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John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Giving is an attitude that allows us to
give all that we are,
give all that we have and
give all that we possess in the Holy Ghost
to provide greater glory for God.

Giving begins with the realization that "From Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity." (Rom. 11:35,36)

In other words, He is the source, the means and the goal of all of life.

Quote: Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure; where your treasure is, there is your heart; where your heart is, there is your happiness. Augustine

Quote: I have tried to keep things in my hands and lost them all, but what I have given into God's hands I still possess. Martin Luther

The Fundamental Principal of Giving:

Luke 6:38
"Give and it shall be given unto you;
1) Good Measure
2) Pressed down and
3) Shaken Together and
4) Running Over,
shall men give into your bosom.

Equal measure (now watch this)

By the same measure you give is the measure by which you will be blessed!

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." NIV

Luke 6
[38] "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. into your lap a Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." NASB

Luke 6
[38] Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back--given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity." The Message

Luke 6
[38] Give, and [gifts] will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will they pour Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the
measure you use when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you. AMP

Mark 4
[24] And He was saying to them, "Take care what you listen to. Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. NIV

The basic principle that Jesus is teaching is that if you want to change what you are getting then we must begin by giving love, goods, services, resources, time, energy, commitment, teaching, intercessory prayer support and whatever it is that we believe would give God the greatest glory.

The Lord assures that with the biblically based promise,
"Whatever man sows that will he also reap." (Gal. 6:6,7)
Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully, but if we sow sparingly, then we can expect to reap sparingly. (2 Cor. 8,9,10)

In Matthew, Mark, and Luke 1 out of every 6 verses deals with money.
Of the 29 parables Jesus told, 16 deal with a person and his money. Give of your monetary resources or they may end up controlling you and your heart.

Many of us do not give because we are afraid of losing the little resources we have. However, Jesus assures us that whatever we have belongs to Him anyway and if we give it away He will replace it with everything that we according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Perhaps one of the most comprehensive promises in the Bible comes from 2 Cor. 9:8 that says, "God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all things, at all times, you will have all that you need so you can abound in every good work." That covers all areas of life so we should not hesitate to give unreservedly with such a complete underwriting guarantee.

Quote: If you give what you do not need, it isn't giving. Mother Theresa

When we give what we do not need not only is it not giving it certainly is not sacrificial giving.

Jesus is teaching that giving is an imperative command that is continuous. He expects obedience, submission and trust toward the greatest Giver of all time. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. (John 3:16) God has bestowed upon us a spiritual nature as a giver. To not give is to be disobedient and inconsistent to our new Christ like nature. Just because we gave last Christmas does not mean that we can sit back and wait until December rolls around again.

Agape love keeps on giving even when it knows that a certain person probably will not return the favor. If we love God then we will give. Let your giving grow out of the overflow of the love that Jesus Christ has put in your heart.

Jesus knew that our life is a series of choices to give or to withhold what we should give away. Essentially, Jesus is saying, "If you do not use what I have given you, you will lose it." Jesus taught that the person who had one talent and buried it had it taken from him because he refused to give it away.

Mark 12
[41] And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
[42] And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
[43] And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
[44] For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

Verse 43: The widow gave sacrificially
Jesus said she gave more than everyone else although she gave only a
small offering of 2 mites.

Everyone gave of their abundance but she gave all that she had.
[43] Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on." NIV

"......for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. to live on."

Jesus knew that we need to give more than money as life does not consist merely of our possessions. The Lord Jesus wants us to some of the following to enrich our lives:

Giving is immediately associated with money but giving is equally important in areas of:
Time
Talent
Volunteer Work

Jesus knew that we need to give more than money as life does not consist merely of our possessions. The Lord Jesus wants us to give some of the following to enrich our lives:

12 G I M M I E S:
1. Give FRIENDSHIP. Solomon wrote, "If you want to have a friend, show yourself to be a friend."

2. Give intercessory PRAYER SUPPORT.

Quote: C. H. Spurgeon said, "I would much rather teach ten people to pray than to instruct one individual to preach."

3. Give LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, GENTLENESS, FAITHFULNESS, AND SELF-CONTROL TO EVERY SITUATION. (Gal. 5:22,23)

4. Give APPRECIATION, COMPLIMENTS AND ENCOURAGEMENT.
The encouragement of Margie Price
Too often we take others for granted, but people need affirming.

5. Give a HELPING HAND to someone in need.

Show someone you love them by doing something extra.
Baby-sit a poor exhausted mother's children for a few
hours. Take an elderly person for a ride. Go to a rest home and give someone a visit and some cookies. Give someone a note of encouragement.

6. Give GENEROUSLY without thought of what you might get in return.

Jesus said, "Love your enemies and give expecting nothing in return and your reward in heaven will be great." (Luke 6;35,36) We cannot expect God to have to give back exactly what we have given while we are on earth. That assures us that a greater reward is awaiting us in heaven.

Quote: He who gives what he would as readily throw away, gives without generosity; for the essence of generosity is in self-sacrifice.
Sir Henry Taylor, quoted in New Beginnings

7. Give FREELY without thought of feeling that others are obligated to give back to you. Let us remember the words of the Lord Jesus who said, "Freely you have received, freely give."
Solomon wrote in Proverbs 11:24,25

8. Give CHEERFULLY as God loves a cheerful giver. Do not give grudgingly or out of necessity because the motive with which we give is just as important to God as the gift itself.

Illustration: A mother wanted to teach her daughter a moral lesson. She gave the little girl a quarter and a dollar for church "Put whichever one you want in the collection plate and keep the other for yourself," she told the girl. When they were coming out of church, the mother asked her daughter which amount she had given. "Well," said the little girl, "I was going to give the dollar, but just before the collection the man in the pulpit said that we should all be cheerful givers. I knew I'd be a lot more cheerful if I gave the quarter, so I did." Bits and Pieces

Quote: I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. C.S. Lewis

9. Give people a LISTENING EAR. Let us learn how to be swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to become angry. (James 1:19) People everywhere are longing to have someone listen to their problems. Love is patient and kind. The greatest ways to show love is to give time, patience and a listening ear as it shows respect, care and loving concern. Listening Evangelism!

10. Give ENCOURAGEMENT that is in Christ, CONSOLATION OF LOVE, FELLOWSHIP OF THE SPIRIT, AFFECTION AND COMPASSION. (Phil. 2:1,2) Learn how to be more expressive in your concern for one another as Americans are increasingly becoming more cold, skeptical and hesitant to show outward displays of affection.

11. Give LAUGHTER with those who laugh and give tears with those who are in mourning.

Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart does good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.

12. Give someone a SMILE OF APPROVAL or a greeting. Many people do not even greet people that they meet anymore for fear of being misunderstood. My experience in Russia!

1. God judges what we give by what we keep. George Mueller

When God's work is done in God's way for God's glory, it will never lack God's supply. Hudson Taylor

CONCLUSION

Luke 10
[30] And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
[31] And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
[32] And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
[33] But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
[34] And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
[35] And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.