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.
Luk 6:38
When I was young I lived by knowing that if you get and continue to get then you will prosper, you will be wealthy. This brought me to the level of understanding that the wealthy, prosperous or even rich people are those who get much money. Then one day I was reading the bible and came across this word of Jesus in Luke chapter six, its thirty eighth verse, He said GIVE and the author decided to put a comma after that word “GIVE”. This started to make me think that the wealthy, prosperous or rich people are people who are getting much money as a return which Jesus said ..and it shall be given unto you; good measure pressed down, and shaken together and running over shall men give your bosom….. This taught me that wealth and riches are not in what you have given but in the collective accumulation of what men have given back to you after your giving.
When looking at what the bible is saying, I realized that it is completely opposite of what I have grown knowing, and this what Solomon fractured completely in his words in proverbs chapter eleven. He decided to coin his word in three verse which were very well articulated as below.
Those who give freely gain even more; others hold back what they owe,
becoming even poorer. A generous person will prosper, and anyone who gives water
will receive a flood in return. People will curse whoever withholds grain,
but blessing will come to whoever is selling.
Pro 11:24 International Standard Version
These words were coined very meticulously and they have gone straight against what I knew by directly injuring my belief system and fracturing my thought pattern. These three verses is talking to any giving, whether free gifts, whether generosity and trickling down to sales. The bible is saying that there is someone who is giving freely then gaining the more and this is not what I knew, because I knew that I will gain by receiving or withholding. I knew that if I don’t give you I have more than you because you don’t have and if I give it to you then you will gain and I will loose, because I don’t have it anymore and you who have it has gained.
This has come to remind me of the teaching of pastor Sam Adeyemi where he was teaching a bout a principle and he said some very powerful definitions to the word principle. He said that a principle is universal fact which will work everywhere and anywhere. A universal fact as google puts it that it is a reality has been accepted and without any doubt. But something came to my mind very quickly, did I accept this as a principle or as a universal fact? Secondly do I know this principle? After asking myself these questions and then pastor Sam continued to hit me with his points by saying that every principle has power within it, that can work against you if you go against it or the power within the principle with work in your support in order to bring towards you the benefit that it should bring. He stated that every principle has been condition spiritually to either make you or break you. I came to realize that the principle is more powerful than the law, you can break the law and go scot free but you cannot break the principle and go scot free. I realize that any principle is a combination of divinity and humanity and this makes it very powerful that I started asking myself about haw many principles that exist which I myself don’t know?
The man of God Pastor Mike Murdock was teaching about the Gospel and he said something categorically that the Gospel of Jesus has to sides which work very powerfully, that is;
- The Personality of Jesus,
- The Principle of Jesus
- The Personality of Jesus,
He said that the personality of Jesus will take us to heaven even if you going to heaven broke, hungry and poor. When someone accept Jesus as his or her personal savior then that will take the person to heaven as Jesus said in Mathew 6:33,
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you.
Jesus said directed us very well that the first thing to be sought is the Kingdom of God and then its righteousness then everything will just follow you. I was looking at this bible and recalling what pastor Sam Adeyemi said that any principle and empowered to support you or crush you. Jesus said that if you follow the Kingdom Principles, then the power within the principle will make everything follow you.
I started by first of everything looking at the process of being born again, for someone to be born again Paul stated it in the book of Romans chapter 8 and begun to explain this from verses 8;
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth,
and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:8 – 10
When we are clearly getting what Paul is telling us that there is confession and then belief and then you have become a kingdom citizen not as I we have seen being a citizen of another country done here. You follow the process and there many forms to be filled, many signatures and many document required to complete the process while to a be a kingdom citizen you just need confessing and believing. This is what I trying to tell you that when one is born again there are so many principles that we operate in and that is why Jesus said that you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. When He was talking to His disciples, He told them that when I leave, I will leave you a helper who will, TEACH YOU ALL THE TRUTH, GUIDE YOU INTO ALL THE TRUTH.
Jesus knew that anybody who is born again MUST know these principles but understanding these principles aren’t that easy so He had to give that person who understand these principles, the principle will assist us to achieve what is the result of our outcome. So the principle is that the personality of Jesus will take us directly to heaven even if we die of hunger or we die as a poor person. The personality of Jesus will make you powerful enough even if you don’t have money or don’t know how to utilize power to saw seeds that will bring back material return.
