Last week in our studying of the book of Acts at Valley Christian Center, something hit me like a ton of bricks (and it was more then just the amazing power of the Holy Spirit). As we began our study, we ran right into Acts 2 and the Day of Pentecost. It is an amazing account of the first Holy Spirit Baptism. Those that were in the upper room on the day of Pentecost experienced something EXTREME and it forever changed them. This was not the first time we have studied this text, but what was new for me was the extent to which the release of the Holy Spirit set the foundation of the church for the future. This was an extreme transition time, that we as Christians get to look back on with the vividly descriptive words of Luke and see what God was doing. Because of the extreme transformation of these men, there were several qualities of the early Church that spread beyond just those in the upper room.
When we look at Acts 4:31-37, we see qualities of the early Church that were the result of the people being filled with the Holy Spirit. First and foremost, there were those that were NOT in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost that were filled with the Holy Spirit. This gives us such great hope! You see, the power from the Holy Spirit, that they received after the day of Pentecost, we too can receive. This power of the Holy Spirit is the force and ability that will help us overcome the enemy in this earthly life. Other qualities that were possessed by the early church include the following: they were bold in their witness, they were in perfect unity, they were selfless in their attitude toward others, and great grace was upon them.
However, the one quality that struck me the most was the Early Church was EXTREMELY generous with those in need. Now, I understand generosity and I think I am a generous person, but what does it mean to be EXTREMELY generous? Is it giving away our unwanted items to Goodwill so that they can sell them at a discount to someone less fortunate then us? (We all know that we really give to Goodwill for the tax write-off or so we don’t feel bad because there are kids in Africa going to bed naked if we don’t take care of our clothes.) Is it seeing a homeless man on the corner of the road and rummaging through our ash tray for loose change to give to him? Is it giving our left over McDonald’s to the beggar standing just outside the comfort of the air conditioning? While all of these might be good, they don’t seem very extreme to me. We have all done them. In fact we have done them so often, now there are people standing outside most MickyD’s and on almost every major street corner. What was once meant to be a gesture of generosity has now turned into a scam by the guy on the street corner (Note for all those still naive: not all street corner guys are truly “Hungry” or “willing to work for food”. Discernment can help you to know when and how to give to these people).
So again I am forced to ask myself, “What does it mean to be EXTREMELY Generous?” Based on Acts 4:34-35, it involves effort and sacrifice along with knowing where the generosity should be directed. If I had to put it in a mathematical equation it would be, (e+s)G=X or Effort+Sacrifice(Guidance from the Holy Spirit)=eXtreme Generosity. It takes effort on our part to be willing to give up what is our excess, when we are prompted by the Holy Spirit to do so. I am not saying we should all run right out and sell our houses and give the money to the poor, especially right now in this economy where most homes are under water. Nonetheless, to be extremely generous we must be open to however God directs our generosity. It is part of willful submission. One thing about this equation that the early church had figured out: You can’t have EXTREME generosity without the Holy Spirit. It is His generosity that is the source of our generosity. He is the connector between the giver and the receiver. Without the direction of the Holy Spirit you have charity not generosity. The Holy Spirit’s prompting usually involves a recipient for our generosity. It is not haphazard charity or unbridled giving, although charity and giving are good. Extreme generosity is instead focused through our relationship with the Creator of the universe. It is hearing His prompting that will get us to pay for the multiple people in line behind us at Starbucks. It is His prompting that will get us to buy a new computer for a student who can’t afford one, when we have been saving for months to get one ourself. It is His prompting that will have you recover a friends broken pool table when you have no pool table of your own. It is His prompting that will have you looking for the next opportunity to give something you value away. Without fail if you are in unity with the Holy Spirit and looking for an opportunity to be EXTREMELY generous, He will lead you to someone who is in need of your EXTREME generosity. If we can understand and build our lives with this principle, we will be like the early church that saw their possessions as tools for kingdom expansion and therefore they were bold and powerful in their witness to the Gospel through the Holy Spirit. It is not about us gaining more things to keep. It is about us being the conduit for the supply train of Christ. Let’s develop a truly EXTREMELY GENEROUS state of mind.
Tags: Dunamis, Extreme Generosity, God, Holy Spirit, Success, What If
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