Blessed To Bless Others

How many of you would say, just I want you to assess yourself for a second, how many of you would say that you're rich in good deeds? And how many of you would say you're kind of average in good deeds? Like middle class in good deeds? And then probably a lot of us would probably could say this, you know, I'm really poor in good deeds.

I'm impoverished when it comes to good deeds. So we want to kind of look at our scale and assess ourselves, where are we? And Paul said this to young Timothy, who was a pastor of a new church, new church plant, if you want to look at it that way. And he was talking to them, he says, command them to do good and to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share. And in this way they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age.

And I love this last part, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. So that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. Now, if God gives us a promise that we're going to be blessed and we're blessed to be a blessing, which is our theme scripture, we're blessed to be a blessing. You know, this is the title of this particular one here. It is more blessed to give than to receive.

And God tells us, you know, he's going to honor us with our giving. Why is it, why is it, why do we not do it? What are some of the reasons we don't do it? Perhaps a lot of people use it, well, I don't do good deeds and do good works because it's really not my gift, you know. And they use Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians and they take all the spiritual gifts and put them all in a category, right?

And they say, well, see, I probably, you know, is there a gift for laying in my chair and watching TV? You know, like some people are looking for that, right? But we kind of use that as a blanket idea so that we don't have to go out and do, and God clearly calls us in every situation to do. Some of us think that I'm not needed. You know, there's a lot of people doing it, but I'm not needed.

And that's just a myth. That's not true because even Jesus said himself, the laborers are few. The harvest is white, it's ready to go. There's lots of people out there that need the good news, but the laborers just aren't stepping up. The laborers are few.

Some people say, I'm too busy. I'm too busy, you know. I get it. Life's crazy. But a lot, in a lot of cases, and I've actually spoke on this before, it's a priority issue, you know, because we make time for the things that we want to do, right?

If there's a good swell out in the water, surfers, you're going to make a way to get out there to First Street and have a surf session, right? I mean, you'll put off everything to get out there. It's about our priorities. If there's a ball game that you can get to, you know, you got free tickets to, let's say, or you got, or a friend invites you and it's your favorite team, you're going to set aside everything to go do that, right? You're going to find out every, you're going to pull every, everything.

And we, we really, it's about what we prioritize. And, uh, and, and when people tell me they're, they're usually tell me they're too busy to do something. Um, in some cases they may be, but then you assess their lives and, and they're, they binge watch Netflix, you know, for two or three days when a new series comes, guilty, guilty. I know it happens to us as well, but we say, well, I'm too busy, you know? Um, uh, sometimes we need to assess that.

Uh, uh, some people just say, I don't want to. I've actually had people say, I just don't want to. I don't want to do it. Well, I appreciate you being honest. At least you're honest about it.

Most people lie. I got this going on this day. Uh, honey, tell them that we got this going, you know, wanting to make up something on the spot, right? Right. And, uh, and some people just don't know.

Just, they just don't know how they're not aware that, that, that God has actually called all of us to the act of good deeds and, and doing good in this world. And, and, and my hope today is to try to give you some information here, uh, to, to help you understand what your calling is in this act of generosity. Because generosity is more than just, you know, random giving, right? Generosity is much more than that. Generosity is a lifestyle.

It's a constant lifestyle of, I, I want to do, I, I love, I love, and here, here's what we need to understand first. We are not saved by good works, but saved for good works. We are not saved by good works, but for good works. So, if you walked in here today and you've been kind of working to earn favor, earn brownie points with God, then you're looking at it the wrong way. We are not saved by works, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith.

And this is not from yourself. It is a gift from God. So, the grace of God is a gift from God, not by works so that no one can boast. Because if we could work for God, then some of us would be better than others, right? But this is a free gift.

Everybody is on equal planes with God. We, we are all sinners and we need the grace of God. And a loving God gave his Savior to this world so that we could all come to know him. He made a way for us. It's a free gift that, so that no one can boast for we are God's handiwork.

Isn't that beautiful? We are God's handiwork. His masterpiece created in Jesus Christ to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. So, because of what Jesus did for me, I get to do these things. I get to do it.

