Gateway Church's Podcast
Two Keys To Becoming...a Giver
Happy New Year. It's good to see. I'm really honored to be here the first weekend in Sunday of the New Year here to speak to you Pastor Robert by the way is in Amarillo. We have the first week of every year we have Zion. Her service is every evening. We fast and pray all week long and that's what we've been doing this week and Pastor Robert spoke for us on Thursday and Friday evenings did a phenomenal job preaching on the Holy Spirit and I think that's a series that they actually preached here. Fantastic new speaking there this morning but it's great to be here and Pastor Robert and I were talking and you guys have the churches just exploding and you guys are building a new building. So many things are going on in this church and in about six weeks you guys are gonna be taking a miracle offering a special offering for the building and just what God is doing here in the church and so I want to I want to speak this morning on the issue of giving we just took a miracle offering in fact we have taken miracle offerings for the last two years in Amarillo in two offerings this is two weekend offerings we've received over four million dollars in cash in two offers that's an Amarillo you'll be able to do better in Dallas did you know that I mean that's up in Amarillo so I'm just I'm challenging you this morning to even begin to prepare your hearts to give because isn't God doing a wonderful thing in this church I mean it's a wonderful thing that God is doing here in the Metroplex and so you're you're a part of that if you have your Bible this morning turn to 2 Corinthians 9 and this is where I want to preach from it you know when we talked about when Pastor Robert asked me to come and speak I actually had a different message in mind that I was gonna bring the Lord gave me this message this week I've never preached it before I really believe it's the best giving message that I've ever preached in my life I mean in the last 20 years of pastoring this is the message on giving that I believe that every person needs to hear in fact the title of this message the two keys to becoming an excited extravagant giver now this is the message that I was someone would have preached to me 28 years ago when Karen I started giving because I had a horrible attitude about the issue of giving and I want to make this statement now and I'll explain it in just a minute a little bit further and that's this I believe that giving is giving to the Lord and the Lord's work is the most tormenting and difficult issue for most believers it was for me I'm just telling you I believe it torments people and it's more difficult than almost any other issue in the Christian faith I just say it's more difficult than any other issue in the Christian faith at least it was for me when we first began to get when the concept of giving began to be introduced to me I mean it just really was difficult for me I'll talk about that more in just a minute but in second Corinthians 9 now the Apostle Paul's taking an offering for the Saints in Jerusalem the church began in Jerusalem there was a lot of affection for the apostles and also the Saints there and they were going through a tremendously difficult time politically and economically so the Apostle Paul is raising an offering from the church at Corinth and he's going to send it back now to the Saints in Jerusalem so he's doing what any creature does he's just trying to give people reasons to give the only difference is here the Holy Spirit is using him to write the New Testament and so what is what he's saying here becomes doctrine and revelation that is very very important so let's begin reading Saint Corinthians 9 verse 6 this I say he who so sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully so let each one give as he purposes in his heart not grudgingly or up necessity for God loves a cheerful giver and God is able to make all grace to bound toward you that you always having all sufficiency in all things may have an abundance for every good work now Paul is saying this to them to help them to overcome the objections that they have toward giving he's giving here two keys that all of us can once we get these now we will become an excited extravagant giver I'm just telling you this morning if you get this if you get it this morning the day in your life that you get these two things you will become without any without any preacher preaching at you without any outside force having the having to get it from you you will become an excited extravagant giver so that's what I want to talk about this morning let me say a couple of realities that the Apostle Paul is taking an offering from the church for Jerusalem I want to give you a couple of realities now and this just reality and the first is this you do realize now we are the only people on earth that can fund God's work God's work will not be funded unless God's people fund it you know no other religion is going to give to Christianity do you realize that no no other group of people on the earth whether it is Muslims or Hindus or or anyone else they're just not going to give to Christianity they have their own cause and you realize that unbelievers aren't going to do it I mean there's no other group on the earth that can give the God's work except God's people let me make it a little bit more specific no church can reach its potential unless every person in that church reaches their potential giving once this church gateway church has a has a tremendous vision and a tremendous mission that God has given it but it's dependent you realize on you guys those of you that this is your church home if you don't reach your potential in giving this church will not reach its potential and no one else can take your place you see the devil has a lot of ways that he deals with us to try to get us to justify not giving the way that we should and one of the ways that he gets us to justify that is the belief that just basically says well you know I mean I just don't have a lot of money and you know when when I first began to consider the concept I remember the first time I went to church and a creature