The Blessing of Generosity – Part 7 Lawson and Aaron Perdue

  Welcome to the broadcast. It’s so good to have you with us today. We’re gonna be talking today about the blessing of generosity, and specifically, about the grace of giving. You don’t wanna miss this broadcast. I believe when you begin to understand this, you’re gonna operate in more blessing than you’ve ever operated in before in your life. So stay tuned and receive God’s good word today. Friends, it’s so good to have you with us today. And we’ve been sharing on the blessing of generosity. And prior to this, we’ve talked about, first of all, the principle of sowing and reaping, which is the foundational principle in the word of God. Really starts in Genesis 1. And then we saw it in Genesis 8. Also in Proverbs 11:24-25. But you see it all through the Old Testament and the New Testament. And then we moved into the tithers blessing. Now, tithing was initiated by Abraham, and that was about 2,000 years after Adam. But it’s significant that Abraham lived and began the principle of tithing over 400 years before Moses and the law came. And some people say, well, you know, “I don’t tithe because I’m not under the law.” Well, I agree that we’re not under the law, but who started tithing? Abraham did. And actually, the scripture says this in Hebrews 7, it talks about tithing in a New Testament, and it says that Levi paid tithes in Abraham. That’s the only place the scripture talks about paying tithe. And it’s not talking about what Levi did, it’s actually talking about what Abraham did. And when Abraham did it, he did it not as a debt, but he did it as a gift. It says Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek. Now, you brought something out about this in Genesis 14, Aaron, when we study Melchizedek and Abraham initiates the principle of tithing. And what did you bring out about that?

 

  That really, Melchizedek gave the blessing to Abraham first. And then Abraham tithe after he was blessed. So when we give, when we give a tithe, they’re given offering to the Lord, we don’t give it to try to be blessed. We’re already blessed in Christ Jesus. Melchizedek is a type of Christ. So we’re already blessed. And the reason why we give, it’s because what we respond in faith to that grace of that blessing that’s already given to us.

 

  Amen. So it’s important that we understand that principle. Now I’m, we’re gonna move in today into 2 Corinthians 8 and 2 Corinthians 9 And in 2 Corinthians 8 and 2 Corinthians 9, Paul talks about giving. He talks about the grace of giving, and it’s really the greatest disposition on giving and receiving in the entire New Testament. And he talks about grace more than anywhere in the New Testament, except Romans 5 and 6 where he talks equally about grace when he is talking about receiving righteousness by the grace of God. And so that’s the only place that is equal in the area of grace. And so if you really believe in the grace of God, you wanna get involved in this giving and receiving this grace of giving. So let’s go ahead, Aaron and jump into the scripture here in 2 Corinthians 8. If you’ll read verse one through verse five, 2 Corinthians 8:1-5.

 

  It says here, “Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, employing us with much urgency that we should receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God.”

 

  So Paul’s really using the Macedonian churches as an example to the Corinthian churches to get the Corinthians involved in this grace of giving. And he actually makes some statement. There was a grace on them in the realm of giving. And I believe that we can have a grace on us in the realm of giving. And he says that they were in a great trial of affliction. And but they joyfully gave, they were joyfully liberal, even though they were challenged in the area if finances. Even though they were dealing with lack. He goes on to say in verse three that they were willing to give beyond their power. I think this is really important for us to understand in the area of giving, because the Bible actually says in the next chapter that God gives seed to the sower. Well, if you wanna have seed to sow, then you become a sower. And if you’ll purpose in your heart to be a giver, to be a sower, right? I believe that God will see that you have seed to sow. So they were willing to give beyond what they have. And you know, there can be a situation, and it talks about this. They prayed us with much in treaty in verse four, that we would receive the gift. So sometimes, people are dealing with the challenge financially, it’s hard to even wanna receive something from them. But yet Paul went ahead, he said, praying us that we would receive the gift. What we have to know, sometimes, it’s more important for people to sow a seed or to give a gift, right? And you know, then maybe it’s more important for them to sow it than it is for us to, you know, more than we need it, you know? But they need to sow it. I know one thing Andrew Wommack told me when I came to Colorado Springs, he said, you’ll have to share more on the area of giving and receiving. ’cause number one, he said, “Because you want the people to be blessed.” And Paul talks about this a couple of times. He talks about this in Philippians 4 and you know, “It’s not because I desire a gift,” he says, “but I desire that fruit may abound to your account.” “So number one,” he said, “people need you to teach what the Bible says about finances so that they can be blessed.” He said, “Number two,” he said, “because Colorado Springs is a big place, and if you’re gonna have a significant ministry in Colorado Springs, you’re gonna have to have some finances.” ‘Cause finances to preach the gospel. It takes finances to be on television. It takes finances to, you know, give to the poor. It takes finances to do, you know, this building that we’re in. I mean, we have a great ministry here. We take care of a lot of different people. We’ve have had a lot of different ministries in here at different times, but it takes a lot of money to operate the place. It takes finances to have a staff. And so it just takes finances to do all these things and to pay the bills. And so he said, you know, “They wanted them, they wanted to give, it was they purposed in their heart to be a giver. And this, they did not as we hope, but they first gave their self to the Lord.” And we talked about this in yesterday’s broadcast, but if you give your heart to the Lord, if God is living in you, you’re gonna become a giver. And he says, “They first gave theirselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.” If God is living in you, you can’t help but be a giver. God is the greatest giver.

