The Truth About

Giving

God’s Dare to Give Scripturally

1. Giving is the most frequently discussed subject in the Bible.

2. The more you give the happier you will be! (Acts 20:35)

3. Giving is essential to salvation. (Mk. 10:17-22)

4. Money can rule our lives. (I Tim. 6:9-10)

5. Everything belongs to God (Psa. 50:9-12)

6. There is no record in the Bible where God ever accepted less than 10 percent from any of His followers.

Giving to God First

Card first, present secondWe are taught that it is polite to read the

card first, then turn to the giver and acknowledge their kindness by saying

“Thank You.”

The card serves two important purposes.1. It identifies the name of the giver2. It expresses the personal feelings of care,

friendship, and love the recipient has by showing he cares more about the person who gave him the gift than about the gift itself.

Israel and the Harvest

The most anticipated time of the year!!!

Before the harvest could be enjoyed the “first fruits” must be given.

Exodus 23:19 – land

Exodus 13:2 - livestock

Proverbs 3:9 – “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase”

Israel and the Harvest

What was God’s purpose behind this?By insisting that His people give back to Him first, God

was trying to help them see what was truly important.

The harvest (everything) were His gifts He gave the Israelites as an expression of His love for them.

By stopping to acknowledge the Giver FIRST, the Israelites were reminded of what was truly important. Their relationship to the Giver was what truly mattered.

So What About Today?Two principles and a warning

The “Better” Principle

If you had been given something better to replace what you had before… how would respond?

Job? Car? Home? Health?

The Book of Hebrews is all about how things are better under the New Law of Christ than under the Old Law.

Better Messenger (1)Better Message (2)

Better than Moses (3)Better Rest (4)

Better High Priest (5)Better Covenant (8)

Better Sacrifice (9-10)

The “Better” Principle

We live under a new and better law than the one people lived under before the coming of Christ. How can we look at the love of Christ and think that we do not owe so much more than those under the Old Testament Law?

If we have been given so many more blessings under the New Law, what logical argument could there be for offering less to God or not offering to God first?

The “Priority” Principle

Matthew 6:24-34Luke 12:13-34

Lesson???We are to seek His kingdom

first – before shelter, food and clothing!

A Warning About Giving Leftovers

If we are to seek His kingdom first – before shelter, food and clothing – what better way can we demonstrate that attitude than by how we manage our personal budgets?

Does God come first in your budget or is He last (planning and practicing)?

A Warning About Giving Leftovers

In almost every budget, the number one item is the mortgage or rent.

Guess what is number two?Food!

(Okay, it might fall to number three behind your car payment)

Then there is utilities and other house comforts…health spending

Clothing is usually next to the last (fire)Then if there is any leftover we give to God.But what did Jesus say? What are our priorities?

A Warning About Giving Leftovers

Malachi 1:6-14

What were the Jews doing?

Offering that which had no value to them… leftovers… it wasn’t a sacrifice!

Do we not do the same thing when our gift to God becomes the last thing in our budget both in planning and practice?

Purpose in Your Heart

After sitting through 90 minutes of high pressure what happens?

Some give in and other don’t!They had purposed in their hearts and nothing is

going to change their minds

Giving with Purpose

2 Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

When it comes to giving, we should purpose in our hearts what we are going to give before we have the money and nothing is going to change our minds.

Giving with Purpose

This simply means deciding what percent we are going to give before we have the money.

The reason we determine a percentage and not a specific dollar amount is because we are to give as we have prospered (I Cor. 16:2)

Simple Math

If a man purposes in his heart that he will give 20 percent of his income to the Lord and he receives a check for $1000, then he will give $200 to the Lord.

No decision has to be made when the money comes in – only a calculation.

If he receives check for $1 million, he will give $200,000. It truly is as simple as that.

Why “Purposing”?

The reason for “purposing” is so persuasive emotional appeals will not derail our giving.

People often fail to give scripturally because something always “pops up”.

It might be that the car needs new tires (unexpected expense) and since that extra money “can’t” come from the rent, utilities or retirement, it “must” come from our money set aside for giving.

First Fruits and Purposing!!!

Why “Purposing”?

It might also be that we receive extra money one month (bonus, etc.), but giving some of that would be giving too much of God’s money back to Him???

The beauty and wisdom of God’s instruction to purpose in our hearts is that external factors will not affect our giving.

Scared of Commitment

Some fear committing to give a certain percentage because they argue finances are too unpredictable. What if I have a decrease in income?

They can’t commit to a “giving schedule”.

We already make financial commitments on a regular basis.

Scared of Commitment

If you own your own home, you have arranged to pay your lender a fixed amount of money every month for the next 15 or 30 years.

You have purposed in your heart to make those payments.

Scared of Commitment

The difference between making those payments and following God’s instruction is that if your income drops, you may not be able to pay a set dollar amount on your mortgage, but you can always give back to God as you have been prospered because the amount is a predetermined percentage of your income.

The actual amount of your check to the Lord may be less, but the percentage will be the same and you will be obeying the Lord.

Daniel 1:8

Daniel simply decided what he would and would not do before he was

ever confronted with the situation.God applies that same reasoning to

our giving. He knew that money would have the power to persuade, and corrupt, so He instructed us to decide our course of action before we possess the money.