In this final blog post of 2020, I want to share with you an older teaching of mine on giving. As we begin the new year of 2021, I am planning on continuing with this giving theme for several more blogs. The revelation I’ve received on the topic of giving has revolutionized my life, and I’ve heard from many others that their lives have been changed too. In fact, I would say my teaching on giving is one of my most popular teachings. May it bless you and help you align your life with our generous, loving Father as we begin the new year.
Transference: the action of transferring something or the process of being transferred.
Value: the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, the worth, or the usefulness of something.
Giving: the conscious and deliberate action of transferring something that you have to someone else. Something that is considered to be important to; to have worth to the recipient and/or something that is considered to be useful by the one who is receiving the transfer.
A Short list of things that we can give:
Love, respect, honor, knowledge, wisdom, understanding, friendship, relationship, power, authority, dominion, money, food, water, clothing, safety (a safe place), acceptance, approval, time, appropriate touch/a hug, kind words.
What would you add to this list?
It is common to think of money as the only — or at least the primary — commodity that we have available to give. In reality, the list is unending. The list we have included here is not exhaustive. What in your life have you had need of that someone else could be used by the Holy Spirit God to supply that need for you?
To give can be defined as to:
- Freely transfer the possession of something to someone; hand over to.
- Cause or allow someone or something to have something, especially something abstract; provide or supply with.
To fully understand and to fully comprehend humanity’s charge by our Creator to give, we must first recognize that giving is not a religious mandate of regulation and compliance. Giving is a Dynamic and Dynamics are always relational. Too often in religious and faith teaching, giving is presented as a mandate only involving money in order to provide funding for the operations of the ministry. Rarely, if ever, are the broad spectrums of opportunities that are available for giving to humanity for their well-being and for their blessings ever presented. Many of these opportunities do not cost money, but rather require our time, our fellowship and our relationship.
How often have you seen anyone say, “I want you to sow a seed of kindness, a seed of forgiveness, a seed of love, joy, peace, or a seed of any of the other things we have listed and the many more available for you to be used by the Holy Spirit God to bless humanity and to declare the goodness of our God.” There are often promises of great returns on your giving multiplied exponentially back to you, almost always involving your giving money to a particular ministry first. I am very uncomfortable with these methods for several personal reasons.
- Giving is never to be primarily about someone personally receiving because of their gift. Kingdom giving is always motivated by a relationship with our King Jesus. Our giving is always prompted by the Holy Spirit God in order to bless and to honor our God. This giving will always expand the Kingdom and bless humanity.
- Money is not the all-in-all in giving. The Great Book of Learning is clear. Seed time and harvest and seed bearing seed after its own kind are Dynamics that work on planet Earth today and will continue to work as long as time remains. The unction of the Holy Spirit God can be for the giving of many things other than money. (Time, love, acceptance, respect, honor and all of the included list and more). Teaching about giving is not to be used for manipulation and for the extraction of funds under any circumstances.
- Seed Faith is the teaching that you plant a seed in order to receive a harvest. While seed faith is a real dynamic of scripture, it must be practiced to honor and to glorify our God as our complete source and complete supply.
The request for our seed must produce results that glorify our God, expand the Kingdom, bless humanity and bless our Family. Giving by the direction of the Holy Spirit God will always involve our spirit — the eternal, forever us. Our giving motivation must not come from our mind, our emotions, our feelings and the temporary things that we “see” in time.
Scripture is clear. Giving precedes receiving. Also, it is pointed out that the manner and the attitude of the giver are very important. God loves a generous, extravagant, happy giver who gives because he loves to give for the pleasure and for the enjoyment of giving, especially to honor our God. The giver who is in a love relationship with our Creator God will understand the blessings from giving, and that the greater blessing is from giving, not from receiving.
In the Kingdom System as a pattern for guaranteed success, we understand that giving is an important part of our success in all of the areas of our life experiences. We cannot out give our God.
It has been said that tithing is returning to our God what is His, and that giving is honoring Him with our increase. Both are Dynamics of an interactive system of conflicting and competing forces. If we understood the “if and then” DYNAMIC of tithing, we would aggressively commit to tithing. When we make the correct choice we are guaranteed positive results. The results may not come in the manner and in the method we expect. But we are assured and we confidently know that our God through humanity will give into our possession overflowing (pressed down and shaken together) blessings we will not have room to keep just for ourselves. It is never just about us. It is always about humanity and the love and passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Host blessing His creation.
As we consider this teaching, I am asking you to write on paper three people you have encountered today who the Holy Spirit God quickened to you spirit their present need. Record their names and their revealed need. Then, commit to obey the Holy Spirit God and to minister to their need.
How many were not money?
As a part of your regular fellowship with our Creator God, I am asking you to include such a list and a subsequent reaction from the unction of the Holy Spirit God for five (5) people each week. Record them and the results. At the end of each month review the results and you will recognize the blessings that you have received from our God. You will know for certain and you will declare out loud that “it truly is more blessed to give than to receive.” And, your capacity to give will increase proportionally.
PRAISE be to HIS NAME!
Leave a Reply