Generosity of God | Anastasia Fomenko

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign. [00:00:08] Speaker A: Excited to kick off this generosity series. I believe it's going to be a powerful and pivotal time for formation for us. KM Right. Because we don't want to show up here and just sit in comfort and do nothing with what we're given. Amen. So I just sense that this is going to be just a formational few weeks where we talk about the generosity of God and what generosity is. Because God is extravagantly generous towards us. So why not talk about generosity? Amen. He who did not spare his own son. Can you imagine the God that didn't spare his only precious son? He gave everything. He gave his best. And so we love. We love you, Lord. We love you because you first loved us. You gave first. So we can give because you gave. And so I am excited because I just believe that man, some of us are going to be formed. Amen. I want to talk about three types of giving that we see in the Bible, or at least from what I as I dove into this topic. And all of these three types of giving flow from one truth. And that is God and gave us everything. Okay, so with God, here's the thing. Provision always goes before the need with God. The lamb was slain before the foundation of the world. God already had provision in store. Did you know that there was manna placed under the mercy seat to foreshadow provision that was going to happen for us at the cross. That daily bread was going to meet us with the cross. I just think it's so powerful. So to me, the Old Testament is filled with foreshadowing of what's actually to come. So I think it's important that we understand God's heart in the Old Testament rightly so that we can receive in the New Testament what He paid for. Amen. So let's turn to Malachi 3 this morning or afternoon. Malachi 310 bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. And try me now in this, says the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will be no room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field, says the Lord of Hosts. And all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land, says the Lord of Hosts. [00:03:01] Speaker A: First of all, I want to explain to you what tithe is. If you didn't know it's the first 10% of your income that belongs to the storehouse. I also want to say is that tithe was not just an Old Covenant idea. Long before the law existed, Abraham tithed. Long before the law existed, Jacob tithed. Because God created tithing as a principle, not a law. [00:03:27] Speaker A: Y' all are quiet. [00:03:31] Speaker A: But. [00:03:33] Speaker A: In the Old Testament, disobedience carried a curse. So under the law, if you didn't tithe, you were actually punished. So Malachi is speaking from that perspective. He's speaking under a covenant of blessing and curses. [00:03:52] Speaker A: How many of you know we live in the New covenant? Amen. Listen. Galatians 3:13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become the curse of for us. I don't think you heard me. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. We are no longer bound under the curse. [00:04:15] Speaker B: Redeemed means bought out. [00:04:17] Speaker A: We were bought out from under the curse. We were freed, we were released. Prison doors were wide open. Now we can live in grace. Amen. God is not angry at you. He's not trying to punish you for anything. You are not cursed if you don't tithe. You are not cursed. If you don't give, you're not cursed. But you are missing out on something. [00:04:40] Speaker A: Because it's a principle. We're not under the law anymore. But because freedom from the curse removes punishment, it actually doesn't remove the principle. It removed the punishment, but not the principle. Are you with me? The principle stays timeless because God establish that principle based on who he is. He is a generous God. Generosity is who he is. It's not what he does. So under the law. [00:05:14] Speaker A: You gave to avoid punishment. You gave out of fear. You gave because you had to. Not under grace as under grace, there is a gratitude that fills you because you know you give because you received. Amen. There's no guilt, there's no punishment. You're not imprisoned. You give out of love, not to get something. But. [00:05:42] Speaker A: We should give because we trust. Because tithing is actually an act of trust that shows. [00:05:52] Speaker A: That we put God first in our life. The word try me in that passage in Malachi literally means test me in my faithfulness. And the tithe is actually God's invitation for us to trust him and experience what he has for us through that trust. Amen in the New Covenant. Actually, tithing, I believe, is a rhythm of trust in God with our finances. It's spiritual formation. Friends, how many of you love the spiritual formation messages that we hear at km? The Ones that are like, man, we love discipleship. We love discipleship, but not the giving part, because the giving part, that's just physical stuff. Let me tell you what. It's that physical part of you that is so connected to the spirit part of you. There's power in consistency, my friends. Just like there's power in the. The daily bread. Just like every time you get in the word, you don't get in the word because you have to. You get in the word because, you know, daily bread is necessary. Daily bread is what you depend on for your growth. You know, when we got married in 2008. Jeez, that's a long time. [00:07:13] Speaker A: