It Grows with Boldness | Grace Like a River

♪♪ Welcome to Reach, Casey, everybody. It's so great to have you with us. I just want to invite y'all to stand up and join in. Go ahead. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ And reign in power ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call you Jesus ♪ ♪ I call you, I call you savior ♪ ♪ Worthy of glory forever ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call you Jesus ♪ ♪ I call you, I call you healer ♪ ♪ Risen and reigned in power ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call you Jesus ♪ ♪ I call you, I call you savior ♪ ♪ Worthy of glory forever ♪ ♪ Something comes out of the grave ♪ ♪ Every time I call your name ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ You're so sweet into my sex ♪ ♪ It's so every heart can cry ♪ ♪ As I know there is peace within your presence ♪ ♪ As it turns my case ♪ ♪ I just wanna see the way you tease us ♪ ♪ Till every dark addiction starts to break in ♪

♪ And when there is hope and there is fear ♪ ♪ I'll teach you this love ♪ ♪ Your name is power, your name is healing, your name is life ♪ ♪ Your name is power, your name is healing, your name is life ♪ ♪ Break every stronghold and shine through the shadows ♪ ♪ Burn like a fire ♪ ♪ And I just wanna speak the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Over fear and all anxiety ♪ ♪ Till every soul is captivated by depression ♪ ♪ I see Jesus ♪ ♪ Your name is power, your name is healing, your name is life ♪ ♪ Break every stronghold and shine through the shadows ♪ ♪ Burn like a fire ♪ ♪ Your name is power, your name is healing, your name is life ♪ ♪ Break every stronghold and shine through the shadows ♪ ♪ Burn like a fire ♪ ♪ Shout Jesus from the mountains, Jesus in the trees ♪ ♪ Jesus in the darkness and over every enemy ♪ ♪ Jesus for my family, I speak your holy name, Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus ♪ ♪ Shout Jesus from the mountains, Jesus in the trees ♪ ♪ Jesus in the darkness and over every enemy ♪ ♪ Jesus for my family, I speak your holy name, Jesus ♪ Jesus, we shout Jesus. Shout Jesus from the mountains, Jesus in the streets, Jesus in the darkness over every enemy. Jesus, for my family, I speak your holy name.

Jesus, your name, your name is power, your name is healing, your name is life. Oh yes it is. Break every stronghold, shine through the shadows, burn like a fire. Jesus, your name, your name is power, your name is healing, your name is life. Break every stronghold, shine through the shadows, burn like a fire. I just wanna speak the name of Jesus over every heart and every mind cause I know there is peace within his presence. I speak Jesus. I speak Jesus. Here is where I lay it down, every burden, every vow. This is my surrender. This is my surrender. Here is where I lay it down, every lie and every vow. This is my surrender. And I will make room for you. So do whatever you want to do. So do whatever you want to do.

And I will make room for you. So do whatever you want to do. So do whatever you want to do. Here is where I lay it down, every burden, every vow. This is my surrender. This is my surrender. Here is where I lay it down, every lie and every vow. This is my surrender. And I will make room for you. So do whatever you want to do. So do whatever you want to do. And I will make room for you. So do whatever you want to do. So do whatever you want to do. And I will make room for you. So do whatever you want to do. So do whatever you want to do. And I will make room for you. So do whatever you want to do. So do whatever you want to do. ♪♪ ♪ Shake up the ground, all my traditions. ♪ ♪ Break down the walls, all my religions. ♪ ♪ Your way's better, your way's better. ♪ ♪ Shake up the ground, all my traditions. ♪ ♪ Break down the walls, all my religions. ♪ ♪ Your way's better, your way's better. ♪ ♪ Shake up the ground, all my traditions. ♪

♪ Break down the walls, all my religions. ♪ ♪ Your way's better, your way's better. ♪ ♪ Shake up the ground, all my traditions. ♪ ♪ Break down the walls, all my religions. ♪ ♪ Your way's better, your way's better. ♪ ♪ Your way's better, your way's better. ♪ ♪ ♪ And I will make you. ♪ ♪ To do whatever you want to do. ♪ ♪ And I will make you. ♪ ♪ To do whatever you want to do. ♪ Whatever you want to, Lord. You can do whatever you want to, Lord. You can do whatever you want to in our families. You can do whatever you want to in our finances. You can do whatever you want to in our friendships. I just have your way. I just have your way. God, cultivate our hearts this morning. Let us just feel your presence in this place this morning, God. That we would remove every distraction. That we would remove everything that is not of you, God. And we would just lay it all down at the altar this morning. We would lay it all down at the feet of Jesus, God. Lord, we give you praise. We thank you for everything that you're doing. We thank you for all that you are, God. All that you've done. Lord, may we just bring our praise to you this morning. May we lay it down at the foot of the cross.

