Giving by Grace

Grace means all that God has put on deposit for you has already been deposited.

Dr. Tony Evans talks about how the Lord empowers us to invest those resources.

He can give you thought that you didn't think of to provide income you didn't have to produce things you didn't know.

This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans.

When many people think of generosity, they think of it in terms of giving money away.

But today Dr. Evans will explain why it's really more of an investment than a handout.

We'll discover the difference as we join him in 2 Corinthians chapter 9.

Now our series on Grace starts with the definition. Grace is unmerited,

you can't earn it, it's always free, you can't deserve it, you can't repay it, it is the free gift of God.

So you can't earn Grace, but you can respond to Grace, which means the bigger view you have of Grace,

the easier it is to respond and give it. But the smaller view you have of Grace, the more you have

to be manipulated to give, because you have to be pulled and pushed by law or threats or earning God's

favor. Remember Ephesians chapter 1 verse 3, it says, you have already been blessed with all spiritual

blessings in the heavenly places, translation, everything God has ever planned to do for you, he's already

done. Grace means that all that God has put on deposit for you has already been deposited.

So now the issue is not getting Grace, it's accessing Grace. Grace can be accessed, but it can't be

earned. But because we have gotten so little teaching on Grace or misinformation about Grace,

we do not respond as we should respond to the magnificent Grace of God. Now here's the principle,

you've heard me say it a million times, I'm a trot, one more time for those who have not yet gotten it.

You only have one source. Everything else is a resource, a means through which God does things,

but it is not the source. Once you make the resource, the source, you've created an idol.

If your job is your source, your job is become your idol. If your bank is your source, your bank

has become your idol. God is your source, that's just a resource vehicle. It is in this context

that the greatest verse on Grace in the Bible exists, verse 8, and God is able,

somebody say able, to make all Grace abounds, say all Grace, all Grace abound to you, that always,

they always having all sufficiency, all sufficiency, let me all sufficiency. Efficiency means enough,

okay? In everything, let me hear everything, that you may have an abundance, say abundance,

for every good work. Now, you know what he just said, he says, there is no situation for which there

is not sufficient Grace, and he goes on to say, and you know it's sufficient Grace, because it always

has leftovers, because his last phrase was an abundance, abundance means leftovers. It's like when

a boy brought to Jesus, two fish and five barley loaves, and he gave it up, he fed 5,000 people

that were 12 baskets full left over. Grace always comes with an abundance. He says, God has all

Grace always for all things with leftovers, okay? That's how much Grace is there. So when you talk

about Grace, you're talking about something staggeringly big. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 818,

it is God who gives you the ability to even create wealth. Your ability to get up and go to work

tomorrow. It's tied to Grace, and if you don't believe that, get sick enough so you can't go,

and then you will know that the Grace of God is your provider of strength. The Bible says in Isaiah

chapter 48 verse 17 and 18, God even gives you ideas to make a profit. He can give you thought that

you didn't think of to provide income, you didn't have to produce things you didn't know. Why? Because

from God, he is our source. And if I could just get you to believe that it would transform your life

because then you'll stop looking to the idol to be your source. And when you walk with God long

enough to see Grace, then you don't need trickery. You don't need water from the Jordan River.

You don't need a blessed prayer cloth. You don't need to be manipulated.

You don't need what he calls in this passage to be placed under compulsion. That is pressurized

to give. Anybody who's pressured to give doesn't understand Grace. Grace is the overflow of gratitude.

That's why verse 15 says, I thank God for his indescribable gift. What's the gift? It's grace.

We know that because in verse 14 he says, by prayer on your behalf for you because of the surpassing

grace, God has given. So grace is so powerful and so sufficient that when you know, when you know,

watch this, when you know everything I'm ever supposed to get from God has already been placed

on deposit. I'm only concerned about one thing accessing it. Not earning it. It's already been

placed on deposit. You don't have to earn God's favor. You don't have to earn God's favor.

He has already favored you. When if you've accepted Jesus Christ, Romans A32, he says, will he not

with Christ give you all things? Give Grace. With Christ, all that you're supposed to get from the

time of your salvation to the time of your death is on deposit. You don't have to earn. You have to

access, but not earn. So now that you understand, or we have rehearsed, that you only have one source.

