Giving and Receiving

Giving and Receiving

by Patricia Dailey
Senior Pastor, Bethel Revival Center
43 Norwood St.
Everett, MA 02149

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II Corinthians 9:6
But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

Paul compares giving to sowing seed — one can only harvest the amount of seed that has been sown. When a farmer sows seed, if he sows sparingly, he will reap sparingly; and if he sows bountifully, he will reap bountifully.

Paul is saying that this is true of our giving: If we give sparingly, we will reap sparingly; but if we give bountifully, we will reap bountifully.

If we give a teaspoonful, that is what we will reap — just a teaspoonful; but if we give a shovelful, we will reap a shovelful.

II Corinthians 9:7
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

We are to give cheerfully — happy to have the opportunity of giving. Yet many find it difficult to release any finances, regretting that they gave.

We should be glad we can give without regretting what we have parted with. Any time we help someone in need, we should do it as unto the Lord.

(However, in giving to those in need, we need to be sure we are not just feeding someone's greed.)

You Can't OUtgive God

II Corinthians 9:8
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

God is able to make all grace abound to those who give as unto Him. He is able to give them more so they are enabled to continue doing good works and still have all that they need themselves.

Luke 6:38
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Back in those days when they went to the market place, such things as grain would be poured out, pressed down, and shaken together until it was running over, and that would give them a good measure. And God has told us that if we give, it will be given unto us in this manner of receiving a good measure.

Some may say that it says, men shall give to us, not God. I tell you, men won't give unless God touches their hearts to give! Don't forget that it's God who's behind what is given. God causes men to give unto us in the same measure that we give to others.

Down through the years I've seen this truth. I have been given things that I could never have been able to buy at the time. God gave me second-hand furniture that was like new. These were things we needed because we had gotten rid of most of our furniture when we moved to Massachusetts from Pennsylvania with four young children to pioneer a work for the Lord here. We had to give up many of our things to obey God. We were willing to obey the Lord, and He provided for us.

Philippians 4:19
But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

We never scorned what God gave us. We had second-hand furniture given to us, but those things weren't junk. They were nice enough for our home.

I remember when my little girl was provided a complete bedroom set for her room. That was a blessing to her as well as to us. Someone else provided a bedroom set for our room. It may have been second-hand, but it was beautiful.

So many times God gave us just what was needed at the time. And that's how God works. He'll give us things when we can't afford to buy them for ourselves. He will cause men to give when we give unto Him. It's God that touches hearts to give to others.

If we are children of God, our tithe (10% of our gain) belongs to God. When people hold back that which is God's, they are cutting off His blessings.

Malachi 3:10
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.

This is what happens when we begin to give our tithe and our offerings unto the Lord. We find that, in return, He blesses us in such a manner that we won't have room enough to receive it all without sharing. It would be very greedy to keep it all when we have more than enough for our need.

Be Gracious to Receive

We should be thankful when someone has enough love in their heart to want to share with us the blessings they have received. But some people are too high-minded to let others give them anything, and they miss the blessings of receiving from the hand of God through someone else.

When you try to give some people anything, they refuse it. They don't know the blessings of giving and receiving. They need to read the Bible and see what God says about giving and receiving: men will give unto those who have given. It's not that men have it in their minds to give, but God has touched their hearts to share.

These high-minded people need to know and understand that, but they don't want to lower themselves to receive handouts, to receive second-hand things.

Many times when we have received an abundant supply, we put it out on the walk for anyone to take. Other times, when we had an abundance of food given to us, we would get it ready to give away and load up cars to take it into a needy area for any to come and take home that which they can use.

When you have more than you can use, why let it go to waste?

I tell you, when you grow up in a poor family, you don't look down on receiving second-hand things. When I was growing up, things were pretty tough. Wages were very low, as little as 65 cents an hour. Of course, things didn't cost as much back then; but when you are caring for a large family, wages didn't go too far. I was used to having second-hand clothes. I was happy to receive them.

I used to babysit for a family over an entire weekend for $1 — and that's a fact. But I was glad to earn that $1 so I could save up to buy some clothing.

But, even in hard times when we put the Lord first, giving our tithes and offerings, we can find ourselves prospering to where we not only have our own needs met, but we have abundance to give to others as well. We rob ourselves of the blessings of God when we don't put Him first and obey His Word.

Now, here in Malachi, the Lord tells us to prove Him and see if He won't open the windows of heaven and pour out such a blessing that we won't have enough room to receive it all.

I've seen this fulfilled in our lives time and time again, where we have received so much that we just had to give it away.

It's always nice for the Lord to open an outlet for these things. When you try to give something to someone in desperate need, often they don't appreciate it. You can even buy them new things and never see them using what you have given. What do they do with these things? Weren't they good enough for them?

Many of my clothes have been given to me, and many of them are second-hand, and I thank God for providing my every need (whether second-hand or new).

Now, we each have our likes and dislikes, and if something is given that we can't use, we can always share it with someone else who can use it.

Give in Simplicity

In our giving, we must do it in simplicity. Sometimes people want everyone else to know what they are giving. They give in such a way that others will know they're giving.

