Giving

Text: I Corinthians 16:1-2

 

I.         Giving is a part of our worship

            A.        The aid given to the saints in Jerusalem glorified God - II Corinthians 9:10-15

            B.        Philippians 4:15-18 - A sweet-smelling sacrifice to God.

            C.        Attitudes in giving

                        1.         Prepared to give

                                    a.         A readiness or willingness to give - II Corinthians 8:11-12

                                    b.         I Corinthians 16:1-2 - A setting aside money. This implies preparation and a plan. Not haphazard giving.

                                    c.         As a person has purposed - II Corinthians 9:7

                        2.         A cheerful willingness to give - II Corinthians 9:7

                        3.         A generous gift

                                    a.         The Macedonians gave generously even though in poverty - II Corinthians 8:1-4

                                    b.         A liberal distribution - II Corinthians 9:13

                        4.         A proportional amount

                                    a.         II Corinthians 8:12 - Give what you have. Don’t go into debt.

                                    b.         I Corinthians 16:1-2 - As you have been prospered.

                                    c.         Acts 11:29 - The relief was sent according to ability

                                    d.         The responsibility to give is not based on income, though the amount should reflect your income.

                                                (1)       Luke 16:10-12 - A poor person who is not generous will not be generous if he becomes rich.

                                                (2)       The rich should give generously - I Timothy 6:18

                        5.         Your gift should cost you something

                                    a.         David refused to give God something that costed him nothing - II Samuel 24:24

                                    b.         Generosity cannot be measured by the size of the gift.

                                    c.         The question is how much do you keep of what God has given you? 99%, 95%, 90%, . . . ?

            D.        When to give

                        1.         On the first day of the week - I Corinthians 16:2

                        2.         When someone asks - Matthew 5:42

                        3.         When we have an opportunity - Galatians 6:10

II.        Giving is a cycle

            A.        God first gave to us

                        1.         It is He who created us, made a world for us, gave us opportunities to work. For all this we should be thankful

                                    a.         Ephesians 4:28 - Work so we have something to give to others

                        2.         God gave us His own son. He purchased our salvation with the blood of Christ.

                                    a.         How trivial and insignificant is our gifts back to him

            B.        God rewards the giver

                        1.         Generosity is returned at a later time - Ecclesiastes 11:1

                        2.         The generous will prosper - Proverbs 11:25

                        3.         As we give, it will be returned - Luke 6:38

                        4.         As we sow, we will harvest - II Corinthians 9:6-10

            C.        The cycle continues. The gifts we give, bring glory to God - II Corinthians 9:10

III.       The giving we spoke of is in generality.

            A.        There is the giving to God, through the church

            B.        There is the giving to God, through our aid to our fellow men

            C.        Do not neglect our giving - Heb 13:16