The Village Church Sunday Service - 11/15/2020

all right welcome to village church my name is justin ella frost i'm one of the group's ministers here at the village and uh what a joy it is that we can gather together to worship the lord the king of kings and the lord of lords both here in person and those that are at home uh it's just good to be together a couple things to consider before we hop into worship uh first and foremost if you're new and you are local we would love to provide an opportunity for you to be able to ask any questions that you may have and so the easiest way for you to do that is to text the word belong to 56549 that should be up on the screen there for you that's the easiest way the best way would be to be able to sign up for first steps all that information can be found on the webpage first steps is an opportunity for you to be able to sit down with some of our staff members and elders to be able to ask any questions that you may have if you're looking to get connected to a home group or a class or any of our ministry environments you'll also be able to hear about the history of the village church and you'll be able to step into that so that's first steps first sunday of every month the second announcement that i have is young adult talks young adult talks is led by our young adult ministry and it's a series of talks for our 20s and 30s to be able to really think about what holistic biblical living looks like so they've had topics around finance around personality around lament and november 19th from 7 to 8 30 at the hv campus matt and lauren chandler are going to be talking about intimacy with jesus called close to christ so you can find all the information up online you can register online and then that's in person if you uh aren't able to come in person there's an online option there as well so as we transition to worship if you would stand and i'm going to pray for us let's pray father thank you so much for the opportunity that we have to be able to come to slow our hearts to be able to bless you through the worship of our hearts through hearing of the word preached father i pray that you would even bring to mind right now things from our past week things burdens that we're carrying into this place you gotta ask that you would minister to those things guys we sing that you would draw these things out that you would do the work that only you can do father so by your spirit would you come would you speak to us and speak to our hearts or we need to be drawn up in relationship with you father we ask this in the name of jesus amen amen good morning church family in this room and online let's lift our eyes lift our voices let's look to our king we count on this he's faithful he's stable he's trustworthy [Music] will not fail me now you won't [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] yes i will [Music] sing this out together [Music] you're working on things [Music] when my heart is heavy for my days [Music] i choose to pray glorify the name that i choose to [Music] to quantify [Music] is [Music] [Music] my my days days oh yes i will [Music] there was mercy in your eyes to fulfill the law and prophets to a virgin came the word from the throne with endless glory to cradle in the dark [Music] praise forever to the king of kings [Music] to retain [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] [Music] place forever to the trees [Music] for [Music] [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] christ whoever [Music] praises [Music] [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] [Music] glory [Music] foreign [Music] amen church this is our prayer for this place for the body of christ for his people [Music] jesus [Music] ask for this and jesus be the center of your [Music] shall confess you jesus jesus the name of jesus jesus yeah father thank you for that name thank you for the way that we're saved the way that we have hope thank you for the work of christ that's made away for us in this service father we ask by your spirit that you'd work in our hearts that you would fix our eyes on him that we would be changed by seeing his beauty seeing the the gift that he's given to us realizing all that that means for our lives would you would you change the way we interact with with you and with the world to look more like christ to remember what he's done for us thank you for jesus we pray all this in his name amen good morning church it's good to see you it's good to be here with all of you my name is danny caslow and i work in the ascending department as a ministry assistant today i'm going to be reading for you second corinthians chapter 9 verses 6 through 15. the point is this whoever so sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows bountifully will also read bountifully each one must give as he has decided in his heart not reluctantly or under compulsion for god loves a cheerful giver and god is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times you may abound in every good work as it is written he has distributed freely he has given to the poor his righteousness endures forever he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness you will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way which through us will produce thanksgiving to god for the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to god by their approval of this service they will glorify god because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of jesus christ and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others while they long for you and pray for you because of your surpassing grace upon god for you thanks be to god for this inexpressible gift hey good morning how are you all we good good good good good my name is josh patterson one of the pastors here on staff excited to be with you eager for our time together and i know you've been welcomed but want to welcome you again if you're watching at home or here with us it's good to gather and it's good to be together i want to start off by telling you a story i've shared a story about this