The Gift You’re Called to Give Away

Transcript

Week 4, the final week, of the series Uncommon Gift. Transcribed from the service recording and lightly edited for readability.

Welcome: The Last Sunday of 2025

Amen. How y'all doing? Y'all doing alright? Well, we made it through another year. This is the last Sunday of 2025. I don't know about y'all, but it's been a year. As they say, life be lifing. Life has definitely been lifing. But I am so excited about what God is doing.

This week we're going to finish our series, Uncommon Gift, and I don't know if y'all have been paying attention, but God has been doing some uncommon stuff. It reminds me of something my great-grandma used to say. She used to say some crazy stuff. I remember one time she said, "People are dying who've never died before." You've got a point there. But I got what she meant. I was picking up what she was putting down. And the question is, are we picking up what God is putting down?

The Gift You're Called to Give Away

This week we're going to look at the gift you're called to give away.

Overflow to the Point of Giving It Away

We talk about how God blesses us to the point of overflowing. We talk about living in the overflow. But are you overflowing to the point where you're giving it away, because you can't even hold it all in? It's just running out.

I said a few weeks ago that some of us pour out of our cup instead of letting people live in the overflow of our cup. We've got to be selfish to the point that we allow God to fill us to overflowing. We've got to trust that God is going to fill us to the overflow, so we don't have to pour out of our own cup to give to anybody.

So let's look at it. We're going to look at two scriptures. I'm going to start with 1 John 4:11, and then we'll jump to Matthew 28. We're going to close out this year the way the book of Matthew closes.

1 John 4:11

First John chapter 4, verse 11:

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.

Since God loved us so much, we should also love one another. Love received must become love shared.

Seeing People the Way God Sees You

Receiving God's love changes how we see others, or it should. When you know you are truly loved by God, you should see people differently. When you realize that God sees you through a different lens, you have to start trying to see people through the same lens God sees you through.

We get so bent out of shape about ourselves when we sin and stumble and fall short, because we feel guilty and bad about what we've done. But we don't realize that God doesn't see us through the same filter we see ourselves through. He sees us through the filter of Jesus, because Jesus died for all sins. Before you even did that thing, God had already forgiven you for it. So He doesn't see you that way.

Jesus, Our Good Lawyer

It's like going to court. If you're smart, you hire a good lawyer. And if you've got a good lawyer, you never have to say anything. You just sit there and let him argue your case. That is precisely what Jesus does for us every single day. He sits before God and argues our case. Every time the accuser, Satan, says, "But Derrick did this," Jesus says, "But I died." "Derrick did this." "But I died."

And since Jesus sees us through this lens, we should start seeing other people through it too. "She said something bad about me, but Jesus died. She spoke badly about my name, but Jesus died. So I'm going to give her grace, because I have received grace."

God's Love Is Meant to Flow Through Us

God's love in us is meant to flow through us. But we're trying to lock the door and shut it down so nobody else can get it. If we worship a God who has everything, and we're His children, that means we inherit everything He has. We don't have to try to obtain anything. What God has for you is for you, so nobody can take anything from you.

But do we live like that? Or do we try to can everything we get, shut the can, sit on it, and let nothing come in and nothing go out? "It's all mine."

Died With Millions in Gold

One of the saddest stories I've ever read was about a man who collected coins and gold, and he died with millions and millions of dollars' worth of gold. A niece he had never even met inherited it all.

Is your joy just in acquiring things? Is that the extent of your life? Putting initials after your name, stacking up a bank account, having these cars and this stuff? Or is it in truly living this thing we call life?

The Roller Coaster

And when you live life, you're going to have ups and downs, hills and valleys. Me and Wayne Willie used to go to AstroWorld back in the day. What was the most fun part of the roller coaster? Going down. Think about how crazy that is. In life, we hate the downs and like the ups. But on the roller coaster, when you're going up, that mug go "ching, ching, ching, ching," and what are you anticipating? The first drop. So why in life do we not anticipate the drop?

Sharing God's Love Is Obedience

We're going through this thing. And sharing God's love is an act of obedience. There's that word again. We don't want to obey. We don't want anybody telling us what to do. But we don't know what we're doing. Sharing God's love is an act of obedience, which brings us to Matthew 28, which we often call the Great Commission.

Matthew and the Great Commission

Let me back up a little before we read it. Matthew 28, the Great Commission, is the last section in the book of Matthew. Matthew was also called Levi; that was his government name. He was a tax collector. Now, I know what they said about tax collectors: there's one of those sinners. Yet this is one of Jesus' twelve disciples, the writer of a book of the Bible.

