THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL HEART ~ BIBLE SAYS, "GOD LOVES THE CHEERFUL HEART" 2 CORINTHIANS 9:7 "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." This verse single-handedly sums up the reason Christians are to give. We are to give because…..God loves a cheerful giver. When Christians freely give, with a gracious heart, we please God. God Himself, is a cheerful giver. He loves when His children follow in his footsteps. Think about the many blessings God has so richly bestowed on you. He doesn’t bless you because he has to, or because he feels obligated to. He gives to us, because He loves us. In ROMANS 9:32 it says, He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all–how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things. God was willing to give His own son for our sake, and He didn’t stop there. This verse reminds us that God graciously gives us all things. From each breath you take, to the house you live in. From your job, to your children, to your ability to read and write, God has graciously given you all that you have, and the ability to do all that you can do. There is nothing given to you, that does not flow from the hand of God. Meditate on his many blessings. Think about the cross, and the suffering that was endured for your sake. Know this of God, he is a gracious God, and he calls us to be gracious as well. He calls us to be cheerful givers, and to freely give to others, as he has done so with us. When we begin to catch a glimpse of the graciousness bestowed on us as sinners, how can we not desire to please God? How can we not desire to be cheerful givers, and share some of what has so graciously been given to us? If you love the Lord, strive to be a cheerful giver. Don’t hold back when it comes to giving. In PSALMS 84:11 it says, For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right. He withholds no good thing from us, and we are not to withhold any good thing from those in need. Lord, please make me a cheerful giver. Help me to freely give to others, and glorify your name. Help me give to others in a way that pleases you. Help me to be gracious towards others, that I may reflect your graciousness towards me. GALATIANS 6:7, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." In these scriptures we find the basic law of God concerning sowing and reaping. I felt that now was the right time to bring this message to the church as a reminder of what God expects of us in the area of our sowing, or giving, to His kingdom. Too often, we as Christians, become lax in our obedience to the commandment of God to give to him what is rightfully His in the first place. Then we forget that we have disobeyed God and wonder why we find ourselves in difficulties. How many of you want a bountiful harvest in your health? …In Your Home?…on your Job?…in all of your business affairs?… in your marriage?….in your income?…in all that you do? I’m sure that all of us would say AMEN to those questions. Who would not want God richest blessings in every area of our lives? If we are to receive God’s blessing then we must obey God’s law first of all. God has given us so many great promises concerning the sowing and reaping of our increase into His kingdom. One such passage in the Bible is found in 2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-11, "But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God." Giving to God of our tithes and offerings is directly related to our attitude toward God and our trust in His faithfulness to fulfill the promises that He has given to us! PROVERBS 3:9-10, "Honor the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." God’s grace alleviates our fear of loss of value and dignity. Our flesh and our culture demand that we find our value and dignity in our material wealth. But we are freed from this bondage and are now being conformed to the image of Christ. Once again, Jesus is our example. In His incarnation Jesus was “born in a low condition.” In His life on earth He underwent “the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross”. Jesus voluntarily assumed a lower status. So, in following Him we do the same. We give that which we possess even when it requires that we assume a lower station in the eyes of the world (Phil. 2:6). We trade bigger cars, homes, and bank accounts for the work of God’s kingdom. The riches we possess we give away as needed for the kingdom because Christ’s goals have become our own — His gracious giving has become the pattern for our lives, and His everlasting inheritance has become our reward (1 PETER 1:4). God’s grace blesses our giving with righteousness. Christ calls us to see our giving in terms of “sowing” and “reaping” (2 Cor. 9:6). We are to view our money as “seed” entrusted to us from God. He intends a portion of this seed to be sown in the service of His kingdom to generate gracious spiritual fruit — a “harvest of your righteousness” (v. 10). We sow money at the grocery store to reap an immediate harvest of food. We sow money to provide for our children’s needs. We sow money in investment accounts to reap (so we thought) future gains. Paul says that we are to sow money for the kingdom of God as well. And, just as in every other type of sowing, we will reap according to what we sow (v. 6). In contrast to so many of our other financial investments, our investments in God’s kingdom always bear fruit. God grants a harvest of righteousness when we give. He conforms us to Christ, the ultimate giver. Our giving results in praise to God for those who receive the gift, either directly or through the ministry of another. This harvest of righteousness is part of an enduring righteousness (v. 9), which lasts forever. We have a cheerful satisfaction in knowing that our investment in God’s kingdom will bear fruit according to His promise. God’s grace is able to meet our future needs. We fear that if we give to the kingdom of God we will jeopardize our future (or our children’s future). We need not fear because God is sovereign. Paul reminds us that God is the one who supplies bread for food. He knows our need for daily sustenance. He will provide for us to have enough for our own needs and still have something to share with others (vv. 9–10). We need not fear the future. God’s grace abounds to provide for us. We are made in Christ to give. As Calvin says, “For as we are not born for ourselves merely, so a Christian man ought neither to live to himself, nor lay out what he has, merely for his own use.” Start giving regularly and bountifully to the kingdom of God. When you give you will feel His pleasure, for “God loves a cheerful giver” (v. 7). LEVITICUS 27:30, "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD." The congregation of our church has always been generous and the needs of the church have been met, but there is always a need for more income to pay for new ministry. We cannot allow ourselves to grow too complacent with the status quo. We have to strive to be what God wants us to be. My greatest desire is to see all of you so greatly blessed that you cannot contain those blessings! I hope that God pours miracle after miracle into your life; miracles of healing; miracles of finances; miracles of peace, joy and happiness; and most of all, miracles of spiritual blessings! But I know that those types of miracles will never come unless we first give unto God with a Cheerful heart of our firstfruits and the best that we have to give. MALACHI 3:6-12, "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts." God is telling us in Malachi to put Him to the test! Do you think that God has ever or will ever fail a test? I think not! So what if you can’t pay your bills now. Don’t you know that God can stretch your 90% much farther than you can stretch your 100%? I have proven this in my life over and again and God has never failed! We lost nearly ½ of our income about 9 months ago. Then, a few months ago, I lost about ¼ of the remaining half, but I’m not complaining. Of course we all would want more, but I want you to know that God has supplied every need and it comes from somewhere when we need it.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 23:13:24 +0000