2 Corinthians 9:10-11 NIV (10) Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. (11) You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
2 Corinthians 9:11 AMP Thus you will be enriched in all things and in every way…
Notice this verse says that God wants you to be enriched in every area of your life – not just money.
Money is such an important topic in the Bible that it is the main subject of nearly half of the parables Jesus told. In addition, one in every seven verses in the New Testament deals with this topic. The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, fewer than 500 verses on faith, and more than 2,000 verses on money.
Ok, so the Bible is full of verses about money. This begs the question “why?” The answer:
- There is a fundamental connection between our spiritual lives and how we think about and handle money.
God wants to do much more for us than we are currently experiencing!
Luke 6:37-38 NKJV (37) “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. (38) Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
The subject of these two verses is “judging.”
There is nothing in these two verses about money. The word “money” is not even used in these verses.
There are some grammatical things that we need to understand about Luke 6:38 so that we are able to understand it properly.
- “Give” is the action or the verb.
- “You” is the implied subject.
- “It” is an objective pronoun that can be replaced by “whatever you give.”
The simple truth that Jesus is giving us is that in God’s economy, whatever you give you will receive back and you always get back more than you give.
Good measure, pressed down and shaken together…
It’s a reference to how they did business in the markets in the East. When we buy a box of Cheerios today, it’s filled by weight, and you’ll notice that it settles down and there’s lots of room left. If you were to buy Cheerios in a market in Jesus’ time, they would fill up the box, press it down, shake it to get all of the air out, and then fill it again, so you had a completely filled, running over box of Cheerios.
This verse can be a great verse or a terrible verse because it all depends on what you give.
- If you judge people, judgment is going to be given back to you…
- If you condemn people, condemnation is going to be given back to you…
- If you give forgiveness, then forgiveness will be given back to you…
- If you love people, then love will be given back to you…
- These scriptures do not teach us the motive for giving; they teach us the the reward for giving.
Luke 6:30 NKJV (30) Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.
- Jesus is teaching us is that we should give to give and not give to get.
We preachers keep saying, “Give and you will get…”, “Give and you’ll get…”
Think about our Model, God Himself, has everything and has never once given so that He could get. He gives to give!
This is a work in our hearts that God wants to do.
- God does not bless giving. He blesses giving with the right heart.
When you give because you are wanting to help people and further God’s Kingdom that is the giving heart that God blesses.
Malachi 3:7 NKJV Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,…”
Matthew 6:21 NKJV (21) For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Notice that Jesus said your treasure does not follow your heart – your heart follows your treasure.
The simple truth is this: if you want your heart to be in the Kingdom of God, put your treasure there.
It is all about the heart!!!
There are four heart attitudes that we are going to have to deal with if we are going to be enriched in all things:
Deuteronomy 15:7-15 NKJV (7) “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother,(8) but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.
- Deal With A Selfish Heart.
Deuteronomy 15:9 NKJV (9) Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the LORD against you, and it become sin among you.
Notice God considers selfishness as wicked.
We were all born selfish. One of the first words we learn is “mine.”
- Deal With A Grieving Heart.
Deuteronomy 15:10 NKJV (10) You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.
Selfishness attacks before we give and grief attacks us after we give.
The reason that we grieve over money that we give is because we thought that it was ours. All of the money we have belongs to God. When He asks for it, we respond immediately.
- Develop A Generous Heart.
Deuteronomy 15:13-14 NKJV (13) And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; (14) you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the LORD has blessed you with, you shall give to him.
We must come to a place that we give generously when we give.
To give generously is to give more than the need.
- Develop A Grateful Heart.
Deuteronomy 15:15 NKJV (15) You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today.
Gratitude is what produces generosity.
I am thankful for what God has done in my life and there is no way that I could ever re-pay Him for what He has done in my life.
The way that I can express my gratitude is to generously make sure that every person possible hears the same truth that I heard that brought me out of slavery and bondage.
God really does want you to be rich so that you can be a blessing.