This Is Us-5-Blessed

We are excited to have Pastor Brad back from Africa. to day he teaches us what it means to be blessed.

Pastor's Notes:

2 Corinthians 9:5-11 NKJV
Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation. But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.”
INTRODUCTION
Good morning, everybody!
It’s so good to see each of you! I’m certainly glad to be in the States. God did some amazing Things and showed us a favor in many ways. We are so excited about the work that is to come things and showed us a favor in many ways. We are so excited about the work that is to come.
SHOW PICTURES
KENYA PICS
What you are looking at is the school that we were given and that we will renovate over the next couple of years. It will serve as the first missionary training center in Kenya. As of now, Kenya only has what we would call “home” missionaries, with none crossing the borders. we will be training them to go into other Muslim countries. How awesome is it that we will be a church that will not just be a missions supporting, but missions producing body of believers!

I have to first go on record and say thank you to our church body and our board for allowing me to be me. It takes a strong and secure body of believers to allow their pastor to be used in non traditional ways. I expressed that this was my heart before I ever moved here. Just because I get excited about missions, don’t be weary that I am leaving or anything like that. If I was going to do that, it’s not because I haven’t been asked or don’t have opportunity. Right now, I’m called to be a pastor that just happens to love the world. I am planted, committed, and rooted in our work right here. Doing missionary work keeps me grounded, balanced, and focused on the Great Commission. I also believe that’s a part of who we are as a church. We are a blessed people and a blessed nation.
That’s why I wanted to finish off this series with a message I’ve entitled “Blessed”, and on a message on the joy of giving.
Note: This is not a message on tithing. If you don’t get tithing, you surely won’t get this message. All Christians should tithe. If you aren’t tithing, you are robbing God, robbing yourself of blessings, and robbing the kingdom of God from ministry that should come from your obedience. Yet today, I’m talking about giving in regards to offerings. We can call this “over and above” giving.
ILLUSTRATION
You see, we are a blessed people! Right now, you might not feel blessed. You might not feel like.....- You make enough.
- Your house is good enough.

- Your clothes are the best.
- Your bank account is full enough.
- Your thought might be “I can’t give anything.”
But hear me: You live in America.
You live in one of the most financially prosperous nations in the world. If you make minimum wage, you make more than most of the impoverished nations in the world. Where I minister in Africa, the average wage is $3 a DAY. A GOOD salary is 50 DOLLARS a MONTH!
Most In AMERICA have....
Netflix
WiFi
More than one car per family
Money to eat fast food
Money for golf and hobbies
$1000 cell phones that you pay $25 a month extra on your bill for ...
And then say “I don’t have any money to give the ministry.”
Don’t get me wrong. Blessings are good. Prosperity comes from God. But the issue is when we take our blessings for granted.
When we do, we complain, become ungrateful, and ultimately become tight fisted. In doing so, we can stop up the blessings that God gives us.
Consider this scripture in the book of wisdom......
Proverbs 11:24-25 NKJV
There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich,And he who waters will also be watered himself.

Notice the end of this verse: Open hands produce open heavens. Tight fisted living causes poverty.
Why does God want to bless us?
To hoard up? To have more?
No!
We are blessed to be a blessing!
God definitely doesn’t mind us having stuff. it’s when we lose perspective on why we have the stuff.
TRANSITION
That’s what we see in our text. We see people who get it. Paul uses the church at Macedonia as an example to the church at Corinth. Macedonia had ever reason not to give, but they did anyways because they caught the vision. It’s in chapter 9 that shows that as they began to give, God began to bless them even more abundantly. 

BACKGROUND
In our text, Paul is giving us some principles about giving that all of us can learn from. 

APPLICATION
1.The Love Of Giving
- Paul tells them to prepare and be ready.- To people who love to give, giving is not an afterthought.- How do people manage?

- Givers plan to give.
- Illust: Making it rain
- Slide: “Give God what’s right, not what’s left.”
- Slide: “Prioritize God first and blessings will follow!”
2. The Levels Of Giving
- Bountifully or Sparingly
- Generous or Stingy
- Generosity is not determined by amount, but by obedience and sacrifice.
3. The Law Of Giving
- Your level of reaping is determined by your level of sowing.
- More seed to sow comes by planting more seed
- Why is Africa is so impoverished when their ground is so rich. Because of hunger, they’d rather eat their seed to meet a temporary need than to sow it and wait for a better harvest.
CONCLUSION
We are blessed. I’m encouraging you to see yourself differently, and change your habits to put God First.