Join us in unraveling the six principles of generosity that Pastor Rick outlines through Biblical teachings, highlighting that life’s true essence lies in serving others and giving selflessly. Experience how these principles not only trigger God’s blessings but pave the way for a fulfilling life that echoes into eternity. Pastor Rick concludes with a heartfelt call to the Great Commission, encouraging believers to join the mission and expand the reach of hope and love globally, inviting you to become a Partner in Hope.
Hey there, everybody, and welcome to Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope. And whether today is your first time tuning in or if you’re a regular listener, we’re really excited that you’re here. Well, today, Pastor Rick is continuing his series called Discover Your Destiny. So get ready to explore the practical steps to grow in all areas of your life. spirit, mind, body, relationships, and even your career. So stick with us as we uncover God’s incredible plan for your future. And right now, let’s join Rick with a message called Creating a Spiritual Legacy.
SPEAKER 02 :
I’ve told you many times there are three things you can do with your life. You can waste your life. You can spend your life or you can invest your life. And the greatest use of your life is to invest it in something that outlasts it. You need to invest your life in a cause greater than yourself. And there is no cause greater than the kingdom of God. Years ago I read a book on how to build a legacy and the end of the book the guy says, here’s how you get your legacy. You imagine yourself going to your own funeral and sitting at the back up in the balcony and watching people give testimonies about you at your own funeral. And you imagine what you’d like them to say about you and then you go out and you live your life that way based on what you want people to say about you. Well, that’s better than nothing. Okay, it’s better than drifting. But let me suggest to you that in the final analysis, when you die, it ain’t gonna matter what other people say about you. That is not at all what you want to live for, what other people think about me. No, no, no, no, no. The only thing that’s going to matter when you die is what God says about you. And what you want God to say about you is the true lasting legacy because it’s not going to last 50 years or 500 years or 5,000 years. What God says about you is going to last for eternity. So I would suggest you forget worrying about what other people think about you and you make your legacy based on what you want God to say. And what you want God to say about you on your dying day is Matthew chapter 25. The Bible says this in verse 21. Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Now, come and share your master’s happiness. That’s what you want God to say about you when you face him one-on-one when you die. Notice you want God’s commendation. Well done, good and faithful servant. Good job. That’s That’s my boy, that’s my girl, well done, commendation. You want God’s promotion. You were faithful in the little things on earth, now I’m gonna promote you, I’m gonna give you more things to be in charge of. Remember this life is a test and a trust and this is a stewardship and God’s saying, can I trust you with what I wanna do in eternity? This is a test. God’s condemnation, God’s promotion and God’s celebration where he says, let’s party. Come and enjoy your master’s happiness. That’s what’s gonna last. Now, how do you have that kind of legacy? Well, you gotta do what Jesus did. Nobody created a greater legacy in life than Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ never wrote a book, but more books have been written about him than any other subject bar none. Jesus never wrote a song, but more music has been written about Jesus Christ than any other subject bar none. Jesus never created a piece of art, but more art has been created about Jesus Christ than any other subject bar none. We divide our calendar in AD and BC by the life of Jesus Christ. Every time you use a date, including your birth date, the reference point is in relationship to Jesus Christ. That’s a legacy. Now, how do you have a legacy like that? Well, Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. There’s no other way to get into heaven except through him. Obviously, you can’t do that. But Jesus did leave a model for us to follow on how to leave a life that makes a difference, that lasts a legacy more than five or 50 or 500 years. It’s not rocket science, friends. It’s not brain surgery. Jesus gives us his legacy in Mark 10, 45. Jesus said, I did not come to earth to be served, but to serve and to give. I did not come to be served, but to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many. I want you to circle the two phrases, to serve and and to give because that is how you leave a lasting legacy. You leave a lasting legacy by serving and by giving. Let me say it as clear as I know how to say it. Life is not about striving and getting, it’s about serving and giving. It’s not about striving and getting. striving to get more and more and more and more, get all you can and can all you get and amass it all. Life is not about striving to get more. It’s about serving