A BLESSED LIFE PT 1: It’s All About The Heart
Matthew 7:1-2 ESV
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
  
Luke 6:37-38 ESV
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”‭
 
John 3:16 ESV
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
 
Matthew 6:21 ESV
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
 
Deuteronomy 15:7-8 ESV
“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.
 
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4 Things We Need To Do To Be Generous:
#1) DEAL WITH A SELFISH HEART
Deuteronomy 15:9 ESV
Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, and you be guilty of sin.
unworthy = without profit; worthless, destructive, evil, ungodly, wicked.
Matthew 5:42 ESV
Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
 
  • God did not create “Giving” for His own benefit… God created “Giving” for your benefit.
  • Generosity removes selfishness and pride from our lives.
Luke 6:35-36 ESV
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
 
#2) DEAL WITH A GRIEVING HEART
Deuteronomy 15:10 ESV
You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.
grudging = hurt, afflicted, grieving, displeased
2 Corinthians 9:7 NLT
You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”
  • Pride attacks us before we give, and grief attacks us after we give.
1 Corinthians 10:26 NKJV
for “the earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness.”
#3) DEVELOP A GENEROUS HEART
Deuteronomy 15:14 ESV
You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the LORD your God has blessed you, you shall give to him.
  • We were born selfish. We are reborn generous.
1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV
So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Acts 20:35 NLT
And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
James 4:2-3 ESV
You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
#4) DEVELOP A GRATEFUL HEART
  
Deuteronomy 15:15 ESV
You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today.
 
  •  We cannot get over getting saved.
#1) In our nature we are selfish.
#2) We are grieved with things that are not ours.
#3) We were born selfish but we are reborn generous.
#4) We can’t stop being grateful for everything God has done for us.
CONCLUSION
James 1:16-17 Passion
So my friends, don’t be fooled by your own desires! Every gift God freely gives us is good and perfect, streaming down from the Father of lights, who shines from the heavens with no hidden shadow or darkness and is never subject to change.
  • Every gift you have came from God. Every ability you have to be able to produce was given to you by God. All that I am, and all that I have, is a gift that belongs to the Lord.

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