Being Courageous
October 14/15, 2023
Daniel Im
Lead Pastor

Research from The Paradox of Generosity

1. Generosity is good for those who practice it: “The more you give the better off you are.”
2. But, relatively few people are generous

Consistent givers:
o Are happier than ungenerous people
o Suffer fewer illness and injuries
o Live with a greater sense of purpose
o Experience less depression

Mammon
· Definition: What you place your confidence in, or what you trust.
· When we worship mammon, we can't worship Jesus
· Mammon is jealous and wants our sole allegiance
· For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:10 CSB)
· Mammon is not simply money but the anti-God impetus that finds its power in money. - Andy Crouch

Prayer of Confession:
Dear Father, I confess that I have tried to serve both You and mammon. And the result is that I have done both poorly, which makes sense since You said in Your Word that we can’t serve both You and mammon. Forgive me for making mammon my master. Forgive me for looking to mammon to meet my needs, when I should’ve been looking to You. I renounce all influences of mammon off of my life, in Jesus’s powerful name. Come, Holy Spirit come. Would you fill me afresh? Would you renew my mind, my heart, and my soul? I am yours and yours alone. I love you. I pray all of this in Jesus’s name, Amen.

Five Levels:

1. Struggling

Definition:

Next Steps:

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is a slave to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7 CSB)

2. Stable

Definition:

Next Steps:

Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this way,” says the Lord of Armies. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure. (Malachi 3:10 CSB)

3. Surrender

Definition:

Next Steps:

Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share, storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of what is truly life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19 CSB)

4. Sacrificial

Definition:

Next Steps:

Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21 CSB)

5. Surplus

Definition:

Next Steps:

One person gives freely, yet gains more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor. A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water. (Proverbs 11:24-25 CSB)