May we just worship you today in Jesus' name. Come on, can we give a shout of praise to the Lord this morning? Come on, can we give a shout of praise to the Lord this morning? Come on, let's let the heavens hear us. Amen. Hallelujah. Amen. Hey, somebody turn to your neighbor. Give them a high five. Give them a fist bump. Say, man, it is so good to see you today. In Jesus' name. Hallelujah. Hey, now turn to your second choice. And say, hey, you aren't my second choice. You are God's first choice. Some of them that you thought was your second choice was your spouse. And that's messed up. They're saying, see, you keep putting me behind everybody else. That should not be a word. Amen. And I just believe that what the Lord is wanting to do today is just supernatural. And I just, sometimes I just think, man, Lord, I am just so glad that I am a part of something healthy that God is just doing in my life. And man, you're just, I mean, have you ever thought about how few things in life. actually outlive us. I mean think about it like the cars that we drive, the warranties wear out, the engines wear out, the tires wear out, everything wears out. The clothes that we buy, they start getting holes in them look. That's my Sunday jeans, amen. They're holy. The homes we buy that we live in, they don't last forever. They break down. We've got to hire people to fix them and do stuff but Jesus tells us this in Matthew 6. He says, hey don't don't store up your treasures

here on earth but store up your treasures in heaven because what is invested in eternity never loses its value. Never. That's why I love what God is doing through Reach KC. Literally every Sunday we get to watch eternity happen. People are surrendering their lives to Jesus for the very first time. There are people that are coming back to Jesus that may have wandered away and we get to see people surrender their lives. Families being restored right here, amen. We get to see children that are learning the Word of God and and and aligning their lives with it and just being able to be invested in. We see men that are finding freedom. Find men that are finding freedom through the Reach homes even. Men that are finding, come on somebody, we get to see people on Pando give their lives to Jesus. I was talking with a friend the other night and I was like hey man hold up a second I'm gonna pull this up. Pulled it up and hadn't looked at it in a while. Nine million views across the states of the United States and Pando and and people just watching. That's nine million times somebody said I'm gonna watch that. I'm gonna believe that that could change my life. I'm gonna watch that. Almost 6,000 people out of those nine million views has has hit that I want to accept Jesus Christ for the first time in my life and and is happening. I don't remember the number but like a hundred and thirty two institutions over 28 states or something like that that people have written letters. This is what we get to to see. That's eternal. That's eternal. That's what Kingdom Builders is. That's what build 900 is. We're not building something to try to be impressive to be look at us look at us. That's not what what we're trying to do. We're we're trying to build enough room for what God is already doing and wants to continue to do here. So every wall that we build every piece of sheetrock that we hang every chair that we set up every classroom that we prepare is simply just making room for another story of God's grace. Every single one and the truth is is one day somebody's gonna walk in this building that you never have even known. They're gonna hear the gospel and eternity is gonna change forever because that individual was added to the kingdom and when that happens something in my heart shifts because your

generosity becomes part of their testimony. Literally every single one of and we get to be a part of this and and I love that about generosity it isn't just about what leaves our hands it's about what what places into someone else's life when we give. We're not just given to a project we're investing in people. So when we give that's what what happens recently I've been talking about this for the last few months and I've or the last month or so last few weeks and I've said that we've had a a generous family that has said that hey because we're almost there if you we have a building that's 38,000 square foot on seven acres it's it's off of Sniobar and Blue Ridge and you can go drive by there's a sign out there you'll be able to see it you know and you can just drive to the parking lot and pray over that Joker but we're almost there and we're gonna be able to be in this wonderful place and we've got about two hundred two hundred fifty thousand dollars to raise and we had a family come to us on on July 4th weekend and say hey we want to see you get into that building so we're willing to give you a hundred thousand dollars matching funds but you got to raise a hundred grand like okay that was what not even a month ago and here in a couple of days because we have a check coming in that I know about we'll have $50,000 of that hundred thousand hey and this this is honestly because of the faithful giving of the people here nobody in here saying well I gave just a hundred grand or I gave 50 grand no it's because everybody has pulled their weight everybody has been doing and what could God do through you we could get some ushers to come forward one of the things that you could you can scan that QR code there it'll get you the church app it'll get you some information you can give you can see on there the different ways to give if you wanted to give towards that matching fund you can scan that next slide right that's coming up and that's build 900 that will allow you to make a pledge that goes directly towards that hundred thousand dollar matching fund let's pray father we just thank you but I believe that what you are doing here is supernatural and everything that you want to just continue to do is honestly leaving us in all so God I just pray that you would