and giving. Why? Because life is all about learning how to love. And how do you spell love? S-E-R-V-E and G-I-V-E. You cannot really love someone without serving them and without giving to them. And when you love God, you love, you serve and you give to God. And when you love other people, you serve and you give to others. Love is service and service is love and giving is love. Life is not about striving and getting, but serving and getting. And the great test of your life is whether or not you ever wake up and realize that life is not about you. Because until you understand that, you’re gonna mess up your life. God did not put you on earth to live a selfish little self-centered life where you make money, retire and die. You think he created you for that? To live you for you? No, this life is a test for eternity to see if you’re gonna learn the lessons of serving and giving. If you’re gonna learn the lessons of graciousness and generosity. If you’re gonna learn the lessons of how to love. Why? Because God is love. And God wants his kids to be like him. He wants us, everything you have is a gift of God’s generosity. You would not take your next breath if it weren’t for God’s generosity. And God says, I want my kids to be like me, like father, like son. I want you to learn how to serve. I want you to learn how to give, just as my son came to model, who came to serve and to give. And the only way you’re ever going to create a legacy is by not focusing on you. The more you focus on yourself, the more unhappy you’re going to be. The more self-centered you are, the more unhappy you’re going to be. Misers are miserables. There are givers and there are takers in life, and takers have no satisfaction, have no meaning in their life, have no significance. because it’s all about them. That’s a pretty puny God to live for. So how do I create a lasting legacy? The two ways Jesus did. Would you write these down? Number one, by living a life of service. by living a life of service. Jesus said, I came to serve and to give. He modeled it for us. I’m just gonna read these verses. I’m not even gonna comment on them. I think they’re self-explanatory. Ephesians 2.10. God has made us what we are. And in Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works. He made you to do good works. That’s your service, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing. Before you were even born, God already decided how he wanted you to serve on earth. Romans 6, 13. Give yourselves completely to God. Every part of you. Because you want to be tools in the hands of God to be used for his good purposes. And you don’t know what it means to live until you’ve felt the thrill of being used by God. Acts 20, 24. My life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus. The work of telling others the good news about God’s wonderful kindness and love. God wants us to pass on his kindness and love to others. And Mark 8 35, only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the good news, will ever know what it means to really live. You will never leave a legacy living for yourself. You will never leave a lasting contribution living for yourself, only in giving your life away by living a life of service. Number two, the other way that we leave a lasting legacy is by living a life of generosity. Living a life of service, and number two, living a life of generosity. Now I love this verse in Deuteronomy chapter 15, verse 10, in the message it says this. Give freely and spontaneously. Don’t have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this, in other words, generosity, the way you handle matters like this triggers God’s blessing. in everything you do, in all your work and your ventures. I want God’s blessing on your life. I want God to bless your career. I want him to bless your marriage. your family, your friendships, I want him to bless your finances, I want him to bless your health. I want God to do that in my life. I want him to do it in our church and I want God to bless our nation that way. The Bible says the way you handle matters like this triggers God’s blessing in everything you do. It’s all tied to generosity, why? because that is the number one quality of God. God is love. You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving. Now, he says, this triggers God’s blessing the more generous I become. Now, most of you know that Kay and I tithe or give away 91% of our income and live on 9%. We didn’t start there. We started with 10% given away. And we raised it every year over 35 years. We now give away 91% and live on nine. But I want you to hear something. I do not give in order to get a blessing. I give to be a blessing, not to get a blessing. To give to get is the wrong motivation and God will not bless that. I do not give to get a blessing. I give to be a blessing. But there are more promises in the Bible about generosity than anything else and God says, I’m gonna make sure you don’t out give me. and he just pours it on. And I have played this game with God for 35 years, and I keep losing. Now, the classic passage in the Bible on how to develop a generous heart, how to be a giver rather than a taker, how to be an unselfish person, how to be a great lover, the classic passage on generosity