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May 12, 2020 1:00 am
People who are grateful people are people who are very nature givers because when you are grateful you are giving thanks all three Bible teacher Alan Wright welcome to searing the look I being a Brit and we are all set to hear Allen's message from renewal to church and in Salem, North Carolina in a series called Moore if you're not able to stay with entire program I want to make sure you know how to get our special resort available to you right now for your gift searing the light.
This is you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special contact us that sharing the light.or or by phone at 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program but right now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan all you ready for some good news. It is more blessed to give than receive.
And that doesn't mean just that if you give your life in some way that later on will be a blessing that will come, although that very well may be true, it means something much deeper and richer than that. It means I believe that God has so designed his world and so designed you that in the releasing of your life in the giving of your life that in the giving you find blessing that the blessing is in the giving. I want to show that to this morning we turn in our new series, more blessed, and his acts chapter 20 pick up reading at verse 32 where Paul is speaking to the Ephesian elders and see quotes. What probably was a regular refrain on Jesus's lips even though we don't see this statement in the Gospels. It's themselves. We see that here in acts chapter 20 verse 32 � 20 verse 32 and now Paul writes, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you and give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. A coveted no one silver or gold or apparel you yourselves know that these hands minister to my necessities and those who are with me just describing his own lifestyle of giving, releasing and serving verse 35 in all things. I've shown you that by working hard in this way, we must help the week and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said it is more blessed to give than to receive. I have never ever receive something and it found its joy to be very fleeting. They were the members of this is when I was a kid and I got a new football for Christmas.
I remember that football just a little boy and I just I was a little dog. Remember the smell of the leather that will peewee football and I couldn't wait to Kimbrough's Christmas day or the next day we went across the street about Philip's house got little game of pickup football course.
I was a quarterback. My friend Danny. He was usually wide receiver. I always like to pretend that I was back in those days it was it was the it was the Rams that I loved Amanda Corbett and Roman Gabriel. He had a receiver named Jack Snow now was roaming Gabriel vanity him with Jack Snow without their work we call a couple touchdown passes and were planted that and and I was telling my be careful of my football. I want to go out in the street get scratched up and enter in the past was thrown in the receiver bobbled it and the ball went out and it fell right into the street and I thought I was going to get scratched up, but instead a much worse fate. A car was coming at that very moment it ran over the ball so perfectly that it just went pop like a like a firecracker had gone off.
It actually exploded and was lying there limp in the in the in the road that football did not last 24 hours. It was amazing how was sky high. I got the best football in the neighborhood is brand-new. The leather is fresh and I'm out here thrown it and in the next moment is gone.
How quickly happiness can turn to sorrow. Notice of things that you get in your life. They could be fleeting, and so the joy of company it can be fleeting.
The blessing that is accompanying it can be fleeting, but whatever you give. Nobody can take that from you and and did I want to show you just going deeper in this one phrase.
It's more blessed to give than it is to receive just to show you in this one phrase that Jesus has spoken here something that is so deep and so rich that it is in many ways the giant secret of the Christian life and some sermons will go through a long text will go through a lava lamp sometimes will take section by section.
