UNHINDERED
UNHINDERED
Week 2 - Unhindered Generosity
Last week we started a new series called UNHINDERED.
We are basing our new series on this scripture…
Acts 28:30-31 NASB
“Paul stayed two full years in his own rented lodging and welcomed all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching things about the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, UNHINDERED.
The very last word of Acts could very well be the first word of faith for all those who believe.
The word UNHINDERED here in the Greek means “freedom, unreservedness, fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, assurance.”
Today, we are going to look at what it means to be empowered by the Spirit to be generous. So the title of today is called UNHINDERED GENEROSITY.
Acts 4:32–37 ESV
32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of land or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as they had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas”—Barney—”(which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
I think money and sex are the most destructive, invasive idols in our entire culture. People are quick to say, “Don’t tell me what to do with my sexuality. Don’t tell me what to do with my finances. Those are mine.” Whatever the Bible has to say, those are the two areas where there’s the greatest resistance.
So here are some points that we can bring out from our text:
1. GENEROSITY IS BIRTH BY THE SPIRIT
One of the ways of knowing that someone has met Jesus and received the Holy Spirit is that they have a transition in their view of all that is their possessions.
We read of it this way in 4:31:
And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.”
So, it says they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and then they gave generously. The Holy Spirit empowered them to be generous.
In addition, we read in 4:33 “and with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus….”
When Luke uses the language of power, it’s almost always in reference to the Holy Spirit.
UNHINDERED GENEROSITY is not natural; it’s supernatural.
It’s in our nature to take…God has to change us, connect us to Jesus, provide for us the person, the presence, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
And one of the things the Holy Spirit births in us is generosity.
It becomes a change because we know that God gives to us so we want His generosity to be shared with and shown to others, amen? So, it really is a Holy Spirit thing.
2. GENEROSITY FORWARDS THE MISSION
We read this in 4:33: “With great power, the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.”
They can’t stop talking about Jesus, and they want everyone to know that Jesus is alive. And so every sermon in Acts mentions the resurrection of Jesus—Jesus is alive!”
Pebble Hill, that’s us. It’s the best mission in the history of the world. It’s the only mission with eternal consequences—and praise God we get to be a part of it.
Their generosity is to share the message, the mission, and the ministry of Jesus.
Pebble Hill, this has to be our heart. We want as many people as possible to hear that “JESUS IS ALIVE”!!
3. GENEROSITY BUILDS UNITY
It says in 4:32 that they were “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul.”
The greatest way to have unity is by having generosity. I’ve seen a lot of church fights, splits, and divisions between the takers and the takers. Not really had to mediate between the givers and the givers; not really been an issue. “No, I would like to give.” “No, I would like to give.”
Generous people tend to get along and build unity. In fact, I would tell you, the people who are most unified at Pebble Hill are also the most generous to Pebble Hill.
Jesus says it this way in
Matthew 6:21 NLT
Wherever your treasure is, there is the desires of your heart will also be. .
The early church believers are one. This doesn’t mean that they had uniformity. Unity and uniformity are different.
Unity in our world is all the people of the same age over here. All the people of the same race here. All the people of the same socio-economic background here. All the people of the same subculture or tribe here. It’s unity around uniformity. So, it’s really “like attracts like,” right?
Christianity, and our church, is not about uniformity, where everybody’s the same. It’s about unity. We all agree on who’s most important and that’s JESUS.
I would love for this to happen, that when you walk into Pebble Hill you would see that we’re different races, ages, men, women, young, old, black, white, rich, poor, Democrat, Republican, independent, —we’re all here? The big goofy family that is Pebble Hill. You walk in and go, “What brought this crazy little team together?” ’Cause it sure ain’t the hobbies or the life stages or even the political ideology. The answer is, “Hey, Jesus is alive,” and we’re all pretty fired up about that.
That’s where the unity comes. And it doesn’t require uniformity; it allows a great amount of diversity, but it provides us an opportunity for unity.
4. GENEROSITY IS DEMONSTRATION OF LOVE
34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold.
So, we see the early church obeying the Holy Spirit in that they are sharing, giving, and generous so that nobody has needs. The Holy Spirit is directing this… UNHINDERED GENEROSITY.
I want to encourage to ask the Holy Spirit to put people in front of you and opens your eyes to opportunities to share, to be generous, and to give.
Love is sometimes what we say—“I love you.”
But LOVE is also sometimes what we do—“I want to help you.”
Love is often what we give—“This is for you.”
Here, love is demonstrated with generosity.
I’ll give you an example. Let’s say, I meet a dad. I go to his house, and he says, “Man, I really love my family.” I say, “That’s great. I’m looking forward to meeting your wife, meeting your kids.” I show up. Wife’s got a beater car, kids don’t have a winter coat, not a lot of food in the fridge. Dad’s got a huge new truck, nice bass boat, some pretty sweet golf clubs, a few hunting rifles, and an ATV. And he says, “Hey, here’s my family. I really love them.”