just continue to enamor us with your provision enamor us with your ways that are higher than our ways and God we pray that we would just surrender our thoughts surrender our hearts surrender our wallets surrender everything that we have God to you so that you can do what only you can do in this place in Jesus name amen what's up reach Casey I'm Tim the director of reach homes first of all we'd like to welcome you and we're glad that you're here another great way to be driven by commitment here at reach is to get plugged in with growth track even though 101 started today you can have an opportunity next week get here at 10 a.m. meet with Scott and Jen and the 101 classroom and we'll get you plugged in another great opportunity for discipleship is men's and women's retreat at cross point camp in beautiful Lake of the Ozarks women's retreat September 17th through the 19th men's retreat the 24th through the 26th go ahead and pull out your phone get on the Church Center app under the events tab you'll find a link for registration to women's or men's retreat get signed up get plugged in and prepare for a great weekend of fun and fellowship let's work on earning that better seat in heaven pull out your notebooks and your pens take some notes and get plugged into today's message come on somebody hey y'all didn't know y'all didn't know Tim Tim had that did you we recruited him straight out of Hollywood and we are just thankful that that they released him to us and so amen okay yeah that yeah it is what it is first service received it the same and so amen ain't nothing changed but the game so and we just you know I'm just so thankful for what the Lord is doing and you know when we when we say this when we say welcome home we don't say it lightly we want you to be like this is a place that you can just feel welcome that you can feel no matter your background no matter where you came from no matter your mistakes in life we believe that God has something in store for you and that he can do extraordinary things through you and so we just want to welcome you and just believe God's best for your life amen amen and it's just you know it's an honor to be able to do what God has called us to do and we're going through this sermon series it's called it starts with boldness and we've been looking at

the book of Acts and kind of behind this theme of the church on the move you see the church kind of launch into action whenever Jesus ascended into heaven and at the end of the Gospels and in the beginning of Acts and then he sends power and so we we started with it starts with power and then now we're in it grows with boldness and for a little bit of time that I have today here I want to talk from the topic if you're taking notes grace like a river grace like a river a reservoir and a river can both hold water right but they do not hold water in the same way a reservoir actually collects water and keeps it contained it's actually measured by how much water that it can actually store but a river is different a river remains alive right it's it's fluid It moves and it goes through it and it's alive because what flows into it must flow through it. See, a river, water comes in one side and it moves through the channel and it brings life wherever it grows. Literally, crops are nourished by them. Trees grow alongside the banks. Animals drink from it. Literally, communities are sustained by it. A river does not lose its purpose by releasing what it carries. In fact, it fulfills its purpose by releasing what it carries. And I wonder how many times we have looked at God's blessing with the mentality of a reservoir. Like how much can I hold? How much can I store up? How much can I keep for myself? But God never intended his blessings to stop with us. Every resource that God has placed into our lives,

whether it be our finances, whether it be our abilities, whether it be our influence, is meant to become a channel through which his grace can reach somebody else. See, the tragedy is that sometimes God keeps pouring into our lives, but somewhere along the way, we stop allowing it to flow through us. See, we want God to bless us, but we do not always ask why he blessed us. See, we ask God to put more into our hands while gripping tightly to what he is already giving us. But what if, what if the reason God placed it in your hands was not simply to just increase your comfort? What if he placed it in your hand because there was a need somewhere else downstream that you couldn't even see yet? What if somebody else's prayer is connected to something that he has already entrusted to you? See, today, I wanna show you what happens when a church stops being a reservoir and becomes a river. And so the first point that I wanna talk from today is this, if you're taking notes, as Tim said, we all know you get a better seat in heaven. The first point is this, is grace changes our grip. Grace changes our grip. Grace changes what we hold on to. It changes how we hold on to things.

Acts 4, 34 says this, all the believers were in heart and mind, were united in heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own. And so they shared everything that they had. See, Luke begins this passage by describing what the grace of God had produced within the church. See, these believers came from different places. They had different backgrounds. They had different personalities. They came from all over the map. They came from all around Jerusalem and beyond Jerusalem, and they had different levels of wealth. And yet Luke says that they had become one heart and mind. See, the gospel hadn't made them identical. It had made them family. And the evidence of their unity was not limited to what they said or what they sang. Come on, somebody. It reached all the way into how they handled their possessions. See, grace moved them literally from ownership to stewardship. Luke never said that the believers stopped owning property. In fact, the verses that follow tell us that some of them still possessed land and houses, but rather he says that they had felt that what they owned was not their own.

See, they still owned things legally, but they no longer held them selfishly. See, that's the difference between ownership and stewardship. Ownership says, this belongs to me. It's mine. You know, the first word that every child learns, mine. Mine. And that's how we treat some of the stuff that God has given us. But stewardship says, God entrusted this to me, so I must ask what he wants to accomplish through it. See, grace changed their relationship with their possessions. See, the church's attitude towards possessions literally testified to the lordship and kingship of Jesus. See, if Jesus is truly Lord, then guess what? He is Lord over more than just our Sundays. He is Lord over our homes. He is the Lord over our families. He is the Lord over our opportunities. He is the Lord over our resources. And inevitably, he is the Lord. over our finances. Generosity is not primarily about how much money leaves our hands. It's about whether money still controls our hearts. See, it's easy to call Jesus Lord when we're talking about salvation. It's easy to call Jesus Lord

when we're talking about 6,000 people getting saved on Pando. It's easy to call Jesus Lord when we're singing about him in Jesus or in worship. ♪ I know a name, Lord, I worship you. ♪ See, it's easy to say that Jesus is Lord when we need him to heal our family, when we need him to deliver us of an addiction, when we need him to protect us from something that's happening. It's easy when we're asking him to provide for us, but if Jesus is truly Lord, then he is Lord over everything. See, he is the Lord over our time. He is the Lord over our talents. He is the Lord over our businesses. He is the Lord over our bank accounts. He is the Lord over our possessions, our houses, our vehicles. He is the Lord over our plans for the future. Hear me, church, we cannot surrender our souls to Jesus while declaring that our resources are off limits. You can't do it. See, some of us have told Jesus, you can have my worship, but you can't have my wallet. See, you can have my Sundays, but you can't have my schedule. See, you can have my song. I'm gonna sing it to you, Lord. You can have my song, but you cannot have my sacrifice. But see, lordship doesn't work that way, church. Anything we refuse to surrender can eventually enslave us.

