12+1 Core Values: Generosity Branded | Pr Matthew Chang

You're listening to a message to go from X Church.

We hope this message will light up your day.

All right. Okay, so the last core value that we have, okay,

it's actually called Generosity Branded. And you might be wondering

why is it called 13? And then we, at the

very beginning, maybe you already started like, why is there

a 12 plus one? No, the plus one is like,

you know, You know, like, you know, like, irritating your mind,

you know, annoying you. It's like, why did we, you know,

is this editing and, you know, error that we forgot

to have plus one? No, not really. If you get

the chance to watch the video, which is, you know,

you can see my face there as well. I actually

asked Pastor this question, you know, why the plus one

as well? And so the plus one, of course, when

we came out, we was 12. But then as during

the years goes by, as Pastor also reflect upon it,

You know, I think generosity branded is something that is

so important and so integral in the scripture, you know,

and something that he wanted to include. But in a sense,

he was like, oh, he actually asked God, like, how

do I include this now that, you know, we already,

you know, kind of like talked about the 12 core values.

And God also spoke to him and ministered to him

in a way. Remember, you know, Is there an example

of 12 plus 1 in the Bible? Anyone? Do you

know there's a 12 plus 1? If there's a 12

plus 1 example in the Bible? The disciple, who is

the plus 1? Is there a plus 1? Is there

minus 1 plus 1? Wow. Minus 1 plus 1, go

back to original. But actually, if you read the scriptures

in the book of Acts, of course, the 12 initially

was including Judas, isn't it? Then, of course, he took

himself out from it. Then after that, in Acts chapter 1,

Acts 1 · chapter mention

you see that the disciples prayed and they chose Matthias

to be included into it. And then, of course, later

on we see, what do you call it, Paul being

included into it as well. But Paul, you do know

what's the requirement to become an apostle? You know what's

an apostle? Ooh. You know what's an apostle? Who do

you call apostle? What's the requirement to be an apostle?

Is it that you graduate from Nottingham College, you know? Huh? Visionary. Yeah,

but a lot of people have vision also. Missionary. Okay. Pioneer. Okay.

One of the requirements of being an apostle, including in

the scripture, okay, that is why you must ask how

Paul was included as an apostle. Okay? And no one else, huh?

What is the requirement? One of the main requirements is

that you must have met and seen Jesus personally. That

was one of the requirements. And commissioned Him by Him personally.

You cannot be just sent out. You must be sent

out by Jesus. Ah. That's why the apostle once said,

the one that is sent out. You get what I'm saying?

So Paul, you see and notice when you read the Bible, Paul,

every time he writes, how does he start the introduction? Paul,

an apostle and a servant of Jesus Christ. He always

never go on his own authority. Oh, I have vision,

I have done this and done that. Never. Never. He's

always under the commission of Jesus. Is that what I'm saying?

That's one of the requirements of an apostle. That's one

of it. Another one, okay, you say you are sent,

but how do I know that you are sent? What's

the next requirement? One of the requirements is that you

are able to perform miracles. So don't simply call yourself

an apostle unless you get what I mean. It's not

that easy. Because at that time, the apostles' words, you

are not only sent, but you're sent, you also have

demonstration of authority. You get what I'm saying? People know

that you are sent. By this, they will know that

you are my disciples. Jesus said this, not just you

are nice, you are a kind person, but that you

demonstrate that God is with you compared to all the

false teachers, all the false prophets who may be among you.

Because at that time, there were a lot of false prophets,

you know. A lot, you know. A lot, you know.

Many people, after Jesus did so many things, claimed to

know Jesus, you know. You get me, right? Everyone was like,

I know Jesus. I was his cousin. I was his

brother's brother, you know. Oh, I know the brother owe

me money one. That's why I know Jesus. Everybody knew Jesus,

you know. Everybody claimed. See, people want to make money

off everything one. Okay? And so, how do you distinguish

themself being commissioned personally by Jesus is that when they

go out, whatever they teach, whatever they do, they not

only say, they demonstrate with power. You get me, right?

So I always say the Christian faith is always two-punch.

You demonstrate with confidence in preaching the word, but the

second hand is you demonstrate in power. In the word

and the power. And in the word and the power.

Love can preach, but then there's no power. But a

lot of people, sometimes they display something, but then there's

no truth in them as well. So it's always double-handed.

You get what I'm saying? It's very, very important. And

that is why one of the things is that apostles,

you know, one of the things that they were given

to them very powerfully is that whatever they preach, whatever

they teach, is considered gospel. That is why Paul's writing

was included in the Bible. But Paul is very, very,

I spent a bit of time talking about this, since

you guys are so interested. I look at, I can

tell your face is interested into hearing this, right? Do

you like to hear a bit about this? Sorry, then

I'll go into it, okay? I didn't plan to teach

about this, but I might as well just share with

you guys, okay? Do you know that when Paul was

included into it, he is the plus one because he

was different from all the other apostles. He was different

from all the rest. How was it different? He didn't

hang out with Jesus, isn't it? All of them were

with Jesus for two, three years, isn't it? They saw Him,

they met Him, they were commissioned by Him, they were

with Him at the cross and the ascension as well.

