If you want to change your life, don't be a getter. Be a giver. Just give! Just give! If all you do is complain about so-and-so's not getting for you what you want, there's a breakdown there. This is not about getting. This is about giving. Giving. For God so loved the world, That he what? He gave, there it is, the most famous verse in the entire Bible. He gave what was most precious to him. Not the leftovers, not the scraps. He gave what was most precious to him. That whoever believes, which means to surrender your life to him, will not perish, but have what, Church? Everlasting life, amen? Welcome to This Day in the Word with Pastor John Couch, the radio teaching ministry of This Day Ministries. It is a joy to have you listening today, and we pray that you will be encouraged, challenged, and motivated to live for God like never before. And now, with today's message, here's Pastor John Couch. Oh God, we come before you today. Lord, we praise you, we worship you, we hollow your name on this day. Again, another Sunday that, as we often say, we'll never get this one back. Just a little bit will be in the books and we'll never get it back. Lord, may we treasure these Sundays. I pray we never take them for granted, but I pray that we'll make it our aim and a commitment to be in the house of the Lord together. God, we love you and we love your truth, your word. In a culture that hates your truth, that hates your word, God, we love your truth and we love your word. And so, Father, I pray that as we open the glorious, glorious Bible, there's no book greater. Holy Spirit, will you speak to us in a powerful way? I pray that you'll shield us Keep us from the lies and the schemes of the enemy. I pray we'd see truth for what it is, and would you give us humble hearts. Hearts that are soft and tender. You know, Lord, so often, it happens a lot, but I see so many people that they profess you, but when they're confronted with the truth, when they're lovingly confronted with sin that needs to be repented of, there's only two responses. either a humble heart that's soft and tender, or a prideful heart that digs in even deeper. Lord, may we not be prideful when we read Your Word, but may we be humble, coachable, and teachable. May that be me, and may that be all of us, whether here or listening. We pray this in Jesus' name, and all God's people said, Amen. Romans 12, here we are. The title, as you know, we are in Christian character, and this is part five. And the title is Generous Welcoming. Generous Welcoming. When you think about someone who's generous, just for your mind's eye for just a moment, I want you to picture perhaps that person who's generous. And it doesn't necessarily mean money, of course it can be, but a generous person is generous in all areas of their life. When you think about someone who's welcoming, picture that person. Perhaps it's the same person because the two typically are bedfellows, by the way. Well, God's word shows us here so clearly that we are to be generous welcomers. And yet this presents a problem. This presents a real, real problem. We live in a very consumeristic society, true? Let me give you an example, just think about it. So you get in your car later this afternoon or tomorrow or whenever because you need to run to the store and you're out of chocolate chips. And so you get to the store and they're out of chocolate chips. So what do you do? I know what I do. I tear around town looking for another store that has chocolate chips, amen? You just don't go home and go, well, they don't have chocolate chips, so I'll just deny myself and not have chocolate chips. We are conditioned as a culture, as a society, that when we don't get what we want, you just go somewhere else. You just go somewhere else, that's what you do. Your plumber's not a good plumber, and so you go find a new one. You don't like your doctor, you go find a new one. You don't like the restaurant, you go find a new one. We are conditioned in this me-centered, me-saturated culture that when you don't get, when I don't get what I want, we just, by default, we go somewhere else. And yet it's very interesting when I think about the Word of God in this short little verse, Romans 12, 13, I couldn't help but think of these introduction verses. I'm just going to read them to you. Don't turn there. Write them down if you would though. From 2 Timothy. This is going to be our kind of our springboard Versus, if you want to turn there, feel free, 2 Timothy 4, 1-5. 2 Timothy 4, 1-5, that's, of course, in the back of your New Testament there. If you're in Revelation, you've went a bit too far. But 2 Timothy 4, 1-5, it says this, and this is gonna help us, I think, understand deeper where we are as a culture. Listen to these words. I, This is not Jesus, this is Paul, charge you, Timothy, in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is the judge, the living and the dead, and by his appearing in his kingdom, verse two, preach the word. Now here's the key, be ready in season and out of season. It actually means this in the Greek, Do it whether it's popular or not. That's what it means. Whether people like it or don't like it, keep preaching the word. Just keep preaching the word. Why? Well, let's read on. Here's what it says in verse 2B, we'll call it. Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season. Here it is, reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching. Now verse three, here it is, here's the key. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, sound doctrine. The word sound means this, hygienic. It means healthy. Now when Paul was writing this to Timothy, he said the time is coming. I would argue this, the time's already here. We live in a culture where people don't want sound teaching. They don't want hygienic teaching. Why? It's so simple. Because when the store doesn't have chocolate chips, you just go find a different store. When the church you go to teaches you biblical truth, holds itself accountable, holds people accountable, and people don't wanna be held accountable, what do you do? Oh, you gotta find some place that will allow you to play church. And that's not what the Bible calls us to do. Why? Well, look at three, we'll call it B, 2 Timothy 4. But they have what? Itching ears. This is not like they need a Q-tip. They have itching ears and they will accumulate. One translation says this and it means this, they will heap up for themselves, teachers, here it is, to suit their own passions. I wanna go somewhere where I get to hear what I wanna hear. I don't wanna play and sin all week long. I don't wanna be confronted by it or feel bad about it on Sunday and Wednesday. So I gotta find somewhere that just ignores it and sweeps it under the rug. And by the way, those churches are all over the place. They have itching ears. They're gonna accumulate teachers for themselves to suit their own passions. And here it is, verse four, and they will what? Turn away from listening to the truth. But turn away. See, they're repenting from the wrong thing. Repenting is a military term. It says this, I'm gonna do it in about face. Repenting is this, that I'm walking towards sin and my back's towards God. Repenting though is this, that now I'm gonna put my back towards sin and I'm gonna run towards God. And when people turn away from the truth, they're actually repenting from the truth. Now that's wild stuff, isn't it? Ever heard that one before? They're actually repenting from the truth. That shows how deluded and dark their minds have become. Timothy was told by Paul in earlier references there, as Paul was telling, he said, look, there's people that you're gonna encounter, Timothy, that they're always learning, but they never arrive at the knowledge of the truth. It just sits on the surface of their lives and never permeates, never saturates, never sinks down into the roots. And if the roots aren't healthy, the roots will die. And the roots die, what's gonna happen to the tree or the plants? It'll be blown away, as it will be no more. And so many are in that camp. He says, and they will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. But as for you, Timothy, Pastor Timothy, young Pastor Timothy, always be sober-minded and doer of suffering. Huh, that's interesting. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry. So I share these verses from God's word because that's what healthy biblical churches are up against. They're up against this culture that even though they have what will set people free, there's so many people that really don't want what will set them free. They don't want it. And yet at Redeemer Bible Fellowship, we stick to the word of God, amen? we stay true to the Word of God. So here, one short verse, it's Romans chapter 12, verse 13, and it says this, contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Now again, we've been journeying for the last many, many weeks through this glorious chapter 12 of Romans. It is one of my favorite chapters in all of the Bible. Matter of fact, look in your Bible, let's just go up for just a moment to give further springboarding, if you will, and anchoring. Let's just look for a moment at the first few verses as we show how Romans 12, 13 fits into this whole narrative, this whole thought. Verse one, Romans 12, Paul, I, that's Paul, appeal to you, therefore, in light of everything that I've just said, this is what Paul's saying, I beg you, I appeal to you, brothers, fellow believers, by the mercies of God, he's saying live this way, present your bodies, present, offer up, yield your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed, verse two. Don't be pressed and fashioned into the world's mold. Don't look like the world. The world should look at you and look at me and go, they don't belong to us, world. They belong to somebody else. Don't look like the world, don't be conformed, don't be pressed into its mold, but be transformed, verse 2, metamorphosis by what? The renewal, the renovation of your what? Of your mind, the data center where we make all our decisions. That by testing, by proving, you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Verse three, for by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. That's pridefully, self-promotion, but to think with sober judgment, humility. Humility, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. So think about this for a moment, church. Remember that little song, maybe you sang it when you were a little kid. I know I did, but we were just kind of weird, so maybe it's just us. The church is not a building. The church is not a steeple. The church is not a resting place. The church is the people. Isn't that so true? Like, we show up in a building. That's not the church. The church, if you want to really get biblical, the church is actually comprised of people who are truly saved. Now, can unsaved people attend a church? Sure. But Jesus is not coming back for unsaved people, amen. He's coming back for saved people. Very clear, simple, basic doctrine, kind of taking the cookies on the lower shelf. This is not deep theology. Jesus is coming back for people that are truly saved. And the reality, when I read Romans 12, one through three, is simply this. If people in the church are prideful and me-centered, Well, the church is in serious trouble, amen? I mean, just think through that for a moment, your business, your ball team, your family. If you've got a bunch of people in those entities, picture your workplace tomorrow. If everyone in your workplace tomorrow, you show up and they're fighting for me, me, me, me, me, me, and they're fighting for the corner office, and they're fighting for this promotion, and they're just trampling over wherever they have to get to to get to the top, what kind of environment is your workplace going to