Post by danlirette on Mar 28, 2008 20:33:36 GMT -7
Well, Beloved, today we're going to see what the Bible has to say about giving.
There are so many "ministries" out there claiming that if you give your money to them
then God will make you rich!...this is a fact, dear friend, that there are ministries who
make this very claim!
If these men and their phony ministries were in the business world, as Pastor David
Wilkerson has stated, they'd be in jail!
Turn to TBN (Trinity Broadcast Network) sometime and watch how they con their
viewers into giving their life savings!
If those in the Body of Christ would study the Word of God on the issue of giving, then
these money hungry charlatans would be out of business!
Dear Saint, the Bible does talk much about sowing and reaping, giving and
receiving...however, there is a right Biblical teaching on this subject and there is a
perverted teaching on this subject.
First, let us look to the Word of God on the Blessings of being a Giver:
1- Giving (a)HONORS God and (b)causes YOU to have your needs met
(not your GREEDS but your NEEDS)
Proverbs 3:9-10 Honour Jehovah from thy substance, And from the beginning of all thine
increase; And filled are thy barns [with] plenty, And [with] new wine thy presses break
forth.
2- Giving causes you to FEAR GOD:
Deuteronomy 14:23 and thou hast eaten before Jehovah thy God, in the place where He
doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle, the tithe of thy corn, of thy new wine, and
of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herd, and of thy flock, so that thou dost learn to fear
Jehovah thy God all the days
3- Giving causes you to RECEIVE:
Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed, and shaken, and
running over, they shall give into your bosom; for with that measure with which ye
measure, it shall be measured to you again
4- Giving causes you to be MORE blessed than if you simply
RECEIVED
Acts 20:33-35 The silver or gold or garments of no one did I covet; and ye yourselves
know that to my necessities, and to those who were with me, minister did these hands; all
things I did shew you, that, thus labouring, it behoveth [us] to partake with the ailing, to
be mindful also of the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to
give than to receive
5- Giving causes you to STORE UP TREASURE IN HEAVEN:
Matthew 6:19-21 Treasure not up to yourselves treasures on the earth, where moth and
rust disfigure, and where thieves break through and steal, but treasure up to yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth disfigure, and where thieves do not
break through nor steal, for where your treasure is, there will be also your heart
6- Giving causes God to OPEN HEAVEN over you and POUR OUT A
BLESSING ON YOU and causes God to PROTECT YOU from poverty
and causes God to REBUKE satan for you:
Malachi 3:8-12 Doth man deceive God? but ye are deceiving Me, And ye have said: `In
what have we deceived Thee?' The tithe and the heave-offering! With a curse ye are
cursed! And Me ye are deceiving -- this nation -- all of it. Bring in all the tithe unto the
treasure-house, And there is food in My house; When ye have tried Me, now, with this,
Said Jehovah of Hosts, Do not I open to you the windows of heaven? Yea, I have emptied
on you a blessing till there is no space. And I have pushed for you against the consumer,
And He doth not destroy to you the fruit of the ground, Nor miscarry to you doth the vine
in the field, Said Jehovah of Hosts. And declared you happy have all the nations, For ye
are a delightful land, said Jehovah of Hosts.
Second, let us look at the Biblical commands on how to give:
1- We must give as we purpose in OUR hearts and we must give
CHEERULLY:
2 Corinthians 9:7 each one, according as he doth purpose in heart, not out of sorrow or
out of necessity, for a cheerful giver doth God love
2- we must give CONSISTENTLY and only as GOD HAS
PROSPERED US:
1 Corinthians 16:1-2 And concerning the collection that [is] for the saints, as I directed
to the assemblies of Galatia, so also ye -- do ye; on every first [day] of the week, let each
one of you lay by him, treasuring up whatever he may have prospered, that when I may
come then collections may not be made
3- We must give WISELY, especially if we have LITTLE TO GIVE
(though we may see ourselves as having "little" the LORD sees us as
having JUST ENOUGH to keep and JUST ENOUGH to give):
Psalm 37:16 Better [is] the little of the righteous, Than the store of many wicked.
4- We must give knowing that WHAT we give is what God will GIVE
BACK (in principles of righteousness and unrighteousness; I am not
speaking here of a DUPLICATE of what you give but I am referring to
the CONTENT of what you give)
Galatians 6:7-8 Be not led astray; God is not mocked; for what a man may sow -- that
also he shall reap, because he who is sowing to his own flesh, of the flesh shall reap
corruption; and he who is sowing to the Spirit, of the Spirit shall reap life age-during
5- We must give as one who is FAITHFUL TO GOD and as one who
DOES NOT give TO receive riches:
Proverbs 28:20 A stedfast man hath multiplied blessings, And whoso is hasting to be rich
is not acquitted
Thirdly, how much should we give?
