MAY 17TH
TEXT: 2 Corinthians 9:6-14 King James Version (KJV)
6. But this I say, He which soweth sparingly
shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also
bountifully.
7. Every
man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or
of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
8. And God is able to make all grace abound
toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to
every good work:
9. (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad;
he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
10. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both
minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the
fruits of your righteousness;)
11. Being
enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which causeth through us
thanksgiving to God.
12. For the administration of this service not
only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many
thanksgivings unto God;
13. Whiles by
the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection
unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and
unto all men;
14. And by their prayer for you, which long after
you for the exceeding grace of God in you.
As we bring this study on the principles of giving to
an end, I want to draw your attention once again to some of the areas covered
so far. The word of God in 3 John 1:2 says, “Beloved, I wish above all things
that thou mayest prosper even as thine soul prospereth.” This openly tells us
that it is true that God wants us to prosper but that this can only be possible
as we prosper in our soul. What is that talking about? You need to be well
informed and live your life in obedience to the word of God. This is what
determines your prosperity. This has drawn our attention to a lot of areas
about the principles of giving. We have been told that giving has to be
cheerfully, willingly, not of necessity or grudgingly, that the Lord loves a
cheerful giver. That he who gives sparingly, will reap sparingly and that he
who gives bountifully, will reap bountifully.
That when we give to the poor, we must not let our
left hand know what our right hand is doing. This is so that you do not
ridicule or embarrass the poor. But that it is not the same thing when we are
giving to the things of God as the bible has record of many of such giving. It
is very important to add that the word of God makes us to understand that when
we give to the poor, we are lending to God. And there is no way a man will lend
to God and not be mightily blessed (Proverbs 19:17).
We must not also forget that giving to widows and
orphans is one serious way of giving commanded by God in his word. It has been
proven to activate strange blessings for many.
In fact, it was Cornelius’ alms giving that activated
for him a special angelic visitation to both him and the apostle Peter (Acts
10:1-6, 19-21,34-35and 44).
There are some aspects of our text today that I need
you to take a look at seriously because they hold the key that unlock the door
to a higher dimension of blessing for anyone who give in obedience to the
principles of giving. This calls for a more careful look at the following
verses;
Verse 8 speaks of the blessing unlimited grace and
supply
Verse 9 speaks of an abiding righteousness,
Verse 10 reveals to us that God on purpose give seeds
to sowers
Verse 11 to 14 reveals to us outstanding result and
far reaching impact of a giver in the community of faith and the attending
blessings that follows the sower.
There are so many treasures embedded in the word of
God on the principles of giving. It is obvious that there is lot more than what
we have covered so far. In the words of the Lord in verse 15, I bring this
study to a close, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”
God bless you.
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