be like? Pretty toxic, isn't it? Just think through that for a moment. So the church, as we just learned here in Romans 12, one through three, needs to be comprised of people that are humble. And we're humble, and we throw up our hands in gratitude when we don't look at ourselves and go, man, we're amazing, we're awesome. No, we look at ourselves and go, on my best day, I'm filthy rags, but look at the one who saved me. Look at him. There he is. It's Jesus Christ of Nazareth. That will change your life, won't it? It'll change your life forever, mine too. So, now, let's look at verse 13 again as we roll into this concept. We're gonna study this here together. So verse 13, Romans 12. Of course, we're gonna button it up as we've been doing, starting in verse 9. So here it is. Here are the thoughts of Christian character. Christian character, we've been studying this forever, they're on the website, you can re-listen to the messages to make sure you're understanding what we're talking about here. Romans 12, nine, let love be what? Genuine, so real, without hypocrisy, without being fake. Abhor, hate, detest, what is evil. Hold fast, be tethered to, anchored to, welded to, riveted to, what is good. Verse 10, love one another with brotherly affection. So with looking away from self, love and affection, kindness, tenderness, in both word and action, by the way, just not in word only, have genuine concern for one another, outdo one another in showing what? Honor. So in other words, push other people to the front. We race to the front to lift up other people is what it means. So we race to the front, not to exalt ourselves. We race to the front to go, hey, wait a minute, let me prop up this person. Oh, wait a minute, let me race to the front to prop up that person. So counterintuitive to the TikTok Instagram world, isn't it? I mean, you start doing that at work tomorrow, you start exalting other people over yourself, I guarantee you, that'll put some tick in your talk, amen? Oh yeah, yeah, they'll talk your tick. Yeah, you'd be blown away what that's gonna do. They're gonna look at you like at nine heads. Like, what's wrong with you? Well, Jesus owns me. You want him? Let me tell you about him. So then what happens, verse 11, do not be slothful and zeal. Don't be spiritually lazy, we learn. Don't be a spiritual slob. Because again, this is so key, if you're spiritually lazy, you've let your guard down. And once you let your guard down, who's waiting to hop over the fence? He's like a little golden retriever, isn't he? Nothing against golden retriever owners, praise God. But he's just like a little golden retriever, just sitting there smiling, just waiting for you and I to get really lazy. Really lazy, excuse, excuse, excuse, excuse, excuse. Lazy, lazy, lazy, lazy. And then all of a sudden he goes, boop, over the fence. And once the fox gets in the hen house, who decides what's for lunch? Yeah, you guessed it. Not the hen. I can guarantee you that. So, 12, we do what though? Well, go back to 11. Don't be slothful in zeal. Be fervent in spirit. Boiling hot with your zeal. Serve the Lord joyfully, willingly. It's not a dirge. It's not one of these, I gotta go do this, have to. It's I get to, I get to do this stuff. I get to serve the Lord. And then 12, we rejoice, ongoing, exceeding joy and hope, hope with Christ. We're longing for the best is yet to come. Amen, church. Be patient. Be patient. Remain under. Don't run. Endure with bravery. Endure with courage and conviction, your tribulations, the pressures, the trials of life as you stand for Christ. Be constant, diligent. Don't quit in prayer. And then today, contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Here it is in your Bible, in your notes in front of you. Let's rip this thing apart in a good way. Look at part one, Romans 12, 13a. Contribute to the needs of the saints. Now, this is very, very important. When you study this in the original language, of course, in the New Testament, it's the Greek, in the Old Testament, it's the Hebrew. The word contribute, and this is, by the way, the ESV translation, yours might say distribute. The launch point is the original word koinonia. And koinonia simply means this fellowship. When we planted this church, Redeemer Bible Fellowship, that wasn't because we thought it had a cute name. There was a method to our madness. Redeemer Christ, amen. Bible, the Word of God, we will not deviate, we won't move from it, we will not be shaken. Fellowship, koinonia. Fellowship means partnership. See, a healthy church is focused on the Redeemer, Jesus, is anchored in the Word of God, and they're working and rowing together in partnership, all for the fame and the great name and renown of the Redeemer. Make sense? That's how that name originated. There was great thought and prayer put behind that name. So how does that work for us? Look at your Bible. Contribute, koinonia, share in, be generous, partnership to the needs. Did you notice this did not say the wants? It's very, very important. The needs, the necessities of the who? The saints. Who are the saints? Saints are just not people that go to church. Saints are people that are saved. Big difference. You know, we've talked about this before, but the church is made up of wheat and tares. There will be people in churches all across our world today that are wheat, that are truly saved, and there'll be people in churches today all across our world that are tares, T-A-R-E-S. It's an injurious weed that looks like a piece of wheat. Looks like a piece of wheat. You go, that's a piece of wheat. Well, by their fruit, you will know them, right? And over time, as we often say again, time is the what? The great exposer of who we all really are. Just give us all time. Just give us all time. Because you can only keep up the charade for so long. At some point you'll slip up. At some point who I am and who you really are will