I don't think about a thought that God will affect every one of us, not just be encouraging every one of us. That is the joy of giving. The joy of giving. There have been many things that have been given. Sometimes it's given because of necessity. Sometimes it's given Maybe I'll just spot it. Different ways that things are given. But today I want to think about the joy of giving. In Hebrews chapter 12, I'm going to read a few verses. He said in verse 1, What for a sin we all sore up and passed about, with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, the sin was done so easily beset us. And let us long with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, before the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand on the throne of God. For I consider him that endured such contradictions our sinners against himself, lest you be weary in faith in your mind. Now, think about Christ as he made the statement here concerning him. He said, how do we live this life looking unto him, the author and finisher of our faith and all? He said in verse two, who for the joy that was set before him endured the call. The joy that was set before him Christ gave his life for you and I. He gave himself for us, the gift of God, the gift of eternal life, that Christ was pleased to give his life so that we could have eternal life. He would have loved for that to have been another way. When he prayed on this Father, he said, Father, if there's any other way, let this cup pass from me. He would have loved for that to have been another way, but he wanted people to be able to be saved. And since that was the only way, he was willing to give his life. And he did it in joy. He said, for the joy, not the joy of the suffering, but beyond that, to see the joy that it was gonna bring. The joy beyond the cross, the joy that was set before. To know what this cross was gonna mean, thereby the suffering. that he had to go through. So Christ gave the greatest gift, and he gave it that with joy. Today, how much do you enjoy giving? Do you consider giving that as the amount that you might would give? Or with maybe how big or whatever the thing might be that you would give? Or do you consider you giving with the joy that you have? Think about a statement about God in Isaiah 53. How that God gave his son for you and I. He made this statement in verse 10 of Isaiah 53. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him, for he hath put him to grief, when thou shalt make his soul an orphan for sin. He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. So there was joy there with God that to be able to give his son. He said it pleased him to bruise his son. It pleased God that giving his son that we through him can have eternal life today. Now the real joy of being able to give. There's a lot of things in life that people may give for and give to and so it's either have to support this and that or the other. But the greatest thing we can do is recognize the joy of giving. That maybe some that's in need or whatever it is, the real joy of giving. I think about people, I know we're in that time of the year, Well, a lot of people do a lot of giving, and that's a wonderful blessing. Some people maybe do it for tax write-offs. Some may do it for necessities. May need to be different reasons. But to be able to see the look, expression on people's faces. I thought about places, wife and I, we give out a lot of Bibles. And if you listen on the DVD minister and you don't have a Bible, All you got to do is let me know. I'll see that you have one. And we enjoy giving the word of God. But I think about a place where there were some people that did not have a Bible. And we bought some Bibles and sent them there. And later on, we was able to go into that area. And there was some of those young people. I remember two of them in particular. our babies over 14, 16 years old, that they came and hugged our neck with tears in their eyes and said, thank you for the Bible. It's the first Bible we have ever owned. We know I enjoyed giving them to them. But when I heard that, I was so happy that the wife and I gave those Bibles unto them, now that they had never had a Bible before. the joy of being able to give that for my heart, the things that God burdens us to give. To find somebody that's in need, and you know that they're in need. Not that you give because they're in need, but you give out a heart of love. And God burdens us on how to give and all. And it is such a blessing to them. And you can see the joy on their expression. of how much that they are just so happy and thankful to receive what you have to give for them. There's so much joy in giving. I think of a man, and somebody might even on the DVD would recognize who I'm talking about, but I don't mind that. And he would not mind either if I had something to hide or wouldn't. I wouldn't say it on here. I heard him tell me personally, I told the children, But you know, this man was a real friend of mine. He told me one day how that he come to church and he was unable to get back to his home. He was unable to get back there because he didn't have enough money. He had enough gas to get him to church, but none to get back home. He lived down on the lake, down on the bayou. He was a fisherman, a trapper. And then this man told me one day, he said, I came out knowing I couldn't get back to my home. He lived on the bottom. The only way he could travel was by boat. This man had tears in his eyes. I had tears in my eyes, too, when he told me. He told me how he'd come out after Bible study one Wednesday night, knowing I couldn't get back to my home, my little family. He said, whenever they took up an offering at the church to support the cause of Christ, then I walked up out to the offering plate. He said, all I had was a little change in my pocket. He said, I took my pocket and just turned it inside out and just dumped all I had on that. So I turned around and I just looked up. I said, God, I'm so glad I could give you what I have. He said, I'll give you everything I've got. And God said, you know my need. He walked on the outside, there was a man put a $5 bill in his pocket. He went out and bought him $5 worth of gas, went back down to the bayou, back down to his home, down to his boat. He run his lines, he had 300 pound of fish. Now I just know the joys that got him so glad, I can help support your cause. He