Greater Giving
by Sam Hodum
February 18, 2026 · Cornerstone Apostolic Church (Chattanooga, TN)
Kind: teaching

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/sam-hodum--greater-giving-2
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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on us. Do we mature in this? Do we mature in our generosity, in our giving of our time, our talent, and our treasure? Do we allow our nature to change enough that we can see past ourselves? That's a key that's a key point to understanding generosity. It is not and and we can use money as a medium. We can use talent and t time as a medium. It doesn't matter. But the principle is the same. We have to allow ourselves to mature past ourselves. Our need. So if we're using money, God, I trust you with what you've blessed me with. I could consume this on my own or I could give it to you and see what you return to my time. God, I I know I've got a thousand things to do. What if I took this five minutes and I gave that time to you? What how does he return that back? That's maturing in it. And and and I will even say the maturing part, we don't even it it becomes to a point that we do not have to think about it because it becomes a part of who we are. As we mature in that, it becomes this is just what I do. This is just who I am. this is how I think. We may be discovering what we what what God has blessed us with and how to give it to him. We may be developing that. But when we get to the maturing part, that's that's that's just knowing. Hey, I know how to do this. Not braggadociously. Hey, this is what God's blessed me in. This is what I prayed for. Can I say I don't know what you've prayed for, right? You may have, if you've prayed for any of the gifts of the spirit, you may have you may have prayed for those and God hasn't blessed you with those, but I don't know what you've discovered or developed and what you've invested in those things. How can you mature in it if you haven't started here? Right? It's it's it's here. If you haven't if you haven't started there, how do you mature in it? when we get to when when when we get there what I if if I would go go back to the the singing the musician art and the artist the professionals whatever there's a point that we look at that maturation we think well that's professionality that's the maturation of it it's the professionality of well they've peaked in a career um a lot of people um I I could you could you could use anything as this example but let's let's Take let's take any any known singer and I'm going to be careful not to mention singers because who knows where they went and what they did. I don't I don't really know pop if y'all haven't noticed yet. Pop culture is not like really my best subject trivia night. Don't ask me on pop culture about pop pop culture, okay? It's just not my thing. But they they mature in their skill level. They're top of the charts, but somewhere along the line they're empty. We can we can see that they see that because of the lifestyle they they live. They're empty. They they have no purpose. They have no it's just oh well the crowd's yelling my name but really that doesn't that's not fulfilling anyone. It for half a second it fulfilled them. But that's not maturing. It looks like it is but the maturing is understanding getting past that and starting to reinvest that. That's why there's always a need in the church is because I feel like this is the part that we are not comfortable with. That it's the hardest part to get to in our generosity is maturing in it. Maturing to the point that that we're able to invest in others, to reinvest in others what God's blessed us with. I've seen this. I've seen the people that are able to do it well and we herald them as great leaders, as great people, as as difference makers. And I've seen people just as skilled that were not able to reinvest in others. And they became bitter and angry and isolated because they could not find the purpose. They thought the purpose was in the skill or the time, the talent or the treasure. But in real reality that was just the journey. The purpose is to multiply. That's I I have witnessed it with my own eyes. People that that should know better, okay? elders of mine and I'm not speaking ill of them just what I've witnessed of they could not multiply their their talent because it of personality differences or timing differences whatever it was whatever excuse could be found they could not multiply that that talent because they couldn't mature enough to it and that was devastating it was devastating for me to realize the first time I saw that because I was like, well, they shouldn't they know better and they should. I hope that that is never said of me or you. Amen. Like that's not and and I'm sure we've all done it in some area, but the reality is God has blessed us enough that we have to try hard enough. God, where am I to multiply this? This is the it's it can be multiple cycles of this, okay? Because here's the reality, all right? Just because you're a Sunday school teacher now doesn't mean you're a Sunday school teacher in 45 years. Now, it used to maybe, but the reality was because someone didn't pick it up. That's the reality. Okay? That's that's I'm not I'm not throwing stones at elders that did things to do things because it had to be done. But the reality is someone didn't discover and develop themselves and then allow themselves to mature. But the reality but but in in in your walk with God in your generosity of your time, your talent, and your treasure, it's not just one thing. It's a cycle. You can be uh do you guys know that? Most y'all might not know this.

