God Gives “As The Source”

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God is the source and He knows He is the source. This is important to know because when He gives, He does not give with the mindset that He will run out. The source never runs dry. Also, in giving His son Jesus, He did not look up to anyone for that decision to be made. It was His decision to give His only son. When it comes to our giving, we should give with an understanding that He is the source. Sometimes, we need to be reminded about His place as the source in our giving. In your giving lifestyle, get to a place where your focus is on the Father and your understanding is that He is the source. This point cannot be overemphasized.

Your giving attitude will change when you make this truth yours. Most often, when we receive an instruction to give we hold back because it could be the very last thing we have but remember that God gave His only begotten son. And today He has many sons and daughters in return.

Your giving is an act of faith; it is your demonstration of your understanding of the principle of the seed; it is your demonstration of confidence in your source and your giving is also your act of obedience.

God gives as the source. We give as channels in that, we can allow ourselves to become the medium through which kingdom resources pass through to others. When this happens, you can be guaranteed that you will never run dry. Amen.

1) God Gives “In Response To Faith”

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John 3:16 (NKJV)

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.

We continue to look at John 3:16 as our verse of interest. It says, “whoever” believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. Remember we are looking at the attitudes that support the attribute of giving. Faith is one of them. When a word is received and understood, faith comes. That word becomes the foundation upon which the action takes place. In this case, the action will be giving. 

When Jesus was being crucified, the Bible had not been written, however, that was the word in action. We read about it today because we were not there to experience it. Therefore, if you were present right after His crucifixion and resurrection and you believed all that took place then, salvation will be yours. Amen. We are bringing up all these explanations just to say that the written word of God is also God’s word to you, just as His spoken word to you, and if you receive, understand and apply it, that is faith for you.

So, upon the foundation of this faith (the word received), the Father is obligated to respond because He upholds His word and His word will not return to Him void. It will fulfill the purpose for which it was sent.

The question then is, how does God give in response to faith? When you believe or when you have faith in His word that says “that it was for the purpose of everlasting life that He gave His only begotten son and that when you believe, salvation will be yours, then it will be given to you. Other scriptures like Romans 10:9-10 walks you through the process step by step.

So, you believing the word concerning salvation is what grants you access to the gift of salvation.

God gives to us in response to faith because He gives in response to the word. It suffices to say that at any given point, His giving is in response to the word. So too should or giving be in response to the word.

At all times, giving is in response to the word be it the written word or a specific word He speaks to you. Therefore, anyone can and should exercise their faith when it comes to giving. Amen.

God Gives “Generously”

1)     God Gives “Generously”

The impartiality of God’s giving is a reflection of His generosity. If you are impartial, the scope of your interest through giving is beyond your comfort zone and beyond the people you know and are interested in. To be generous is to show readiness to give more of something. We are still looking at John 3:16 as our verse of interest. God was generous with the only gift He had for man’s redemption. He did not hold back. How then do we categorize generosity and the Father’s giving if indeed generosity is to show readiness to give more of something. The Father had one son, Jesus. Who else would He have given? In the kingdom, the quality of your gift is most important than the quantity. There are times when you will have good quality and quantity, however, quality precedes quantity. The Father was so generous with His most priceless gift to a place where He was willing to give up that gift for people who indeed did not qualify. This is a very deep and profound revelation of giving. Most people truly give because they feel that the other person deserves what they have to offer. Others give after private investigations to find out if what they have to offer will be accepted. None of such considerations were made by the Father. He had a priceless gift to offer, He offered it freely to “whosoever”. Whosoever believes in Jesus, will not perish but have eternal life. Meaning the name tag of everyone on earth can be attached to that gift if the individual makes a decision to accept Jesus as Lord of their lives.

Another attitude I will like for us to learn from the Father is that there is a time sensitivity tag and obedience attached to your generosity. Meaning, yes! You should be ready to give more of something, your quality should precede your quantity. However, it should be the thing that God the Father is asking you to give. You should not give more of something just because you have an abundance of it. It is not wrong but that is where obedience comes in. Giving when instructed to and giving what you have been instructed to give as well. Amen.

Let’s look at this example together. The death of a life was the only remedy for our justification. I want you to understand that it wasn’t just the death of any life, but the life of His son, Jesus. What if God decided to sow an animal life first or the life of another human and say you know what, I will show the life of my son later? Think about the risks involved in that thought process. That decision would not have been time sensitive and it would not have been in line with the word. I hope we all agree with that?

Here is the point, God gives generously yet His generosity is guided by time and principles. So, in conclusion, God gives generously, and what we learn from His generosity is that quality precedes quantity, and His generosity is guided by time and principles.

God Gives “Impartially”

God gives impartially. To be impartial is to act just and fair in every situation. When you take a closer look at John 3:16a we are told that “For God So loved the world that He gave His one and only son”. God’s love was for the world meaning it was for everyone, not specific people. It was not reserved for the good people and withheld from the bad people. His love was equally distributed to all that was in the world. And that is still the case today. God the Father saw the need for man to be restored through redemption by His son. And that could not be done if He took sides with specific people.

1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love, meaning, that is who He is, His very essence. He does not only love as we see stated in John 3:16, He is love as well. This is very important to highlight because it takes love to be impartial. If at any time you find yourself showing partiality, check you love walk because partiality is a sign of an affected love walk. Amen.

Where else do we see the impartiality of God demonstrated in this verse? We see the fact that He loved the whole world and was willing to forgive the world despite how far they had drifted from Him. And that is still the case today.