I want to do it. I love how Dino Rizzo says that God has a divine to-do list. A divine to-do list with your name on it. In fact, he created something specifically for you. I mean, something that, that just gets you going, you know?

Like, like, I want to do that. I get to do that, you know? And, and, and he's created that. You and some people, he hasn't created that specific thing for you, but it's unique to you. That's why he calls it a A masterpiece, a work of art.

Very unique gifting, He's given you. Some of you might like yard work. You love working your yard. It's like my neighbor Woody, he was out watering his something out in the yard when it was 42 degrees outside. I mean, the man just loves yard work.

And some of you like that. I mean, he's always out there like doing something. And it's snowing outside and he's like, yeah, you know, like putting seed down and doing stuff and raking stuff. And some of you like to do that and maybe you have somebody that needs help with their yard work. Maybe you have a green thumb and you want to go and you're like, man, I love doing that.

I get to do that. I want to do that. I'll put my time into doing that and I'll go help somebody with their yard work. Maybe some of you like to cook. Maybe you're a cook and you love cooking and you have, you know, Food Network and all the food channels are like your favorite channels and you're getting recipes.

My wife likes Food Network to death. Particularly, she likes the British Baking Show right now, which bores me to death. Because I can't, she's, she's, I tried, I tried, I promise. I got through about 15 minutes of one episode. I tried, I promise, I tried.

But she, she just loves it. And I, and that one thing I can say about my wife is that she, she likes to cook for people. She does like to cook for people, but she, but, but, but she doesn't want to just cook for people. She wants to cook people something good. It's as if, you know, you have somebody in your neighborhood that, that, that's in need.

And, and you hear about, you know, people dropping off Kentucky Fried Chicken. She's like, no, no, no, no, we're not doing Kentucky Fried Chicken, okay? We're not, we're not doing that. I'm going to do something good. She goes out and she goes, look, she sends me to the grocery store to get, get items that I've never heard of before for these dishes.

And, and one, three items takes me three hours because I'm like hopping from store to store to store to find rose water. Or whatever it is, you know, that you need for these dishes. I mean, that's what she does and she loves doing. And some of you, you're, you're, you're cooks. You love doing this.

This is yours. It gets you going. It excites you to be able to do that. Do those works. God has created a divine to-do list for you.

Some of you are, are mechanics. I mean, man, I wish I was a better mechanic. My mom used to pick on me all the time because all of my uncles could, could, could take a car apart, put it back together and I couldn't, you know? And I'm like, I, you know, it just wasn't my thing. But man, some of you are.

In fact, we have a friend, a couple, an older couple that, that we're friends with. And, and our, her husband loves to, to, to stop and help people all the time. He's driving down the road and, and she says, we can never get anywhere on time because Tim always has to stop and help somebody. Like he's riding in the road. Oh, he's, he's got a flat tire.

Oh, he's got a, you know, I can help him. He just, he likes it. It excites him. That's his thing. And he's got that, you know?

And, and, and, and, and all of you have something that's yours. All of you have something that, that you're excited about that you want to and just go be. We're not called to be private Christians. We're called to be public Christians. And people will see us by our good works and our good deeds.

And we like to kind of sit in the closet and, and be, you know, secret service Christians, right? When there's so much out there that we can do and we can be a part of. And God's calling us to do that. In fact, James says, faith without works is dead. If you don't have faith with your works.

And he says, show me your faith without works and I'll show you my faith with works. Because the point we was trying to make is you can't show me when you're not working. When you're not doing. When you're not out there in the community making a difference. You can't show me that your faith is actually active.

I have no proof of that. But show me that your faith, show me your faith without works. Because it's not going to happen and I will show you mine with works. So let me just, uh, share a few things. And I, uh, I wrote down and I've, I've, some of them are kind of repeats of some things I've taught a few years ago.

But, um, first of all, here's what we should think about doing good works. And if you're following your notes, you can fill in the blanks. Doing good works should point to God, not me. Doing good works should point to God, not me. That's why you find a lot of people that do a lot of good works, but they're still empty.