I used to play piano. I used to lead worship. Not here. I matured and multiplied past that. Thank God. Y'all are thankful, too. Okay. But the reality is I knew that my time in that was coming to an end. And so, I had a group of kids that were kids, van kids and kids. They were like 8, nine, 10 years old. And I spent as many can Sunday afternoons and Monday nights teaching them as I possibly could for a year. And that was all I could give them. And you know what? They're the church where I used to be. What I used to do, they're doing it now because God matured me past that. He knew I wasn't going to be doing that forever. He allowed me to mature and multiply in a very short cycle. They're way better at music than I ever was. They're way more far accomplished over that. But because I was able to give myself to that. Can I just say that's that's that now now I get to do that in different areas. I've worked in production here. I don't work in production here anymore. Okay? Like I I've done different things not because I'm good because God has allowed me to. He's also done that for you. I know many of you have done this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and worn a thousand different hats. Can I say if whatever hat you're on, right, you have you're wearing right now, make sure you're following that process of allowing God to de discover and develop you, you have new talents. You didn't know you were talented to lead a men's department, did you? You have new talents. You've done a lot of different things in churches, but you know what you've done? You've revitalized some men. That matters. There's going to be a time that God's going to ask you to multiply that. It It's just the reality of it. The same thing for you, Dan. You you you have done Sunday school for as long as you've been alive. God bless you. 30 years. That's faithfulness. But the reality is God's going to require of you to multiply that. He just is. And can I say the reality is somebody's going to have to discover that within themselves because it's it's a double-sided coin there. I know, Seth. Don't squeeze your eyes like that. It's a double-sided coin. Discover and develop ourselves. as as elders invest in us, we have to make sure that we're able to pick that up. It's not free. It's it it cost us, but it's it's the it's the only right thing to do. It's just right. I don't know how else to say that. It's just right to do.

Make sure that we are able at every stage of our life to discover what God has for us. and then to develop it and then to mature it and then to multiply it and be okay to discover something new. It's just right. I I don't you know you know there's just some things that you just don't you don't have a lot of it's just right to do right. I mean to help a little lady cross the street that's just right to do. There's not a lot of explanation to it. It's just do it. That's the only right way to do it. This is as simple as that. Yes, ma'am. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, well, you said it. I didn't. Yeah. Do you have do you have this uh the the blessed journey in your in your because I do not want to talk about generosity without going over this uh in in your journals tonight. Uh the blessed journey.

This is something that Lauren and I came across several years ago. Yeah. In your journals. Yeah. Sorry. First the first section of your journal. If you haven't noticed this, this is something we came across several years ago. Uh we actually stole this from a church and if they sue us, if they sue us for stealing, I mean, we straight up stole it. Like, it was so good. I was like, man, like I don't think they would actually, how can you sue someone for stealing your blessed journey? I don't know. Disclaimers, we did not, this was not original to CAC. And the reason I like it is because it it covers the whole life. Can I can I tell you the initial giver as you read through that? It it's it's someone who declares to give for the first time. Can I and can I can you just take this and you can put serve, you can put time, you can put time, talent, and treasure in here. Whatever that encompasses for you. Okay. Th this is this is part of being blessed of giving of your whole self is it it's what it takes to be blessed. The initial giver someone who decides to give to serve to to discover for the first time out of response to God's word. And then a consistent giver. It's someone who decides to give on a consistent basis. It's it's the discipline of giving. It's it's it's it's our tithes. It's our weekly ties. It's our giving. Do you guys know this? Uh, and I should share my screen and do this, but like on on Brother Tim went over in the business meeting. We have different departments that need funding from different things. Uh, Sunday school takes up a Sunday school offering. Well, guess what? They use that to pay for vacation Bible school. They ain't just It ain't just pad in their pockets. It's got a purpose. Bible quizzing. It's it it it all of those things of all right, how do we make sure it's moving it's moving more than what we're able to move by ourselves. It's that consistency, that intentional giver. It's someone who thinks about their their giving in relationship in relation to their financial priorities. It's more than the afterthought. It's the first thought. It's the first fruit, right? As we mature in Christ, we we start to mature in in our giving. We start to mature in our time and our talent. The reason is because that's what God, it's what he does to us. As we become more like him and we draw closer to him, he makes us in his image and his likeness. I mentioned to the MIT class Sunday, I was like, some people, here's the thing is some people, they may be, you know, God saves you. You're not a finished product. You get the Holy Ghost. Now, some people might be, but I was talking to them. I'm not talking to y'all about this. I'm going to talk to them about it and tell y'all what I said to them. I Some of y'all are a little stubborn because I know you, myself included. And it takes a while for God to break some of those things out. That's that's that progressive sanctification process. Can I say you're not going to be you might be okay? You might be, but

a surrendered giver, it's it's understanding that there's more to life than making a dollar. It's it's more to life than than fishing on the weekend. There are there's more to life than being the best guitar player and giving Chad Atkins a run for his money. Is that the right guitar player? I struggling there. If y'all don't know, he's the one that can make a guitar talk. I mean, just straight up. He can play harmonies and everything. He played guitar what, eight hours a day? Practice at eight hours a day. I'm asking brother Tim because Yeah. Am I close there? I may be I didn't have it in my notes. Can I say there's a key point in there? A surrendered giver isn't just concerned with what they are giving, but it's concerned with what they are not giving. And why? That's hard. God, what am I holding back from you? It's not it's not emptying the bank account. That's not that's not the object of giving. It's not being a palper because you never work your job. It's it's not it's not being no good for nothing because well, I'm just waiting on the Lord. It's like, no, that's not what God called us to do anyway. It's it's taking what we have and God, this is yours. It was yours to begin with. How do I make sure I honor you with it? And then can I