I'm giving it just it was disgusting to me I mean I just couldn't believe it I just thought you know I came to church to get blessed he trying to get my money the reason I came to church there by us trying to get my money I'm coming here to get encouraged and he's trying to get my money and here's here's what I thought I thought you know I didn't ever think really where church money came from but when I thought about it I thought you know church money comes from rich people in phonetics you know I mean that that's where church money comes from and I'm not rich and I'm not a fanatic so others I shouldn't give and so the devil has all kinds of ways he deals with us to get us to think that I can't give I mean there's a way that I don't give what I should give but somebody else will make up for it this church I see churches all the time we have an association of churches we help churches I see churches all the time that can't reach their potential because the givers in the church won't get let's see it all the time this church the reason that I challenge Trinity at home to give to their potential is not only does it bless them in a dramatic way we can't reach our potential unless they get this church can't reach its potential unless you give her you reach your potential and so I said earlier now that this is in my opinion the most tormenting issue for most Christians and here's the reason that I believe it torments us so much I understand this most Christians never tied the tithes the minimum level of obedience to God the Bible 10% most Christians never tied when I say most Christians never tied I'm talking about 80% or more of all Christians never tied and so it's a very difficult thing that most Christians never get victory in but it's such a critical issue for you personally and for the church that we just have to get passed but let me tell you why I believe that so far many and let's go to verse 7 here in 2nd Corinthians 9 let each one gives as he purposes in his heart let me tell you something here's two things I believe about you this morning and I really believe this about Christians and that is I know you love the Lord I mean if you're here this morning and you don't give a nickel I do believe that you love the Lord let me say the second thing I believe that you desire to get I believe that in your heart I believe that every Christian who is sincerely born again when you get born again I believe that there's a love for Christ there and I believe that there's a desire to get the reason the issue of giving is so tormented is not because we don't want to give it's because we just can't figure out in our heads how we can do what our heart wants to do you understand what I'm saying it's not because we don't want to give it's just it torments us because we want to and we're just sitting there thinking Lord Jesus let me win that 314 million dollar power ball deal you know and because then I could get the way that I want to give you know and and this guy that won that by the way the the power ball winner you notice that he went on television the next day and he said that he was going to tie off the gross amount to his church he was a born again Christian and he was a tighter his tied by the way to his church was 31.4 million dollars off that power ball people asked me they say is it wrong to play the lottery and I say not if you win in time if you lose or don't tie that's wrong it's a sin so and his wife said she was on TV and she said I just want I just want to take what we what we've gotten you know what we've won and I want to go to Jerusalem I want to go to Israel and walk for Jesus walk in that suite and I thought honey you can buy it you know I mean you're rich and so and but that's a lot of people think if I had that kind of money I could give obediently I could be an excited extravagant giver if I had enough money I want you to know you can have you can do what you want to do today today wherever you are you can become an excited and extravagant giver so I want to give you now two keys the Apostle Paul is talking about here I want to give you two keys well he is telling the church at Corinth to try to help them what he's trying to do is to get them to take the desire in their heart and to help their head to understand how they can do that's what I want to do this morning I know you want to get and I know I believe you love Jesus and I really believe if you're not giving the way you should you're conflicted and you're really battling between your heart and your hips I want to give you these two keys to help you to help you to get your head your heart to match so you can give it the way that God wants you to get let me say I'm gonna give you these two keys before I do that let me give you the four levels of giving Christian giving these are the four levels of maturity beginning at the beginning level four is where we all need to be for the church to reach his potential for us to reach his potential for the work of God's kingdom to go forth let me give you the four levels level one is shock and disgust and you're just you're just disgusted at the concept that somebody wants your money and preachers preaching this morning number two grudging obligation at a minimal level Paul says do not give with grudging obligation but do it with cheerfulness grudging obligation now Karen when we started giving this was 28 years ago and when we started giving we went to church one morning and the preacher preached on giving it disgusted me it just it just shook my world and I said out there listening to him speak on giving we made seven thousand dollars that year we lived in government housing you had to be broke to live for we live you had the prove that you were broke to live for we live we turned in our application they immediately approved it our house payment was based on our income our house payment was a hundred nine dollars a month based on our income we were broke and we had a little daughter and Karen did not work outside of the home so I mean just tell you if you make less than seven thousand dollars let's come start a support group here I'm just saying we started at the beginning and we were