Gregory Dickow - The Outrageous Generosity of God
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The outrageous generosity of God, I just couldn't come up with a better word, there's a problem. There probably are better words, unfathomable, unmeasurable, like I'm sure there's more words that you can come up with to describe the generosity of God. But my word for today is the outrageous generosity of God. It's like almost too good to be true. It's it's outrageous that somebody tells you something that you can hardly believe and you're like, that's outrageous. This is this is how generous God is. This the outrageous generosity of God, the outrageous, the extravagant, the the miraculous, the supernatural, the unexplainable, the unfathomable, the immeasurable generosity of God. You come up with any words you want, and God's generosity is even greater than that. It's greater than that.
Now, I want you to see in this verse and provide chapter 19, verse six. Many seek the favor of a generous man, and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts. One translation says everyone wants to be the friend of him. That gives good gifts. Everyone wants to be a friend, the friend of him that gives good gifts. Now, let's make sure we know who the Bible is talking about here, because he says he says everyone wants to seek the favor of a generous man. What kind of man? A generous man. And everyone wants to be the friend to him. That gives gifts or that gives good gifts.
I just want to make sure we're talking about the same person here in Matthew 7:11. He says it this way. If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your father, who's in heaven give? What is good, give what is good, give what is good to those who ask him if you being evil, if you fathers, you're you know, we all have screwed up. We've all messed up. All of us are imperfect. If you fathers know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more, how much more will your heavenly father give. What is good to those who ask him? To those who ask him, you know who those. Ah, who will ask him, those who believe in his outrageous generosity, you'll never ask God for something. If you don't believe he's generous, you'll never ask boldly if you don't believe in this outrageous generosity of God.
Now, this scripture back in Proverbs, Chapter 19, it just blew my mind. And I realize, wow, this is the problem in the world today, is that so much of the preaching that goes on in churches and so much of the preaching that goes on by preachers is a distorted view of God. It's a distorted view of God. Because, listen, the Bible here says that that everyone wants to be the friend of him who gives gifts. Now, we just found out who this is talking about. This is talking about our heavenly father, because if we, being evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more how much how much more will your heavenly father give? What is good to those who ask him this is talking about God, every one wants to be the friend. Have you ever wondered why? Why are some of my relatives so stubborn and they haven't come to Jesus yet, why or why some of the people at work, you just rejecting Jesus and they're not ready to worship God, they're not ready to walk with God.
Let me tell you something, because they haven't discovered how generous God is yet, because once you realize how generous he is, the scripture is true. The Bible says everyone wants to be a friend to him. That gives gifts. In other words, when you realize how generous God is, you're going to want to be his friend. And he's OK with that because he doesn't want you to have any other view of him, because any other view, your view of a stingy God is a wrong concept of God. Your view of of a judgment. God is a wrong view of God. Your view of a God who you got to earn his love and acceptance and his gifts from is a is a is a wrong view of God. Let me tell you what the right view of God is. He is outrageously generous. He is he is overtaken by how much he wants to give you that he has. So he has loved us so much that we've even forgotten how to read.
John 3:16. We've all heard that verse a million times. What? We forgot how to read it. God so love, God so loved. How did he love, he love. So he loved in such a way that he gave his only begotten son at the time. It's his only son, Jesus. God proves his generosity by giving us Jesus. And in him he's given us everything. Whatever Jesus did is an act of God, generosity. God gave Jesus and then Jesus gave healing. Jesus gave salvation. Jesus gave forgiveness. Jesus gave deliverance. Jesus gave food to the hungry. Jesus gave clothes to the naked. Jesus cast out demons. He raised the dead. He comforted the widows. He was he strengthened the weak. He fed the hungry. he surrounded people that were hurting with his healing hand. And everyone he touched was healed. And everyone that touched him would he would be healed. This is how generous God is. There's enough for everybody. There's never he never runs out.
