Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Father, we are here because we really do believe when we speak the name of Jesus, something happens. And so we ask you to speak your name, who you are into our lives today and help us live our lives well for the glory of God. And everyone shouted amen.
[00:00:23] So what am I going to speak about? I'm going to speak about generosity Unleashed generosity.
[00:00:33] You see, I believe that we are called to be counterculture kids. You know what's coming at us instead of saying, okay, you're rude, I'm rude, you take my parking place, I'll shove you. No, actually, we're meant to be.
[00:00:49] Turn the other cheek. Sounds good in the Bible, but it's often hard to live. So how do we respond? With the opposite.
[00:00:59] With what we feel coming at us.
[00:01:02] I believe God wants to challenge the church. Come on. This is your opportunity for seasons of outrageous generosity.
[00:01:12] Why?
[00:01:13] Because we're living in a season where certainly Media Life tells us, tighten your belt, withdraw. Careful with your money. Government just wants to tax you.
[00:01:25] Jobs are going to be hard to get.
[00:01:27] How many of you know what I'm talking about? Money's going to be tight.
[00:01:31] Even if you save, they're going to take it. And there's this sort of atmosphere of the sneak attack coming from everywhere and we need to all become squirrels and sit in our money and hang on for dear life. How many of you relate to that just a little bit somehow?
[00:01:48] And so when that is the atmosphere, we have to go counterculture because I really don't believe that's what Jesus is saying.
[00:01:57] How many of you really believe that? The economy of God is pretty consistent. It's awesome, it works, and actually it doesn't have recession.
[00:02:10] I've learned. I'm a. For those of you who don't know me, maybe students coming. I'm a missionary kid and a preacher's kid. I grew up in India until I was 16. I then married my wonderful man, Gordon.
[00:02:25] He taught me to drive at 17.
[00:02:27] He was 26.
[00:02:29] He baby snatched.
[00:02:33] We got married while I was at university studying clinical biochemistry.
[00:02:39] He was a businessman in Albemarle Street, London. Terribly darling. He's Gordon Crawford Fitzgerald Hickson. Please bow.
[00:02:50] I think his mom looked at me and said, who the heck is she?
[00:02:57] We got married, we went to Africa, and I lived in Africa until I was 30 years old. And then we came back to this country, pastor churches in Watford, Hertfordshire, and now we live in Oxford Way. Great student city. Sorry, extra time.
[00:03:17] But one of the things I've noticed, and this mishkid preacher's Kid, I began to be intrigued by generosity.
[00:03:27] You see, generosity is one of the most attractive qualities that I know.
[00:03:34] When you feel valued, you feel noticed, you feel seen, you feel loved, spoiled, cherished.
[00:03:45] Comes from a generous heart.
[00:03:48] And when I fell in love with Jesus, I discovered one of the most generous people I've ever known.
[00:03:57] He is outrageously, ridiculously generous. You know, even when I really should be on the naughty step, he just says, come, girl, you've. Sorry, you. God, I've messed up. Come on in. It's time to go.
[00:04:14] I tell you, if you're thinking about Alpha course and you've got questions about God, come ask them.
[00:04:21] You see, I'm the mishkid preacher's kid that knew so much about God.
[00:04:26] But what I love about Alpha, we do it in Oxford, is it's time to be rebellious. It's time to ask those questions that you can put your chin out and say, well, what if?
[00:04:37] And God can take them. And I really have loved sitting with students who go, if you're real sin. And then we just process it all. And they go, okay, cool.
[00:04:48] I think you can stick your chin out and really ask those questions. Give Jason a hard time. Shh. Don't tell him I told you that.
[00:04:56] You see, it's one of the most amazing characteristics of God, this totally unreasonable generosity.
[00:05:05] But then we have a problem. The problem is this. Jesus looks at you and he says, oh, heaven, do you want to be like me?
[00:05:14] Yes, Jesus, make me like you.
[00:05:17] Be generous.
[00:05:19] Oh, God, what, to them?
[00:05:21] Yep, that's your first challenge.
[00:05:26] You see, God got hold of me.
[00:05:28] This rather legalistic scientific process, thinking, structured girl. And said, God and said, rachel, I want you to be like me.
[00:05:38] Proverbs 11:25. What does this say? Can you read it with me? 1, 2, 3. A generous man will. Oh, we lost my thing. A generous man will prosper. And he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. Can we read it one more time? A generous man will prosper. He, she who refreshes others, will himself. Hurst.
[00:06:05] Be refreshed.
[00:06:09] And you see, how does God want you to unleash his generosity? You probably think, oh, there they go in church, talking about money.
[00:06:20] Yes, unashamed.
[00:06:22] But is it money? Full stop. No, it's money, comma. I actually want you to be generous with a lot more than just money.
[00:06:30] Money's just 101. It's just beginning calls. Yeah. God often presses a button of money to see if we can open up and be generous. But you see, real generosity of heart works at every level.
