Speaker: Ps. Christopher Chan
Date: February 7 2010

Why Give?

The “stick” approach.

• People give because of the threat of punishment for non compliance under the Law.
• “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?‘ “In tithes and offerings.” Mal 3:8
• You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Mal 3:9

The “CARROT” approach

• People give because of the lure of getting rich through giving.
• Gen 26:12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
• Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

The “Bible’ approach

• Act 20:35 … remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
• Generosity is the key to a Blessed Life!
• Pro 11:24 Ada yang menyebar harta, tetapi bertambah kaya, ada yang menghemat secara luar biasa, namun selalu berkekurangan.
• One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

The water cycle illustrates the circle of life and blessing from our Heavenly Father.

• John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.“
• John 4:14 But whoever takes the water I give him will never be in need of drink again; for the water I give him will become in him a fountain of eternal life.
• So when we give, we are “plugged” into the cycle of life and blessing.
• 2Co 9:6 Remember this saying, “A few seeds make a small harvest, but a lot of seeds make a big harvest.” Orang yang menabur sedikit, akan menuai sedikit juga, dan orang yang menabur banyak, akan menuai banyak juga.
• 2Co 9:7 Each of you must make up your own mind about how much to give. But don’t feel sorry that you must give and don’t feel that you are forced to give. God loves people who love to give. (or God loves a cheerful (hilarious) giver.
• 2Co 9:8 God can bless you with everything you need, and you will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others.
• 2Co 9:10 God gives seed to farmers and provides everyone with food. He will increase what you have, so that you can give even more to those in need.
• 2Co 9:11 You will be blessed in every way, and you will be able to keep on being generous.

Why Give?

1. We trust that God will provide for all our needs.
   • Php 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
   • Allahku akan memenuhi segala keperluanmu menurut kekayaan dan kemuliaan-Nya dalam Kristus Yesus.
2. God is the ultimately giver that cannot be superseded.
   • 2Co 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
   • Karena kamu telah mengenal kasih karunia Tuhan kita Yesus Kristus, bahwa Ia, yang oleh karena kamu menjadi miskin, sekalipun Ia kaya, supaya kamu menjadi kaya oleh karena kemiskinan-Nya.
3. God is the ultimately giver….
   • John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
   • v17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
   • Rom 5:7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
   • v8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

3 Mindsets toward GIVING

1. BAG mindset

   Scarcity mindset – we don’t have enough to give. Living within the limits of circumstances.

   • Hag 1:6 You harvest less than you plant, you never have enough to eat or drink, your clothes don’t keep you warm, and your wages are stored in bags full of holes.
     
   • 1Ki 17:12 She (the widow of Zarephath) replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me.

2. Basket mindset

   • More than enough mindset. Believes in a generous God.
   • Deut 28:4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
   • Deut 28:5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
   • John 6: 5-13 (Feeding of the 5000)
   • John 6:9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
   • John 6:12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”
   • John 6:13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

3. Barn Mindset

   • Believes that God is the infinite source of supply.
   • Deut 28:8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to.Pro 3:9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops;
   • Pro 3:10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
   • Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
   • v16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.
   • v17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.‘
   • v18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
   • Luke 12:19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”‘
   • v20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
   • v21 “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.“
   • The “Barns of blessings” are not for our sole consumption but rather for others.