The power of a gracious giver part two.
This is a continuation of my previous blog on the subject of showing the generosity of God and being a good witness to the grace of God.
I addressed the subject of the tithe and gave my view on that and spoke of the importance of every christian growing in their confidence to hear Gods voice in the area of how they give and to whom they give.
In this second part I would like to continue by addressing the issue of the motives for our giving and the Lords system of rewards.
When we most often think of motive we of course most naturally think of the primacy of love and this is a truth that can never be overstated.
However I also have come to see that there are other motives that can be a real bind upon a Christians heart and upon their mind and the most significant of these is fear.
Fear will spoil our joy and our ability to freely give and it is important that we learn to eliminate fear in our giving in order to be more effective in it.
There are in most churches a wide range of people from comfortable retirees to good earners to those who may have no job at all.
Yet none of these is immune from fear seeking to encroach upon their giving,and it can never be assumed that because someone has money their giving will be more freely and joyfully offered.
Those who have worked hard and saved diligently may hold back out of a fear of not having enough for the future.
Or they may fear that those in need will come to depend on them in an unhelpful way.
Similarly those who are blessed with good jobs and are industrious may secretly resent those who don't appear to work so hard as they, and feel that their money is the just reward of their labours and should not be depended on by others.
They may feel an unspoken pressure from others to give more and respond to this by actually going in the opposite direction.
And then there may well be those who have low paying jobs or no jobs at all and their concern is that they feel unable to give as they would like.
The common denominator in all of these different scenarios is fear, and fear will always bind and restrict.
It may well be that those who have been materially blessed are looked to, or do feel a certain unspoken expectation placed upon them by others in their local church in ways that are not always helpful.
This I believe is in part because often ministers as well as congregations have not learned to look to the Lord alone as their ultimate source not to any one human channel or lesser source(it is a great temptation if someone of means is in your congregation but it is still wrong)
This simply betrays that our eyes are not on the Lord alone to provide for us and to give to us what we need,and that it is always better to let him speak to those whom he wishes to use than to try to apply subtle tactics and hints.
Gods word clearly states that he rewards diligent labour and hard work,and those who have worked industriously to gain their comfortable lifestyle should feel a sense of entitlement to reap the benefits of their hard work without guilt.
However the Bible is also clear in its instructions to them that,

"Charge them that are rich in this world,that they be not high minded,nor trust in uncertain riches,but in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy;
That they do good,that they be rich in good works ready to distribute,willing to share
Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come,that they may lay hold on eternal life. 1 Tim6 17 19
God is the One who gives to us richly all things to enjoy;He is not asking of us to strip ourselves down or of those who have to have not.
Rather the exhortation to them is to be willing.
To be willing to share and to be ready to give.
There should be an alertness and an attentiveness to be always ready and prepared to give where ever and whenever the Lord leads.And it should be whatever amount the Lord requires.
Likewise those who may have very little to give should not hold back any the more due to a sense of not having enough.
Rather they should raise the bar and give in the expectation that as they are obedient to the Lord he will reward them.
The bible says that our giving is acceptable according to what one has not according to what one does not have.
Our giving therefore has to be proven in the measure that we can give now not in a greater measure that we hope to be able to give in the future,and as we are faithful God will bless us.
Fear is such a controlling motivation if we allow it, but when fear is not resisted(and we resist it by acting on our heart instinct in spite of any fear that we may have)it develops another attitude which is equally pernicious and that is guilt.
How many Christians I wonder have given financially out of a guilt to give rather than out of a place of faith?
Some may feel guilt that they do not give more and end up giving not by heart conviction but as a gesture to relieve themselves of feeling guilty.
Frankly such giving does not impress God and brings no joy to the giver, and the Bible has much to say about the motive of our heart when we give being one of willingness and eagerness to do so.
So why do many in the church struggle with fears in this area and battle against guilt?