It doesn't feel long, babe. 2008, we got married. [00:07:20] Speaker A: I didn't know this, but my husband literally tithes from, like, every quarter, okay? He's like. He was like, everything we get in our bank account, we tithe off of it. And I was like, well, that's a little religious. Like, why are we having to be so extreme? Like, that's just not how God is. And he's like, sure, yeah, God's not like that, but I trust God. So I'm gonna do what I was taught by my father as a young boy. And it's interesting, because what I didn't realize is actually what was gonna start to happen is this started to confront my own heart. And it's not that I was against giving, but let me tell you, 2008 was not an easy year, okay, for all you youngsters. It was like kind of like the Great Depression in our time. Anybody. Like, it was a challenging time. And I remember, like, yes, Vic, I'm all about giving, but, like, there ain't nothing to give, because I married a poor college student that had a lot of vision for his life. I love you, but you know what I learned is that that man was not gonna let me compromise. And I'm so glad that that consistency actually confronted something in my heart and made me realize that it wasn't about the money, you guys. It was about my trust in God. Choosing to give in faith sets you up on the greatest journey. [00:08:49] Speaker A: Since then, I think we've experienced, I mean, countless financial miracles. I mean, if I sit down with you and just tell you how many financial miracles this decision has shaped our life, our ministry, and everything that we do and how we do it. And I realized that he was doing it out of love, because I would watch the posture of his heart. In 2 Corinthians, chapter 9, Paul says, so let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity. For God loves a. [00:09:22] Speaker A: Cheerful giver. [00:09:26] Speaker A: Old covenant is obligation. New covenant, love and trust. We give because we've received. Amen. And let me tell you what, the wrong attitude in giving will actually kill your seed. [00:09:44] Speaker A: If you do it out of law, you won't actually experience the joy of what could become of that seed because you'll start to resent anybody. Like, I've heard stories of people, well, I gave so much and I didn't get anything. I was like, well, God is not a slot machine. Like, we're not trying to just like, hey, I'm going to give and I'm going to get. No, this has everything to do with our heart. [00:10:09] Speaker A: Because it's so easy for him to bless us. It's hard for us to be formed. Yeah, it's so easy for him to open up the windows of heaven and just release all these blessings in our lives. But what are we going to do with those blessings if we didn't even trust God. [00:10:27] Speaker A: From the beginning? [00:10:30] Speaker A: And so I think it's interesting because when we read Even in Malachi 3 8, will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me when God says you have robbed me. When we withhold the tithe, we aren't actually robbing God of money. I don't know if you know that. I mean, he has, like, streets of gold prepared for us. Like, we're not robbing God of money. We're robbing him of the opportunity to. To form us and to open up the windows of heaven over our lives and actually release his blessing and show us that it's not really about the money. It's about our heart. Amen. Give me the first so I can release the best. Every time, like, the Lord tells me that I'm like, God, what a joy. Like, it is my greatest joy to that I can never outgive you. [00:11:25] Speaker A: And I love that Jesus came to reveal the message of the kingdom. Amen. And everything in the kingdom starts out in a seed. Like, if I was holding one up here, it'd be very tiny. There is power in the seed, and God has placed seed into your hands. [00:11:47] Speaker A: But multiplication starts with how you handle the seed that's been placed in your hand. [00:11:55] Speaker A: He can only multiply what you sow. He can only multiply what we choose to put in the ground. Everything, everything came from him anyway. So why do we withhold the seed? [00:12:15] Speaker A: If you don't trust him to multiply the seed, you'll just eat it and then you'll just Complain that you don't have enough and you'll look at the person. [00:12:26] Speaker A: We actually look at the people. [00:12:29] Speaker A: That live in the fruit of their giving. [00:12:34] Speaker A: And we resent them and we judge them when we've done nothing with our seed. [00:12:40] Speaker A: Let me tell you something. Maybe your constant pattern of debt is actually because you haven't made giving a spiritual practice in your life. Not trying to come at you here, but I am trying to come at you because this truth will set you free. Because the enemy, he also is not after your money. He's after your faith. He's after your trust. And every time you give and you're showing and you're revealing that. [00:13:06] Speaker A: Your bank account is not your God, your job is not your God, your God is your God. Amen. We're stingy with our seed because we don't know what it's like to actually let go of the seed and watch it grow. And it doesn't just grow. I'm not talking about money here. I watch my life. [00:13:28] Speaker A: Play out. I watch the fruit of my life play out. Based on the years of consistency. It's like you can't just get the word in you overnight and expect that you're just gonna walk around preaching the gospel every day and it's gonna be in you. No, there's consistency in spiritual practices. There is consistency in doing this. [00:13:50] Speaker A: And let me tell you what, okay, Luke 16. I'm all over the place. Praise God. