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Proper Giving
Tonight we would like to explore some of God’s teaching on the subject of Proper Giving.
TEACHINGS FROM THE LORD
The Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18-30) – This man comes with zeal to obey the Lord. The Lord tells him to sell his riches, give to the poor, and to come follow Him. The man is sad because he was very rich and did not follow. He did not love the Lord as much as he thought.
Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10) – Zaccheus shows a great attitude of repaying and giving to the poor. Jesus accepts what Zaccheus says in verse 8, and does not discourage him in any way. Jesus calls Zaccheus a “son of Abraham”, a reference to his spiritual heart like Abraham’s (Galatians 3:5-6, 13-14).
The Parable of the Minas (Luke 19:11-27) – In this parable it is obvious that God wants us to use what we have productively. See also Ephesians 4:28, 1 Timothy 6:17-19, Mattthew 6:19-24.
In all these examples we can learn that we are to give to those in need and do so productively. In that way we store up eternal riches in Heaven. We also see the priority on helping those in need and not hoarding our riches for ourselves (Luke 12:13-21).
SACRIFICIAL GIVING
Luke 21:1-4 – The poor widow. Notice no mention of need as the people gave. Many times people say they only give if there is a need. Here we see the widow giving her all regardless of need.
Acts 2:44-45 – We see people sharing, as in a commune. Many of these people were from other countries and may not have known one another. However, obeying the gospel bound them together in a spiritual family.
Luke 6:27-36 – Throughout this passage we see the point stressed that we are to give with no hope of receiving back.
2 Corinthians 8:1-5, 9:5-6 – We see an attitude of giving from deep poverty after they first gave themselves to the Lord.
Acts 4:32-37 – These gave up their possessions to those in need. Many times the tendency is to hold on to our possessions rather than giving them up that we may have greater possessions in Heaven.
Acts 20:33-35 – Although what Jesus said is not recorded in the Bible, we can see this principal displayed in Jesus’ life and in the New Testament scriptures. It is truly more blessed to give than to receive. Little children show us this great attitude.
LESSONS WE CAN LEARN
We are to give to those in need, we are to give with good attitudes, sometimes our giving will hurt, and giving all we have to the Lord is praiseworthy. Let us apply these lessons in our lives!
Two good questions for us all to consider: “Am I giving to the Lord and to those in need like I should? Am I sacrificing when I give my money, time, belongings, and energy to the Lord?”
The poor widow gave all her livelihood to the Lord. How about you tonight? Have you given your all to the Lord? If you reject Him, you will be no better off than the rich young ruler who went away sorrowful and did not follow the Lord.
We see the Corinthians gave up a whole way of life when they believed and were baptized into the Lord (Acts 18:8, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). But it was well worth it, and it will be well worth it for you tonight! Are your riches keeping you from obeying the Lord? Please think about the things we have talked about tonight and take action to be pleasing to the Lord. We hope to see you next time on “Speaking The Truth In Love".
