GIVING WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY DECEMBER 1, 2019.

SUBJECT : GIVING WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE!

Memory verse: "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you" (Luke 6 vs 38).

READ: Psalm 50 vs 7 - 15:

50:7: Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, your God! 

50:8: I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are continually before Me. 

50:9: I will not take a bull from your house, nor goats out of your folds. 

50:10: For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. 

50:11: I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beast of the field are Mine. 

50:12: "If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness. 

50:13: Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? 

50:14: Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.

50:15: Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.

INTIMATION:

The attitude with which you give determines the manner of your receiving. The right attitude in giving ensures receiving rightly from God. When you give with a wrong attitude, or in a wrong manner, you receive nothing from God. For instance, the religious rituals of going to church, taking communion, paying tithes, giving to charity, or to the church, are all empty if our motives of doing them are selfish. God doesn't want these sacrifices and offerings without an attitude of devotion to Him. 

Many believers' giving fall into the scenario hinted above. They participate in religious activities out of habit or conformity rather than out of heartfelt love and obedience to God. Some give to be recognized; be seen as a financial pillar in the church or ministry, or for self-actualization, not our of love and obedient obligation to the LORD.

In our memory verse, we have seen that our receiving is tied to our giving. Note, most importantly, that the Scripture says, "the measure we use," not "the measure we give." Many people confuse the two statements. If we give in love, we receive in lovely manner, but if give in hate, or grudgingly, we receive in like manner. If we are critical rather than compassionate, we will also receive criticism. If we treat others generously, graciously, and compassionately, these qualities will come back to us in full measure. We are to love others, not judge them.

In the passage we read, God was saying to His chosen people that His disagreement with them wasn't about a lack of sacrifices on their part because they had been offering sacrifices continually. His complaint against them was the heart attitude in making those sacrifices and offerings. They thought they were making the sacrifices because God somehow needed their bulls and goats. In this Scripture, God made it clear to them that He didn't need anything from them; everything already belongs to the Lord. He doesn't need to ask anyone for food. The truth is that the Israelites needed those sacrifices. They needed to give back to God to show their trust, devotion, and dependence upon Him; It wasn't for God—it's for them. The same is applicable to us today, God has not changed. The offerings and tithe exist for our benefit, not God's.

 God doesn't need your giving today any more than He needed those Old Testament sacrifices. The reason of our giving is for us to learn to recognize God as the source of all you have (John 3 vs 27). It's one thing to say we believe God is our source, but it's another thing to prove it. The way we prove to ourselves, not God, that He is our source, is to give a portion of what we have received back to Him. People who don't really see God as their source are going to balk at giving part of what they have away. They are selfish, and usually are going to think, 'I need this thing!' But giving back some of what God has already given you is nothing when you see God as your source.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my everything. All I have You have given me. I am nothing without You. You have freely given me all things out of Your love for me. Let me therefore, give lovingly, and in full devotion to You, that I will receive Your approval, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!