be revealed. And so here it says, contribute to the needs of the saints. Now, do we help all kinds of people? Of course we do. Over the many, many years I've been doing this, you'd be blown away by the number of people we've helped who weren't even inside a church, who are clearly not saved, and we still help them, and yet there was nothing in return that we received other than we just were compelled by the Holy Spirit to reach out and help some people. Now, you can't help everybody. I mean, it'd be impossible to help everybody. But what happens so often inside a church, especially in this culture today where it's so me-centric, is that people will often look at the church as though they're a bank, or the church is there to, again, meet their needs. Well, again, can a church meet your needs? Of course the church can, but the real irony in this, and we talked about this a couple weeks ago, is that true believers are assembled into a church, as we sang in that little song, so to speak, because the reality is this, is that the church doesn't exist for me, I exist for the church. We'll just kind of let that sink in for a minute. I exist, you exist for the church. Why? Because you and I are the church. Now do needs get met? Of course they do. That's part of loving one another, duh. But there are many people today that will just pick up the phone book if there is even such a thing that exists anymore. And I've seen this happen over the years and they're just calling one church after another, one church after another to get a bill paid or what have you. We see very clearly in this particular verse that in this particular verse, this context, we are to contribute, fellowship, partnership with the needs of the saved people. Why do you think that's so? Well, I'll tell you why. Because if you and I are going to live this life, sold out and surrendered to Christ, Romans 12, 1 through 3, and then 9 and following, we just read this Christian character stuff, life's going to get really, really hard really, really fast. Yeah, the crowd's going to get a lot smaller around you as you're out there living for Jesus. You're kind, you're joyful, you're genuine, but yet the people around you are going to go, what's wrong with you? I don't want to be around you any longer. And so you're going to lose friends. Your family might abandon you. And so part of contributing to the needs of the saints, the saved people, is because the saved people are living on the front lines. They're at the tip of the spear for the gospel, and they're taking on heavy casualties, and they need other strong believers around them to go, I'm with you. I'm with you in the battle. I'm not gonna let you walk this thing out alone. Now again, this is talking about needs, not wants. This isn't like me going to, hey, I need you to help me, because I need to go stay at this five-star hotel for a month. And if you really love Jesus, you're going to help me. Well, I wouldn't call that a need. I'd call that warp-twisted thinking. And yet, that's what happens sometimes, doesn't it? I mean, the reality, just think through this for a moment, church. This is so simple. I don't want to overcomplicate this. But it's all about sacrificial living. It's really what Christian living is. It's all about sacrifice. And we learned this past Wednesday that if you're really going to sacrifice, it's going to involve commitment, and true commitment always involves sacrifice. The two go hand in hand. You can't really go, I'm committed to Jesus, and then I'm not going to sacrifice anything. Well, that's just not how this works. It's all about total surrender. It's all about Christ above all. The true Christian, every morning, Christ above all, Christ above all. That's the life of a Christian. And yet, what happens? We live in this crazy world, crazy. And yet, Jesus always hits us where it hurts us the most, doesn't he? Have you noticed that? He always hits us where it hurts us the most. Why? Because He's trying to get you and me to un-pry our fingers off the things of this world. Because when our fingers are pried on the things of this world, our fingers are not pried on Him. Independence and reliance. It's like we want Jesus. We want the benefits of Him. We just don't often want Him. And the point of biblical Christianity is that our hearts would be so soft, so tender, so pliable, so coachable, so teachable, it's open palms living with our lives. Just open palms. Think about this key number one. I wrote this down in my meditation study. Write this down in your notes. Key number one. As we see here in Romans 12, 13a, True Christ followers, not just the church itself, are to help other Christ followers when they are in legitimate need. Key number one, as we see here in Romans 12, 13a, true Christ followers, not just the church itself, are to help other Christ followers when they are in legitimate need. I mean, we should be cultivating intentionally a spirit of generosity in our lives. Just generosity. Generosity. We just give away our lives. We give away our time. We give away our talents. And yes, we give away the treasure that God has entrusted to us. This is all biblical. This is why I think so many people are living lives that are just in disarray and dysfunction. There's such misplaced priorities. When I look at families and I see the chaos, just the utter chaos going on. No wonder your family's a train wreck. There's no structure. There's no discipline. It's just constant, just feeding the beast, just feeding the beast. And you're on a cul-de-sac, just going nowhere, so many people. No, we want to be people that are generous, but here it's so key, and I wrote this down again, key number one. This is just not the church's responsibility. And that's what Paul's point is here. I mean, we have a benevolence fund here at the church. And so we try to help people. It's limited. I mean, we don't have a lot, but we try to