there's the eternal giver. It's it's someone who's thinking about longer than just their life. It's the person that sets up a fund that says, "You know what? My kids, they get this. God gets this." Whatever that looks like. I don't know. Look, I'm not to that point. I haven't set that up for myself yet, but I'm hoping to. I hope that my that my giving goes beyond my life. I hope that my that and I don't even want to say my legacy because it's not about me, but I hope that I my impact of what I can do goes beyond what I can actually do in my lifetime. I hope and I pray that that's the way I'm living my life. You can ask my wife. She gets mad at me because because I'm like, "Well, what about this? Well, what about what about what if we never spend a dollar on anything and we saved it all for retirement?" Well, that doesn't sound like fun at all. Still got to live, right? Yeah. You still got to live. And we die before retirement and then we never get to spend any of it. So, it's like, ah, yeah. Ag. And it's like, nah, you ain't get none of it, dude. But that long-term look, it's a decision. It's and and in fact, at that point, it's not even a decision because it's part of who we are. It's the maturation of knowing that I've just given my life. I have sold out completely. I'm I'm going to I'm going to I'm going to get on a soap box here for just a moment. Okay. You I need Where's the soap box at? That's what That's what Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett used to stand on in the middle of the crowds when they were polit politicians if y'all didn't know that. The soap box I think double check me, fact check me on that one. Uh yeah, actually fact check me on that because I I think I read that somewhere, but you never know. Uh, I want y'all to look around and if you've been at CSC any point in time, how many names do you see on anything? Like actual names. Because the reality is, I'm going to use this in contrast. God blessed us with a building, but I promise you there was a thousand people's names on every part of this building. God bless them. Y'all all y'all probably done it. I get it. I get I get fundraising and like you know I bought my daddy sat on that pew all my life. I'mma buy you know I'mma buy that pew. That's the way we fund raise for the pews. Okay. Like if that's what if that's what has been done. Pastor and I have talked about this and we don't feel like that's for CAC because it's not about us. Now that may be, you know, that may all well that may change someday. I don't know. I'm not I'm not laying down. I'm not trying to I am trying to present a principle here with our eternal giving with our life.

Giving is open-handed. And as soon as we do this, God stops pouring and we open up. And it's not that he has to pry it from our dead cold hands. Our cold dead hands. Yes, sir. put their I don't know. I can't say that. I'm serious. I can't say it because the principle is still the same. I I'm serious. I I'm not, like I said, I ain't trying to dig no hole and like stand up against anything. All right. I know. I know. I know you're just picking at me, trying to put me on the spot with it. But the reality is is that that then becomes the stop gap because that becomes a sacred cow and then that can't be moved and then God has to move it to someone else that will move it. And if I can if I can use this building as a testimony of that. I'm not I'm not speaking ill. We're thankful. But we had to move things that others couldn't move because of the sacred cow. It got in them. Can I say that's not giving? That's not the spirit of generosity. Greater generosity is God. It's yours. And if you take it away tomorrow, it's still yours because it's his. I don't know how else to say that. That's just through and through. And if I can if I can end in in in what I feel is what the spirit needed us to get to tonight. It's open-handed giving time, talent, and treasure. That's where our that's where our blessings will lie. Greater generosity does not involve my name, my time, my talent. It just requires me to open my hand up and go. That's what it requires of me.

Can we pray? Jesus, I love you. God, I thank you for your kindness, your goodness, and your mercy. God, you have blessed us, blessed us, blessed us beyond compare. God, you have been so kind to us. You've allowed us to be a part of your church, God. You've allowed us to be in your building. You've you've allowed us to experience the moving of the spirit even tonight, God. And I pray Lord that you would you would help us God to to to live the blessed life to live the life of greater generosity in our giving in in in in our time our talent and our treasure. God help us Lord to mature and multiply but God let us never stop it. Let us always continue discovering and developing God. Every one of us God help us God to know what you would have us to do open-handedly God. Lord, let us not put our stop gap or close our hands upon the blessings of the Lord. But God, I pray, Lord, that you would help this church, this church, God, not just this name, but this church, your body, that you would help us to be a continual part of your body. God, allow us, God, to to to always dwell in the blessings of the Lord. We'll be careful to give you all the praise, all the glory, and all the honor. Thank you guys so much. We'll be in the sanctuary in just a moment.