Because they're doing it for the wrong reasons. They're doing it for themselves. You know? Yes, there's some benefits in doing good works. I'll just tell you that.

Because there's the life that is truly life. That God has for you. But if you're doing it ultimately for yourself. Then you're going to become empty. And Jesus was teaching this in Matthew 5.

He says, you are a light, you are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand. And it gives light to everyone in the house.

I mean, you're not going to have a light. You know, what's the purpose of putting a lamp in a room, right? It's not to cover it up and not to see it, right? It lights up the whole room. The point is, so people can come in and you can see.

You can find things, you can do things. You just don't do it that way. It just makes no sense. And this is what we're called to be. In the same way, let your light shine before others.

He says, let this light that we don't put or hide. Let it shine before others. That they may see your good deeds. There's the key there. Let me see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

I love how people are drawn to fires. Man, I mean, you can light a fire anywhere. And, you know, people just show up, you know. You can just, you can just, you know, put a little campfire out in your front yard or something like that. And people you've never known in your neighborhood coming out.

Hey, what's up, man? You know, people are drawn to fires. They're very hypnotizing. They're drawn. And we need, in the same way, to be like a fire.

Christmas is coming. And one of the things, traditions, I remember when I was a kid is this little town. It wasn't even a town. It was like a country area with about 10 or 15 houses on this strip. And it was called the Meadow Lights.

The name of the area was Meadow. And there was all these farmers. And they would go all out and decorating it up. Man, I tell you what, it was exciting when you were a kid because you would drive like 45 minutes, an hour, hour and a half. People would be coming from all around to see these lights.

I mean, they would have the farm souped up. They'd have carousels. They'd have, you know, Santa Claus and reindeers in the field. And there's just lights everywhere. I mean, everywhere.

You had to, like, do this, you know, when you're driving as a kid. You know, you're like kind of looking on both sides because it's so exciting. I mean, just so many lights and so many decorations. Thousands and thousands of dollars worth of decorations. And probably the light bill was astronomical.

And it was so popular that they ended up setting a store up so they could sell candy and merchandise and Christmas stuff. and then They put a Santa place where the kids could see Santa and stuff. I mean, this was so popular all because of these lights, like people are drawn to lights, drawn to lights in the same way you need to be a light, a light, a light that people see, something that people can see, not one hidden, not a Secret Service Christian, not a Lone Ranger Christian that kind of floats here and there, but a person who's bright. Light and effective so that we can experience truth and light, a life that is truly light. The second thing is doing good deeds and good works and it checks our pride.

It checks my pride. It really does. I mean, it really tests you. It's like a pride-o-meter, if you want to call it that. We want to become more like Christ.

We want to be like Christ. But it tests us. It tests us. Are we here to be served? Are we here to serve?

Am I here to serve? Has God called me to serve or to be served? God saved me to be served, some people think. God saved me to serve. It's kind of like the whole thing about churches in general.

I mean, if you talk to any pastor, I think one of the number one reasons we get for people leaving a church is the church just doesn't meet my needs. It doesn't meet my needs. It didn't meet what I wanted. I can't find a church to meet my needs. And like my friend Gene said, he responded to a Facebook post of something I said.

He said, that's a unicorn. You know, there's no such thing as a church that ever meets all of your needs. In fact, we're called to be a church to meet others' needs. So you see, there's people that are cradle Christians, and they've been cradled their entire lives. And in our Western mindsets, we're cradled in general.

And God's calling us to greater and bigger things, but we need our needs met. So we hold back, and it's the same way with good deeds. Are we willing to do things that we may not like to do? Are we willing to pick up a shovel and dig a ditch somewhere, you know? It tests us.

Well, I'm too good for that. Or, you know, I've got a master's degree, or I've got a PhD, and I've got, you know, this or that. And, you know, I should be, and yeah, there's all kinds of skills. There's all kinds of things that are good for the community, for the church, and for doing good. But are you willing to do the uncomfortable things?

Are you willing to go to the soup kitchens? Are you willing to sit with the homeless in ministries? And are you willing to share with people that might be different than you? Are we willing to step out in those ways? Jesus and his disciples, just a little while before Jesus was arrested and taken to Calvary to die, just a few days before then, he was talking to the disciples.