help people. And once that money gets used up for the year, it's used up. Paul's not saying go to your building, your church, and hey, just tap into their resources. He's saying, no, you are the church is what he's saying. So you're the church, go meet the needs. Now, make sure they're legitimate. would be my argument, and I think that's biblical. I mean, if I'm addicted to chocolate, which that would never happen, but if I was and I just constantly kept harassing you every day to go buy me more chocolate, probably at some point, you're gonna have enough discernment to go, you know, I don't know if that's really a good idea. I hope you would. I mean, if someone is saying, hey, give me money, or give me this, or give me that, or whatever it is, and yet, You're fairly certain this is going to help fuel sin in their lives? Like, do you really want to get involved in that? Be discerning. And on the flip side, if someone says, hey, if you really love me, then you're going to go do this for me, and do that for me, and buy me this, and buy me that, and do this, and do that, and do this. The Bible talks about that, that we're to take care of the people in our house, but it doesn't mean gated communities, luxury cars. I don't know what that means. I mean, that's a whole nother manipulation there, right? This is talking about needs. N-E-E-D-S. Needs, not wants. Big, big difference, especially here in America, right? Where every day is Black Friday. Every day is Black Friday. Me, right? I gotta buy more for me. No, this is about giving away. The whole point is Christian living is not getting. Christian living is giving. You are listening to This Day in the Word, the radio teaching ministry of This Day Ministries. All of Pastor Couch's messages are archived and are free to download at thisdayministries.org. In addition, you can share your prayer requests with us via email. Our email address for prayer requests is prayer at thisdayministries.org. That's prayer at thisdayministries.org. And now, back to This Day in the Word with Pastor John Couch. If you want to change your life, don't be a getter. Be a giver. Just give! Just give! If all you do is complain about so-and-so's not getting for you what you want, boy, there's a breakdown there. This is not about getting. This is about giving. Giving. For God so loved the world that He what? He gave, there it is, the most famous verse in the entire Bible. He gave what was most precious to Him. Not the leftovers, not the scraps. He gave what was most precious to Him. That whoever believes, which means to surrender your life to Him, will not perish, but have what, church? Everlasting life, amen? Praise be to God, praise be to God. So we wanna be generous, we wanna be a generous people, we wanna be a generous church, but discerning, but discerning, don't be self-focused, don't be stingy, don't be a mooch, always working an angle to get what we want, to use people to get what we want. Don't do that, I shouldn't do that either, amen? You know what's interesting? I wrote down Acts 2. Just write this down, supporting verses. Acts 2, 42 through 44. This is one of the sections of Scripture that Redeemer Bible Fellowship was originated on. Acts 2, 42 through 44. It says this, and they devoted themselves, so they committed themselves to the apostles' teaching, that's the Word of God, and the fellowship, there it is, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Verse 43, and awe, holy awe, came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles, and all who believed were together and had all things in common. Boy, that sounds like an amazing church, doesn't it? Just meeting the needs, legitimate needs of one another. And again, you know this by now, but every healthy relationship is what? A two-way street, not a one-way street. If you and I, if all we're doing is saying, give me, give me, give me, while we're not reciprocating, you're on the wrong street. You need to get in another neighborhood. It's like an ATM machine. Any ATM machine lovers out there? A couple of us? ATM machines? Have you ever noticed that when you go to an ATM machine, have you noticed that the only thing you can take out of it is that which you put into it. I would say an ATM machine is one of the best examples of a healthy relationship. Why? Because it's a two-way street. Give me, give me, give me! What's that slip say? Insufficient funds? I don't think this relationship is very healthy. The church is not a building. The church is not a steeple. The church is not a resting place. The church is the people who generously contribute to the mission. We're not stingy. We don't give God the leftovers. You say, well, how does that work? Well, Galatians 6.10, Galatians 6.10 says this, So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. It's good, isn't it? We do good to everyone around us. We're kind, we're loving, we smile. Of course, of course, of course. But there's something about the koinonia of the fellowship of believers, when it's like-mindedness, that it's true and it's real, that we especially, right there in God's Word, the words especially, we put priority to go, you know what? They're in the trenches with me. Let's go help each other two-way street. 2 Corinthians 9, 6-7. 