 One thing a sinner is guaranteed when they confess Jesus as Lord over their lives is that they will be forgiven irrespective of how terrible they had lived their lives. As a kingdom citizen, you are also guaranteed forgiveness when you sincerely repent. It is also noteworthy that the justice system of our Father is an expression of His love. We see very clearly that He has made a sacrificial provision for salvation and also stated the outcome for anyone who recognizes and accepts the death of His son as a pathway to redemption. Therefore, if an individual chooses not to accept this sacrifice, there are consequences to that action. Ezekiel 18:20 clearly states that the soul that sins, will die. So, the choice is ours – would you choose eternal life as promised in John 3:16 or will you chose death as promised in Ezekiel 18:20?

So much has been said, however, our emphasis is on the impartial attitude of our Father when it comes to the attribute of giving. We can all become benefactors of this loving attribute in our relationships. A good place to start will be to understand what God’s kind of love is all about. What is it you need to do in order to abound in this love to a place where it is expressed through your giving and other areas of life? I will refer you to 1 Corinthians 13 to study for yourself what love is and what love is not.

God Gives “Purposefully”

John 3:16 (NIV)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God gave His one and only son for the purpose of salvation. The terms of His giving are clearly stated in John 3:16b…that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. So, as God the Father sowed this seed of love through giving, it was not random but purposeful. He sought to achieve a goal when He gave His Son. God gives “purposefully”; and because His giving is purposeful, it is done, strategically, knowledgeably and sacrificially.

Strategically because Jesus was not sacrificed for the sins of the world at birth. God the Father had to wait for the appropriate time in order to align with prophecy about the death of His Son. Knowledgeably in that, God the Father understands the principle of the seed and that when He sows the life of His son, He will reap many lives as a harvest. And sacrificially, in that, He understands that giving is not always convenient. Amen.

This is our take-home message – giving is good, however, it is best to give purposefully. How is that done?  Here is one approach, although giving is good, be very thoughtful about your giving. Be it the giving of your time or other resources. What is your goal? Or what is your motive for giving? Are you giving to advance the kingdom or are you giving for the purpose of manipulation? You may not always be able to weigh the outcome of your giving, however, it is in your power to obtain wisdom from the word on how to skillfully sow your seed through giving.

What I mean by this is that God the Father wanted to redeem mankind, so, He sowed His son. Therefore, the harvest will be many children in the kingdom as they come to the loving knowledge of salvation and entering the kingdom. Every seed produces after its kind. Therefore, it is wise to strategically give and expect harvest in specific areas. Amen.

God Gives “Selflessly”

Previously we saw that the abounding love of the Father led to the giving of His Son Jesus to die for our sins.

John 3:16 (NKJV)

For God so loved…

We also emphasized that the foundation of giving is love and giving is the lifestyle of the kingdom. Our foundational text is John 3:16 which says that “For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life”.

The attitude of selflessness can be seen in this portion of scripture. God gives selflessly and His selfless nature can be seen throughout scriptures beginning from Genesis.

Genesis 1:26 (NIV)

Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Genesis 2:7 (NIV)

Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

So, not only are we created in His image and likeness, we also have His breath within us. Amen. Then, we come to John 3:16 and we are told that He gave His only begotten son. That is the attitude of the giver. These are just a few scriptures that expound on His selfless nature. Selflessness is the watchword here.

The question then is, how can we apply this very profound attitude of selflessness to our lifestyle of giving? I believe we can do so when we attempt to see from the Father’s perspective. The Father always have the bigger picture in mind. For example, when He created man, He desired fellowship. Fellowship beyond the trinity and fellowship with His kind. How else could he have gotten His kind if man was not created in His image and likeness?

Also, when we look at the giving of His son, it was for the redemption of mankind. Amen. So too, if we relate with a depth of understanding of the Father’s love and a bigger picture in mind, we will not be narrow-minded in our approach. Eventually, our giving will be effortless.

His focus was not what he will keep but the harvest as a result of His giving. Together, let’s learn from the Father and become a selfless givers. Amen.

God "Gives"

As part of our studies on the relational attributes of the Father, I will like us to camp around the aspect of His giving, understanding it both as a relational attribute and the attitude behind it.

We agree that God gives. Again, what is the attitude behind this attribute? That is the direction we will follow as we proceed in this teaching. God Gives! He not only gives; He outgives! No one can give as much as He does, however, each one of us can learn from Him, the attitude of a giver. A person’s ability to give is a relational attribute that is birthed or that is directly connected to the relational attribute of love. We are told in John 3:16 That “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son and whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

So, the giving of His Son at that time is directly related to His love for the world. This is very important because, through giving, an individual could be blessed or manipulated. It can go both ways. Meaning, both the giver and the receiver can be blessed or manipulated in the process. There is an attitude of the giver and there is also an attitude of the receiver. Our emphasis is on the attitude of the giver. Amen. If your giving is not done out of love, it is preferable to learn and understand the attitude of a giver. I would not say you should not give, just because you do not have the right attitude, rather, learn the attitude of the giver and apply it to your life then will you see results. In the kingdom, you will discover that your life depends on your giving. There are many aspects of giving.

It is impossible to live the kingdom life without giving. Some doors in your life will only open up to you when you give. So do not let the enemy steal from you or lie to you when it comes to the area of giving. John 3:16 is a great scripture that expounds on the attitude of the giver. God Himself.

We have looked at the fact that the foundation of giving is love. Not just any kind of love. The God kind of love. The degree to which God’s love abounds in you will determine how far you will go with your giving and how much you will give. We are looking at this in context of John 3:16. For God to have sacrificed His only Son for sinful man, tells me that His love for man was not casual, it was abounding. Gradually, we are beginning to unfold the attitude of the giver.

So, we will conclude by saying this – God gives. That’s who He is. His giving is out of abounding love. Consider becoming a giver as well and learn how to grow in love so that you will give just as the Father Himself does. Amen.