But Paul was the outlier. Paul was the outlier. He

heard about Jesus, but he was definitely not a follower.

But in fact, he was a persecutor of Jesus. Okay?

And so, when he was healed by Ananias also, and

then he converted, right? Even his testimony was a problem.

You get what I'm saying, no? because of his reputation,

he is considered like what we call, like, in the

lack of a better word, he's like a terrorist already.

He's really, really, you know, he was persecuting and dragging

people to, he's really like that type of label already.

He's like, I don't want him near me, man. He's like,

you know what I mean, right? And so, for him

to become an apostle is such a challenge. And he

knew that if he were to come to be, for him,

he said Jesus has called him, but to prove to

the disciples and to the Christian community, it has to

be something extraordinary. I don't have the three years that

the disciples had. The disciples, the 12 disciples, original disciples,

went to medical school. They went to medical school called

Jesus Training, okay? They went and trained in Jesus for

three years. I never went to that school. How can

I become an apostle? So how did he do? How

did he prove himself to the disciples? Do you know

how he do it? Did you know that if you read,

I think it's in Galatians, if you read Galatians, Paul

will give an introduction, explain how he became an apostle.

Because the book of Galatians is about contending with false prophets.

Get me right. He was contending with false prophets, people

who were living by grace but not living the law

in their life as well. a lot of false prophets,

false teachings, and then they were saying that Paul's teaching

is not right. So he was contented. So he established

his credibility. So Paul never spent three years, but what

did he do? He said he was led by the

Spirit to go down south. He spent, I think, about

a year or two in Arabia without mixing with anyone.

Then after one or two years, what did he do?

He met none of the disciples, but he went and

met the Apostle Peter personally. And then after that, he

was confirmed by the testimony and the authority of Peter

that Paul is the apostle. Really commissioned by God. So

why did Paul do that? Why did he go to Arabia,

South Arabia, and then went to meet Peter? He never

met Jesus for three years. Never studied. So what he's

saying is that, I went down south so that I

don't want to claim to have heard and... What's that word? Uh...

what's that word if you copy other person's word? Plagiarize.

Other apostles' teachings. And I downloaded quickly, I speed-tracked my apostleship,

and then I got it. You get what I'm saying?

I don't want to speed-track and plagiarize. I went to

a place where I'm in solitude. That only influence I

have was me and the Holy Spirit. And test me now.

What I know. Previously, I was a persecutor, and now

I know. I have no contact with them. And now

I come back to Peter for what? Why did he

have to meet Peter? For the final exam. It's like,

you know, Linus, you went to medical school for five

years and you went for final exam. Weeping decided to

go and chill out in Eastern Europe. Never attend a

single class. And then he show up for the final

exam as well. You get what I'm saying? Both people

showed up for the final exam. One studied five. He

attended every lecture, copied every note, did every homework. One

fellow went around America and Eastern Europe, just hang around,

you know, having the fun of their life, you know,

skiing there, and then showed up there. But then you

passed as well. You get what I'm saying? No, that

is basically what he did. You get what I'm saying?

And so when people are like, how in the world?

And not only that you were not with us, but

everything that you teach, the gospel, the testimony, everything. And

he was in the room being invigilated by Peter. Invigilated

by Peter. He is really commissioned by God. Tested by

the man. Jesus himself has commissioned. Everything passed. But even

after that, he said that even though you're apostle, you

cannot serve with us. You know, that's why they sent

him the other day. What did they send him? They

sent him up north to Tarsus. They sent him there.

You graduated, but the hospital is not going to take you.

Because last time, you tried to persecute us. You get

what I'm saying? Now, that was his problem. Even he graduated,

he cannot find an employer. So, if you have trouble

finding a job, I tell you, I want to let

you know, Apostle Paul said, trouble finding job as well.

He got trouble finding job, man. He got trouble. He

was unemployed, man, in Tarsus there. He was chilling out

there for a while, okay? He went to Tarsus until,

who was it? Who was the guy who went out there? Barnabas.

Barnabas said that, oh, maybe it was by divine choice

and coincidence that you were never meant to serve Israel

or the Jerusalem. You were meant to serve the Gentiles.

You get what I'm saying or not? Always a provision.

God's working people for Paul has always been divine. It's really, really,

really quite amazing. Anyway, long story. I gave you guys

a lesson, a lecture already about, okay, you learn, this

is 12 plus 1. So every time you see 12

plus 1, don't give me, you know. No, the plus

1 is God's plan. Turn to your neighbor and say,

the plus 1 is God's plan. I spend so much

time talking about the plus 1. Okay, so, you know,

you know, So, you know, I think when you learn

about this, it's really, you know, I think it's God's plan.

Maybe it's always God's plan for it. But let's talk

about generosity branded, okay? I'm just going to read a

bit here from the booklet so that we can have

a bit of context, okay? Now, the heart behind the value.

Generosity is who God is. Amen? He gave first and

He gave fully. He did not hold back. The entire

story of Scripture is a story of a giving God,

giving life, giving law, giving the prophets, giving His own Son.

We did not invent generosity. We inherited it. You know

what I mean, right? And everywhere the early church went,

that same spirit followed. Open hands, open homes, open hearts.