2 Corinthians 9, 6-7, write that down. The point is this, Paul says to the church in Corinth, "...whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion." I've got to go do this again. No, for God loves a cheerful what? Giver. It literally means this hilarious. Like, imagine that as you give, whether it be to the work of the Lord here, you help someone else, whatever it might be, that you're just like, I can't believe this. This is awesome. This is amazing. I get to do this. Jesus died for me. I get to go help. versus gotta hang on to every little nickel. And God's just not gonna bless that. It doesn't say be a cheerful hoarder. It doesn't say be a cheerful mooch. It doesn't say be cheerfully selfish. It doesn't say be cheerfully greedy. No, here's what it is. Giving, helping one another is worship. to worship to God, amen? Why? For God so loved the world that He gave. The gospel is rooted in giving. Do we get from the gospel? Do we receive from the gospel? Is there glorious byproducts of wonderful eternal promises from the gospel? And the answer is what, church? Amen. But it's all about giving. In a world that screams, give me, give me, give me, we scream through the scriptures back to the world, oh no, no, no, we're gonna give back. And giving back means this, that I'm gonna have to deny myself. I'm gonna have to deny myself. And Jesus says, if you really wanna follow me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. It's all rooted in the scriptures. And yet so often in this me-centered, me-centric, I-love-myself world, boy, it's tough sometimes, isn't it? I get it. When you hear all week long, me, me, me. When I hear all week long that, you know, I deserve this, and the advertisements, especially around the Christmas time, and you see the advertisements of, boy, you know, you really need this, John, and this is really gonna make your life better, John. And if you just go do this and go do that, you're gonna be better, John. And, you know, they open the Scriptures, and what I say in the Scriptures is this, John, if you really want joy and contentment and peace in this life, give your life totally to Christ and you'll have everything you ever wanted. Because what will it profit a man or a woman or a student or a child if they gain the whole world, but in the end they lose their soul? Amen? If you want the greatest investment strategy, let me give it to you. It's down in Malachi chapter 3. Malachi 3, 8-10. Malachi 3, 8-10. Will a man rob God? Question. Yet you are robbing me. Anyone ever wake up in the morning going, I can't wait to rob God. I can't wait to be a thief to God. You guys ever do that before? Me neither, but unfortunately I've done it unwittingly. But you say, how have we robbed you, God? He says, in your tithes and your contributions and your 10% giving and your above your contributions, your above 10% giving. He says, you are cursed with a curse for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. He says, therefore bring the full tithe into the storehouse. Why? That there may be food in my house and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts. If I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. It's the only place in scripture, church, this is the only place in scripture where God literally, you could argue, is taunting us. When you read this in the Hebrew, he's going, test me. Test me. You think what's in your checkbook is what's holding you together? Oh, I'm holding you together is what he's saying. I'm the one that's keeping you afloat. Test me. Test me. Come on. I dare you. Double dare you. Triple dare you. That's what he's saying. See, when people begin to be generous, I've seen it happen more times than I can count. I mean, people just hold on, and they hold on, and they hold on with clenched fists, and God can't put anything in their fists. And now they're on a cul-de-sac going nowhere. This is not health, wealth, prosperity. This is just the law of giving. When you and I let go, because the reality is this, so often, and Jesus talked about money, one of the subjects he talked about over, and over, and over, and over, because he says this through his word, through the Apostle Paul, that the love of money is the root of what? all evil. The love of money is the root of all evil. Well, if you want to invite evil into your life, just become enamored with money. And you've just gone, all right, Satan, come on in. Come on in, man. It's going to be fun. This lust, this love of money, this preoccupation, and what it is, it's showing God. What we're really saying to God when we get involved in this is we're saying to God, I don't trust you. I don't trust you. You can't do this. You're not big enough. I'm gonna work this out. I'm gonna do this. And often, just like with a rebellious child, what does God do? He allows the rebellious child, the disobedient child, to continue in their muck and their mire until they finally go, all right, you got my attention. I'm going to trust you, Lord. I'm going to trust you. I'm going to trust you and see what you do. Right there, you're tempting us in a good way. You're taunting us in a good way. Come on, just see what I do. Take your hands off your checkbook and trust me, just trust me. Walk by faith and not by sight. Trust me, trust me. And so many people are just enslaved because they're trying to figure all this out on their own. And we were never designed to figure life out on our own. That's the lie from the enemy. You can't figure this out, I can't figure this out. I gotta walk by faith and not by sight. I mean, you know the story here. We started a church with no people and no money. We're like, okay, Lord, you just go do this. We're going to step out into the Jordan. We're going to step out into the Red Sea, and we're going to take one step while we watch you keep parting the water. That's the journey we're on. It's His, right? It's all His. And we view it as His. It's yours, God. You use it for your fame, for your renown, for your praise. It's all yours, God. That's the beauty of contributing to the needs of the saints. And by the way, gotta remember, gotta remember, the church is not me, me, me, right? The church is not about me, me, me, me, me. The church is what? It's about we, we, we, we, we. And that's not French. I mean, it's not about me, me, me. It's about we, we, we. Teamwork makes the dream work, as they say. Team, together, everyone achieves more. There's something about a team, working, fellowship, koinonia, partnering together to go pierce the darkness, to lay it all on the line, to