 

  I just love that he really brings about the Macedonian church. And there’s something special about sacrificial giving as well. It really touches God’s heart. You know, Jesus, he never commented on how people sang, you know, at the temple a different thing. But he commented on how people gave. And, you know, sacrificial giving really touched his heart. Like the woman with the two mites that really touched the heart of Jesus also. The woman with the alabaster jar of oil that poured out on his feet and wiped it with her tears. He said, “Wherever the gospel is preached, this is gonna be shared as a testimony.” That type of sacrificial giving. And sometimes, it offends people, you know, talking about finances, talking about giving can be offensive to some people. Especially that spirit of religion. and, you know, giving can often offend worldly people too. Like they don’t want the church to talk about giving or like, you know, and I kind of shared some examples of that, but it really touches God’s heart and we should all desire to be givers and not just to be living for ourselves.

 

  Yeah, like the two examples you talked about, and they’re quite different really. But Jesus talked about how people gave, and he observed how people gave. In fact, when the woman gave two mites, he was observing, in the temple, how people came and how they gave. And there were, you know, rich people, it says they were giving of their abundance, but Jesus did when this woman came and gave a couple of cents, you know, Jesus said she gave more than everybody here because she gave everything that they have. This is a principle that we need to understand that God works on percentages. And I actually had, we had a single mom here one time, and she started giving, and she’d give like a nickel and she’d give like a dime and she’d put her name on the envelope, you know, and then she started giving a quarter, and then she started giving a dollar, and then she started giving $2, and then $5, and then $10, and then $20. And I just thought, “Wow, she is really moving forward.” And then she moved away, and then I got a check from her in the mail, Aaron, for $200. And I thought, “Man, this woman had a breakthrough.” You know, but I believe that’s God’s will for everybody. And you know, but Jesus observed how people gave. And then, so here’s a woman, Jesus said she put in more than everybody. And then the woman with the alabaster box, that alabaster box, you know, she got criticized because the ointment in that alabaster box was about a year’s wages. And she poured this out on Jesus. And Jesus said, “Listen, this thing is gonna be spoken about in all the world, in times to come.” You know, Abel gave a gift in the Bible, says he being dead yet speaks by the gift that he gave because he gave the first, he gave the best. It’s same with this woman. And the Bible talks about that in the book of Hebrews, that it was a gift offered in faith. And when we give our first, when we give our best, then there is a blessing on that. And so Jesus actually observed, you know, some people, Aaron, you’ve talked about this, they say, “Well, you shouldn’t let your left hand know what your right hand does when you’re going to give.” But yet Jesus commented how people gave. And if you read the Old Testament, it says, this person came and gave this, and this person came and gave that. And it’s very descriptive. But in that context, Matthew 7, I believe it is, where, you know, they’re talking about don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does. Don’t, you know, sound a trumpet when you give, what’s it actually talking about?

