Chapter Five - GENEROSITY - Benefits in Heaven

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." - Winston Churchill 

LESSON 1 - ATTITUDES OF GIVING

1.  "Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" - Acts 20:25

2. Giving follows Love. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son" - John 3:16. Because God loved, He gave. Generosity motivated by love.

3. Pharisees gave exactly the correct amount, a tithe, but with the wrong attitude. - Matthew 23:23 -  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." The Lord rebuked them!

4. Giving without love is of no value to the Giver. "If I give all my Possessions to the poor...but don't have love, it profits me nothing." - 1 Corinthians 13:3 - "If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[a] but do not have love, I gain nothing."

5. Proper attitude is key key issue in giving. Only way to give with a heart of love is to consciously give to Jesus as an act of worship. 2 Corinthians 9:7 - Be joyful givers; "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 

6.  Jesus said; "it is more blessed to give than to receive." - Acts 20:35 - "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”  Lay up treasures in heaven for eternity. - Matthew 6:20 -  "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."  

LESSON 2 - ADVANTAGES OF GIVING (4 BENEFITS)

1. Increased intimacy: A faithful steward enters into the joy of knowing Christ more closely. - Matthew 25:21 - "...well done, good and faithful servant..."

2.Increased character: Character of Christ  is an unselfish giver. Humans are naturally selfish. Regular giving conforms us to Christ. Joy follows giving.

3. Increase in Heaven: You have an eternal account in Heaven. Paul wrote; "Not that I desire your gifts; I desire more be credited to your account" - Philippians 4:17 

4. Increase on Earth. The giver receives a material increase in the Lord's time and way. - Proverbs 11:24 - "One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty." 

Giving = Needs Met = Material Increase = Give More!

LESSON 3 - AMOUNT TO GIVE

How much should we give? The Old Testament says ten percent (10%). - Genesis 14:20 - "'And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.' Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything." And; Genesis 28:22 - "and[a] this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” 

LESSON 4 - APPROACH TO GIVING

The Apostle Paul maps an approach for giving periodically, personally, out of savings, and to be a priority; 1 Corinthians 16:2. - "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made." 

And be premeditated; - 2 Corinthians 9:7 - "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."   

And, without pride; - Matthew 6:1-4 - “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

LESSON 5 - PLACES FOR GIVING

1. The Bible instructs us to give to three areas:

a) The Local Church; - Numbers 18:8-10 -  "8 Then the Lord said to Aaron, 'I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion, your perpetual share. 9 You are to have the part of the most holy offerings that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain or sin[a] or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons. 10 Eat it as something most holy; every male shall eat it. You must regard it as holy'", and verse 24 - "Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord. That is why I said concerning them: ‘They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’”  In Galatians 6:6 -  "Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor." 

b) Ministries; -1 Timothy 5:17-18 - "17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,”[a] and “The worker deserves his wages.”[b] 

c.) And, the Poor and the Needy.

2. When we give to the poor, the Lord will protect us, answer our prayers, and bless us with His joy. - Isaiah 58:10-11 - "10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."

3. Sodom's primary sins were pride and not caring for the poor, even though they had an abundance of material goods.; - Ezekiel 16:49 - "Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy."

4. Jesus identifies with the poor. When we give to the poor, we are giving to Christ Himself; Matthew 25:35-45 - "35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’"

Paul  was asked not to forget the poor;  Galatians 2:9-10 - "9 James, Cephas[a] and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along."

5. Three areas of Christians are affected by whether we give to the poor:

a) Prayer; Proverbs 21:13 - "Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered." 

b) Provision; Proverbs 28:7 - "Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses."

c) Knowing Jesus Intimately; Jeremiah 22:16 - "He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. 'Is that not what it means to know me?' declares the Lord."

LESSON 6 - APPLICATION

Where are you in your generosity journey? Draw and complete with money or percentages the "Generosity Grid";

Church Evangelism Discipleship Poor 

Local

National

Global

Poor

** END OF CHAPTER FIVE **

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Chapter Six - Income - God's Perspective on Work