The Ministry of “The Generous”
Generous people are an extraordinary and rare group of people. The gift of generosity is not nearly as common as the more visible gifts, but God has used The Generous among us to move mountains that the greatest singers and preachers could never budge alone. We are able to put on world-changing events and conferences every year because of those who generously underwrite the major expenses.
While we are ALL called to give, the difference makers in every major move in THIS ministry have been those who I call, The Generous. What seems to set them apart from the crowd are three extraordinary factors.
Key Points:
The Generous Have an Extraordinary Faith
This sounds like a basic comment about generosity, but look closer. The Generous have an EXTRAORDINARY faith. They don’t see the world or even their circumstances the way 90% of the church sees. The Generous see this cord that links their God to their resources and then connects them to the purposes of God in the earth. They are all connected. And with The Generous, you cannot distinguish where one ends and the next begins. They are supernaturally connected.
The Book of Psalms puts it like this:
Happy are those who fear the Lord, who greatly delight in his commandments.
Their descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever.
They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their affairs with justice. For the righteous will never be moved; they will be remembered forever. They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord. Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever; their horn is exalted in honor.
Psalm 112:1-9
Questions:
- Do you see yourself as a generous person? Why or why not:
- What would it take for you to be more generous?
Great faith is the driving force of The Generous and their legacy is the glory the Lord receives when He takes their gifts, multiplies and blesses them, and moves mountains.
The Generous Have Great Discernment
The Generous have learned early on that there are literally thousands of needs, secular and faith-based. But what I have learned about The Generous God uses are those that do not give based on need alone or even on what others deem the most important. The Generous have learned that they have to be sensitive to where the Lord is telling them to give their time, their resources, and even their counsel.
The Generous Have Great Vision
The Generous have a God-given ability to see the whole of life and not get caught up in the here and now. They make decisions in light of the whole picture and over time as opposed to only what is best in the moment. When a believer does this, it is called an eternal perspective. When a generous person really grabs hold of an eternal perspective there is no limit to what God can do through them.
Final Thoughts
Psalm 147:9-10 says, “He (God) does not take delight the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy.”
The Generous know, maybe more than anyone else, that the right place to give is the most important factor, more than any tax write-off, more than any public recognition. It’s the blessing on the gift that makes the experience so extraordinary.
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, and he will not judge by what his eyes see, nor make a decision by what his ears hear.
Isaiah 11:2-3
Share