Sometimes will go through a story and see how it points to Jesus today. I just a little bit different from I just want to just just want to think with you about this one phrase is more blessed to give than it is to receive it. Really, that is addicted to God's people in and will always hear the judgment are two types of people on why some of the parents arm and I was wondering to start. Well, next thing I looked up I spent an hour reading humor about the two types of people there to talk to people as you walk into a room and site there you are in those organization here. I am not personally think into Gaza people that they cut their sandwiches horizontally diagonally the diagonals much fancier and better always do diagonal. There are those to God's people is a wise and those that are otherwise there. Those are two kinds of people. Those who finish their sentences and those who matter to people. Those who can keep secrets I can say about the rest of the really are two types of people. I really believe this are two types of people are those that believe that is more blessed to receive than it is to give in their those that have come to really believe that is more blessed to give than to receive its fundamental view that shapes everything in your life in the conspiracy of our culture is try to convince you of the prior that it is more blessed to receive them to give everything in our cultures and screaming at this. In fact, almost just if you are Martian you just came to earth and you just think that whatever body was living by what principal you'd say probably living by the so you can get principal know that is that's where you you get a good education so you can get a good job so you could get a good income so you could get a good portfolio so you can get a good retirement so you can get some to pass on to your kids so they get a good education so you can get a good job seeing it so you get so you get an event and honestly field around the world. That's what people live by the mentality that is built upon. While we just have to save fundamentally is a lie from the pit of hell. This is it. That's what life is all about know it's astounding to me is that there are so many arenas of life we would never ever let ourselves is live foundation according to ally some the most important things of life like this very principal about the real pathway to blessedness was on the just got me thinking, just build our life on some the culture is just breathed into us.
We can imagine some things of you just built your life will I want to people instead of one statement of believing that 2+2 = 4 each believed 2+2 = 5. Mentally we do that how we having our live thing about singing about that beautiful movie hidden figures in the mathematicians and these these ladies. It became calculators and they did it. They can have all the machines everything they had all the trajectories for project Mercury on paper and some the most complicated math is. It's really fascinating to watch budgeting thought that 2+2 those five though, and everything else is built on that you know what happened with that you're crashing somewhere or you're out in the Pluto. I mean, you're just it was as if you're building on an error than the longer you go without error. The further you get away from where he really supposed to be. Imagine if you thought that North or South and South was North. As I said mama to go to Canada and you just started driving south from from North Carolina United to get there so is that I may go down to sunny Florida and you start. Head north you not get there, especially this week is not to be there. In other words, if you build your life on some that is foundational he wrongly built on deception than the longer you do that the further away you get from where you really need to be. So, we wonder why people are very happy and in an empty block that are very happy if there's a growing body of literature on the study.
The scientific study of happiness a lot of surveys been done in recent years and with it found is that most Americans don't report be very happy. 31% in 2016 and 33% in 2017. So we ticked upward 2% more doubt on the third of people that say they're basically happy that I'm not trying to suggest here all to say that the goal of life is to be happy or to trivialize the idea malicious start with this before we even talk about what we mean by blessedness or just talk about this about happiness because the fact of the matter is that I think is just huge masses of people that think that the way to happiness is is the so you can get syndrome and is just not true. Is it right you are listening to sharing the light will have more teaching in a moment from today's important series stress is stressed out his option on the stresses of life will always bring that stressful season very busy season's difficult seasons and spiritual life can be stressful. Power of the gospel to be stressed next stressful times. Trust in the ground during stressful times is no better place to turn the sobs as a sum for every citizen during stressful times for every season. Seasons come and go in the grace of God to stand strong. No matter to discover stressful times.
Call us at 877-544-4860 877-544-4860 or come to our website sharing the light.org you're listening to sharing the light. These teaching now continue you once again is Alan Wright famously written about the gathering of successful men in the first part of the 20th century, 1923 the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. The most powerful money magnets in the world gather for meeting these eight people if they combined all their resources and assets controlled more money at that time than the U.S. Treasury and the group were people like Charles Schwab is a present of the steel company, Richard Whitney, Pres., New York Stock Exchange, author, cotton, weed speculator, Albert fall, presidential cabinet member wealthy man Jesse Livermore greatest barrel Wall Street Leon Frazier present of international Bank of settlements Ivan Kruger, head of the world's largest book, the nation's largest monopoly is an unbelievable but impressive group people gather this one hotels. One time, but if you look later in their life and be just shocked Charles Schwab died penniless. Richard Whitney spent the rest of his life serving a sentence in Sing Sing prison.