The Bible says his goodness and his mercy will follow us all the days. Of our lives. All the days, let me tell you something about. The goodness of God. The goodness of God is best described as generosity, the generosity of God, if you're looking for what's the best description of the goodness of God, it's the generosity of God. How can you prove it? You can prove it with John three 16. God so loved the world that he gave. You can prove it was Psalm twenty three, verse six. Goodness and mercy will follow you. All the days. All the days. All the days. I'm so glad he didn't say some days when I'm having a tough day that's included in all my days.
When I'm having a day where I don't know what to do, that's included in all the days of my life when I'm having a good day, that's included in all the days of my life, a bad day, that's including all the days of my life, a day when I'm on top of the mountain. That's included in all the days of my life, the day where I'm in the bottom of the valley. That's included in all the days of my life, the day that I fall and stumble badly. That's included in all the days of my life, the day that I'm running and running and not growing weary and walking and not feeling that's included in all the days of my life, the day that I mount up with wings as eagles, that's included in all the days of my life. But the day when I can't even find my feathers that's included in all the days of my life is the I can't find my shoes to run and not grow weary. That's included in all the days of my life. In the days.
I don't know where I'm going to go, where I'm going to get it from, how I'm going to do it. That's included in all the days of my life. And so let me tell you something about how generous God is. He makes sure that he supplies all that you need every day of your life. He's so generous, the greatest enemy of the church. Is bad preaching. Not the devil the devils defeated. The greatest enemy of the church is a wrong concept of God, a distorted view of God, a mixed view of God, that sometimes God's going to really be good to you. And sometimes, you know, he's going to he's going to hold back because he's trying to teach you. That's that's not included in all the days of my life. Him holding back is not a part of that verse. He who did not withhold his own son, how shall he not also with him freely, give us all things. He freely gives us all things.
Let me explain something to you, gang. The goodness, the outrageous generosity of God. Is the foundation for everything in our lives, the outrageous generosity of God needs to be the foundation for everything in your life. Let me let me give you some things that this outrageous generosity is the foundation of. Number one, the outrageous generosity of God is the foundation of our faith. It is the foundation of our faith. In other words, you couldn't even get saved until you realize how generous God was by sending Jesus. As soon as you realize, as soon as you believed, John, three, 16, you got saved, as soon as you believe God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. As soon as you believe that you were saved.
What did you believe? What was the foundation of your faith, the outrageous generosity of God? He didn't give us just any old person to save us. He gave us Jesus. He gave us himself. He gave us the best. When Jesus turned the water into wine, they were blown away. Not just because of the miracle of the multiplication. Well, he turned it water. He transformed water into wine. But not only was there so much, but it was the best wine. So when they when the when the person that that ran the party tasted the wine, he said, wow. Well, when they tasted the wine, they said, wow, they saved the best for last. The best. Jesus gives us the best. The generosity of God is, number one, the foundation of our faith, you see. A distorted view of God is you better grovel and you better beg and you better hit your knees if you're ever going to see the goodness of God.
But we learned last week Peter saw the goodness of God and then he hit his knees. Peter saw the goodness of God while he was a sinner, and that brought him to his knees. Jesus didn't say get on your knees and pray, boy, and then I'll give you some goodness. Jesus gave his goodness. And it led Peter to repentance. Outrageous generosity. How many fish did Peter need that day, really not many. He caught nothing all night, so just a handful would have been a blessing. But what did Jesus give them to? Boatloads, and neither boat could hold them all in and both boats began to sink. That, my friends, is outrageous generosity. My God, have we been lied to? You are sitting here right now probably hearing this verse for the first time in your life, that, God, you probably read it before, but you probably for the first time hearing it, being told to you how it's really meant to be, that this is the nature of God.
This is how outrageous, outrageously generous he is. He doesn't want you to live in misery. He doesn't want to give you things so that you'll be so that you'll, you know, so that you'll fall on your knees and finally, you know, give honor to the God that deserves it. He wants he you will do that. But he wants to reach the supply you with all things not so he can use you as an example. He does. He wants to supply you with all things not. So you can then make sure to serve him. He's he doesn't want to rigidly supply you with all things so that you can just make sure to, you know, give it all the way and test your heart. He wants to supply you with all things for you to enjoy, for you to enjoy.