man with you before but it's been years and so i think a refresher is in order i want to tell you a story about a man that you likely have never met or never heard of and you won't have the chance to meet him until gloria's name is harry tibbles and harry tibbles came from louisiana moved his family to wiley texas in 1960 and he soon opened the wiley supermarket okay so you can imagine bustling town of wiley in the 60s 70s and 80s harry tibbles owned and operated the wiley supermarket harry tibbles in our family is known as granddaddy all right and granddaddy is my wife natalie it's her granddad and he was a remarkable man not just him but his wife aretha who we call nan um they're precious precious people harry is since with the lord he passed in 2006 nan is still with us i think she's 97 and um they're remarkable we love them a whole lot but i want to tell you just a little bit about the impact specifically that nan and grandad have had on my family and beyond and the specific impact of nan and grandad is an impact and a legacy of generosity it's a profound legacy of generosity in fact this is not hyperbole hyperbole i have not been impacted by anybody more in and around the topic of giving and generosity than i have harry tibbles um a couple of examples so he owns the supermarket you can imagine in a small town and uh just east of dallas that people were there the this is where the community got their goods and so he knew the community he was also a member of first baptist wiley uh since 1960 and first baptist wiley was situated just right across the street from the supermarket and when there were benevolent needs that came up needs in in the church the church would send this family or this individual over to the wily supermarket to get food and the way that it was supposed to go down is they would take a voucher over there and then mr tibbles or granddad was to turn the voucher back into the church to get reimbursed for what he gave and for 40 years he just collected vouchers and never turned them back in he just met the needs of his community quietly faithfully humbly generously towards the end of his life recognizing some of the opportunities lacking educationally in wiley harry and rita nana and grandad gave the seed gift for a scholarship fund that set up educational opportunities with the wiley independent school district the generosity was far and wide and it wasn't just to wiley i've also experienced it personally i've experienced personally firsthand the generosity of nan and granddad and i can tell you story after story after story but there's there's a repetitive image that is seared into my heart and it's this whenever we would show up for a family event this was christmas thanksgiving a birthday uh whatever it might be and the grandkids were there now the grandkids are that's me and natalie in our age and then there's some great grandkids that were starting to pop up and show up uh towards the end of his life and and granddad would sit kind of off to the side and allow all the activity to take place and it was like he was serving god's generosity to him in those moments and he would always get this like trademark tear that would just kind of slip out of his eye and quietly slide down his cheek it was almost as if that tear was saying isn't the lord good like isn't he so kind to me and he knew his life he didn't have another 50 years in him he didn't have probably another 10 years in him at that point but he was just caught up in the moment of how good god had been to him and then we'd get up to leave and he without fail he'd come and he'd grab natalie and he'd give her a big old hug and then he'd just kind of slip her 100 bill and man i'll tell you what that was awesome uh the whole thing was awesome i have no idea where that hundred dollars went it is long gone at this point but the impact is not like it's just seared onto my heart when i think about finances when i think about generosity when i think about giving when the lord has given me an example in my family to be able to look at and to say this is how i want to live with all the allure and the temptation and all the things that i am drawn to i'm not putting this on you you may not be i am but to have this counter-cultural example to have this gospel picture for me to say i have tasted and seen how good that is that's what i want it's what i long for with our lives this is a legacy that i long to walk in those footsteps and have for myself as well and so when i think about a topic or a sermon on giving and i know i know for some of us it's not what we want to hear i know it can well up a whole bunch of different emotions some of those emotions may be excitement eagerness cheerfulness as we just read in the text for some of you it may be shame reluctance skepticism it's like oh another sermon on giving in a church i'm just not ready for that and i have no intention to shame or guilt or to trigger any kind of unpleasant emotion in anybody i am trying to paint a picture of gospel generosity and say this isn't that good isn't that good and what the apostle paul is going to do in second corinthians 9 is he's going to lay out for us a picture of gospel generosity he's going to lay out a picture of what a grace driven giver looks like a generous grace giver is motivated by a couple of things a generous grace giver paul is going to show us in second corinthians 9 is motivated by an inward gospel reward and an outward gospel response that's my sermon that's my key point a generous grace giver is motivated by an inward gospel reward and an outward gospel response let me see if i can unpack that a little bit for us this inward gospel reward as paul sets it up he's writing to the corinthians and he's saying this to them hey look there are needs in jerusalem and i'm coming to you to receive a gift from you which you have said you will give and i am so thankful for it is essentially the way that he set this up and he's saying hey the macedonians they've given too and when we come i pray you're ready in heart to give and let me let me remind you