The Truth about Scarcity and Abundance |03.16.25|Made for More pt.7

Three years ago, when I first moved here, I was blown away by something that completely changed my thinking about abundance and scarcity. Because many of you know that I spent the last 15 years before I moved here to Sterling living in Southern California.

That’s where I met my wife. That’s where I was formed by a church as I stepped into God’s call for ministry. That’s where we started a family.

I’ve got a lot of fondness when I think back on California. But do you know something that I will never miss? It’s a secret that they never tell the outside world.

Because when you see California on TV or the movies, you see the beaches and the palm trees and the celebrities.

But they don’t tell you, the entire state is constantly in a drought. Water is scarce in California. What you don’t see are the water shortages, or the laws that go into effect limiting when people can water their lawn, or how much irrigation that farmers can use to grow almonds or avocados.

So when I moved here, we were renting a house out in the country, and I was surprised to find out that I didn’t have a water bill along with the rest of the utility bills.

You see, at our house in California, water was one of the utilities we paid for every month, along with electricity and gas and trash.

But here, the house where we were staying has a well. No need to pay the city to send you water, you’ve got a whole reservoir of water sitting below your feet! More water than you could know what to do with!

All of a sudden, I felt something change in my heart. You mean I could take that long, warm shower if I wanted to? We could go ahead and put the laundry on that extra rinse cycle?

I didn’t have to view water as a scarce resource, because we were sitting on an abundance of water.

But it also made me grateful for the invention of the well pump. Because, without the pump, all that water would just be sitting there in a big ‘ol bucket under the ground. Without a pump, that water couldn’t be sent out to be used and bless the people up here.

We’ve been spending the last few weeks discussing each of the fruit of the Spirit that are things that grow in the life of a Jesus follower as God works in us and transforms us to become more like Jesus.

As we spend time with Jesus and learn how to be his apprentice, the Spirit of God grows certain things in us that we were actually MADE for.

Because you were made for more love, more peace, more joy. God wants to grow those things in you so that you can become more and more like Jesus. And today, we’re discussing generosity.

Now, depending on what translation of the Bible you’re using, you might look at our theme verse of Galatians 5:22-23 and you might see that it gives the list as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and GOODNESS.”

But in our main translation we use here at New Life, the NRSV, it lists it as GENEROSITY. Why the difference?

And some people might be concerned, because maybe you invited a friend to come to church with you today, and you’re thinking, “Oh no, I brought my friend on a Sunday that we’re talking about MONEY, oh no!”

But on the contrary, I think today’s message is going to be SO ENCOURAGING to you, because we’re going to discuss a principle that is going to unlock a new understanding of the abundance that is involved in our lives when we follow Jesus.

I seriously think that today’s talk will leave you with a new faith in the abundance of our God who is able to do more than we could ask or imagine, and it’s going to loosen the stressed out tension we feel around our resources and stuff.

But before we dig in to that, why do some translations list this fruit of the Spirit as goodness and why do some use generosity?

If you look up the word in the original language, the direct meaning is “a positive moral quality…like “goodness”...that is characterized ESPECIALLY by an interest in the welfare of others..” It’s a goodness of character that expresses itself in benevolence towards OTHERS.

Which is why some translators think that “generosity” is a better English word to use. Because it’s a clearer depiction of what the Apostle Paul is telling us is the type of thing that grows in us as the Spirit of God works in us.

As we grow as apprentices of Jesus, we become more and more like Jesus, which means we turn our care and compassion more and more towards OTHERS, finding more and more ways to share what we have to benefit the people God calls us to.

Maybe as I’m describing that, you’re already thinking of someone you know who embodies generosity. Maybe someone came to mind who is the most generous person you know, and you’re thinking about how they seem to have a freedom with helping others, a certain sense of joy in sharing what they have to care for others.

Maybe you wish you had some of that, too. Maybe you wish you had as much money as them!

But, the truth about generosity is that God made you for MORE generosity in your life, and it doesn’t have anything to do with how much money you make, or anything like that.

In fact, the three things that are going to change your faith today is 1) how you hold your hands, 2) the difference between a bucket and a conduit, and 3) the phrase “where did it come from?”

