Theme: God loves a cheerful giver
Text: Nehemiah 2:17-20; 2 Cor. 9:6-15; Acts 20:31-35
Harvest time is not only a time to rejoice, but also a time to remember the Lord’s many blessings and to say thank you. When we say thank you to another person that person often knows whether we really mean what we are saying or whether we are just trying to be polite. In every culture, especially in our own culture, it is customary to say thank you with a gift. Some cultures say thank you with flowers while others say it with a piece of African print. Some cultures also say thank you with chocolates while others say it with a gold necklaces or bracelets. The best way to say thank you, however is with a gift that the person would appreciate most and we can only know what to give if we are very close or intimate with the person. How best can we say thank you to the Lord today? What gift can we give to the Lord on this special day? Would it not be appropriate to say thank you to the Lord by supporting the development projects of the Church? Whenever I hear about Church building projects, I am always reminded of a story about a congregation that had gathered in an old Church to raise funds to build a new one. This Church was in a poor section of the town but had one extremely rich member who had a prominent seat at the front. During the fundraising programme he got up and made the highest contribution of one hundred thousand Cedis. As he sat down a piece of the roof came off and fell on his head. He immediately got up again and made another contribution of one hundred thousand Cedis. For a minute there was silence in the whole Church. Then a whisper was heard from the back, ‘hit him again Lord.’
We must never feel compelled to give for the Lord’s work. What we offer to the Lord must be given cheerfully for God loves a cheerful giver. We can only give cheerfully when the condition of our heart is right with God and our giving dictated by our love for Him. This is because God not only looks at the gift; He also looks at the heart. The condition of the heart when we give is much more important that what we give. If the heart wants to give more than the person is able to give, God sees it and records it accordingly. But if the hand gives more than the heart wants to give, probably just to show off, God records what is in the heart, no matter how big the offering in the hand might be. Our giving must come from the heart if it is to please God. The right condition of the heart is very important because before God accepts the gift He first accepts the giver. God will only accept the one whose heart is right before Him. When the heart is not right with God, the sacrifice cannot please the Lord because it is impossible to know what to sacrifice without a right relationship with God.
The story of Cain and Abel is a very familiar one. Both Cain and Abel brought sacrifices to the Lord but the Lord did not accept the sacrifice of Cain because of the condition of his heart. God only accepts what we give Him when the condition of our heart is right. His promise that “the measure we reap is according to the measure we sow” can only be fulfilled when we meet His conditions. This principle operates in every area of life. The farmer who sows much seed will have a bigger harvest than the farmer who sows less seed. The investor who puts a larger sum of money in the bank will collect more dividends than the investor who puts in less money. The more we invest in the work of the Lord, the more fruit will abound to our account. The “good measure” God gives back to us is not always money or material goods, but it is always worth far more than what we gave. The mere act of giving, however, does not automatically ensure an increase just as sowing seed will not automatically ensure a harvest. A farmer who sows his seed in the wrong place cannot expect to reap a harvest. There are certain basic principles in agriculture that need to be followed if one wants to succeed. Not only does he need to choose good, suitable soil to plant in, but he also needs to properly prepare the soil and take proper care of the crop as it grows. If these conditions are not met he cannot receive the expected increase. His failure to receive an increase will not be because there is anything wrong with the laws of agriculture, but because he had failed to apply them. In the same way to succeed in the business world one needs to first seek advice from investment consultants about where to invest and how much to invest. It is very difficult to understand why we should think that investing in God’s Kingdom should be any different. Here it is even more important that we first seek God’s advice on where to invest, how to invest, when to invest and what to invest. We can only make the right investment in the Kingdom of God when the condition of our heart is right with God. God has blessed all of us with resources that we should see as seeds. These seeds are not to be hidden, foolishly eaten, or thrown away. Let us open our hearts to the Lord and ask Him to grant us His grace so that we can use His blessings in a way that pleases Him. “He is able to make all grace abound toward us that we, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”
For the Christian who understands the grace of God, giving should be a way of life. God sees our giving as proof of our love for Him, proof of our obedience to Him and proof of our trust in Him. This is because we are the ones through whom Christ reaches out in love to minister to His people. He comforts hurting people by using our arms to embrace them. He lovingly touches them with our hands and meets their needs with our gifts. Our giving glorifies God because it acknowledges that everything we have belongs to Him and is to be used to fulfil His divine purposes.
In nature exists a cycle that brings great blessings to the earth. God makes the sun shine on the oceans and the lakes. The heat causes the water to evaporate, rise up and form clouds. When the vapours cool, they form drops of water, which fall as rain and makes the land fruitful and productive. The excess rain returns to where it came from and the process begins again. This natural process illustrates a spiritual truth. God has blessed us with seedtime and harvest time. He has given us so much that this should warm our hearts toward Him. This should result in praise and thanksgiving - thanksgiving that involves the giving of our substance. As our praises and thanksgivings rise up to God they form clouds of blessing that rain down as blessings from God, giving us more to give and resulting in further praise and thanksgiving. The more we give by serving as channels of God’s blessing, the more the Lord blesses us and the more we have to give. Giving is a demonstration of our love for God and should not only happen when it suits us but whenever a need arises to glorify God. The Covenant Presbyterian Church has a need. The Church needs a new bridge. The Church needs more classrooms for the School. The Church needs a place for worship since we are worshipping at the moment in some of those classrooms. The Church needs to rehabilitate the manse to accommodate a resident minister. The Church needs these development projects to fulfil God’s divine purpose. She needs them in order to be a blessing to the community and to the nation. Let us allow the Lord to speak to us today. Let us allow Him to change the condition of our hearts so that we can give what is pleasing to Him. We are His servants, therefore let us arise and build and glorify the name of the Lord, the source of all our blessings.
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Receiving has a blessing, but giving has a greater blessing and God wants all His children to enjoy this greater blessing. God has made His abundance available to us so that we may not be limited to the blessings of receiving, but that we may also be in a position to enjoy the greater blessing of giving. This was the experience of a woman who gave an insignificant but precious gift to a poor boy. This poor boy was working to pay his way through school. One day without money and extremely hungry he decided to ask for a meal at the next house he came to. However, when a young woman opened the door he asked for a drink of water instead. The woman seeing how hungry he looked brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked how much he had to pay. “You do not have to pay me anything," she replied. “My mother taught us never to accept pay for a kindness." As Howard Kelly thanked the woman and left, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and in man was renewed. He had been ready to give up and quit school but because of what this woman did he changed his mind. Year’s later this woman became critically ill. The local Doctors could not handle her case and referred her to a clinic where a specialist named Dr. Howard Kelly was called in to take care of her. He recognized her immediately and he did his best to save her life. After a long struggle, the woman was cured. Her only problem now was the payment of the bill because she had no more money. When she received it she knew she would never be able to pay for it. As she began reading the listed items on the bill she noticed a handwritten note at the bottom with the words “paid in full with one glass of milk” Dr. Howard Kelly. Christ has paid the full price for our sin with His blood. The only way we can show our gratitude is to accept Him as our Saviour and Lord and glorify His name by giving freely and cheerfully what we have received from Him. God gave His only Son and received many sons and daughters and we are to follow His example. Let us give cheerfully to complete the building projects of the Church. Let us give so that many more people can hear God’s word and be saved. Let us give that many more children will get an education that will improve the quality of their life and that of our people and nation. Let us arise and build for God loves a cheerful giver. Amen!