is 2 Corinthians 9. And in this passage, I’ve laid it there in your outline, there are six verses and there are six key statements you need to know about the kind of generosity that triggers God’s blessing in your life. I want you to write these down. Would you write these statements down? Number one, the first principle. I need to see my giving as an investment, not an expense. I need to see my giving as a spiritual investment, not an expense. as an expense. It’s not something that I hate to do, it’s something that I wanna do, because I know it’s gonna be used in a good way. Verse six says it like this. Remember this, whoever so sparingly will also reap sparingly. And whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Now all through the Bible, God compares generosity to sowing seed. It’s like being a farmer. Now this is, it’s not rocket science. If I’m a farmer, if I sow a bunch of seed, I’m gonna have a bunch of plants. If I sow a little seed, I’m gonna have a few plants. If I sow one seed, I’m gonna have one plant. If I don’t sow any seed, I’m gonna have no harvest, no crop. Now the Bible says that what you sow, you will reap. This is true in every area of your life. It’s a law of the universe. If you sow criticism, people are gonna criticize you. If you sow gossip, people are gonna gossip about you. If you talk about other people behind their back, they’re gonna talk about you behind their back. If you are angry, then you’re gonna get anger back. Now it works in the negative and it works in the positive. Whatever you sow, you’re gonna get back. Now, this is true. I don’t plant an apple seed and get a pear tree. I don’t plant a tomato seed and get a potato plant. No, whatever you sow, you’re gonna get back. Now, there’s about a dozen laws of the harvest. And I wish I had time, I don’t have time to go into it. Maybe someday we’ll do a series on the laws of the harvest. But let me just give you a couple of them. One of them is whatever you sow, you’re gonna get back. And that is the principle that it’s whatever you put out, you get back. Now, the second law is whatever you sow, you get more back than you put into it. Always a law of the harvest. When I plant a kernel of corn into the ground, do I get one kernel back? No, I get a stalk of corn with several ears of corn with several thousand kernels on it. I get back far more than I put into it. It’s an investment, not an expense. If I plant a tomato seed in the ground, do I get one seed back? No, I get a whole plant with many tomatoes with hundreds and thousands of seeds. This is why no farmer ever regrets sowing seed. No farmer ever considers planting an expense. He knows no seed, no farm. And so no farmer has gone, oh, I have saved all this seed and it took me so long to save this seed. I can’t believe I’m gonna give it away. I’m gonna put it in the ground and give it away. I’d rather just keep it in my barn. No farmer knows that. When he plants a seed, when he’s generous with his seed, he’s not going, oh no, I can’t believe I’m giving this away. It took me so long to save it. No, he’s going, I’m happy. I’m excited. I got faith. I’m confident. He’s optimistic. He’s looking forward. Why? Because he has a sense of expectancy knowing that whatever you sow, you’re gonna reap and you’re gonna reap more than you sow. It’s true in every area. If you invest energy, you expend energy in exercise, you get more energy in your life. It’s like a muscle. If you exercise a muscle, your muscle gets bigger. Whatever you put into it, you’re gonna get more out of it. So you reap what you sow. You’re gonna reap more than you sow. And here’s the third law. This is the third one, the only one I’ll share with you. And that is you always reap in a season different than the one you sowed in. In other words, you put the seed in the ground, and then you wait, and you wait, and you wait, and that’s the test of faith, because it’s all about faith. You don’t put a seed in the ground, and the next day, you gotta plant. You go dig it up the next day, it’s just gonna be there. You dig it up every day, it’s never gonna grow. You put it in the ground, you plant the seed, and then you wait, and in God’s timing, you go through the season. You may go through a winter, but the seed, springtime, is coming. It is coming. So my question to you, how big a harvest do you want? It’s really, really up to you. You get to decide. Sow sparingly, reap sparingly. Sow generously, reap generously. Now here’s the second principle, very extremely important. Number two, never, never give out of pressure or guilt. Very important principle. Never give out of pressure or guilt because it doesn’t work and God doesn’t bless it. And God doesn’t really want my money or my time or my mind. God doesn’t need my time. He’s got plenty of time. He just wants what it represents, my heart. God doesn’t need my money. He doesn’t need my energy. He doesn’t need anything from me. He just wants what it represents, my faith, my trust. Verse seven, each man… should give what he has decided in his heart to give. In other words, nobody can tell you what to give. You’ve got to decide it yourself. And don’t let anybody pressure you for that. Not reluctantly or under compulsion. In other words, not