Having, they were, they were fellowshipping together. They were breaking bread together. And it says this, in Jesus, in John 13, And Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God. So he got up from his mill. He took off his outer clothing.

He wrapped his towel around his waist. And after that, this is what he did. He poured water in a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet. Drying them with a towel. Then was, that was wrapped around him.

So what did he do? He got up. He stopped what he was doing. He put others ahead of himself. And he washed feet.

He washed feet. Why is that so crazy? Well, I can tell you right now, I do not like feet. Feet are disgusting. That's my wife.

She puts her feet near me and, you know, running across the room. Oh, no, no feet. No, not a fan of feet. Not a fan of feet. Some of you may be a fan of feet.

So, you know, that's fine. But I'm praying for you. I'm worried about you. If I could tell you some of the things that are on feet, he'd be scared. I've read it.

I've read up. I've read up on it. I've read up on it. I thought it was a phobia, but, you know, it's truth. But here's what, in that particular culture, people's feet were pretty dirty.

They didn't have paved roads. They didn't have sidewalks. They didn't have shopping malls. They didn't have, you know, they didn't have motorized vehicles. A lot of them didn't really have real shoes.

They had sandals. And they'd walk these roads and their feet would get terribly dirty. And it was customary when somebody came into your house that they would offer, just like we would offer to take your coat, they would offer to wash your feet. But the person that owned the house actually wouldn't wash the feet. He would call a servant in.

Someone lower to wash the feet of the guest. And what Jesus was trying to communicate to the people is that you have to become low. You have to become low. Because you are to be a servant. Do as I do.

I'm going to wash your feet. And he said, I want you to do exactly what I did for you, for each other, and for the world. He calls us to wash our feet. You know what? Peter's first response to that was, Lord, you know you are not going to wash my feet.

He got angry about it. He says, you are the Christ. I'm not doing that. I'll never do that. I'll never allow you.

And you know what, Jesus? I love how Jesus always said something and Peter changed his mind instantly. Jesus is like, well, you can have nothing of me if you don't participate in this. You cannot have any part of me. And Peter's like, well, wash my feet and wash my hands and wash my whole body.

Because that's how Peter was. You know, wash everything. And we need to be the same way. If our Savior is willing to wash feet, we need to wash feet. We need to become low.

It checks our pride. It's a pride test for us. The next point is, it gives samples of Jesus Christ. It gives samples of Jesus Christ. I love this idea of samples.

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percent of these kind of にets. But today�ely led we had包 for the principles. You know, you go to Sam's Club, or BJ's, or Costco, and you got all the sample sections around, you know, you're just kind of going around and eating samples here and there. Starbucks had samples out the other day of one of their new coffees, oh my gosh. You know, I was like, you know, drank one, and then I kind of slipped back in and got another one, you know.

Started, you know, I love samples. And Jesus did the same thing. He went around giving samples. In fact, Acts 10, 38 says he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil because God was with him. He went around doing good.

We need to be going around doing good, giving samples of Jesus Christ. Good deeds are samples of Jesus Christ. In fact, we have these random act of kindness cards that we gave out last week at the door. We got plenty more of them. Maybe we can have a hospitality team member stand at the door and give some more out.

We've got them at the Welcome Center. And you can grab as many as you want. But they basically, they're cards that you can use to show your kindness to somebody during this holiday season and beyond. Just an example of some of the things you can do is you can purchase somebody's coffee, you know, at Starbucks or at a coffee shop. And you don't even have to tell them.

You just leave a card. You see that person behind you. I'm going to pay for theirs, too. Can you give them this card? And it says, just a little something to show that God loves you today.

That's a longer version of what it says on there. But it says that God loves you. God loves you. It's just a little something extra to show that God loves you. And, or you can, you can go, you know, pay for somebody's groceries.

Or maybe you could just leave a generous tip. Just leave a really huge tip for somebody and just leave a card on the table for them. Small, just small seeds. I mean, it's like samples. You can take these little, these little cards and it's just like giving a sample of Jesus Christ.