Please read 1 Chronicles, 1 Chronicles 29 verses 10 to 21. We don't have time to go through it,

but 1 Chronicles 29 verses 10 to 21. That's one of those powerful statements. David lays out this

bringing prayer. And he says, God, because you own it all, God, because of anything we have,

it's come from you. Because of your goodness, because of all you have done, we can't help but give

back to you. That was a Grace prayer. I'm only responding, David says, to the goodness of God in

my life. And anybody who knows about the goodness of God is going to give as a cheerful giver.

Now, that's a reluctant giver. They're going to be glad to do it and joyful to do it, because they know

God loves a cheerful giver, and all I have comes from God. So some of my time, some of my talent,

some of my treasure, I'm going to give the guy, because I know what I have came from him.

And when you understand grace, you not only become a grace flow too, you become a grace flow

through. Okay. Now, let me tell you a secret that he talks about in this passage. You're going to

have to do a mental shift right now to get this secret. We live in a technological age.

Before the technological age, that was an industrial age. So these are factory workers.

These are people who are working with machines and all of that that got us to the age we're in now.

So I want you to skip for a few moments, the industrial age. I want you to pretend there are no,

there are no factories. There are no machines and go with me back to the country. Because to

understand what I'm getting ready to explain to you from this passage from the Apostle Paul,

he needs you to go back to the country to understand this. While the country principle starts off

with verse six, sowing and reaping, that's called country, sowing and reaping, planting and harvesting,

because that's what you do in the country. All right. He brings up another word. He that scatters

verse nine, what are you scattering? Verse 10, he who supplied seeds to the sower.

So we got sowing, reaping and seeds. All that's country. When you go to the country

and Thamadel has a seed, grace is embedded in the seed. A watermelon is big from the seed.

Who would have thought it? Because God in His grace embedded in the seed, something bigger than the

seed is already embedded in God's creation. Okay. Who would have thought that out of an acorn?

We got this huge oak tree. Who would have thought that in the seed of the acorn is the life of an oak?

Because God has built in, watch this, into His creation, something bigger than you start with.

Grace is that way. You may hear the concept until you see the expansion.

But it's possible to have the world's best seed and still wind up without a crop.

Dr. Evans will talk about why that can happen when he continues our message in a moment.

First, though, today's lesson is part of Tony's powerful two-volume series called the magnificent

grace of God. In these 12 lessons, Tony explains what grace really is, not just a theological word,

but the very foundation of our relationship with God. You'll discover how grace not only saves you,

but strengthens you, restores you, and reshapes the way you live every single day.

When you make a contribution to help us keep Tony's teaching on this station,

we'll say thanks by sending you both volumes of this series, available on CD, USB Flash Drive,

or instantly downloadable MP3s. And for a limited time, we'll also include Tony's devotional book

Anchored by Grace. This encouraging resource will help you learn to apply the reality of God's grace

personally and consistently in your life. You can request this special resource package today

at TonyEvans.org or call 1-800-832-22 anytime of the day or night to make the arrangements.

That's 1-800-803-222. I'll repeat that contact information for you after part two of today's

message and this. On the Unbound Podcast, Dr. Tony Evans brings honest stories to

light, guests bring thoughtful insights on topics like love, marriage, and how they relate to faith.

There's something about being seen in your pain. I wouldn't allow myself ever to admit how lonely

I was. It's not wrong to ask God questions. It's wrong to question God. From broken marriages to

restored hope. God still raises marriages from the dead. Unbound with Dr. Tony Evans.

Listen and subscribe to the Unbound Podcast on Dr. Evans YouTube channel or on your favorite

podcast platform. Right now, let's get back to today's lesson. You only see what's in the seed

when the seed has been planted. And Farmadell loves Jesus. Farmadell loves Jesus. He comes to

church every Sunday morning because he loves him from Jesus. He sings songs. He listens to the

sermon. Farmadell loves the ministry of the work. In fact, Farmadell gets up every morning and has

devotions. And he spends his precious time with God. Farmadell will sing hymns throughout the day.

