Live Generously

Listen, before I start, let’s get this out of the way. We’re looking at Romans 12:9-21 today and talking about generosity. So I’m going to ask you to consider giving.

Here are some ways that you can give.

1. • You can give to the work of God through the ministry of FBNO by using the tan envelopes, or texting this number
   • You can give to local and global missions through our Global Impact offering by using the green envelopes.
   • You can donate to these beautiful children and the Andrew Crosby concert fund by finding me after the service.

But really, I want us to see that generosity and hospitality reflect the Kingdom of God and prepare us to live in that fullness.

I think generosity has the potential to free us from life and theology of fear and scarcity.

1. When we know God and recognize that even our lives belong to God it should free us to trust that the generosity God models and promises is worth trying;
   1. even with our money,
   2. even with our time
   3. even with our lives.
2. If it’s possible to let go of the fear and anxiety we have about money, don’t you want that?

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.  Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 Sincere Love

1. Paul is giving us behaviors that should define the church. If we want to grow up, we should start living like this.
   1. This passage is different from a lot of Paul’s writings.
   2. It appears to be a general summation instead of focused directions dealing with a specific topic.

• The style that it’s written in has the first part of the verse as a separate heading; “Sincere Love.”
• So Paul is giving us a list here of actions and attitudes that should guide our life in Christ.
• Genuine love is the root of all these actions.
  • I love this idea of starting with Sincere Love.
  • It reminds me of 1 Cor 13. Even if we have it all, If we’re gifted and talented beyond belief, it counts for nothing if we don’t have love.
• God is love, and our life in Christ has to be defined by love
• v. 9 - “Genuine love requires concentration and effort. It means helping others become better people. It demands our time, money, and personal involvement.” – NLT Study Bible
  • Genuine love takes energy.
    • It goes beyond looking out for ourselves. It takes us stepping out of our selfishness. It takes time, money, and involvement.
  • Genuine love takes an others-focused mindset.
    • We’re not asking, “how can helping this person help me,” or how can this relationship benefit me. We’re asking what we can offer the other. Simply for their gain as a practice of God’s love.
  • Genuine love takes personal involvement.
    • A story about benevolence.
    • I had to allow him to disrupt my life to help him.
    • I still think that was the best action that I could provide for him in that state, but I wasn’t as loving as I should have been.

Generosity

• Generosity changes how we relate to others
  • We’re not looking for what we can get back
    • V. 10 says, “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” – We honor others not because of what they can offer us, but because they are our brothers and sisters created in the image of God.
    • We have to unlearn a lot to get here.
    • It’s natural for us to associate correct behaviors with getting the desired outcome. I did it as a kid, and still do sometimes, and my kids do it all the time.
    • A story about Grandparents.
      • They love my parents, but even so, when they come to visit, we can’t even make it to our house from the airport before the kids are asking if they brought presents. Of course, they love their grandparents, but at this stage, part of that is based on what they get out of the deal.
    • Paul here is telling us to start unlearning that. We aren’t supposed to love and care for people because of what they can give us. Our work is to outdo one another in showing honor and care. And it all has to be rooted in genuine love.
  • We’re sharing in the needs of others
    • Specifically Material Needs. Paul is reminding us that we are responsible for looking out for each other.
    • We are to have fellowship with one another that goes deep enough to see and address the needs that we have. This is active and engaged love.
    • We can do this because we trust God.
      • We trust that in God’s Kingdom, there is enough, and I can risk caring for my neighbor because I am cared for as well.
    • We need to live as though we believe in God’s Kingdom, where there is always enough.
      • This reminds me of Jesus telling us not to worry
      • Look at the flowers, are they not dressed beautifully
      • look at the birds, are they not fed
      • If God covers them with such care, shouldn’t we be able to trust in God’s care for us?
• A life of generosity changes the way we see others
  • Generosity that is rooted in God’s love frees us from always having to be fighting for our place or position.
  • God loves us. We are God’s children.
  • So then, stop looking at others as competition or as a means to get ahead. See their value as humans created in the image of God

Hospitality

• Hospitality was critical for the early church
  • In verse 13, Paul challenges the Roman Church to “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”
  • Following Jesus came with a cost
• We don’t always feel the full weight of this cost in America
  • They feel it in Ghana, and I want to invite our team up here to share a little about the experience we had with generosity and hospitality in Ghana.
    • Ghana Interview
      • How did you experience hospitality in Ghana?
      • Why is hospitality important in their context, and how can we practice Hospitality in our context?

• How were you encouraged by the Christians we served with?
• Why is the generosity of FBNO important to our participation in God’s mission?
• Hospitality as a cure for American Isolation.
  • One of the things that have pushed America forward has been our self-sufficiency and self-determination. These characteristics can lead to a lot of great things, but they can also have some costs.
  • One of these costs is that we’re more isolated in general. Even though we are all connected online, we can feel this isolation in our lives.