was so happy to be able to support the cause of Christ, and God rewarded him. That was what he gave was hardly nothing, and yet God rewarded him greatly. That's for the joy he had in his heart of giving. Today on this, how much do we enjoy giving? I have people at Christmastime that they come to me, they bring love offerings and all that. So find somebody that's in need, and we want to give this to them. We want to give and help people that's in need, and I tell you, And it was so, even last year, they were just so happy to receive that. And how that they had never had nobody to show them love like they received that question. And that's such a blessing to just know the joy of giving. Many people know the side of giving, but today do you know the joy of giving? That I know that what God gave, it was not It was not something that he enjoyed doing, no doubt. But because of what it was gonna bring, he enjoyed giving his son. He said he was pleased that to give his son. Because he knew what was gonna be in return of that. Jesus knew what was gonna be in return of him giving the greatest gift that could ever be given. And that was a gift of eternal life. So he was willing that to give his life. so that I could be saved, so that you could be saved, so that we could have eternal life. And today I'm so happy that God saw fit to fix a way that we could have the gift of everlasting life. We could have the gift of Jesus Christ to be able to live forever in the presence of God. There's nothing as great as that is for you, nothing as wonderful as that, but today do you know the real joy of giving, to be able to find somebody that I need. And I just give them a little bit to try to encourage them. There's so much self-satisfaction. There's so much just joy in our heart. Now that you go around bragging, many people lose their blessing by wanting somebody to see what they do. They want somebody to know how much they give. There's no good in that. The Bible don't teach that side of it. But we, from the burden of our heart, we give as the Lord has prospered us. And not to be able to give to the cause of Christ, not to the church and our pastors that are distributing the word of God throughout the world. It is such an honor to be able to give to that cause, the most worthy cause that could ever be on this earth. It is so wonderful. to be able to give to that cause, and to know the joy. Many people, they just give, and it never does anything to them. They do not figure out what it's doing for them. But if we can have the joy of giving, and you go back to church, and maybe there's a mission, missionary, that you're taking out money for the missionary, but the church is supporting him, and you put a little money in that, an offering for the missionary. And it goes to that missionary, and he begins to take that money and buy gas, and go and carry the gospel, maybe in some other state or country. They carry the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and somebody gets saved. Well, listen, joy in the presence of God. Joy in heaven, and you'll have a part of that joy. You'll have a part of the wonderful blessing, because you helped buy the gas. for that missionary to go and carry the gospel. To be able to give that for a worthy cause. Many people give for different reasons, but I tell you to give for a worthy cause. Give for something where somebody can be blessed, somebody can be helped in a great way. There's such joy there, there's nothing to take that place. Now when you really recognize the real joy of giving, I know what it is to give, not for necessity. It didn't do any good. I know what it is to give for joy, not just because in our heart that God burdened us and we wanted to do that. Whether our name is ever mentioned or not, that part's not important. We don't do it for that part. We do it for the joy that I have done what God wanted me to do. I have tried to encourage that the giving that God wants me to give, not to try to support whatever it might be that are in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know, there's many gifts that's been given throughout the world today, but there has never been a gift as great as what God gave. When God gave his son, the sacrifice that people could be saved, the greatest news that the world has ever known. It's when God said he so loved us that he gave his only begotten son. When God said I'll give him, I'll give you the gift of eternal life. There has never been as great a gift as what God gave for humanity. God gave to the world his precious son. Nobody made it. Nobody twisted his arm. Nobody held a gun on him. God freely gave his son. And Jesus freely gave his life, the wonderful gift of God that nobody had to make him. Nobody had to force him, that Jesus was willing, that to give his life for the sin of the whole world. He said, Father, thy will be done. I am willing, if that's what you want, if that is your plan, I'm willing. And for the joy that was set before him, he was willing to go that account, the gift of God. Today, Jesus Christ is the gift of God. He always has been. He always will be the gift of God. There is salvation to the whole world. And it's not by how much a person gives naturally that will cause them to be saved. It's not what all they may do to help somebody, but what causes a person to be saved is to receive the gift of God, to receive the gift of eternal life. And I thought about my people that if one decided to help, and all the joy that it brought to them, when they received the gift that somebody gave them, whether monetary gift or some other type, they were so happy to receive it. When you're looking at a man, the other one day, I received the gift of eternal life. Down a little gravel road, I received the Lord Jesus Christ. When I got up from my daughter's in the car with me, she must have been three or four years old. She said, Daddy, you sick? I said, no, hon, I'm happy. God just saved me. I come up from there with joy that day in my heart. I had received the gift of eternal life. I had received the gift of God. That's why Jesus went to Calvary, so I could be saved that day. when I called out for mercy. And I was so happy that to receive that. And you know the other side of it? God was happy to give it to me. Jesus was happy to die for me. Because that was the only hope of eternal life. There was no other way that I could have been saved or