go make a difference for Jesus. I mean, the average person retires at 63, the average person dies at 77, 82% of your life is involved in working, 18% is left over. Like, do you want to spend all of this time working so that you got this little bitty bit of time to just focus on yourself and die lonely and miserable? Or do you want to take the 18% to go, I'm going to live for Jesus. I'm going to make a difference. Randy Alcorn, not Randy Acorn, he said this, God prospers us not to raise our standard of living, but to raise our standard of giving. I'll go overwhelm the American church, won't I? I'll draw a crowd, won't I? Well, lastly, Romans 12, 13, part B, as in boy, and we believe in both male and female at Redeemer Bible Fellowship, and all God's people said. Romans 12, 13b, Romans 12, 13b, and so in addition to contributing to the needs of the saints, the fellowship of giving generously, and again, just not financial, just not financial, but we know this, where your treasure is, there your heart will be what? Also, that's what Jesus says. So a lot of it starts in that regard, but we give away our time, we give away our talents, we give away our lives. It's like you're cultivating a whole life of generosity, just not in one area. We cultivate, and by the way, when you cultivate, you gotta work at it. It's not the default in me or you to do this. We wanna hang on, we wanna rob God what's left over. No, give God first, and then watch what he does with the remaining 90%. You will be blown away, I promise you. I'm living this, I'm living this. You just give God what's His, that 10, and watch Him blow your mind. He will blow your mind if you trust Him. And yet it's easy just to walk by sight and not by faith. which that dovetails so beautifully, here it is, and to show hospitality. Now, hospitality is simply this, this is so simple. It simply means this, to welcome, to be warm. Yes, it could be the strangers, but in that culture, you gotta kinda go back for just a moment, put yourself back in that early church, right into this church in Rome. If you were a Christian, and by the way, when the word Christian was derived in the early church, it was a derogatory term. Oh, you're a Christian. It was derogatory. It was horrible. Well, there were many people who were true Christians who they had to travel because of their faith. They were persecuted. And they didn't have Hampton Inns and Ritz-Carlton's and whatever else. motel sixes that were like worse than motel sixes, you know what I'm saying? And so it was not good, is my point. It was even dangerous. And so in that day, again, as you're contributing to the needs of the who, the saints, you're having hospitality to those that are traveling that are fellow believers. Are you going to be in town? Oh, your fellow believer were like-minded? Oh, you need a place to stay? Do you need a room? Because I know it's dangerous out there. You're suffering for your faith. You need a place? Oh, we're with you. We got Koinonia. We're partnering. We're rowing all in the same direction. Come stay at my place. That's hospitality. Now, let's take it present day. How does that look? Well, it could be the same thing. Hey, somebody has a place to stay and you come on over. I get that. But in its primal sense, it means to be warm and welcoming. Here at Redeemer Bible Fellowship, I pray that when people walk in, that I pray it's warm and welcoming. Amen? I pray they go, wow, this is different in a good way. The Bible says that they will know that you are my disciples by your love for what? For one another. There's something about being hospitable, being kind, being warm, being gracious. Does that mean you invite the neighbors over? Sure. Does that mean that we help one another and we bear one another's burdens here at the fellowship? Absolutely. Very, very simple. I don't want to overthink this and overcomplicate it, but we live in a very isolated world. This is the point. We live in this world where technology The cell with technology, the S-C-L-L, the cell, the marketing. Remember pagers? Anybody have pagers before? Remember pagers? You wear this little thing on your belt. It would buzz. It would show a number. And then you went to this thing called a payphone. Do you remember those things, payphones? And then you'd wipe it all off, because you're kind of like, I don't know what's on this thing, but it looks like it's alive. You know what I'm talking about? You wipe it off. You don't put it on your ear. And so you would dial the number and say, hey, I got a page from you. It's like you're in the know. It was supposed to, fax machines, et cetera, supposed to make our life easier and more connected. And the reality today is we're more disconnected than ever before. Just isolated. Why? Because all the social media fuels are narcissism. Me, me. I love me. I need some likes. I need a dopamine drip is what I need. I need to follow. They follow me. Ooh, this is great. No, the only person we're following here at this church is Jesus, amen. And yet what happens? Well, we're in this isolation. So we don't wanna be isolated. We wanna be hospitable. Write down key number two, very simple. Key number two, here it is. As we see here in Romans 12, 13b, true Christ followers are to be intentionally warm and welcoming toward others. True Christ followers are to be intentionally warm and welcoming toward others. Now, this is so cool. I don't know if you picked up on this, but you're gonna need this this week. Did you catch this? Go back in your Bible, short verse. What's it say? 13. Contribute to what? The needs of the who? The saints. And then there's a word in my Bible, three letters. What does your next word say? And. And is a connector. And is not, hey, if you get around to it, and is not one of those where, you know, this is kind of a good suggestion. No, and actually is showing that hospitality is a byproduct of a giving heart. Isn't