Giving in a World of Take

Acts 20:35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

 

2 Corinthians 9:6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

 

1. Generous Giving with our Treasure         Often think of this first.

 

1 Corinthians 16:2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.

 

2. Generous Giving with our Time     

 

James 1:19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

 

3. Generous Giving with our Talents                  

 

1 Peter 4:10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. (NIV)

1 Corinthians 12:12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ

 

4. Generous Giving with our Testimony

 

1 Peter 3:15b “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (NIV)

 

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

 

The Why of this Call.

 

Obey Good Start 

 

Like the Nature of God. 

 

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

 

Like the action of Jesus.

 

Matthew 20:28 “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 

Frees us from the Bondage of Materialism.

 

Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 

Eternal Investment

 

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.

 

Help in the Mission of Expansion

 

Because of What He has done for you!

 

Titus 3:5-6 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.

 

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

 

Because ALL of us – Our Treasure, Time, Talent, and Testimony.

 

History of God’s people in Giving

 

The root of the Salvation Army and William Booth-

 

“To get a man soundly saved it is not enough to put on him a pair of new breeches, to give him regular work, or even to give him a university education. These things are all outside a man, and if the inside remains unchanged, you have wasted your labor. You must in some way or other graft upon the man’s nature a new nature, which has in it the element of the Divine.”

 

“Can we go too fast in saving souls? If anyone still wants a reply, let him ask the lost souls in Hell.”

 

We give because He first gave to us!