The Basics of Giving

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   1. Who owns everything?

     One of the fundamental basic principles is that 'everything belongs to God.'  

         Psalms 24:1

         Psalm of David. To the Eternal the earth and all that it contains, The world and those who live in it! (KJV)

         Psalms 89:11

         (89:12) It is to you that the heavens and the earth belong, It is you who founded the world and all that it contains. (KJV)

         Psalms 50:10-12

         For all the beasts of the forest are mine, All the beasts of the mountains by the thousands; I know all the birds of the mountains, And all that

         who moves in the fields belongs to me. If I was hungry, I wouldn't tell you, Because the world is mine and everything in it. (KJV)

         Aged 2:8

         The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.

     By this, there is no doubt that EVERYTHING BELONGS to God.  All created things, living or not, belong to Him. This includes all things

     material or immaterial that we have in this life: our possessions, our careers, our families.  He gave us all these things for

     that we enjoy them, but we must realize that they still belong to God.

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   2. Don't we have these things?

     As we have just seen, everything belongs to God.  So here is another basic principle: Everything we have comes from God!  

         1 Chronicles 29:12,14

         It is from you that wealth and glory come, it is you who dominate over all, it is in your hand that is strength and power, and it is your

         hand which has the power to enlarge and establish all things. Now, O our God, we praise you, and we celebrate your glorious name.

         For who am I and who are my people, that we may make these offerings to you willingly? Everything comes from you, and we receive from your

         hand what we offer you. (KJV)

     When we become children of God, we also become his servants.  As his Servants, we own nothing because everything

     belongs to our Master.  As servants, we learn to think differently about material possessions.  We are learning

     that we are stewards who simply manage and take care of what belongs to someone else .  Everything belongs to God, but

     as stewards, we manage and care for His goods for Him.  We are simply 'stewards' who are accountable to God

     for all those things he put in our hands and with which he trusted us.

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   3. What do we need to understand about stewardship?

     at)  The Master is obliged to provide for the steward.  He must provide for the steward personally and also supply the steward with

        rations that he must distribute to others.  This is why Jesus said to the seventy disciples He sent in Luke 10.  After that, the Lord

        appointed seventy more disciples, and he sent them two by two ahead of him into all the cities and into all the places where he himself was to

        go. He said to them: The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers into his harvest.

        Go away; behold, I am sending you as lambs among wolves. Do not carry purses, bags or shoes, and do not greet anyone on the way.

        In whatever house you enter, first say: Peace be upon this house! And if there be a child of peace there, your peace shall rest

        on him ; otherwise, it will come back to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking what you will be given; for the worker deserves his wages.

        Do not go from house to house. In whatever city you enter, and where you will be received, eat what will be presented to you, heal the

        sick who are there, and say to them, The kingdom of God has come near to you. But in whatever city you enter, and where you are not

        will not receive, go into its streets, and say, We shake off the very dust of your city against you, which clings to our feet; know

        while the kingdom of God has drawn near. I tell you that in that day Sodom will be treated less rigorously than that city. Misfortune

        to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! for if the miracles which were done in the midst of you had been done in Tire and in Sidon, there is

        long as they would have repented, taking sackcloth and ashes. Therefore, on the day of judgment, Tire and Sidon will be treated less

        strictly than you. And you, Capernaum, who were exalted to heaven, you will be brought down to hell. The one who listens to you

        listen to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me; and whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me. The seventy returned with joy, saying:

        Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. Jesus said to them: I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you

        the power to walk over serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing can harm you. However, do not

        do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. At this moment,

        Jesus was thrilled with joy by the Holy Spirit, and he said: I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and

        intelligent, and what you revealed them to the children. Yes, Father, I praise you for wanting it this way. All things have been given to me by my

        Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, nor who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. And, turning

        towards the disciples, he said to them in particular: Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings

        have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, to hear what you hear, and have not heard it. A doctor of the law stood up, and said to

        Jesus, to test him: Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him, What is written in the law? What do you read there? He answered :    

        You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.

