GIVE & IT SHALL BE GIVEN TO YOU
Luke 6:38 – Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.
Give and it shall be given back to you – is a universal principle
People believe that Pastors:
->Should not show themselves happy or else people won’t give to the church”
->They are in a city so people will give to them”
But notice that the word of God in Luke 6:38 doesn’t say – Tell your sad story and it shall be given to you OR manipulate people and it shall be given to you OR if you are in city people will give you.
It is your giving and investments that makes people to give back to you.
Testimony of Pastor Gracewin: I was once buying suits for our staff with no money. Miraculously 40,000 was deposited while they were taking measurements.
This means you don’t have to depend on others to prosper. The power to prosper isn’t in the hands of your boss or a rich relative; it is found in your “giving”.
This is how you discover your calling: Your purpose may not be connected to what you like to do but surely to what you can give to the world.
- By your tithe & offerings you are partnering with our Church:
In the Old Testament the Tithe was to be used for three main reasons:
- To provide for the priests and Levites
- To celebrate the feasts of the Lord in his temple
- To help the poor and the needy
Our tithes & offerings are used for: –
1) Salaries of our Pastors & Staff
2) Church Rent & maintenance
3) Conducting regular services & special meetings
4) Sowing to other ministries
5) Helping the poor & needy (Last 12 months we have given more than 6 lakh rupees)
This is how we recognize our church members: they are tithers. This is why we only allow those who tithe to be in leadership and stage ministry.
Php 4:15-19 – The Philippian Church partnered with Paul by sowing into his ministry and they received a promise: My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory.
->Testimony of Bro. Joshua and Sis.Rithika
About two years ago, they couldn’t pay their rent and moved in with their parents. A couple of weeks ago, they shared the good news that they have purchased a plot of land!
- Your tithes & offerings position your heart to receive from God
Ecc 10:19 – A feast is made for laughter, And wine makes merry; But money answers everything.
Money answers all things: People say money is not everything. Yes, but money touches everything. Because money is very important to us: money is connected to our hearts.
Takeaway: Money is not everything but money touches everything.
Mat 6:21 – Where your treasure is there your heart will be also
->When you put your money into shares – you keep checking it!
When you put your treasure into the things of God, your heart will be there as well, and you will receive more from God. Every time you tithe, there is freeness and a release in your spirit. There is an assurance.
Mat 6:24 – No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Money is so powerful that it is the only thing that competes with God
You cannot serve God and mammon! When we hold onto money as our treasure, it becomes our master, but when we sow money, it becomes our servant.
- Your Tithe kick-starts your financial discipline.
The number 1 law of biblical financial management is – God is your source and you are his steward.
Tithing makes you calculate 10% as a result you have to allocate the other 90% as well.
- Your Tithe is your investment in God’s Kingdom.
Because money is seed, it is also an investment
Why tithe first? Because it is the mindset of the rich:
->Poor people spend first and then invest if they have leftovers. The truly rich invest first and spend the rest.
->The poor work for money. The rich make money work for them by investing
->The poor buy liabilities that lose value over time, whereas the rich buy assets that gain value over time.
Money reveals who you are, and the way you spend it affects all areas of your life. In the same way, your tithe affects every area of our life.
->Testimony of Barren Couple
A previously barren couple gave birth to triplets. Due to complications during delivery, they had to stay in the hospital for six months because the babies were premature. Finally, the babies were well enough to be discharged. However, their insurance only covered a partial payment, leaving a balance of 2 million dollars due. Throughout their entire time in the hospital, the couple regularly tithed and sent offerings. One day, the hospital administrator called them in and said, “We have never done this before, but we have decided to cancel your 2 million dollars debt!
CONCLUSION
We learned the principle of sowing and reaping. Therefore, by tithing and giving offerings, we partner with the Church in its ministry work. Since money is connected to our hearts, giving to God makes us look to Him, knowing He rewards us with a harvest at the right time. Tithing also helps us become good stewards of money by allocating and prioritizing it.
It is the mindset of the rich to invest first. In the same way, when we tithe, we invest first before we spend, which is the way to prosperity. As we look to God as our source and become people who sow in the Kingdom of God, we will prosper in every area of our lives. Amen!