1- We should give as we purpose in our hearts:
2 Corinthians 9:7 each one, according as he doth purpose in heart, not out of sorrow or
out of necessity, for a cheerful giver doth God love
2- We should AT LEAST go ABOVE AND BEYOND a tenth of our
income and ALSO give OFFERINGS:
Exodus 20:24 An altar of earth thou dost make for Me, and thou hast sacrificed on it thy
burnt-offerings and thy peace-offerings, thy flock and thy herd; in every place where I
cause My name to be remembered I come in unto thee, and have blessed thee
Lastly, who should we give to?
1- We are to give to those who are POOR:
Proverbs 22:9 The good of eye -- he is blessed, For he hath given of his bread to the poor
2- We are to ESPECIALLY give to those who are CHRISTIANS, those
who are BORN AGAIN BY FAITH:
Galatians 6:10 therefore, then, as we have opportunity, may we work the good to all, and
especially unto those of the household of the faith
3- We are to give to those who teach us the Word of God:
Galatians 6:6 And let him who is instructed in the word share with him who is
instructing -- in all good things
You see, Beloved, when we take the above Biblical principles and put them into
practice, then we'll see God's Hand of Blessing on us!
Giving isn't supposed to be a tedious process of stressing yourself out to the max because
you don't believe you an afford to give!
We are to give no matter what!
Does this mean you're to give your last penny even though your light bill is due or your
child needs food and clothing?
No!
You may substitute your money with time and hands-on work for whoever needs it!
Whenever you read some bogus ministry claiming "you can't afford not to give" it's
usually because those types of ministries are ripping you off!
If all a ministry wants is your money rather than your heart, run for your spiritual life!
Giving isn't about money; it's about God and how He chooses to cause you to give!
Should we give of our money?
Well, dear Saint, we're commanded to give!
NOT our money, but we're commanded to give everything for the sake of the Gospel!
Today, why not take a short time out to thank God for all of the many blessings, both
material and spiritual, that He's allowed you to have....why not seek Him and ask Him to
reveal to your heart how much you should keep and how much he wants you to give
May God allow you to walk in the principles of giving as listed above in this short
Biblical Teaching.
There are so many "ministries" out there claiming that if you give your money to them
then God will make you rich!...this is a fact, dear friend, that there are ministries who
make this very claim!
If these men and their phony ministries were in the business world, as Pastor David
Wilkerson has stated, they'd be in jail!
Turn to TBN (Trinity Broadcast Network) sometime and watch how they con their
viewers into giving their life savings!
If those in the Body of Christ would study the Word of God on the issue of giving, then
these money hungry charlatans would be out of business!
Dear Saint, the Bible does talk much about sowing and reaping, giving and
receiving...however, there is a right Biblical teaching on this subject and there is a
perverted teaching on this subject.
First, let us look to the Word of God on the Blessings of being a Giver:
1- Giving (a)HONORS God and (b)causes YOU to have your needs met
(not your GREEDS but your NEEDS)
Proverbs 3:9-10 Honour Jehovah from thy substance, And from the beginning of all thine
increase; And filled are thy barns [with] plenty, And [with] new wine thy presses break
forth.
2- Giving causes you to FEAR GOD:
Deuteronomy 14:23 and thou hast eaten before Jehovah thy God, in the place where He
doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle, the tithe of thy corn, of thy new wine, and
of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herd, and of thy flock, so that thou dost learn to fear
Jehovah thy God all the days
3- Giving causes you to RECEIVE:
Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed, and shaken, and
running over, they shall give into your bosom; for with that measure with which ye
measure, it shall be measured to you again
4- Giving causes you to be MORE blessed than if you simply
RECEIVED
Acts 20:33-35 The silver or gold or garments of no one did I covet; and ye yourselves
know that to my necessities, and to those who were with me, minister did these hands; all
things I did shew you, that, thus labouring, it behoveth [us] to partake with the ailing, to
be mindful also of the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to
give than to receive
5- Giving causes you to STORE UP TREASURE IN HEAVEN:
Matthew 6:19-21 Treasure not up to yourselves treasures on the earth, where moth and
rust disfigure, and where thieves break through and steal, but treasure up to yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth disfigure, and where thieves do not
break through nor steal, for where your treasure is, there will be also your heart
6- Giving causes God to OPEN HEAVEN over you and POUR OUT A
BLESSING ON YOU and causes God to PROTECT YOU from poverty
and causes God to REBUKE satan for you:
Malachi 3:8-12 Doth man deceive God? but ye are deceiving Me, And ye have said: `In
what have we deceived Thee?' The tithe and the heave-offering! With a curse ye are
cursed! And Me ye are deceiving -- this nation -- all of it. Bring in all the tithe unto the
treasure-house, And there is food in My house; When ye have tried Me, now, with this,
Said Jehovah of Hosts, Do not I open to you the windows of heaven? Yea, I have emptied
on you a blessing till there is no space. And I have pushed for you against the consumer,
And He doth not destroy to you the fruit of the ground, Nor miscarry to you doth the vine
in the field, Said Jehovah of Hosts. And declared you happy have all the nations, For ye
are a delightful land, said Jehovah of Hosts.