And Farmadell will thank God for all that God has done. Farmadell even thanks God for the seed.

After his prayer, after his worship, after his farming, after his prayer for reign and sunshine,

he gives thanksgiving to God. But after all of that, Farmadell is not planted to seed.

Farmadell does everything but what the requirement is for the seed to do what the seed was designed

to do. And that is expanded. See, we have a lot of folk who tell God I have a need who won't plan

a seed. But they'll go to church. They'll praise God. They'll wave their hand in the air like

they just don't care. He says, you sow the seed in order to reap the harvest. And it's true.

Not only related to money, it's true of life. Luke 638, give and it will be given to you. Press

down, flowing over. The key word is it. In other words, whatever you want from God, give two gods

so he can expand it. The widow of Zeraphath ran out of food. God told her to give some food to the

prophet Elijah. But how could I give food to the prophet Elijah when I hardly have any food? He says,

believe me about the need by planting a seed. Because planting a seed shows you have faith in

me as your source. So when she gave to Elijah, it says, and she and her son did not run out of food

because when she planted the seed, God met the need because of the demonstration of faith

and the realization that God was her source. Now, let me make sure you understand. There is always

a gap in time between sewing and reaping. You don't sow today and reap tomorrow. That's not how

that works. You'll plant corn a day and look for a stock tomorrow. That's not how that works.

Underneath the soil, the seed is developing. It's opening up. It's starting to sprout. But you can't

see it because it's hidden. But behind the hidden purposes of God, there is development. So here's

the problem. A lot of folk want to sow and want to reap who don't want to spiritually develop.

See, they want their blessing. They may even do something on the front end, but they have very

little concern for their spiritual development. And so God can't trust them with the reap. He says,

so that it produces thanksgiving to God and notice at the end of verse 10, so that you increase the

harvest of your righteousness. So God is concerned with your spiritual development, not just with your

bank account and what new money he can give you and what new job he can give you and what new career

opportunity. That may be what you're praying for, but that's not just what God is after. He is

after seeing you produce more righteousness. So if you have planted a seed and if you're waiting for

him to meet a need, make sure you're developing spiritually so he can trust you with the result.

Because he doesn't want to waste his watermelon and his corn and everything else on people who are

going to abuse it, misuse it and throw it away. But all that depends on God. It depends on God's

sunshine. It depends on God's rain. It depends on whether you sow what you sow. He says,

how much you sow. Don't expect a big crop if you sow sparingly. So this is a mindset.

If you understand grace and that it has been completely provided, everything for all of your

life has already been put on deposit. And I mean everything. Verse 9 and 8 says that.

For every good work, for every legitimate thing he has, it's already ready to be given. You

access it, but you don't earn it. But if you don't know that, then you will spin your life trying

to earn God's favor, trying to manipulate his response. And so everything is produced after

it's kind. Genesis 1, 12, apples produce apples, oranges produce oranges,

pairs produce pairs. Everything is after his own kind. So that's why he says, give it the thing

you need. Let that God see it. Let's show the relationship. Ruth wanted a relationship,

needed a relationship. So she gave a relationship to Naomi and she got a relationship. See God has

this thing worked out where the need is already built into the seed. It's already built in

and is built in by grace. So you've got to think farming. You've got to think farming so that you

are enriched, he says. Not tricked, not manipulated. Philippius chapter 4 verses 18 and 19. Paul says,

because of your kindness to me, my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory

in Christ Jesus. So when you plant the seed, you set in motion, God's harvesting process.

So here's our problem. The average Christian gives God 2.7 percent of their income. That's the

average person, which means there's a lot of theft going on in the kingdom of God.

People wearing stolen clothes, driving stolen cars, living in stolen houses,

because they weak by month, by month, a year by year, rob God while asking God to bless them.

Why would you bless a thief? Why would you honor a thief? Somebody who steals and rob you,

but they say, give me the key to the kingdom. Now here's a way a lot of people get frustrated,

they say, well, tithing was under the law. That was under the law. That's Old Testament.

