08/05/2013 - THE IMPORTANCE OF GIVING

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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.

Luke 6.38

For each thing a person can do for his own benefit, pleasure, or merely out of obedience to God, the devil has already set a demon right next to him, so that he will not fulfill the mission with which he was entrusted. To make an offering to God is one of the oldest and most productive acts. The devil came up with this saying: “He who gives will end up asking,” but that is the opposite of what Jesus said: Give, and it will be given to you. Are you going to believe in Jesus or in the devil?

Satan acted first in the life of Adam, who violated God’s commandment. Then he acted in the life of Cain, whose works were evil (1John 3.12). For a long time, the devil made him despise the act of making an offering to God. Then when Cain was supposed to give the Lord his best, he offered God nothing, and the Lord was offended. After seeing his brother’s offering being accepted, Cain murdered Abel.

Satan is capable of making men do extremely evil acts. There was no one else in the world, and Cain killed his only brother out of jealousy. If he had not accepted the devil’s suggestion, he would certainly have made a decent offering to God and, in addition to receiving a reward, he would not have become the world’s first murderer. Bottom line: keep away from any works of the devil.

The Word that speaks to your heart will never leave you, but will remain at your side to do what the Lord promised. To make an offering is more than taking it from what is yours and giving to the church; this act will bring much more abundance than the seed you have sown. Isaac, for example, received one hundred times more, which means ten thousand percent. It is important to listen to what the Lord says. So, be wise and keep God’s commandments by sowing the good seed.

According to Jesus, we will sow thirty, sixty, or a hundred times what was sown (Mark 4.20). Think about how furious the devil probably gets at this promise. He will do everything he can to prevent you from receiving a reward from the Lord, the only true God, who is faithful and keeps all his promises. Those who heed God’s Word will receive their reward, but those who turn their ears from him may call to him later, but will not receive an answer.

The fool refuses to cast his bread upon God’s revelations (Ecclesiastes 11.1) and, several days later, does not even realize that the bread is gone. The Lord wants you to share what you have with another seven or eight people in order to avoid the evil that will come upon the earth. Knowing that what the Lord has decreed will come to pass, never fail to do what God has asked you to do, because the Lord has a purpose for your offering.

Do not allow the devil to keep you from receiving a great reward. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. Fulfill your call and find out that you became special in the eyes of God. Do not give because you have to, but with joy in your heart (2Corinthians 9.7).

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares