What then should be our attitude?
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The First Steps Bible Study No.8- The Joy of Giving
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also. (We put our money where our heart is)
Giving is not for the faint of heart. We are to give not from the
abundance in our pockets or bank accounts but out of the abundance
and fullness of our love for God and others. Giving reveals where
our heart truly is, it reveals who and what we really love. We
generally invest / spend our money on that, which really matters to
us; that which gives us joy and pleasure. We often, reluctantly pay
our bills and debts or buy something we don’t really want; we
naturally don’t like to be pressured to put our money where our
heart is not. Real giving is worship (Romans 12:1, 2), it’s sacrificial,
it may hurt but we do it in faith. Real giving brings joy unimaginable
as we see our gesture of love transform the lives of the people
around us right before our very eyes. While giving puts a joyful smile
on those that receive in their need, the joy and fulfillment of our
making a difference far exceeds that.
1 Chronicles 29:11-12 Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the
power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything
in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are
exalted as head over all. 12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are
the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt
and give strength to all.
According to this verse where does wealth come from?
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For whatever reason some of us have little and others of have more,
it’s hard to try to understand why this is true, it’s interesting though
that those that are poor and generous never lack and have incredible
joy. Having enough is not a requirement for giving, loving is. There
are those that give while having much remembering the times they
had little and desire to give back, and those that give while even in
need themselves identify and feel the pain of those they give to;
either way giving brings joy.
In the bible there is a story about an old widow that gave all she
had:
Mark 12:41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings
were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple
treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor
widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a
few cents. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell
you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the
others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her
poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
Why do you think this old widow would risk giving to God all
that she had?
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What motivated her to do this?
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Observe what was happening in the early church…
Acts 2:44 All the believers were together and had everything in
common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone
who had need.
What possessed these new believers to be so generous?
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Acts 20:35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of
hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord
Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
How does giving make a person happier (Blessed) than
receiving?
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‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”, Why does this not
make much sense to some people?
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Common attitudes that get in the way of giving:
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Giving is for those who have
It’s for those that after giving feel safe because they still
have some left
It’s the responsibility of those who have to give to those who
don’t have, and I don’t have.
How does God expect for those who don’t have to give?
But if I give how do I know it will be well spent?
Giving It is for those who care and frankly I am not sure I
care that much.
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Look at the following passage and give your opinions:
2 Corinthians 9:6-15 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will
also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap
generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your
heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a
cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in
all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in
every good work. 9 As it is written: “They have freely scattered
their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”
10
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food
will also supply and increase your store of seed and will
enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be
enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every
occasion, and through us your generosity will result in
thanksgiving to God.
According to verse 6, “those who give generously,
_______________ generously.”
According to verse 7, how should we give? What should be our
attitude?
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In verses 8-11, what does God promise us?
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12
Can you think of some more?
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs
of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many
expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by
which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for
the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel
of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and
with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts
will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has
given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
In verses 11-15, what do you see are some of the results /outcome
of our generosity?
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It’s great knowing that someone somewhere is praising and
thanking God because you and I gave.
How to give:
1. Give Freely- Matthew 10:8, “Freely you received, freely
give.” Give out of love, not expecting returns on your investment.
2. Give in secret. Matthew 6:3-4 says, “But when you give to the
poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what
is done in secret will reward you.”
3. According to our ability (You can’t give what you don’t have)
Ezra 2:69 According to their ability they gave to the treasury for this
work
4. With a smile- 2 Corinthians 9:7 (you and I get to partner with
God in providing for his work and for others, what a joy!)
5. In faith- you give to God and you lay it down- Acts 4:34-35 that
there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time
those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from
the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to
anyone who had need.
What about the Tithe?
It’s common for Christians give a tithe (a tenth of their earnings) to
provide for their pastors and maintain their local church, these
pastors administer the resources of the church to fill needs, and help
fulfill and promote the church’s purposes.
Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there
may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty,
“and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour
out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
God promised Israel blessings greater than they could imagine, he
told them to give ten percent of what they produced to give back to
him for the ministry of his temple and so that his priest would be free
to serve in the temple. Today many Christians out of love for God
give back 10 % (a tithe) or more to their local church out of what
God has blessed them with through their labor. God gives special
meaning to numbers in the bible (No. 3= divine perfection, 6= the
number of man, 7 = spiritual perfection and so on). the number 10 is
the number for the law, for example the 10commandments and for
trials or test, for example the plagues God gave Egypt…so the tithe
(10%) therefore is just a testing/examining of our hearts, God owns
everything, all we have is a blessing from him, so in reality 10% is
not the standard, the standard is “as God has put in your heart,
according to your gratefulness and cheerfully”. God shouldn’t just
have 10% of our heart, but all…give from the heat!
Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure,
pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into
your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
“Giving provides joy and there is great joy in giving”