[REF]

And we’re going to be taught by Jesus today through two different passages of Scripture. So open your Bibles with me to Mark 12:41, which can be found on p38 of the NT in the black, seat-back Bibles. And as you’re finding it, this drops in on Jesus and his disciples spending time in Jerusalem at the temple during one of the festivals. There are tons of people in town, giving their offerings to God as part of the way they worship him and thank him for being a provider in their lives. And this is what we read:

[MARK 12:41-44]

[v41]

In the main courtyard of the temple, there are these huge brass jars where the Jews put their money offerings during one of the festivals. It would be like if we had a bunch of huge metal canisters out in the atrium, so that everyone could drop in their tithes and offerings on their way in.

And all the rich people are dropping in these bags of money that have weight to them, so there’s these big CLANGS every time a rich person does that. One or two probably even open the bag and dump in the coins so you can hear the waterfall of coins going into the brass jars, echoing across the courtyard.

Of course, the disciples are watching and listening and are getting impressed with the loud noises. Wow, that person is giving a LOT. They must be really devout. God must love them more since they have been blessed with more money.

But then Jesus calls their attention to someone they would never have noticed, because it’s a woman who drops in two small copper coins, and our text tells us they amount to a penny.

I doubt you even heard a sound as she quickly dropped them in and kept moving, trying not to bring attention to herself.

[v43-44]

But Jesus says that she put in MORE than anyone else, because everyone else contributed out of their abundance. In other words, everyone else had more than enough in their bucket, and once they felt like their own needs were met, they gave to God out of the “extra”. They gave to God out of what was left on the top once their bucket was full.

And that’s how many people treat our money and our stuff, right? We treat it like a bucket. We check our bank account, and we make a judgment on whether our bucket is pretty full or pretty empty.

We work hard to put more into our bucket, and we keep our bucket safe.

Buckets are great! My only worry is whether my bucket will develop a leak, or if someone steals it from me, which is why I’ve got a lid for my bucket that can lock. I mean, yeah, it’ll make it a little more difficult to get into my stuff if I want to share it with anyone, but it will also keep it safer so I don’t have to worry as much.

A while back, I had an interaction with one of my kids, and they were playing with some little little toys, and I didn’t want any to get left around where the baby could accidentally find them, because they were small enough to choke on.

And so I said, hey, can I see your hands? And they turned to me and showed me this: a fist.

No, can you open your hands? *shakes head* Please? I have something for you… *shakes head*

Come here, I want to give you a piece of candy. And they tottered over and tried to use both fists to grab the candy. But that wasn’t going to work. They weren’t going to be able to open the wrapper, and they were going to make a mess, and all they had to do was open their hands, be less tightened around the little lego piece or whatever the toy was so that they could RECEIVE the candy.

And we do the same thing with our stuff and our money, don’t we? But when we hold so tightly to our stuff, our money, our time…a closed fist can’t receive anything more.

But when we TRUST our heavenly father…when our hearts are willing to be more focused on HIM than on what is in our closed fist…when we open our hand, we are able to RECEIVE even more from him each and every day.

Because he’s a good father. And he takes care of his kids. And he’s taken care of you, up to this point, right?

And that’s part of what Jesus is trying to show his disciples with the woman and the two coins: it’s not about how MUCH she gave. It was about her heart posture.

Everyone else gave extra. She gave ALL.

Everyone else gave leftovers. She gave her full heart and her whole trust, knowing that God has taken care of her before and is able to take care of her again.

Now, does that mean that Jesus is telling you to be reckless with your finances and bankrupt yourself by giving to the church? Absolutely not!

He’s making a point that God doesn’t look at the amount we give…he looks at our hearts. And if our relationship with our money is more of a closed fist type of relationship…if our relationship with our money is more of a “I’m going to hold tightly to my bucket and I’ll give to God if I have some overflow…”

…then we’re missing out on what God wants to grow in us. We’re keeping our eyes DOWN on the little that we have in our bucket, and we’re missing the huge opportunity and blessing that God is wanting to do through us.

Because buckets are great at HOLDING stuff, but they aren’t great at SPREADING stuff.

Have you ever tried to put out a fire with a bucket of water?