When Matthew was writing, he wanted to address the conflict between the synagogue leaders and the followers of Jesus. There were also accusations that Christians had abandoned the law. So when he wrote, he was trying to show that Christianity didn't abandon the law; it fulfilled the law. Without the temple, amid persecution and tension, Matthew was trying to build up disciples.

Disciple is an easy word: a follower of Christ. Christ chasers. That's what we're trying to do. We're trying to build up disciples. We're not just trying to convert people to Christianity; we're trying to show people how to live the Christian life.

Matthew 28:18–20

So let's jump into the scripture:

Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

The Gospel Is Meant to Go Out

The gospel is meant to go out, not stay in. We've lied to people so often in the church, because we get up here and tell you, "Go invite all your friends to church. Just bring them to church." We're always trying to get the building filled, but we're not filling the streets.

"As You Are Going"

It's so easy to go to another country or another city and do ministry for a week, a few days, a month. Go on foreign missions. But when the scripture says, "Therefore go," the word in the original language really means "as you are going": as you're doing the things you're already doing.

As you're on your job, make disciples of all nations. "Huh? I just go to work to work. Work ain't the place to talk about Jesus." But you really don't have to talk. It's how you live. It's how you carry yourself. It's how you encourage people when nobody else is encouraging them. It's how you listen to people when nobody else is listening. It's how you live this thing called Jesus without ever saying "Jesus." Because I promise you, when you start living it more than you're saying it, people are going to know.

The Mission Is Active, Not Passive

The mission is active, not passive. I can't just come in here, sit in church, read my Bible, and that's it. It's active. And when you activate it, you're going to see things happen in your life. So many of us wonder why we aren't seeing anything happen. It's because we aren't doing anything.

Until Peter stepped out of the boat and onto the water, he couldn't walk on water. If he had stayed in the boat, he'd have been like, "Oh, that's cool, Jesus. I'd come out there, but you know, just come on in here." But now he has a story nobody else can tell. Nobody else walked on water except him and Jesus, as far as I remember in scripture.

Faith Is Active

Faith is active. We have to go after it. We have to trust God for big things. When I tell you the land next door is going to be ours, and the land next to that is going to be ours, that's active faith. I don't know how it's going to happen. And when it does happen, you can say, "Oh, dang, I guess God does talk to him."

I sit in here at 11:30 and preach to an almost empty building. When y'all come to 11:30 next year and it's full, you can say, "Oh, God is speaking to him." And I'm telling God, "God, You've got to do something, because I told these people it's going to happen. So I need You to make it happen."

If we never actually put it out there, we never test God and see what He's going to do, and guess what? He isn't going to do it. When I say, "God, You said I'm going to be a lender and not a borrower," right now I'm in debt and broke. But when you see me lending and not borrowing, you're going to say, "God is doing what He said He'd do."

And I'm telling you now, I'm in less debt this year than when I started the year. Why? Because God is doing what God said He's going to do. But I had to let go of some stuff. I had to sell the old truck that didn't work anymore. I had to stop trying to put myself in situations and let God put me where He was going to put me. I had to stop worrying about the things I can't control and control the one thing I can: doing whatever He told me to do.

The Great Commission Is for All Believers

The Great Commission is for all believers. I mean everybody: the ones over here sleeping, the ones who are awake, everybody. Some of y'all just got baptized recently. Now that you are a baptized believer, the Great Commission is for you. So what are you supposed to do? Go and make disciples. And like I said, making disciples is more than just converting people.

This is where we have to get in the trenches. We have to do the dirty work. And we don't like dirty work. America has convinced us we're supposed to be comfortable. But sometimes you've got to be uncomfortable. You've got to do things you don't want to do. Getting up early on Sunday morning is something I don't want to do. I promise y'all, this is the most I've been to church in a long time in my adult life, when nobody's making me and with all the responsibilities. But when God calls you to do something, you've got to do it. And even when it looks like it isn't working, you've got to keep doing it.

Giving the Gift Multiplies the Joy

Giving the gift multiplies the joy. We experience joy when others receive the gospel.

Preaching Since High School

Let me get a little personal for a second. As y'all know, I started preaching in high school, at 16 years old. That was a funny time, because you want to be cool, and preaching Jesus didn't always seem cool. I'd go places, go to parties, and my friends would be like, "Oh, that's the preacher. He's cool, give him a beer," because I wasn't one of those stiff preachers.