Arthur cotton became insolvent, Albert fall, born from federal prison so we could die at home. Leon Frazier committed suicide just deliver committed suicide and Yvonne Kruger committed suicide. Now we live through depression, they would through different times in their inner lives went up in despair or hardship in disruptive lifestyles and just think, if in a small way.
If your happiness depends on the new football that you got in the car runs every gunner happiness will carry that too much bigger extreme.
You might think people just had a windfall of sudden good luck would be really happy. It's very interesting.
You've probably heard about some of the studies about lottery winners in 1978, a trio of researchers at Northwestern University, University Massachusetts interviewed recent winners of the Illinois state lottery, but they also in the same study interviewed recent victims accident victims have been rendered, quadriplegic or paraplegic and you can't get any further distance in that Kenya people are just had a windfall win of the lottery and those just got confined to wheelchair restaurants in an interview both know is just unbelievable.
The results of this just basically showed that the people who'd won the lottery while they had a slight margin of reporting greater happiness at that present moment we survey their whole life asked about the amount of pleasure they got from simple things like chatting with a friend or are just enjoying a joke or receiving a compliment, and all those things. They found that the the paraplegic in the quadriplegic were happier than those in Wanda lottery the famous stories like Jack Whitaker, West Virginia marijuana 315 million Powerball jackpot in 2002 and a first it was going well. He established a foundation including 14 million of his own distorted, but then later just all went downhill over 1/2 million dollars in cash and cashiers check stolen from his car while he was parked outside a strip club's office in his home broken into is arrested twice for drunk driving is grand front granddaughter died under suspicious circumstances, and by 2007. Five years later, it spent almost all of his money and he told reporters quote. I wish I'd torn that ticket up but don't don't miss our Sammy. I believe the that financial blessings and stuff that we can get all of this can be a wonderful gift from the Lord blames Megan this point I'm just I'm just starting here before even really talk about what we mean by blessedness just starting her sick. Even secular science has shown that it does not make you happy. Getting getting getting getting getting does not make you happy. Some years ago a British newspaper had a contest to see who can best answer the question. Who are the happiest people on earth.
I love some of the answers here. Some of the top ones a craftsman or artist whistling over a job well done. A little child building sand castles, a mother bathing her baby doctor who is finished. A difficult operation and saved a human life for the happiest people on earth.
There are people that are giving themselves to something or someone to showing kindness leads to happy. One study has proven that if some I received a monetary windfall. Those who spend it on someone else felt significantly happier than those who spend it on themselves and in his book flourish, University of Pennsylvania professor Martin Seligman explain how much helping others improves our own lives and finally he just made this very bold statement for scientist is that we scientists have found that doing a kindness produces the single most reliable momentary increase in well-being of any exercise we have tested people who are grateful people are people who are by very nature givers because when you are grateful you are giving thanks and researcher Ren�e Brown secular research after out of Houston, who has done so much beautiful and profound work on shame and empathy is also done much research about gratitude and she said I made a commitment to never talk about joy for the rest of my career without talking about gratitude because in 12 years of research I've never interviewed a single person with the capacity to really experience joy who does not also actively practice gratitude. I just trying to establish with you that so you can get does not lead to happiness by the life that is built on Jesus's principal of giving is the avenue in the most basic sense of happiness in this world� Go deeper with it because blessedness that Jesus is described in Blessed are those they give bullet more blessed you are when you give this idea of blessedness is something it's much deeper, more rich than than any notion of happiness in the secular world blessedness is is a profound biblical concept.
It's our it's our it's our word,, dismayed it feels like the world's gonna take over this word also we can't lose blessedness on the weekly note cultures taken to me of our words away from us right but just we can't lose this one. This is our word blessed right but now we got everything's hashtag blessed are you kidding me this is some celebrity you know. And then there's some slinky dresses some exclusive party wearing a lot of jewelry and just like that hashtag blessed just trivializing the things that it's become this become for and social medias, become the way that you can, you know, just brag and it is supposed to be not bragging if you just end it with hashtag blessed is catlike in the South. If you just say you know, bless his heart, then you can just gossip as much as you want.