stressed out, not feeling obligated, not feeling guilty, for God loves a cheerful giver. I’m telling you, you should never give under pressure. So if you go home, somebody comes to your home today to sell candy, and you feel pressured, you just say, Pastor Rick told me to not give. You say, I’m exactly telling you that, because you’re not gonna get any credit for stuff you felt you had to do. Or if you feel compulsion from anybody, including me, you should never give under pressure or under compulsion, because it doesn’t count. God’s looking at your attitude, not the amount. Hear that again? God’s looking at the attitude, not the amount. He says here, how’s my giving honor God? Thoughtfully, each man should decide in his heart. You think about it. You go home this week and you think about it. Voluntarily, not reluctantly under compulsion, and enthusiastically, a cheerful giver. Each man should decide what he’s given, what he’s gonna give. How do I decide? Well, there’s two ways to decide what you’re gonna give in life, by reason or by revelation. Reason is I look in my pocket and go, what can I afford? Well, I got this much I can afford to do that, let’s do that. An atheist can give by reason. You don’t get any credit for that because it’s all about faith. Giving by revelation is saying, God, what do you wanna do through me? What do you wanna give to me? What do you wanna do that will stretch my faith? And for every one of us, it’s gonna be totally different. That’s why I can’t tell you and nobody else can tell you because what’s gonna be a stretch of faith for you is gonna be different from everybody else. And it doesn’t really matter what the amount is. What matter is the stretch of faith. Without faith, it’s impossible to please God. So you say, Lord, what’s gonna stretch me? What’s gonna cause me to depend on you these next three years? Number three, if I do this, number three, I expect God to meet my needs. I expect God to meet all my needs. You can count on that. Here’s the promise after the premise. And verse eight says this. And God, if I do these other things, I’m sowing generously and I’m not doing it out of pressure, compulsion, or guilt, but I do this because I wanna do it, it’s an investment. I expect God to meet my needs. And God is able to make all grace abound you so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Now is there a word you keep hearing there? What is it? All, all. Now, I looked up in the Greek lexicon the meaning of this word all in Greek, and it means all. It means, it’s like a blanket policy. I cover everything. There’s no fine print in this. God says, if you’re going to trust me, then I will cover all your needs. I am able to make all grace abound you in all things at all times, having all you need. Here’s my question to you. How badly do you want God’s blessing on your life? How badly do you want God’s blessing in your life the next three years? God says, I am testing you. I’m testing you. And will you trust me? Will you trust me? The answer is yes or no. No, I don’t trust you, God. Or yes, I will trust you. Now, number four. Then I can expect God to multiply the seed. That’s the fourth principle. I expect God to multiply the seed. Look at verse 10. He who supplies the seed to the sower… and that’s God, and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. Oh man, I wish I had time to dig out this verse for you. Let me just ask you to circle the word increase and the word enlarge. Just circle those two, increase and enlarge. God says you can expect me to multiply any seed you give to me. Now listen very closely. Giving is not a debt I owe, it is a seed I sow. It is not a debt I owe, I could never repay God. It is a seed I sow. And it is sowing what I’ve been given in order to produce what God has promised. Five times in the Bible, Jesus says, don’t store up for yourself treasure on earth, store up treasure in heaven. Why? Because you’re only gonna be here 80 years, you’re gonna be in there trillions of years. Store up treasure in heaven. Are you doing that? Are you storing up any treasure in heaven? How do you do it? There’s only two ways to do it, to serve and to give. Give yourself away, whatever you serve, whatever you give, giving your time, giving money, giving energy, giving whatever. God says, I’m counting that in the bank of heaven, storing up church in heaven. Number five, fifth principle, expect to be able to give more than I thought. That’s the next principle, verse 11. I can expect to God to meet my need, I can expect God to multiply my seed, and I can expect God to make me able to give more than I thought. Notice this next verse, this amazing verse, verse 11. You will be made rich. You will be made rich in every way. Why? So you can be a fat cat? No. Notice why. So that… Here’s the so that. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. And through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. Now listen, God does not bless me to be greedy. God blesses me so I can be more generous. He doesn’t bless me to be greedy. He blesses me to be generous. So I give to God in faith, God gives back to me, I give more away, God gives back to me, I give more away, God gives back to me, I become a channel of blessing. God is looking for straws, people he can channel blessing through to the whole world. And when you become one of those people, you get blessed in the meantime. And when you let go of what’s in your hand, God lets go of what’s in his hand, which is always bigger, that he wants to put in your hand now. I wanna challenge you, when you ask God to bless you, ask big. I mean, if you’re gonna ask, you may as well ask big, because nothing’s really big to God. It’s all just a blessing. So it doesn’t matter whether you ask a little or ask a lot, just might as well go ahead and ask for a lot. but you bless not to be greedy, but in order to be generous. Now then finally, number six, the sixth principle, verse 12, is this, live with an attitude of gratitude. I’m happy with whatever God gives me. I’m not always saying, oh, if I only had this or only had that. You live with an attitude of gratitude, an attitude of thanksgiving. Now the Bible says this, this service that you perform What service is he talking about? He’s talking about giving. Giving is actually a service. You’re serving other people with your giving. This service that you perform, your generosity, will not only supply the needs of God’s people, but it will also cause the overflowing of many expressions of thanksgiving to God. Now I wanna pray a prayer of blessing on you. Have I told you lately that I love you? Let me pray for you. Let’s bow our heads. Dear Father, you have used ordinary people in our church family to do the impossible over and over and over and over again. And over the past many different times, you’ve challenged us and you’ve stretched our faith. And sometimes it just scared us to death. But every time you came through, you keep your promises and you do what you’ll say you’ll do if we trust you. So I pray that you will raise up another generation who trust you completely so you can do mighty things in their lives, in our families, in our careers, in our bodies, in our health, in our lives, in our church. And together as a church family, we wanna leave a spiritual legacy that lasts not 50 or 500 or 5,000, but lasts forever. We wanna leave a spiritual legacy by serving and giving just as Jesus did. We wanna stand before you one day and hear you say, well done. Well done, good and faithful servant. So I pray for all these dear people that I love. I pray for every individual and every family that this will be the greatest step of faith this next week that every one of us have taken. It’s gonna be different from each of us, but Lord, may each of us express our faith in a way that is pleasing to you. And I pray that in that faith, you will be able to bless them. And I pray this blessing in Jesus’ name. Amen.
SPEAKER 01 :
There are nearly 8 billion people on this planet and God wants us to reach every one of them with the gospel.
SPEAKER 02 :
Jesus said, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I’ve commanded you. And surely I’m with you always to the very end of the age. That’s called the Great Commission. It often seems like mission impossible, but if we’ll work together to fulfill the Great Commission, God will turn it into the Great Completion. You know, the Bible says that in heaven, an enormous crowd of people from every race, every tribe, every nation, and every language will one day stand before Jesus Christ to worship him. That’s in Revelation chapter 7, verse 9. And that’s why I’m asking you, friends, to partner with Daily Hope by becoming a partner in hope. What is a partner in hope? Well, right now, we’re able to take the good news of Jesus into almost every country of the world, including regions where it’s difficult or dangerous to share the gospel. But thanks to your prayers and your financial support, we reach millions of people around the world every month through radio, the internet, podcasting, TV, and we’re translating Daily Hope into 25 languages that enable us to reach over 80% of the world’s population. That’s because of your faithfulness. And yet, there are still billions of people that need to hear about the hope we find in Jesus. So please, pray about becoming a partner of hope today. Partners in Hope provide vital monthly support that will help us reach millions more people around the world, including these regions we’re going to that have no Bibles, no believers, and no bodies of Christ. If God puts it on your heart, then please join us. Become a partner of hope today. With your first monthly donation, we’ll send you a special gift to welcome you to the Partner in Hope family. Now there’s nothing more important that we can do together than to make sure people all around the world hear the good news of Jesus Christ and have a chance to grow in God’s word. Join us today as a partner in hope.
SPEAKER 01 :
To become a partner in hope with convenient automated monthly giving, please go to PastorRick.com or text the word HOPE to 70309. And when you do, we’ll send you a special welcome gift to say thanks. Again, that’s PastorRick.com or text the word HOPE to 70309. And we can’t tell you how much we appreciate your support. Thank you. We hope you’ll join us next time as we look into God’s Word for our Daily Hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope and your generous financial support.