about a couple of things as it relates to giving and that sets us up for chapter nine and in verse six let me read this to you as we think about this inward reward i want you to listen for words like all and every he says this in in verse 8 and god is able to make all grace abound to you so that always having all sufficiency in everything you may have an abundance for every good deed the first inward reward that you and i need to know about is this there is an inward reward of personal provision look at me church there is an inward reward of personal provision where you can say for your life you can testify not that you heard about or you read about but that you can say he has met my needs he is my sufficiency he has made all grace abound for every good deed he has seen me in every season and he has carried the day he's faithful now it's one thing for somebody to get up here and to stand and to testify to that to read about that to know that that's true generally the church what paul is saying as you and i take steps forward in personal generosity in personal giving then you and i have the opportunity to say and to believe and to see and to see god demonstrate his faithfulness not to the church but to you to me that he is meeting my needs a reward for me is that i get to see it i get to testify i get to stand up and say isn't he faithful and if we had time i am confident we could go around this sanctuary and you could give stories and we could hear stories of how god has met your needs in seasons of doubt and seasons of of scarcity in seasons of frustration and seasons of confusion that god has stepped in and he has seen fit to meet your needs and you you get to say i got the reward of that i got the reward of that and what paul is saying here is be eager be be cheerful as a word that he gives in your generosity because in your giving you're letting go of something and trusting oh he'll meet my needs he's done it before he'll do it again i believe him in that and for that he is faithful and so the question that we've got to consider and ponder is this does that motivate me like do i long to see that happen for me do i long to take steps of obedience and generosity and give and let my hands go of these things and then wait and see and wait and see him provide and meet needs so i long to see that and here's the deal the reality is some days i do and some days i don't right some days i'm like yes yes right but paul is saying here this this is an opportunity to step forward in faith and see that the lord is faithful but there's a second inward reward that paul talks about here and it's the reward of personal increase and when you hear personal increase there's teachings that float around out there not teachings from the apostle paul but there are teachings that float around that say something like this it's this prosperity type mindset if i do this god will give me something back if i give money if i give 10 i'll give me 100. that's not what paul is saying here or anywhere else in the scriptures but he is talking about an increase he does in this passage say that if you sow you will reap there is an increase at stake here and before i jump into this and i long to see a bunch of things increase in my life i i long to see my retirement fund increase am i alone in that can i get an amen does it anybody long to see there's decrease okay okay i long to see my debt load decrease i long to see my savings account kind of hit that magical six months of of savings i long to see that anybody else long to see that right i long to see some things increase here i long for these things i've got four kids four college tuitions to pay for three daughters three weddings dear lord may some things increase okay what paul is saying is josh there will be something that i guarantee you will increase as you step forward in generosity look at it with me he says this in verse 10 now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness what's the increase coming my way well the increase is a harvest of righteousness what is paul talking about here what does that mean a harvest of righteousness what he's saying here is not what he said in second corinthians 5. the righteousness where he says this there is a righteousness that comes from christ positionally when i put my faith in him it's the righteousness that i get at justification and salvation that's not what he's talking about here that was chapter five what he is talking about here is sanctification that as i step forward in generosity my heart begins to soften and change my heart begins to be tenderized to the things of the spirit as i begin to look and to recognize needs and step forward in meeting those as faith begins to take root even more in my heart as the clutches of this world begin to loosen and i begin to give in generosity there's a harvest of righteousness that begins to take hold in my heart and i actually begin to look like the god who gives you see if you drop all the way down to the end of the chapter in verse 15 paul says this thanks be to god for his indescribable gift think about how generous god has been to you you think about how generous god has been to you and to me think about john 3 16 for god so loved the world that he what he gave he gave his son and if the lord never gave me another dollar in my days he has still given me all that i need we believe that like if he never gave me another dollar in my days he has still given me all that i truly need in christ and some of us in here may say yeah but you can say that because you got a dollar but what if i don't have a dollar well isn't that what he's talking about here for those of us in here who are struggling financially who may not have the the opportunity of choice that the very thing that he's talking about here is that we walk forward in generosity so that we might meet the needs of those in our community who do not have like you know this and i know this when i leave here i personally have this choice i can go home and eat because i already bought food or i can go to a restaurant and eat because