One of the primary reasons I believe is because their giving is not done in a heart attitude of faith and with out faith it is impossible to please God.
There is probably no area in the scriptures as designed to inspire our faith as that of the principal of seedtime and harvest.
Throughout the scriptures the principal of seedtime and harvest establishes a God given law;what you plant is what you will harvest and what you sow is what you are going to reap.
gen 8 22 says that
"As long as the earth remains,
Seed time and harvest,
And cold and heat,
And winter and summer,
And day and night shall not cease."
It is an inviolable law, as certain as the ending of every day and the inevitability of the coming of each night,as inevitable as the change of seasons from year to year.
How foolish we would consider it to observe a farmer standing in a field looking out over his fields in the anticipation of seeing a crop soon come up when he had not planted any seed in the ground.
This law of sowing and reaping is given not just to cover agriculture but as a spiritual law that governs everything.
It is called the law of returns.
"Whatever good thing a man does the same will he receive from the Lord"
"Do to others as you would have others do to you"
"Be not deceived,Whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap"
This law of sowing and reaping affects also our giving of the tithe and offerings.
Paul speaking to the Philipians says,
"Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel,when I departed from Macedonia,no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only.
For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities.
Not that I seek the gift,but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account."
And he concludes this passage by assuring them that "My God shall supply all your need, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Notice that he describes it as the matter of giving and receiving;not just giving,and not just receiving but both giving and receiving.
They were obviously ahead of other churches in this revelation and in their willingness of heart to practice it.
Paul is pretty blunt with them in that he reminds them that "not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account".
We have so much that we need to grasp from this single statement.
God is a God of justice.
He sees and he knows; he marks every good thing that we do to another, and He will reward.
For good or for evil we are going to reap what we sow.
"Do not be deceived whatever a man sows that shall he also reap."
Paul carries this same principal over specifically into the area of our giving financially in " Corn chpt 9
"Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully, and he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly."
And God is able to make all grace abound towards you that you always having all sufficiency in all things may have an abundance to every good work."
"Now may he who supplies seed for the sower and bread for food supply and multiply the seed that you have sown and enlarge the harvest of your righteousness."
As I said in the first part of this blog God is our source in everything.
This is the revelation that Abram had and this is the revelation that we too must have.
He is the one who will provide us with both the seed to sow (the means to be able to give) and He will multiply the seed which we have sown.
What does this mean?
It means simply that God will not only continue to provide us with seed to sow as we trust in Him but will multiply that seed that we have sown,bringing increasing fruit to our heavenly accounts from it.
It means that as we are obedient in our giving He will increase our capacity to give, and meet our needs also"He that provides seed for the sower and bread for food" so both are given to us from God.
However our minds should be as focused upon the seed to be sown as the bread for our food or our own needs.
This is not to say that our own needs are neither important or should not have any concern, however it is our giving that generates our receiving and not the other way around.
Far to often Christians have held back through fear of leaving themselves not enough because they have not grasped and taken to heart this principal.
Our needs are not to be met exclusively by our own capacity to provide for ourselves(it is important to take responsibility for our needs,but so to, to be able to receive as we give)
Rather the Lord I believe wants to expand our understand of this Kingdom lifestyle we give as freely and generously and quickly as the Lord enables us to, never holding back.
And in return the Lord causes His supernatural Grace to minister more powerfully towards us in inspiring and increasing our giving and multiplying its fruitfulness, and ministering back into our lives the meeting of those needs which we possess.
This of necessity involves our being willing to receive from others too.
Some Christians freely give to others as the Lord directs because there is a need in the life of the one that they are giving to and that person cannot meet it by themselves.
And yet the same person who gives to help another considers that they need to provide of all of their own needs and would feel embarrassed to receive from someone else concerning an area of need in their own life.
Their attitude is that of "I will help others as much as I can, but I will take responsibility for myself and my own needs"
This may sound commendable but actually it is nothing more than pride.
