Victory Gospel Church

Sunday 13th October 2019 Teacher Mr Jonathan Ryder

Giving and the Truth about Prosperity

A. INTRODUCTIONGod wants us to be prosperous. 3 John 2 gives insight into the heart of God: “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” And Psalm 35:27 says “let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant”.

True prosperity is not just material abundance. Material abundance is certainly a physical manifestation of prosperity, but true prosperity is more. The final part of 3 John 2 “just as your soul prospers” makes it clear that there is an inward prosperity and that being outwardly prosperous in the natural realm is linked to our inward prosperity. Indeed in Genesis 39:2 God called Joseph, who was a slave, the prosperous one, and not his wealthy master Potiphar. Joseph was truly prosperous because God was with him and he had His favour. God’s favour will cause physical tangible “things” to come our way, but Joseph was prosperous long before there was anything in the natural to prove it.

B. SCRIPTURAL IMPORTANCE OF GIVING

1. Giving is God’s spiritual law, central to the way the Kingdom of God operates

1. The Kingdom of God works by the spiritual law of seedtime and harvest or sowing and reaping or, giving and receiving. It is God’s plan for His children to give and by doing so to receive back.

a. Genesis8:22“While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

• Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be put

into your bosom.”

• Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” God’s spiritual law not only works in the natural realm but also the spiritual (e.g. sowing of emotion (such as love), prayer, time).

2. In the spiritual law, giving comes first; receiving follows. Indeed in Acts 20:35 Paul said “remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

2. Giving is to God. We obviously give to the Lord, when we give directly to the work of His ministry, but we are also giving to the Lord when we give to meet the needs of the saints and indeed others in need.

• �  Matthew 25:40 “And the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”

• �  Proverbs 19:17 “He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD.”

3. God is the ultimate giver.

As you would expect, if giving and receiving is God’s spiritual law and central to the operation of the Kingdom of God, then God is the ultimate, or best example, of a giver. Through the Scriptures we see again and again God the Giver.

1. Father God gave His only Son, to all mankind.a. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten

Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

2. Jesus didn’t just give us something that He had; Jesus gave Himself and gave up His life for us.

• Galatians 1:3-4 “Lord Jesus Christ who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.”

• Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

3. God gives the Holy Spirit to His born again children.

• Luke11:13“Ifyouthen,beingevil,knowhowtogivegoodgiftstoyour children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those that ask Him?”

• Acts 2:38 “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

4. God gave us eternal life.

a. Romans 6:23 “the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

5. GodgaveusSalvation.

a. Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”

6. God gives us Grace.

a. Ephesians 4:7 “But to every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.”

7. GodgaveusFaith.a. Romans 12:3 “according as God has dealt [i.e. given out] to every

man the measure of faith.” 8. God gives us Righteousness.

a. Romans 5:17 “For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life by One, Jesus Christ.”

9. Godgaveusallthingsthatpertaintolifeandgodliness.

• 2 Peter 1:3 “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue”

• Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

10.God gave us the divine nature.

a. 2Peter1:4“wherebyhavebeengiventousexceedinglygreatand precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature.”

11.God gives ministry gifts

a. Ephesians 4:8, 11 “When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.”

12.God gives spiritual gifts

a. 1 Corinthians 12:4, 8-10 “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To

another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To

another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.”

13.God gives us power to get wealtha. Deuteronomy 8:18 “remember the LORD your God, for it is He who

gives you power to get wealth.”

We can truly say that God is the ultimate giver. Ephesians 5:1 [AMP] calls us to be “imitators of God” in the same way that children imitate their parents. We imitate God when we act like Him. So we are called to be givers just as God is a giver. He would not ask us to do something we are not capable of doing. We are able to be God-kind of givers because we have been given the divine nature of our Heavenly Father [2 Peter 1:4].

C. HOW AND WHY SHOULD WE GIVE?

There is more to giving than just the action; the motive of the heart is as important. The How and the Why of our giving is the motive for our giving. 2 Corinthians Chapters 8 and 9 provide some of the most detailed teaching in Scripture on the proper motive for giving.

#1 Thankfully/Worshipfully

Giving should first and foremost be an act of thanksgiving and worship, an acknowledgement that God has given us more than we could ever repay. Thanking God is the purest and simplest expression our faith.

1. Our giving is an act of thanks to the Father for giving us the greatest of all gifts, His Son, our Lord Jesus. 2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift” There is no way to adequately express the greatness of the gift or the depth of our gratitude. So, this truly was an unspeakable gift.

2. Our giving causes thanksgiving to the Lord from the recipients, thereby we indirectly give Him thanks as well. 2 Corinthians 9:11-12 “While you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God.”

3. In giving financially we give ourselves to the Lord, which is an act of worship. Paul recognised this in the Macedonian givers in 2 Corinthians 8:5 “they first gave themselves to the Lord, and to us by the will of God.”