After that, you know were praying for so-and-so bless his heart. You know that you know above about about block a went out to do things like you and say no just so glad to report that you know I made straight A's and was voted most popular kid in school hashtag blessed it, one comedian making fun of all this we did got a piece of bacon fallen out of the sandwich right for hit the ground. Hashtag blessed we cannot live this work, visit our word blessed Adam and Eve were blessed by God and then he said, be fruitful and multiply. Abraham was called about the error of the colleagues and God promised him that he would be blessed so that he could be a blessing. The whole people of God would be blessed so that they could be a blessing.
It is the profound and deep unmerited favor of God.
The idea of being blessed is so much richer and deeper than the idea being happy because blessedness by its very, by its very definition means that someone is doing the blessing that it is not something that you could brag about or that you could have earned but it is a condition it is a it is a state in which you find yourself because of the sovereign hand of God that is moved on your behalf.
According to Gill's dictionary of the New Testament Old Testament view blessed him blessedness means fullness of life, fullness of life is often related to virtue and wisdom. And when you come to the New Testament refers overwhelmingly. This is still tittles famous boot dictionary New Testament overwhelmingly to the joy which accrues to man from his share in the salvation of the kingdom of God and it word for blessing. Both Old Testament and New Testament almost referring to a person rarely a thing almost everything, even if it is a thing it's more like blessed are your eyes for you can see is what Mary says after realizing that she can be the mother of the Messiah. For now, on the whole world will call me blessed. You get a sense on early in Jesus's ministry that he is just taking the notion of blessedness and is turning upside down in some shocking ways because Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is a key member.
Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. The some of the ways that you would think that is not the model for happiness because it doesn't fit the so you can get syndrome and Jesus didn't just inverts it always is wanting what real blessing is a mate about a different avenue to blessing, tell you about what this really means you can be blessed even when others are reviling persecuting you and uttering all kinds of evil against you because great is your reward in heaven. It changes everything in your life when you see this your blessedness is related to belief. When Simon Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ the Lord. Remember what Jesus said to him, said blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you. You're blessed when you get a revelation. You're blessed when you have faith blessing is if blessedness is related to faith in future security confidence in the goodness of God in your ultimate destiny.
Blessed is the man whose sin is not counted against him. Paul says in Romans chapter 4 is prevalent in the book of Revelation. Blessed are those that I am the Lord blessed are those are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Blessed are those that have the right to the tree of life. Happiness is a good feeling up, perhaps contentment.
A pleasant sentiment enjoying life blessedness is much deeper right here listening to today's message in a new series, more blessed, it is more blessed to give then get sick with this pastor Alan is back in the studio shearing aborting good news thought for the day in just a moment's stress is becoming stressed out his action. You can't avoid the stresses of life will always bring stressful seasons. Busy season's difficult seasons in our spiritual life can discuss phone power of the gospel to be stressed in the next stressful times. Trust in the morning during stressful times is no better place to turn to Psalms some for recent during stressful times for every season. Seasons come and go in the grace and stand strong and discover stressful times. Call us at 877-544-4860 877-544-4860 or come to our website. Shearing the light.org back here in the studio with pastor Alan are parting good news thought for the day. As we begin this new series, more blessed the happiest people on the face of the earth. Daniel are people that are giving it doesn't matter if you think about every category of person and every type of activity. What is it that really gives us a sense of blessedness is not the things we acquire is what were able to get as we saw a craftsman or artist whistling over a job well done giving him or herself to the job a child building a sand castle mother bathing abate people that are giving them self to something and this is the giant secret of the Christian life. It is something more than mere happiness. It is a state of blessedness and giving here is that avenue. This isn't just about oh giving our finances. This is important is that he is. This is about how you view life in general. It's more blessed to give than to receive. This is been sharing the life with Helen right, a listener supported production of sharing the likeness