Five Reasons to Live Generously - Sermon Review

Sunday Sermon Review - October 7, 2012
Topic - Five Great Reasons to Live Generously
(from my home church that I attend regularly)
Speaker - Jacob Friesen

This is Thanksgiving weekend. The service began with singing several songs - "Wonderful Saviour Wonderful God",  "I'll Stand", and  "What a Friend we have in Jesus".

We had a guest speaker in our church today named Jacob Friesen from Winnipeg.
He began his sermon by outlining the basic drift of his message in discussing the joy of giving, how to live a life of generousity, and asking the question - why should we give? Does it really matter whether we give or not?
2 Corinthians 9 : 6-7 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver

The message is based on 2 Corinthians 9: 6-15 ( posted at the bottom )
Here is some of what our speaker said:

The church in Jerusalem was in need and Paul wants to bring a gift to them from the believers in Corinth.
When it comes to giving, there are two kinds of attitudes in people - 1) A heart that holds back and says How much of my income can I keep for me? and 2) A heart that wants to give and says How much can I share?
Generousity starts with God - God has more than enough resources to provide for you. It all comes from God. You can never out give God. In prosperity there is a danger to forget the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:10 -When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.

Five Great Reasons to be Generous
#1) It Reminds Us that We Belong to God - Everything comes from God
Our Heavenly Father will take care of us because we belong to Him

#2) There Is More Where This Came From -
It is not about how much we have that determines whether we can give or not
It is not about the worthiness of the project in question - It is about the Nature of God
Everything belongs to our Heavenly Father and He is able to give more.
Verse 10 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

#3) Giving Honors God -
God is honored when we give generously
Mr Friesen mention the bus driver in Winnipeg who recently became famous when he gave his shoes to a homeless person on the street.
Verse 13 Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;

4) We Give in Obedience to God's Word -
God has told us to be generous as He is generous

5) We Will Be Blessed
A life of generousity pays great dividends
When we become selfish and hoarding people, we become alone and lonely
As we give, God gives more and it brings joy that keeps multiplying
Verse 6  and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

Bonus Point - #6 - We Can be Generous because Christ Lives in Us-
Christ enables us to open our hand
It is God's amazing grace that enables us to be generous.
Verse 15  Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

We have placed our trust in the Lord God Almighty. He will provide for us.
Life is uncertain but God is Faithul.

2 Corinthians 9: 6-15

⁶ But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
⁷ Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
⁹ (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
¹⁰ Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
¹¹ Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
¹² For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;
¹³ Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;
¹⁴ And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.
¹⁵ Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

Grandpa Peter and Grandma G...Opposites Attract!!

