The Blessing of Generosity – Part 1 Lawson and Aaron Perdue

  Welcome friends to the broadcast. I’m so glad that you’ve tuned in today. We’re gonna be talking about the blessing of generosity. The scripture actually says, as long as the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter shall not cease. So don’t let the devil get you tied up in fear, but keep believing God and moving into God’s purpose and plan for your life. Stay tuned. Friends, it’s so good to have you with us today, and I’m glad to have Aaron here. We’re gonna be starting a brand new series talking about the blessing of generosity. And when you think about generosity, generous people operate in a lot of blessing and the scripture actually talks about this. And praise God, it’s something that we’ve seen really work in our lives and everybody that I know that understands this principle operates in a level of blessing. And it’s incredible that really, when you think about it, there’s a lot of secular companies that operate in financial blessing, but they live by the principles of the scripture. And we’re gonna actually start with the scripture in the book of Proverbs. And proverbs works for saints or sinners. It works for everybody, whoever you are. And so Aaron, I’m gonna have you read the scripture in Proverbs 11:24 and 25.

 

  Yeah, I’m really excited about this series because the scripture actually has a lot to say about finances, about generosity, about prosperity even. And a lot of ministers kind of shy away from these topics so they don’t want to offend people. But there’s so many blessings, so many promises attached to generosity. It’s actually a shame for ministers not to point people in that direction and share people, you know, share with people just the importance of generosity and just trusting God for blessing for those promises that are attached to it. So we see, I love the scripture here in Proverbs 11:24 and 25 it says, “There is one who scatters yet increases more, and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.”

 

  Amen. Yeah, I love it. Also, a number of different translations say it different ways. I love the message. It says, “The world of the generous gets larger and larger, and the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed, and those who help others will be helped.” Praise God. And we’ve just seen that come to pass in our life and I’ve observed a lot of people over the years, and when they operate in this, it works for them. And the modern English version says this in verse 25. It says, “The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters others will be watered himself.” When you’re generous with other people when you help other people, you’re gonna be helped yourself. It’s gonna come back to you. There’s no way that you can just live very long if you’re operating these principles and you don’t see these things come to pass. And so as we talk about the blessing of generosity, there’s a number of things that we’re gonna talk about, but the first thing that we’re gonna talk about in this series is seed time and harvest. And this is a principle that we see in the book of Genesis. We see it in Genesis 1 really in the creation, but we also see it in Genesis 8 and then we see it all through the scripture, Old Testament and New Testament. And I really like people that give, that are connected with our ministry partners and people that give in our church. I like them to give as a seed that they sow because I really believe when you get connected with this principle of seed time and harvest, it just works in life. And so when you think about seed time and harvest, you think about the fruit of the earth, the fruit of our labor, and the fruit of life. And I actually read in Oral Robert’s book that he wrote years and years ago on miracles of seed faith. And he talked about three principles, and he talks about this, God is our source, give and it shall be given when he talks about give and it shall be given he’s actually talking about the principle of seed. You gotta sow a seed if you wanna reap a harvest and then expect a miracle. So this is one of the first principles of the scripture. We see it in Genesis 1:26-31. So Aaron, if you wanna jump into Genesis 1 and read that Genesis 1:26-31 and we’ll start talking about this seed time and harvest.

 

  It says here, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image according to our likeness. Let them have dominion over the sea, over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him, male and female he created them, then God blessed them and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ And God said, ‘See, I’ve given you every herb that yields seed, which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed to you it shall be for food, also to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, to everything that creeps on the earth in which there is life I have given every green herb for food.’ Then God saw everything that he had made and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

 

  Yeah, so there’s a number of things that we see as we look at this. And God created heaven and earth, He created everything in it then He created man in his own likeness and image, and He gave them dominion and there’s several things when we see in verse 28. He said, be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth and have dominion. In other words, be productive, be increasing, be filled and refueled. And he says, “Replenish the earth and subdue it.” Control your environment. Take authority over it. God wants us to operate in authority. God created man with authority. He created us for authority, and He gave us authority on the earth. And then He says, “Have dominion.” But not only did God give them authority, God gave them ability. And after He blessed them, after He told them, be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth to have dominion. God said, “Behold, I’ve given you every herb bearing seed.” So God gave them something to do, but He also gave them something to do it with. You know, a lot of people have this idea that, well, God’s called me to do something, but I really don’t have what it takes to do it. But that’s not true. If God’s called you to do something, then God’s given you what it takes to do it. 1 Thessalonians 5 says this in about verse 24, verse 25, it says, “That faithful is he who calls you who also will do it.” And if God’s called you to do something, then God’s given you what it takes to get the job done.

