Laying By In Store
Introduction:
I. God has always required giving.
II. Patriarchal Age:
A. Genesis 4:4 (Cain and Abel)
B. Genesis 8:20 (Noah)
III. Mosaical Age
A. Leviticus 27:30
B. Matthew 23:23
IV. This holds true for us today.
Body:
I. The motive in giving.
A. A Divine command.
1. Luke 6:38
2. 1 Corinthians 16:1-2
B. It makes us God-like to give.
1. To learn how God has given should help us in our
giving. He has given:
a. Sacrificially – John 3:16
b. Freely – Romans 8:32
c. Liberally – James 1:5
2. Each of us should try to imitate this Divine
motive of giving. The song - “There Is a Sea”
C. It opens the doorway into the bounty of God’s
grace.
1. We reap as we sow.
a. Galatians 6:6-10
b. 2 Corinthians 9:6
2. Malachi 3:10-12
3. The story is told about “a man who was noted for
his liberal giving was asked how he could afford
to give so much. He replied, ‘When I was poor
and did not have much to give, I started
shoveling out and God started shoveling in and
God used a bigger shovel than I did.” Rust As a
Witness. p. 65
D. It is the way to be happy.
1. Acts 20:35 – O, the joy of giving.
2. Never discourage anyone from giving. Because
you will rob them of the joy of giving.
E. It is a means of glorifying God.
1. We are to glorify God. 1 Corinthians 10:31
2. My giving serves to glorify Him. 2 Corinthians
9:12-15.
F. It is a means of laying up treasures in heaven.
1. Scriptures:
a. Matthew 6:19-20
b. 1 Timothy 6:17-19
2. The greater my treasure in heaven, the greater
my desire to go there.
3. “Everything that God made will follow its
treasure. It is impossible for a man to be very
interested in heaven without having treasure
there. Brother or Sister, are you laying up
treasure in Heaven?” Rust As a Witness.
II. How Should I Give?
A. Negatively.
1. Not for display. Matthew 6:1-4
2. Not to support unscriptural practices.
B. Positively.
1. Regularly – 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 – “Upon the
first day of the week.”
2. Proportionately – 1 Corinthians 16:2 – “As God
has prospered him.”
3. Preventively – 1 Corinthians 16:2 – “That there
be no gatherings…”
4. According to ability. 2 Corinthians 8:12
5. Purposefully – 2 Corinthians 9:7 – God does not
want the “left overs,” so plan and purpose your
giving.
6. Voluntarily
1. 2 Corinthians 9:7; 8:12
2. What would you think of a man who brought his
wife a gift and threw it at her saying “I
didn’t really want to buy it, but I knew you
would expect it.”?
7. Cheerfully – 2 Corinthians 9:7
8. Confidently
1. 2 Corinthians 9:8 “Grace”
2. Matthew 6:33-34
Conclusion: “Someone has said givers are like wells: there is
the well from which you have to draw the water. Some wells have
to be pumped. Some wells are over-flowing with water. What kind
are you? Rust As a Witness
Top of the page
|