Today I would like to tell you about my Grandparents that is my Mom's parents. I have hesitated to write about them but here is some of what I know. They were my favorite Grandparents even though they did not ever make an effort to know me by name.  They only referred to me as 'that girl there'. I believe they knew the names of a couple of my sisters though. Grandpa Peter was born in 1904 and passed away in 1985 at the age of 81 years. Grandma G was a bit older than Grandpa. She was born in 1901 and passed away in 1998 at the age of 96 years. They were married in June of 1923.  Life was a little rocky for them in their early years of marriage with Grandpa even moving back  home to live with his family for a bit but with the help of Grandma's great patience he returned to her and they were married for about 62 years. I believe Grandpa's love for Grandma was strong and enduring right up to the very end. It seemed like a sort of jealous but sweet love in that he was proud that she belonged with him.
Grandpa Peter made a living by farming though I only ever knew them as a retired couple. They lived in a small  old two story country house with a few large trees on the property. There was an old barn on the yard as well as an old shed and an outhouse.
Grandpa Peter had a mind of his own and was not easily persuaded. He did not like plants and flowers and therefore did not allow Grandma to have any in the house, nor did she have a garden. He loved the outdoors and preferred to sit outside under the shade trees rather than spending time in the house. He didn't much like green vegetables like lettuce but with a twinkle in his eye,he referred to it as "rabbit food". He insisted that he could not use a regular size tablespoon to eat soup, so in order to please him, we always set a serving spoon by his plate for dinner. Grandpa enjoyed telling a good joke and get everyone laughing.
Grandpa Peter and Grandma G often came to visit our home. Every time they came they would bring a treat for my sisters and I. Often it would be a pan of cinnamon buns that Grandpa had purchased at a store on the drive over. Grandpa would often be driving a different car than the time before. It seemed he liked to trade in his car for another used one just to try something else.  Grandpa and Grandma would make frequent trips to Alberta to visit their children there. Grandma would bake waffles and pack them up to take along as meals for the trip. They were quite adventureous in their old age really and made the trip from Manitoba to Alberta many times.
Grandpa and Grandma never had a telephone but they would come to our place to phone to Alberta to visit with their family there. They would both take a turn talking so phoning to each of the three families out in Alberta usually took the better part of an evening.
Grandma G was sort of a quiet and patient person. You could always tell when she was about to say something - you could see it in her face but she would wait till there was a longer silent space in the conversation, she would take a deeper breath, then if still no one was talking, she would add her thoughts to the conversation. She was always very generous in her compliments when my Mom would have my sisters and I  show off our new dresses to her. She spoke German as she would say -"Oh my, that is beautiful, now the boys will notice you". 
Grandpa and Grandma really enjoyed my Mom's fried fish. There was only one problem. The fish were not filleted so all the small bones had to be picked out as you ate. But Grandpa Peter didn't care and never took any of the little bones out. He would just eat it as if there were no bones at all. This made my Mom a bit scared and she would say " Papa, Papa, the fish have bones!!" but he would pay no attention. Then Grandma would say to my Mom - "Just leave him alone, he is a grown man, that is his problem". She just was so unbelieveably calm.
Grandma G could make the best Jam cookies ever. We would try to make her recipe but the cookies we made didn't taste nearly as delicious as Grandma's. She also made the best Plumi Moos ( a sweet fruit soup) and homemade buns for family gatherings. Her specialty for family gatherings was her cake though. She would make many many cakes and top them with bananas and whipped cream. She made sure there was extra food left over of everything she made so that every family could take home a whole cake, a half gallon jar of Plumi Moos as well as some cookies. She was so very generous.

                        This is a picture of Grandpa and Grandma on their wedding anniversary!                        

Grandma G wanted things to be just and fair and when it wasn't she was prepared to make things right. One time when they came to visit, Grandma brought $300 for my Mom. Apparently she knew that my Mom's brother owed my Mom that amount of money from many years earlier. Grandma figured that my Mom's brother would never pay the debt he owed, so Grandma took it upon herself to pay her son's debt. Over time she had secretly saved up the $300, always taking a small amount out of her pension check every month. She kept it a secret from Grandpa in case he wouldn't approve of her idea.  My Mom was very surprised that her Mom did that and it certainly was not something anyone would have expected of her or wanted Grandma to do. Grandma G insisted that my Mom take the cash.
Grandpa and Grandma were people of faith. They fully supported my Dad in his calling to be a preacher of the gospel. Regularly Grandpa and Grandma would drive to extra distance required in order to hear my Dad preach in the church. I remember they came to my baptism and I was glad to have them come. I know God works in all of our lives in various ways and He is not limited in His ways to encourage, lead and teach us. Grandma believed that God had prepared her for the stillborn birth/death of one of her babies through the song of the mourning dove. The mourning dove has a very distinct and sorrowful sounding song.
As the years went on Grandpa Peter's health started to fail.  He had troubles with diabetes and then a stroke that took away his ability to speak. It was very sad. He could not accept the failing condition of his health and did not cope with his struggles very well.  He passed away early one snowy December morning and since they did not have a telephone, Grandma G had to walk through  the snow to get help. But God was faithful to Grandma G and slowly with time she gained strength to move on with her life. She was 84 years old when Grandpa passed away and she lived to be 96 years old. She wasn't really sick when God called her home, she just passed on in a calm and peaceful way, very similar to the way she had lived her life.