Evangelist Carolyn Malaika Foster-Brooks
THE MINISTRY OF S.A.R.A.H.
(serenity*atonement*restoration & healing)
Lyons, Georgia
May 2003
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father,
My God above, thank You once again for a day in Your kingdom and the memories of days gone by . Lord I know my life is in Your hands and that only You have the Master Plan for my eternity.
Forgive me God for not always doing my best and having shortcomings-thank You for Your grace, Your mercy and my opportunity to repent. Father, thank You for using me AND for giving me a willing heart to share the Gospel of the Good News.
Anoint me Lord, with a fresh spirit and allow Your people to look beyond me and see You who dwell inside of me.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight,although this message will prick the hearts of many, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. In the name of Jesus, I humbly pray.
Amen! And so it is!
SCRIPTURES:
kjv 2 Corinthians 8:15...AS IT IS WRITTEN, HE THAT HAD GATHERED MUCH HAD NOTING OVER; AND HE THAT HAD GATHERED LITTLE HAD NO LACK.
nlt...DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT THE SCRIPTURES SAY ABOUT THIS? THOSE WHO GATHERED A LOT HAD NOTHING LEFT OVER, AND THOSE WHO GATHERED ONLY A LITTLE HAD ENOUGH.
nlt 2 Corinthians 9:7...EACH MAN SHOULD GIVE WHAT HE HAS DECIDED IN HIS HEART TO GIVE, NOT RELUCTANTLY OR UNDER COMPULSION, FOR GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER.
THOUGHT TO REMEMBER:
Acts 20:35...IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE.
TEXT:
My brothers and sisters, God has a message for you today and I am being used by Him to deliver what thus saith the Lord, in spirit and in gospel truth and without an apology!
I will speak about perhaps one of the most controversial subjects in all the bible, which is "giving".
Many of our churches are in crisis because giving is a deep rooted problem, but, if we believe 2 Timothy 3:16, that ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD, AND THAT IT IS ALL USEFUL FOR TEACHING, REBUKING, CORRECTING AND TRAINING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, then giving is a subject we simply cannot avoid.
And I already know that satan is going to attempt to corrupt someone’s mind and quench their spirit in anger- but I want you to know that I have on the full armor of God as this message is delivered to you. I am armed and dangerous, so get back satan! Satan is about to be whipped with the scriptures of the Holy Bible and satan will not and cannot succeed against God’s Word!!
Matthew 5:21-22 nlt says, YE HAVE HEARD THAT IT WAS SAID OF THEM OF OLD TIMES, THOU SHALT NOT KILL, AND WHOSOEVER SHALL KILL SHALL BE IN DANGER OF THE JUDGEMENT: BUT I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT WHOSOEVER IS ANGRY WITH HIS BROTHER WITHOUT A CAUSE SHALL BE IN DANGER OF THE JUDGEMENT.
Proverbs 29:11 nlt...A FOOL GIVES FULL VENT TO HIS ANGER, BUT A WISE MAN KEEPS HIMSELF UNDER CONTROL.
So saints, take in the Word with an open heart and you will be blessed if you do....
In the first century of Jerusalem, being a follower of Jesus Christ was not always easy. Poverty and sickness was a problem for some people right from the beginning, but it seems that other believers had the resources to deal with the situation. (Acts 4:32-37:6:1) Intimidation and persecution were growing problems (Acts 4:1-18; 5:17, 18, 26-40; 6:9-12) increasing after the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:54-60) to the point that most of the Christians fled! On that day, says Acts 8:1, A GREAT PERSECUTION BROKE OUT AGAINST THE CHURCH AT JERUSALEM. Persecution and poverty continued. But later at the Jerusalem Conference, the apostles and elders encouraged Paul to "REMEMBER THE POOR", which he was eager to do.
Sometimes later after that conference, Paul began his second missionary journey. Paul encouraged the Galatian and Corinthian churches and the Macedonian churches to "remember the poor" and to send their contributions to the church at Jerusalem.
Brothers and sisters, the bible clearly tells us that there is nothing new under the sun and 21 centuries later we can look upon 2 Corinthians, the entire 9th chapter and identify Paul as a noble example for us today! Paul encouraged the Corinthians to give, not for his own profit, but for the benefit of impoverished Christians in the Jerusalem church!!
In this 21st century, most of us don’t need any encouragement to be selfish!!! We need encouragement to give willingly and sacrificially for the good of others as Jesus did.
Church, I’m still talking about A Call To Generous Giving, amen? But somewhere along the way, we have fallen short of our Christian responsibilities and this is why, especially in our local churches, we cannot come to the church when we are in need and get a quarter for a phone call without controversy!!!
