Spiritual Discipline of Giving (Matthew 6:1-4)

Speaker: Elder Robert Cheah

Topic: Spiritual Discipline of Giving (Matthew 6:1-4)

Date: 28 February 2021

我送你三朵花 = I give you three flowers

第一朵花就是花金钱 = The first flower is give your money

第二朵花是花时间 = The second flower is give your time

第三朵花是花心思 = The third flower is give thought

 

As the Chinese saying goes, if you spend time with people, give your money as a gift, and give some thought to the things that you do, it is easier for you to get along with people.

 

Attitudes in Giving:

1)    Give Privately (Matthew 6:2-4)

·         DWJD (Do What Jesus Did) – Jesus is by far the most lavish giver the world has ever seen. He humbly confessed, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) Jesus’ mission was to “SERVE” and “GIVE”. In a world “on the take” Jesus showed us it is more “blessed to give”. (Acts 20:35)

·         Giving requires sacrifice. Paul says it was GRACE that made Jesus come down to earth. It was a grace that willingly gave up riches and took on poverty to meet the needs of the helpless. Jesus gave sacrificially. And so do His followers. The Lord’s calling is not only to give, but to give sacrificially. That takes discipline!

·         Open your hand wide. In the days of Moses, he taught his fellow Israelites to “open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land”. (Deuteronomy 15:7-11) What the Law put on paper, Jesus put in the flesh. He was the One who fed the multitude when they were hungry, healed the sick with the touch of His hand, and taught them when He was exhausted.

·         Giving is spirituality made real. Giving is an act of worship. It is a sign of our responsibility as a believer of Christ. It is a credit posted in heaven. And it will help you live a fuller life.

 

2)    Give with a Right Heart (Mark 12:43-44)

 

3)    Give Cheerfully (2 Corinthians 9:7)

 

The Costs of Giving:

1)    Change of Mindset – We are Stewards and Not Owners (1 Chronicles 29:11-14)

·         All that is in heaven and in earth belongs to God. Both riches and honour come from Him. Everything comes from Him, and we have given Him only what comes from His hand. As stewards, we are to just faithfully manage what God gives us.

 

2)    Change of Heart

·         Giving to God (Tithes and Offerings – Malachi 3:10)

·         Giving to the Poor (The Necessities of Life – Proverbs 19:17)

·         Giving to Christians (Romans 12:13)

 

3)    Change of Direction

·         Financial freedom begins with Scripture giving. Giving activates the work of God in our financial affairs. “Give, and it will be given to you…” (Luke 6:38) Giving must begin with tithes and offerings to God. No Christian should neglect tithing or giving. “…as God hath prospered him…” (1 Corinthians 16:2)

·         If we give to God and His work, He will “open for you the windows of heaven”. (Malachi 3:10) By giving, we invest treasures in heaven “where thieves do not break through nor steal.” (Matthew 6:20) Giving increases our love for God because “where your treasure is, there will be heart be also”. (Matthew 6:21)

 

How do I Become More Generous?

·         Start small

·         Build up a sustainable pattern of regular giving

·         Be deliberate, not just impulse giving

·         Give to causes and people that mean most to you

-       Church community

-       Charities you’re particularly interested in

 

How Much Should I Give?

How much is not as important as how we give it. The exciting thing about giving is it opens the door to God’s blessing.

 

“Gain all you can, without hurting either yourself or your neighbour, in soul or body, by applying hereto with unintermitted diligence, and with all the understanding which God has given, you; save all you can by cutting off every expense which serves only to indulge foolish desire… waste nothing… and then, give all you can, or, in other words, give all you have to God… Do not stint yourself… to this or that proportion. Render unto God, not a tenth, not a third, not half, but all that is God’s, be it more or less; by employing all on yourself, your household, the household of faith and all mankind, in such a manner, that you may give a good account of your stewardship, when you can be no longer stewards.” – John Wesley

 

God doesn’t want our handout, He wants our hand! The Macedonians were such great givers because they first “gave themselves to the Lord”. (2 Corinthians 8:5). If giving our things is not connected to giving ourselves, it’s not Christ-like giving. Giving needs to have a personal touch. Giving takes discipline.

 

“Let all that you do be done in LOVE.” (1 Corinthians 16:14)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

 

1)   What might you do to lead a more/an even more generous life?

 

2)   What struggles do you have with giving?

 

3)   Think through how you currently use your money, how does it reveal your values and priorities?

 

4)   Consider what, if anything, you want to change?

RELATED:

Keys to the Kingdom (Matthew 5:1-6): Towards Spiritual Understanding 

Kingdom Principles for Kingdom Living (Matthew 5:7-12): True Spiritual Righteousness

Salt, Light and the Law (Matthew 5:13-20) 

The Spirit of the Law 1: Anger and Reconciliation (Matthew 5:21-26)

The Spirit of the Law 2: Man must be Righteous at Heart (Matthew 5:27-37)

Loving Your Enemies (Matthew 5:38-48)

Loving Your Enemies (Matthew 5:38-48)

Sis Joanna Dorai

21-02-2021

Matthew 7:24-27

New International Version

The Wise and Foolish Builders

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

 

It is the words of Jesus Christ and Christ alone that will lead us out of the waves and storms that are beating against your house. During the shakings and the storms, it is not just about behavioural change that the Lord is looking at; the Lord wants to lead you to act and live and move as those who are wise, especially in times of storm. (Matthew 7:24-27)

 

Today there may be many storms in our hearts and a whirlwind of emotions and confusion and we are not able to accept the many realities that we cannot reconcile, and they come in many forms. Would you like to be the wise man who builds his house upon the rock? The Lord is saying, “Hear My voice. Out of this pandemic and out of the shakings, you will see the desire of all nations come and fill your life with glory. And in this place, I will grant you peace.”