[00:06:46] It's through your body, it's through your practical expression. It's emotionally, you're generous, Mentally, you give generous capacity. Your physical areas, spiritual areas.
[00:07:00] Look at God.
[00:07:02] He is outrageously, spiritually generous.
[00:07:07] I mean, his love tank and his forgiveness ability, off the charts.
[00:07:14] How many of you have felt loved by God when you really felt you should have had a slap?
[00:07:19] Anyone like me? And God just comes in and you're ready for that judgment. You know, the other Rachel was chatting about the judgmental. And you're bracing yourself thinking, I know God. I'm waiting. And he just looks at me and he said, I love you.
[00:07:34] I'm here for you. I see you, I want you. I've got a call for you.
[00:07:40] And part of you sort of goes, God, you know, if you slap me right now, I could cope with it better. Anyone ever felt like that.
[00:07:49] How outrageously generous are you with your love tank, your forgiveness tank? You know, we go off to work, there's always one, maybe it's you. No, we won't go there.
[00:08:07] You know, in that office that you walk in and the first thing, and you hear them huffing and puffing and swearing and stomping, and in my office, and here we go. Lord have mercy.
[00:08:21] How are we going to be generous to the people who just are like sandpaper in our lives?
[00:08:28] How are we going to love the unlovely, the unknown, the unkind?
[00:08:33] I mean, we're standing.
[00:08:36] Dear Charlie Kirk, you know, shot being a Jesus person and maybe some of his expression we don't necessarily like. I mean, we live in Oxford, so we've got the Oxford Union and the Oxford president. We've got it all kicking off about correct narrative. How generous should we be in our conversations, but how truthful should we be in our beliefs? Where are the lines? How smart can we be? But I love Jesus.
[00:09:05] And so in this season, when there's a lot of ungenerosity, how can we be that sound of Jesus? Generosity that embraces that loves, that sees, that cares that sees, speaks.
[00:09:21] Do you get where I'm going?
[00:09:24] You see, there's a spiritual one, there's the emotional.
[00:09:28] How do you give out of the emotional tank?
[00:09:33] Generously?
[00:09:35] I want to ask you, how much of a person of affirmation are you?
[00:09:41] Do you cheerlead people? Do you encourage people? Do you give them words that they can just feel you? Yeah. Head up, shoulders back. I got it today.
[00:09:52] How many of you know words can do that in a second?
[00:09:56] How many of you also know words can break you in a second. Who are you?
[00:10:01] What are you doing here? You're weird.
[00:10:07] You see, the generosity of words, sending cards, leaving a gift, practical things from that emotional space.
[00:10:19] And yes, giving money, literally giving money, not only to the church because it's your tithe and I tick my box and I'm a good girl, but it's actually how we give of our resources to resource others, how we cheerlead others.
[00:10:36] If I have an underlying narrative in my life, it's this. My job is to help you do good.
[00:10:46] My job is to help you do good. I want to get behind you. I want to hear your passions and visions.
[00:10:52] Quite a few years ago, you know, I met this beautiful Zimbabwean girl.
[00:10:58] She had always wanted to do medicine, and the economic climate of Zimbabwe had changed significantly, and her parents were. There was no way they would be able to find the foreign currency. To see her complete her doctor training in London. I met her at the end of the thing. She said, please pray for me. I said, oh, no, I want to be a doctor. I've always imagined going up to Chipolo up in the north, the copper area.
[00:11:31] I just imagined being a doctor all my life. I've got three years left.
[00:11:35] She prayed for me. I looked at her, I said, you don't need me to pray for you. You need me to pay for you.
[00:11:43] Come on. Sometimes we don't need to pray. And I said, I hear your cry. I wanted to be a doctor. I didn't make it. I became a clinical. I'm going to invest in you. Go, girl. Be the best doctor ever.
[00:11:56] Come on.
[00:12:00] You see, there are things that are going to come across our paths in these complex things. Tough times of economic hardship that need more than a prayer. They need the outrageous generosity of the church. They don't just need random acts of kindness. They need intentional acts of kindness where we see people, hear people, love people, and find that Jesus in us is more than enough to help.
[00:12:26] Do you agree with that? Could you imagine if everyone touched one, reached one with the generosity of Jesus? If we spoke words of kindness, if we began to demonstrate simple actions, if we began to give people room to make mistakes and cheerlead them, I believe we could transform so much of a negative narrative of our society. It's time church to speak the name of Jesus.
[00:12:57] You see, I've noticed something that where there are strong religious spirits, and often in our more ancient, like our British, American, Canadian, Western cultures, strong Christian religious spirits, where there's deep Freemasonry, maybe embedded into our culture, there's also this pseudo culture of negativity.
[00:13:23] And I call it pseudo because actually we think we're really important, but another part of us keeps saying, oh, no, I'm nothing, I don't do anything. But if you say to them, well, you're nothing, you don't do anything, you get a slap or swear.
[00:13:42] You see, there is a poverty mentality that affects so many of our attitudes towards money.
[00:13:50] Instead of being an outrageously generous people, this poverty mentality has reshaped our attitude, our self image and become a stronghold in our mind.
[00:14:06] So what do I mean when I say poverty mentality? I don't mean you're looking at your bank account.
[00:14:11] Although it could be that and thinking, I'm never going to make it this month, I've got 75p, I'm in poverty.
[00:14:19] No, it's people who look at their bank account and have £7,500 and still say, I'm never going to make it, I'm hard up. I'm thinking, nobody cares. You see, a poverty mentality is not connected to your bank account. It's connected to a stronghold in your mind.
[00:14:38] You see, as I said, I'm an Indian girl, an African girl. My parents actually went to Texas, San Antonio, America. So there's an American girl in there somewhere too.
[00:14:49] I've got an Aussie daughter who married an Aussie. I've got Leela Kooper, Alani's grandkids. And I've got Margot, Annabelle and Jeremy, my Brits and my Aussies.
[00:15:05] I hope you're prophetic enough to discern which.
[00:15:09] But it's interesting, when you move culturally, you hit cultural atmospheres. And one of the things coming as an Indian, African American girl into this country is people come up to me, say, like, I confess my hair. People say, oh, you look different, I like your hair.
[00:15:30] Now, the British girl should go, oh, it's fine. I didn't really do anything. It was.
[00:15:37] Now maybe the more American girl goes, thank you. Yeah, I'm really pleased with it. You go, oh, she's up herself.
[00:15:48] Why, what is this? In our British thing, get a lovely new car and, you know it's outside and you tuck it round the back and say, I hope no one notices. And then here, the American Indian African girl said, wow, God's blessed you. What a beautiful car. Don't look at my car. It's not about the car, it's just a car.
[00:16:10] No, it isn't. It's a flipping new, brand new Range Rover with all the bells and smells. It's an awesome some car.
[00:16:20] How many know what I'm doing? You get the joke. We are just really other nations. And so I'm trying to play with. But we are weird.
[00:16:29] And why is that?
[00:16:32] Because you see in our very culture, in our DNA, there is something that is almost in our water system that has downsized us and tries to suppress the generosity of what I know good British people are. Come on, let me hear. And amen. I believe that British people are some of the most outstanding, generous, incredible people.
[00:16:55] Look at missions, giving all sorts of things. But we are weird. When people try to be generous to us, we feel threatened if someone does better. But because we're British, we all pretend, oh no, it's wonderful.
[00:17:10] Chanter, chanter, chanter.
[00:17:14] We always say, well, we don't want to be over the top, let's not be lavish. We don't want to be extravagant. Just keep it middle of the road.
[00:17:26] I remember my daughter's wedding. My dear dad, he is incredible. My daughter's wedding. And the flowers were beautiful. I love flowers. Unashamed flowers were saying, my dad comes in, rather overdid the flowers, didn't we? I said, no, it's my girl's wedding. I've only got one girl.
[00:17:47] Come on, we need to smash some of these wretched, stupid things. How many are not British born people here?
[00:17:56] Do you think I'm saying anything? That's a bit true. Do you see it too?
[00:18:01] How many British people here think, yeah, you're here.
[00:18:06] I'm leaving very quickly after the service.
[00:18:13] You know, we have this thing, we're terrified about being too lavish. We're worried that we're going to draw attention to ourselves. We find it impossible to speak about money.
[00:18:26] In fact now in British churches, which has been a revolution for me, we're happier to speak about sex than we are money and all. There is a hate word, prosperity.
[00:18:41] I remember naive African girl coming back. Someone came up to me and said, are you a prosperity person?
[00:18:51] I knew it was really bad to say yes.
[00:18:54] But then I was trying to work out why I should say no.
[00:18:59] Because if I say no, I'm not a prosperity person, then I'm saying I am a poverty person. No. I grew up in India.
[00:19:10] I spent my life working with precious people in the slums. Seeing them coming out of Hinduism, seeing the grace of God coming upon their lives, seeing how he radically transformed their little into much. You know, we gave Indian food, some Indian Christian families, goats. Every one of those goats birthed twins, so double their money. And all the Hindu goats only had singletons. The village literally came to us and said, mama, pray, do goat blessings because we want to have. Because they saw the abundance and the blessing and the generosity of God to upgrade, to lift up.
[00:19:52] So I want to ask you, have you been infected by the poverty mentality virus?
[00:20:04] Could be worse for your life than Covid.
[00:20:08] It could smother everything you're meant to be, suffocate you. But you see, God says we are not living in a withholding.
[00:20:19] He says we're living in a greatness season.
[00:20:22] You know, I've heard some people say, oh, we need to put the great back into Great Britain. Can I just tell you? Impossible.
[00:20:30] No man, no woman, no government, no child, no person is capable of putting great in a nation.
[00:20:40] Jesus can.
[00:20:42] Jesus can. Oh, we speak the name of Jesus, we shout the name of Jesus, we lift up the name of Jesus.