broke and the preacher was preaching on giving and Karen came home and she wanted to give money to the church and I just couldn't believe it and she just said you know Jimmy let's you know we want I want to get forty dollars to the church and it's like a root canal you know it's like your choices are pain or pain and I thought well we're broke or we can give you know and if I don't give God will strike me dead if we do give we're going broke so my choice is pain or pain so we chose to give grudgingly it was a grudging gift for me I gave it and I said well fine and the Lord blessed it when we gave but we began to see Lord work in our finances and the Lord began to bless it she wanted to give again and I just thought Karen you're gonna make a habit out of this now you know we got away with it the first time but it was just a grudging obligation to me level three is committed giving at a level of obedience to God it's committed giving and then we began to tie it my wife had more faith in the area of giving that I did and it was her encouragement that got us to give but we saw God miraculously work in our finances when we made little or nothing and we were living hand to mouth we saw God do miracles in our finances it took us several years to become titers but I remember when we began to tie and we gave 10% of our income the first year and I just thought this is you know we have really grown and I really believe in this but I'm just telling you I wasn't excited about it was the cheerful thing level four is extravagant excited giving it's when you're giving extravagantly and you're excited about it this is the level that you live to give giving is not a grudging obligation or a shocking and disgusting concept or something you just do out of duty it is something that you live to do and you're excited about it now I don't know what level that you're at and I believe today that Karen and I were extravagant excited givers and I'm not saying that we've reached the pinnacle of that I'm just saying we're more than just committed givers we really enjoy giving and we live to get and so I'm just saying to you wherever you're at today I'm hoping that this message will just encourage you to go the next level and to reach your potential and regardless of where you are today that you would make level four in your goal and you would say Jesus I want to become that so let me give you these two keys now that the Apostle Paul gives the church at Corinth to help you to reconcile maybe a conflict between your head and your heart here the two keys number one number one key is understanding the living nature of money and number two is understanding the loving nature of God those are the two keys that the Apostle Paul helps the church at Corinth with the living nature of money and the loving nature of God let me begin with the living nature of money he goes to verse six this I say he who so sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who sos bountifully will also reap bountifully so he says this is sowing if you sow sparingly you're going to reap sparingly if you sow bountifully you're going to reap bountifully let me say something about about money and let me see if I have you I have a little money here in my part this is this is money and the Apostle Paul says now if you don't understand the nature of this you're not going to be able to give now there's only three things that you can do with money you can spend it you can save it or you can give it okay now let me just let me just tell you when you give money if you see this is a static instrument and you give money and that money is gone if that's the way you see money you're not going to ever be able to give the way you should because that's not what what the Bible says when the Bible talks about giving money to the Lord it says it's like seed that you give and it will be given to you good measure press down shaken together running over men will pour it into your lap for by your standard of measure will be measured you in return this is not a static instrument that when you give it you lose it this is a living instrument that when you sew it it comes back to you good measure press down shaken together running over according to your measure that's why it says that God loves a cheerful giver if you went to a farmer and you told a farmer there if you plant this crop there's a hundred percent chance that you're going to get a great harvest from it that person would be on that tractor dancing the entire time he's playing that crop the reason that God loves a cheerful giver is a cheerful giver understands that giving is not losing giving is sewing this this money's alive listen to me now it's a life when you give it to God there are only three things that you can do with money you can either spend it save it or give it let me just give you this little rhyme here okay what you consume goes cabana it's gone when you consume money it's gone like eating your seed it's great you do need to eat some of it that's fine but it's gone whatever you keep goes to sleep if you put it in a savings account or retirement account or any other investment that's fine but it's dormant now you say I'm in great investments that's fine but you do realize now there's not one investment on this earth is guaranteed not real estate not the stock market not your 401k there is not one investment on this earth that is guaranteed and this dollar bill itself you know God forbid but something could happen to the United States that could make this work there's nothing on this earth that is guaranteed money you keep goes to sleep and you say we don't understand Jimmy I am the best investor in the world and I mean I put money in the stock market it grows let me say about my neighbor my neighbor invested in the stock market during the 90s became wealthy bought a second home in retirement this last year because the condition the stock market had to sell a second home and come out of retirement to go back to work because this is dormant money I'm not saying it's no good I'm not saying you shouldn't say because you should but if you do two things with your money if you consume and keep then what you