The answer is, “No, you don’t, because your wallet reveals your priorities. And you’ve bought a lot of things for yourself, but you’ve not given generously to your family or those beyond your family. So, you don’t love them. You may love the idea of loving them, but you don’t love them.”
If you want to grow in love for someone, give. This is why givers make the best spouses, why givers make the best parents, why givers make the best friends, why givers make the best employees, why givers make the best church members. You know why? Because are acting most like your Heavenly Father when you give.
John 3:16 New Living Translation
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Generosity is a demonstration of love.
This is not just about the giving; it’s about God changing your heart.
5. GENEROSITY SHOWS TRUST
This is a little crazy to me, OK? So, Barney sells the land. I don’t know what he gets. Let’s say $600,000, right? Now, here’s Barney coming into church, walks up to the front, where does he drop the offering?
34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sod them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet…
So In front of everybody.
Imagine if I did this right now.
But what does it illustrate? How much trust did they have in the leadership? That’s a high trust.
They’re giving to the church. It’s the only institution Jesus made. It’s the only one that’ll be around when he comes back. Everything else has a life cycle. The church endures forever.
Ultimately, they trusted God.
GREED IS . . .
SO now this story takes a dark turn….where you say? Greed
Acts 5:1–11
1But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property—sounds eerily familiar, right? _Hey, this is what Barney did—2And with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of that land? 4While it remains unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God. 5When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and he breathed his last. He died.
Do you think that was an awkward offering, right? You’re sitting next to Ananias, “Hey, how are you doing, yeah?” Grab the plate, hand it to him, he dies. [Whistles.] “Bring it back, I got to put a little more in there just in case. This is a scary day.”
When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard it. 6The young men rose up and wrapped him and carried him out and buried him.”
All of a sudden, they had to have a burial ministry. What a weird day it is to be an usher. You’re like, “OK, I’ll hand out the flyers.” He died. Who buries him
7After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in. Not knowing what had happened. “8And Peter said to her, ‘Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.’ And she said, ‘Yes, for so much.’ 9But Peter said to her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’ 10Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last.” Died.
“When the young men came in they found her dead”—the interns always get these jobs, by the way. It’s the what men? Young men. “They carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard those things.”
How many of us reading that go, “Wow, that’s harsh,” right? This is the New Testament.
You know why it bothers us? Here’s why it bothers us: because we’re not dead.
How many of you are like, “Well, if God kills people who don’t give enough, hmm, what am I doing here?”
Five things I want to examine about greed.
1. GREED IS STEALING
It says in 5:2, “He kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it.”
The word there is literally “to pilfer, to embezzle.”
They are guilty of stealing. And it’s not that they weren’t generous, but it’s that they didn’t give what the Holy Spirit told them to. They gave but not what he said. So, I don’t want to tell you what to give. What I would tell you is, ask him what you’re supposed to give—I don’t know—and whatever that is, give that. And believe God knows…
Malachi 3:8 English Standard Version
8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.
It’s not yours; you can’t keep it. We will talk more about this in a moment.
2. GREED IS DEMONIC
So in our culture, we all view economics differently, we’ve got different perspectives, you know? There are alternative economic lifestyles. We each got our way of seeing things.”
Here’s what Peter says in Acts 5:3: “Why has Satan filled your heart?” Who’s supposed to fill our heartl? Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18 New Living Translation
18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,
The heart is mentioned over 900 times in the Bible. The Bible says in Proverbs that your life comes out of your heart. So, your spending is revealing what you’re ultimately loving.
It says, “Why have you allowed Satan to fill your heart?” Sounds familiar? Who else comes to mind when you hear the words,
Judas Iscariot.
Luke 22:3-6 NLT
3 Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, 4 and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. 5 They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. 6 So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren’t around.
When Satan fills your heart, you’ll trade Jesus for money.
See, in the first example, Judas is like some will say,
“I would give my life to Jesus, but I don’t want it to affect my bottom line.”
While others are like Ananias and Sapphira who say,
“I will be part of the church, and I will allow it to affect some of my economics, but Jesus cannot control all of my economics. I’ll try to find a way to negotiate with him.
Here’s the truth, guys. We don’t negotiate with God; we obey him. Jesus is our treasure. He is invaluable. His grace is in no way comparable to wealth. It can’t be purchased. That’s why it’s given. And it lasts forever.
But people like Judas, if it’s Jesus or money, they would forsake Jesus for more money. People like Ananias and Sapphira will try to get Jesus and money and strike a deal with God to where they can have both gods. And that’s demonic, OK?
And we live in a day that lives by the motto, “Everyone owes me”
That’s demonic because, Satan is a taker, and God is a giver.
3. GREED IS LYING
It says in 5:3, “But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to ‘lie to the Holy Spirit?’”