[00:20:53] Because who is great, who is mighty, who is faithful, who never fails.
[00:21:04] And if we want to see greatness, we've got to become an unashamed, generous, outliving Jesus. People so much of our culture has tried to make, to blur us. We don't want distinctives, we want spectrums.
[00:21:27] We don't want the distinctive of a girl and the distinctive of a boy. We want a gender blending. We don't want the distinction of rich or poor. We just want everyone the same. There's this blending. But you know what? God makes incredible individuals. He designs us for greatness. Every one of you is designed for greatness, for the kingdom of God.
[00:21:52] I believe God is asking this church. Come on, rediscover. To enter a season of promotion rather than depletion. He wants to partner with you, rediscover and help you do great things, not okay things. Harmony is up for doing great things.
[00:22:15] And you see that British mentality. I've got two kids, Nicola and David. I don't want them to have an okay marriage with an okay, kids with an okay. Just make it house with an okay. No, the heart of a parent is go, run for it. Do more than me. Have a greater marriage than me, have more kids than than me. They can do that. They have. They've had three, we had two. You know, enjoy.
[00:22:43] Don't you think that's the heart of the father for you?
[00:22:46] I want to give you greatness. I feel in this season God is challenging us to live in the opposite attitude to the world around us. This is not a time of half measures, but it is a time for double portions.
[00:23:01] Even in that scripture that I read in Proverbs 11:24 25, which talks about the generosity. The verse before it says, one man gives freely and the generous man who gives freely, he what he gains even more.
[00:23:21] Another man withholds unduly, but he comes to poverty. I don't know where my slides are. But a generous man will prosper and he who refreshes others will. Will himself be refreshed.
[00:23:40] So you see, if you withhold, you're on a journey to poverty. But if you give, you're on a journey to generosity.
[00:23:53] So how are you going to give?
[00:23:56] You going to give out of your money, your time, your hospitality, your help?
[00:24:01] Are you going to give affirmation, honour, respect?
[00:24:05] Are you going to give people significance? Gratitude? Hugs? I'm known as a hug lady. In fact, in Oxford they often line up, especially the students. They say missing home can have a hug.
[00:24:19] Come on.
[00:24:21] Have you got space at your table to invite some students back for Sunday lunch? Come on, open up. Be generous.
[00:24:30] Are you going to be forgiving?
[00:24:34] Psalm 84:11 says, for the Lord, God is my son and shield, and the Lord bestows generously, gives favour and honor. No. Come on, can you say that with me? How many? No good thing does he withhold from those who walk with him.
[00:24:56] How much? Nothing. God's not a withholder. God is a giver.
[00:25:03] So I want you to check out your response tank.
[00:25:07] Is there something in you that always goes to the cautious?
[00:25:11] Don't be manipulated. Hold it all in, keep it tight.
[00:25:15] Or are you a giver?
[00:25:17] Is there a generosity?
[00:25:20] Because I actually believe to be outrageously generosity generous. Some people naturally are.
[00:25:26] How many of you would agree with me?
[00:25:30] How many of you would say you are naturally generous? Put your hand up, Mr. Gordon. If your hand is not up, I will cover personally.
[00:25:40] His family is one of the most outrageously generous families I know.
[00:25:46] They taught me his mum and dad were the non Christians. They were God fearing but not God knowing, just beautiful people.
[00:25:56] We were the Christian Pentecostal missionaries all around.
[00:26:01] But I grew up with squirrel mentality.
[00:26:06] Everyone's out to scam you.
[00:26:08] Hold it all tight.
[00:26:10] His family was like, come in Rachel, what do you need? We'll spoil you.
[00:26:15] At first I thought what they after?
[00:26:18] How many of you know generosity can be a bit threatening.
[00:26:24] I began to lose control and I was like, hmm.
[00:26:27] And then when it was his mum as well, I'm thinking seriously.
[00:26:31] But you see, I believe God wants to release the spirit of generosity and breakthrough.
[00:26:38] So will you read this verse with me? Isaiah 60:1, verse 1. There's a Spirit and generosity can you read it with me? 1, 2, 3. The spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me, not your neighbor, on me.
[00:26:55] Because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. And you see that poor isn't just literally the people living in Ashanti town. It's those with a poverty of spirit, mindset and being.
[00:27:12] Do you get what I'm saying? It's to literally break every poverty mentality and the poverty naturally, physically, emotionally. Did you know that spirit rests on you to break this wretched poverty mentality that cripples so many of our incredible families?
[00:27:35] Outstanding. We did the kingdom biz yesterday.
[00:27:38] So many people don't believe that they're good at what they're doing, good at who they are. Why poverty mentality that's told them downsize things. Shut up. What do you know? You're an idiot.
[00:27:48] How many have heard that voice?
[00:27:51] No. The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he's anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted me, to proclaim freedom for the captives, to release darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. That's generosity and the day of vengeance of our God.
