Our teacher Pastor Landis Fisher says that everyone should rethink how they determine what they believe about the sometimes difficult subject of giving, based entirely on what the Bible teaches; rather than on tradition, which is mostly exaggerated, or even legalistic, rather than from the myriad of teachings in the Holy Scriptures which God has posted; not on FACEBOOK; but rather in His GRACEBOOK! Listen today as we begin this new brief journey into this thought provoking topic with an introductory lesson which he has titled: “Biblical Wisdom of Giving by Faith”
Old Testament Scripture Reading: Genesis 4:1 – 12 (KJV)
Gen 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
Gen 4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Gen 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Gen 4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Gen 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
Gen 4:9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
Gen 4:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
Gen 4:11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;
Gen 4:12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
New Testament Scripture Reading: Matthew 16:20 – 26 (KJV)
Mat 16:20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
Mat 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Mat 16:22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
Mat 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mat 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Mat 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Transforming Power Statements:
1) The most compelling fact about learning the wisdom of the Bible on how we should be thinking about how we give is that every one of us has an outstanding debt to God because of our sinfulness that we could never afford to pay, even if we owned everything ever made; yet God has paid what we all owe in the giving of His Son Jesus the Christ, to settle this inestimable debt for all who believe in Christ for their eternal salvation.
2) According to Biblical wisdom, we must learn to acknowledge that everything belongs to God, and that He has given us everything we possess as a stewardship to utilize while we are in this life, and that how we utilize the “things we possess” determines not only the quality our way of thinking in this life, but even more, the reward that we will receive in the life to come.
3) During this study we are going to put our minds in neutral and allow the Scriptures to show us what I like to call “Biblical wisdom of giving by faith”; which we shall learn from the Holy Bible what God teaches about this most vital topic which includes required giving and tithes and freewill offerings as taught to Israel and the Church.