 

  I love that God created man in His own image and He blessed them and told them to do things, to be fruitful, to multiply. I was just last night thinking about idleness, just how there’s a lot of people, even a lot of believers who are just kind of got their gear in neutral, they aren’t really doing much. And I just think it’s a really dangerous place to be in, just to be sitting idle, to not really have purpose and to just think about people who just kind of sit around and have a lot of time to criticize and get offended. And ’cause they aren’t really doing anything themself.

 

  We need to be moving into what God has for us.

 

  Yeah.

 

  And not just idle. You can’t steer a parked car, a ship, you know, if you can take the slightest turn of a rudder if a ship’s moving and you can turn that ship completely around, but if it’s not moving, it’s dead in the water. And we need to be moving towards something. We need to be moving into what God created us to be productive. God created us with authority and with a dominion. And He told us to do some things and then He gave us every tree bearing and every herb bearing seed. And so this principle of seed time and harvest was laid out in the very beginning of the scripture, but not only did he give him every tree bearing seed and every herb, but then he gave them every beast of the earth and every foul of the air wherein there’s life, because those things have the power to reproduce. And so God gave them not only authority, but God gave them ability. Something you’ve heard me often say is, I have everything I need to do everything God called me to do. I have no lack in any area of my life. I’m blessed and highly favored of the Lord. And I’ve found that to be true. And it’s not like it’s all there on a plate before you, but God’s given you the ability, God’s given you the gifting, God’s given you the anointing. And when you start moving into what God has for you, then God takes care of things.

 

  A lack mentality is actually a very dangerous mentality.

 

  Right.

 

  Now some people don’t tap into that blessing of generosity because they’re trapped in a lack mentality and a lack mentality will actually bring destruction. It can kill you.

 

  Yeah.

 

  And it can be used to manipulate people. We see the world system often pushes a lack mentality.

 

  Right.

 

  And it’s used to put fear on people and to manipulate people, to control people, but a blessed mentality and we see that God blessed man, created them mankind in his own image, we’re blessed. A blessed mentality is an abundance mentality.

 

  Right

 

  It’s a seed time and harvest mentality.

 

  Actually, if you go to Genesis 3 right after this, see, God created a man in His own image, in His own likeness. He put him in a beautiful garden.

 

  The serpent was pushing that lack mentality.

 

  He came and lied to Eve and said, if you eat of this tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they had thousands of other trees to eat.

 

  Well, it’s interesting that tree was in the midst of the garden. So to walk to that tree in the midst of the garden, the tree of knowledge of good and evil, she had a pass by everything that all this abundance.

 

  Right.

 

  All these trees, all these herbs bearing seed, all this abundance that she had more than enough of, she had to ignore all of that.

 

  Right.

 

  Ignore what God had given her and just to focus on lack

 

  He said, you’ll be like God, Adam and Eve were already created in the image of God, in the likeness of God. They were created with dominion, with the tremendous mind, tremendous ability. And so, God, you know what, gave them something to do and He gave them stuff to do it with. So He gave them not only authority, but He gave them ability, right? And He empowered them to prosper. God looked at everything that He made, and ultimately he said, it is very good. And so God created us very good, but when we don’t focus on what we have, like you’re talking about on what God’s given us, then we move into a lack mentality. And that ultimately led to destruction. And so thank God for his goodness. Thank God for all the good things that He’s given us. And we’re gonna come back more in the second half of this broadcast. We’re gonna talk about all the good things God’s given us and how we can move in to what God has for us. Stay tuned, we’ll be right. Blessings. Friends, I’m so glad that you’ve been connected with us. While we’re talking about the blessing of generosity, we have these teachings and those live in church services available to you free of charge on our website at CharisChristianCenter.com in downloadable audio and video. Also, check out my book, ‘Provision: Releasing Supernatural Increase In Your Life.’

 

  God has rewards for us. If you are willing to do a mild amount of suffering on his behalf, to love someone who no one else wants to love. It might be that that person comes to know Jesus. Maybe you don’t see these things happen here, but we’re not… We’re doing it for Him. Amen.