Everywhere you look in the book of Acts, you find

Not as a program, but as the natural overflow of

people who had truly encountered a generous God. This value

is a call to that same spirit. Not giving out

of duty or guilt, but giving because we have been

given too. Not occasional charity, but a genuine posture of

open-handedness that reflects who our Father is and keeps our

hearts soft towards him and towards others. Okay? And then

I read here, a verse here from Acts 2, verse

Acts 2:44

44 to verse 45. It says, Now all who believed

were together and had all things in common and sold

their possessions and goods and divided them among all as

anyone had need. Okay. So I made some slides as

well just to sort of help us to understand track

along together. So, the first thing is that generosity is powerful. Okay?

We put it here as one of our core values

because not just that we think, but the Bible clearly

teaches and indicates to us and demonstrates to us that

generosity is very, very powerful. Now, how many of you

in your lives, in your own personal life, have you

been changed and touched by generosity of others before? Yeah? Like,

what kind of jealousy? What have they done to you?

No money, they belanja makan. Oh, you're triggering your campus,

you know, memories. It's very powerful one, you know. You know,

campus people, you know, when you're a student, when people

belanja you free food, it's life-changing one, true or not?

True or not, yeah? Yeah? True or not? True or not?

It's life-changing one, you know. It's like, you eat, you know,

white bread and sandwich tuna for a while, then suddenly, oh, someone...

Eat you, treat you to a bit. It'll charge you

and wanton me. Simple, but happy one, you know. Really

happy one, you know. I can tell you I'm a

very happy one, you know. I'm really, really happy. Sometimes

it's not just taking you, having food, you know. Because

when you're a campus student, you don't have car, you know.

And someone just willingly drive you, you know. I tell you,

one of the things that I look forward to is

to hang out with people who got car, you know.

It's true. I know, it feels bad, but when someone

has a car, I would say, pick me, pick me.

Because you love to go and travel and find new places. Wah,

you know, we don't get to just eat some yellow

banh mi again, you know. Wah, I get to eat

char siew wonton mee, you know. See, I'm putting into

your mind what to eat right now during lunch, okay?

I've been known to direct people's lunch tendencies in different places.

Pastor Matt, you teach I say, you know, I think

last week I was in PJ, I said, I talked about, wow,

I like Sarawak noodle. Suddenly, half of them ate Sarawak noodle,

you know. It's the power of ideas, you know what

I'm saying? But you see, we all have been touched

or been changed by generosity before, isn't it? It's very, very,

very powerful. If you grow up in a family, if

you constantly remind yourself the generosity of your parents as well,

and you are touched by it, And it's a very,

very powerful thing. And then I wrote here, it says

that generosity can heal and it can build as well. Sometimes,

you don't have to say sorry. You don't have to

say sorry because sorry is just words, isn't it? But

when you choose just to be generous, right? Instead of like, eh,

what you did and stuff like that, just choose to

be generous. Not just in money, but in your words.

Sometimes you might not get along with a guy, but

just because someone chooses to be a bit generous, right?

it heals the reef one. You get what I'm saying? Communities, sometimes, hey,

I don't like that community, do you like this community

or this group as well? But just choosing to be

generous when there is a need, suddenly all the small

things don't become so big anymore. You get what I'm saying? Really,

don't become so big one. I tell my wife, if

I'm not happy, just give me food. Just give me food.

Just be generous to me. Just iron my clothes. Very good.

I'll be very happy. Oh, thank you. Yesterday, I was

preparing my message late at night. Oh, I have to

go and iron my shirt. Also, my wife. Oh, you

read my mind. Thank you, dear. Thank you. I speak

more than anything. She can say all the words, but

I tell you, when she did that, that's the best

thing for me already. Okay? Generosity is a language everyone understands.

And it is one of the most disarming and effective

expressions of the gospel we have. Not everybody reads the Bible.

I think this is the quote from WCC. Not everybody

reads the Bible, but people read Christians. True or not?

Not everybody reads the Bible, but people read Christians. And

sometimes you might not have a lot of things in common,

but the fact that when you choose to be generous,

everybody understands. Everybody gets. You don't know your neighbor, just

cook something and then, oh, by the way, I just

thought of you. I tell you, they can remember. Even

if they don't like your food, they will say, oh,

it's so nice of you, you know. Yeah, yeah. Give

it to the pet now. So, no. I'm just kidding, okay. No, no, no.

It's true one. It's true one. Sometimes, you know, that's

how my, when I grew up, right, I never learned

to become a neighbor. You get me, right? We never taught.

We just, Just happen to be neighbor, you know. I

have someone living beside my house. It's until I learn

to become a neighbor or at least have an idea,

until my neighbor showed me. Maybe my neighbor, not here,

but back when I was growing up, we would live

in the corner lot. Then I realized my neighbor, after

when I was a bit younger, that they were actually Christians.

My neighbor were Christians and they operate a Sunday school.

I was like, every Sunday, I got people coming, I

don't know. what is this? Then I realised they run

a Sunday school. Okay? And they were like the nicest neighbours, seriously.

