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I. Introduction (2Cor 9:8)
A. I want to show you THE greatest verse in the Bible for the Christian. I love
John 3:16, but for the Christian, this is it! Do you know why? Because it takes
care of just about EVERYTHING. It’s one of those verses that always
encourages me, and reminds me of God’s hand on my life and His provision as
I serve Him. YOU need this promise folks! You had better learn this verse!
B. Let me ask you this? Does anybody want to be able to claim 2Cor 9:8 for
themselves? Good! I hope ALL of you do by the end of this message.
C. But let me say, there is a catch – it is found in obeying the previous two verses
1. You reap what you sow – you get what you pay for, and what you plant!
g. Just realise, they both reap, collect, but only according to their sowing,
their planting, their investment – it is true in all of life!
h. You sow a sinful life – you reap death, and more sorrow than normal –
we have enough troubles just in living, why add to it?!
a. I discovered this when I was a kid – my dad taught me the cost of my
disobedience was always GREATER than my disobedience - flaking
b. I found that in work – you still are rewarded for hard work, amen!
d. Sometimes a few years (like from the time I responded to God’s call,
and finally got to Ireland)
4. Every farmer knows this law. Every Christian needs to know it (Gal 6:7-9).
So, what is God asking of us?
a. Don’t mock God, or His ways
b. Don’t spend all your giving on this world – you will end up giving only
the left-overs to God (if there are any)
2) If I don’t have it as the first, it probably would NOT get paid
3) When I first started faith promise, when I waited to pay, I ran out of
money
4) When I put the Lord first, and evangelism first, I was more careful
with my spending, and God seemed to bless me spiritually, and many
times financially!
1) It is WEARYING when you do right – takes away from you the
“freedom” to do wrong, amen!
c) Miss your Sundays (all day) you win sanity and fellowship
d) Lose your own financial control, and you win the world!
d. Giving to God is only and always a loan – it comes back to you! And
not only financially!
e. Folks, there is nobody in this room who is going to be worse off for
getting involved in GIVING to world missions, faithfully supporting
these and many future missionaries financially and prayerfully!
1) A big TV, three cars, 5 different Game Consoles, a ton of bills, and
so on, and so on (people only want this kind of blessing)
2) Or a home where Mom and you love each other, and your kids love
God and walk with God, where you get answered prayer!?
6. This is all the Principle of the Priority of Giving! God pays you back
according to your heart – give from the heart, and God blesses your heart –
give from the pocket, and God can only bless your pocket!
4. The person God is talking to in this verse, if you are saved, is YOU buster!
You Mom! You teenager! You, and you, and YOU!
a. The tithe is what we owe – 10% of our increase, our income, gross
c. EX: Grocery store – paying the bill, not throwing the girl a tenner!
4. Realize, when you give, it can come only from the heart – or it’s not a gift
a. A cold heart will not give – really, you don’t HAVE to give anything –
just remember, neither does GOD! But He does!!!
b. A luke-warm heart will grudgingly give – sees all the problems with the
church, and pastor, and carpet, and the way life is going!
c. A hot-heart will have to be told to STOP (Israel giving for Tabernacle)
– come tonight to learn more about this!
5. That’s what falling in love with Jesus, with souls, with preaching, and with
the Bible will do to you! This church will either go forward, or go
backwards spiritually based on their personal love for God! You can’t
blame ANYTHING else but your own HEART folks! See next point!
c. Joy is IN the believer – EX: thinking you have no water – just turn on
the tap – just start cheering – it will DO YOU GOOD!
4. EX: I was in a church once in Washington D.C. that at the time of the
offering, the people clapped and shouted AMEN! All glory to God!
c. And God even gets MORE excited when HIS PEOPLE get excited
about GIVING! If our hearts have been getting right this week, we
would be getting excited about how much we ALL are going to end up
giving for souls! AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!
6. Note: This is not talking about paying me, or anyone in here – it is all
about giving to those who are going to preach the Gospel somewhere in the
world where they could not work, or the people are so very poor!
3. Folks, we have been called to live by faith – that means, obeying what God
tells our heart to do
b. To be able to do that, God says He has all the issues covered:
a) Folks, when I got saved, I didn’t get a drink from the water of
life, I got the WHOLE WELL!
b) Since I stepped out by faith to go, preach, win souls and start
churches 20 years ago, I have never known such joy!
3) God ALWAYS will enable ALL sufficiency for you in ALL things
you do, when your heart is reversed – transformed
1) You bet it does – many people could stand up in a court of Law and
testify that it works – I’m one of them!
2) Any Missionary will tell you, no matter how rough the field, if they
live this Book, that God has ALWAYS provided all sufficiency in
ALL things they did for Him!
4. It’s time you stepped out by faith and proved God’s word is true to
yourself, and your family – this, like prayer, is what God uses to transform
us!
III. Invitation
3. Folks, if you ain’t going to go, then put your money where your heart is!
2. Get your money out and be a giver too – start the habit NOW
5. Some of you adults in here are going to have quite a few tears in heaven
for being so dense to the work of God on your heart! Don’t ignore this
C. For everyone. The only thing we all seem to lack as we live for the Lord is
JOY (Acts 20:24) – and that is simply because we have stopped giving, and are
only seeking to get! Let’s turn the cat around – turn out heart around!