Well, first of all, they haven't read their Bibles fully. It was under the law, but it was also under

grace. Hebrews chapter 7 verse 8 says, in the New Testament, they gave ties, but the issue is why.

Why would they give 10 percent under grace? They gave it under law. The law meant you have to.

Grace means thank you. Two different mindsets. The Bible says in chapter 5 of Hebrews,

Jesus is after the Order of Melchizedek. Now most Christians don't know who

Melchizedek was. Melchizedek was the King of Salem, and he's called the King of Righteousness,

and the Bible says, Jesus is after the Order of that is in the priestly line of Melchizedek.

Let me tell you about Melchizedek. God gave Abraham deliverance from his enemies. He gave him

victory, and out of Abraham's gratitude for victory, he gave a tie, the Bible says, to

Melchizedek, and this all happened before the law. The law came with Moses. Abraham was

long before Moses. You and I are called the children of Abraham, not the children of Moses.

So before Moses came was Abraham, and Abraham gave to Melchizedek. Why did Abraham give a tie to

Melchizedek to express to the priest his gratitude for victory? He was so grateful for victory

that he demonstrated it with the tie before there was the law. Watch this. Jesus is after the Order

of Melchizedek. That is, he is in the priestly line, not of Moses and Aaron, but of Melchizedek.

And just as Melchizedek watched this, this is deep. Received that tie for the purpose of Abraham

expressing his gratitude for victory since Jesus is after the Order or the priestly line of

Melchizedek. He receives the same tie for the same purpose. What is the purpose to thank God for

victory? Satan doesn't have the last say so. The good news of grace today is he's already victorious

over your pain. He's victorious over your problem. He's victorious over your circumstances. And even

though you haven't experienced yet, you thank God by faith for his victorious favor, for you are

more than conquerors to him who loved you and gave himself for you. So it's all a response

to the grace of God. And when you understand that you are victorious in Christ, then that is not

a problem you're trying to get out of. It's an opportunity you're trying to take advantage of.

There has never been one month in my life that I can recall where we did not give our

tithe and an offering on top of that. When we thought of this church, we were making $900

a month, $900. When I was in seminary, we made $350 a month and still we would always put God

first and then believe God that in the seed he would meet the need. And it would be the exercise

of faith, even when we couldn't see how it would be answered that God would demonstrate.

So in here at this church, you will not be manipulated. You will not be tricked. We will keep you

informed of what's going on. And then we will believe that if we make grace big enough,

if we make God's favor big enough, if you see God working big enough, then you will be self-motivated

to say things, not manipulated into having to do something that's not in your heart to do.

And as long as we do that, we'll have the joy of the Lord.

Dr. Evans will return in a moment with a final story that'll get you thinking about what's

really valuable. First though, today's lesson is titled Giving by Grace. And you can hear

additional material in the full-length version that's included when you download or request the

magnificent Grace of God series on CD or USB flash drive. As I mentioned earlier, all 12 messages

in this two-volume collection are our gift to you when you make a donation to support the

alternative broadcast ministry. And for a limited time, along with the audio series,

we're also including a copy of the companion devotional book Anchored by Grace.

This is a special bundle that will only be around for a short time, so be sure to contact us

right away. Just drop by TonyEvans.org where you can get all the details and make your donation

online. Again, that's TonyEvans.org or you can call our 24-hour resource center at 1-800-832-22

and let one of our friendly team members help you. That number again, 1-800-800-3222.

It's always easier to carry a burden when you're walking beside someone who truly

understands. And tomorrow, Dr. Evans will point out where you can find that someone.

Right now, though, he's back with this final thought for today.

David Simpson robbed a bank of $6,000 in Ottawa, Canada. What he used to rob the bank with was a

1918-45 semi-automatic gun. Now, a 1918-45 semi-automatic gun is worth $100,000. But because he was

ignorant of what he had in his hand, because he was ignorant of what he possessed, he lost the use

of something more valuable to get something less valuable. I'm here to tell you today,

if you ever discover what God is like and His grace is like in His hand, then you won't have to

use Him to get something less, because you'll already have something more.