Even in college I had to keep myself accountable, so I had my minister's license hanging on the wall in my bedroom, and my roommates would bring their friends in and show them: "See, I told you he was a minister. I wasn't lying."

Now flip to the present day. I know friends from high school who I wasn't even sure went to church, and now I see them living a life of faith. It's awe-inspiring. Friends call me up and say, "Man, you remember when we said we were going to do church stuff together?" I'm like, "No, I don't remember that." But they remember.

So obviously, even in my foolishness, I said some spiritual things that planted seeds that turned into something awesome. When I sit back and look at it, it brings me great joy, because God used me even in the midst of my foolishness. They saw I trusted God, because I did.

I trusted God even in how I used to drive, and I kid you not. People would say, "D, why are you driving like that?" "Because I'm not dying today. God has a plan for my life. I can drive however I want, because I'm not dying today." I didn't stop until I had a wife and kids and realized, "Okay, I might not die today, but I can't kill them either." So He gave me some sense. I wasn't thinking about my friends. But that's how God works.

Sharing Strengthens Your Own Faith

Sharing the gift also strengthens your own faith. You wonder why your faith isn't strong? Because you're not sharing.

When you start saying crazy stuff like, "God is going to give us that $3 million property over there," it has no choice but to strengthen your faith. Not just the property next door, but the property on the other side of that fence. That's a $3 million property. I don't have three dollars in my pocket right now. I don't even know anybody with $3 million I could ask. But I don't care. I know a God who owns all things. He says, "Be faithful with what you're doing."

Cleaning Up the Dirt I Tracked In

So to be faithful, when I got here this morning, I blew the leaves off the concrete outside. Why? I wanted it to look clean for the people who are coming. I want to take care of what He's already given us, because if we don't take care of what He's given us, He's not going to give us more.

Miss D saw me grab a broom earlier and asked, "You want me to do this?" I said no. My assignment this morning was to take care of the mess I made. I tracked dirt into the church, so I had to clean up the dirt I tracked in.

That's life. You're going to track dirt into some situations in your life. When you track it in, clean it up. It's that simple. How do I clean it up? I go to God and ask for forgiveness. I remember what He's promised me. What I look like right now is nowhere close to what He promised me, so I say, "God, but You promised me." I stop thinking about everything I've done and start living on the promises of God. And then I start sharing it with people.

"Vice President"

Remember a few weeks ago I told y'all God gave me the words "vice president"? About two weeks ago I called Quentin and said, "Quentin, I'm vice president." He said, "What?" I said, "That's what God gave me: vice president." Quentin started trying to explain to me what it might mean, and I said, "No, I don't care about your explanation. I just need you to know He gave me these words, so when we get the true revelation, I've got somebody who can celebrate with me."

I really don't care what it means right now, because He's going to reveal it in His time. But if I don't share it with anybody, I can't celebrate with anybody.

Jesus Promises His Presence in the Mission

Jesus promises His presence in the mission. So if you're not in the mission, don't complain that you haven't felt His presence. So many of us are waiting for Jesus to show up, but Jesus says, "You ain't in the mission. You ain't at work."

Focused on God

I always knew I was going to get married young. I promise you. My daddy used to always say, "If she's good enough to lay with, she's good enough to marry." That was always his advice. So with every young lady I dated, I was looking for marriage material, and I could never find what I was looking for.

God grew me up quick. Around 18 and a half or 19, I said, "Forget it. I'm going to stop looking for Miss Right. God, I'm going to focus on You."

That's when I got into ministry. I was doing youth ministry, singles ministry, men's ministry. I was in the men's choir; y'all hear this beautiful voice. Why? Because I was trying to saturate myself with God. I was trying to really tune in to God, and man, I was in a sweet spot. One lady told me once, when she was trying to holler at me and I didn't even realize it, "You're so focused on Him, you can't hear me hollering at you." I was like, "Oh. But that ain't important. I'm trying to focus."

So I was focused on God and doing God's work, and lo and behold, one lady's name kept coming out of my mouth. Every conversation had her name in it. I was like, "Oh. But God, why now? I'm focused. I'm tuned in. I'm dialed in on You." And He said, "Now that you're doing My mission, I can give you what you need to complete the mission."

He's not going to help you do foolishness. You're trying to start a business, but you aren't fully dedicated to it, so God hasn't given you the money for your business, because you're still playing around. He says, "Get focused, and I'll provide everything you need." I promise you He will.

