Trivia question. What do the following locations have in common: Pacific Avenue, St. Charles Place, Ventnor Avenue, and Mediterranean Avenue? They all represent property on the Monopoly Board right? Right. But they also are the names of the streets in the new Park West subdivision that adjoins our property. The other street names are Pennsylvania Court, Marvin Gardens Court, and Baltic Court—all taken from the Monopoly game.

Today we finish up our series of studies on what the Bible teaches about handling our money. We've used the Monopoly game to give us a series of object lessons. Let's review. "How Many Hotels?" was a message about greed and how we need to be content and generous with what we have. In "Who Owns Boardwalk?" we studied how God owns everything and how we need to be grateful and how we need to be good stewards of all He has loaned to us.

Then we talked about "Living from Go to Go." In this message I gave you a simple formula for financial freedom. Give the first 10 percent, save the next 10 percent, and live off the rest. Last week we talked about how many people choose to "poor tax" God, giving Him chump change instead of bringing the whole tithe for the work of God's ministry.

Today I'm going to teach you how to be prosperous. I chose my words carefully. I didn't say how to be "rich." This is not a message coming from the camp of preachers who say that if you have enough faith, you can be financially rich and never get sick. But the Bible does give us insight on how we can live in prosperity (No, I'm not talking about Prosperity.).

There's a single verse in Proverbs that tells us how to be prosperous. Actually, it's very simple. "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed" (Proverbs 11:28). So, shooting straight and simple, here it is: If you want to be prosperous, be generous. And not just with money. Give yourself away.

That concept runs diametrically opposed to the way humans naturally think. How can we attain prosperity if we're generous? After all, doesn't generosity mean that you give away? Yes, it does. But God ordained the law of generosity from the beginning of time. The more you give away, the more comes right back to you.

I've been bringing my tithe to God's house ever since I can remember. My mom taught me that biblical principle early on. When Anita and I got married, we agreed that the first ten percent belonged to God, no matter how tough times got. But just because I tithe doesn't mean that I'm a generous person. Generosity runs much deeper than simply bringing the ten percent.

Where's my heart? Do I tithe because God expects me to? That's a legitimate reason why any Christian should tithe. But do I give out of a heart of generosity or do I give simply because I'm supposed to? What about other areas of my life? Generosity is not relegated just to the area of money. Generosity has to do with all of life. Do I treat others with a generous spirit? Does my heart allow me to give away things that belong to me but could be better used by someone else? Am I generous with my time? Do I generously use my spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ?

I had to do a gut check this week because in some ways I believe personal selfishness outweighs my generosity. Don't get me wrong. I don't ponder over all the things I could buy if I didn't bring the tithe. But am I really a generous person in every area of life? God revealed some things to me this week that convicted my heart. Certainly I want to be prosperous. But until I grow in the area of generosity, I will never be on the receiving end of all of God's blessings.

What about you? Do you consider yourself to be a generous person? What would God say about you? Would He agree with your assessment? The level of your prosperity is directly related to the level of your generosity.

Generosity and prosperity have nothing at all to do with how much money you have. In the game of Monopoly everyone starts on a level playing field of $1,500. But that's not real life. In real life, some make tons of money, while others barely eke out a living. The question is not how much money you have, but what are you doing with what you have. A poor person can be generous and prosperous as much as one who has been blessed with an abundance of wealth.

In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul describes a particular group of believers who demonstrated what generosity is all about. They were poor themselves, but they still gave what they had. And that made them prosperous. Paul brags on their generosity. Let's read the account. [Read 2 Corinthians 8:1-9.]

There was a group of churches in the region of Macedonia that Paul singled out as modeling what generosity is all about. Their sacrificial offering to the poor was genuine proof that the hand of God's grace was upon them.

These Macedonian believers were going through extreme trials themselves. They were extremely poor. But you never heard them complain or express a "woe is me attitude." Actually, they were having such a tough time that they themselves should have been on the receiving end of charity. Their circumstances didn't matter. Their overflowing joy overpowered any negative sentiment and resulted in rich generosity.

They didn't whine like many Christians do today and say, "I'll give what I can. You know things are pretty tight right now." No, these Macedonian believers in reality gave beyond what they were able. There was no outside pressure. They did it because they were a generous people. In fact, verse 4 indicates that they begged for the opportunity to give.