• Hospitality pulls us back together. It shows our need for each other and our connectedness in life.
• Hospitality as a means of evangelism
  • You heard some of this from the interview, but hospitality plays a great role in letting others see Jesus in our life.
  • Opening up your home and your life to another is a big deal, and it can lead to deep conversations.
• Think about our 4 the City emphasis. Who can you have in your home within the next month?
• Pursue Hospitality. Go out of our way to offer hospitality and welcome others. This is different from just entertaining others in our home. Christian hospitality focuses on the needs of the guest.
• As I was studying for this sermon, I read this, “Hospitality can happen in a messy home. It can happen around a dinner table where the main dish is canned soup. It can even happen while the host and guest are doing chores together. Don’t hesitate to offer hospitality just because you are too tired, too busy, or not wealthy enough to entertain.”
• Reading this made me feel good about the approach Allye and I take toward hospitality. And listen, we work hard in our home, but we have 4 kids seven and under. So when you come over to our house, there will be kids fighting, our dog will jump on you, and you’ll step on toys, but I hope that when you enter our home, you know you belong, and you have a place at our table.
• Sharing a meal should always remind us, in gratitude, of who we belong to. We are God’s children. Our hands may have worked to prepare the food, but it is all a gift from God. Why should we worry, why should we hoard. Let us be generous with what we have.
• Generosity that goes beyond
  • Paul is building on the new way of living that Jesus introduced
    • v. 14 says, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. – This models the teachings of Jesus in Matt 5:44 and Luke 6:27-28. “Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.” Let your love be generous even when you know it won’t be returned.
    • Genuine love and generosity are key to all of it.
  • We can be generous with our:
    • Money – Share in the physical needs of others. Let go of your money to help those in need.
    • Time – Rejoice in hope and be patient. Allow others to disrupt your schedule.
• Home – Seek to offer hospitality. Create a space where people can belong.
• Prayers – Be constant in prayer. Even pray for and bless those who curse you.
• Emotions - v. 15 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” – Genuine love will connect with the joys and sorrows of other believers. We are one body. We celebrate together and mourn together. We are generous with our emotions. We don’t respond to joy with jealousy or envy, but with shared joy. And we don’t revel in the suffering of others, but mourn with them.
• Joy – Celebrate well. Laugh obnoxiously. Make others glad they saw you.
• Friend circles – be generous in your relationships. Make space for people who are left out.
  • 16 says, “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.[h] Never be wise in your own sight.” – Have a shared mindset. We are all one under God’s grace. Pride is the enemy of unity. Generosity protects us from pride. Generosity has to come from a mindset that recognizes the all belongs to God. We are free to be generous when we know we and all we have belong to God.
• Kindness - v. 17 says, “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.” – Don’t retaliate. Do what is good in the sight of all people. The world is watching. Can they see “good”?
  • Ellen quote, “Here’s the thing: I’m friends with George Bush,” she explained of the former president, who was previously a guest on her show in 2017. “In fact, I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs that I have. We’re all different and I think we’ve forgotten that that’s OK that we’re all different.
  • “For instance, I wish people wouldn’t wear fur. I don’t like it, but I’m friends with people who wear fur,” the host continued, adding, “But just because I don’t agree with someone on everything doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be friends with them. When I say be kind to one another, I don’t mean only the people that think the same way that you do. I mean be kind to everyone.”
• Peace - v. 18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” – You control how you respond. Be a peacemaker. Don’t cause harm. I can’t control how other people act toward me or interpret my actions. But I am in control of how I respond, what I say, how I act. So, in those things that I have control over, I’m going to seek to be a peacemaker.
• Forgiveness - v.19 says, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God,” – Do not revenge. Be generous with mercy.
  • 20 continues, “To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” – The ethic of Jesus, given here by Paul, is revolutionary in the first century, and it’s revolutionary even for us today. Let us then be generous, even with our enemies. Their hunger and thirst are to be met with our generosity. (Coals) When we respond generously to someone else’s hate, harm, or stinginess, it is an opportunity for them to be changed. When we respond to hate with more hatred, it just reinforces our beliefs and makes us dig deeper. But, when we respond with love and generosity, it throws the expectations off. Defenses can be lowered and we can begin to see each other in a new way. Generosity allows us to break the cycle of retaliation and move toward reconciliation. Responding with evil may feel good at the moment, but it doesn’t last, and it doesn’t heal.
• Paul is reminding us that we don’t have to fight for our place. We are already secure in Christ and that security should free us to live generously.
• “If we love someone the way Christ loves us, we will be willing to forgive. If we have experienced God’s grace, we will want to pass it on to others. Grace is undeserved favor. By giving an enemy a drink, we’re not excusing his misdeeds. We’re recognizing him, forgiving him, and loving him in spite of his sins-just as Christ did for us.”
• Paul closes with, “Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
  • We can take little steps to fight back our habits of greed, envy, and fear.
  • Don’t be overcome with these things. It can happen if you let it. Little by little, it can creep in until your life seems overcome.
• But we know that by the grace of Jesus, we can overcome and live in the generosity of God’s Kingdom.

Let’s evaluate our lives

• Where are they defined by fear, worry, scarcity?
• How can we let go of that to live in God’s Kingdom of abundance and enough?