Then he says in verse 4, “You didn’t just lie to men, but to God.”
This is in my understanding the clearest declaration in the New Testament that the Holy Spirit is God. You’ve lied to the Holy Spirit; you’ve lied to God because the Holy Spirit is God. It’s lying.
NOW, think of this:
If you were in church that day, and Ananias brings up the loot and drops it at the feet of the apostles, would it look like he was generous?
Yes or no? That looks very generous. And yet he was lying. You can look generous and still be lying. And that’s when people are giving for people’s praises and not God’s glory. Someone could be giving with their hands but not giving with their hearts.
If you were to go on social media today, you would assume and presume that this is the most generous generation of young people in the history of the country. Because everybody’s got a cause, right?
Wave the I’m-for-this-organization, I’m-for-this-cause, I’m-for-this-movement, — flag. Yes, and you need to give, and click here, and give to that. And everybody’s waving a flag.
Statistically, they’re giving very little, and they’re not giving for very long. It’s a bandwagon culture. “Jump on and be one of us good people.” “Yeah, I’m one of the good people. I gave five bucks. I waved the flag. I put it on social media. I can check the box of generosity and move on.” Why do we do that? Because everybody’s watching. And it makes us look socially, civically minded, generous, caring, and compassionate. And that’s Ananias and Sapphira. And that’s lying. It is the appearance of giving when but not.
4. GREED IS HEART-REVEALING
He says in Acts 5:4, “Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart?”
Before there is ever a problem in your finances, there is a problem in your heart. That’s why so many pastors stay away from this type of message. They know that there is going to be a resistance. But it’s the heart.
For those of who are generous, they are good stewards, and they are obeying the Holy Spirit. These teachings doesn’t bother them at all. If it bothers someone, it’s because there’s a problem. It reveals the heart.
Here’s the issue with money: we have idols in our heart. Most of the time money isn’t what we worship. The money is the means by which we worship our idol.
I’ll give you some examples.
So, let’s say your God is comfort. Will more money allow you to achieve your god of comfort? Yes or no? Totally.
Let’s say your god, your idolatry is status. You want everyone to think you’re very successful. Will more money allow you to pursue that? “Yes,
Let’s say that your idol is beauty. If you have more money, can you make yourself appear more attractive? Yes.
Let’s say that your idol is your spouse’s beauty. We call them the trophy, OK? If you generate more money, can you get a better trophy or get your old trophy all dolled up? Yes. Yes.
Let’s say your idol is security. Can you be so tight with money and never spend a dime on anything so you feel financially secure? Yes.
We use money to feed our idols, and that is a revelation of our heart.
5. GREED IS DAMNABLE
They both what? Die. There’s no happy ending. The whole church is just—nobody’s blinking, they’re all looking at each other, like, “Wow!” God cares a lot about stewardship. It’s damnable. It’s damnable.
Ownership Vs. Stewardship
What we’re seeing here is the difference between ownership and stewardship. I’ll close with that big idea.
Ownership leads to greed;
Stewardship leads to generosity.
Ownership is, “It’s mine. It’s mine. I’ve earned it. I deserve it. I’m entitled to it. I will consume it. I will use it. I will enjoy it. I will spend it. It’s mine.”
Stewardship is, “It’s not mine.” You notice these are different? “It’s all his. I’m his. God doesn’t give to me; God gives through me. I’m not an owner; I’m a steward.”
I believe that we all need to check our hearts and our motives. How many of us have seen churches destroyed over these issues?
TITHING
“Tithing. What about tithing?”
“Well, it’s 10 percent. It’s in the Old Testament.”
And the basic question is, “Why does God get 10 percent of my money?”
“Well, OK, let’s look at it another way. Why do you get 90 percent of his money?”
If God came to you and said, “I own everything, but I’m going to share some of it with you. We’re going to do a split.” You’d be like, “Ah, what percentage do I get?” And he said, “Ninety,” you’d be like, “Good deal. Way better than the government. Good deal.”
How many of you would love it if the government said, “Ten percent flat tax. That covers your property taxes, covers your, purchasing taxes, your sales taxes, your death inheritance taxes, your FICA, your Social Security”? You’d be like, “10 percent!” I can’t do a back flip, but I would try, amen?
You understand then how generous God is. That’s stewardship mentality. That’s stewardship mentality.
So, is God like this—closed-handed? “It’s mine. It’s all mine. Give it to me. It’s mine.” Is God like that? Or is the God of the Bible like this: “It’s mine, and I like to share it with you.
BEFORE YOU GIVE ANYTHING,
GOD GAVE YOU EVERYTHING
Let me close with this…God does take. He does want something from you.
What do you give Him? What does He want?
This is a God who’s beyond our comprehension of kindness. Here’s what God says: “Give me your sin.
And I’ll give you my salvation, forgiveness, righteousness, eternal life, love, adoption into my family, new nature, and the Holy Spirit.”