Verse 5 gives us a good clue as to how these believers were able to be so generous. They first gave themselves to the Lord. Nothing was more important to them than nurturing their relationship with Jesus Christ. Herein lays the reason why there aren't more generous believers in our churches today. Jesus is not on the throne. If Jesus were on the throne, bringing the tithe would be no big deal at all. But it is a big deal to many because they think they own their stuff and end up chump changing God and think that He is pleased and impressed. That's not generosity.

Do you want a perfect example of generosity? You can find one in verse 9. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." Jesus left the riches and glories of heaven to enter a world wrecked with sin and strife. He was born in a cattle barn to a poor family. Many nights He had no home to lay His head. As much as we can tell, He owned nothing but the clothes on His back. Why did He leave the riches of heaven and become poor? So that in the long run you might inherit the riches of eternal life. He died on the cross and came back to life so that you could enjoy the blessings of salvation both here and now and for eternity in heaven. When it comes to generosity, top that!

If you want to be prosperous, be generous. Some of you think you're attaining prosperity by building your bank account, buying expensive cars, and closing on more land. You might be rich, but you're not prosperous in God's eyes unless you're demonstrating generosity. If you and your spouse made $200,000 last year and you gave $10,000 to the work of God's kingdom, that's not generosity. Do you think anything less than a tithe brings honor to God? I'm afraid we confuse the concept of being rich with being prosperous. Last year Time magazine did a cover article called, "Does God Want Me to Be Rich?" One of the best-selling books today is Donald Trump's Why We Want You to Be Rich. Our culture today places a high value on becoming wealthy. But from God's perspective, that's not the value we should be striving for. Proverbs 11:28 didn't say that a generous man will become rich. No, it said a generous man will become prosperous.

To be prosperous means having your daily needs met, a family who loves you, and a God-given peace in your heart even during times of trouble. That's prosperity. Remember, prosperity has nothing to do with your annual income. It has more to do with being content and grateful and generous with what you have. At the same time don't rule out the fact that God often rewards generosity with financial prosperity.

Go over to chapter 9 with me and let's read verses 6-7. Using our presupposition of the tithe as the lowest threshold of what every believer should give, these verses basically teach that if you sow (give) less than a tithe, you are sowing sparingly. And that's what you will reap, which is not much. When you sow generously, then that's how God is going to reward you—with His generosity. God's generosity. That's what I want in on. I want in on the windows of heaven kinds of blessings. And those kinds come only when you learn to live a lifestyle of generosity.

Do you know why I'm so passionate about challenging you to live a life of generosity? Here's why. Did you know that if every member of every church in America tithed, world hunger could be immediately eradicated and the church would still have tens of billions of dollars left over? Let's bring it closer to home. At least one half of the people living in the Chapin area do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That bothers me; and it should bother you too. I believe with all my heart that God wants to use Chapin Baptist Church as a key catalyst to impact this community for Jesus. I believe He wants the members of this church to demonstrate to the world around us what it means to fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. I believe He wants us to show the world what can happen when a family of God becomes completely sold out to Jesus.

But how can that ever be when so many believers here, for whatever reason, choose to live a life of disobedience when it comes to biblical teachings about money and time and talents? Some of you in a message like this—you're thinking, "If I just made more money, I could give more." Or, "I wish I made as much as so and so because then I could tithe." And then there's that age-old comment, "If I won the lottery, I'd give ten percent to the church." Would you stop that? Do you know what God wants? He wants you to be faithful with what He's given you, not what He hasn't given you. Our budget this year is in the realm of $1.4 million, which I'd say is pretty typical of Baptist churches our size. The typical member on average gives 2-3 percent of his income for the work of God. I don't know about you, but I have major problems with what I just said because the God I serve is not a typical God. He's the owner of the universe and the Savior of the world. And I don't believe God, who is not typical, wants Chapin Baptist to be a typical church.

Before I close, let me return the focus to what God wants to do in your life. For the last few minutes I've been talking about what could happen to this church if more chose to be obedient to God. But please, please understand the wonderful blessings and benefits that God pours into your world when you live a life of generosity. Many of you are a tithe away from seeing God open the windows of heaven and pour countless blessings in your direction. That's what He does when His people choose to make Him the Lord of everything.

If you want to be prosperous, be generous. And don't forget—you have the perfect model of generosity to follow. His name is Jesus who gave His all for you. Are you willing to give your everything to Him?