Knowledge: Wake Up Call to Generosity – Sermon – Pastor David Page

Let’s unpack that a bit. “Fear of the Lord” doesn’t mean walking around scared of God like He’s ready to zap us for messing up. It means having reverence, a holy respect and awareness of who He is and who we are. It’s seeing God as all-wise, all-knowing, and fully good. And when we really know that, when we become aware of His nature and power, it leads us to trust Him with our lives, our choices and yes, even our money.

But the fool? The fool shrugs all that off. The fool says, “I’ve got this. I’ll figure it out myself.” The fool despises wisdom and instruction, and lives like they’re the exception to God’s design. The fool chooses pride over perspective.

Let’s be honest. How often do we do that when it comes to how we handle our resources?

We think we’ve got it all under control. We think we’re being “smart” by keeping everything close to the chest. But what if the wiser thing, the more aware thing, is to admit,

“I don’t have it all figured out. I need God’s help. I want to trust Him—not just in theory, but in practice.”

And That’s where generosity enters the picture.

When we’re truly aware, when we have knowledge rooted in reverence, we realize that everything we have comes from God in the first place. Our jobs, our homes, our income, our health, it’s all a gift. And when we give back to God, through tithing, through offerings, through serving others, we’re not losing something. We’re participating in something. Something eternal. Something wise.

Fools hoard because they fear there won’t be enough.
The wise give because they know that God is more than enough.

Fools see giving as a burden.
The wise see it as a response to the generosity they’ve already received.

Jesus told a story once about a man who built bigger barns to store all his wealth. On the outside, that looked smart, secure, strategic. But God called him a fool because he was rich in stuff but poor in spirit. He had no awareness that his life wasn’t his own.

The point is: being wise, being knowledgeable, isn’t just about knowing the right answers. It’s about recognizing the right perspective and that starts with humility. It starts with a prayer like,

“God, I don’t know what to do. Teach me. Lead me. Make me aware.”

That’s the beginning of real knowledge. And that knowledge always leads us to surrender because when you really see God for who He is, you can’t help but trust Him with everything you have.

Wisdom Is Knowledge Applied

So, here’s something we all intuitively know, you can know a lot without doing much.

You can know the nutritional value of kale, have read three books on intermittent fasting, and still eat a sleeve of Oreos at midnight. You can know what’s best and still not do what’s best.

That’s the gap between knowledge and wisdom.

Knowledge is information. Wisdom is transformation.

And the Bible is super clear, God is not after people who just know stuff. He’s after people who live it out. People who take what they learn and put it into motion.

Look what James, the brother of Jesus, says in James 1:22–24:

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

James is straight-up saying, “Don’t kid yourself.” If you hear God’s truth, if you read the Bible, attend church, listen to podcasts, memorize verses, but then walk away unchanged, it’s like looking in a mirror and forgetting your own face. In other words, knowledge without application is self-deception. You think you’re growing spiritually, but really, you’re just stockpiling information with no transformation.

So, what does that have to do with generosity?

Everything.

Most of us in the church know we’re supposed to be generous. We know the Bible talks about tithing and giving. We know Jesus said it’s more blessed to give than to receive. We know God loves a cheerful giver. We know all that stuff but knowing it and doing it are two very different things.

Here’s what wisdom looks like: it’s when that head knowledge becomes heart action. It’s when the awareness of God’s generosity towards us moves us to become generous ourselves. It’s when we stop seeing giving as “losing money” and start seeing it as worship, as trust, as obedience. It’s when we stop saying, “I’ll be generous when I have more,” and start saying, “I’ll be generous now because I already have more than enough in Christ.”

And here’s the thing, every time you give, every time you tithe, every time you open your hand and say, “God, this is Yours,” you’re doing something powerful. You’re putting your knowledge into action. You’re living as a wise person.

Church, when you start living generously, when you start trusting God with your finances, your decisions, your relationships, it’s like you stop being a hearer and start being a doer. And that’s where the real blessing is.

Not in just knowing. But in doing.

Ask the Chef

Alright, we’ve talked about how true knowledge starts with humility, and how wisdom is knowledge that moves into action. But what if you’re sitting here thinking, “Okay, but I’m still not sure how to actually live this out. I don’t know what to do next.”

Good.
That means you’re ready to grow.

Let’s go back to something James says just a few verses earlier in chapter 1, verse 5:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

That’s an amazing promise. God gives generously. He’s not stingy. He’s not holding back wisdom like some spiritual gatekeeper who only shares with the “elite.” He’s not like, “Figure it out yourself, buddy.” No, He’s the Chef in this “Not So Secret Sauce” recipe of a full, vibrant life of faith. And the Chef is not just willing to share the recipe with you, He’s inviting you into the kitchen to cook it up together.

You just have to ask.

Here’s the challenge for so many of us: we don’t ask.

We try to figure things out on our own. We Google, we stress, we compare ourselves to other people’s lives on Instagram and then wonder why we feel overwhelmed and under-equipped. We treat prayer like a last resort instead of a first response. We say things like, “Well, all I can do now is pray,” when prayer should’ve been the first thing we did.

Think of it this way: If you were trying to make your grandma’s secret potato soup, or some family recipe cake but you couldn’t remember the ingredients, what would you do? You wouldn’t just throw random things into a pot and hope for the best.
You’d pick up the phone and ask her.

God invites us to do the same thing. He says,

“If you don’t know what to do, ask Me. I’ll help you. I’ll show you the way.”

That includes how to live generously.

Maybe you’ve been wondering:

• How much should I give?
• What if I’m in debt? Should I still tithe?
• How can I be generous when things are tight financially?
• What if I’ve never given before? Where do I even start?

These are all great questions and guess what? God isn’t afraid of them. He wants you to bring those questions to Him. He’s not looking for perfect givers. He’s looking for people who are willing to be led.

Asking God for wisdom isn’t weakness—it’s faith. It’s an act of trust. And the more you ask Him, the more you become aware of His presence, His provision, and His plan for your life.

So, when it comes to generosity, just ask.

Ask the Chef.

Ask Him to help you trust.
Ask Him to help you release control.
Ask Him to help you move from intention to action.

He’ll meet you there. He always does.

Conclusion

Here’s the bottom line: knowledge, real, spiritual knowledge, isn’t just about knowing more. It’s about becoming more like Jesus. It’s about being aware of what He’s done for us and letting that awareness change how we live, how we love, how we serve, and how we give.

Speaking of generosity, there’s no greater act of generosity in all of history than what Jesus did for us on the cross.

He didn’t just give us some helpful advice.
He didn’t just give us a good example to follow.
He gave His life.

Jesus saw our brokenness. He saw our need. And He didn’t look away. In full awareness, He stepped in. He laid down everything so we could be brought back to God.

Romans 5:8 says,

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

That’s not just head knowledge. That’s heart-transforming truth.

So, as we come to the communion table today, let this be your moment of awareness. Your mirror moment. Your reminder that you are fully seen, fully known, and fully loved.

The bread represents His body, broken for you.
The cup represents His blood, poured out in generosity.
Take them, not out of routine, but out of remembrance and let that remembrance move you to live generously in response.