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"...The church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
I Timothy 3:15
Giving That Which You Don’t Have
Evangelist Don Edwards
Many people think God honors His promises along other lines but that it doesn’t pay to do right in the matter of Christian giving. Let me ask you — Do you really believe the promises of God? Are God’s promises really true? DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THE BIBLE?
I Kings 8:56 says: “Blessed be the Lord that has given rest unto His people, Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all of His GOOD PROMISES WHICH HE HAS PROMISED.”
Not one word has failed. DOES THIS MEAN THE BIBLE IS TRUE WHEN IT SAYS IN ACTS 20:35, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”?
Without a doubt all the promises are true. Yet, if I could have each of you before me in a congregation and ask you to raise your hands if you believe the promises of God most all of you would raise your hands, and then leave the auditorium the same old infidel when it comes to the promises on giving of your material means.
If the promises on giving are not true, then neither are the other promises. If the promises on giving are not true, then God CAN’T save a sinner. If the promises on giving are not true, then there is NO Heaven or Eternal Life. If the promises on giving are not true, then Jesus is NOT coming again. You see neighbor, ALL of God’s promises are true or none of them are true.
An infidel is a person who does not believe the Word of God. Therefore if you have been born again you must accept all of the word — and must accept the fact that all of God’s promises are true. Not only are all the promises true, but “There has not failed ONE WORD of all of His Good promises.” Not even one word of any promise has ever failed. The promises of God are as eternal as God Himself — thus none of them can ever fail.
Does God honor his promises when it comes to giving? I believe the Word of God will bear me out when it comes to this matter of giving — even giving that which we do not have to give.
DID JESUS TELL PETER A LIE?
In Mark chapter 10 and verses 28-30 we find those words. “Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”
Did Jesus mean what he told Peter and those other men who were standing there?
Peter had just seen the rich young ruler turn his back on the Saviour and walk away. I am sure as the Rich Young Ruler walked away from Jesus because of his love for money Peter could not help thinking of that little fishing business he had left to follow Jesus.
I am sure Peter was thinking of his wife and children back home and the warm fire and a bed to lay in at night while he thought of his wife beside him and his children close by. I am sure Peter loved his family but as the rich young ruler walked away he could not help but say to the Saviour, “Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.” So in effect Peter was saying the rich young ruler has everything and he turned you down, we left all to follow you, now, what are we going to get out of it? Jesus said I’ll see that you receive a hundred fold. Now was Jesus telling the truth?
Someone will say, “Well preacher, that means spiritual blessings.”
Isn’t it strange how those who don’t give are always talking about the spiritual blessings? Neighbour, if you don’t know how to give you wouldn’t know a spiritual blessing if it knocked you down on the way by. Jesus said he would receive “An hundred fold NOW in this time.” A hundred fold.
If it doesn’t pay both spiritually and materially, then Jesus told Peter and those other disciples a lie. God’s integrity is at stake. He said a hundred fold NOW in this time and I believe just that. If space would permit I could go on and on concerning this hundred fold blessing.
Since Mary and I have been traveling these past years we now have hundreds of homes where we can stay — hundreds of fathers and mothers — hundreds of brothers and sisters — and hundreds of sons and daughters. What we gave up to serve the Lord is nothing but junk compared to what He has given us in every area of our life.
GOD’S INTEGRITY IS AT STAKE. It pays materially to do right in the matter of giving because Jesus said it does.
WHAT MEASURE DO YOU USE?
In Luke Chapter 6 verses 36-38 we find these words. “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” And everybody says Amen! “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged.”
And everybody says Amen! “Condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned.” And everybody says Amen!
“Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.” And everybody says Amen!
“Give, and it shall be given unto you.” And everybody says OH ME! All the preacher ever talks about is money.
There are a lot of people who run from church to church trying to find some place where the preacher never says anything about money. There are two ways that a preacher can get in trouble in a hurry. One is to preach on money and the other is to preach against tobacco. The reason is because most men sit on their pocketbooks and carry their cigarettes over their heart.
Jesus said, “Give, and it shall be given unto you.” — all the amens stop — people say keep your hands off my pocket book.
But wait a minute — you quit the Lord too soon. Let’s see what He said in the rest of the passage.
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
What’s that again? Why, that sounds like material blessings. Jesus says it pays materially for you to give to Him. Someone says I don’t believe that! Then maybe that’s the reason you are so poor!
I lived in Oklahoma City for the first 27 years of my life. Oklahoma City is just on the edge of the wheat fields. You can take a bushel basket and fill it with wheat. Then you can shake it a little and the wheat will settle into the bottom of the basket. You can then pour in more wheat and press it down with your hands a little. This will make more room in the basket for more wheat so you pour in more and then, you can get up into that basket and walk around and jump on it a little and you will have room for more wheat. This is what the Lord is talking about here in the 28th verse of Luke 6. Read the verse again very carefully.
Now when a Christian gets into financial trouble — or needs a financial blessing — what is the first thing he does? Well, he should pray. So a Christian needs a financial blessing and prays.