Anything that we refuse to surrender can eventually become something that rules us. That's why generosity is more than just a financial issue. See, generosity is a lordship issue. See, the greatest competition for the human heart is not always another God. It's not always another religion. Sometimes it is the security that we find in what we already possess. But Jesus said it best in Matthew 6 when he said, you cannot serve God in money. He didn't say you cannot have money. He said that you cannot serve money, why? Because money is a useful servant, but it is a terrible master. See, generosity literally reveals who owns our hearts. You can give a large amount without being surrendered. You can give what appears to be a little bitty amount while demonstrating tremendous faith, but God doesn't only look at what we give. He looks at what our giving reveals. See, our giving reveals what we trust and who we trust. See, it reveals actually what we value. It reveals what we prioritize, and it reveals what we truly believe about God's provision. This is why generosity to me is so deeply spiritual, because giving confronts our desire for control. See, it forces us to answer the question, do I really believe that God can take care of me if I release what he has placed in my hand?

Do I really believe that God is powerful enough, omnipotent enough, omniscient enough? Do I really believe that God is the God of all creation? Do I believe that God is Jehovah Jireh? Do I believe that he actually has the ability to sustain me and take me where he has called me to go if I actually release this? See, as long as everything remains tightly gripped in our hands, we may say we trust God, but generosity gives that trust a visible expression. See, faith is not only demonstrated by what we receive. See, that's what we say a lot of times. Like, we get because we have faith, or we don't get enough because we don't have enough faith. But faith is also demonstrated by what we are willing to release. See, nobody in this passage was forced to give. Nobody was being taxed by the apostles. Nobody was being manipulated by emotional pressure. Their generosity was voluntary. Why? Because it was produced by grace. They weren't asking, what's the minimum amount I must give so they could check a box? They were asking, what has grace made me willing to release? And that distinction matters to me because compulsion may produce a transaction, but grace can produce transformation. So you give out a compulsion, okay, yeah, you made a transaction,

but grace produces transformation. We don't give because the church is trying to get something from us. We give because grace has already done something within us. I mean I have literally watched this happen right here at Reach KC. Some of what God has allowed us to do would have been impossible if people would have looked at everything that they possessed and said this is mine and nobody else can touch it. We've watched people literally give money and it has even gone far beyond money. People have given furniture, they've given vehicles, they've given food, they've opened doors, they've used their connections and donated their time, they've made their skills available. This is how ministry happens. It doesn't happen because one person can do everything. It happens when an entire church decides that everything that God has entrusted to me is available for his mission. When we began stepping into some of the things that God was calling us to do as a church, we never had everything we needed. In fact, we still don't have everything we needed. That's why we're asking matching funds, amen? We've never had unlimited resources but we've had people with surrendered hearts and I have learned that when God finds surrendered hearts he can put enough in their hands to accomplish his purpose. Here's a fact that I see when I'm reading through Scripture. A healthy church is a generous church. Read Acts 2 and read Acts 4. When people are getting saved by the truckload, I mean people, just thousands and thousands of people are getting saved, it says that they shared their possessions, they released it, they laid it at the Apostles feet, they let go of some of these things. See, we often measure a health of a church by attendance or by worshipper. Is the preaching hitting or not? Or growth? And these things matter but Acts shows us that generosity is also evidence of spiritual health and spiritual maturity. See, a healthy church does not only know how to receive the Word, it knows how to respond to needs. A healthy church does not only lift their hands in worship, it opens their hands in generosity. See, Barnabas couldn't solve every

problem in Jerusalem but he could surrender his field. See, you may not be able to meet every need but you can make what you have available to God. See, generosity begins when we stop seeing things merely as possessions and start seeing them as instruments of God's purpose. See, do not underestimate church what God can do through something that you have placed in the category of ordinary. Because what's ordinary in your hand can become extraordinary when it's surrendered to God. Don't underestimate. So the question today is not whether you possess anything, everybody has something. The question is whether what you possess is it available to God. Because see, grace doesn't just change where we go when we die. Grace changes how we live. It changes how we love. It changes how we possess what we and what we possess and what we do with what we possess while we're still alive. See, the evidence that grace had captured their hearts was that greed could no longer keep their hands closed. See, because when grace gets into your heart, when grace gets into your heart, generosity gets into your hands. Which leads me to my second point. Generosity gives the gospel credibility. Generosity gives the gospel credibility. Acts 433, with great power and with great power, the Apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and God's grace was so powerfully at work in them. Now hold on, wait. We just went from everybody sold their stuff and laid it down at the Apostles feet and now we're talking about the Apostles preaching with power. At first glance, this verse actually seems like what they call a literary interruption. See, Luke has been describing unity and generosity of the church and then suddenly he mentions the Apostles preaching with resurrection, the resurrection with great power. This actually isn't a change of subject. Luke is showing them that are showing us that their proclamation and their generosity actually belongs together. See, the resurrection was not merely something they preached from a platform. Resurrection power was producing a new kind of people. Selfish people were becoming generous. Strangers were becoming family. They didn't all know each other. Possessions We're becoming instruments of ministry.