[00:28:15] You see, today I want you to ask God to put a new anointing on your life.
[00:28:21] I want you to say, jesus, pick me to be a carrier of generosity. God, I want to be one that watches captives go free, people be released from prison, debts.
[00:28:34] You see, that's the journey I began on when I began to realize I reacted so much to compliments.
[00:28:41] Oh, that's a beautiful dress. Love that. Oh, it was cheap. I got it in the sale.
[00:28:48] You know, react all the time because we're terrified.
[00:28:52] Get over it, please.
[00:28:56] I said, God, I want you to put a new anointing on my life to break me from the shame of all this poverty and make me a good receiver.
[00:29:11] Do you know that isn't always comfortable?
[00:29:14] I went, having prayed this prayer, to Portland, Oregon. U.S. the Americans are incredible.
[00:29:22] And this beautiful girl came and sat next to me.
[00:29:25] Elizabeth Nordstrom didn't mean anything to me. And she said, I have anointing on my life too, Rachel. My anointing is shopping.
[00:29:36] The missionary in me goes, that's not a real anointing.
[00:29:44] This was about 25, 30 years ago. And she said, can I please share my anointing with you?
[00:29:50] So I'm like, okay.
[00:29:52] It was the most excruciating experience for me because my poverty spirit was like cringing, shouting, we arrived at Nordstrom store. How many know Nordstrom usa?
[00:30:04] All the doors open. I feel like I'm walking with a queen. I'm ignorant. It's blessed.
[00:30:09] She is Elizabeth Nordstrom.
[00:30:14] I mean, she dressed me. We need this outfit. You're doing the thing. She was getting all the designers. She's going in parts of a store I didn't even know existed. She's got me dressed and kitted out and then we're gonna buy this. I am absolutely mortified because I'm taking more clothes off than I want to. I'm standing in the mirror. I'm just thinking, lord, why is this good?
[00:30:36] And God says, get over it. Your wretched poverty spirit. Learn to receive.
[00:30:44] I had an issue. Anyone else with issues?
[00:30:48] Come on, Jesus, break. You see, God needs to come into our lives and break every attitude. As I said when we got married, our Mrs. Squirrel Gordon is outrageously and if I dare say it, stupidly generous.
[00:31:07] Every time he got money, he had a guilt complex. So it's like, give it away. Don't let it touch me. Oh, help.
[00:31:15] So when we got married, 20 student kid, worked my way through all the summers, et cetera.
[00:31:24] They actually used my savings and stuff to guarantee our mortgage. His British army officer, Arnold, pension, salaries. Now owning his own business, 10 years older, he bought Aladdin's Mat. It was a huge, big, beautiful.
[00:31:39] What do you call it? Sort of Persian rug. That's right.
[00:31:45] And a 58 pound pot of honey.
[00:31:49] Why exactly?
[00:31:53] It obviously was a bargain somewhere. I bought the bank account, the guarantee, the thing.
[00:31:59] And so when we got married, I became the control freak about money.
[00:32:08] It was in the times when mortgage rates were 16%. 16%. Anyone remember those days?
[00:32:20] And Gordon just gives everything away.
[00:32:24] And God began to speak to us that I needed to break my controlling.
[00:32:29] Because, you see, I prayed my tithe. I'm a good girl. I was freaked out. If I didn't do right to God, then he might be mean to me. So we needed to see poverty mentality.
[00:32:40] So I paid my tithe like my electricity bill.
[00:32:43] If it said 92 pounds and 37p, that's exactly what the electric company got.
[00:32:51] And if I worked out, our tithe and 10% was 102 pounds, 12 and a half p. That's exactly what God got. And he should be very pleased.
[00:33:08] Where's Gordon's? Like, well, how much we do make? I'll stick 200 and I'm no.
[00:33:14] Why would we do that?
[00:33:18] Worlds collided.
[00:33:23] But there was an irritating thing I learned is that generous People usually carry joy.
[00:33:29] How many of you discovered that generous people usually carry joy? I met this man called Wayne Myers who was a missionary in Mexico and he said, I said, you're just so happy. And he was just like, he was quite old and he just does a little skip. He said, oh, I found a secret to joy. I said, what's that? He said, you give breakfast, lunch and tea, it never goes wrong.
[00:33:56] And you walk through Mexico City and you just saw him minister.
[00:34:03] So the first key is God has to challenge and reveal your mindset. And yes, I've told lots of stories, but there's a chocolate hand grenade in there.
[00:34:16] I believe that God wants to explode some of our mindsets.
[00:34:21] Secondly, God then gives us a revelation of how we need to be generous towards other people.
[00:34:28] Can you see beyond yourself? You see that Mrs. Squirrel in me was always thinking, I'll look after me first. Then if I got a bit extra, they should be very happy that I'm such a nice person.
[00:34:41] God, did you note that?
[00:34:45] But this God of generosity began to teach me to be a giver.