It is sad that we cannot depend on each other like we used to and that times of trials and tribulation have become even harder for our brethern to depend on banks, finance companies, concerted services, the welfare office and even the pawn shops anymore!! So the question becomes one of desperation for a lot of people...WHERE DO I GO? AND WHO CAN I TURN TO???
The answer for the church is the same as it was in Jerusalem, it is in the church of today!
Thank God that one by one, we the church, can start today by giving back what does not belong to us anyway! Our tithes and our offerings!
GOD PROVIDES ALL THINGS AT ALL TIMES IN ORDER THAT WE MAY ABOUND IN EVERY GOOD WORK. 2 Corinthians 9:8 nlt. In other words, He blesses us that we may use those blessings to help others, not to better ourselves!
More important than the amount you give
( although 10% is required)is your motive for giving. Remember how Jesus commended the poor widow who gave only two small coins ("all she had to live on") rather than the rich, who "gave their gifts out of their wealth"? Luke 21:1-4
That is why we are reminded of 2 Corinthins 9:7 nlt- YOU MUST EACH MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND AS TO HOW MUCH YOU SHOULD GIVE. DON’T GIVE RELUCTLANTLY OR IN RESPONSE TO PRESSURE. FOR GOD LOVES THE PERSON WHO GIVES CHEERFULLY.
As little or as much as some of us might have, when we learn to stop squeezing our pennies and dollars in our fists and open up to giving with gladness in our hearts, God is going to bless us in a miraculous way in which we cannot imagine!
No doubt, just as many of us are praying to God for help in our time of need, somebody else is praying too! So, if we all get on one accord, when praises go up....blesses will come down!
There was no welfare or other government relief in the first century. All the churches had were each other to rely on and that is all we have today...each other!
God gave us the best of what He had and that was His Son Jesus Christ who left His heavenly home, humbled himself by taking on the form of a human being, and died on the cross for our sins!
Our Lord’s ultimate sacrifice was a demonstration of His love, His obedience and His faith. Our faith can be measured by how well our life measures up to the standards set by Jesus.
Our motive and our purpose in giving to the church should be a demonstration of our love, our obedience and our faith in God’s promises to us!
CLOSING:
As I close, let’s go back to 2 Corinthians 9:8-15 and look at how we will be blessed for being cheerful givers:
(8)AND GOD WILL GENEROUSLY PROVIDE ALL YOU NEED. THEN YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED AND PLENTY LEFT OVER TO SHARE WITH OTHERS.
(9) AS THE SCRIPTURES SAY, "GODLY PEOPLE GIVE GENEROUSLY TO THE POOR. THEIR GOOD DEEDS WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN."
(10) FOR GOD IS THE ONE WHO GIVES SEED TO THE FARMER AND THEN BREAD TO EAT. IN THE SAME WAY, HE WILL GIVE YOU MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO DO GOOD, AND HE WILL PRODUCE A GREAT HARVEST OF GENEROSITY TO YOU.
(11) YES, YOU WILL BE ENRICHED SO THAT YOU CAN GIVE EVEN MORE GENEROUSLY. AND WHEN WE TAKE YOUR GIFTS TO THOSE WHO NEED THEM, THEY WILL BREAK OUT IN THANKSGIVING TO GOD.
(13) YOU WILL BE GLORIFYING GOD THROUGH YOUR GENEROUS GIFTS. FOR YOUR GENEROSITY TO THEM WILL PROVE THAT YOU ARE OBEDIENT TO THE GOOD NEWS OF CHRIST!
(14) AND THEY WILL PRAY FOR YOU WITH DEEP AFFECTION BECAUSE OF THE WONDERFUL GRACE OF GOD SHOWN THROUGH YOU.
(15) THANK GOD FOR HIS SON- A GIFT TOO WONDERFUL FOR WORDS!
Amen.
INVITATION:
There is someone who realizes that tomorrow is not promised to them and that they want a better life.
You know that you are a good person in your heart, you know God has protected you all of your life and now you want to serve Him and the church of your choice by rededicating your life to God!
You know better and you want to do better. NOW IS YOUR TIME! God is ready for you to be bold and step out on faith and come right now, just as you are.....
God has a Plan of Salvation:
(1) All have sinned. Romans 3:23
(2) There is a penalty for sin.John 3:18
(3) You cannot save yourself. Titus 3:5
(4) Salvation has been provided. Ephesians 2:8-9
(5)The conditions are simple:
A-Repent! Luke 13:3
B-Confess ! 1 John 1:9
C-Believe ! Acts 16:31
(6) Now is the time for decision. 2 Corinthians 6:2
(7) Share your new faith and confess Christ before men. Acts 2:47
(8) Join a church that follows the New Testament. Matthew 28:19-20
BENEDICTION:
THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THE LOVE OF GOD AND THE COMMUNION OF THE HOLY GHOST, BE WITH YOU ALL!