And we don't want anything from it. We're just doing it because we love and we need to get in the lifestyle of doing good. Doing good for people. I heard a story, somebody shared a story that was, that was doing these, these cards. And I want to show you how important it is that we, we do good deeds and we give samples of Jesus.

They were in the line at Chick-fil-A or Burger King or something like that. And, and they decided to, hey, this is a good opportunity for me to pay for the card behind me. So they gave them a card and they said, I'm going to pay for their food. Just make sure they get this card. So, a few months later, I guess, a story came back to the church or a few years later, a story came back to the church about the person that was actually paid for, their meal was paid for.

And they said they were literally going through the drive-thru to have their last meal and then go home and commit suicide. I don't know about you, but I'd be going to like Ruth Chris or something like that to get me a steak. But somebody was getting ready, you know, get their, get their, get their, get a last burger or last meal. And they received this card that says, just something extra to show that God loves you today. And it changed them completely.

It redirected what was going to happen. They ended up going to the church that the card was a part of or communicating was, was a part of that. And, and they went to church that Sunday and they ended up giving their lives to Christ. And, and then they became an instrumental piece of that church. They were, became a volunteer in the church, part of the dream team and, and just a great asset to the church.

And they found life and that, that person still shares that story today. Today, see, there's little small samples of things that we can do for people. It's really important. It makes a world of difference. We have no idea what people are going through.

We have no idea, even sitting in here right now, what people are dealing with. And we need to be open, have an open heart, open hands, willing to do good deeds. We need to be rich in good deeds. Galatians 6, 9 says, and let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. Because I know at times it seems like we do a lot of good things and there's no fruit.

But keep planting, keep doing, keep sampling, samples of Jesus, give samples of Jesus. Just continue, continue, continue rich in good deeds. The third thing is, and I love this one because it's contagious. Doing good days is contagious. It's very contagious.

I mean, when, when somebody starts doing good, then other people jump on board and they start, well, if you do it, I'm going to do it. And I'm going to do it. And they start trying to one-up each other, right? It becomes contagious. In fact, I've got a clip here.

I'm going to, I'm going to show, George, if you can get that ready. There's a great, one of my favorite Christmas movies. It's Christmas time, so I figured I'd show a Christmas clip of, oh, it's a wonderful life. Where the idea of this, this movie, George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, pretty much wanted to take his life. And this angel comes and, and takes him through the process of, of, of people he actually influenced.

And at the end, we see how contagious and how a group of people can come together with this contagious idea of generosity and making a difference and how they changed a man's life. Watch this. Here's some beautiful, quiet. Now get this. It's from London.

Oh. Mr. Gower cabled, you need cash. Stop. My office instructed to advance you up to $25,000.

Stop. Now, hee-haw and Merry Christmas, Sam Wainwright. Oh. Oh. As soon as I got Mary's telegram, good idea Ernie, a toast!

To my big brother George, the richest man in town. That's a Christmas present for a very dear friend of mine. That's right. That's right. So the context, it doesn't bring you to tears.

I love that. That's one of my favorite movies, traditional Christmas movies. My mother used to watch it every year and we'd watch it with her and stuff. But the idea, just to give some context, in case you haven't seen it, if you live under a rock and you haven't seen it. George Bailey lost his business.

He was losing his business, but he helped people all of his life and he wanted to take his life. Well at the end he discovers that he really, you know, his angel takes him to different places and shows him all the good that he's done. And at the end, you see a community coming together in generosity to help a man who's helped them in so many years. And not only that, we see like the generosity spread. One person comes out, I changed my mind.

Because earlier she wasn't going to help him out, she wanted him to go under, right? I changed my mind, I'm going to give to you. And this person says, I'll give too. And then, the guy who was going to take him under comes up. The boss man who's going to take him under, he goes, you know, and he throws his stuff.

Because generosity is contagious. And when a community comes together, which leads me to my last point, when a community comes together with this idea that we're going to do this, we are better together and we can make a difference together, it changes everything. It changes culture, it changes atmosphere, it changes everything. Because we can do more together in generosity. Which leads me to my last point, and before I go into that, Acts 4.

