What if we GIVE?
What if we believed in the God who can do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine?
What would happen in us?
How would our lives be changed and transformed?
What could happen through us?
How could future generations be affected by our decision to believe in God and trust His word?
From the very beginning, the church has been known as a people of uncommon generosity, willing to give sacrificially, so that we can love our neighbors well, serve one another in love, and reach the world for Christ.
The River
There’s a story about a man who decided to build his home beside the river. He cleared the trees, built a house, and made his home there and it was beautiful. He decided to farm the land as well and began to work the land.
As the weeks and months went along, there wasn’t much rain and he needed a way to water his crops. So he built a dam along the river and diverted the water into a holding pond where he could then use the water for irrigation.
And it worked. The water flowed from the river into his pond and from the pond into his irrigation system giving him the most beautiful crops you’ve ever seen.
But because of the dam the water stopped flowing at his farm and the river downstream dried up. And while he was enjoying the blessing of the water the river had to offer, all those living downstream were suffering because of it.
They had no water for their crops, no water for cooking and cleaning, no river to fish and no way to receive what the river had to offer because the blessing of the river had been stopped at this one man’s farm.
In so many ways, this describes the world we live in. So many have received the blessings of God, but those blessings stop with them. And because of that their lives may flourish to a point, but those around them do not.
A Farewell with a Powerful Reminder
In Acts 20.33-35, Luke is writing about a moment when the Apostle Paul is saying farewell to the elders in the church in Ephesus whom he dearly loved. Paul says…
33 “I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or fine clothes. 34 You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me. 35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard.
Paul was brilliant. He was on his way to becoming a leading pharisee which would have meant a life of abundance and comfort for him.
But Paul then Paul met Jesus. And Paul decided to live his life for something better, something bigger.
He preached the gospel and planted churches. Different Christian communities supported his ministry and he worked on the side to supply for his needs. He was the first preacher with a side hustle!
THEN… he used the rest to provide for the needs of others!
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There is a freedom that comes when you work to provide for your necessities and then you’re able to use the rest to bless!
Using the Rest to Bless
Years ago I a friend asked me to be a part of a small group of guys to celebrate his son turning 13. He wanted all the men he invited to come to speak into his son’s life around different topics.
One of the guys talked about finances and I’ll never forget what he said. He and his wife lived on one income. They had two teenagers, so money was a little tight for them. But they budgeted every month a certain amount of money to bless others.
They had pre-decided to bless others as opportunities came up. And when opportunities arose, they were able to give quickly to help meet the needs of those they loved and cared about!
There is a freedom that comes when you work to provide for your necessities and then you’re able to use the rest to bless!
It is more blessed to GIVE
After Paul says all this, he gives us these words of Jesus…
You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
What’s interesting is that these words of Jesus aren’t found in the gospels.
We don’t know when he said it, where he said it, or to whom he said it. But my guess is that it was something he said so often, to so many people in so many places, that everyone just knew… O yea, Jesus… he always reminded us that it is more blessed to GIVE than it is to RECEIVE.
It is more blessed to GIVE!
And you know what? It is!
Many of you have experienced this. You’ve trusted God and given more than you thought you could and you learned what so many of us have learned, you simply cannot out-give God!
You’ve gone all in and given more than you thought you should even though it didn’t make sense on paper and you discovered, God always provides.
And you did it every time out of love.
And every time you took God at His word, every time you believed that what Jesus said is really true, you experienced the blessing of God in a profound way.
It’s counterintuitive. It’s upside down thinking. But this is how life works in God’s economy. It is more blessed to GIVE than it is to receive!
So what if, together, we trusted God again? What if, together, we took God at His word?
What happens when Christians Give?
You may wonder, why should we give? Why should we give to church? And what happens when we give?
Those are great questions that could be (and should be) answered in more ways than I’m about to share. But let me give you two brief answers.
1: Our Faith Grows
If we want to grow as disciples of Jesus we have to grow in our giving. The reality is, we can never grow in faith if we never rely on God. When we give sacrificially in faith we have an opportunity to rely on God in ways that maybe we haven’t before.
2: Lives are Changed.
When we give to God and to His church, we are able to do more than we’ve ever done before to help more people than we’ve ever helped before. We live in a world that counts church attendance and dollars given. What we need to count are changed lives!
Immeasurably More
Here’s what I believe… Our God is a God who does immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine.
And here’s the counterintuitive, upside down nature of the Kingdom of God… If you allow the blessing to flow through you to others you’ll be blessed even more than you could imagine. In fact, it becomes a double blessing!
I am constantly reminded how many people in our own neighborhoods and communities do not belong to a church family. Maybe they’ve been hurt by a church. Maybe they just got out of the habit of going during COVID. Maybe there’s another reason. But we have an opportunity to reach more people than ever before right here in our communities.
So What if?
What if we start asking, start praying, start dreaming about what God could do in us and through us if we trusted Him in our giving?
May we give like we trust and believe that what Jesus said is true. That is really is more blessed to GIVE than it is to receive.
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”
— Ephesians 3.20-21
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