4. Honouring God is part of worship and giving honours God. Proverbs 3:9 “Honour the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase.”

5. Glorifying God is also part of worship and giving glorifies God. 2 Corinthians 9:13 “through the proof of this ministry [i.e. giving] they glorify God.”

#2 Willingly

What does it mean? - not compelled, not under duress, not reluctantly, not as debt or obligation

2 Corinthians 8 v3 Macedonian givers were “Willing of themselves.”

v8 Paul had been encouraging the Corinthians to give, but he made it clear that this was just an encouragement, not a command. “I speak not by commandment.”

v10 Paul advises (“herein I give my advice”) staying away from a direct command

v12 “if there is first a willing mind, it [the gift] is accepted.” 2 Corinthians 9

v5 Paul exhorts preparation of the offering so that it will be ready “not as a grudging obligation.”

v7 “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart; not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (AMP = “Not under compulsion”). The verb “purpose” means “to resolve to perform” i.e. be willing.

#3 Cheerfully

What does it mean? – joyfully, not sorrowfully

1. 2 Corinthians 9:7 which talked about giving willingly, finishes by saying “for God loves a cheerful giver” Therefore, if we give out of sorrow, pain, grief, annoyance, or affliction we are not cheerful givers and are not pleasing God with our gifts. God loves those who give joyfully and cheerfully.

2. 2 Corinthians 8:2 “that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.” These Macedonian believers not only had joy; they had an abundance of joy when they gave. In the natural they had reason not to be joyful because the verse also says “in a great trial of affliction .... and their deep poverty.” Many people are waiting to be delivered from afflictions and poverty and then they will have joy. That was not the attitude of these believers and givers.

To me New Testament tithing is a good illustration of the willing and cheerful giving of 2 Corinthians 9:7. Tithing was in effect before the Law of Moses (Genesis 14:20), so tithing is a biblical principle that still applies to us as New Testament believers, who are not under the Law. However, often the only

reason people tithe is because of Malachi 3:8-9 written under the Law, which says they are “robbing God if they don’t tithe” and “God will curse them for not tithing.” That motivates people to tithe only because of an obligation, with no willingness or joy. Tithing only because it’s a debt, or because we believe we’ll be cursed if we

don’t tithe, is not consistent with the motivation Paul gave in 2 Corinthians 9:7:“Not grudgingly or of necessity for God loves a cheerful giver.” So there is a difference between New Testament tithing and tithing under the Law, and that difference is the motive. However, I’m unwise if I don’t tithe because I’m cutting myself off from the blessing promised in Malachi 3:10.

#4 Lovingly

What does it mean? God’s type of Agape love, preferring others to ourselves and acting on it. In John 3:16 this was God’s motive for giving. It wasn’t because of His need, but our need. He was motivated to give out of His Agape love for us.

1. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 8:8 “I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love.” In other words to command someone to give would violate the principle of giving in love. 1 Corinthians 13:3 says “though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” So giving without love doesn’t benefit the giver.

2. Matthew 5:23-24 talks about ensuring that when making a gift to God there is no strife in our lives generally – love must reign in our lives. “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave there your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift”.

#5 Generously

What does it mean? – bountifully, not sparingly, not stingily

1. Isaiah 32:8 “A generous man devises generous things, and by generosity he shall stand [i.e. be established].”

2. 2Corinthians8:1-2“thegraceofGodbestowedonthechurchesof Macedonia that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of

their liberality” The Macedonians’ “liberality”, i.e. generosity, in giving was a result of the grace of God. God’s grace is a gift i.e. unearned and therefore extremely generous. If we truly understand and experience the grace of God’s love, we will ourselves be generous. In the natural the Macedonians had reason not to be generous because of their afflictions and poverty. Nevertheless by God’s grace they overflowed in generosity. 2 Corinthians 9:6 talks of sowing “bountifully.”

3. The Lord does not evaluate our generosity by the amount or compared to other people’s gifts. 2 Corinthians 8:12 “For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to that he does not have.” Generosity is “according to what you have and not according to what

you do not have.” This can also be seen in the teaching about the widow’s mite (small gift) being more than all the other larger gifts in Luke 21:3-4. The Lord judges the generosity of our giving by the amount relative to our means and the attitude with which it is given. A million pound gift from a multimillionaire could be a stingy gift while a one pound gift from someone else could be a generous gift.

#6 Expectantly

What does it mean? – having faith to receive

A. Give in faith – expect a harvest

1. 2 Corinthians 9:6 makes it clear that giving expecting to receive is based on the spiritual law of sowing and reaping “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” In the natural we expect a harvest from the seed that has been planted. God’s financial plan is no different – Sowing by giving tithes, offerings and financial gifts to the Lord results in reaping by receiving financial blessing. So we should give expecting to reap a harvest.