It is not letting God minister back to you.
It is saying in effect I can do it all myself.
Humility is therefore the key to sowing and reaping.
God wants us to be responsible but not at the expense of learning to trust in Him alone as our ultimate source.
Often our obedience to give may leave us short for a future need, but that leaves us open to be able to see how God is going to minister back into our lives by his supernatural grace to meet that need through the giving of others.
Really this is the most exciting way to live!
There is a religious spirit that has the attitude of
"I give but never to expect anything in return"
That is simply unbiblical.
Certainly we always give with the heart motive of love not looking to anyone in particular to give to us also however the Lord has also given to us the incentive of promising to us that "give and it will be given to you"
Good measure pressed down shaken together and running over will men pour into your bosom, for with the measure that you give it shall be given to you."
This is not just talking of forgiveness, but of every aspect of our lives, and to give looking to the Lord alone to remember is a biblical truth.
Therefore whenever I give I do so not as a duty or an obligation.
I do not give as a debt that I owe but as a seed that I sow and do this in the conviction that the Lord of the harvest will bring a harvest to me from what I have sown.
This area of teaching is one that I believe we need to lay solidly in place especially in these days in which we live.
We have to begin to operate by the kingdom of God in our finances and giving, for it is only that kingdom which shall not be shaken.
We are living in extremely troubling times and I believe that the economic crisis is only about to begin to be unveiled.
The American dollar is going to fail, and the implications of that for us all are immense.
Likewise the basic price of food and oil and other commodities is going to continue to increase.
We will witness a greater surge of fear in the world, but to those of us who know the Lord we cannot and must not allow fear any room for maneuver.
People will suffer real needs in the days to come and the Lord will call us to rise up and help others to meet some of those needs as we reach out in faith and in love in our giving.
And as we do so we can have a godly confidence that my God will meet all of our needs according to his riches in Glory in Christ Jesus.
As we learn to operate in the supernatural grace of God more in our giving (by listening to Him and acting in faith and not fear) so too we will begin to see more powerful demonstrations of Gods grace ministering back into our lives independently of our own labours to earn sufficiently to cover all of our needs.
Is this not the very definition of Grace?
Rather we need to build our lives in every area,no less in our giving upon those principles of Gods kingdom that are found in his word, knowing that as we seek first his kingdom and His righteousness all these other things will be added to us.

The power of a gracious giver.Part 1

One of the greatest revelations in the scriptures is that of the grace of God;the truth that our God, the God we love and serve is a gracious God.
The scripture affirms that he is kindly disposed towards us, that he is great in mercy and quick to offer it to those who turn to him with a sincere heart.
One cannot image that a christian has ever really or truly grasped the heart of the gospel unless they have seen the reality of Gods grace.
And this revelation of the grace of God has to permeate beyond a mere mental assent to a willingness of heart to likewise show grace to any and to all with which we deal day by day.
The grace of God is most captured I believe in an attitude of generosity towards others.
Even those who may seek to exploit me, misuse me and abuse me,some may ask?
Yes even to the ungracious and ungrateful for this is a tiny mirror reflection of Gods grace and mercy which he extended towards you and towards me.
There are many ways that we can show this generosity of course; in our forgiveness towards those who abuse and misuse us, in our time and service and love and believing the best of others(which is not a blind denial of the sins of others but a choice to see them and speak of them through the eyes of grace)
Think of the manner with which king David spoke of Saul on hearing the news of his death on the field of battle in 2 Samuel 1 v 23
"Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives,And in their death they were not divided;They were swifter than eagles,They were stronger than lions."
Wait a minute David! You mean that Jonathan was beloved and gracious, not his father who hated and feared and persecuted you until his death.
David refusal to see Saul as he was in his sin but to see him as he should have been and was called to be is a powerful testimony from the scriptures of a heart of generosity that saw and spoke in grace.