 

  It’s talking about alms giving. And there’s a reason why it’s specifically talking about alms giving. Because when you’re giving of alms, it’s giving to the poor, right? You don’t wanna sound, let everyone know what you’re doing considering alms giving. because it reveals someone’s hardship. And love covers a multitude of sin. You know, if you’re giving outta love, you’re not gonna reveal that someone’s struggling. And look at what I did to help this person who is struggling. You’re going to cover up their struggles, their hardship, that they couldn’t pay their bills, or that they couldn’t afford food. So you’re not gonna reveal that. You’re not gonna reveal someone’s hardship.

 

  And another thing, if you stand out here and give away money on the corner, this is my own personal opinion, but you know what? People will come and take money too, you don’t have any more to give it. Our government proves it. You can’t just give everything away. And Andrew Wommack actually has a deal. If people come and ask him for money, then he say, “Well, you disqualified yourself because you asked then I can’t give.” So, you know, there’s a lot of different reasons, but you have to realize specific context that are related in the area of giving and receiving. Now, we’re gonna come back and in the second half of this broadcast, we’re gonna talk more about the grace of giving. Again, this is the greatest disposition on giving and receiving in the New Testament. And you don’t wanna miss some very basic principles we share. Blessings. Friends, I’m so glad that you’ve been connected with us while we’re talking about the blessing of generosity. We have these teachings and those live in church services available to you free of charge on our website at charischristiancenter.com in downloadable audio and video. Also, check out my book, “Provision: Releasing Supernatural Increase in Your Life.” David said this, he said, “I would’ve fainted unless I believe to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” You see, the Bible says, “Do not be weary in well-doing for in due season, you will reap if you do not faint.” Some people faint, some people give up before they receive their harvest, but you gotta keep believing in the goodness of God. Friends, I’m so glad you stayed with us. We are sharing on the grace of giving, and we began in 2 Corinthians 8. We talked about the grace bestowed on the scripture says, the Macedonian churches. And they had a grace in the realm of giving. And even though they were struggling with lack in different things, they were willing to give even beyond what they had. And I believe that’s a key. If you’ll start where you’re at, do you know what? God is not looking for what you don’t have. But if you’ll start where you’re at, God, I believe can take what you have and bless it and multiply it. And I’ve seen this happen many times in my life, and God has blessed me over and over again. We’re gonna continue in 2 Corinthians 8:6-8. Aaron, if you wanna read 2 Corinthians 8:6-8 talking about the grace of giving. Again, Paul talks as much about giving in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 as anywhere in the New Testament where it’s talking about the grace of giving.

 

  It says here, “So we urged Titus that as he had begun. So he would also complete this grace in you as well. But as you abound in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us, see that you abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but I’m testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others.”

 

  Yeah, so, wow, he says a lot in those verses. But you know, Paul, what he did was actually sent Titus to administrate the realm of finances. And we need people to help us administrate the realm of finances. I actually have people here that help us administrate finances. And he sent him there and he said that, “He would finish in you this same grace.” So they talked about giving, but yet, they really hadn’t got involved. You know, like Paul thought they should. So he was encouraging them. He actually brags on them later. And he says, “Now, don’t prove me wrong.” So he’s encouraging them, you know, to get involved in this grace of giving. I think every born again believer should get involved in the grace of giving,

 

  Definitely.

 

  Limit God-

 

  And not only just get involved, but it says abound in this grace.

 

  Yeah.

 

  You know, I love that. You know, he says, “As you abound in faith and speech and knowledge and all diligence and in your love, see that you abound in this grace and he is talking about the grace of giving.” And he’s encouraging them to just abound in that grace. And the word “grace,” it’s a powerful word. You know, the church here is Charis Christians Center, that Greek word “charis” is used right there. There’s a charis for giving.