When I was twenty-something, I was in a meeting with some guys I'd never met before in my life, and they said, "You give us a million, we'll give you thirty." I said, "I don't even know these people." God said, "Run." I ran. He says, "I'm telling you this because I've got the money whenever you're ready, but you're not ready right now. I own the cattle on a thousand hills. If you believe My word, when you're ready, I'm going to provide it for you. But right now, I need you focused on the things I told you to focus on."

And Jesus is saying, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. All you have to do is let other people know I am the way, the truth, and the life."

Make Disciples

But He says you have to make disciples. What does that mean? You have to train people. You have to show them how to live this life. It isn't just telling them about it. You've got to show them how to live it.

That means you've got to step out on faith. You've got to show them when you mess up: "Yeah, I'm a Christian, and I did this. I need forgiveness. I'm going to ask God for forgiveness, and I'm going to ask you for forgiveness, because I've got you on this path and I led you astray. I'm being honest with you. I fell short. I'm sorry. Pray for me. Pray with me. Let's do this."

We can't judge people by what we think they should be. We've got to start seeing them as God sees them, and we can all walk in victory.

The Most Judgmental Hour

The church in America is not only the most segregated hour of the week; it's also the most judgmental hour of the week. We're looking at what somebody has on, how their nails are done, how their hair is cut, what their shoes look like, how they're sitting. "They're slouching. Something's wrong with them. They're depressed. They're going through something."

We're bumping our gums, but we aren't giving out any hugs. We aren't walking alongside them saying, "Hey, what's good? How can I help you?" Matter of fact, sometimes all somebody needs is a hug. "How you doing?" "I'm fine." "No, no, no. How are you really doing?" But that takes time. That takes effort. And we don't want to give it.

Living in the Overflow

Yet we want the blessings to rain down on us. We wonder why we're not living in the overflow. God says, "You can't live in the overflow until you allow things to flow through you." You can't hold it all for yourself. It's about giving it away. This gift we have in Jesus, we've got to give it away. We can't hold on to it. Because I promise you this: try to hold on to Jesus too tight, and you're going to lose Him.

I'm about to go to my seat, but I always wonder about this. You see all these stories on TV of people getting arrested for doing something somebody else just got arrested for doing. You're like, "They just did this. Did you not see what happened?" Yet in the Bible, time after time, God says, "If you don't follow My principles, this is what's going to happen to you." And what do we do? We ignore them, and then wonder why we're in the situation we're in. God says, "Trust Me. Follow Me. Just do the simple things I ask you to do. Love one another as I have loved you."

Seventy Times Seven: Matthew 18

I'm going to my seat on this last one. In Matthew 18, there's a story about a man who gets called into his master's office. I'm just going to read the scripture:

Then Peter came to him and asked, "Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?" "No, not seven times," Jesus replied, "but seventy times seven! Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn't pay, so his master ordered that he be sold, along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned, to pay the debt. But the man fell down before his master and begged him, 'Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.' Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt."

Can you imagine owing millions of dollars and somebody saying, "You're debt-free now"? You'd be joyous, right? You'd be excited, ready to pay it forward, right? That isn't what scripture says:

"But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. 'Be patient with me, and I will pay it,' he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn't wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full."

It sounds drastic, but do we ever act like that? God has forgiven us for so much. So much. But right now, who do you have a grudge against? Who are you not forgiving right now? Because you've got somebody. You've got that person on your list. On sight. You see them, it's on sight. Y'all know who I'm talking about. On sight, right in the church parking lot. "Don't mess up my Sunday; this is my church."

But God has forgiven us, and that person we're still holding a grudge against, we've got to let it go. We've got to let it go, because God has forgiven us. And I'm telling you, those grudges, those little bits of bitterness that might seem insignificant, are holding up your blessing.

Show them the same grace God has shown you. And then you'll see Psalm 23 come to life when it says, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies."

Weekly Challenge

Alright, let me go to my seat. This week's challenge:

Reflect: Who in your life needs to experience the gift you've been given?

Act: Share your testimony or an act of love with at least one person this week.

Pray: "Lord, help me to be bold in sharing Your love and truth. Let me see the joy of Your gift multiply in the lives of others."

Closing Prayer

Let us pray. Most gracious and heavenly Father, we come before You today saying thank You. Father God, thank You for allowing us to make it through another year. Not everybody got to make it this far, Lord, but we did, which means You're not done with us yet. And since You're not done with us yet, Father God, turn it up in our hearts, our souls, and our spirits to spread Your love and the message of joy to all the people in our lives. Father God, I love You and praise You. It's in the precious and powerful name of Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Savior, that I ask it all. Amen.