Another of the most powerful ways that we can manifest the grace of God in and through our lives is in the area of our giving to others materially and financial.
James reminds us in his epistle of the hollowness of sending away a brother in need without aiming to do something practical to assist them when it is in our hand to help.
"If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,and one of you says to them"depart in peace,be warmed and filled",but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body,what does it profit?"
It certainly does not profit the person in need and ultimately it does not profit us either for every time we harden our hearts and fail to respond to the Holy Spirits nudging we become more impoverished.
I have no doubt that the number one reason why more Christians do not give more freely to financially help others is because of fear.
And yet the bible is so full of wonderful promises of the heart of God to bless the giver and increase their capacity to give.
The first place to start if we want to hold our attitude of giving up to the light of the scriptures,the great litmus test is that of the tithe.
If we are right on this we will be moving in a direction of connecting with Gods grace in all our giving, if we fail on this then we will not and cannot experience the same measure of Gods bountiful grace ministering to us in our giving.
Contrary to some peoples assertions that the tithe is "an old testament principle which is not binding upon new testament Christians now" we need to remember that although the tithe was established as a precept in the law it did not originate with the law of Moses,rather it was introduced much earlier as a principle of obedience and worship for Gods people with Abraham,who is called the father of our faith.
You recall that Abram on returning from the slaughter of the kings in gen 14 18 was met by the somewhat mysterious figure of Melchizedek king of Salem(which was the first biblical reference to the present day city of Jerusalem),who blessed him and received from Abram the tithe.
What is the significance of this for us today?
The narrative reads "Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine;he was the priest of God Most High.
And he blessed him and said:
"Blessed be Abram of God most high,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hands."
And he gave him a tithe of all.
The tithe is simply defined as a tenth portion of that which we have.
A significant verse is verse 19 God Most high is described as" Possessor of heaven and earth."
In other words He who had just delivered Abram from a much larger army and given him the victory and restored his nephew Lot to him and given him the promises of inheriting the land was the One who possessed everything in heaven and on earth.
Everything belonged to him.
All of Abrams increase and wealth and future inheritance of the land was a witness to the fact that God most High was the possessor of it all.
The military intervention and success that the Lord gave to Abram was but a token of this fact and Abram recognized this truth and by revelation responded by giving to the Lord the tenth portion of all that he recognized that God had given him.
The most commonly held objection towards the tithe being a new testament requirement is that we should be free to give what we want when we want and not be required to give a certain portion.
Certainly we are free to give what we want however we should not give less then the tithe and we can always give more than the tithe if we choose to.
At the heart of our tithing needs to be the recognition that God is the possessor of it all,and nothing which we possess belongs to us alone, but is ultimately given to us by the Lord.
So then at heart the tithe is an obedience test; do we withhold what is not ours to keep, or give what God requires as a covenant act that declares that we belong to God and all that we are and have and will be and will one day have belongs to him.?
The tithe is important to God and so it should be to us to,for there is no other place that I know of in the bible where the Lord throws down the gauntlet and challenges us to prove him.
Malachi 3 v 10 says that we are to "Bring all the tithe 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 such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it."
"And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,"says the Lord of Hosts.
Rebuking the devourer is good news, and there are many who have discovered to their cost that by withholding the tithe they find that their money is being quickly devoured in spite of their work and constant labour.
Haggai 1 v 6 says that
"You have sown much,and bring forth little;
You eat,but do not have enough;
You drink,but you are not filled with drink;
You clothe yourselves,but no one is warm;
And he who earns wages,
Earns wages to put into a bag with holes."
Earning wages to put into a bag with holes in it is a perfect testimony of what so many in our society would say of themselves,"I just don't know where my money goes", but to the tither things can be different.
I personally believe that the tithe belongs to God and that as believers our responsibility is to give the tithe as the Lord leads us to give.
Some people may say "I just do not have the confidence to give as the Lord leads; "
"How do I know that it is his voice that I am hearing?"
