THe Principle of Giving

Luke 6:37–38 (NKJV)

37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

These principles are short and concise, and simple yet profound.

If we apply this priciples in our lives we will be partaker of the fruits.

The Principle of Giving

There are two components to the priciple of Giving.

Give and it will be given to you.( you wan’t to receive you have to give)

This component is the same as what is revealed in the prior passage.

If you want to receive forgiveness, you have to give it.

The measure you use to give it is going to be used to be given to you.

As we look into the principle of Giving, we need to know two things.

We need to know who it is that is telling us to give.

We need to know the measure of God’s Gift, what God willing and is capable of giving to us.

John 4:4–10 (NKJV)

4 But He needed to go through Samaria.

5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”

8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

Jesus was there to give this woman something special.

So he begins the Conversation by asking her to give

If we don’t Like the word Give, or the subject Give we will find it hard to communicate with Jesus

The principle applies here, Give and it shall be given to you.

She argued with him for sking her to give him water because did not recognise who it was who was asking her to give, and what he was willing to give her

When God tells us to give, we will argue with him if we don’t recognise who it is that is telling us to give, and what he is willing to give to us.

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom

Once she realised who he was she gave him more than what he asked.

John 4:28–30 (NKJV)

28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men,

29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”

30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

She left the water Pot, and she became his witness.

She gave him her life and her voice, she became his mouthpiece,

She went through the city and procliamed who he was

He gave her more than she asked for

John 4:39 (NKJV)

39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.”

Note: when we come to church and we are asked to give, Let us know who it is who is asking us to give. Let us know what kind of Gift God is willing to give to us.

Note: the fountain of living water was askin the woman to give, not because he needed it but because he wanted to give her. Hence God tells us to give not because he needs it but because he wants to give to us.

The Widow in Zarephath

1 Kings 17:8–15 (NKJV)

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying,

9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.”

11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

12 So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.

14 For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’ ”

15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.

Luke 4:26 “26 but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.”

Maybe the Lord Want to bless someone today who is in need, and is asking you to follow the principle and give.

The Macedonian believers

2 Corinthians 8:1–7 (NKJV)

1 Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia:

2 that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.

3 For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing,

4 imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.

5 And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.

6 So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well.

7 But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also.

We must Excell in the grace of Giving

These are our example, the cloud of witness.

What is there keeping us from being generous/liberal in our giving, if the Macedonian beleivers were liberal in their state of poverty.

2 Corinthians 9:6–8 (NKJV)

6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

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.

For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

If we are spare in our giving, we will receive likewise. If we are liberal in our giving we will receive likewise.

Proverbs 11:25 “25 The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.”

God loves givers, especially cheerful givers because he is one himslef.

God is the greatest Giver.

God does not give out principles that he himself does not follow.

John 3:16 (NKJV)

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.

Revelation 7:9 (NKJV)

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

Acts 20:35 (NKJV)

35 I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”