OPENING SCRIPTURE:

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have LIFE, and that they may have it (LIFE) more ABUNDANTLY. (John 10:10 NKJ)

• ABUNDANT from the Greek, means “exceedingly, beyond measure”
• Life that is so full that it overflows! Life that begins with Jesus.
• JESUS COMES TO GIVE, NOT TO GET
• The key to Abundant Life is: GIVE TO GIVE AND NOT GIVE TO GET

Now I understand, giving goes beyond just finances. Giving touches every aspect of the life of a believer.

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.” (Luke 6:38 NKJ)

• This is probably the most used scripture in the church when it comes to the financial giving.
• But in order to get the full context, we must also read the previous verse – verse 37

³⁷ “JUDGE not, and you shall not be judged. CONDEMN not, and you shall not be condemned. FORGIVE, and you will be forgiven. 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.”

• Do you see the word money anywhere?
• The context here is: judgment, condemnation, and forgiveness.
• What the scripture is telling us here is that the principle of giving applies to all areas giving. You give judgment, you get judgment back. You give condemnation, you get condemnation back. You give forgiveness, you get forgiveness back.
• As a matter of fact, it is an eternal principle that God has set into motion back in Genesis: The law of sowing and reaping. “As long as the earth remains, there will be seed time and harvest” (Genesis 8:22)
• As a matter of fact, God the Father used that same principle of giving in John 3:16

For God SO LOVED the world that He GAVE His only begotten SON, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have EVERLASTING LIFE. (John 3:16)

• The motivation here was love! “For God so loved”
• The seed was His Son. The Son had to be given.
• Without the giving of His Son, there is no Everlasting Life or Abundant Life!

STATEMENT: That same principle could also be applied into the life of a believer: WITHOUT GIVING THERE IS NO ABUNDANT LIFE

So one may ask: “Should we as a church preach on giving?” YES.

“How often?” – ALL THE TIME!

• We can’t preach on salvation and grace without talking about giving.
• We can’t preach on a marriage without talking about giving.
• We can’t preach on reaching the lost without talking about giving.
• We can’t talk about financial breakthrough without talking about giving.

Is God is after your money? YES & NO

• God does not need your money to advance His kingdom. God is not broke. The Kingdom of God has never gone into a recession. Heaven is not running out of gold for the streets.
• Because “where your treasure, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21). Your heart will always follow your treasure.
• If your treasure is in Kingdom of God, your heart will follow.
• What God is after is not your treasure but your heart!
• God is more interested in your heart that He is in your wallet!
• God wants you to have a giving heart!

HOW DO WE DEVELOP THIS GIVING HEART?

⁷ “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, ⁸ but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs. ⁹ Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the Lord against you, and it become sin among you. ¹⁰ You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. (Deuteronomy 15:7-10 NKJ)

RECOGNIZE THAT EVERYTHING BELONGS TO HIM

⁷ “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in YOUR LAND WHICH THE LORD YOUR GOD IS GIVING YOU (Deuteronomy 15:7)

• The very first thing that catches our attention here is not the fact that there is a poor man within your gates. But the fact that your land was given to you by God! “Your land which the Lord your God is giving you”
• Who gave you your land? God
• What is your land? Your land is everything that you have. All your possessions.
• God owns it all. Your role is simply the caretaker, the manager.

Now when we catch this revelation, I believe our attitude towards giving is a whole lot different. We are just stewards!

• I don’t know if you know this but when it is all said and done. You will be not be judged based on your ownership skills but on your stewardship skills.
• Not just on your finances. But stewardship of your time, talents, etc. All areas of giving.
• “Well done my good and faithful servant or steward.”

RESPOND WITH A WILLING HEART

“You shall not HARDEN your HEART nor shut your hand from your poor brother, but you shall open your hand wide to him and WILLINGLY lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.” (Deuteronomy 15:7-8)

• Don’t respond to giving with a hardened heart!
• A harden heart creates a closed hand that cannot receive from God
• RESPOND WITH A WILLING HEART
• A willing heart that has no hidden agenda, that has no hidden motive.
• A willing heart is not expecting anything in return.
• A willing heart is an obedient heart!

“If you are WILLING and OBEDIENT, You shall eat the good of the land (Isaiah 1:19 NKJ)

DEAL WITH A SELFISH HEART

BEWARE lest there be a WICKED THOUGHT IN YOUR HEART, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the Lord against you, and it become SIN among you. (Deuteronomy 15:9)

• The 7^th year was the year of release. In other words, if you have any debt and you are paying on that debt, on the 7^th year, you were released from that debt. Whatever you owed is forgiven.
• The scripture here is talking about the selfishness. That wicked thought in your heart What if it comes to the 7^th year and I do not get my money back.
• GOD CALLS SELFISHNESS WICKEDNESS OR SIN
• Selfishness is a spirit that attacks us before we give

DEAL WITH A GRIEVING HEART

You shall surely GIVE to him, and your HEART should not be GRIEVED when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. (Deuteronomy 15:10)

• Selfishness attacks us before we give but grief attacks us after we give
• When we give to God, we don’t grieve because we know it all belongs to Him

FINAL THOUGHT:

Abundant Life starts with Jesus. It starts with us recognizing that He gave it all for us. He wants us to enjoy abundant life because He did not hold back! That’s the heart of giving – giving like without agenda. Giving without motive.

CONCLUSION

• What is The Holy Spirit telling you through this message?