anybody else been saved without receiving the gift of God. So today on the ask you says, what is the greatest gift that you have ever received? There have been people that have been so good to me. They give me a lot of things. There's a lot of people today supporting this gospel, this mission burden and all. And I thank God for every bit of it. But listen, with all that people has given and done, they've done it out of a heart of love. No doubt God's honoring them for it. But the greatest gift that I or anyone else has ever received is the gift of eternal life. That whenever we trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, that God for Jesus' sake saved them. I think about one man out of the scriptures there, the psalmist told him, how he thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money. And you know, he just felt like, that I'll buy this, I'll buy this salvation. And I hear him tell him, your money passed with you. that you thought the gift of God could be purchased by money. It don't matter how rich a person is for him, they don't have enough money to purchase God's salvation. It don't matter how poor they are today, they're not too poor that they cannot receive God's salvation. It don't matter what position they may be in today, there is nothing they can do, nothing they can merit. They cannot be sick enough to receive God's salvation. They cannot be well enough. They cannot be rich enough to receive God's gift. They cannot be poor enough. They cannot study and read and pray enough to receive God's gift. God's gift is free to the whole world. It is free to everyone that will believe. But the only one that will receive the gift of God is those that in their heart will believe that God gave his only begotten son. that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. I want to ask you today, have you received the greatest guilt that there can ever be? And that is the guilt of everlasting life. If not, your life will end very shortly. And whenever this life ends, You're gonna have to spend eternity separated from God. Eternity separated from the wonderful blessing that the Savior will have, the church will have. And worse than that, have to spend eternity in hell, in the lake of fire. That's so awful, that's so sad. You don't have to do that. Please let me encourage you today. Stop and receive the gift of eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave. Nobody made Him. He gave because He loved. He so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever, that included me, that included you, that included everybody, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. How you gonna have everlasting life? by believing in Jesus Christ, God's gift that God gave to the world, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. So it is a wonderful thing to receive the gift of God. We receive a lot of gifts from a lot of different sources, but don't you know one thing? None of them is as valuable, as long lasting, as peaceful, as great, as a gift of eternal life. And it's more valuable than any gift a person will ever receive. So I'd love to encourage you today. If you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ, that you would just stop. I mean, just stop. Quit running. Quit trying to say it's gonna be all right when it's not. Quit trying to say I'll get it later on when you may not. Quit trying to say, you know, I'm gonna wait a little while, whatever your excuse may be, and realize, Lord knocking, He wants to save you. That God loves you. He's offering you a gift of His Son. And all you got to do is believe it with all your heart. When you believe that God gave Jesus for you, God for Jesus' sake saves you, not for your sake, not for my sake. Our God gave His Son because He loved. Say, well, it was necessary. No, it was because of love. It was not of necessity. God's gonna let us all go to hell. Everything would have been all for God, but He loved us to the place that He was willing to give His Son. Jesus could have said, no, Father, I'm not gonna suffer for that people, but He didn't. He was willing to suffer that you and I through him can have eternal life. He was willing to give his life that I could go free, that you could go free, that we could enjoy a wonderful future after a while because of the gift of God. So let's go back to the third of the lesson today, the joy of giving, that God was pleased by giving his son. Jesus, enduring the cross, for the joy that was set before him. I was so joyful to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, but I wondered if it would be desired to be like Peter and John. As they started entering the temple one day, this man was sat there. They told him, said, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give unto thee. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, rise up and walk. And he reached down and caught him by the hand, And God strengthened him and he went away there well. They wanted to give him something more valuable than silver and gold. They wanted to give him the Lord Jesus Christ. What do we have to give? We have Christ in our heart and in our life. We need to present him unto the world in a way that they desire to have what we have. They would desire the gift of God that we have within us. and they can have it if they'll trust the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're unsaved today, I only encourage you to stop and believe that God loves you so much that he gave Jesus to die for you. He said, if you'll believe that, I'll save you. God will save you right today, right where you stand, right where you sit. You can receive the gift of eternal life. Not believe in me, but believe in the word that I preach unto you. The word that you read, and the word of God, that God loves you so much, that Jesus died for you, and God has saved you, if you'll believe that. You're trusted, and asked to be saved. God, for Jesus' sake, has saved you. Heavenly Father, thank you for the time you've come, for you bless each one that will listen, use the ministry that thy name's on the morning, bless the sick and sad, But above all, help those that's lost and trusted. For some listening, I pray in their heart, they can realize they're not gonna get by God, they're not gonna come to a place and slip into heaven. If they go, they'll go through the door. That's Jesus Christ, in his name we ask, amen.