Maybe you’ve seen the historical photos of townspeople forming a line to pass buckets of water back and forth to put out a fire. The only problem is that buckets weren’t very efficient at spreading the water, and a lot of houses burned down.

Until 1673, when the first fire hose was invented. Suddenly, water could be DIRECTED to where it was needed most.

Many of us live like buckets, storing up what we have, sharing only when it’s convenient. But what if we saw ourselves as hoses?

A hose is no good for collecting or holding water. It’s awkward, there’s no handle, there’s no lid.

No, the natural response when you’re holding a hose isn’t to use it to STORE anything. The natural response is to look for a water source so that you can use your hose to SEND the water to where it needs to go.

Are we collectors or conduits? Do we want to hold onto what God gives us, or do we want to let it flow through us to bless others?

[REF 2]

One of the best examples of this is Luke ch9, when Jesus has been teaching a huge crowd of people all day long, and the disciples are tired and getting hangry, and they tell Jesus to send the people away so they can go find some food and a place to stay.

[LUKE 9:12-17]

[v13]

Jesus says to them, YOU give them something to eat…

Imagine what was going through the disciples’ minds. They push back—there’s barely any food, and buying enough is impossible.

Jesus knew that. He saw the thousands gathered—maybe 15-20,000, counting women and children. He knew they didn’t carry enough food for a stadium-sized crowd.

So why tell them to feed the people?

I think it was because he was trying to shift their thinking from scarcity to abundance. And WE need that same shift.

When we’re stuck in a scarcity mindset, all we see is the “little” that we have in our bucket. And so fear takes over: fear about the economy, the supply chain, politics…all telling us to hold on to what we have tighter.

It’s hard to trust that anyone else will look out for us, so we look out for ourselves, closing off our hearts to the needs of others.

[where did it…]

But an abundance mindset trusts in the One who has always provided. Where do we think we got what we have in the first place?

God has provided all we have. Psalm 24 tells us that “the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” He already owns everything, and has given us what we have. The good news is that our God of abundance doesn’t just provide FOR us — he provides THROUGH us.

That’s why Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.” He was inviting the disciples into the act of giving, knowing the kingdom principle: “Give, and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:38).

This is a principle he had taught his disciples way before they were on a hillside with a couple of thousand people who were hungry. “Give, and it will be given to you.”

But he doesn’t stop there, the full teaching that Jesus gave says, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

When I hear this, I think of one of my favorite meals to get when I’m hangry, and that’s Chinese takeout. I love it when I ask for a two item combo, and they get out those styrofoam containers, scoop a BUNCH of chow mein into it, and then start getting the orange chicken and spicy garlic fish. And there is so much food in that container that they use the lid to squish down all the contents before adding a few MORE scoops for good measure.

It’s enough food for a family of four, but you KNOW I’m eating that by myself! We won’t talk about my unhealthy habits around eating today…that will need to be a different sermon series.

Back to Jesus. He says, “Give, and it will be given to you. There’s going to be a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over. For the measure you GIVE will be the measure you GET BACK.”

So Jesus is inviting them into the act of giving so that they can receive the blessing that comes with that.

But the disciples weren’t with him. They respond back to Jesus by saying, “we ONLY have 5 loaves and 2 fish…”

Did you hear that? We ONLY have… Does that resonate with you? Have you ever looked at the stuff you have, or the money you have, or the time you have available for other people, and said, “Oh man, I ONLY have…just a little bit.”

The disciples were looking down at what they HAD. Their heads were stuck DOWN in their bucket. All they were able to see was what they had, and they knew it was limited.

They weren’t looking UP and thinking about the fact that the God of Abundance, who is able to provide for ALL needs, was inviting them to join him in providing for the needs of others.

Because Jesus didn’t NEED their help. God COULD do it all on his own! But it’s his great pleasure to let us be a part of it. We GET to bless others by letting God’s blessing pass through our hands into the hands of others.

But the disciples couldn’t see it. Maybe you feel the same way when you look at your life. But don’t worry! That doesn’t stop Jesus.

I love this, watch what Jesus does. He listens to them talk about how they only have a small amount, and then he says, “Make them sit down.”