Man, we've got so many Christians in the world today. They've got no joy and they don't know how to enjoy all the things that God gives. He, first of all, richly supplies. It comes from him and he supplies you with all things and he wants you to enjoy them. He has to supply you with all things so you'll be miserable. He supplies you with all things that you can have, joy. Or so that you can enjoy, like, look, we got to stop. We got to stop guilt shaming people who are enjoying their life. And we're shaming ourselves into sacrificial living because we think that's pleasing to God and what pleases God is for you to receive all that he paid so dearly in his own blood. So that you could be redeemed from the curse. Of poverty, of sin, of sickness, of disease, all of that is the curse, and Jesus redeemed us so that we could be forgiven, saved, healed. Bless coming in and bless going out. He richly did the devil.
Let's go back to first Timothy, six for 17. Says God. Put your hope in God who richly supplies us with all things. To enjoy. So who is the author of Enjoyment is Enjoying Life, the devil's idea or God's idea is supplying you what you need. The devil's idea or God's idea? And how does God supply he richly supplies us. With all things, let me ask you something, does all things include healing? Do all things include. Peace to all things include joy to you, all things include blessings to all things, including paid bills. To all things include healthy relationships, happy homes. Good businesses. All things. Include all things.
What am I trying to do? I'm trying to get you. To understand the outrageous generosity of God, because then you'll go boldly to him. And you won't be ashamed. To ask you won't be ashamed to receive, you won't be ashamed to give. You won't be ashamed to share. You won't be afraid to share. You won't be afraid to reach out. You won't be afraid to help somebody. Because, you know, he richly supplies I'm not talking to you about some worldly. Obsession with things, I'm talking about being obsessed. Heavenly, obsessed with what your heavenly father is really like. Do you get that? I'm telling you, I'm not saying this Christian life is all about getting all these things. No, I'm telling you this Christian life is all about knowing how good and generous and loving your heavenly father is. And then that becomes the foundation.
If God is a miserable, stingy miser, what would motivate me to try to bring other people into his kingdom of misery? I'm probably, first of all, not going to be in it myself. And I'm not going to want to I'm not going to be motivated, help anybody else have a relationship with a miserable God that is going to make your life miserable, because I'm going to tell you something. Everything Jesus did, every person he came in contact with, he made their life better. He never made anybody worse. He only made their life better. His generosity is the foundation for a bitter free life. It is the foundation for a bitter free life, the Bible says in Hebrews, Chapter 12 or 15 do not. Come short. Of the grace of God now, so that no root of bitterness will spring up and cause trouble and defile many notice what he says, he says. A root of bitterness enters when we come short of the grace of God.
Now this word short is literally translated as the word inferior. So what he literally is telling us is do not accept. And inferior life to the grace of God don't accept a life that is less than the grace of God, don't accept a life that is less than his unmerited favor and love. Don't accept a life that's inferior to his generosity. Grace is Gracie, an acronym for that is God's Riches at Christ's Expense. He says, don't let anyone fall short or live a life that is inferior to God's generosity. Because when you think that God, when when you don't realize how generous he is, when somebody takes something from you or somebody hurts you, you'll get bitter. But when you know how generous God is, somebody can take something from you and you know, you know, God will restore and you know how he restores, he doesn't restore. He does it. He's so good. And he saw outrageously generous.
He doesn't restore just what was taken from you. He restores seven fold and he doesn't just restore things seven fold, Proverbs 6:31, and he doesn't just restore things, he restores years. Joel 2:25. He doesn't just restore things and years and and people. He restores hearts. Luke for 18 and 19. He restores years. He restores people. The prodigal son he talks about the sun was restored, the coin was restored, the sheep was restored. He's the restorer of our soul guides us in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. My God, he's so outrageously generous. When you get old, see if you are like, oh, you don't don't talk too much about that. We all want people expecting too much. We don't want people expecting too much. When Ephesians 3:20 says that he will do exceeding abundantly above and beyond all that, you can ask or think, are you kidding me?