 

  Friends, it’s so good to have you back and we’ve been talking about seed time and harvest, and how in the beginning when God created mankind, God gave them, He gave them a job to do, but He gave them authority, and He also gave them ability. So God’s not gonna give us something to do without giving us something to do it with. And He empowered them to prosper. He looked at everything that He made and He saw that it was very good. And ultimately then God in Genesis 2, placed man in this beautiful garden that He had given him. And He put him there to dress and to keep the garden, but Eve got distracted because the serpent came and lied to her and told her, listen, if you’ll eat of this one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And like you were saying, Erin, she probably had to pass by thousands of others and all of God’s provision and there was a tree of life right there. It was ultimately a choice that they were making, right? To eat of that tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But he liked her, said, you’ll be like God. They were already created in the image of God. They already had tremendous mind. They had a tremendous ability, all these different things that were given to him. But if you get focused on lack, it will cause you to miss out, and it’ll allow the devil to come and ultimately steal from you what God has given you.

 

  You know, a lack mentality, I’ve shared this story before, but a lack mentality can kill you, right? I got married four and a half years ago, before I was married I still have my dog. But before I was married it was just me and my dog. I have a Scottish terrier named Winston. And for a few years it was just me and Winston. And he was the only dog. It was just me and him. And I’d feed him every morning and he would just kind of graze. He would just eat a few kibble at a time throughout the day. But a little bit later, I married my wife Heather, and she had a rescue dog that she found on her porch in Tennessee named Willie, a little men pen. And when Willie, and we got married and Winston and Willie were together, Winston developed a lack mentality. He went from an abundance mentality to a lack mentality. So whenever I fed him, he just gobbled all down. He was worried that Willie would steal his food and take his food and he’d run out and starve to death. And he became very competitive with his eating and Willie likes these little squeak toys. And Willie was playing with this little squeak toy and Winston actually ended up eating part of this squeak toy and it got stuck in his digestive tract and he almost died from it.

 

  Right.

 

  And he never acted like that when he was on his own, but he shifted from an abundance mentality to a lack mentality and it nearly killed him. So now when we feed him, we have to feed him in a separate room. We had to get rid of all the toys because he’ll just try to eat ’em ’cause he’s worried, Willie will get this toy and if I don’t eat it then. Just a lack mentality. It’s very dangerous. And we just see that it’s not from God. God created us in his own image, He blessed us. We should have a blessed mentality and abundance mentality, a mentality that wants to sow and not be afraid of. There are hard seasons, there are drought seasons, but we should always be sowing. We should always be tapped into that.

 

  When you’re tapped into God. You know, the scripture talks about this in Jeremiah and it also talks about it in Psalm 1. “Blessed is the man that walks not in the council, ungodly nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits and see the scornful, but his delight is in the word of God and anything meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season. And his leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper. So even though the world on the outside can be having a drought, when you are tapped into a source that’s beneath the surface, when you’re tapped into God, you don’t have to go through a drought season. And the Bible actually talks about that again in Jeremiah, that blessed is the man who trust in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is he will be like a tree that’s planted by the rivers and he will never cease from yielding fruit. His leaf will not wither. And so when we trust in the Lord, that’s how we are. But when we put our eyes on natural things, we were talking about how Eve, she started listening to the devil, right? Number one, he twisted the word of God and then he outright, he got her to doubt the word of God then he twisted the word of God, then he outright contradicted the word of God. And then she began to look at natural things instead of look at God. And it says in Genesis 3:6 that she saw the tree was good for food and was pleasant to the eyes and desired to make one wise. She took the fruit thereof and ate and gave to her husband, and he did eat. And ultimately they through disobeying God’s one and only command. They opened the floodgates of sin, of anxiety, of poverty, of lack of sickness. All that came because of Adam’s transgression. Now, Jesus came to restore to us everything that Adam lost in the garden. And you can see Jesus actually, she was tempted with the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Jesus was tempted in those same three areas. You can see that in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 that Jesus overcame every time through the word of God. And he made it so we can overcome when we put our faith in him. See, a lot of people think that the goal of Christianity is overcoming sin and overcoming Satan. That is not the goal of Christianity. We could never overcome sin and overcome Satan in our own power. And that’s ultimately why God sent Jesus. And Jesus overcame sin and overcame Satan for us. And when we believe on Jesus, we are made world overcomers through faith in him. You know, the Bible says this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the son of God. So when you believe on Jesus, in your spirit, on the inside, you are made a world overcomer. And as you continue to believe, then you move into the victory that God has already provided for you in Christ. Now, immediately after Adam and Eve said, now Eve was deceived, Adam ultimately knew what he was doing. So if you read the book of Timothy closely, you can find that the responsibility was laid on Timothy, but God came and God made provision, and we see the plan of redemption, that Jesus was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. But God enacted that in giving the promise of redemption in Genesis 3:15, that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head. But as you go through the scripture, you can see this principle of seed time and harvest. And Aaron, if you wanna turn over to Genesis 8. Let’s read in Genesis 8 because this is still a lie that people are trying to get by with today, this lack mentality, this fear mentality, and it’s actually manifested in many different ways. But read Genesis 8:22. This is when Noah got off the ark.