Always asking us, you know, opening their house, you know,

bringing food. My dad was always suspicious. You know, because

my family, I grew up, we never really host people.

Chinese New Year, we go out. You know, so it's

a different kind of, what do you call it, upbringing.

But they were very generous. Always got food, they bring

in always opening their house. you know our house is

like no it's too messy you know don't come in

but and then they are always inviting that's how I

ended up going to Sunday school and I don't know

what I was doing there because I was just running

around having fun but then they were so generous even

when I left right they were the ones who did

so much to help my mother get converted because they

kept inviting her even though my dad was not here,

they kept inviting her, going, going, going for cell group.

So my mother, at that time, because she had a

bit of Parkinson's, right, she couldn't go to many places.

But the one thing she always wanted to go was,

I think it was Wednesday or Thursday night, going to

their cell group and their Bible study. I was like, wow,

I didn't know all this was happening. So it's generous, people, okay? Very,

very generous, okay? So it is one of the most

disarming and effective expressions of the gospel today. We have,

and sometimes we don't begin with the gospel, we demonstrate

the gospel that lives inside us. Instead of saying, hey, here,

you better believe it. No, no, no, no. Let me

show you what I really believe in, what has transformed

in my life, and be generous. Then from there, they

get the curiosity, wanting to explore what is inside you. Okay?

The next slide I wrote here, love in word is cheap,

But love indeed costs something. True or not? I always

say love you, love you. It's cheap, isn't it? But

love indeed costs something. And that cost is what makes

it believable. It's not that you never say I love you,

but what makes me believe? What makes a person believe

is what you do, what you give, what really costs you.

You can say you love your parents. Oh, this one

is tougher. But I tell you, visiting them says it more.

True or not? True or not? It's true, you know.

Parents may be in Sarawak, but I tell you, you

love them. But paying that price without telling them, just

say showing up, says all the things first. You know,

my dad, it's kind of funny. I will share from

my own experience. My dad is the kind of old

school guy. Say, hey, you know, when's a good time

to come down to visit you? Hey, don't come down, ah.

So expensive, the plane ticket, you know. Every time I

come down, he said, go back, go back already, go

back already. But you know, you all know what I'm

talking about. But deep down inside, when I show up

in their face, I was so happy, very happy. How's

your life? You've gotten fatter already. After that, I started

talking about everything. Then after that, the caretaker, We tell, wow,

your dad, never seen him so happy before. Oh, it's

like that. You get what I mean, right? You pay

the cost. Sometimes it's like, wow. Sometimes I tell my wife,

I go, ah, don't have time to go for a

long trip, but I'll make the trip. I'll just like,

I'm going to pay even for, sometimes one night, I'll

just go down and pay the trip. Just go down,

just by faith. And then go like, okay, just see

him show up. He's like, oh, why you pay, waste

money to go like that? How much is the plane ticket?

No lah, you know, I'm here. Got other things to

do also. Just to see you, see you. These are

things you do, you demonstrate. You get me, right? This

is what it really means to demonstrate love, not just say,

I love you. It's very, very, very important. Okay? The

Good Samaritan didn't win the man on the road with

theological argument. Okay? They were enemies. He didn't send, he didn't,

the Good Samaritan didn't go and send the guy, the priest, hey,

you know, video links of preachers, ah. Hey, you should

watch this. You should watch this. You should watch this.

He didn't do that. What did he do? He warned

him with oil. He warned him with wine, a donkey,

and money left with the innkeeper. You get what I'm

saying now? That is what it is to be a

true neighbor. That is what it is to be truly generous.

It can disarm anyone. You know, this parable is so powerful.

You know why? This parable came about because as Jesus

was teaching, there was a guy who raised his hand

and asked the question, Jesus, what must I do to

inherit eternal life? He asked that question, trying to test Jesus.

So Jesus says, what is written in the Bible? And

Jesus says that, and then the guy replies, love the

Lord with all your heart, and then love your neighbor

as yourself. On this tool, hang all the commandments. And

Jesus said, you do this, and you will be well.

But the guy wanted to justify himself saying, who is

my neighbor? Because at that time, people were very exclusive.

Certain people were neighbor. They were actually only treated being

nice with the communities. Why? Because they actually justified being

angry and hating other people. Can you imagine? They actually justified.

If you don't sell to that guy, and it will

feel like something you can preach on a Sunday morning.

Ha ha ha. Yeah, it is. It was that kind

of community. It's okay. You should do that. Ah, you know,

this is for the glory of God. This is a

wrong kind of teaching that is permeating everyone, you know.

That's why when you read, if you have the time,

you come and join me. Anyone join me from the

Sermon on the Mount series when I was teaching? Anyone

from here? Yeah, you join? You remember what I taught

you before? You know, a lot of things in the

cultural times are people... were very messed up, you know.

Why did Jesus have to tell them, you know, an

eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth? Why

did Jesus have to talk about that? Why was an

eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth implemented

in the Bible? Did you throw it on me? It

was not because people were not compensating, you know. People

were actually asking for overcompensation. And so if Ben offended me,

you stole my cow, I steal your entire farmhouse, you know.