have two kinds of money the kaboom money and the sleeping money the only here's the third rhyme what you get lifts what you consume goes kaboom what you keep goes to sleep what you get lifts he who sows bountifully will read bountifully because the only living money you have is the money you gave to God it's the only dynamic money it's the only money that's guaranteed to be working and it's going to meet you in your future now what you listen to me about a farmer every farmer because I'm from Amarillo we have a lot of farmers up there every farmer knows the key to meeting your future needs is in planting your present seats okay the key to meet you said what you know Jimmy we've got children we've got grandchildren we've got desires we want to retire we want to buy our own business we want to do this and this is understand understand I'm saying to you if you so bountifully in the God's work you will meet a bountiful harvest in your future if you love your children if you love your family if you love yourself if you love God plant seed you'll meet it in your future it will be there for you good measure press down shaken together running over if you sold bountifully you'll read bountifully you so sparingly you'll read frankly ladies and gentlemen I'm just saying I started with a bad attitude and gave $40 to God and what I noticed is over 28 years of giving we've given more and more and more every year for the last 28 years what I realized is when you give this it comes alive and it bears a crop for you in the future that's what I realized I didn't realize that before and that's why I had such a terrible attitude see and someone says well I want a fixed income there is no such thing as a fixed income for a giver there's no such thing because this is seed there's a woman we took our our miracle offering a couple of years ago two and a half million dollar offering one weekend in in our congregation there's a lady in our congregation we're challenging people to give there's late in our congregation broke I mean she lived on government assistance and that she was just broke and she wanted to get $50 this was her testimony she prayed and said to God Lord I want to get $50 and she stopped her call waiting she stopped her cable television she stopped everything she didn't have any money so the only thing that she could figure out to do to get $50 together was just to stop anything that she was doing that she didn't have to have it in the central so she she was going to scrap together $50 the week before she was going to give her $50 in the offering the government called her and said we've made a mistake we owe you right now I believe it was $2,500 plus we owe you $1,300 a month more than what we're giving you right now she gave $1,000 in the offering and her income went up $1,300 a month she had a fixed income a couple in our church gate to that offering and they were retired they're in their 70s or late 70s and they went in for one of their you know IRAs or something like that and they took some money out and they said we're on a fixed income we took this money out we gave it and they reported miraculously within like a month out of nowhere we got like two to three times back what we gave ladies and gentlemen did you know that if you sow this bountifully you'll reap it bountifully this is not dead if you if you have $500 and you give $50 you didn't lose $50 you sowed $50 it's alive it's going to meet you in your future it's the only guaranteed investment on this earth and that's the reason God loves a cheerful giver because they get that they understand the living nature of money let's just read the few scriptures here together this is 2nd Corinthians 9 and this begins in verse 10 now may he who supplies seed to the sower who does God supply seed to there's only one way you can sow and that's to give the God's work God is committed to supplying you and seed as much as you're committed to sowing that's why it says according to your standard of measure God says I'll measure it back you and bread for food supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness while you are enriched in everything for all liberality which causes thanksgiving dust or God cause an effect when you give God gives you more seed and you give and you're enriched the entire time in your own personal life just from the overflow of what God's given you Proverbs 3 honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first fruits of your increase so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine cause and effect you get to the Lord the effect is you have an abundance I mean saying like I'm not manipulating the scriptures I'm not talking to you about a good rich quick scheme I'm talking to you about what the Bible says about money that when you give to the Lord the the effect of that is God multiplies it back to you God is committed to giving to givers he's committed to giving seed to sowers and bread for food the blessing that we need in life Malachi 3 bring all the ties into the storehouse that there may be food in my house and trimming down this says the Lord of Host if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it and I will rebuke the devour for your sake so that it will that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground nor shall the vine fail for bear fruit for you in the field says the Lord of Host and all nations will call you blessed for you will be a delightful and cause and effect if you come to me and you bring all the ties into the storehouse God says I'll open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing until you cannot receive it. I went with my brother yesterday my brother Mike my brother Randy and my brother Randy bought my brother Mike something for Christmas and my brother Mike's house is just full of stuff I mean he's got stuff everywhere and Randy said to Mike he said well you know Mike it's hard to buy for you because every square inch of your house is wholesome and Mike says well I find when you give me something I like I take something out and put something else there my brother Mike has to get rid of something to get something that's what this says there will