 

  It says here, “While the earth remains seed time and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer and day and night shall not cease.”

 

  Amen. So when we had 1998, they tried to sell a lie with Y2K. I first heard that in September, 1998. Immediately I thought it was a lie, but it was really brought through the church. But it says, as long as the earth remains seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease, right? We saw this lie come up in Covid that they were… People were buying everything off the store shelves because they were afraid, you know, fear, they try to control people through fear. In the 1970s, I believe it was, we had what they… An oil shortage. Do you know your brother Andrew, my son works in the oil and gas industry, and I think he says, with the current supplies that we have here right here in the United States of America, we have enough oil and gas for the next 400 years. But they tried to… My uncles were working in the oil field in Eastern Colorado, and they were actually drilling good wells and capping them while they were saying that there was an oil shortage and they were controlling people through fear. And we often see this happen. We’re gonna run out. There’s not gonna be food. This whole thing about they try to control people through this about that we’re in a greenhouse effect and the earth’s not gonna be producing. It’s all just lies. Aaron, you talked about there’s a volcano that puts out more greenhouse gas than all of humanity that’s currently active. And it does that in a month’s time or a week’s time.

 

  I can’t remember if-

 

  Well, you were talking about this. That it’s just crazy how people try to control humanity through fear. But here’s a promise from God. And I’m gonna tell you, there’s a lot of people, and I see this happen in the church a lot of times, that people try to control through fear. Just like when Y2K came, in Covid we saw a lot of the same thing. Everything’s gonna go down, everything’s gonna be crashed, there’s not gonna be enough. There’s not gonna be food. Fill your basement full of crackers. And it’s just crazy. And you know what, I’m never gonna do that. I’m never gonna let fear be the motivating factor in my life because there’s a fear mentality. There’s a lack mentality and abundance mentality. And I just find that people that live with an abundance mentality, they just live better. They just do better. And so, as long as the earth remains seed time, harvest, cold, heat, summer, winter day and night shall not cease. Then Genesis 9:1 says, “And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.'” Praise God. We need to look at the blessing of God. We need to look at the goodness of God.

 

  And you have to be careful too, like sometimes people who are prophetic will prophesy fear. And even, you know, I’ve been to people’s homes as a pastor, they just have 10 years supply of dry food in their basement and they just stopped investing, stopped sewing, stopped, and just lived in fear. And that’s not a great way to live.

 

  No, listen, I don’t think it’s wrong to have a little bit of food. You know, I have a freezer in the garage.

 

  Yeah, we live in Colorado and there’s blizzards here every now and then in the winter and it’s good to have some water on hand, some dry food on hand but like 20 years worth of food or something.

 

  It’s crazy and I can tell story after story about this. So I’m so glad that you’ve tuned in and I’m so glad that you’re with us and praise God. Aaron, what do you wanna share here before we go off the broadcast today?

 

  I just say keep giving, keep sowing, keep trusting God.

 

  Amen.

 

  One way to just conquer that fear, that lack mentality is to give and just trust God and say, God, I know you’re not done with me. I know, I want to sow into your kingdom. I want to sow into the gospel. Man, if you invest in the gospel, that’s the greatest thing in the world you can invest in.

 

  Praise God. And I wanna say a great big thank you to our partners that have helped us on this broadcast. And with these broadcasts we’ve recently taken the greatest expansion that we’ve ever taken. And we couldn’t do it without our partners. So thank you to our partners. We wanna become a partner. Just give us a call or check us out on the web. I just want to give you this opportunity today. If you have never received Jesus as your Lord, pray with me right now. Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus Christ is your son. I believe that He died on the cross for my sins. And I believe that you raised Him from the dead and made Him Lord. And right now I surrender my life to you. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

 

  When we step out in faith and tap into giving and receiving, there are tremendous promises available to us. Discover scriptural principles that will help you understand the abundant blessing that is connected to generosity. We are blessed to be a blessing. We’d like to bless you with a digital copy of the teaching, ‘The Blessing of Generosity’ a $20 value free of charge. Download it today at CharisChristianCenter.com.

 

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