Second, let us look at the Biblical commands on how to give:
1- We must give as we purpose in OUR hearts and we must give
CHEERULLY:
2 Corinthians 9:7 each one, according as he doth purpose in heart, not out of sorrow or
out of necessity, for a cheerful giver doth God love
2- we must give CONSISTENTLY and only as GOD HAS
PROSPERED US:
1 Corinthians 16:1-2 And concerning the collection that [is] for the saints, as I directed
to the assemblies of Galatia, so also ye -- do ye; on every first [day] of the week, let each
one of you lay by him, treasuring up whatever he may have prospered, that when I may
come then collections may not be made
3- We must give WISELY, especially if we have LITTLE TO GIVE
(though we may see ourselves as having "little" the LORD sees us as
having JUST ENOUGH to keep and JUST ENOUGH to give):
Psalm 37:16 Better [is] the little of the righteous, Than the store of many wicked.
4- We must give knowing that WHAT we give is what God will GIVE
BACK (in principles of righteousness and unrighteousness; I am not
speaking here of a DUPLICATE of what you give but I am referring to
the CONTENT of what you give)
Galatians 6:7-8 Be not led astray; God is not mocked; for what a man may sow -- that
also he shall reap, because he who is sowing to his own flesh, of the flesh shall reap
corruption; and he who is sowing to the Spirit, of the Spirit shall reap life age-during
5- We must give as one who is FAITHFUL TO GOD and as one who
DOES NOT give TO receive riches:
Proverbs 28:20 A stedfast man hath multiplied blessings, And whoso is hasting to be rich
is not acquitted
Thirdly, how much should we give?
1- We should give as we purpose in our hearts:
2 Corinthians 9:7 each one, according as he doth purpose in heart, not out of sorrow or
out of necessity, for a cheerful giver doth God love
2- We should AT LEAST go ABOVE AND BEYOND a tenth of our
income and ALSO give OFFERINGS:
Exodus 20:24 An altar of earth thou dost make for Me, and thou hast sacrificed on it thy
burnt-offerings and thy peace-offerings, thy flock and thy herd; in every place where I
cause My name to be remembered I come in unto thee, and have blessed thee
Lastly, who should we give to?
1- We are to give to those who are POOR:
Proverbs 22:9 The good of eye -- he is blessed, For he hath given of his bread to the poor
2- We are to ESPECIALLY give to those who are CHRISTIANS, those
who are BORN AGAIN BY FAITH:
Galatians 6:10 therefore, then, as we have opportunity, may we work the good to all, and
especially unto those of the household of the faith
3- We are to give to those who teach us the Word of God:
Galatians 6:6 And let him who is instructed in the word share with him who is
instructing -- in all good things
You see, Beloved, when we take the above Biblical principles and put them into
practice, then we'll see God's Hand of Blessing on us!
Giving isn't supposed to be a tedious process of stressing yourself out to the max because
you don't believe you an afford to give!
We are to give no matter what!
Does this mean you're to give your last penny even though your light bill is due or your
child needs food and clothing?
No!
You may substitute your money with time and hands-on work for whoever needs it!
Whenever you read some bogus ministry claiming "you can't afford not to give" it's
usually because those types of ministries are ripping you off!
If all a ministry wants is your money rather than your heart, run for your spiritual life!
Giving isn't about money; it's about God and how He chooses to cause you to give!
Should we give of our money?
Well, dear Saint, we're commanded to give!
NOT our money, but we're commanded to give everything for the sake of the Gospel!
Today, why not take a short time out to thank God for all of the many blessings, both
material and spiritual, that He's allowed you to have....why not seek Him and ask Him to
reveal to your heart how much you should keep and how much he wants you to give
May God allow you to walk in the principles of giving as listed above in this short
Biblical Teaching.
Amen, Dan about giving. God wants 100% of us not just a mere 10% of money. He wants our whole heart, mind & strength. It's not always $$ he wants. He wants us to worship him, serve him with everything he has given us; our gifts that he has put in our hand to be used for his honor and glory. Bless you brother. Love in Jesus, Margie