 

  Yeah. Now, when he talks about all these things, faith, utterance, knowledge, diligence, and your love, that’s basic Christianity. And so I think what Paul’s saying, “Hey, you’re involved in basic Christianity and faith in speaking, in knowledge and diligence, in walking love,” That is foundational Christianity. Giving and receiving is part of foundational Christianity getting involved in the grace of giving. Man, if you’re not involved in giving and receiving, you’re missing out on blessing. And we’ll talk about that more in 2 Corinthians 9:8, but you actually limit the grace of God, I think, in your life by not getting involved in the grace of giving. And you know, if God again lives in somebody, I can’t understand how, they wouldn’t give. But again, this is practical Christianity. You know, I learned tithing from my dad and he told me when I was like four years old, he gave me two nickels to put in the church offering. And I put one nickel in and kept one nickel back. And when we were leaving town, we lived 10 miles out of town. There was a little store you know, on the side of the main highway going out town. I said, “Hey, stop there. I wanna buy a bubblegum.” My dad said, “I don’t have money for bubblegum.” And then there’s a store eight miles out of town. We lived two miles beyond that, 10 miles out of town. And when we started getting close to, I said, “Stop there.” And my dad, it dawned on him what I did. And he said, “Son, did you take that nickel I gave you?” “‘Cause,” he said, “I don’t have money to buy bubblegum.” I said, “Daddy, I got money.” He said, “Son, did you take that nickel I gave you one of those nickels?” I said, “Yes, daddy.” And my daddy gave my first sermon on tithe then. And he told me, we give 10% of everything to God. We went to church and we gave our tithes. You know, but my dad taught that. And you know, my parents were extremely challenged in the realm of finances. But when they got involved in giving and receiving, they always had their bills paid. They always had their needs met. They never went in debt beyond what they couldn’t pay. And so, you know, it’s just great encouragement for people to get involved in the grace of giving. Now he says something, Aaron, here in verse eight, he says, “I speak not by commandment, but by occasion.” This is 2 Corinthians 8:8. “Of the forwardness of others to prove the sincerity of your love.” What do you think he’s saying when he says, “I don’t speak by commandment?”

 

  Well, he wants people to just give willingly, and not be forced into it.

 

  Right? So he’s not being legalistic, right? He’s not being, you know, sometimes, when we talk about tithe, the people think, “Well, you’re getting legalistic.” Well, you know, I give more than 10%. I give something like mom and I have given over the years about 30% of our average income. And God has blessed us so much beyond it. You can’t really explain the blessing in my life, except, you know, God has blessed us, God has helped us. But he goes on and in verse nine and really begins to talk about not only the grace on them and how he wants them to get involved in the grace of giving, just like they’re abounding in faith and speaking and knowledge and diligence and loving one another. He begins to talk about the grace on Jesus. So read 2 Corinthians 8:9 This is one of the most powerful scriptures in the entire New Testament in the realm of giving.

 

  So it says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet, for your sakes, he became poor, that you, through his poverty, might become rich.”

 

  And so this is actually talking about Jesus dying on the cross, laying everything down for us. And so first, he used these Macedonian churches and said, “Man, these Macedonian churches, they were great givers.” Praise God. And even though they face challenges, they gave, and they were willing to give beyond. And he said, this is part of practical Christianity. He’s really encouraging this church to get involved in giving and receiving. And then he says, “Jesus is really our highest example in the area of giving.” And he says this, he says, “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that even though he was rich.” Jesus was in the beginning with God creating all thanks. I mean, Jesus was rich. And this word rich, when you study it out in the Greek, it means wealthy, abundantly supplied, abounding in material resources. Abounding, it means rich. Praise God. So Jesus had everything at. He the universe had his disposal. Yet it says, “For our sakes, he became poor.” And when it says he became poor, it means he became poor like a beggar. He left everything. Now any condition on earth would be considered poor with where he came from. But what do you think that’s actually talking about when he became as a beggar and laid down everything?

 

  I think like what happened on the cross.

 

  Yeah, exactly. And you know, Jesus took four things on the cross. If you study Isaiah 53:4-5 and in 1 Peter 2:24-25. “He took our sin and he took our anxiety and he took our sickness, but he also took our poverty.” We see right here that Jesus, and I believe that because Jesus took it, we don’t have to take it. And in exchange, we call Calvary the cross, the great exchange. What did he give us for sin there?

 

  Righteousness.

 

  And what did he give us for anxiety?

 

  Peace.

 

  And what did he give us for sickness?

 

  Health.

 

  And healing. And what did he give us for poverty?

 

  Riches.