The resurrection was heard through their preaching, but it was seen through their living. So how else, how else do you explain people from different backgrounds becoming one heart and one mind? We can't get 20 people together and all agree. There was like 20,000 at this point. How else do you explain people loosening their grip on what they had spent their entire lives accumulating? How do we explain a community where people valued the needs of others above their own comfort? This is not natural human behavior. Our natural tendency is to protect what is ours. Let somebody walk in your house and try to take something that ain't yours. You gonna pull out rat-a-tat-tat. You can't even hold a rat-a-tat-tat, legally. But you still got one. Because we got to protect what's ours. We accumulate more. Our natural tendency is to work hard, save more, make big things, do this, and look after ourselves first and foremost. But when resurrection power entered the church, it didn't only change what they believed, it changed how they behaved. See, grace was not just something they received from God. Grace became something that flowed through them towards others.

Grace that only stops with us has not yet accomplished everything that God intended it to accomplish. God comforts us so we can comfort others. God forgives us so that we can forgive others. God strengthens us so that we can strengthen others. And God provides for us so that when he leads us, we can become part of the provision for others. Generosity makes an invisible gospel visible. Literally. We preach about a Savior who gave himself, but the credibility of that message is weakened when his church refuses to give anything. Think about that. We preach that Jesus left heaven, he humbled himself, he took on the form of a servant, he was seen among men, dwelt among angels. 1 Timothy talks about this, but then we become so protective of our comfort that we will not inconvenience ourselves for a single person. See, we preach for God so loved the world that he gave. Giving is literally woven through the entire heart of the gospel. The Father gave his Son, Jesus gave his life, the Spirit gives us power, and when the gospel takes root in us, we become people who give. That's what it is. Not because generosity earns salvation,

but because salvation produces generosity. We are never more like Jesus than when we willingly give, especially for the good of somebody else. You want to represent Jesus? Give. We are never more like him than when we willingly give for the sake of somebody else. The gospel says that Jesus saw us in our need and did not remain distant. He stepped into our condition and gave what we could never provide for ourselves. Therefore, when the church sees pain, when the church sees poverty or brokenness, we cannot preach a Savior who came near while choosing to remain comfortably distant. Just don't line up. People are listening to what we preach, but they're also watching what we prioritize, church. They watch what we celebrate. They watch what we sacrifice for. I've seen businessmen that have their men working, doing things for churches and doing things for the church, and they don't understand. They say, I don't know why boss man is doing all this stuff, but it amazes me that he does this for the church. Why? Because generosity is an earmark of what Jesus really truly is, and unsaved people are watching you. Church people are watching you.

And when they see generosity, it marks something. They watch whether we care about people when they can only benefit us or whether we give ourselves to people who can never repay us. See, the gospel gains credibility when our generosity matches our message. And if it gains credibility when our generosity matches our message, I would assume that it loses credibility when our generosity doesn't match our message. See, sometimes the strongest evidence that Jesus changed lives is a church willing to invest in the lives that everybody else has written off. One of the greatest dangers of the church that they are facing is the distance between what we proclaim and what we practice. See, we preach sacrifice, but we protect our comfort. We preach that we believe in the vision. We believe it, we do, but we refuse to ever give sacrificially towards it. See, we preach that eternity is real, but spend everything that we have as if this world is all there ever is. And believe it or not, that gap damages our witness. And the answer to that gap is not to weaken our message. The answer is for every one of us to bring our lives into alignment with it. See, the early church had a message that believed so deeply that it changed how they handled everything they possessed. Their lives were literally saying, we really believe that Jesus is alive. We really believe that people truly matter. We really believe that eternity is real. And we really believe that what we possess belongs 100% to God. And we really believe that the mission of the church is worth our sacrifice. What would our generosity tell those around us about the Jesus that we preach? What would our generosity? I'm not talking about just your tithing and giving 10% to the church. I'm talking about being generous people. I used to run a business, made a lot of money. I know what it's like to handle money. I believe God allowed me to run that business so that I could handle the church at large scale and large capacity, because $100,000 checks don't intimidate me. And we was at