Firstly it is important to state clearly that no man or woman can tell another man or woman where they ought to give their money.
Two of the most tell tale signs of a church or church movement that historically has veered off course into that area of what we would call a "cult" or heavy shepherding is that they will begin to tell you who your friends should be, that is who you should and should not associate with;and they tell you what to do with your money and possessions.
Anytime you encounter this, run from it like the plague!
It is certainly legitimate that a man of God may bring to the attention of his congregation a need or item to prayerfully consider but this is entirely different from the motivations that tries to instruct and control other people as to how they should use their money and their possessions.
It has been traditionally taught in the church that the tithe belongs to the local church, and that an offering over and above this belongs to other kingdom concerns that require supporting also.
I must confess that I have never adhered to this rigidly and have come to believe that it is not a hard and fast rule that can be imposed upon Christians.
This is not because I have a light view of the importance of the local church or fail to appreciate the need of each church member to be willing to share the need to support the ministry of the pastor and other outreaches that are part of a churches mission.
Rather I believe that the tithe belongs to the Lord.
It is his, not the pastors, not any one need or any one ministry gifts exclusive prerogative to demand;rather it is the Lords and as his body in the earth he requires us to direct it to those places and people that he wants us to distribute it to.
This thinking is difficult for some pastors to conceive.
After all they are dependant upon the giving of the church members to support them, and should not be left wanting in this respect.
However I also believe that if more pastors were able to rejoice that their church members were directing their giving in other areas in the tithe God would bless them and bless the church and actually increase the income of that church.
I have actually heard of this happening.
In one large church in America the pastor would encourage his people to give a portion of their tithe to other ministries that had especially blessed them or fed them each week, and the results were that rather than losing income they actually gained income by taking this stance.
God never honours insecurity and fear but honours faith and trust and sees when we are truly looking to him for our support and supply rather than any single earthly channel.
It is important also to state however that I believe that every person who belongs to a good local church should be as supportive as they can be towards that local church,and that begins with our financial support.
It is obvious that if a church is small in its numbers then a greater weight of responsibility is going to rest upon the shoulders of those members who regularly attend, and so they will of necessity be in a position to give more to support the minister.
And really they should rejoice to do so.
The bible says "Let him who is taught share in all good things with him who teaches" this should not need to be asked for but should be freely and spontaneously given.
The reason that I believe that the tithe is the Lords and should be directed by each one of us as he requires it to be given is also because it develops our faith and responsibility to hear Gods voice and be faithful stewards of the grace of God in our financial giving.
If we give in a certain direction all the time with occasionally giving an offering over and above this then we can become lazy in our hearing God to give constantly as he directs :however I certainly believe that the first financial commitment that we have must be to give to support our local church.
Many Christians as I stated earlier lack the confidence to hear Gods voice in this area and yet like every other area it can be so easily cultivated.
God may so often nudge us or drop into our minds a thought of a person or of a ministry or He may lay upon our hearts a real desire to give in a certain direction.
All of these are ways in which he speaks to us and as we learn to yield to these promptings and respond quickly to them we soon grow in confidence.
(Even if you were to get it wrong and it turned out to be your own thought or desire what is so terrible about having given some assistance and help to someone that you had on your heart?)
Most often however it will most probably not be just our own thoughts or desires but the Holy Spirit working in and through our thoughts and desires to accomplish his purposes
So we should I believe see the tithe as Gods portion and ask him how he wants us to apportion it, how we can be the best and most faithful stewards of it as He instructs our hearts.
When I joined the local church which we are currently attending the Lord clearly placed upon my heart the amount that He required me to give into the offering each week.
I understood this to be the minimum required level that I was called to consistently maintain, but there have been times when He has prompted me to give more.
Hearing Gods voice in our giving is one of the most exciting and adventurous ways that we can live and it brings its rewards too.
In part two of this blog I would like to address the rewards of God and our motives for giving.