[00:34:51] I had to learn the lesson to get over my resentful and slightly bitter attitude that says, watch out, everyone just wants to take from from you.
[00:35:02] I also learned that even when people take from you, you can reverse that curse and say, actually you think you took from me, but I've made a decision to give it to you anyway.
[00:35:13] It breaks the power of. You see, that's what Jesus did on the cross.
[00:35:17] You see, no one murdered Jesus.
[00:35:21] Why?
[00:35:22] Because before they could murder him, my Bible says, and Jesus gave up his life before they took from Jesus, totally illegitimately, totally in a wrong fashion, Jesus said, I'm going to give it anyway.
[00:35:44] We were in Africa working as missionaries. Probably the one possession that we had left which had real value and beauty was our car which we shipped there. And it really did the African roads. I love that car because it was part of Britain, it was part of all our business worlds and all that we had. That was excellent. And when we came to leave Kenya, there were some American missionaries that needed a car and they were well funded, well done, big organization. And they made a transaction for US dollars to take that car which was still under 10,000 miles in African roads because it got stuck in the port. Long story.
[00:36:27] And so that was my little nest egg. I had two kids on the road and I just had David. We had no money. I actually didn't have the medical fees to pay for it. And there was those dollars all promised. Etc. The thing is, even to this day, they've never paid it, but it was like an irritant. You owe me. You owe me. And if I saw that organization, that name, it was like, chanter, chanter. And there was one day when God says, rachel, stop it.
[00:36:58] I want you to be generous now. What? What?
[00:37:02] He says, you are to write them all ahead of a blessing, and you are to give it and gift it to them seriously.
[00:37:11] But that's not right.
[00:37:12] They stole.
[00:37:14] God says, beep. Do you know when God just doesn't answer? He said, end of conversation. Shut that book.
[00:37:22] And I was like, serious, beep, Go. Beep.
[00:37:28] But then I couldn't sleep.
[00:37:30] I wrote, gordon, he's fine. Just get it.
[00:37:35] Chanter, Chanter, Chanter.
[00:37:37] Thank you. Made myself cry.
[00:37:42] You see, God wants to teach you to be generous. And sometimes people have betrayed us. Maybe it's not money, maybe it's a friendship. Maybe it's a role in the job. They told you, oh, we'll just do this. You'll get the promotion. Then you find out they've done a whole lot behind him.
[00:37:59] There's stuff that you've had taken from you, but you've got an incredible opportunity to give generously, to let go and let God.
[00:38:11] Guess what? It changes everything.
[00:38:13] And God took me on that journey.
[00:38:16] It says in Psalm 37, verse 26, the righteous are always generous. They lend freely. Their children will be blessed. Come on, let go.
[00:38:26] First. Timothy 6:18. Command them to be good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
[00:38:34] So first, number one. Keys to outrageousness. Examine your heart.
[00:38:40] Are you generous or are you sealed? Come on, God, show me. Am I a Mr. Squirrel? Too generous? Do I give out of guilt all the time because I'm just scared of money?
[00:38:52] Or am I so scared I can never give anything?
[00:38:56] Number two.
[00:38:58] Where is my generosity to others? Do I see others? Do I even see myself with currency to give? And I hope you've understood, it's far more than money.
[00:39:07] Number three.
[00:39:08] God then wants to make you a giver into the community. You see, the thing about God is he gives to people in different ways.
[00:39:20] So if I put this here and I just say I want to give you some money, what are you going to do?
[00:39:29] I want to give you some money.
[00:39:33] Come on, King. I want to give you some money.
[00:39:37] Yes, you did it right.
[00:39:40] You see, I wanted to watch, to see, first, if anyone would take it.
[00:39:44] Secondly, if they'd take it all because, you see, the British. But I can't be greedy, Mr. Al. I can't take it all. I should just take 10 and leave some for someone else. But God said says to you, I want to give you.
[00:39:58] I want to give you.
[00:40:01] I want to give you everything.
[00:40:04] And we're like, is it a watching? This is really embarrassing. Should I do this? Is she real? Will she humiliate me?
[00:40:14] Well, God, no. God's got gifts for you.
[00:40:20] He's outrageously generous, but then he gives to you. Why not? So that you become a constipated Tao, but you become a continent.
[00:40:37] Come on, upgrade my salary, upgrade my standard of living so I can upgrade my standard of giving.
[00:40:45] I want to be a greater giver. How many of you want to upgrade the amount you give?
[00:40:51] So you see, this is a bit personal, but it's true. Gordon and I started on the 10% 90. God got hold of me, I said, okay, Gordon, I get it, we really need to tithe and we need to just give it. So we sat down, we worked out all our income and I'm the science, I'm double math major, etc. Gordon is my artistic history of arts. Russian, if the accounts were Russian or Norwegian or French, German.
[00:41:16] He doesn't do money.
[00:41:18] So I've done all the maths, we've walked it all out, done our gift aid, etc. And I came to it and I divided by 10 for the year.
[00:41:28] So we give all this year, of course. How many months are there? 12.
