Category: Tithing

Those with a vested interest, Give!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Giving, God our Provider, Imitator of Christ, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Thank You Jesus, TithingLeave a comment

Scripture: Exodus 35-36.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Exodus 35:29 (NLT)

29 So the people of Israel—every man and woman who was eager to help in the work the Lord had given them through Moses—brought their gifts and gave them freely to the Lord.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

I know that anytime there is a sermon on ‘giving’ someone will leave disgruntled, because they don’t appreciate anyone telling, or reminding them about their giving, or lack thereof. But before I talk about the verse above, let me just remind us that if we are to be imitators of Christ, we should never choose which attributes to imitate, otherwise we will miss imitating Him in all things! Let’s remind ourselves about how much God gave, and quickly remember that He gave it all – His one and only Son, Jesus, so that we may have life eternal. Now, can we really qualify why we shouldn’t give at least 10% of the money that God has blessed us with the health, knowledge and wisdom to earn in the first place? Can we disqualify God’s teaching about giving at least 10% for the ongoing work of the church? I thought it was extremely eye-opening to read the above verse this morning and note that for those with a vested interest, in other words they were anxious to help in the work of the Lord, and so they gave freely! Wow, does that speak to us today? You bet it does. When we become interested enough to give back to God in thanksgiving for all that He gave to us, then we will not only give of our talent and hard work, but we will freely bring our gifts to further His work. This is the method and teaching in 2 Corinthians 9:7, that we give cheerfully to the work of the Lord, not from a guilty conscience. If you are vested in the work of the Lord, you will give!

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Thank You Father for giving so much to me. Especially I want to say thank You for giving Your only Son upon the cross so that I might accept that free gift and live eternally with You in heaven when You see fit to end my time here on this earth. Thank You for giving me health and strength each day to be able to work and earn a living. Thank You for blessing me with a job, especially during these days when I look around and see so many who are jobless. Thank You for doing such an awesome job in helping me budget the 90% of my salary that I am left with to meet my expenses. Thank You that I have always been able to honor my financial commitments. I realize that there are many times that I wish I had 150% of my salary, but those are times when my ‘wants’ are in overdrive, however as long as I stick with my ‘needs’ then I have no trouble. Thank You for being God and for being so very special in my life, especially in my financial affairs.

Be One Who Gives Sacrificially

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Giving, Honesty, Obedience, TithingLeave a comment

A Quality of a Mature, Reproducing Disciple of Jesus Christ

 

How am I handling the resources God has entrusted to me?

 

SCRIPTURE

Studied: 2 Cor. 9:6–9, Prov. 11:24–25

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

  1. 2 Corinthians 9:6-9 ~ [Remember] this: he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgingly, and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to someone] will also reap generously and with blessings. Let each one [give] as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, “prompt to do it”) giver [whose heart is in his giving]. And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation]. As it is written, He [the benevolent person] scatters abroad; He gives to the poor; His deeds of justice and goodness and kindness and benevolence will go on and endure forever!
  2. Proverbs 11:24-25 ~ Sometimes you can become rich by being generous or poor by being greedy. Generosity will be rewarded: Give a cup of water, and you will receive a cup of water in return.

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

I believe that God expects us to be a giving people; after all, He has blessed us with a lot so we should then turn around and bless others also. I can see from this passage also that when we decide in our minds to give, we should do so in all happiness and with joy – in other words: out of appreciation for what we have, who gave it to us, and who will provide the next dollar to help us meet our financial needs. Unfortunately, this is quite opposite to what our carnal minds would convince us to do, for of ourselves we are convinced that we can only give out of the excess, after all our bills are met (which often include many of our unnecessary wants). We often fill our minds with many arguments to help us feel good about not giving our first gifts to God – well who knows what the church will waste that money on that I give, or surely God expects me to be a good manager of my funds and not give more than I can afford after meeting all my concrete, worldly, frivolous bills. I am convinced that when we give at least 10%, as taught scripturally, off our gross income then pay our bills and give to the poor, etc, I believe that God will honor our heart way more than if we depend solely on what it appears that we have left that we can give to the work of the Lord. Furthermore, I believe that this teaches me that I must give freely and happily to God, for He gave freely and happily to me, His child, out of love. One method that I have talked about here is seeing through our eyes of faith and out of thanksgiving, the other is our seeing based on the numbers in front of us. When God is in charge of our giving, He will help us take care of the numbers. He gives us the health and abilities to hold a job and earn the income, all the more should we listen to Him about how we should spend that money that He has blessed us with.

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Lord Jesus, I believe that if I was asked what I believe is one of the most important things that the Bible says to me, it would probably be that God gave so that I may: have eternal life; have a beautiful earth to enjoy; have a beautiful family to help me in my daily physical and mental needs; have enough finances to meet my needs and many of my wants. Bottom line is that You gave, and gave and gave, even to the extent of giving Your one and only Son so that I may have eternal life. If I am determined to be Your disciple, and to be more like You in every walk of my life, then I have to give, and give, and give with a generous, sacrificial, happy and thankful heart. Please help me to always be of the mindset that what I have is all Yours, and that I should carefully follow Your commands in using what You have allowed me to have. I want to be known as a great example of You, because I want others to see You in my actions, words, and yes – in my giving. Thank You for blessing me with all that You have given for me to partake of, may I freely give to Your work and others in return.