Hey Y’all,
Bet you thought I forgot to close the series… but I didn’t! Here’s to the third and final part of the benefits of givers.
When I originally preached this message I had it worded as they delight in the Lord but truly the point is that their desires, their needs are met in the Lord. The only way to the desires of your heart being though is by delighting in the Lord. Though the world may have different ways and schemes for the godly there is a better way.
Go After the Lord
Matthew 6:33 clearly states in the NLT, “Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” This means the generous person is grounded in the Word of God. They have a relationship with Him. The godly know what they are entitled to in the Word. I, myself, know that the Word says that I’m blessed, that if the Lord dresses the lilies how much more will He take care of me, and so much more.
When you pursue the Lord and draw near to Him He draws near to you. Any and every good relationship is founded on communication. Your communication with God is prioritizing His presence. That means getting in the Word, praying, and worshiping Him. When you do these things and find enjoyment in serving Him that means you are delighting in Him. As you begin to do that He starts to align your desires with His. You start to want what the Word says you ought to be living in and walking in.
What’s Your Standard?
Proverbs 13:22 “Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren, but the sinner’s wealth passes to the godly.”
Psalms 37:29 “The godly will possess the land and will live there forever.”
Those verses should be the bare minimum standard in your life. The Word should be where you base any life standards but especially here. The world gets to live and have all these things but the Word says the wealth of the wicked is laid up for the just. It’s time to be the standard for the world instead of the world being what we are all striving to physically have.
We can’t build the kingdom on earth without finances and we certainly can’t set the standard without believing the Word and walking what it says we can supernaturally live in. We have to work the Word. When we sow we reap and that’s a basic principle. The first step to that is tithing. You’ve gotta give to God what He rightfully deserves and that’s just the minimum. Tithe means a tenth. You give a tenth of your entire income and then the rest gets taken care of. Then after that we give an offering and that’s when we go above what our tithe is in our giving. Malachi 3 talks about robbing God in tithes AND offerings so let’s not do that…
When we are established givers in the basics of things the Lord will begin to increase and if you disagree with that I challenge you to read the Bible cover to cover because it is filled with parables and instructions on what to do with your finances and keys to living a blessed life. Christ was poor so that we could be rich. So the people who should be lending, funding, blessing, should be us at the end of it all. We already know the reward is that it will come back to us even greater than what we gave the last time. The Word also says it’s better to give than to receive! The lives we live should be so tapped into the Word and supernatural that people look at us and wonder what on earth we do to have what we have and our answer should instantly turn them to the Lord.
Be A Giver + Reap The Benefits!
I’m a giver and one of my favorite testimonies to share is one about traveling. One summer I had come upon an interesting season of life and my response to the Lord was “I would love to travel a lot for the rest of the year”. I’ve sown into trips, I’ve sown in the offerings, I love to give to people, I tithe. That month started an ongoing list of places I’ve wanted to get away to and just see for myself. One of them being Colorado. I always dreamed of going when I was a kid. My desire was met and fulfilled. It was actually better than I could’ve dreamt it up to be! Every trip I went on that back half of the year was paid in full. I didn’t drop a penny and I actually wrapped up new years that year by going out of town.
There is one area the Word says we can test God and it’s with our finances. Today I challenge you to put your money where your mouth is and tap into the grace to give. Watch how the Lord continues to increase as you honor Him that way! I anticipate your testimonies!
Till next time,
Keziah-Grace Lopes