that so cool? See, when you have a giving heart, you just want to be warm and welcoming. Think through this thought from Matthew 10.40. Write this down, Matthew 10.40. Did you see this receiving, this warm, this welcoming? I mean, think about salvation. This is so primal. Salvation is any person who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, is having the blinders removed, the scales have fallen off their eyes, and they are now doing what to Christ? They're welcoming, aren't they? Take over my life. I don't want this life anymore. This is horrible. I want you. I can't save myself. I need you. I need the Redeemer. I'm gonna be held accountable for my sin, I can't pay that debt. Jesus, I need you, I welcome you, I welcome you, I welcome you. See, hospitality doesn't start at your doorstep, it starts in your heart. And once it starts in your heart, oh, it'll be on your doorstep. Hebrews chapter 13 to, Hebrews 13 to, do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers. Now, again, we're not saying you open your door to every criminal. That's not what that means. Again, strangers in that day, they're traveling. They were believers, but they were strangers. You didn't know them. Now, again, I'm not saying you don't be kind to people that aren't believers. That's not what I'm saying. But it's okay to be discerning, warm, welcoming, that people want to be around you. I would argue this. I'd argue this. I think the smile is one of the most neglected things in our world today, the smile. It blows me away when I go places. I mean, I don't eat fast food very often, but I've been there, it's been a while, but I remember driving up to one a while back, and literally, I didn't see a person, all I saw was an arm and a bag. It's just, boom, there it was out the window. It's like, that's our human connection? You begin just to simply smile today at people. That's going to change everything. Just to smile, be warm, be loving, be hospitable wherever you go. Why? Because it all starts in our hearts. Do you invite people over? Sure. But let's make sure it starts in our hearts. Hebrews 13.2, I started it. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Heard this verse before? Powerful, isn't it? Nearly 30 years ago, I'm in the corporate world. And I walk in there, as God is my witness, this is what happened. I walked in there, I go up, and this was a major corporation where they had this big, beautiful, like, cherry wood entrance table, and they had these guys sitting behind there that had badges on, they were called guards. And so I go in there, because I have a meeting there for a business appointment, and I go in there, and I'm just talking to the guy, and he looks at me and says this, you're gonna be a Baptist pastor. My response, I didn't say this, but I thought this, are you high? Like, what's wrong with you? What are you talking about? Never saw that guy ever again, and I went to that desk on a regular basis. My point is this, let's be warm and welcoming everywhere we go. Because you just never know. Amen. Hebrews 13.2. How about Hebrews 13.16? Hebrews 13.16. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. You know, that generous spirit, that kind spirit, welcoming spirit. 1 Peter 4, 7-9. 1 Peter 4, 7-9. The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, number one, be self-controlled. Number two, be sober-minded, clear-headed, for the sake of your prayers. Oh, that sank in. Above all, though, keep loving one another earnestly. Since love covers a multitude of sins, verse 9, show hospitality to one another without grumbling. Now what's the implication there, church? Yeah. They're coming over again? But I want that trail mix tonight. I don't want to share that. Got peanut butter cups in there. Without grumbling. Our default is grumbling, just not with hospitality, but in life, isn't it? I mean, we will grumble at anything, won't we? And right there, 1 Peter 4, 7-9, show hospitality, be warm, be welcoming to one another without grumbling. Lastly, here it is, 3 John, there's only one chapter, so it's 3 John 5-8, here it is, 3 John 5-8, Beloved, It is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testify to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name. I love that. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore, we ought to support people like these. that we may be fellow workers for the truth. Amen church. We get behind those that are laying it all on the line for the gospel. Amen. Church, Romans 12, 13, contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. How about we do this from this day forward, church, let's make a deal. I'll make a deal with you, you make a deal with me, all right? Let's commit, you and I, let's commit to live out this verse generously and faithfully and joyfully, amen? Let's pray together. Oh Lord, oh Lord, thank you for your word. As the song says, Lord, I'm prone to wonder. We're all prone to wonder away from the truth. So thank you that your word is truth. In a world, in an even church culture that seeks to please people, may we always be determined to seek to please only you. And so God, I pray for each one as we marinate and we treasure these verses. May our hearts begin to sing with joy, knowing that since our God is for us, who can be against us? Greater is he that's within us than he that's in the world. And all God's people said, amen. You've been listening to This Day in the Word, the radio teaching ministry of This Day Ministries. Don't forget that all of these messages are archived and are free to download at thisdayministries.org. That's thisdayministries.org. In addition, if you have been blessed by the teaching of God's Word during This Day in the Word, we would love to hear from you. Our email address is info at thisdayministries.org. Thanks again for listening as we strive to honor Christ and impact our world as we spend This Day in the Word.