In this familiar passage, the Lord has revealed to us seven results of godly giving. Let's look at them one at time:
1. Giving releases our faith in the faithfulness of God
Did you know that giving is an act of faith? When we give of our material means, especially what we need to live on, it releases our faith in God and in His absolute faithfulness. If we didn't believe that God is faithful to His Word, which promises to reward us richly for our giving, then we would be tempted to withhold our gifts for our own use.
Perhaps that's why so many Christians hold back from giving freely: they are afraid of losing what they give away, what they need so desperately. They have no real faith that God will keep His Word and meet their every need, in accordance with His riches in glory, as He has promised (Phil. 4:19).
2. Giving establishes God's Covenant in our lives
The Covenant which God made with Abraham in the Old Testament also applies to us today. We have seen that because of his faith, Abraham was promised by God that He would bless him, and make him to be a blessing to "all the families of the earth."
These blessings also were pronounced upon the seed (the offspring) of Abraham forever. We saw that because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, you and I, as seed (offspring) of Abraham, have been freed from the curse of the Law and restored to our rightful position as sons and daughters of God. As such, we are heirs to the promises God made to Abraham, heirs to the Covenant.
The way you and I establish (or ratify) the Covenant in our own individual lives is by acting upon the provisions of it. By our faithful, obedient giving, in response to God's command, we activate the provisions of that Covenant which guarantees that we will be blessed with the same blessing God poured out upon our spiritual ancestor, Abraham.
3. Giving links us to the highest authority in the universe
God has promised that when we give of our tithes and offerings to Him and His work, He will open to us the windows of heaven and pour us out such an abundant blessing that we won't be able to contain it. Notice who does the pouring out: God Himself. We don't have to look to men to meet our needs, though God will use people in that role, but it will be God Himself Who undertakes to bless us and to make us to become a blessing to many, many others.
4. Giving releases the power of God on our behalf
As we have said, God has promised that when we tithe, He will do something for us in return. One of the things He does is to open the windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing in abundance. The New International Version translates this verse: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour you out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."
Thus, it is clear that, by our giving, the power of God is released on our behalf. Our giving literally opens to us the floodgates of heaven.
5. Giving enlarges our capacity to receive from God
Isn't this what the Lord is saying to us in Malachi 3:10? That if we will bring the whole tithe into His storehouse, and put Him to the test in our giving, He will pour us out an overflowing blessing? Why the overflow? So we will have not only enough for our own needs, but plenty left over to give to others (2 Cor. 9:11).
Now don't get the idea that we give just to get. That's a wrong emphasis. We don't really give to get, instead we get to give. We have said that we work and invest so we will reap an abundant harvest, that is true. But we do that, not so we will have an abundance of things to fulfill our selfish desires, but so we will have seed to invest in God's work and give to others to meet their needs.
Now we don't give to get, nor do we give out of a sense of obligation. Instead, we give because we want to give - because we sincerely want to be a blessing to others, just as much as we want to be blessed.
The reason God loves a cheerful giver is because He Himself is a cheerful giver. The Bible teaches us that God takes pleasure in the prosperity (well-being) of His servants (Psalms 35:27). It also teaches us that God is love (1 John 4:16). And love gives. If you and I love to give, it is because we are the sons and daughters of our heavenly Father, Whose very nature is that of selfless, loving giving.
Giving is what Christianity is all about. If Christians were acting like Christians, there would be no needs in the Body of Christ. If every believer went through his day asking the Lord to show him where to plant seed into His work, the results would be staggering. Every need could be met. And the return on that giving would produce such an abundant harvest that we would have the means to publish the Gospel around the world to those who have not yet heard.
Can you imagine the impact on this world if God's people became truly "seed-conscious?" It would increase our ability to receive so greatly that we would ultimately be able to finance the greatest revival in the history of the Church!
6. Giving increases our capacity to receive more of God Himself
There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band. A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.The Living Bible translation of verse 4 says, "Your prayers and charities have not gone unnoticed by God!" You remember that we have said that God prizes cheerful givers. Because Cornelius was such a cheerful giver, his giving did not go unnoticed by the Lord. What was the result of this man's giving?
He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and shine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
(Acts 10:1-4)
That tells me that my giving, like that of Cornelius, enlarges my capacity to receive not only more from God but also more of God.
Our giving reveals that we want more from God and more of God in our lives. It also shows that we are willing to take something that belongs to us and invest it freely into God's Kingdom. That action indicates to God that we are l ready for greater authority and responsibility. It also provides us the capacity to receive more from Him and of Him.
7. Giving increases the fruits of our righteousness
"Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness" (2 Cor. 9:10). In this verse we are told that our giving results in an increase in the fruits of our righteousness.
"And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places" (Isaiah 32:17-18).
We still don't know how or when our promised return will be manifested, but we know it will be. We wait on the Lord in quietness of spirit and assurance of heart because we know that He is "faithful who has promised" (Hebrews 11:11). We remain in complete calm and tranquility because, like the prophet Isaiah, we know that this is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, and that our righteousness is of Him (Isaiah 54:17).
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Dr. Jerry Savelle was an average, blue-collar man who was struggling and needed God's help. While he considered himself a "nobody," when he became a believer God told him not to worry about it because He was a master at making champions out of nobodies. God has since taken Dr. Savelle from being a constant quitter to a man who knows how to stand on the Word of God until victory is experienced. Because of the life-changing combination of God's faithfulness and Dr. Savelle's "no quit" attitude, his life is totally different than it was thirty-eight years ago.