So people were overcompensating, you know. And so the law

had to come in to say, no, an eye for

an eye. You can only limit what you do. So

there was some kind of like a messed up society

that was happening in the society, you know. You get

what I'm saying? And Jesus said, that's why. He said,

it's not to, it's trying to limit the damage claim,

you know. Nowadays, you see in this world, what people

love to do. You offend me, I'm going to sue you.

True or not? You see the society that we live in?

You talk back, I'm going to sue you, I'm going

to sue you, I'm going to over-claim, I'm going to

make your life miserable. It's not very far-fetched, you know.

We were very bad neighbours, you know. Very, very horrible neighbours.

And so this guy was saying, who is my neighbour?

I want to justify it because they will have this

inbuilt idea of society and people around them. And Jesus said,

instead of defining who around you is your neighbour, tell

me who is your neighbour based on this Samaritan. If

you were him, who is a neighbour? Jesus really frames

the question. Instead of like, who is your neighbour? More like,

who would you like to be your neighbour? You see,

who would you really want to be your neighbour? Instead

of what you think it is, it's like, who do

you really want? Do you want someone who walks past you,

even though they are your own race or your own community?

or someone who really come down from their high horse

and healed you and bring them on the knee. Jesus

reframes the question, you know. So it's a question about

the heart. And he said like, if that is what

you want from your neighbor, isn't that what you ought

to be for the society and for the rest of everyone?

You get what I mean, right? So Jesus flips the

question around. So good, you know. He's really like Kung Fu,

you know. Jesus is like, Kung Fu, you send to

me a Kung Fu guy to you, you know. What's up?

That is like Kung Fu Panda, you know. Oh, right.

Generosity as a spiritual indicator. When someone is spiritually dry

or unrevived, stinginess comes naturally. True or not? So what

this summarizes is that stinginess is a symptom. You are

not born stingy, you are not. Some people say, I'm

born stingy. No, no, no. It's like saying that I

was born with a fever. No. No, no, no, no.

You have a virus. You get what I'm saying? You

get what I'm saying? It's a symptom. It's a symptom.

A lot of things in your life are symptoms. You're

saying like, for example, you feel lazy. A lot of

people say laziness is a disease. I kind of disagree.

I will feel like laziness is a symptom. Laziness is

a symptom of what? Laziness is a symptom that you

are lost. you are actually lost. Have you met someone

who is fully focused and know what they want in

their life? Very lazy one. Maybe, but most of the time,

most of the time, you can talk to someone who

doesn't want to come out of their house, who's lazy.

They really don't know what they want for their life.

They see everyone having a goal. Yeah, I can say,

but they really don't know what they want for their life.

They really don't know where they're heading. They are actually...

What they really feel is loss. And that is why

when they feel loss, anything you tell them to do,

they feel it is too expensive. Not worth the value.

True or not? True or not? That is why it's

a lot easier just to doom scroll. Because it gets

you on a high. Everything else is not worth it.

And then you say, oh, it's not worth it. I

need to reward myself. It's the addiction to want to

reward yourself. True or not, everybody? You had a long day.

You worked long hard. Reward yourself. Every day you come back,

reward yourself. And that's why you don't want to go

out at night, especially. It's like, oh, you sleep late

because you feel that hour between 10 to 1 to

2 o'clock is the hour that you reward yourself with.

You owe. You are owed. Is it all smiling? You

know why? Because I get the same thing as well.

And that's the voice that whispers that nobody will talk about.

But it's true. I tell them, oh, and that's when,

that is the prime place where we get to sin.

when we fall into temptation, when we begin to overly

want to reward ourselves. The antidote to that is not

to reward yourself. It's to let God reward you. It's

not to remove the reward, you know. It's but to

let God reward you. It's a change of mind. You

desire reward. Everybody desires a reward because everybody desires to

be seen, to be known internally. to be appreciated, to

be acknowledged for what you do, what you contribute. But

when there's a lack of the presence of God, we

feel alone and we want to reward ourselves for what

we want to do, for the effort, for the struggle,

for the doubt we go through. But when we practice

the presence of God, we realize it's God who rewards us.

You get what I'm saying now? It's God who rewards us.

That's why the Bible says to Abraham, it's not I,

Do not be afraid. I am your shield and your

exceedingly great reward. Exceedingly great reward. God's reward is over

and above what we can ever reward ourselves. You know

what I'm saying? There's always a reward system. That's why

Jesus says, don't go and pray out in the streets

because those people who already rewarded themselves, but pray in

the private, in the secret, there your Father will reward you.

There is always a reward system because reward always ties

to Promises. You get what I'm saying? That's why the

promises are so important. You handle the promises that you harbor,

you will handle the rewards that you seek. You get me, right?

You handle the promises you believe in, you will handle

the rewards in your life. Make sense? Okay. So stinginess

is a symptom, not the problem. And revival always produces

generosity as a by-product. So, you are stingy not because like, oh,

you were born. You were stingy because something in your

heart is making you feel like you don't have enough.

I feel, you know, I feel a strong sense of lack.