33 says this, And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all, that there was no one needy person among them. So the last point is, good deeds glorifies God through the church. Why was it that there was something different in the first century church? Why did the first century church grow so radically? What was different about these people?

What stood out? What was the thing that made everybody like, you know, I don't get this Jesus thing, and you know, somebody rising from the dead, I'm not sure about all of that. But these people are different. These people, well, I think I want to be a part of that. What was it?

It was because they loved people. They reached out to the orphans. They reached out to the widows. Why is that so? Maybe in our context we don't quite understand.

Here, in the Roman context, in the Roman government, it was considered a must to be perfect. Perfection. The body was an image of perfection. They wanted people to be perfect. Perfect.

And what, and if you had a child, and you didn't want to keep that job as a deformity, they would take these clay pots, they called it exposing. And they would practice emphasize, and they put their kids out by the door on the porch, and put the child in the jar. It's a deformed child, or maybe it's a girl and they wanted a boy. They put it in the jar, and they'd leave them to die. Because they believed it wasn't murder if you just left it to die to itself.

And you know what the Christians would do? They'd go out, and they'd go to these doorsteps and take these kids into their homes. They'd raise them on their own, deformities and all. They'd take the widows in. They'd take the people, the hopeless, the people off the streets.

And they'd bring them into their homes, and they'd gather together. And you see it in Acts. In Acts 4, it says, Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes. They ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.

And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. They were different because it wasn't about themselves. It was about the resurrected Jesus Christ that they had personally experienced. It was about Jesus. It was about the life change that they had witnessed on their own.

It was, they weren't willing, people aren't willing to die for anything. But these people were willing to die, willing to give their lives because of something greater than themselves. And they were willing to serve others because they had the heart of Jesus. Doing good works glorifies God through His church. It changes communities, it changes the world, and it changes lives.

So, here's my call to action. Here's my call to action today. It starts with you. It starts with each individual in here, one person at a time. Imagine a church, a big C church.

Imagine a church that, where everyone was all in. Everyone was all about the same mission. Our mission, our vision for Salt Church is to reach people with the life-giving message of Jesus. So they become fully devoted followers of Christ. What if everybody, everybody had the heart of Jesus.

Everybody was in love with Jesus to the point where they were willing to give their lives. What would that look like? Imagine what that would look like. A world would be changed just like that. When we saw the early church, it grew radically, rapidly.

Because... ... Because people were giving themselves to a resurrected Jesus, and it starts one person at a time. What can you do today? What can you do for someone this holiday season?

Let's pray. God, I pray that you would just soften our hearts towards the people around us, the community around us, our neighbors, those that are not as rich as us, Lord. Let us be rich in good deeds, willing to share, so that we can truly experience the life that is truly life. Let us see you for all you are, God. The power and glory and Holy Spirit as you minister to people in here.

And as we stay in that spirit of prayer, some of you have not experienced a life-changing message of Jesus. Can I tell you there is hope for you today? There is hope for you in Jesus Christ. You walked in today and you were just coming to church this morning. That is all you thought you were doing.

You thought maybe I would just give church a chance today. Can I tell you? And maybe you weren't even considering Jesus, but can I tell you today? You know, He has life. He has hope.

It is a good message. It is good news because you are here today, because you need to know Jesus. If that is you, with all heads bowed and all eyes closed, and you are like, I am ready, Pastor. I am ready to give my life to Christ. I am ready to surrender it all to Him.

I am ready to give my heart to Him. This is your moment. This is your opportunity. If that is you today, I want to pray for you. Just gently lift your hand.

I am not going to embarrass you. Nobody looking around. This is a very important moment. If that is you today, please just lift your hand. Just say, I am in, Pastor.

I am in, Pastor. I am in, Pastor. I am in, Pastor. I am in, Pastor. I am in, Pastor.

I am ready, Pastor. I am ready. I am ready. Come on. Anybody?

Pray this with me, Lord. I believe that you are the Son of God. I believe that you died and rose again. And you gave your life for me. Come into my life.

Come into my heart. I walk with you from this day forward. Change me from the inside out. In Jesus' name. Amen.