Pizza Ranch, because that's where my budget is nowadays, because I don't have a business, amen? We took seven of us there last night, and it felt like 29, and they told you the price. I was like, let's go to Golden Corral. Is it any cheaper? Can we get to-go boxes here? They should be called Chicken Ranch. But we were there, and I had two teenage boys there and myself, and so there was a lot of empty plates on this table. And this lady was working her heart out, man. I mean, she was just, I mean, she was touching it. I mean, she came, I think, every 10 seconds and was getting like a whole stack of plates. I was impressed at the plates that she was carrying. And my wife said, hey, do you have any cash? And you know, you typically go to these places, and you get like two bucks for a tip, you know? And I walked out, and I said, I think I got some cash in my console. And I walked out there, and I looked, and I had a $10 bill, and I thought, hey, you know what? That's the least I could do. Our bill was 118 bucks, you know what I mean, for seven of us. I mean, I could at least tip her. And as I was walking back in, I remember the thought that I had, and it was like, man, I miss being generous for no reason. I love, like, have you ever tipped somebody a hundred bucks, like, that sucked? You're like, why would I do that? I remember one time, we went to Carrabba's. Rest its soul. It was fire, and they closed that joker down. But we was at Carrabba's one day, and I remember we had this waiter, and for whatever reason, I don't remember, but we gave him a hundred bucks. And I remember we walked out, and you know, you like hide it under the plate so that nobody, like, it don't draw attention to you, and you just want to hurry up. Come on, kids, let's go. We're trying to get out of here. And I remember we got out to the car, and literally the dude came out the fire exit of the side of the thing. I mean, I thought, like, I didn't know what was happening. I thought the building was burning down or something, and he was leading the way. I mean, he came out. I thought he had a Superman vest on, all kinds of stuff, and he come out, and he looked dead at my eyes, and he knocks on the window, and he says, Why did you do that?

I said, because God loves you, man. Jesus gave his life for you. Nothing testifies to the gospel more than your generosity. What would our generosity tell those around us about the Jesus that we preach? They see us pray, but they also see us not tip. My wife used to be a waitress. She said the worst people to ever serve was Christians after church. We had some other waitresses in here. They're like, hey, man. It's terrible. It's terrible. What would it say if our city saw a church that didn't merely just gather inside buildings, but used its resources to rebuild lives outside of it? The goal is not generosity for publicity. We don't serve people so we can be seen. Jesus warned us about giving in order to receive praise from others. However, although we do not give in order to be noticed, genuine love will eventually become noticeable. We don't manufacture a witness, but generosity naturally creates one. When a church lives to give, the city sees something different. It sees people who are not controlled by comfort. It sees resources being redirected towards restoration. It sees believers who do more than just say that they care church. Our city does not only need to hear that Jesus is alive. It needs to see what a living Jesus can do

through a surrendered people that call themselves the church. Because when our lives agree with our lips, our testimony carries weight. The gospel literally gains credibility when our generosity matches our message. But a culture like this does not develop because everybody waits for somebody else to move. It begins when one person sees the need and releases what God has placed in their hand and decides, I'll go first. I will go first. I will lead the way. Which leads me to my third point. Somebody has to go first. Somebody's got to do it. Who's willing to crash out? I mean, who's willing to be a crash, and say, I'm going to go. I'm willing. Hey, I'll line up. I'm going to go first. Well, to me, when we're talking about it, it seems like the $100,000 matching giver would. When he said, hey, I believe so much in this vision. I'm willing to sacrifice $100,000, and I'm willing to go first. Who's willing to line up behind me and give? Who's willing to see what can happen? Who's willing to believe that the vision is going to come true because lives are laying on the line right now? Who's willing to believe that the 6,000 souls that were saved from Pando

are willing to get out and get plugged in to a Bible-believing, gospel-filled, spirit-filled church that can lead them to true sanctification? Somebody has to go first. Acts 4. For there was not a needy person. So we pick back up. They were preaching. Everybody sold their stuff. Well, not everybody, but they were selling their stuff. Then all of the sudden, the disciples or the apostles start preaching powerfully, and now we come back to, for there was not a needy person among them. Because all those who owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid them at the apostles' feet. This was then distributed to each person as any had need by the apostles. And Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, by birth, the one who the apostles called Barnabas, which we're going to learn a lot about later, sold a field that he owned and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. See, this passage begins with a movement throughout the church when it says, all those who owned lands and houses sold them, but then Luke chooses

one person and calls them by name. Joseph, the one whom the apostles called Barnabas. Why? Because Luke moves from a generous congregation to a generous congregant. Why? Because every culture eventually has to become personal. It's easy. It's easy to celebrate a church that is generous while never asking what generosity actually requires from us individually. It's easy to celebrate a church that has somebody giving $100,000 matching funds. We're telling everybody, man, you won't believe it, man. Our church, man, it's growing. And man, like somebody, they decided to give $100,000 and they're like, oh, really? What did you do? give? Oh, nothing. Somebody else gave a hundred grand. Why do I need to give anything? Because we don't get that hundred grand if we don't raise a hundred grand. See, it's easy to say somebody else should step up, but Barnabas didn't wait for somebody. Barnabas became somebody. See, Barnabas turned compassion into action. He saw that what God was doing through the church and he saw that people were being saved. He saw lives being changed and he saw a genuine need arising. He could have felt compassion and done absolutely nothing. He could have prayed for somebody else to respond. Come on, let's call a prayer meeting. We're going to pray for provision, pastor. We're going to pray that God is going to do something. He could have prayed for somebody else. He could have assumed that someone else with more resources would take care of it. But instead, Barnabas looked at what God had placed in his hands and decided, if what I possess can strengthen what God is doing,