I feel I'm behind. You know, I was, actually, you know,

I was doing a bit of quiet time and I

felt that, you know, there's this thing that we, in

our society, we are going through is that the spirit

of being behind. You know, of course, you can say like,

it's like missing out, you know, what's another thing. But,

being behind, you know, behind in compared to others. Behind

means that there is a sense of relativity, that you're

behind what you expect, behind what you perceive people around

you are getting. Financials, maybe other people have children. I

was hearing this pastor who was saying, you know, he's like,

he wanted to have children. And then he saw other

people having children. And he said, it's not jealousy, but

it's a reminder that that every time I hear people

have children, I feel like the clock is ticking. And

then I'm falling behind. He said, every announcement, every testimony,

every breakthrough everybody had, makes me feel like my time

has passed. Passed and passed and passed. And I realized

that without guarding my heart, I've inherited sort of like

a spirit, a distressing spirit of being behind. You get

what I'm saying? It's really behind, you know. So this

is something that we, you know, and when you allow

that to take root in your heart, you start to

become what you want to protect. You want to guard.

You become a bit more compulsive. You want to act

because I need to be first. Because if not, somebody

will take it. You know, it's like driving like that.

You know, it's like, oh, you know, you see a

gem for 1K MGM. Oh, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.

Malaysian very good idea. Then it's like, you know, the

biggest question in life is not whether I'll get to heaven,

but left lane or right lane, you know. Driving down

from Terengganu, left lane or right lane, this is going

to save me 10 minutes, man. Left lane or right lane,

left lane. Oh, that car behind me. But we are

like that sometimes. We're so kiasu, you know. You sure

or not? Oh, kiasu. You know, sometimes I know kiasuness

is a reminder. When you land down, you know, airplane,

you land down, ah, The plane just barely land already.

I'm not even arrive yet. I'm not even slow down.

People already, I'm about to come out. You know what

I'm talking about? Please, please don't do that. Please, please

don't do that, you know. Just chill, you know. Let

people take. And then people want to do that, you

just smile. It's okay. It's all right, you know. Everybody

still get out one, you know. Immigration, you're not in

a hurry to get, you know, check on the immigration one.

It's okay. But I know you want to beat the line,

but it's okay. You can chill one, okay. Very, very important. Okay,

now let's move on. Sorry, I think I duplicated a slide.

Give meaningfully, okay? Don't give just as a token or

just to ease your conscience, okay? You know what I'm

talking about here? You know what I'm talking about here?

Giving as a token. It's like when you give your tithes. God,

you know my heart and this is what I give. Oh,

by the way, you know, It's like giving God Ampao

like that, you know? Seriously. You know, that's what Ampao

is like. Give a token. Do you want God to

just give you Ampao? Hey, I don't give you my token.

You know I'm a good God, right? Hey, I just

give you by the way. The rest you count him,

you know? God doesn't do that. You get me, right?

So what does it mean to give meaningfully? And why

is it so important to give meaningfully? First of all,

I want to let you know, to pick everyone you

give to, they can read you one and all. 99.99%

people are not that intellectually low one, okay? People can

read you. People can read your giving. People can know

whether your heart is there or not. But giving is,

this privilege of giving is being granted by God to us.

It's being inherited by us from our Heavenly Father. Why?

Because so that we can change the world. We can

change lives. And so, to not diminish this ability, we

need to consider our giving. I'm not asking you to

give in a way that is beyond your ability, but

consider your giving. You get what I'm saying? If it

is out of your means, give in a way that

you have put a lot of thought. You say, I

don't know how. How to give in a way? Simple.

Ask the Holy Spirit. You get what I'm saying? Ask

the Holy Spirit. A lot of people have said, oh,

I cannot, my giving doesn't make a difference. So, I'm not,

I'm not in the demographic. It's fine. Let's move on already.

You know, oh, church giving. This one belongs to millionaires.

Millionaires owe the church one. So let them give. So

for me, I don't need to do anything already. A

lot of people think like that. A lot of people

think like that. They outsource giving to other people. They

really want. They really outsource. He said, but if you

really have a generous heart, you really ought to think like,

Holy Spirit, how should I give? I really want to give.

How should I give? Maybe I can only give this

much financially because I got commitments from my family and

I'm tired. I understand. Is there any other way I

can give? Maybe I can serve. You see, when I

was young, my dad knows that I can't give to him.

I can't repay him. But there are ways I can give.

Let me help the dishes. Let me be around a

bit more. You know, my dad used to make me

clean up the leaves, you know, by hand, you know.

Not by rake one, okay. By hand one. So I

train my legs very strong, okay. But you know, after

what I said, let me do some of the gardening,

you know, because I know, you know, it's a bit

challenging for you. In here, you guys have so much, right? Wah,

we must have some very good and rich people in

Sermonier to give these things. I can tell you, this

is not a product of one people, not because Ex-Sermonier,

all sorts of people. People are willing to give. I'm

sure you guys have testimony that people couldn't afford some

of the things they gave in different ways or so.

True or not? They gave their time. Time is so important, people.

You get what I mean, right? Not because, oh, you

only have this and that. No. Instead of sometimes just

give according to what they exactly need. If they don't have,

I'm not sure. No. Give your availability. Sometimes, what does

it mean to be available? It means you show up

not knowing whether they need or not. You're just available.

