A Turn to Generosity – Your Turning Point
A Turn to Generosity
Together Church | Pastor Brandon Werner
October 26, 2025 | Series: Your Turning Point
INTRODUCTION
In this series called Your Turning Point, we’ve been identifying current world events and examining them through a biblical lens.
Let’s pick up with another recent happening.
Last year, during the 2024 presidential elections, the candidates running for office experienced two distinct moments of significantly increased giving towards their campaigns. As the funds poured it, records showed it was not just from large donors… gifts of all amounts were being given by the American people.
Two distinct events prompted these moments of generosity.
- The first was the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump. That event triggered a significant increase in giving to his campaign.
- The next event was when Kamala Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the presidential candidate for the democratic party. Again, that event prompted a significant increase to campaign giving.
Both these events stirred the hearts of Americans, and they expressed the affections of their hearts through their pocketbooks.
What this reveals is Americans clearly saw this election as a critical point in time for our country. That belief prompted them to give.
That’s the event, now here’s the truth from God’s Word…
Giving reveals the affections of the heart. Our relationship with money is a window into what really matters to us.
Jesus often made this connection when He talked about giving and the human relationship with money…
Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Jesus taught that where we invest our resources reveals the affections of the heart.
Luke 12:15
15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Jesus taught that how we relate to money reveals our priorities.
2024 campaign giving revealed what was important to Americans in this last election cycle. People were stirred to incredible generosity because they believed their chosen cause was critical.
For followers of Jesus, what could be more critical to us than the Great Commission and God’s mandate to share the gospel and make disciples to the ends of the earth until the ends of the age?
God uses giving and our relationship with money to help us know the affections of our hearts and show us what matters to us most.
God’s plan for His people is that we would be characterized by generosity! And He uses radical generosity to fuel Kingdom advancement.
That’s the turning point we will focus on this morning…
A Turn to Generosity through Giving.
But before any of us will ever be willing to separate from our hard earned dollars, there are a few biblical truths we need to understand and believe about God…
BODY
- God does not need your money.
God doesn’t need your money!
THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S AND THE FULLNESS THEREOF!
One of the attributes of God is that He is self-sufficient. That means God has absolutely no needs that need to be met outside Himself.
He is His own supply. He is the Creator and owner of all things. He has no need, no lack, and no want. God is self-sufficient.
In Psalm 50, the Psalmist delivers to us these words from the Lord…
Psalm 50:10-12
“For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and its fullness are mine.”
God doesn’t need us to give to Him. In fact, the Bible reveals that anything we have belongs to God and came from Him in the first place!
John 3:27, Jesus said…
“A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.”
Psalm 24:1
The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.
If you have something, it is because God gave it to you – including your very life. You belong to the Lord! And everything you have belongs to Him.
Believing my giving can supply God with what He needs is even more audacious than thinking I can help Elon Musk out financially by buying him lunch.
- God is not holding His breath, hoping we will meet His needs.
- He does not need us or our giving.
- He never runs low on His supply.
If you are going to understand God and His relationship with you and your finances, you must believe God doesn’t need your money…
- But He calls you to align your heart with His through giving.
Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
It is possible for us to perform the act of giving but to do it from a wrong heart posture.
It is possible for giving to come from a heart that feels pressured, coerced, obligated, afraid, or ashamed.
In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul writes the church about their financial giving. Listen to what he says about the kind of generosity God desires…
2 Corinthians 9:6-8
6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
Paul said he didn’t want anyone giving under compulsion or reluctantly! He invites believers to give as each has decided in their heart. He tells the church that God loves a cheerful giver.
Paul put the emphasis on the heart posture of the giver. He saw giving as an opportunity for the believer’s heart to come into alignment with the heart of God.
The opportunity to give isn’t a strong-arm move by God to extort you from something you have… He doesn’t need your money.
The opportunity to give is an invitation from God to become an active participant in what He is doing through our giving! It is a call to lay down affections for this world and to turn your affections towards the Kingdom of God.
And when you participate in God’s mission, He promises to reward you based on what you have decided to give!
Paul puts it very simply…
Do you want to receive a small harvest? Invest sparingly. Do you want to receive an abundant harvest? Invest bountifully!
Because God is the owner of everything, and because He never lacks supply, God has the ability to return MORE to the giver than they gave! And He promises to give to each giver according to what they sow in faith. That’s what Paul is saying in his illustration of the farmer sowing seed.
I’m not preaching a prosperity gospel to you here…
The rewards of God are better than anything this world has to offer. At times, God’s rewards might include blessings of prosperity and abundance in this world.
- Time and time again, I have seen God provide for me and our family above and beyond what we need as we faithfully invest in a bountiful harvest.