2. Giving expecting to receive back is an act of faith because it is counter to the world’s wisdom. The world thinks the more they keep, the more they will have and that if they give money away, resources will diminish, not increase. Proverbs 11 v24 counters this with God’s spiritual law “There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty.” Luke 6:38 reaffirms this “Give, and it will be given to you.” So we should expect to increase by giving.

3. As in the case of all faith we need to believe God’s Word and speak and act in line with the Word. So we can only expect to receive a harvest if we have sown i.e. done what the Word says. Some people desire financial harvest from the Lord, but they haven’t given Him any seed with which to produce this harvest. 2 Corinthians 9:6 calls this sowing sparingly. This will not work any more than farmers expecting crops where they have sown no seed. And like all faith, we require patience - do not give up doing good for “we shall reap, if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9).

4. We should expect abundance. 2 Corinthians 9:8: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” Luke 6:38 says “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be put into your bosom.” 2 Corinthians 9:10 “Now He that ministers seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown.” The Lord will “multiply your seed sown.” For those giving with the right heart, the Lord gives back one hundred times what was given (Mark 10:30). So we should expect to abundantly increase by giving.

5. There is a specific promise to tithers in Malachi 3:10. “Bring

all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove me now in this, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for

you a blessing, that there will not be room enough to receive it.” When we tithe we should expect such abundance. Two interesting elements of this promise – we are uniquely called to prove the Lord, and in v11 it is the Lord Himself Who will rebuke the devourer for our sakes.

6. Also, there is a specific promise when giving to the poor: Proverbs 19:17: “He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD; and He will pay back what he has given.”

7. Although focusing on material things, the harvest we should expect is not just in the natural realm but is also the spiritual realm. Giving to the Lord is not only sowing a natural seed but also a spiritual seed. Mark 10:30: “he shall receive...in this time....and in the age to come eternal life.” We can’t take money with us to heaven, but we can send it on before by investing it in the lives of others. All the kindnesses done to others will reap eternal rewards: Matthew 10:42 “whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

B. Expect to receive a harvest in order to be able to give

1. In 2 Corinthians 9:6 finances are compared to natural seed. In the natural we cannot eat all harvested seed because some seed must be sown again if we want to keep eating in the future. Similarly we cannot use all our finances on ourselves, if we want a harvest of finances in the future.

2. God provides abundance to us in order to let it flow to others. God doesn’t want us to be reservoirs, but rather channels. 2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” AMP emphasises this: “furnished in abundance for every good work

and charitable donation.” As 1 Timothy 6:18 says “Let them [i.e. those with riches] do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share.” So the purpose of God’s prosperity in our lives is so that we can be a blessing to others. To be a blessing, we have to be blessed. Genesis 12:2 talking of Abraham said “I will bless you....and you shall be a blessing”. So we are to expect an abundance of blessing to the point that we can abound to every good work. That means that we should never be unable to give to any good cause or meet any need. Satan has robbed us through “poverty thinking” and has caused many good works to go underfunded. 2 Corinthians 9:11 refers directly back to v8 saying being “ enriched in everything for all liberality.” Expect to be enriched in everything so that we can always be generous in our giving.

3. Christ uses His body (the church) to help meet the needs of others in the church. Those who have plenty will be sharing with those who have lack. In

this way, each will have needs met. Paul describes this in 2 Corinthians 8:14-15. “now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack: that there may be equality. As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.”

C. As we expect to receive a harvest in order to be able to give, we also expect to have our own needs met

1. Isaiah 55:10 talking of natural harvest says “that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater”: it speaks of both consuming some of the harvest (meeting own needs) before planting again (giving).

2. 2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” 2 Corinthians

9:10 “Now He that ministers seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown.” Notice the word “both.” The Lord wants to give us financial blessings (bread for us) and also use us to be blessings to others (our seed sown). As long as we let the prosperity that the Lord gives pass through, there will always be enough for ourselves – all sufficiency in all things.

3. Philippians 4:19 is a scripture often quoted “my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Our needs are met – if you read from v10 onwards, it actually is talking in the context of giving!

4. Matthew 6:31-33 “Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, What shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” As believers seek first the advancement of God’s kingdom (which includes giving into His Kingdom), the Lord will take care of their needs.

D. CONCLUSION

Giving and Receiving is a Spiritual Law. We should be givers, imitating God the ultimate giver. We should give thankfully/worshipfully, willingly, cheerfully, lovingly, generously and expectantly. We should expect a harvest in order to give, knowing and expecting our own needs will be met. Paul summed it all up in 2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” Our giving is above all an act of thanks to the Father for giving the greatest of all gifts, His Son, our Lord Jesus.

What have you done with this gift of Jesus? Have you accepted the gift? The most important decision we ever make is to accept the awesome gift of Jesus. We do this by giving ourselves (our lives) to Jesus, by making Him our Saviour and Lord. Have you taken that step of giving yourself to God?