Why Christ Commands Us To Give (part 3)

Luke, the physician, and a close companion of the apostle Paul, wrote these precious words of our Lord Jesus, "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." (Luke 6.38).

THIS IS NOT OPTIONAL; THIS IS A COMMAND. Christ is not just asking us to give money. He is asking us to give of our life, of our time, of our talents and skills, and of our treasures.

Gleaning from Luke chapter 6, here are several reasons WHY WE GIVE:

1. WE GIVE BECAUSE WE ARE RECIPIENTS OF HIS MERCY. (click here to read this)
2. WE GIVE SO THAT WE CAN EXPERIENCE HOW GOD GIVES. (click here to read this)

3. WE GIVE BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST, WHO IS THE LIGHT, "HAS CALLED US OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELLOUS LIGHT" AND WE WANT TO LEAD OTHERS TO HIM WHO CAN DELIVER THEM FROM THE POWER OF DARKNESS.
(I Peter 2.9)

Right after the Lord gave the command for us to give, He asked a probing question in the form of a parable: "Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?" (Luke 6.39). NO! Only people who have experienced the liberating power of God's Light can lead the spiritually blind. The saved can lead the unsaved to The Light. The enlightened ones can illumine the minds of the darkened ones. That's why we give to support the work of missionaries, ministers, preachers, pastors, evangelists, teachers as they proclaim the light of the blessed Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We give because we want others to see The Light.

Why Christ Commands Us To Give (part 2)

Luke, the physician, and a close companion of the apostle Paul, wrote these precious words of our Lord Jesus, "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." (Luke 6.38).

THIS IS NOT OPTIONAL; THIS IS A COMMAND. Christ is not just asking us to give money. He is asking us to give of our life, of our time, of our talents and skills, and of our treasures.

Gleaning from Luke chapter 6, here are several reasons WHY WE GIVE:

1. WE GIVE BECAUSE WE ARE RECIPIENTS OF HIS MERCY. (click here to read this)

2. WE GIVE SO THAT WE CAN EXPERIENCE HOW GOD GIVES.

How does God give? He gives in good measure. He is NOT a cheater. He will press more blessings upon you. He will shake it together so that more will come, and He keeps pouring until your cup runs over.

Usually, He uses people to bless you...people who are good, medium good, and extra good. He may even use the not so good people...even people whom you have not personally met. Here is more...HE GIVES AGAIN...AND AGAIN...AND AGAIN...That's our God. Blessing you is never a problem to Him. He never runs out of blessings. He is the source of all blessings. That's the reason why He commands us, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over shall men into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal, it shall be measured to you again." (Luke 6.38).

Do you want to experience the way God gives? GIVE, AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN UNTO YOU.

Why Christ Commands Us To Give (part 1)

Luke, the physician, and a close companion of the apostle Paul, wrote these precious words of our Lord Jesus, "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." (Luke 6.38).

THIS IS NOT OPTIONAL; THIS IS A COMMAND. Christ is not just asking us to give money. He is asking us to give of our life, of our time, of our talents and skills, and of our treasures.

Gleaning from Luke chapter 6, here are several reasons WHY WE GIVE:

WE GIVE BECAUSE WE ARE RECIPIENTS OF HIS MERCY.

"Be ye therefore merciful, as Your Father is merciful." (Luke 6.36).

Jeremiah, the prophet, wept and proclaimed, "It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness." (Lamentations 3.22, 23).

When we received Jesus as Lord and Savior, "according to His mercy He saved us." (Titus 3.5). NOT BY WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH WE HAVE DONE, BUT ACCORDING TO HIS MERCY. WOW! THAT IS GOD'S GRACE IN ACTION. Now that we are saved, we can now "present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service." (Romans 12.1).

WHY GIVE? We give because we have received God's mercy.

The Rich In God (part 10)

THE RICH IN GOD IS A FAITHFUL STEWARD

"And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom His Lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?" (Luke 12.42).

A steward is a caretaker of his boss' property; a manager of his boss' business; an administrator of his boss' resources.

According to our Lord, a steward must be FAITHFUL, meaning he must be FULL OF TRUST in the person, ability, and capacity of his boss.

• A steward must be RESPONSIBLE in maintaining, enhancing, and enlarging his boss' resources. 
• He must be ACCOUNTABLE, meaning he will report to his boss what he is doing with his boss' business. 
• He must be WISE, full of wisdom, willing to learn, willing to be like his boss. 
• Last, but not the least, a steward must be CONSISTENT in being faithful, and in doing so, he gets the approval of his Boss, saying, You are worthy of my trust." TRUSTWORTHY. 

The faithful steward will be REWARDED: "His Lord will make him ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season."

"...You have been faithful over a few things, I WILL MAKE YOU RULER OVER MANY THINGS." (Matthew 25.23)

The Rich In God (part 9)

THE RICH IN GOD IS A BLESSED SERVANT.

This person keeps on serving the God Who gave him the GREATEST BLESSINGS OF ALL: The Gift of Life, physical and spiritual. Three times in the Book of Luke, chapter 12, our Lord Jesus would use the phrase, "Blessed is/are the servants..." (Luke 12 37, 38, and 43). Notice the Blessed Man's work ethic. He is ready at all times to serve His Lord. He is a responsible servant. He loves to serve even when his Lord is away. He is not a menpleaser. He does his work heartily. "Blessed is that servant whom the Lord, when He comes shall find so doing."

The Apostle Paul, who often spoke of himself as a servant/slave of Jesus, admonishes us to "...Obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God: and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:22-24.

The Rich In God (part 8)

THE RICH IN GOD BELIEVES AND ANTICIPATES THE SECOND COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

"Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when He comes shall find watching...if He comes in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants...be therefore ready also: for the Son of Man comes at an hour when you think not." (Luke 12.37, 38, 40).

The Rich in God is a "double A," no, not a double agent, but a firm believer of the soon return of his Savior. He is ALERT, alertly watching for the next BIG EVENT IN HISTORY. He reads and listens to prophecies of Holy Scriptures. He knows the signs of the times, and he is anticipating the trumpet sound that will signal the RAPTURE, "the blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." (Titus 2.13).

While waiting for the RAPTURE to come, The Rich in God is ACTIVE, actively DOING his Lord's Will, enriching himself with his Lord's Words, and enjoying his Lord's Work/Ministry. "Blessed is that servant, whom the Lord when He comes shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that He will make him ruler over all that He has." Luke 12.43, 44

The Rich In God (part 7)

The RICH IN GOD IS READY TO SHINE FOR HIS SAVIOR.

He obeys Christ"s command to "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning." (Luke 12.35). He makes all the preparations needed in order to become an effective servant of the Savior...physically, mentally, financially, emotionally, and spiritually.He will see to it that he is always ready to "let his light shine that they may see his good works, and they will glorify the Father, Who is in Heaven." (Matthew 5.16).

To shine for Jesus means to display the good works wrought by the Savior in your life so that other people may see JESUS, THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD (John 9.5)...so that other people may listen to the WORD OF GOD, because "The entrance of Thy Words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple." (Psalm 119.130).

My brother, my sister..."Ye are the light of the world." Matthew 5.14.  You are the light that dispels darkness in your home, school, office, and community. THE RICH IN GOD SHINES FOR HIS SAVIOR.