i have the means to pay for it now lest we lose touch there are those who don't have that same choice and for the church to be the church we step forward in recognition of god's abundance to me and to others so that we might generously move forward in looking and surveying and meeting the needs of others it matters then for those of us who have the means of choice it's not a time to pat ourselves on the back it's a time with with lowliness and humility to say lord you have been gracious to me how can i not how can i not be gracious towards others you have given me the most valuable thing in all of eternity how can i not you know the new testament in the all of scripture has no category for a stingy believer it's just it's just not there those two things don't jive and so the question is we think about our motivation am i motivated to move forward in generosity by these inward gospel rewards of personal provision i get to see god move in my life and then two that i long for a personal increase i want to look like the savior who is generous like the god who gives i long for that well the motivation isn't just an inward motivation there's a motivation outwardly that i also get to see a gospel response so we have this inward gospel reward and an outward gospel response let me fly through some of these responses we'll see these in verses 12 to the end of the chapter the outward response that generosity gets to see is this needs are met god is glorified thanksgiving is given obedience is demonstrated charity is contributed and intercession happens let me say that again because it's a lot needs are met god is glorified thanksgiving is given obedience is demonstrated charity is contributed an intercession is given right there in verse 12 for the for this ministry the ministry of this service what's he talking about the service of giving is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints but it's also overflowing through many thanksgivings to god because of the proof given by this ministry what is the proof that paul's talking about here what paul is saying is that when you and i walk forward in generosity there is an alignment between what we declare and what we demonstrate there's an alignment between what we declare and what we demonstrate the proof given is god has radically changed my life he has been radically generous to me therefore i longed to be radically generous with others and paul is saying a mark of the believer is that you and i would have this aura about us that of generosity that it would be said of us is what paul is saying that it's a proof given a demonstration of what we actually declare with our mouths and he said that many thanksgivings will go up to god his name will be glorified needs are going to be met people contribute to these needs being met and then he says then there's this intercession given you don't have to raise your hand with this but think about a time or a season in your life and the question is this has somebody stepped forward and met your needs in some season of your life like has somebody seen you in that season of struggle when you had legitimate needs and somebody stepped forward with a legitimate financial solution think about what that does in your heart think about what that stirs up in you and what paul says here the church in jerusalem as they received this gift with all humility that their hearts began to turn upward in thanksgiving to god as his name was glorified father you have seen us you are meeting our needs and then they bring the believers with them through intercession and would you bless our brothers and sisters who have been generous to us in this would you bless my friend would you bless this person so you think about how intercession begins to be interwoven with generosity and as you've been on the receiving end of a generous gift did you not give thanks to the lord for that person was your heart not so moved to respond the way that paul talks about here this past week our staff and i'm going to share something that i think is really remarkable that we've been able to do and you've been a part of it even if you didn't know it till right now every year the elders have evaluated our budget and our budget every year for a long long time as far back as i can remember we have had a generous surplus and that generous surplus is due to the financial generosity of you you have given faithfully and generously and so what the elders do in the month of november is we look at the surplus and they set aside uh a generous amount of money and then the staff gets together just like we did this past wednesday and in our getting together we divided up into teams and we got to prayerfully consider the needs of our body the needs of church planters the needs of missionaries the needs of single moms the needs of neighbors the needs and the community the needs of organizations who may not find themselves in the same financial situation that we find ourselves in right now and then we divide up into teams and we prayerfully consider who we might be able to gift to and again that giving doesn't happen without your generosity like wednesday doesn't happen unless you step in and generously give like you have given year after year after year i just want you to hear the fruit of this giving so at the end of our time together on wednesday there's a coming back together and there's 15 different groups and we get to hear name after name after name after name the need present and how that need is going to be met church we're church planters church planters who are going to be able to take the gospel into new communities there are missionaries all across this globe who will just get a gift that says this we see you and we believe in the work that you're doing stay faithful in it there are single moms in our body who you don't know it now but you're about to get blessed and it's not all of them but it's some of them there are neighbors who are not believers in christ that our staff lives next to and has been ministering to who find themselves in places of financial struggle