Generosity
“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”Proverbs 11:25
Are you feeling refreshed these days? Are you prospering each day with the things that matter? This Scripture has been the foundation for our recent series of Sunday messages about generosity. God’s blessing is released to those who bless others. Giving of our thanks, our grace and our time not only benefit others but expand our capacity to receive even more blessing from God in order to increase our giving.
This is especially true about what we do with our money and possessions. When we are generous with what we have we reflect the giving nature of God. In effect, we become more like Christ who gave everything for the sake of others. By doing that, Jesus has impacted a lot of people for eternity but he also experienced the sense of fulfillment that comes through generous and sacrificial giving.
This Sunday I will speak to you about the power and potential of money. The Bible has a lot to say about material resources and how to handle them God’s way. There are some key Scriptures that I’d like you to read in preparation for the message. Jot down any insights you gain about using your money well.
· Matthew 6:19-21,24
· 1 Timothy 6:10
· 2 Corinthians 9:6-11
· Mark 12:41-44
Giving generously to God’s work is a key to keeping God in first place in your life. It is an investment in the mission of God to impact and transform people through Christ from the consequences of sin. What you keep for yourself will deteriorate and evaporate, but what you give away becomes planted seed that produces a harvest of righteousness.
Jesus is right about everything, including the fact that there is greater blessing in giving than there is receiving. Abundant living is the result of abundant giving. The more you give, the more you experience God’s favour. Receiving from God is amazing – giving away what we receive is even better.
Shouldn’t we keep enough money to pay our bills and save some as a contingency? Of course we should. God provides us with our daily bread and with what we need when unexpected circumstances arise. But the question is, how much is enough? How much do we really need? When does money become a problem that hurts our relationship with God?
Money management is a stewardship issue. Everything we have has come from God. Our first priority is to honour God with everything and to use what we have for God’s purposes and glory. To that end, God will give us the wisdom we need to know what to do in every situation. The thing we want to avoid is putting ourselves in the place where we can’t be generous givers.
There are lots of thoughts and questions about this topic. I hope to answer many of them when we get together on Sunday.
Have a great day.