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. Whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? I don't think you heard me. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly riches, who will trust you with true riches? How we manage and steward our earthly riches matters, Friends, matters. And could it be that our faithfulness in stewarding worldly wealth is training us actually to steward spiritual wealth? [00:14:42] Speaker A: As I just don't believe God gives spiritual authority to those that can't steward their money. Uh oh. [00:14:52] Speaker A: He wants us to be good steward. And tithing is simply the training ground of trust. [00:15:02] Speaker A: It's also the lowest level of giving meaning. It's where, like where. It's where we start, where we begin our journey. And some of us in this room, man, you're feeling challenged by the sound of my voice. But I'm telling you what God's faithfulness is about to reveal to you. If you allow this thing to confront you and actually, oh, man. Maybe I just don't trust God with my finances. Maybe I actually don't have the revelation of who he really is. [00:15:26] Speaker A: Amen. Awesome. So, number two, the offering. The second level of giving is the offering. So if tithing is trusting God's generosity, the offering is responding to God's generosity. Amen. Offerings go above the tithe and are a response to God's generosity. And biblically, offerings are always acts of worship. They're like free will expressions of how God has moved in someone's life. And, you know, we watch God's faithfulness unfold in our life. Like, God, you've been so good. So I am going to give you this gift, this offering. It is any gift, actually, beyond the tithe. The people of Israel gave generously when they were building the tabernacle. Exodus 30:5.5 says, Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord. [00:16:31] Speaker A: First Chronicles 29. 9. Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly. Because with a loyal heart, they had offered willingly to the Lord. How many of you know that we are in a miracle story right now? [00:16:49] Speaker A: Are you aware that Build the House campaign is actually an opportunity to bring offerings and sow a seed into this region? Right. Because this isn't just for us. I like to say this all the time. This isn't for us. Seeds are not for you. They're for you. Yes, you'll be blessed, but they are for your children and your children's children, okay? Because we like the blessing of the generations in the Old Testament, but sometimes we don't like what actually needs to look like seed going into the ground. The Bible talks about, like, Acts, man, what a generous people, the believers sharing everything they had. Second Corinthians 8, 7. But as you abound in everything, in faith and speech and knowledge and all diligence and in your love for us, see that you also abound in this gracious act of. Of giving. [00:17:46] Speaker A: Let me tell you what. Sometimes we're so quick to abound in our gracious act of giving towards ourselves. I mean, like, we don't count. We don't count how much. [00:18:02] Speaker A: We spend on ourselves because it's so easy. It's like it's a need. I click. I click the Amazon Buy button and it comes to my house and I don't even think about it. But when it comes to giving, you know, giving a pentecostal handshake with $100 in it, you're like, nah, I need that hundred dollars. That's gonna take me far. Mmm. [00:18:25] Speaker A: How many of you had a Pentecostal handshake? Ever experienced a Pentecostal handshake? I love it. It's like, it's the hello, brother. And then you just. [00:18:36] Speaker A: We're so quick to spend on ourselves. And there's no shame in that as long as your heart is also quick to be generous towards others. As I wish that Christians would be the most generous people in the world. Can you imagine, like, if we would be known by our love and our giving? But you're so busy calculating that. That tip at the restaurant, oh, God, I better not give two extra dollars because, man, I need that money. And then you go home and Amazon, click, click, click, click, click, click. I'll tell you what, my husband loves his Amazon packages. No shame, babe. But I have just seen this pattern of how quick we are to spend on ourselves in our consumerism mindset that. [00:19:28] Speaker A: We need it, so we have to have it, and we don't even feel the weight of what we spent. But we sure overthink when we're about to give. And I want to tell you something, Church selfishness is the enemy to generosity. [00:19:44] Speaker A: Show me your bank statement. I'll tell you what you value. That's what I was told. And that put the fear of the Lord in me. Because don't get me wrong, there are needs and there are desires, and all of that is for you to be blessed with and have. But when the only thing you do is live for yourself and your money shows it, I'll tell you what you actually spiritually value. [00:20:09] Speaker A: Amen. Matthew 6:19. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But stories. Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. There is a joy in the offering that we bring. I mean, I remember the first time we had this, like, desire to just give, like, bigger things away. And so the first time we ever gave a car away, I remember Vic and I were like, we were so excited. Like, it wasn't much, maybe for someone else, but for us it was like, this is a sacrifice. But, man, we're so, like, thrilled. Like, we just felt like the. Like just the joy of the Lord on it because we've been. We've been blessed. Like, we've been given cars, so we wanted to do the same thing. And I just remember the Lord is like, I'm so pleased when you're like me. [00:21:02] Speaker A: Because that's who I am. Amen. Which Leads me to number three, extravagant giving. If tithing is trusting God and offering is responding to God, then extravagant gift giving is reflecting God. It's reflecting God's nature and heart towards us. I'm not going to read through all of the passage in John, but man, John 12. Actually, I will, just because I can. Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was who Lazarus that was dead, whom he raised from the dead, where they made him a supper and Martha served. But Lazarus was one of those who sat with him at the table. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray him, said, why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? Like he cared about the poor. I didn't actually say that. This is this, he said, now I'm back to the Bible. Not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief. And the money box. And he had the money box and he used to take what was put in it. But Jesus said, let her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial. For the poor you have with you always. But me, you do not have always. You know, extravagant giving. [00:22:53] Speaker A: Never makes sense. It doesn't. [00:22:57] Speaker A: It actually flows from such a deep love and devotion that it doesn't even make sense. Like, ever been in a relationship, like guys, where you've just, like, spend extravagant money on the love of your life because you're like, it doesn't even matter. I love her so much. It's not measured in dollars. It's measured in devotion. It's not measured in dollars. It's measured in our love. Mary wasn't thinking about the cost. One year of wages. Can you imagine? One year of wages she broke open at the feet of Jesus. It made absolutely no sense. [00:23:39] Speaker A: But she did this because she was so devoted. [00:23:47] Speaker A: He resurrected her brother just days before that. [00:23:51] Speaker A: Man. When we live with a posture of remembrance of what God did for us, we will always overflow in our giving. Because when you remember where he's brought you out of, when you remember that. [00:24:03] Speaker B: You were once in darkness and he brought you into the light, when you were once bound in shame and in fear. And when I think about that over. [00:24:12] Speaker A: My life, I say, God, I just. [00:24:13] Speaker B: Want to want to give you my whole life. [00:24:16] Speaker A: Forget the dollars. [00:24:17] Speaker B: I just want to give you Everything. [00:24:19] Speaker A: You're worth it, Jesus. [00:24:27] Speaker A: You know why people get offended at the giving messages? Because they don't give. [00:24:37] Speaker A: The ones that don't give their lives away, their resources away, are actually offended at the ones that talk about it as they actually haven't experienced it. But when you've tasted and you've seen how good God is, you just can't help. [00:24:56] Speaker A: But man, watch out for that Judas mindset. [00:25:00] Speaker A: That it's actually trying to tell you where you should spend your money. He was in not caring about the poor. That's hypocrisy. [00:25:11] Speaker A: Judas called it a waste, but Jesus called it worship. Judas was talking about how wasteful that was. Jesus said, you have no idea what she's doing. You know, when God called us to the Pacific Northwest. [00:25:29] Speaker A: Oh, it was a costly journey. [00:25:33] Speaker A: Let me tell you what. We actually oftentimes don't realize the price that was paid when we experienced the fruit of something. As I remember when the Lord called us, none of this existed, friends. The only thing existed was a word from God and our best friends that also heard the Lord. And we all just jumped off the cliff and we got together and we're like, so what are we gonna do? [00:25:55] Speaker A: So we got nothing. We just put our lives on the altar and said, lord, what do you want to do with this? [00:26:06] Speaker A: You know, extravagant giving actually mirrors Jesus. It mirrors who he is. And it's beyond the resources and the finances, actually sacrificial and wholehearted. [00:26:26] Speaker A: It's costly. There's high risk. [00:26:32] Speaker A: You won't often be met with rewards. Sometimes you'll be met with a lot of criticism. But that's not why we lay our life down. We lay our life down because we know who we're laying it down for. [00:26:47] Speaker A: Jesus said about Mary, truly, I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will be told in memory of her. [00:27:09] Speaker A: Thank you, Lord. [00:27:13] Speaker A: I just sense that there are people in the room that are really being confronted in this message in the best way, because. [00:27:23] Speaker A: God's kindness actually leads us to repentance. And when we get arrested with the Lord's kindness, we actually realize. [00:27:33] Speaker A: We will give anything. [00:27:37] Speaker A: We will give anything to give our lives to this. And I remember in our transition, one of the greatest things that God told us, he said, well, he told Vic, actually gave him a vision of our children and our children's children. And he said, you