        You have answered well, said Jesus to him; do this, and you will live. But he, wishing to justify himself, said to Jesus: And who is my neighbour? Jesus spoke again, and

        said, A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He fell among the robbers, who stripped him, charged him with blows, and went away, the

        leaving him half dead. A priest, who by chance was coming down the same road, having seen this man, passed on. A Levite, who came

        also in this place, having seen him, passed on. But a traveling Samaritan came there and was moved with compassion when he saw him. He approached, and

        bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; then he put him on his own mount, drove him to an inn, and took care of him. the

        Next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the host, and said, Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will pay you back when I return. Which of

        Do these three seem to you to have been the neighbor of the one who fell among the brigands? He is the one who showed mercy to him,

        answered the doctor of the law. And Jesus said to him, Go, and you do the same. As Jesus was on the way with his disciples, he entered a village, and

        a woman, named Marthe, received him in her house. She had a sister, named Mary, who, having sat at the feet of the Lord, listened to his

        word. Martha, busy with various domestic tasks, came and said: Lord, does it matter to you that my sister leaves me alone to serve? Say

        him to help me. The Lord answered her: Martha, Martha, you are worried and agitated about many things. Only one thing is

        necessary. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken from her. (KJV), that they were not to take anything with them.  He knew that God would take

        care for them and supply them with what they would need to do the work of the Ministry.  

        Matthew 6:31-33

        Don't worry then, and don't say: What shall we eat? what shall we drink? what will we be wearing? Because all these things

        it is the pagans who seek them. Your Heavenly Father knows you need it. Seek first the kingdom and righteousness of God;

        and all these things will be given to you as well. (KJV)

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     b)  We are obligated to be faithful in this stewardship.  As talents departed, claimed them, and he gained five more talents. Likewise,

        he who had received the two talents gained two more. The one who had only received one went and made a hollow in the ground, and hid the money from his

        master. Long after, the master of these servants returned, and made them account. The one who had received the five talents approached, bringing

        five more talents, and he said, Lord, thou hast given me five talents; behold, I have won five more. His master said to him: Well done, good and faithful

        servant; you have been faithful in a few things, I will entrust you with much; enter into the joy of your master.

        The one who had received the two talents came also, and he said: Lord, you have given me two talents; behold, I have won two more. His master him

        said, Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful in a few things, I will entrust you with much; enter into the joy of your master. The one who had no

        received that a talent then approached, and he said: Lord, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering up where

        you have not winnowed; I was afraid, and I went to hide your talent in the ground; behold, take what is yours. His master answered him: Servant

        wicked and lazy, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not winnowed; so you had to give my money back

        to the bankers, and, on my return, I would have withdrawn what was mine with interest. So take away the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. Because

        to him who has will be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who has not even what he has will be taken away. And the useless servant, throw him in the

        outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (KJV) we see it in the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30,

        the Lord holds us responsible for directing and caring for the things He has given us.  The more we have, the greater the responsibility

        big.

         Matthew 25:14-30

        It will be like a man who, going on a journey, called his servants, and handed over his possessions to them. He gave five talents to one, two to    

        another, and one to the third, to each according to his ability, and he departed.

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   4. What is the law of sowing and reaping?

     As there are physical laws that ensure that there is order in the chaos of the universe,  God has also set up spiritual laws

     that govern life.  One of these laws is the law of 'sowing and reaping.'”

        Genesis 8:22

        As long as the earth remains, the sowing and the harvest, the cold and the heat, the summer and the winter, the day and the night will not cease. (KJV)

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        Galatians 6:7

        Make no mistake about it: we are not making fun of God. What a man sows, he will also reap. (KJV)

• The spiritual seed we must sow is the Word of God itself, because it is a seed that does not die:

        Mark 4:14

        The sower sows the word. (KJV)

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        1 Peter 1:23

        since you have been regenerated, not by a corruptible seed, but by an incorruptible seed, by the living and permanent word

        of God.(KJV)

• You sow the word by FAITH.  

        James 1:22

        For if someone listens to the word and does not put it into practice, he is like a man who looks in a mirror at his face.

        natural, (KJV)

• You definitely cannot reap until you have made the sacrifice of sowing and patiently awaiting the harvest.  

        Galatians 6:9

        Do not weary of doing good; for we will reap in due time if we do not slack off. (KJV)

        Hebrews 6:12

        So that you do not relax, and that you imitate those who, by faith and perseverance, inherit the promises. (KJV)