- And certainly, God promises to make His grace abound to us so that we have all sufficiency to do the good works He is calling us to do.
But as great as those blessings are in this world, God’s rewards are not limited to this world. Wealth in this world will come to an end, but the riches of God will never fade away! That’s what Jesus said in…
Luke 12:15-21
15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
God’s economy is not like the world’s economy. What is stored up here will pass away. But what is sown unto the Kingdom of God will never pass away!
Be rich to God! Sow abundantly and receive a bountiful harvest from the Lord! It’s the best way to live and the best thing to do with your money.
Here’s another way we say this around here…
YOU CAN’T OUTGIVE GOD.
God is the owner of everything. He doesn’t need your money, but He invites you to align your affections with His heart and become co-laborers with Him through giving. And whatever you sow through giving, you will reap a greater reward!
And there’s one more thing you need to believe to make a turn to generosity through giving…
- God doesn’t need your money, but the mandate does!
God has given us a mandate to go into the world and make disciples of Jesus Christ. God doesn’t need your money! But, by His design, His mandate to reach the lost and make disciples requires generosity!
Jesus demonstrated this point to us through His ministry.
In His deity, Jesus the Son of God didn’t require anything from anyone. If He wanted to multiply a few fish and loaves to feed thousands, He just did it! No money required. He is God.
However, in His humanity, Jesus the Son of Man set an example for us by relying on the financial generosity of others to fund His mission.
Jesus had a moneybag for ministry funds! In fact, Judas Iscariot kept the money bag (which John identified as a problem in John 12:4-6, because Judas was stealing from the ministry funds).
Jesus and His disciples had a moneybag with ministry funds to fuel the mission. But where did the funds for the moneybag come from?
One of the most significant sources of funds for the ministry of Jesus came from some incredible women who supported His ministry…
Luke 8:1-3
8 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.
These women were giving financially to support the ministry of Jesus! Their hearts were aligned with God’s and they were sowing bountifully into Kingdom work.
So, Jesus set the example, both of God’s ability to supernaturally provide (like the fish and loaves) and God’s plan to provide for His mission through the generosity of His people (like the women who gave).
This practice of generosity to fuel the mission continued into the life and culture of the first church. In Acts, we only have a handful of descriptors that characterized the first church in Jerusalem led by the apostles.
The list of descriptors isn’t long, but every single insight is important.
Consistently, the Bible reveals that one of the main things that characterized the first church was their generosity!
Acts 2:44-47
44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Their generosity fueled the mission, and day by day people were being saved and added to the church.
Acts 4:32-37
32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
They were of “one heart and soul”. How do we know that? Their generosity was a window into the affections of their hearts! They shared all things in common, there was not a needy person among them, and they worked as a team by collectively giving through the church as they laid their gifts at the feet of the leaders in the church.
In both passages, we see how God uses radical generosity to fuel Kingdom advancement through His Church. A turn to generosity is a decision to align our hearts with God by investing in the advancement of His Kingdom.
And God’s primary plan for the advancement of His Kingdom on the earth is through His Church. Like the believers in the first century church, God wants us to believe…
- He doesn’t need our money
- He invites us to align our hearts with His through giving
- And He calls us to invest to fuel the mandate through His Church
STORY:
I saw these principles play out in real-time recently at our Beast Feast.
This year at the Beast Feast, one of our families invited a young man, a friend of their son, to attend with them. This young man was going through an especially difficult time… his father had passed away just a couple weeks prior.
The family knew they wanted to be there for him and show them God’s love. So the father and his sons invited him to have some fun. This young man didn’t have to pay anything to come… for him, the event was free.
When he arrived, he got to eat some great food. He played some games. He even won a door prize! But the most important thing that happened came at the end of the night.
Before we wrapped things up, Ben Manis stood up and shared a simple, clear presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ…
- He told us about sin and how it has separated us from God.
- He told us the problem with sin isn’t just now, it is eternal.
- He told us there was nothing we could do to save ourselves.
Then, Ben told us about Jesus. He told us God became a man, lived a sinless life, and died a sinner’s death on a cross. Not because He deserved it, but because He loved us. Jesus took our place and bore our punishment for sin so that we might be saved.
Then, Ben had us bow in prayer as he gave an invitation. During that invitation, he asked any man who was believing on Jesus to raise their hand…
And that young man believed on Jesus and was saved.
He and the family who invited him have been talking about his faith in Jesus and how to continue to grow in his walk with the Lord.
And all because of some free meat at a Beast Feast!
Except the meat wasn’t free.
- The family that invited him paid his $10 to come.
- But the cost was only $10 because Kimray gave a gift to help make the event possible.
- And the space for the event, a nice facility recently remodeled, was provided through the generosity of the givers of our church.