not be room enough for you to keep receiving you know it's on 23 says don't you because the Lord is my shepherd my cup run it over he wants to give you so much that there's too much and you have to keep getting rid of stuff that that's the whole point here I'm just saying ladies and gentlemen the cause and effect in scripture is clear and on the day that you understand the living nature of money it'll change the way you get in fact that's why you should go to the offering containers and give with excitement because it's not going to go kaboom or go to sleep when you put it in there it lives and it's going to meet you in your future if you take your present scene it will meet your future name that's just that's just the trick let me say one more thing about this point Matthew six Jesus says lay up your treasures in heaven he says do not lay up treasures here on earth that means putting too much up for whatever reason he says but lay it up in heaven you realize the only way that you can eternalize anything is to give it to God you realize that every single dollar that you ever give or time or energy or love that you give to God you realize it'll be in heaven with you forever unless you speak wise about this man the best of this in here is going to live 110 years I mean if we live that long 110 years in the view of eternity it's a it's a millisecond understand this I do want to be blessed here on the earth I'm just telling you I do want to be blessed one a nice house nice cars nice clothes I mean I want all that stuff that all of us want but you understand it's all going to go up smoke one day the Bible says that the heavens near it they're going to go up smoke God's going to create a new heaven mirror but you understand whatever you have in heaven you'll have for a million trillion years and it'll never rest it'll never be stolen you never have to take insurance out on it you never have to pay taxes on it somebody say man wouldn't you rather have something there than here the only way that this lives there is to give it to God when you give to God not only is it living here and we'll come back to you good major president shaking together running over you're going to meet it there too I just tell you when you get it I'm saying when it finally just hits your brain it changes you the way you look at this makes all the difference in the world the second point the second key to extravagant excited giving is understanding the loving nature of God and this is what this is what Paul says verse eight God is able to make all grace abound toward you this leave up there just say guys God is able to make all grace abound toward you the word able there that is the word dune toss in the Greek language ax one eight says this you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witness to Jerusalem Judea Samaria that are most parts the world you shall receive power the word able there is the word dune toss from the same root word it means God is powerfully capable to make all grace abound toward you you say what about the war interact what about the war on terror what about the economy what about my job what about this what about that there is no force on earth that can keep God from blessing you when you get it is trans circumstantial it is above the economy it is above the geopolitical realm it is above everything when you give God is powerfully capable to make anything happen to get the blessing back to you he doesn't depend on the u.s. economy he doesn't depend on your boss at work he doesn't depend on anything he's able to do it himself somebody say amen the apostle Paul says don't fear circumstances because this is what the devil does but there's something in our heart there's something in our heart that says give liberally give generously but then something in our head happens is that what about the war in Iraq you know what about what about the soft economy you know what about this what about this in our mind begins to conflict in the apostle Paul says God is powerfully capable to make all grace abound for you let me talk about all grace for just a minute i don't want the grace of prosperity that's one of the graces that God has i don't want one of the graces of God i want all the grace of God let me just explain this to you i want the grace of health because it doesn't matter how much money you have if you're sick all the time and spend all your money on doctor bist God is able to make all grace abound for you so that you can have money and enjoy God is able to make the grace of health abound for you he's able to make the grace of a good marriage in a good family abound for you you know something ladies and gentlemen the number one reason for poverty in america is a broken family a single woman with children is 600 times more likely to live in poverty than a married woman with children see it doesn't matter if your family's all broken up it doesn't matter how much money you have it just doesn't matter i want the grace of a good family i want the grace of wisdom and understanding it doesn't matter how much money you have if you're confused and to see if the Solomon principle God came to Solomon and he said Solomon asked me for anything and he said i want wisdom he said good since you've asked for wisdom i'll give you money with it the Solomon principle is this wisdom precedes well see i don't want just money i want the wisdom to know what to do with it i want the wisdom to know how to invest it wasn't one of the ways that i came into the ministry by the way is i had the choice between different i had invested in oil well and i invested in a little stock market deal and i when i came into the ministry i took a big cut and pay to come into the ministry and i had the choice of several investments that i was looking at and i prayed about it and i said God give me wisdom for for these investments i had four investments i was looking at the two i did not invest in both were disasters the two i did invest in made me enough money to be able to i sold the oil well and i i've hit a big deal in the stock market uh and i was able to take that money pay off what i had and to come into the ministry God is able