CHEERFUL

GIVING:
THE
GRACE
OF
GIVING
Lesson No. 07: The Four Areas of Cheerful Giving Part1 (2Chronicles 31:5;
2Corinthians 8:1-5)
Dr. Brian Kluth, founder and CEO of Give With Joy Organization, Colorado, USA
in his radio program shared this story about a missionary in Hong Kong who
wanted to start a Christian camp to reach people for Christ. A bankrupt
multimillion-dollar hotel and conference center became available for sale. The
missionary made an offer to purchase the property and then traveled around
the world to raise the millions he would need. But no one is willing to help and
he returned to Hong Kong discouraged. Then one day he got a letter from a
young girl that included $1 and a note saying she wanted him to use this to buy
the camp. The missionary prayed and took the girls $1 to the real estate closing
and the corporation decided to accept the $1 as full payment! Since the camp
first opened, over a million people have come and over 100,000 have accepted
Christ. What an inspiring story of generosity! And I praise God that in our
church we TOO have a lot of STORIES OF GENEROSITY to tell!
Todays lesson is just a reminder of how we do cheerful giving in our church. You
see, the Bible is full with instructions on how cheerful or generous giving should
be done and performed by the New Testament churches just like we are. It has
not left us clueless on how we should do it and excel in this grace of giving. Thus,
we have this method of biblical and generous giving which is composed of four
areastithes, increase, firstfruits and sacrificial offerings of which each one
corresponds to Gods commandment and promise of blessings.
MESSAGE:
TITHES (Malachi 3:9-10; Hebrews 7:6-8). The giving of tithes was considered a
legal requirement of giving during the Old Testament time. And tithe giving was
indeed a law of the land given specifically to the nation of Israel. It was reinstated during Hezekiahs reign so that the priests and Levites could serve God
and minister to the nation of Israel without any hindrance. But what exactly is
tithe-giving and what it has to do with us today, considering that we are
believers who belong to a New Testament church?

1. Tithe or the tenth part of all our income and resources is the Lords and
God commands it to be brought [offered] into His storehouse [church]
(Leviticus 27:30). When we consider God to be the source and cause of
everything that we possess in this life, we should be happy to give Him back that
10% which rightfully belongs to Him. By returning it to God, we are being
obedient to what He commands us to do. But let me stress this that we are not
being legalistic here and as far as the biblical mandate of tithe giving is
concerned, we do not in any way make it to be our standard of giving.

2. We have Abraham showing us that tithe-giving was even older than the
Mosaic law and its main objective is to give back to the Lord what is rightfully
due Him and what He considers holy (Gen. 14:20). Abraham gave his tithes
even before the Mosaic law was instituted and he gave it gladly and the WHOLE
of it thus, giving God, his Creator and real Owner of all his great wealth and
riches the highest honor and pleasure He deserves!

3. Tithe is a legal requirement of giving in the OT and not giving it, is

STEALING from the Lord and it is Lying to the Holy Spirit in the New
Testament (Malachi 3:9-10; Hebrews 7:5). God is firm when it comes to tithe
giving because this offering belongs solely to Him. The people of Israel were
called robbers when they failed to give their tithes and they were cursed with a
curse. And in the New Testament, believers who are dishonest with their tithes
and offerings are called LIARS (Acts 5:1-11). We are sinning against God to the
highest degree if we dont give our tithes right.

4. Tithe is a minimum standard of giving in the New Testament (Heb. 7:68). The book of Hebrews gives justification to and authenticates the practice of
tithe giving in the early churches. Hence, we believe that early churches during
the time of the apostles and those that came after them had not made tithe
giving a thing of the past. Instead, they honored the practice of it and set it to be
part and parcel of cheerful giving but not as the church giving standard.

5. Tithe giving is the STARTING POINT of being blessed (Heb. 7:6; Mal.
3:10). You see giving is always a blessed duty of every believer and it is an
evidence of his practical love for God and the souls of men. You say that you love
God and you honor Him but you are not giving your tithes, how then is the love
of God be in you? How can you keep from God what He has clearly instructed
you to give? Just like Abraham, we should give our tithes with joy and in all
honesty and we should never or even try to rob God and lie to the Holy Spirit.

INCREASE (2 Chronicles 31:5; Matt. 9:29; Phil.4:15-19). This area of giving

speaks literally of our produce, gain or profit from all our resources. And this
forms part of the grace of giving the Lord has commanded His people to
perform.

1. Increase is the STARTING POINT of Giving (2 Chron. 31:5). While tithe

giving is obedience to the law, Increase is giving above the law and this is
where the grace of giving begins. As we can see from our main text here, the
nation of Israel gave to the Lord of all the increase of the field or their first
harvest. Likewise, we give to the Lord all this increase which is above our tithes
offerings. I said, GIVING and not RETURNING.

2. Spiritually speaking, Increase is the giving above our tithes and we do it

according to [our] faith (Matt. 9:29). Tithes is 10% of all our income and
Increase is above our tithes so this would mean an added 1% or 100% in our
giving.

3. Increase, figuratively speaking may come to mean as our missions, freewill

and other forms of giving (Phil. 4:15-19). We have here in our church a very
systematic approach of giving and this is biblical. Increase offerings are used to
sustain the various needs of all our ministries and all the undertakings of our
church.