Seek you first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, the priority is the Kingdom then its righteousness then the others will follow you.
Pastor Mike Murdock said that, the person of Jesus will take you to heaven, will give you piece. That will definitely prepares you for eternity.
- The Principle of Jesus
The Principle of Jesus in the other hand will help you and prepare you for the earthly living and also aids you in prosperity. The bible said a very powerful word in Psalms 25 in verse number 14;
The bible has stated that the Lord has secrets and those who fear him He does direct them to His covenant. I once thought that why is God just directing these people to His covenant instead of releasing things to them. I came to realize that a covenant is a deal made between two people that everyone must play their parts as stipulated in the agreement. The bible is talking about a covenant, and our patriarchs, that is Noah and Abraham, brought about this issue of a covenant. When the arch of Noah settled down and then Noah decided to give a sacrifice to God and then God made some very powerful impactful and binding words to Noah.
And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast,
and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart,
I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake;
for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I
again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat,
and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Gen 8:20 – 22
God told Noah that as long as we see there is day and there is night we must know that for you to harvest you must know that there is seed time, this is a very powerful contractual statement made by God to Noah, which becomes a principle. This covenant is until there is no day or night and cannot be annulled by any new dispensation, which mean means until the heaven and the earth passed away.
The book of Hebrew has recorded this activity where God and Abraham had a covenant which also contained even swearing between God and Abraham.
For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath
for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of
promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie,
we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge
to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
Heb 6:16 -18
This is a covenant, which was between God and Abraham, and the covenant was also to include his descendants and that is why the bible says that the people who move closer to Him, He will show them His covenant. That is to tell us that also God honors any covenant He has made with anybody; as we saw that the first one He made with Noah and declared that as long as there is day and night. The covenant of sowing and harvesting stands. The one He made with Abraham was for him and his seed or generation. This reminds me about a conversation a conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees and Jesus where they were trying to tell Jesus that they doubt His relationship with Abraham. They knew the story of Jesus birth that for the fact He was not the biological son of Joseph because Joseph was leaving Mary until the angel spoke to him. So they became very sincere and told Jesus that they are the sons of Abraham, then Jesus replied them very well, DO THE WORKS OF ABRAHAM, as recorded in John 8 specifically in verses 39. This is simply meaning that you need to practice the principles that Abraham practiced in order to call yourselves children of Abraham not only by being born into Abraham’s lineage. Jesus meant that everyone are fathered by the person you are following his practices and that is why Jesus said that they are of their father the devil because whatever they do is of the devil. The key issue when we are dealing with the principle of giving is simple and mostly it can be picked from the questions, which God answered Cain when his gifts were rejected.
And the LORD said unto Cain,
Why art thou wroth? and
why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:6
I just liked the way English Standard Version has simplified the term for me, Why are you angry? And why has your face fallen?
These two questions are the foundation for the positive outcome of the principle of giving. That is why God told Moses to tell the children of Israel that before they practice the principle of giving, the giver himself MUST be give himself. Every giving begins with the giver, and this is what the bible says in the in the book of Hebrew that the word of is a discerner of the intention and the thoughts of the heart of man.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than
any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is
a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart
Heb 4:12
Before the gift is looked at, the giver is discerned and understood in terms of motives, attitudes and purpose. This reminds me when Paul was talking to the Macedonians that they abound much in apart from their giving, faith, utterance, love, knowledge and diligence when you put aside their giving.
This literally informed us that the gift is not everything but the intention and the heart is the core of every giving.
What is giving?
When it comes to the term ‘giving’ which is somehow not simple as people may look at Free transfer of a possession of (something) to (someone). It is also definitely the transfer of something without the expectation of receiving something in return. The most important prerequisite for giving is called ‘NEED’. The NEED is an essential requirement for anybody or anything.
WHAT DETERMINES GIVING TYPES
Before you give anything to anybody or anywhere it is prudent that you ask yourself these clear questions because they will help you in making an informed decision. The informed decision means, you will be purposeful in your giving because Paul said that we should not for other reasons;
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart,
not reluctantly or under compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.