[00:41:33] So guess what? My maths failed me and I gave too much to God for a whole year. So we come to the end of the year and we get the review of our gift and I flipping heck, why do we give so much?
[00:41:47] And God just, I heard God always laugh saying, ha ha ha.
[00:41:51] You thought if you gave a bit more you'd be Bangladesh. But hard luck. Every month you've given above your tithe.
[00:42:00] And what happened?
[00:42:01] Well, it's been an awesome year.
[00:42:05] So from then on I've not got very good at maths ever again.
[00:42:11] And he sort of have this idea, 10% is mine, 90% is God.
[00:42:18] Rubbish.
[00:42:19] Everything belongs to him.
[00:42:23] And some months he said, rachel, you can keep 50%. I'd like that 50, because there's a pastor there who needs a brand new car next month. He says you can go on holiday, enjoy.
[00:42:34] Maybe that sounds a bit risky, but I have found if you have a generous heart, when I look at the end of the year, we've given far more than 10%. 10%. My friend. Remember my happy friend Wayne Myers in Mexico? He said, oh, you're so Smug. Well, I tithe and give 10%. He said, let me tell you something, you're only 1% better than a thief.
[00:42:55] I said, wayne, that's mean.
[00:42:59] But in other words, come on, don't withhold. How generous can I be?
[00:43:04] Don't just look at your money balance.
[00:43:06] Where have you given your time? Where have you given your expertise? Where, you know, just go surprise someone.
[00:43:14] We had some kids, our cars were actually filthy. We've been at church and they. They know that they're not using. They said, what happened to your car? I said, oh, we've been in Devon, actually. We've gone through holes and things in the mud over the top. And I said, yeah, I haven't had time to wash it. They said, it looks a mess for you. I said, I know, I'm really sorry. You know what? They washed my car.
[00:43:35] Come on.
[00:43:37] They just came out after church. They decided to go gang up and wash my car.
[00:43:45] I came out, it made me cry. One of the most generous things that have happened to me. Come on, are you going to give to your community?
[00:43:52] And finally, number four, I am finished. I told loads of stories and I hope you're okay.
[00:43:58] Number four, I want you to say, spirit of the Lord, come on me. Worship team, if you can come. Spirit of the Lord, come on me.
[00:44:05] I want an anointing to break poverty. How many of you want that? Spirit of the sovereign Lord. Because you see, once you become a giver, God then puts an authority on you and you begin to see it everywhere. I begin to see poor people who are just bound.
[00:44:23] I went into a building society just before, just after Covid, actually. I had to move some money in account. And the guy who came out with the appointment, he looked at me and I could see he was a really fatherly person.
[00:44:39] I said, are you okay? He said, yeah, I'm sorry, I'm running late. I said, it's okay.
[00:44:45] And he said, I'm really sorry. I said, it's all right. Take a moment. And I said, what's upset you? He said, well, that young girl who was just in here, he said, I just looked at her life and this is. I'm just looking for exactly what he said.
[00:45:02] He said this because I wrote it down.
[00:45:05] He said, I just feel broken.
[00:45:08] She needs some kind of benefactor from heaven.
[00:45:13] She doesn't have a hope in hell of ever getting free of the debt she's got herself into.
[00:45:21] I sat, listened to her story and I began to think, God help her.
[00:45:30] And I said, are you a Christian guy? He said, no, I'm not a church boy. And I said, well, I am.
[00:45:36] I said, I do believe that we're going to see a movement of generosity and a benefactor that are going to get behind the next generation. I believe that God wants to to put a spirit of generosity upon us that begins to break the curses of debt and begin to undo the enemy's plan. I do believe that we have a Jesus that could do and help and rescue people who have messed up financially and restore them.
[00:46:04] And he just began to cry. He said he knew my name. Mrs. Hickson, I wish that was true.
[00:46:11] I sit here every day and I wish I had money to pay their bills.
[00:46:19] Come on, we know a God who has all the money and all. I believe that part of our redemptive plan of us, something is going to be reversed because come on, Kingdom Biz, we've been talking about it. I believe there's going to be whole new philanthropic enterprises that get alongside people, so help them do life. How many believe that we can speak the name of Jesus over every curse and there is going to be an anointing. I believe God's going to provide every seed of money that you need, for every property that you need to do every job that you need. Because God is not poor. God is not in recession. God is able to work in us and work through us to bring transformation.
[00:47:05] This is our day church.
[00:47:08] Whoa.
[00:47:14] So we need to get rid of the apple pie mentality that says God's got one apple pie, and if I take a slice of my mortgage, slice of my kids, give a slice to God, then it runs out. No, we don't have an apple pie God. We have a river of provision. We put our bucket in that river. And actually his generosity fills every gap. We're not apple pie people, we're river people.
[00:47:42] So I want to pray for two groups of people.
[00:47:45] First group, I just want to say that I believe without Jesus in your life, helping you be smart, helping you to be generous, it's impossible to live in this season. In this culture.