whether it's due to covet or some other season who here in a few days will have the opportunity to receive a check that they have no idea is coming and the hope behind all of this is simply this we see you more than that the lord sees you he is meeting your needs lift up your heart stay the course be encouraged know that you're loved you are not alone what a great gift well that doesn't happen church if you don't generously give like you have given year after year after year just like paul says needs are being met thanksgiving is going up to the lord his name is being glorified intercession is being had how good is that gift how good is the lord to you and to me and so if we think about this inward reward and this outward response the inward reward of personal provision and personal increase this harvest of righteousness this outward response of genuine tangible needs being met overflowing with thanksgiving to god does that not stir up in us a desire just to take a step towards generosity and no matter where we find ourselves on that spectrum hilarious cheerful givers or reluctant does that not stir up in you as you think about what's the opportunity before us just to take a step further towards generosity let me end with this i told you how i know about granddaddy it's not because he told me in fact he did all of that giving quietly and anonymously and much to his sugar in the word got out and the word got out like this man people talk people talk and the conversations over the years started sounding something like this you know we fell on hard times and um he would hate for me to say this but you know hairy tibbles they they provided some meals they they gave us some groceries they they wrote us a check um you know the tibbles they they provided a scholarship uh for our high school senior to be able to take that next step towards college education y'all it was over and over and over and over again and then the community as they start chatting it was like what he did that for you well he also did that for my neighbor or he did that for me and eventually the community said we need to respond to you we need to do something in response to how generous you have been to us and near the end of his life i think one of the hallmark legacies of his life is now in wiley texas tibbles elementary there's a school named in he and his wife's honor and we were there as a family to celebrate in the ribbon cutting and all that you do for that and there was that tear just that trademark tear that he just couldn't get over how good god had been to him in the last few years of his life he spent in the library of tibbles elementary reading books to kiddos and he's passed but his legacy hasn't and his funeral was astounding now here's the deal i have no idea if harry tibbles was wealthy or not i don't know i for dang sure know he was generous he was incredibly generous and church may we be that kind of church that is just staggering with our generosity not so we get the attention not so that we get the fame not so people look at us but they might see our god who is a gracious and generous god and our generosity is simply reflective and responsive to the god who gives let's pray towards the sin father we love you we thank you we bless you you truly have been so generous and kind to us and so the question in my heart is how could i not how can i not step forward in faith and trust knowing that you have met my every need in christ that in jesus every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm is mine lord i pray for our church that it would be so that there would not be an unmet need among us that the church would be the church the body would be the body not only for ourselves but for this community that we would step in and trust independence and then unashamedly reap the reward the reward of declaring god is faithful reap the reward a harvest of righteousness where we look more like the generous father who gave us his son and celebrate that needs are met and god you're glorified and your name is exalted and we would gladly receive the prayerful intercession on our behalf we love you and we thank you it's in christ's name we pray amen at church we have the opportunity to respond together this morning in song in one body and one spirit as it's a joy to be able to come together in a gathering like this and i know all the the the ways that we're doing it's not ideal but it is good and to be able to collectively sing this doxology together declaring father we we have been blessed and we respond as one and that we long to be a people who are a generous people and so church let's sing together him all creatures hear me [Music] go [Music] amen would you just have a seat our ushers and welcome team are going to come and dismiss us by rose and i just want to say this just to encourage you and i pray that you feel encouraged as these aren't platitudes this is true you are generous you're a generous church and the reputation out there and i know i don't know how often you get to interact with out there as it relates to this church but i can give you countless missionaries countless church planters countless people that look at the village church and say that is a generous people praise the lord for that that's not something that is to well up pride in us but something that is to spur us on to continue to stay the course to remain and so our staff and our elders our leadership is deeply thankful for your generosity and you need to know that and we make it our aim to steward that generosity well in such a way that we might be able to meet the needs of this community and minister to them and to you in truly profound ways and so let's remain let's stay faithful in it we love you so much you need to know that you're dismissed god bless you [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] okay yes me [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: The Village Church Resources

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Length: 58min 12sec (3492 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 15 2020