2Co 9:7 ESV
Paul is saying that we should not give reluctantly, which means with a grudge or you are pushed or forced to give, that is as good as not giving. Also, he says that we should not give because we have been compelled to give some preachers are very manipulative in the sermon and they know how to frame it to remove money from your pocket.
The bible says that we should only give after making a very good and informed decision, which King James Version says we should give what we have purposed in our heart not what we have been manipulated to give. I have listed for you some questions which will guide you in purposing yourself to give.
- Who is giving (Giver)?
The giver always determines the type of giving because you must know like;
- The rich give the poor;
- The Mother gives the child;
- The child gives the parent;
- The poor give the rich;
- The church member gives to the servant of God.
When you see these circumstances you will realize that when a father gives something to his child is different from when a child gives something to his father. As also looking at when a poor man is given something by a rich man is different from a rich man is given something by a poor man. So you must identify who are you going to give, who is your recipient??.
Determine who your recipient is.
- What is given (Gift)?
Please before you give, can you have an opportunity to look at that gift in your hand or even if you can’t carry it look at it. Yes, it can be very valuable to the recipient but is it valuable to you, is it worth to you. Sometimes you can give somebody something very invaluable to them but very valuable to you. So it is you who will determine the worth or the value of the gift because you are the one releasing it. Some of us are used to taking the leftover to church as an offering because some of our churches taught us to. You need to check exactly and know what you are going to give and understand its worth to you. Some end up giving things which should be thrown into the dust bin. I met a lady who was throwing some food at the dog and I asked her why? She told me that her boss where she works always gives her expired food to take to her family while she can stay hungry for the whole day and even be given a slice of bread to eat on any day.
So check what you are giving, Paul mentioned some people from Macedonia who in their poverty gave, which simply means; you are giving your poverty to others.
Please evaluate your gift before you give it, be purposeful in your giving.
- Who is given (Recipient)?
This is also connected to the giver, who is going to present this gift to, God, your relative, child, or parent. Are you giving it to a poor person or a person in authority?
- Why are you giving (Purpose)?
The most important part of giving is WHY ARE YOU GIVING what you are giving? This is why Paul said that we should very much check our purpose for giving. The bible says;
For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:16
When you see the PURPOSE FOR GOD GIFT is because of His love for the world and that the world should not perish but have everlasting life. So should we check our motives for giving. I have seen some people buying cameras worth thousands and thousand of shilling to capture what they are giving in hundreds. Jesus in Mathew 6 said that we should not give to be seen by men but to be seen by our father who is in heaven because His rewards will open.
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them:
otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward
Mat 6:1-2
Jesus made it clear that if you give to be seen by men then after being seeing then it is all because your purpose for giving is to be seen. That is why He said that we should purposely give not to be seen, when it comes to God’s reward it will be public. There was a time I was talking to a friend of mine who works for an organization whose main purpose is compassion and she was telling me that as an organization they must keep record of everything but she doesn’t like giving thing and capturing every inch of it. I said it is an organization rather than an individual who gives bread and post it in the internet for the whole world to see.
There was also a pastor who told me that there some people who are supporting him from US and they want every program to be live and everything to be captured as an accountability. Some capture everything because they are seeking for funds from some people. This made me look at the life of Dorcas who gave to the widows but when she died, God had to resurrect her because the widows claimed her life back and that made me be sure that God sees every gift we give and His word will examine all our intentions.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful,
and sharper than any twoedged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,
and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Heb 4:12
- The Condition of the Giver (Attitude)
Paul mentioned something which is very vital before we give, that is our hearts.
And if I have prophetic powers,
and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give away all I have,
and if I deliver up my body to be burned,
but have not love, I gain nothing.
1Co 13:2 – 3
Paul just simply saying that if the foundation of your giving is not brought about by love. If your foundation for giving is not love, meaning that your purpose of giving is not founded on love then your giving questionable before God.
Let love lead your or guide your giving that is why the bible states that;
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son …….
Even God Himself gave and His purpose was founded in love. Let also be founded in the fear of God as Abraham was told that he did not withhold his son Isaac from God because of his fear for God that is in Genesis 22.
Have the your foundational purpose as the fear of God or the Love of God.
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