then Lord, I am willing to release everything that I have to you. See, he sold a field and he brought the proceeds and he laid them at the apostle's feet. And here's the sad reality. A need can touch your heart without ever changing somebody's life. But at some point, what moves us must move through us. See, Luke tells us that Barnabas sold a field. This was not spare change. He wasn't digging for for lint in his pocket, which I don't have any because I just found it in my pocket a minute ago. Maybe I got some in this pocket. I don't. But this wasn't spare change that he found in his pocket. Lint represented wealth. It represented potential future income. It represented security and financial stability. Barnabas released something valuable because he believed the mission of the church was more valuable. See, generosity is not defined by the amount that we give. Rather, it is defined by the surrender involved. David said this in 2 Samuel. He said, I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that has cost me nothing. He said, if I didn't feel it, if it didn't hurt when I give, if it doesn't cost me my pride, if it doesn't cost me my flesh, if it doesn't cost me my carnality, then I will not even bring it to the Lord. How do we get in that position? How do we get to a place where it says, God, if this doesn't hurt, I don't even want to bring it to you because I want to only give to you what has cost me something. See, there is a kind of giving that comes from convenience. And then there's a kind of giving that comes from conviction. See, generosity becomes conviction when giving changes something for the giver. It may change what we purchase. Hey, we don't have we don't have room for that. The kids are like, why? Because we're going to start honoring the Lord with the first part. I can't buy that squishy. Come on, somebody. Or the thousandth squishy. These things are ridiculous. They're from the pits of hell. If I hear about another squishy, I'm about to melt them all. I'm going to pray in the Holy Spirit over them, and I'm going to, I mean, we're going to have worship music and revival is going to break out. Stupid squishies. Like it. It may change what we postpone.

Maybe we say, hey, we can't we can't fully do that right now. Because we need to get to a place that we can. It may change the comforts that we enjoy. It may require us to completely rearrange our priorities so that we can start putting God first. And Barnabas believed what God was building in people was worth more than the field that he was holding. He released something temporary because he believed that God was building something eternal. What could God do through what you have been holding on to? Let me ask you this. Is there something sacrificial that God has spoken to your heart that you have the capacity to give, but it was so big that maybe you have held back? See Barnabas didn't ask questions. He brought what he had and he laid it at the apostles feet. And Luke includes this detail twice, which I think is important. Because this was more than just a physical location where the gift was placed. It was an expression of surrender and trust. He was literally saying, Hey, I believe in what God is doing through this church. I trust the leadership that God has established here. I care about the people that this ministry is serving and I want what God has given me to help move the mission forward. True generosity doesn't just give us the ability to gain control. It uses giving to advance the mission. It isn't used to just gain access to church leadership. Barnabas did not wait until everybody else was giving. He chose to model the culture that he wanted to be multiplied. See if we want to become a church that truly gives, somebody has to go first. Somebody's got to lead the way. And in my mind, leaders have to go first. Leaders must go first. I don't tell everybody this, and I don't even say this to brag, but when we talk about Build 900, guess what? I gave $10,000.

I don't want to clap. Don't clap. That's not an implausible moment. I'm saying it because I'm trying to gain credibility for the fact that people, leaders go first. We believe in the vision. Leaders go first. Mature believers go first. Business owners go first. Families go first. People that God has blessed have to decide. I will not wait for somebody else to move before I obey what God is asking of me. Some of the most significant things that God has done at Reach KC is because somebody decided to go first. Long before anybody could ever see what Reach KC was going to become, somebody came and said, I'm going to go first. I'm going to lead the way. We get to celebrate and worship in a moment that somebody else helped provide for. We get to participate in the blessing. What if? What if we did that? What if we became that person? What if we did it? A generous church is built when somebody decides, I'll go first. Why? Because somebody has to be the first one in their family to break the cycle of selfishness. Have a pastor friend stay in the night at our house or the weekend at our house and they're getting ready to go through a $6 million building campaign. They've got a million dollars in the bank already and they're trying to raise two more and they're getting a loan for four and all kinds of stuff and I'm like, wow, I thought our million was crazy.

