Key #1 – God Owns Everything
Genesis 4:3-4; 14:18-20
• These passages are very important because they demonstrate that God has always had a standard that his people would give a portion of their assets back to him in one way or another
• The Old Testament Law included tithes as well but these passages show that giving to God came before the law and is not limited to just the Old Covenant law
2 Corinthians 9:7
• God wants his people to give back to him out of gratitude and joy for his provision not out of compulsion
• When we think of giving to God to support the work of his Kingdom and his church we should think of words like joy, exciting, wonderful
• This doesn’t mean we should give only when we are feeling cheerful
• If we are giving out of guilt or due to accountability, then we are completely missing the point of stewardship and being able to give to God
• This does not, however, mean that we should opt out of giving because we don’t desire to do so
• The joy often comes during and after the act of obedience, not before it
• Don’t just wait until you feel like giving; it could be a long wait
• When you give contribution, tithes, or offerings, do you do so with a heart of gratitude and joy or do you have other feelings and emotions with which you deal?
• If you don’t give with joy in your heart you probably need to go back and re-evaluate your understanding of God’s ownership of everything, his provision for you, and your role as a steward
Philippians 4:4
• God wants us to rejoice in everything we do
• When we give out of obedience and gratitude to him, the joy will follow
• God designed us and knows that when we give from the right motives we will find joy; He wants us to experience that
• When we don’t give generously we rob ourselves of the joy that God has in store for us
2 Corinthians 8:1-9
• The Macedonians understood the joy of giving
• How do terms like “severe trial,” “overflowing joy,” “extreme poverty,” and “rich generosity” all fit together in one passage?
• They understood that joy comes in giving sacrificially and reverently to God rather than in how much is given
• Giving isn’t a luxury of the rich, it’s a privilege of the poor
• These impoverished Christians found no greater joy than giving
• They refused to let difficult circumstances keep them from joy
• Verse 4 reminds us that they begged and pleaded for the privilege to give. They surely would have had an excuse in the eyes of others not to give, but they would not settle for that
• How does that compare to us, who have so much more than they had but manage to come up with endless justifications for not giving?
Luke 21:1-4
• Jesus does care about how much we give
• How much we give is based on our heart not on the dollar amount
• The widow had very little but she recognized that it belonged to God and didn’t clutch to the little that she had – she trusted God
• When we are giving what little we may have to God that needs to be enough for us; that is all God desires
• We need not look at how much others give in dollar amounts, again, it is all about our heart
• From God’s perspective she put in more than the very rich folks because her giving showed trust in God rather than money
• She trusted God and gave willingly, and presumably, with joy
• Do you give to God with the same sort of heart that this widow had?
• How does her example challenge or convict you?
Convictions
• Do you give with the same heart as the widow and the Macedonian Christians?
• Have you truly discovered the joy of giving to God and his church or do you find it a burden and a duty? If it’s the latter, spend some time considering why that is.
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I think of the challenge to give joyfully here as it applies to areas in my life beyond money. If I were waiting to give of myself in some areas until I felt like doing so, it would be a long wait. I'm always amazed, though, that when I give to please God, whether I feel like it at the moment or not, the joy always comes. I've never walked away from giving or serving and said "I wish I hadn't done that."
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Giving with a heart of joy is always better. But I have had times where I have given reluctently and ended up with a glad heart. For me having the heart widow is not easy. Being out of work and trying to start my own business you look at every penny. When it gets to the end of the month and you hold your breath its hard. I have found that if you do trust in God some how things work out.
It must be God's wisdom in that when we are not feeling like giving, and we do so, it changes our thoughts to be grateful that we gave.
ReplyDeleteFor me striving to give out of joy and even when we didn't know how the next bill would be paid was a challenge, at times. Being reminded that the widow gave out of her poverty. . .God has proven to us that He will always bless obedience and sacrifice for Him. As money comes in(or in the past when we had plenty) the temptation to think, "Oh, if I didn't give this much here we could have our bike or sailboat". God reminds me that if He wants us to have those two "worldly dreams", then He'll make it happen in His time(when He sees fit).
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