 

  That’s what he says. He became poor. And this poor like means to be like a beggar. This Greek word for poor. And he says, “That you might be rich.” And that word means to be richly supplied, increased in material goods made rich, or to wax rich. Praise God. So God wants us to prosper. You know, tell me some different ways God has helped you prosper.

 

  Well, I was just thinking of this hymn, I was just going through an old hymnal that I have, and there’s this old hymn called, “Jesus, I come.” And it says, “Out of my sickness, into thy health, out of my want and to thy wealth, out of myself, into thyself. Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come.” And I just thought, “That’s the gospel right there. Out of my sickness and to your health, out of my want and to your wealth.”

 

  Hallelujah.

 

  “Out of myself and to thyself, Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come.”

 

  And when was that song written?

 

  Probably about 100 years ago. So some people I just thought how today, you know, a lot of people use the term “health and wealth” as a derogatory term, but really, to me, that’s incredibly foolish. You know, people want to live a long time that people spend a lot of money, I think a third of our national GDP goes to the medical industry. So a lot of people spend a lot of money trying to have-

 

  Good health.

 

  Good health. Or, you know, prolong their life. And that’s something that Jesus did on the cross for us. By his stripes, we were made whole. So I don’t know why anyone would preach against healing, against health and use it as a derogatory term. I don’t know why anyone would preach against wealth, against God providing for you, taking care of you, helping you be a blessing so you could be a blessing to others. You can’t be a giver if you don’t have something to give.

 

  Yeah.

 

  So believing God to help you grow financially so you can be a blessing to others, there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s actually the Bible, read Proverbs. Proverbs says, you know, that this is a sign of a righteous person, is that they they have an abundance to give to other people. You know.

 

  Praise God.

 

  A righteous man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. So why would you preach against wealth?

 

  Why would you preach against any of the promises of God? You know, the Bible says, “Let us fear lest a promise of entering into his rest, any of us should seem to come short of.” That’s Hebrews 4:1. The Bible says, you know, “Beloved, I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” I don’t know why anyone would preach against any of the promises of God. That’s foolish. And I think we ought to preach all the promises of God because we want the people of God to walk in what God has for them. I want them to walk in health. I want them to walk in financial and material blessing. Praise God. Why would we want less than what God promised? And why would we preach against what the scripture says?

 

  It’s like a lot of people will go, you know, spend money to get an advanced degree, maybe to become certified for a certain trade or to go to college, to increase their capacity, to grow their income, to have more job opportunities. I don’t know any university that says, “Hey, come to us and you know, get this degree and then you’ll reach the goal of being poor.” You know, no one advertises that. But sometimes that that spirit of religion, it twists things and makes people think that poverty is the goal, but poverty is not. Poverty is actually part of the curse. If you read through the curses-

 

  In Deuteronomy 28.

 

  Poverty is part of the curse.

 

  Verse 15, 68 is the curse and poverty is included in the curse. So praise the Lord. Well, Jesus took everything. He says here in 2 Corinthians 8:9, “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that even though he was rich, yet for our sakes, he became poor.” That’s when he died on the cross, that you through his poverty, might be made rich. Friend, if you don’t know Jesus, pray this prayer with me. Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus Christ is your son. He died for my sin, and you raised him from the dead and made him Lord, and I surrender to you in Jesus name. Friends, if you need prayer, I want you to give us a call today where you can receive prayer for salvation, for healing, for receiving the promises of God. We have trained prayer ministers here that are available to minister the grace of God to you. So give us a call. We look forward to hearing from you. Blessings.

 

  When we step out in faith and tap into giving and receiving, there are tremendous promises available to us. Discover scriptural principles that will help you understand the abundant blessing that is connected to generosity. We are blessed to be a blessing. We’d like to bless you with a digital copy of, the teaching, “The Blessing of Generosity,” a $20 value free of charge. Download it today at charischristiancenter.com.

 

  Friends, the scripture says, ‘If you will continue in the word of God, you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” If you go to our website at charischristiancenter.com, you can get all of our materials there on the website as you watch them as you listen absolutely free of charge. And we’ve done that just to be a blessing to you. And I believe that the word that has freed me will free you. Blessings.

 

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