GIVING IS PERSONAL
MEMORISE: The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. Proverbs 11:25
READ: 2 Samuel 24:18 -24
18 And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.
19 And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded.
20 And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.
21 And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
2 Samuel 24:22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.
23 All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee.
24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
MESSAGE
Many a time, when families go to worship God, the father distributes offerings to everyone so that they can have something to give. It is okay when you give to the little children who don't know any money so that they can cultivate the habit of giving, but when the older ones and your spouse who have their own money are also collecting their offerings from you, you need to teach them better. In our Bible reading today, David refused to accept the offer of Araunah because what you give to God that is at no cost to you is accounted to the one who bore the cost, not you.
Giving is a personal matter. If your children collect pocket money, teach them to set aside some of it to give to God. If your spouse makes some money, encourage him or her to give to God from it. It is where the money is coming from that the blessing will go to. Ecclesiastes 1:7 says "All rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again".
Galatians 6:7 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap". You cannot reap what l sowed; it is what you sowed that you would reap. Luke 6:38 says "Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure pressed down...shall men give unto your bosom". It is he or she who give that will receive.
Who do you think took home the twelve extra baskets from the story of the feeding of five thousand men by Jesus Christ I. John 6:5-13? Since there were twelve baskets, each disciple could carry a basket to the house of the boy who gave his lunch. It is the fellow who sowed that will reap the harvest.
Giving is a personal matter particularly because of the day of trouble. Psalm 41:1-3 says if you are a giver, when you are sick, God will visit you. He will even make your bed at the time of sickness. In Psalm 20:1-3, the Bible make it clear that God does not forget your offerings. Particularly in the time of crisis. There are special blessings that are meant for givers and cannot be enjoyed by misers. It is he that waters that will be watered. When things are dry, the one who watered will in turn be watered in such a period.
ACTION POINT
Teach your family to give to God out of their own resources.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Corinthians 8-12
HYMN 25: TO GOD BE THE GLORY GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE
1 To God be the glory, great things He hath done,
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life our redemption to win,
And opened the life-gate that all may go in.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice;
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice;
Oh, come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory; great things He hath done.
2 Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
3 Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport when Jesus we see.
