SIMPLE GIVING - 1 CORINTHIANS 16:2A

2 On the first day of the week, each of you is to set something aside and save in keeping with how he is prospering,

BIG IDEA: WE SIMPLIFY GIVING WHEN WE PRIORITIZE OUR GIFTS.

PICKING UP FROM SUNDAY’S MESSAGE: DEVELOPING GENEROUS HABITS, I SIMPLY WANT US TO NARROW IN ON ONE PART OF VERSE 2, SO THAT WE CAN REALLY SEE HOW SIMPLE GIVING ACTUALLY IS.

YES, WE MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT THAT NEED BE. WHY? WELL, PERHAPS IT’S OUR RELUCTANCE IN OUR DESIRE (WE REALLY DON’T WANT TO GIVE).

OR A MISUNDERSTANDING WITH OUR POSSESSIONS (WE STILL BELIEVE OUR STUFF IS OURS).

OR EVEN DISTRUST OF THE CHURCH (WHO’S GETTING RICH OFF OF ME)?

WHILE THESE CONCERNS ARE POSSESSED BY MANY/SOME, IT DOESN’T MAKE THEM ACCURATE...

JESUS AND PAUL BOTH TALKED ABOUT MONEY A LOT. BOTH WANTED US (BELIEVERS) TO UNDERSTAND A FEW KEY THINGS ABOUT OUR POSSESSIONS:

GIVE GOD YOURSELF FIRST (BUT SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE PROVIDED FOR YOU…) MATT. 6.33

WHEN GOD HAS YOU, HE HAS ALL THAT YOU HAVE (I’VE TAUGHT THIS BEFORE).

GIVE GOD HIS PORTION SECOND. EACH PERSON SHOULD DO AS HE DECIDED IN HIS HEART - NOT RELUCTANTLY OR OUT OF COMPULSION, SINCE GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER.

GIVE TO GOD BY BLESSING OTHERS - THIRD. 1 COR.16

WE CAN LEARN FROM THIS (SACRIFICIAL) EXTRA-UP AND ABOVE OUR REGULAR OFFERING, BY FOLLOWING PAUL’S SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS FOR SIMPLE GIVING...

2 On the first day of the week, each of you is to set something aside and save in keeping with how he is prospering,

SIMPLE GIVING, YALL!

SET SOMETHING ASIDE: IN ORDER TO SET, WE MUST PRAY AND PLAN. MANY OF US NEED TO BEGIN WITH AN ACTUAL BUDGET. I KNOW, UGH. EVEN STILL, LOOK AT YOUR PROSPERITY (HOW GOD HAS BLESSED YOU), AND BASED UPON HOW THE LORD LEADS YOU, START STASHING OR SETTING AS PAUL SAYS…(REMEMBER, THERE IS NO NEW TESTAMENT TITHE THAT IS RECORDED. WE HAVE USED 10% AS A GUIDE OR AS A MINIMUM GUAGE. AND I WANT TO ADD: 10% IS A GREAT PLACE TO START, BUT A BAD PLACE TO STOP! IF YOU’VE NEVER GIVEN CONSISTENTLY, BEGIN WITH 10!

BUT, WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO SET SOMETHING ASIDE? WELL, DUE TO OUR TENDENCY TO SPEND WHAT WE OUGHT TO GIVE. AND YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SPENDING VS. GIVING? SPENDING GETS IMMEDIATE RESULTS. YOU GET AN ITEM FOR YOUR MONEY. GIVING HAS DELAYED RESULTS. YOUR GIFT GAINS WEIGHT AS IT IS RELEASED. YOU DON’T SEE ANYTHING IMMEDIATELY, BUT YOU KNOW (BY FAITH), THAT THERE IS A RETURN.

SO, PAUL SAYS “SET SOMETHING ASIDE.” THIS FIRST SIMPLE GIVING PRINCIPLE WILL DO WONDERS FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAVE NEVER GIVEN CONSISTENTLY. IT’LL CREATE TWO GREAT FACTORS: PRIORITY & CONSISTENCY.

SAVE WHAT YOU SET: WE MUST BE DISCIPLINED IN OUR GIVING. I GUARANTEE YOU, AS SOON AS YOU COMMIT TO GIVING OR BEING GENEROUS, THINGS WILL COME UNRAVELED. THIS IS WHY SAVING WHAT YOU SET IS CRUCIAL. WHAT GOOD IS IT TO SET SOMETHING ASIDE, ONLY TO SPEND IT BEFORE WE GATHER?

PAUL KNOWS THIS. IT’S HUMAN NATURE. REMEMBER, WHAT YOU’VE SET ASIDE AND SAVED - IS IN KEEPING WITH HOW HE/SHE IS PROSPERING...

IT’S A MEASUREMENT (FINANCIALLY SPEAKING) THAT DEMONSTRATES JUST HOW BLESSED YOU ARE! OUR GIFTS ARE TESTIMONIES TO GOD’S GOODNESS TOWARDS US...

SO WHEN WE GIVE GENEROUSLY, WE’RE TESTIFYING TO HOW GENEROUS AND BLESSED WE ARE FROM GOD.

DON’T GET CAUGHT UP WITH AMOUNTS. PAUL SAID AS YOU’VE BEEN PROSPERED.

PROPERITY VARIES.

WE’RE FOCUSING UPON PERSONAL PROSPERITY AND RESPONSIBILITY. SAVE WHAT YOU SET.

IF YOU DON’T SAVE IT, YOU WILL SPEND IT!!!

SOW WHAT YOU SET: WHEN THE TIME COMES FOR YOU TO GIVE OR SOW, WE BRING OUR GENEROUS GIFTS WITH OUR CHEERFUL HEARTS.

WE KNOW THAT WE’RE GIVING GOD OUR FIRST AND OUR BEST.

WE’VE ALREADY GIVEN OURSELVES TO GOD...

AS WE RELEASE - GIVE - SOW, WE OUGHT TO DO SO WITH SMILES ON OUR FACES AND IN OUR HEARTS...

Tony Evans Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More Than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Giving)

ONE day the elder board of a church was faced with a situation that was a little uncomfortable. A man named Jim in the church who had a serious heart condition had just inherited one million dollars and they wanted to tell him, but they were afraid that the shock would kill him.They asked the pastor if he could figure out a way to tell Jim that he had inherited such a large sum of money. The pastor agreed. He approached the man after church one day and casually said, “Jim, if you had one million dollars, what would you do with it?” Jim looked up and said, “Pastor, if God gave me one million dollars, the first thing I would do before I did anything is give half of it to the church.” The pastor had a heart attack and died.