THE PRINCIPLES OF GIVING!

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2019.

SUBJECT : THE PRINCIPLES OF GIVING!

Memory verse: "So let each one give as He purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (Second Corinthians 9 vs 7.)

READ: Second Corinthians 8 vs 10 - 15: 

8:10: And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago;
8:11: but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of that what you have.
8:12: For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.
8:13: For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened:
8:14: but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality.
8:15: As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”

INTIMATION:

Giving is an act of bestowing, providing, offering, conveying, granting, or designating. It is an act of worship—serving God and others with what He has blessed you with—in obedience to God. The grace of giving is what every believer should desire greatly to excel in because it is the greatest grace  that God can bestow on us. God demonstrated in Himself the greatness of this grace when He gave us His Son as a propitiation for our sins (John 3 vs 16). Too often, stewardship of money is given a different status than other aspects of discipleship. Most believers would not want growth in faith, knowledge, or love to stop at a certain level. Yet many decide a fixed percentage of their money to give and stay there for life. True discipleship includes growing in the mature use of all resources, so giving should expand as well. 

In the passage we read today, the apostle Paul urged the believers in the Corinthian rich church to give to the Jerusalem church according to their earlier plan a year ago (see First Corinthians 9 vs 2). He enumerated the principles of giving in his message to the church. They are (1) Your willingness to give enthusiastically is more important than the amount you give—a giving attitude is more important than the amount given; (2) you should give according to your financial ability—make up your mind on how much to give in proportion to how much God has given you; (3) you should strive to fulfill your financial commitments, ensuring we follow through on previous promises; (4) if you give to others in need, they will, in turn, help you when you are in need; (5); you should give as a response to Christ, not for anything you can get out of it; (6) you should give cheerfully out of a willing heart. God Himself is a cheerful giver. Consider all He has done for us. He is pleased when we who are created in His image give generously and joyfully. Having a difficult time letting your money go reflects your ungratefulness to God. How you give reflects your devotion to Christ. 

God gives us so that we can give to others; we should give of what we have, not what we don’t have. There is a “sacrificial giving” and it must be responsible. So many people will give sacrificially in order to reap according to their giving. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. Your giving should be out of response to God, not giving out of what you expect to get out of it. There is a true life story of a young man who paid his tithes and offerings to a church with the expectations to reap financial harvest in the near future, and when his expectations didn’t come through he went back to the church and demanded a refund of all he has paid in tiths and offerings.

Though we are encouraged to give generously out of love for God, but not to the extent that those who depend on the givers (their families, for example) must go without having their basic needs met. Give until it hurts, but don’t give so that it hurts your family and/or relatives who need your financial support. 

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to serve You and others with the resources You my put in my care, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!