[00:48:01] We get lonely, we get isolated, we get debt ridden, we feel overwhelmed, we don't know where our job's coming. There's so much. But I know a Jesus and he rescued this missionary kid, preachers kid who failed getting into Cambridge to do medicine, nearly ran away from everything until I met God and Gordon. And Gordon looked at me and said, you might have failed, but it doesn't make you a failure.
[00:48:27] And I don't know what your language and story is, but you might have failed, but it doesn't make you a failure. There is a God and his name is Jesus. And he loves to rescue, redeem, upgrade, restore, and send you out to shift your world.
[00:48:44] And many of us, a bit like, nah, I could do it. No, you can't. You've already tried. It hasn't gone so well. So why not give Jesus a care?
[00:48:55] Coming to church doesn't save you, but coming to church can give you a family that can hold you in the right place to find a God who can transform everything.
[00:49:06] I fell in love with Gordon by accident.
[00:49:09] 10 years older. I mean, he's out my league and why, but I fell in love with him.
[00:49:15] But I didn't marry him by accident. On March 21, 1981, I said, I will. I want you and you're gonna be mine.
[00:49:23] Get off the rest of the girls. He's now mine.
[00:49:29] You might have come into church by accident, but this you're gonna do intentionally. You're gonna say, I know I need help and I want Jesus. And maybe you don't understand how that could help you. That doesn't matter. That's why you have Rediscover help you. So right now, with every eye closed, I want to ask you, do you need a Jesus download in your life? Do you need to intentionally say, God, I want you in my world? I'm sorry, maybe you've known God like Rachel shared. You knew God before, but you're disconnected now and you need to reconnect.
[00:50:08] Do it today.
[00:50:09] Maybe you've never let God in your world. Do it today.
[00:50:14] So right now I'm going to count 1, 2, 3. And I just want you to put your hand up if you want to say, yes, I need Jesus.
[00:50:22] 1, 2, 3. Just put your hands up if you know that you're not in the right place with God. Thank you. So many of you. Just say, I know I need Jesus to help me do my life.
[00:50:34] Put that hand up. Hold it up. And if you're giving your life back to God or you're doing it for the first time, I want now the whole Rediscover family to pray with us. As you keep. I want you to use your imaginations. Get hold of the hand of God and say, God, grab me. Don't let me go. And we're going to pray this Jesus today.
[00:50:55] Oh, come on. You need double coffee. Come on. Rediscover church. Jesus, today I take you into my life.
[00:51:05] I want you to make me outrageously generous.
[00:51:10] Help me be a life changer in this culture.
[00:51:17] Forgive me for everything I'VE done wrong, but help me me do what's right and live a Jesus life.
[00:51:27] Amen.
[00:51:29] God bless you. Come on, let's give him a clap.
[00:51:35] Now if you prayed that prayer for the first time or you prayed it because you're saying Jesus, I've been messing around a bit, but I'm serious today I'm yours. On my left hand side side, your right hand side, you'll see a banner, first steps. Also back out in the coffee area, you'll see connect areas. It's really important that you break the sand bar and say to someone, you know what that crazy woman.
[00:52:01] But anyway, she got to me and I decided, I need Jesus in my life. Go tell someone. I put my hand up and I meant it. Or maybe you didn't quite put your hand up, but inside you did. That's okay.
[00:52:16] Even if you put your hand up on the inside and you meant it. Go tell someone, say you know what, when she was doing that, I know I need Jesus. Break the sound barrier, tell someone. And then we alpha course other things gonna get around you and we're gonna help you live your best life yet for the glory of God. Is everyone gonna say Amen now? Rediscover Church 2nd PR Prayer how many of you know God's been speaking to you to break some mindsets, maybe some fears.
[00:52:49] And you need know right here, you need to dedicate yourselves to a life of outrageous generosity with Jesus. Maybe you are like me, it's taken me a long time, but you know, oh dear, this will make me cry. One of the most. I'm 65. I just had my 65th birthday. And you read cards.
[00:53:14] So many of the cards that came said, rachel, you're one of the kindest, most generous persons I know.
[00:53:21] That is Jesus in life.
[00:53:24] You ask my school friends and they go, huh, she was miserable.
[00:53:29] She was meant to.
[00:53:32] Jesus does miracles.
[00:53:35] And if you're ready to do a journey to break some mindships of poverty and say, yes, God, make me generous, then I want you to stand in the presence of God.
[00:53:46] And as you stand, I want you to put your feet down and say, God, I shake off every wrong stinking thinking and I offer you my life. I surrender my life to generosity.
[00:54:01] And we're gonna speak that name.
[00:54:04] I want you to speak it over your life, the beautiful name of Jesus.
[00:54:12] And as you dedicate your life to new outrageous generosity, I want you to pray over yourself. I want you to to dedicate yourself and say, God, here I am. I speak that name of Jesus.
[00:54:26] And every fear every anxiety you get off me.
