,
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is God like highlighting someone specific? A
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person that hurt you? Someone who needs encouragement?
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A family that's struggling? A teen who needs
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love? Or someone that just feels alone? Write
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with the Spirit. brings to mind. And write one
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radical, generous, or kindness that you will
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commit to this week. But actually do it. Pay
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someone's bills. Cook a meal. Drop off some flowers.
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Give a gift card. Write a note that heals. Pray
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intentionally for somebody. Show up for somebody.
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Forgive someone fully. Donate something meatiful,
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not leftover. Serve someone who can't repay you.
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And that one act of kindness can reroute someone's
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entire week or even life. You have that power
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because God was so kind to you, we are kind to
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others. He's been so generous to us, despite
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our best efforts. And so we get to be generous
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to others. The best life is with our hands open
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wide and not holding onto anything because He
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gave us everything. and he has the permission
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to take it. And so if this message encouraged
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you, if this sparks some interest, if you know
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some Cindy people, maybe send it to them. Share
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it in your small group. Help our podcast grow
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because we are a podcast of fostering our faith
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together and we are better in community. We're
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better together. And so we would love to pray
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for you guys. Lord, thank you for today. Thank
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you for yesterday. Thank you that you are making
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us generous like you. Thank you that you're replacing
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a spirit of sacred with trust. Thank you that
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you're filling our hearts with radical kindness.
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Thank you that you're opening our eyes to needs.
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Thank you that you're making us bold and joyful
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and sacrificial and loving others. Thank you
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that your generosity flows through us to go into
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the world so they can see your goodness. Thank
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you for everything that you do. In Jesus name
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I pray. Amen. Amen. We hope that you guys were
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inspired by this message. We love you guys. See
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you next week.