It's a very powerful thing, you know. You get what

I'm saying? Not because when people call you only, you

show up. No, no. Make yourself generously available. When you

love someone, you make yourself available. You get what I'm saying?

Even if you don't need me, I'm around you. You

make yourself around. A lot of people completely remove themselves

from the proximity of one another. Why? Because sometimes people

secretly don't call me. You get what I'm saying? You

hint to that. But when you make yourself available, that's

the language of love. You get what I'm saying? Parents,

even though your kids sometimes don't want you around, them

because they want to be their kids, you just love

to be around them. You say, hey, son, hey, daughter,

every time you need me, you know I'm around. Because

you know why they love you. You get what I'm saying?

They don't want to mess up your life. They don't

want to embarrass you. I don't want to embarrass my kids. No,

this is my daughter. So go ahead. You can go already.

You can go already, you know. You can go already.

You go ahead and have your dating, you know. You

know what? They want their own time. But I say, yes, okay.

I'm around. I'll be in this mall, okay. That's the

language of love. We got to do it to one

another in the church as well. You know what I'm saying?

Don't just be anywhere, but be around. I also encourage people, hey,

after lunch, if you can, I understand different commitments. If

you can, be around. Turn to your neighbour and say,

let's be around. Not be round, but let's be around.

Let's be around, people. Okay? Let's be around. I think

that's such a cool thing. Let's be all. Every time

we come to church, not because who's preaching. We come

to church, we just want to be around one another.

You hear what I'm saying? Just be around one another.

You look at the book of Acts, people, they were

around one another all the time. They never despised the fellowship.

Now everybody wants to be with their handphone. No, no, no.

Put it away. Let's be around one another. Okay? That

is why it says there, no, don't just give a silicone,

just give, just to ease away. Meaning that giving requires proximity.

True or not? For you to give meaningfully, you need

to be around but also you need to know the people.

You see, giving is a whole chain. It's not just

a single item. It's not just a single objective. Giving

is an entire chain of exercise that requires, in exercise,

what we call a compound movement. You know what I'm saying?

How many of you go to the gym? You know

what's a compound movement? A squat, you know, if I do,

I don't want to do it now, okay? Maybe I

don't get up, okay? Like that. The compound movement from

the bottom and I squat up is a compound movement

because it recruits different muscles. Okay? When giving, it's a

compound spiritual exercise because it recruits different aspects of your life.

Make sense or not? You cannot give without recruiting to

know somebody. You cannot give without recruiting the fact that

you actually have patience to know, to consider, to pray.

It is a compound movement And actually, a lot of

things in our life requires compound movement. Driving requires compound movement.

Most of the things in life that we want to

get to somewhere requires a compounded movement of our lives.

And so, when you choose to, I want to be generous,

you realise that it will take a lot of different

things in your life. It's a compound movement of your

spiritual life. And the more you do it, other areas

get exercise, get to grow as well. You're like, whoa,

I want to give. It requires me to maybe attend homes,

maybe to know this brother, maybe to make time to

go and connect with this person. Or maybe you need

to give, you need to learn to save. Oh, you

need to plan. You need to sleep early. Oh, no.

You can realize this whole spiritual thing, exercise is a

compound movement, right? Make sense or not? Turn to your

neighbor and say, let's together do a compound exercise. Let's

do a compound exercise. Not just compounding interest, okay? Okay?

Everybody okay or not? So we give in a way

that actually helps, that solves a real problem. Okay, so

when you give, you try to, you know, give meaningfully,

it's like you consider what is happening, you know, you

actually really pray. You know, when you pray, when you give,

you consider your giving, and when you actually pray, God

loves you one and all. He really loves you one

and all. Because you really examine your heart, because you're

being honest, God, I have a lack. And I can't

give that much, but I'm trying to give. And this

whole exercise is exactly where God wants you to be.

But many of us want to avoid that conversation. We

feel ashamed. We feel like maybe, no, no, no, no.

God is not turned off like this. He is more

turned on when you hide. But if you are willing

to acknowledge, you don't be like Ananias when he was

stingy and he hid away from God. And he lied

about it. No, if you struggle, be honest with God.

Admit it before God. Let Him deal together with you. God,

I'm really struggling. I'm lacking. It's okay one. It's okay

one or not. Because He knows He's not asking you

to qualify yourself. He knows that most of the time,

every one of you, you're giving, you're serving, you're knowing.

You can't do it. The truth is, you and I,

we are all not very nice people on our own flesh.

That's the truth. You want to know the truth? You

think that, hey, this person gives because he is a more...

righteous and moral person because I give, we are more righteous. No.

The truth is we are all sinners. The truth is

we are all stingy and selfish. The truth is that

we all need the Holy Spirit. God gives the Holy

Spirit not because you are holy. He gives the Holy

Spirit because He knows you need it to be holy.

You get what I'm saying or not? This is a

very big mindset change, you know. He didn't, let me repeat,

He didn't give you the Holy Spirit because you are holy.