don't have to move. You can stay in comfort. But if you do, this will be for the generations to come. [00:28:00] Speaker A: This extravagant. What feels like extravagant Letting go of everything and moving up, not knowing anything, anything, not having anything, and just trusting the Lord, but also trusting in his kindness. And I realized that extravagant giving actually builds legacy. [00:28:24] Speaker A: You build legacy with extravagant giving because it's not about the dollars anymore. It's about your whole life and what you lay it down for. So as the worship team comes up. [00:28:35] Speaker A: I want us to lean in today. Because God's not trying to get something from you, friends. He's trying to form you. He's not trying to take something away. [00:28:47] Speaker B: He's trying to say, let me form you. Don't you want to look like me? Don't you want to become like Christ? [00:28:57] Speaker A: And some of you are just like man. I'm still in that first level trying to figure out if I can even trust God with my 10%. [00:29:04] Speaker A: Man. May the practice of the tithe help you actually discover who he really is. [00:29:11] Speaker A: It's not this overnight thing. It's a journey with him of trust. [00:29:18] Speaker A: And then there's offering that allows us to respond to God. You become generous with your life, not just your giving. Right? Because it's inconvenient sometimes to be generous. It's inconvenient sometimes to open up our homes or open up our lives and be giving. But let me tell you what. Next time, think twice about when you're spending on you and don't think when you're spending on someone else. [00:29:47] Speaker A: When you're giving it, don't think. But when you're spending it, think, hey, that's a good word. Challenges us because we, like, we're like, we're kind of selfish in our being. Meaning we, we go to a restaurant, we spend a hundred dollars, and it's like a joke, like, yeah, we ate. That's what you do, you eat. But then. [00:30:14] Speaker A: What? I need to give $20 to that person. Are you joking me right now? That's a lot of money. That's my gas money again. What I'm just trying to tell you right now is that he's not trying to take something from you. He's trying to form us. And so would you stand with me today as in this. [00:30:36] Speaker A: Giving? I actually believe there is a deep surrender that is going to take place in us. [00:30:46] Speaker A: Where it's going to become about our whole life. [00:30:51] Speaker A: We're going to confront selfishness, we're going to confront greed, we're going to confront the flesh, we're going to confront. [00:31:03] Speaker C: The. [00:31:03] Speaker A: Desires that they're good, but they're not always God. Amen. We're going to allow the Lord, to form us. And so, Lord, we just thank you today. We. We break off wrong beliefs. [00:31:21] Speaker A: We break off wrong beliefs about giving to the church, man, where you've just believed this lie that you don't trust. You don't trust the house that you're receiving from. Well, if you're receiving from it, then you should trust the Lord in it. [00:31:38] Speaker A: I just feel like God wants to set some people free from hoarding their seed. And he's saying, man, if you just wanted to plant it to put it in the ground. I want to teach you about my nature. I want to teach you about my generosity. I want to teach you about a God that doesn't hold back anything from you. And he's here to meet you. [00:32:00] Speaker A: He doesn't need anything from you. He is a loving father that wants to open the windows of heaven over your life. Say, will you allow yourself to be formed by my generosity? Will you allow yourself to be formed. [00:32:19] Speaker A: By the cost of giving? And as the ministry team comes up, we're going to go into worship, but I want to pray and ask the Lord to reveal himself. [00:32:34] Speaker A: God, would you reveal yourself? Would you reveal to your people today. [00:32:42] Speaker A: About who you are as a generous God? Those of us in the room that haven't tasted your generosity, because we just haven't. We just haven't believed and we haven't seen you for who you really are. God, I just break off mindsets, mindsets that are not of you, Lord. [00:33:01] Speaker B: Mindset, mindsets even in our childhood that have formed us. God, I thank you. I thank you, Lord, that you're a generous God that doesn't hold back from us today. [00:33:09] Speaker A: God. [00:33:10] Speaker B: So we just allow you to come confront things in us. Come, come, Holy Spirit. Come, come. We give you everything, God. We don't just make you the Lord of certain areas in our life. We make you the Lord of our finances and our bank accounts and our businesses. God. We put our trust in a God who can take care of every need. God, but we don't even care about that. [00:33:33] Speaker A: We know that. [00:33:33] Speaker B: We want to know you for who you really are. [00:33:36] Speaker A: Lord. [00:33:38] Speaker B: Come on, if that's you, you just want to respond to the Lord today. Whether you just want to come up and worship and say, God, here I am. I lay myself down as a living sacrifice on the altar. Or if you want someone to partner with you in prayer, just allow the Lord to move on your heart as we worship. [00:34:01] Speaker C: Thank you for joining King Movement online. I pray and hope that that sermon impacted you deeply. I would love if you shared this with a few friends and family. And before you go, don't forget to subscribe. See you next week.