And we were talking and he said, Hey, I'm, I'm having, he's been talking for like four months that they're bringing me out next year to preach. And he said the sermon series that we're going to be in that I'm going to have you come out is called Milk and Honey. And he said, one of the things that I really want you to bring is I want you guys, I want you to share your guys's story because we have a poverty mindset that is in our church that needs to be broken. And he said, I feel like you can speak directly to the heart of that. And I believe that even today that that poverty mindset can be broken in some of us to believe that God can do greater things than we've ever even seen in our life, greater things than we've ever even seen in our families, greater things that we've ever even seen in our personal finances. And maybe you can't see it yet, but if you start sowing seed now, you can believe that God will bring a harvest and he will break that poverty mindset in our lives and believe it because I am a witness to it. I'm not able to give $10,000 for a building campaign because I'm rich, I'm broke, and I gave it. Because I've met mine, 100%, I am funded in Jesus' name, like K-Love, fully funded. But what could God do through you? What could God do through your family? This is more than giving. What could God do through your family if you said, hey, I'm willing to go first and lay my family down. Hey, I'm willing to go first and lay my children down. Hey, I'm willing to go first and lay my relationships down. Hey, I'm willing to go first and lay my job down. God, whatever you want me to give, I am giving it to you today. I want everybody to close their eyes for just a moment. I don't typically do this, but I felt like the Lord. Who would say that God, whatever you have placed in my hands is available to you, and

if somebody has to go first, I will. I'll go. I'll be that person that becomes the generous person at my job, that becomes this person. If that's your prayer today, I want you to just open your hands before God. You can do it right on your lap. You don't have to raise them in the sky. You don't have to do this as a personal moment between you and God. Not because I know what he is asking you to release, but because you are telling him that nothing is off limits. Your resources are his. Your time is his. Your abilities are his. Your future is his, and whatever he asks you to place into his hands, you are willing to obey right now. Father, make us more than a church that talks about generosity, but make us a church that embodies it. Let the grace that has flowed to us begin flowing through us, and when you are looking for somebody willing to go first, let your eyes fall on this house, God. Let your eyes fall on each one of our lives, God, because we want to be the mark that our message matches, our message, our giving matches, our hearts match, everything, and so God, let us be those people today. Look upon this house, if I could have everybody stand with me for just a moment. Maybe you are in here today, and you say, the first thing I need to give is my life. Nobody move for just a moment. Maybe you say, I am in here today, and I need to fully surrender my heart back to the Lord, and I need to fully surrender the things of God back to him, and I just believe that what God is doing right, and I felt an unction. I don't even know what you're talking about, but man, I feel like I need to get my life right with the Lord, because I want to have this relationship that drives everything. Maybe you're in here today, and you say, I've had a personal relationship with God, but

I have walked away from him, and I haven't been walking with him the same way that I should be, but I know that the Lord is wanting to do something in my life, and I need to rededicate my life to the Lord, because I haven't been walking, so maybe you've never given your life to the Lord, or maybe you've given it to him a long time ago, but you've wandered in here today, and you know that your heart is not right, and you want to recommit your life to the Lord. If that's you, could I just get you to raise your hand really high, because we want to pray with you. Come on, I see that hand. Come on, anybody else. I see that hand. Come on. It's okay. We're going to pray with you. We're going to, come on. Hey, could I ask something bold from you? Come on, let's celebrate. Can I ask something bold from you? Could I get you, I know this is intimidating. I've talked to people that's done it recently, but can I get you to just step out so that we can, come on, man. Come on. Can I have you go with, I'm just going to have you pray with them. Come on, there's a few of you. Come on, we're just going to believe. Come on, we're going to believe that God is going to do something right now in the lives, my boy John. What's up, man? What's up, man? What's up, man?

What's up, man? What's up, man? Come on, let's make that decision. Let's make that moment. Let's believe that God is gonna do what God said that he was gonna do. Let's surrender it all today. Let's surrender it all today. Let's believe. Let's say that, hey God, I believe that what you say is true. I believe that you can do what you say you will do. Come on. Maybe you're in here today and you've been holding on to some stuff tight. You have a relationship with Jesus, but you've been hanging on to some stuff. Maybe God has told you to give sacrificially and you haven't. Maybe God has told you to do something with your family and you haven't. Maybe God has told you, and if you are in here today and you need to make room for God in your life, you need to make room for God in your finances, you need to make room for God in your possessions, you need to make room for God in your families. I want the worship team to lead us in worship for a moment. And when that happens, maybe you need to come down here

and you need to lay it down at the altar. Maybe you just need to sit where you're at and just raise your hands and say, God, I'm available to you and everything I own is available to you because I want you to do what only you can do. So come on, as the worship team plays, let's just make this a moment of worship and let's just lay it down and believe that God can do what he said that he would do through each one of us. Come on, let's just make this a moment. God, you can have it all. You can have my family. ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ Shake up the ground, all my traditions ♪ ♪ Break down the walls, all my religion ♪ ♪ You're always better, you're always better ♪ ♪ Shake up the ground, all my traditions ♪ ♪ Break down the walls, all my religion ♪ ♪ You're always better, you're always better ♪ ♪ Shake up the ground, all my traditions ♪ ♪ Break down the walls, all my religion ♪ ♪ You're always better, you're always better ♪ ♪ Shake up the ground, all my traditions ♪ ♪ Break down the walls, all my religion ♪ ♪ You're always better, you're always better ♪ ♪ You're always better, you're always better ♪ ♪ Don't make no, don't make no fool of me ♪ ♪ Just do whatever you want to do ♪

♪ Just do whatever you want to do ♪ ♪ Don't make no, don't make no fool of me ♪ ♪ Just do whatever you want to do ♪ ♪ Just do whatever you want to do ♪ Let me reach out for you, how much you guys?