- And the staff that helped organize the event receive their income through people who give generously to fuel the mandate.
And the list of connections to generosity really does go on and on.
And because you gave, this young man heard the gospel at a critical time in his life and was saved.
CONCLUSION
I don’t know about you, but I am happy to give and put some meat on a grill if it means people are hearing the gospel and being saved!
Together, we’ve seen over 100 people baptized in our church in just over three years! And there have been countless more through the missions and ministries we work as a team to support.
God doesn’t need your money, but He is inviting you to align your heart with His! God doesn’t need your money, but – by design – the mandate does! He invites you to decide in your heart what you will sow and promises you will reap accordingly.
What would prevent you from giving? There are some common obstacles. Which of these is your greatest battle?
- Greed
We talked about this last week. From the world’s perspective, getting rich means acquiring more money and getting more stuff. That’s the world’s perspective, but the Bible calls the love of money “greed”.
Greed will kill generosity in your life. If you love money, you will sow a very small harvest through generosity.
God doesn’t want you to miss out on the bountiful harvest He has for you! But, like the farmer, if you sow small, you will reap small.
Is greed your greatest obstacle?
If it is, ask the Lord to show you what it really means to be rich. God’s economy is different than man’s economy… and you can’t outgive God!
A turn to generosity has to start somewhere.
Why not right now? If greed is your greatest obstacle, here’s what you should do: ask the Lord what He wants you to give and then give it in faith. Trust that this gift is an investment you cannot lose… you will reap what you sow! Then watch for God’s activity as He works in you and around you to align your heart with His and uses your generosity to fuel the mandate.
Greed is a common obstacle preventing a turn to generosity. And another is…
- Debt
The Bible is clear that believers should pay their debts.
Psalm 37:21
The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives.
Debt can be a major obstacle to giving.
It has never been easier to get into debt than it is in our culture today. Credit cards, payment plans, and various services make it so easy to delay paying what we owe.
If you are dealing with restrictive debts, it will be very hard for you to have margin to sow abundantly from what God has given you because you have very little left after paying your debts.
If that’s you, here’s what scripture tells you to do…
Proverbs 6:1-5
My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
have given your pledge for a stranger,
if you are snared in the words of your mouth,
caught in the words of your mouth,
then do this, my son, and save yourself,
for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:
go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor.
Give your eyes no sleep
and your eyelids no slumber;
save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
Go to work! Get free! Like a gazelle gives it all it has to escape the hunter, give it all you got to become free of any debts, especially consumer debts.
If you have this kind of debt, you’ve mismanaged your funds. There can be several reasons you’ve been a poor manager of your personal finances…
- You don’t know how (come get training!)
- You have a problem with greed (turn your affections to God)
- You’ve been carless (start tracking what matters)
Whatever the reason, you’ve got to do your part to pay what you owe. When we have debts we don’t repay, we do harm to the name and reputation of Jesus with others. So get those debts paid!
And if you’re wondering what you should give while paying off your debts, go back to 2 Corinthians. You should give what you decide to give in your heart, so long as your giving does not keep you from making the payments you have agreed to make.
To sum it up, overcome the obstacle of debt so you sow a bountiful harvest through generosity!
And there’s one more obstacle…
- Unbelief
If you do not believe what God has said, you will not be generous.
God says He will reward bountifully the one who sows bountifully. The temptation is unbelief. But if you believe God, you will sow bountifully.
God says He will provide all you need to do His will as you seek His Kingdom and righteousness. The temptation is unbelief. But if you believe God, you will trust Him to provide for your needs and you will practice radical generosity.
God says your giving is a matter of your heart. The temptation is unbelief. But if you believe God, you will not give reluctantly or under compulsion, but you will turn your heart to value what He values and give cheerfully and freely to the Lord.
God says He is looking at your means, your heart, and your faith as you give, not the total amount. The temptation is unbelief. You may think, “My gift isn’t as important because I cannot give as much as others.” We will hear a story about a widow and her small gift that caused Jesus to celebrate this week in our small groups! If you believe God, you will trust He is a just judge and a rewarder of those who give!
Unbelief is an incredible obstacle to giving. That’s why Jesus said…
Matthew 6:24
“You cannot serve God and money.”
To be generous, we must overcome the temptation to trust our emotions and feelings instead of trusting and believing God.
INVITATION
Look at these three common obstacles for giving. Which is most challenging to you right now? Would you choose to align with God and overcome these obstacles to turn your heart to generosity through giving?
SONG: I Surrender All
(As we sing, would you seek the Lord? Let’s turn to generosity.)
CLOSING:
Podcasts and Giving (QR)
- How much should you give?
- How should you prioritize your money?
- How do you trust God when times get tough?
- Ways to give at TC.
Prayer