to give you the wisdom to know how to invest see i don't want i don't want the grace of money i want all grace and it says that god is powerfully capable to make all grace abound for you remember in malachi three god says there i will make you a delightful land that everyone will look at you and say you're blessed you understand the whole point in this whole thing is for us to be so blessed that unbelievers look at us and say how in the world do you get what you got and our answer is jesus jesus bless me jesus is why jesus is why i'm not in an insane asylum right now that we're so blessed god is god is powerfully capable to make all grace abound for you what do you mean i'm saying he loves you get that he loves you there's nothing you can do about it it doesn't matter all the bad stuff you've done he loves you just like your children i mean the your children can be the worst thing in the world but you still love your children i'm telling you ladies and gentlemen you have a father in heaven and his name is god and in matthew six jesus says don't you understand that your father knows every hair on your head he knows every sparrow that falls to the ground and he says why do you worry about so many things why are you so worried why don't you just trust the father because if you saw him first he says he'd give you all these things did you know that you're loved in heaven it's it's like if you really understood that you're not an orphan there's an orphan spirit that comes on christians and i had it for many years you know what covetousness is look at it uh this is hebrews 13 hebrews 13 let your conduct be without covetousness be content with such things as you have for he himself has said i will never leave you nor forsake you so we've a boldly say the lord is my helper i will not fear what command do to me covetousness is an unhealthy need for things because of the lack of prevent providing relationships we'll set one more time it's an orphan spirit covetousness is an unhealthy need for things because of the lack of providing relationship you think that you have to stack a bunch of things around you to be secure rather than being secure in god and here's what god says don't be covetous you don't have to stack up things the world why the world sets up things do you understand that i'll never leave you who's saying that the god who provides for the universe today the god who owns all the the gold and silver the god who owns the catalog that's this you know you'll never be in a circumstance that he won't be there let me say i don't know how much money you'll have when you get there but you'll have god when you get there and i'd rather have money than god somebody anybody agree with what i'm saying this morning listen this scripture first shawn two do not love the world or the things in the world if anyone loves the world the love of the father is not in it for all that is in the world the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father but of the world but what is the world the world is a way to get what you want without god that's just it the world is a system of thinking and behaving that i can get what i want without god but what is the father the father is the way that i get what i want through god seek first the kingdom of godness righteousness all these things will be added to you you have the choice you can either accept the love of the father or you can go out and do it without it but you can't do that you said you can't serve god men you're going to love one hate the other hold the one despise the other i want you to understand this one ladies and gentlemen god loves you you're his child in the good times in the bad times whatever happens on this earth i want you to understand your father in heaven loves you more than any parent on this earth loves their child the day that you get that it will transform the way you look at money you'll take money and realize this is a blessing but it's not essential because he's essential my relationship with him is how i'm provided for money is not my security god is my security one more scripture in our close roman's eight you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear but you receive the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out of a father that means daddy daddy father the spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that were the children of god it says you didn't receive that it says we're joiners with christ there heirs of god joiners with christ you did not receive a spirit of slavery leading the fear again but you receive the spirit of adoption that in our spirit our spirit cries out daddy you know you know why the spirit is in there doing that because we have a daddy the holy spirit trying to lead you to your father to your real father he's trying to lead you to that relationship with god that will finally set you free if you have an orphan spirit here this morning if you don't understand the loving nurturing presence of god that is capable to make all grace abound toward you you'll have an unhealthy dependence on money and things and you'll never be able to give it up the way that god says but on the day that you understand the living nature of money and the loving nature of god you will walk past that offering container and whenever an opportunity is presented to you to give you will understand what i give lives and he loves me and he'll always be with me and he is able in any circumstances to make all grace abound toward me if i trust in him in my opinion the number one way that we give of god an opportunity to show us how much he loves us it's our giving that's my personal testimony my giving to god in his response healed me of an orphan spirit and it's convinced me that god loves me and i want you to understand i'm not his favorite child we're all his favorites he loves you this morning he's waiting for an opportunity to show himself strong on your behalf and to show you how much he loves you and i'm just encouraging you this morning wherever you are whatever level that you're at in your giving i'm just encouraging Go to the next level, reach your potential and give it, so that God can use it.