Jesus completely ignores his disciples’ lack of faith and still LETS them join in with his work, but he lowers the bar and gives them a simpler way to join him. Can’t fathom how you’d be able to feed all these people? That’s okay, I can still work with you. How about you just help them sit down then? That’ll be the first step.

Then Jesus does this big public demonstration of the abundance that comes from the kingdom of God. And he makes sure everyone can see exactly WHERE the abundance is about to come from.

He looks up to heaven, blessed the little offering of 5 loaves and 2 fish, and then gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

It goes from Heaven, to Jesus breaking and handing, to the disciples dispersing what was handed to them, to the crowd eating and sharing among themselves: “And all ate and were filled.”

And then the disciples go out and gather up all the leftovers. LEFTOVERS. From 5 loaves and 2 fish. Twelve BASKETS of leftovers. That kind of sounds like a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and RUNNING OVER!

When the disciples offered up 5 loaves and 2 fish, they didn’t get back 5 loaves and 2 fish. Because Jesus didn’t say that WHAT you give will be given back to you. He said the MEASURE you give will be given back to you.

The measure that was given was “ALL.” There were 5 loaves and 2 fish. All of that was given. And so THAT was the measure that God gave back. And when God gives ALL, it’s WAAAAY more than what we can fathom. It feeds tens of thousands of people, and then provides a basket of leftovers for every one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

God’s ALL can provide for ALL the needs we have.

And when we give, when we join him in his work, it’s a blessing to us. But the blessing we receive isn’t always the same in substance, but in measure. Jesus says later on in Luke’s gospel that some of the “repayment” that his followers will receive will be at the resurrection.

So we don’t give IN ORDER to get, but we trust that our God of Abundance is not only able to provide for our needs, but he’s also able to provide THROUGH us. And when we bless others, it’s a blessing to us.

So how do we change from this bucket mentality to a conduit mentality? How do we join Jesus’ work around us? How do we get involved in the act of giving, especially when we’re not so sure we have a lot to give?

Prime the pump! When you come up to a pump that is connected to a deep well, if there hasn’t been water flowing through it recently, sometimes, it will seem dry. Sometimes it will seem like there’s no water coming up.

But, if you prime the pump, by giving a little water to it, by pouring in the little water you have, it will engage the pump with the deep reserve of water in the earth, and it will start pumping all the water out! Your little offering of water will engage the flow of water from this deep, abundant cistern that has more than you know what to do with!

And when the disciples weren’t sure how to join Jesus in his request to feed the crowds, Jesus gave them a smaller entry into joining him. He let them prime the pump by offering their little snack. He let them prime the pump by starting with getting the crowds to sit down. He let them prime the pump by just handing out what he handed to them. Before they knew it, tens of thousands of people had been fed and they were picking up BASKETS of leftovers.

So how can we prime the pump to engage the generosity that God wants to convey THROUGH us? Look for a way to be a blessing to someone else.

Being a blessing may mean reorienting your day or finances. When we trust that everything we have comes from God for a purpose, we rethink how we use and invest it.

But blessings don’t have to be big! Jesus is too good to keep us from the joy of giving, so He invites us to participate however we can.

Not much time to serve? That’s okay! Find a small commitment—use your commute differently, share a lunch hour, or join a Serve Team, whether weekly, monthly, or occasionally. Serve Team Sunday is next week, so find out more information about how God can work through your gifts and passions.

Not much money to give? Ask God if He’s inviting you to redirect small amounts. Maybe pause your Netflix subscription, cut back on coffee, or eat out less—so you can use that money to bless others this season.

Because you were MADE FOR MORE generosity, and as we learn how to be apprentices of Jesus, the Spirit of God works in us to transform us to become more and more like Jesus in every area of our lives.

We GET to change from a closed fist to an open hand, because God has proven that he is a faithful provider who can be trusted.

We GET to change from a bucket mentality to a conduit mentality, knowing that everything God gives us can be used for a purpose and doesn’t have to sit stagnant.

We GET to remember that everything we have came from God, and there’s more where that came from!

So let’s prime the pump, trusting God to lead us in small ways to grow in generosity so that we can see his abundance pour forth through our obedience, because we were made for more. Isn’t that good news?