He gives you the Holy Spirit because He knows you

need it to be holy. That's why you ask. That's

why Jesus says, which one of you, you know, you

need a break, the Father gives you a stone. And

then towards the end, how much more will the Father

give the Holy Spirit? He is saying that you are

not there. That's why you ask for it. But a

lot of us, because of the lie of the enemy,

the lie of the devil, when we sin, when we

fall short, the first thing you tell, my God is angry.

You get what I'm saying or not? And he pushes

you away. And we get into the wrong spiritual boat.

You get what I'm saying or not? So we need

to disarm the lies and go back to Scripture. What

does God actually want us to do? What is the

truth that he wants us to get onto? So that

you get on the right boat. You did mistake, it's okay,

but at least you're on the right boat. then God

corrects you. God gives you what you need to live

the right life, okay? Okay? Give away that actually helps,

that solves a real problem, that makes a tangible difference

in someone's life. Last one. Okay, let me finish this.

Why generosity matters? Because it reflects our true priorities. Amen? Okay?

Giving keeps our hearts soft and our focus on God. Okay?

A generous person is hard to make selfish. Let me

just finish here. It says here, and a person who

keeps giving keeps remembering that everything they have was first

given to them. Okay? A generous person stays soft-hearted towards

the need of others and lastly, it reminds us of

how generous God has been to us. Now, first of all,

there's two parts to it. First of all, when you

talk about generosity matters because it reflects what is happening

inside our lives, the order of things. Okay? Order. There

must be order. Okay? Did you know that your blood

runs in an order one? Thank God that our blood

runs in order. Our blood, first of all, must always

go back to the heart one. Our blood flow. It

doesn't go anywhere else. It doesn't go back to the

heart as you know when you got problem already. You

understand what I'm saying? If it doesn't have order, it

doesn't go to the brain. It goes to my feet first.

Then you're in trouble. There is order one. Okay? So,

A good spiritual life will always have order, okay, in

our spiritual life. And so, and one of the ways

that we know what is in order in our lives

is the way we give and how we want to

think when we think about giving as well. Like I said,

you know, it's very rare that you see someone who

is revived, who's been touched by God, become stingy one.

Very rare one. Very rare one. It's a very hard one.

I really don't know. Imagine, consider your own spiritual transformation.

When you've been touched by God, when God answers you,

do you feel stingy? Do you feel stingy? No one, right?

You feel like you have more than enough, you know.

It's the sense of overflow, you know. It's the sense

of being complete and safe. You get what I'm saying?

When you're touched by God, you're complete, you're full, and

more importantly, you're safe. A lot of people don't understand

you're safe. You're lacking nothing. No cracks on the wall.

No open doors. You are safe, you know. You don't

need anything. This is a very powerful thing. You feel

completely safe. You don't lack anything. Okay? And then, the

second thing I want to say is that, the last

one is that, generosity is also, as much as it's

a demonstration or a sign of our inner life, Generosity

in the next level becomes a discipline. Okay? Once you

do it already, it becomes a discipline. You get what

I'm saying? You are given a body. You don't work

for a body, but you work out your body. Make

sense or not? How many of you go to the

gym to work for a body? Okay. You don't work

for a body. You already start with this body already.

You cannot have another person's body. You have this body,

but you work out. your body. You get what I'm

saying now? This life, this Christian life that has been

given by God, it's by God's grace. I'm saved by God.

But for me, I choose to continually exercise my giving

because it exercises faith. And you know why it's important

to exercise that? You know why? Because in life, there

will be challenges. There will be temptations. There will be

different things that will challenge you not to give one.

And that is why you'll be like, no, I need

to consider. And then if God is asking me to

give when I don't have much, that is why the

woman with two gold coins, with two mites, she was

challenged to give as well. You get what I'm saying?

She was challenged to give. She didn't ask, but because

she has been so faithful for so many years, she

easily can deadlift that 300 kilos off the ground. Because

she's been doing it. If I ask you, out of nowhere,

all these years, you've been not giving anything, not just

to church, not to anyone. Suddenly God said, hey, it's important.

This was meant for you. you were placed in that time,

this situation to give. Maybe you earn your million, 1 million,

5 million, 10 million, now you are rich. God says, oh,

can you give 10,000? Because you never given before, you

think you can give? You cannot. You get what I'm saying?

Just because you paid an expensive membership, doesn't mean you

can carry the weight one and all. Doesn't mean you're

a big person, you can carry the weight one and all.

You get what I'm saying? You look at the dude,

this uncle was like, this grandma is like 70 years old.

Because she's been doing it. Please, all the people, please,

you know, I'm not encouraging you to, you know, please

do whatever that you can. But it's true, you know

what I'm saying? We continually exercise so that when we

are able to give in a way that in an

increasing manner. Why increasing manner? It shows the glory of

God and the work of God in our lives. You

see what I'm saying? When we grow in our giving,

we give glory to God. People can see one another.

You're not just giving once. You're continually giving. And people

now begin to ask, it's not who you are, but

who is that God inside you? How is it that

it's possible that you can be so generous in your life?

There must be an engine, a secret sauce, Are you

a petrol or EV or something else? It's something different already.

It's like, oh, it is the Holy Spirit inside you.

And so when you're increasing in giving, you give glory

to God. Amen.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

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is going to be a good week ahead for you.

God bless.