For the conclusion of this lesson next Sunday, I am going to give another
refreshing lesson on Firstfruits and Sacrificial Giving. And heres just a note to
tell you that all your offerings given honestly and with joy will never go
unnoticed by God who has promised that He will prosper always, both the gift
and giver!

CHEERFUL
GIVING:
THE
GRACE
OF
GIVING
Lesson No. 08: The Four Areas of Cheerful Giving Part2 (2Chronicles 31:5;
2Corinthians 8-9)
I would like to quote for todays lesson what the Bible Gateway wrote on the
Results of Generous Giving:
Paul concludes his appeal by pointing to the benefits the Corinthians will reap
as a result of generous giving. Each generation takes delight in putting its
practical wisdom in memorable form. For us it is maxims like A stitch in time
saves nine, Dont count your chickens before they hatch and Look before you
leap. In like fashion Paul sums up the benefits of liberality by means of a
maxim: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows
generously will also reap generously. From all appearances Paul is quoting a
popular saying. It is one that he finds useful, since it reappears in slightly
truncated form in Galatians 6:7 (A man reaps what he sows). There is no exact
scriptural parallel. A similar thought is found in a number of Old Testament texts
(such as Job 4:8; Prov 11:24-26; 22:8-9; Hos 10:12-13). But the closest parallel
actually appears in the teaching of Jesus: Give, and it will be given to you. . . .
With the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Lk 6:38).

MESSAGE:
FIRSTFRUITS (Prov. 3:9-10; Deut. 18:4). The word firstfruits in Hebrew
is reyshiyth while in Greek, it is aparche which means the best, the chief,
the choice part. It is 100% giving and a thanksgiving offering (Deut. 18:1-25).
FIRSTFRUITS IS A COMMAND FROM GOD AND THERE GOES WITH IT
GODS PROMISE OF BLESSINGS (Prov. 3:9-10; 1 Cor. 16:1-2).

1. Honor the Lord with thy substance (Prov. 3:9a). There are countless ways
we can give honor to God who deserves our best. But this passage clearly makes
a distinction on what brings God real honor and pleasure. And it is said that we
are to honor God with our substance. The word substance here as the Bible
defines it, speaks of our material resources and all the blessings that we receive
from God. The Lord makes it clear that He is not making a request here but He

is commanding us to honor Him with all our resources. You dont give to God,
you dishonor, disobey, rob Him and lie to Him.

2. And with the firstfruits of all thine increase (Prov. 3:9b). We must therefore
honor God with our firstfruits. Yes, the best, the choice part and the chief part of
all our resources for this is what God wants from us. We grow strong and steady
in our giving as we heed to what the Lord tells us.
The Biblical Principles and Attitudes of FF Giving:
1. It is not to be delayed (Exodus 22:29). Yes, you give it as you promised it to the
Lord. You commit it to God and not to man, honor what you have committed to
Him.
2. It is to be laid at the Apostles feet (Acts 4:35-37). Early believers brought
their firstfruits offerings to the apostles feet.
3. It is giving as God has prospered the believer (1 Cor. 16:2). We also call it the
abundance giving.
4. It is a giving of a believer whose life has been fully given to God first (2 Cor.
8:5). He views his life and everything that he has as Gods exclusive properties
and God as the rightful owner of his best and even his very life.
5. It is a giving of a believer whose heart abounded unto the riches of his
liberality despite deep poverty (2 Cor. 8:2). Yes, despite all hardships and
financial difficulty, a believer who is all sold-out to giving still finds himself happy
in giving his firstfruits. Nothing can touch or use up what he has saved and
consecrated for the Lord.
6. It is a giving that proves the sincerity of a believers love for God (2 Cor. 8:8).
Through our firstfruits giving, we prove God that we love Him more than our
lives, more than our family, more than wealth and even more than the world.
7. It is to be given year by year (Neh.10:35). It is an annual giving and it must be
given to the house of the Lord.

8. It is a Thanksgiving offering (Deut. 26:5-11; Heb. 13:15-16). We have all the

good reason to thank God for and the best is when God gave us His only
begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. God loves us more and He gives more than
we do. We can never out give God!

SACRIFICIAL OFFERINGS (1 Peter 2:5 compare with Romans 12:1).

1. It is the highest kind of giving because it involves the giving of our lives (2 Cor.
8:5). What is the use of giving our substances unto the Lord when our lives are
not given first to Him?
2. As believer-priests, we offer sacrifices of the hearts, purely consecrated to
God (1 Peter 2:5 compare with Hebrews 13:15).
3. Our Lord Jesus is our blessed example of this kind of giving (2 Cor. 8:9; 1 Peter
2:21). Ha sacrificed His life just for our great salvation. He became poor that we
might become rich and abound in all things. Can we not follow His example? Can
we not give our lives for Him and His Gospel?
4. It is giving beyond our ability to give or beyond what is expected of us (2 Cor.
8:3-4). We give our sacrificial offerings way beyond our power to give it because
we love Christ so much and that we desire to see more souls coming to be
saved. We no longer need to be instructed or urged to sacrifice for the sake of
the Gospel because we have understood from the start that all we are and all we
have are the Lords and it would be to our greatest pleasure to please God and
serve all His purposes through our generous giving.

CONCLUSION:
Generous giving is all about our faith, obedience, humility, selflessness, sacrifice
and great love for Christ who first loved us and gave Himself and His all for us.
While the world boasts of its endless lists of philanthropists and good works, the
Lord chooses and upholds to honor and love a cheerful giver.