“Lord I need a material blessing. Lord I need some money. Things have been hard. I didn’t get that raise like I thought I would and the rent is due, the car payment is due and the kids need their teeth fixed and Lord, I sure do need a material blessing. Lord, I need some money.”
The Lord says, “Well, I promised to bless you and I will, so here it is.”
The Christian looks, and says, “No Lord, I need a barrel full, not a thimble full.”
The Lord says, “Remember I promised to use the same measure on you that you used on me; so here is the thimble full.”
“For with the same measure that ye mete it shall be measured to you again.”
That is why some of you are so poor - you don’t use the right measure on the Lord. Listen, I believe it is possible for a man who is living for God to give his way to prosperity. I believe many of you reading this message can make your salary for next year if you will do right in this matter of giving.
Someone says, “Well, I know brother so-and-so and the Lord hasn’t blessed him in a material way.”
Hey, Mr. Treasurer bring me the record. Let’s see how much Brother so-and-so gives in proportion to what he makes. All of God’s promises are true —not one WORD has failed. If brother so-and-so hasn’t been blessed, then that means Brother so-and-so hasn’t done right. All of God’s promises are true!
YOU GET - BY GIVING
In Proverbs 11:24-25 we find these words:
“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”
Now, if that doesn’t make a believer out of you in this matter of giving I don’t believe anything would move you. That scripture sure doesn’t need any explanation if you have been saved.
BELOVED, IT PAYS MATERIALLY TO DO RIGHT IN
THE MATTER OF GIVING. THE FAITH PROMISE PLAN
First of all let’s look at what the Faith Promise Plan is not:
(1) It is not a pledge.
(2) It is not something that someone will come to you to collect.
(3) It is not something you sit down and figure out how much you can give.
(4) It is not taking away from what you are already giving to the church — (tithes and offerings).
Second we look at what the Faith Promise Plan is:
(1) It is between God and you.
(2) It is waiting upon God to tell you how much He wants you to give for reaching the world for Christ.
(3) You must trust Him to supply it.
(4) You and the missionary become partners in Faith. You trust the Lord by faith to meet the promise for the missionary endeavor.
The FAITH PROMISE plan is a Bible plan. It is one of the Lord’s ways of increasing our faith in Him. It is the best way to send missionaries. It is the best way to teach God’s people to trust Him for all their needs. It is a plan that God has honored in hundreds of churches across America.
A STORY OF FAITH GIVING IN THE BIBLE
In I Kings, chapter 17, verses 8-16 we find a most unusual story. The Word of the Lord came to Elijah and told him to get up and go to Zarephath because the Lord had commanded a widow there to feed and take care of him. The Lord had just been feeding Elijah at the brook Cherith by sending ravens with food. When the Lord spoke to him he didn’t have any better sense than to do what the Lord commanded him to do. When Elijah came to the gate of the city the widow woman was gathering sticks for a fire. Elijah asked her to get him a drink of water. As she started to get him the water, Elijah said, how about bringing me something to eat?
This is what she said: “And she said, As the Lord thy God, liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
What do you think Elijah says? He said you make me a little cake first. Now doesn’t that sound just like a Baptist Preacher?
My, she wasn’t like most Baptists today. Most Baptists today refuse to do what the preacher tells them to do (Hebrews 13:17).
They think they are smarter than God’s man. Can you imagine that old preacher telling that poor little woman such a thing?
Why, he was saying, you take the food out of your child’s mouth and your own mouth, and give it to me to eat.
Well, I tell you, that little old widow woman did just exactly what the man of God told her to do. Some of you wouldn’t have such a hard time if you would do the same thing. Churches would be better off if they would take their hands off God’s man and follow his leadership. God’s man, in God’s place, at God’s appointed time, gets the job done.
This little old widow woman went into the house and made the cake and brought it to that man of God. Afterwards she went back to that meal barrel and oil cruse - the meal barrel and oil cruse that were supposed to be empty. Did she die? What did she find? Notice in verses 14 through 16:
“For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and she, and he, and her house, did eat for many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.”
Now, tell me it doesn’t pay materially to do right in this matter of giving! We need to put God first in this matter of giving if it takes the food out of our children’s mouth; if it takes the clothes off our back; if it takes the roof off of our heads; put God first and it will pay in Dollars and Cents — and all of your needs will be met — as well as spiritual blessings.
If any church does right in the matter of giving, the Lord may pour out millions of dollars through that congregation. Notice in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7:
"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
Do you believe “It is more blessed to give than to receive”?
I BELIEVE THE WORD SO STRONG THAT MANY TIMES I HAVE BEEN WILLING TO GIVE THAT WHICH I DID NOT HAVE TO GIVE.
How much can you trust God for this year?
I mean how much is the Lord able to give you over your regular tithes and offerings to be used in His work? How big is your faith? HOW BIG IS YOUR GOD? IT PAYS TO SERVE JESUS!