That's not right. We should be able to give in simplicity, either by giving it ourselves — rather than giving it to someone else to deliver — or we can give in secret, such as by sending it in the mail.

Matthew 6:3,4
But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly.

We don't need men to see what we're doing when we give. There are those times we may get together with others to help someone in need, and then we know what each of us is giving — such as helping someone as a corporate church body to set up housekeeping when they find a place to live. The church is reaching out at such a time to help the needy. But as far as our personal giving, it's not good to flash what we are giving publicly so others will be aware that we are giving.

Some wait to give to someone until others are around so that what they give can be seen. That's not giving with simplicity. They should have given in a manner where nobody around will notice what they are doing.

II Corinthians 8:12
For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

Naturally, you can't give if you don't have anything to give. But if you do have, no matter how small, you can give as unto the Lord. You have to have a willing mind, willing to obey the Lord when He lays it on your heart to give.

Mark 12:41-44
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. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 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: 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.

The rich were giving much! They were able to give more because they were rich. (But not everyone who is rich wants to give of their abundance.)

Now, this poor widow had little to give: but Jesus said she had cast in more than the rest. They had cast in from their abundance, but she gave all she had, though it was but little. She had nothing left! But I don't believe she went without. She loved the Lord and wanted to give to the work of God.

Many times people will give sacrificially, and the Lord is there to meet their need. People have given of their want, given what they need to live on, and God has blessed to provide their need. He took care of them, returning unto them, as He said He would do: Give and it shall be given unto you.

Those with a greater income have an obligation to give their tithe as well as those with less. Naturally, what they will give will be greater. It is required of them to give that which belongs to the Lord just the same. If they hold back, then they are cutting off their blessing.

Malachi 3:10
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.

We will have sufficient for our needs and more left over to give and do good works with. It's a blessing to help others, to be a blessing to another.

And when someone gives unto us, whether it be money, food, or some other blessing, we should never look down on being the receiver, should never reject the blessings of God. If it's something you can't use, then pass it on as a conduit, a channel to bless someone else.

One time someone handed me $5 as I came into the church, and I was led to give it to someone else — and, lo and behold, before I went home, someone had given me $10. I said, "Lord, You must want me to have this money," and it doubled! You never know what the Lord will do when you obey His voice. He is so good to us.

A Memorial Before God

Now, He made the testimony of this widow a memorial. He wants us to see that we can give, even when we have nothing to give other than from our want. And He will be faithful to provide and cause men to give unto us.

I Corinthians 16:2
Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

Most people are paid weekly. Some are paid every other week, some monthly: but most are paid weekly. Here we see that we are to give every week of our increase, from what we earn and what has been given us.

Acts 10:1-4
There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.

Cornelius feared God. His prayers and his giving came up as a memorial before God. This would tell us that our giving and our good deeds go before God as a memorial.

Filled with Good Deeds

Acts 9:36-40
Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them.

Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

Dorcas was filled with alms deeds. What a testimony she had, making coats and garments for the needy. She was able to sew, and she used her talent to make many widows and others in need happy. Thank God she used her talent for the Lord.

Many times one may have a natural talent and God-given ability, but they don't use what He has gifted them with to help others.

I can put hems up or down, or mend tears in clothing, but I am not a seamstress. But those who are gifted to sew can make a child's dress in about an hour. They have that ability, yet many don't want to do anything for others. Let's not be one of those.

I believe these testimonies of those who gave from their hearts are in the Bible to show us that we, too, can be one who can have the same testimony of helping those who are in need, being filled with many alms deeds.

Don't Give to Get

Now, don't do things because you expect to receive something in return. That's not why you should be showing kindness. If God wants to bless you by having someone give you something, don't refuse it. And, yes, God will bless us when we do things the right way: but that shouldn't be our motive for showing kindness.

II Samuel 17:27-29
And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi . . . and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim, brought beds, and basins, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulse, and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.

Absalom had stolen the hearts of the people, and they made him king. And here we find David has fled over Jordan with those who were with him.

Look at all that was brought to David this day! Yes, Barzillai thought of everything because he had a heart to sense the need which David and his men were facing. And he did something about it. Wasn't that a kind thing to do? And David didn't forget the kindness Barzillai had shown.

The day came when David was no longer in danger, and he was able to return over Jordan.

See II Samuel 19:33-35
And the king said unto Barzillai, Come thou over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem. And Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem? I am this day fourscore years old: and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king?

Barzillai was 80 years old, and he didn't want to be a burden to David. But David wanted to show him kindness for what he had done for them when they were in need.

II Samuel 19:36
Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king: and why should the king recompense it me with such a reward?

David wanted to reward Barzillai for his kindness by having him come back to Jerusalem and be fed from the king's table.

II Samuel 19:37,38
Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in mine own city, and be buried by the grave of my father and of my mother. But behold thy servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem good unto thee. And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good unto thee: and whatsoever thou shalt require of me, that will I do for thee.

As I said, we don't look for pay when we show kindness to someone. If God does anything to reward us, just thank Him for it — but don't be looking for reward. It's wrong to show kindness because we expect money or something else in return. We should simply want to be a channel of blessing to others, used of God to help those in need with that which He has given us.