CHRISTIAN RESPONSIBILITIES (3)

TOPIC: CHRISTIAN RESPONSIBILITIES (3)
TEXT: 2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-15

If there is a greater responsibility a Christian has, it is to give. All things belong to God, the Creator; He has given us all that is good (Psalm 24:1, 2). He has given each person the health, intelligence, and talents that he uses to do his job. Therefore, Christian should regard his money as belonging to God and be a trustworthy steward of the possessions that have been placed in his care (1 Corinthians 4:2). God has given the Christian the right to decide how to use his material possessions (Acts 5:3, 4), but one choice He requires Christians to make is to give (1 Corinthians 16:1, 2; 2 Corinthians 8; 9). Those with money are to “do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed” (1 Timothy 6:17–19).

Each Christian must decide that for himself, giving “as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Christians are not to live for themselves; they are to live for others too. Give love to themselves as to others. Cheerfully, you must be ready to give to your church, to a good cause in your community, to the poor around you, to your immediate family, and to friends and family. Definitely, what you give will surely come back to you in good measure, press down and shaking together. If truly trust God and He is your source, you will know when and how to give, for you must plant in season if you wish to reap in harvest time.

We were in a Sunday service several years ago, and as a young man, I like to give. During his message, the man of God said, he needed 21 people that will support the work of God that is going on with one thousand naira each and they must redeem it before the end of the day. People were coming out but where I sat, I had no money with me and no hope of getting some. But my Spirit was telling me to go out and make the number because there are 20 people already and the man of God was saying there is one person that supposed to join. With faith in my heart, I joined the rest people. I did not only pay my pledge the same day, I came back home, on a Sunday, with twenty-five thousand naira which somebody sent to me from overseas through a father’s friend (then nothing like Western Union). What I am saying is, there is no excuse to give if you have a good soil to sow. If you are not giving to God, definitely you are giving to the Devil.

Word Affirmation: Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store - Deuteronomy 28:5 (Don't just say it, mean it!)

“We cannot give place to the Devil and expect God to give us our position.”

Central Truth