 

Build:

·         Our lives

·         Our family

·         Our business

·         Our studies

·         Our children

·         Our legacy

·         Our church

On the foundation of Christ the solid rock.

 

1)    Turn away from revenge (Matthew 5:38-42)

 

Matthew 5:38-42

New International Version

Eye for Eye

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ ³⁹ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. ⁴¹ If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. ⁴² Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

 

There is a deep cry for justice in Jesus’ day but He says, “The law is peace, and not vengeance.” Jesus points into your heart and says, “I’m listening to you. I see your oppression, I see you’re hurting, I see your cry for justice but what’s in your heart? Revenge. You’re looking for sweet revenge.”

 

Instead of leading them on in their quest for vengeance, He led them to a path of peace. And He says, “Turn away from revenge.” The nature of revenge is so vicious that it consumes the person who is caught in it but Jesus says, “Come to Me.” Come to Jesus who gives you a solid foundation to reconcile the realities that are hard to accept and the emotions that are hard to even identify—to come to a point of truth and build your house upon the solid rock so that you can stand in peace in times of storm. God wants to heal your heart by revealing some things in your heart today.

 

2)    One day your enemies will become your friends (Matthew 5:43-48)

 

Matthew 5:43-48

New International Version

Love for Enemies

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

 

We cannot reconcile the reality that in our human hearts there is nothing perfect about it and there is nothing perfect about the world. Loving family and friends is already so difficult; what more to go the second mile to love the enemy.

 

Jesus sees beyond our complaints. He understands and sees the condition of our hearts.

 

What we see now is through the perspective of time. But in the beginning, the God of time and the Prince of peace says that “I am about the shake the nations, not only the earth but also the heavens as well. I will come down and cause the glory to dwell on this earth and grant you peace.” And the same voice travels through time and comes down in the flesh and says, “You have not seen what I can do, and what the plans of God are in front of you.” So, pray for those who persecute you and ask the Lord to change their hearts so that you could be children of your Father in heaven. God blesses the righteous and the unrighteous.

 

And He goes on to say, “What’s the point of loving those within your circle? Doesn’t everybody also do that?” The product of the vicious cycle is that if you keep being exclusive, you remain separate. If you’re so exclusive, you only see your kind in your own worldview and other people do not appear in your radar, Jesus sees that. Within the Jewish context, the Gentiles are an abomination. Everybody else is an enemy. The Gentiles are uncircumcised people. While it is the truth that the Jews are chosen and they are circumcised, within their worldview, everybody else does not matter. And Jesus sees all that. And He says, “Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you.” The degree of hostility and the degree of how we define our enemy is something out of our own heart.

 

God does not show favouritism. His blessing falls on all. And His heart is so that everybody would be one. He would give the Holy Spirit to anybody who asks.

 

That’s when the anointing of God would flow. How good and pleasant it is when brethren actually dwell in unity. The mark of the Prince of peace in your life is not only in how you treat your family and friends, but also in how you treat your enemy. Jesus wants to lead us into a future where our enemies actually will call us friends. And you’ll find the blessing of friendship, brotherhood, protection, and most of all, peace—peace here on earth and peace with God, and we’ll all be children of our Father in heaven.

 

Today, God wants to heal our hearts, touch our wounds, but more importantly, give us a future.

 

The Lord wants to heal you. He wants to meet you at this place of grief. There are some things in your heart that have been buried for so long. There are some things that you could not express to the people whom you love. There are some things that you do not even know that’s going on inside that are actually boiling, that you cannot express and today, the Lord says, “I want to set you free.” “Vengeance is mine,” says the Lord, “but blessed is the man who does not step in the way of the wicked or sit in the seat of mockers.” Let Him lead you down the path of understanding that He would allow you to be planted by rivers of water so that you would prosper in all that you do because your enemies that had wanted to destroy you have now become your friends and they want to bless you and work together with you as allies. You will find you have the presence of God through the people around you because they are standing together with you, they believe in you and they want you to prosper. That is the presence of God and the blessing of God.

RELATED:

Keys to the Kingdom (Matthew 5:1-6): Towards Spiritual Understanding 

Kingdom Principles for Kingdom Living (Matthew 5:7-12): True Spiritual Righteousness

Salt, Light and the Law (Matthew 5:13-20) 

The Spirit of the Law 1: Anger and Reconciliation (Matthew 5:21-26)

The Spirit of the Law 2: Man must be Righteous at Heart (Matthew 5:27-37)

Loving Your Enemies (Matthew 5:38-48)

God's Faithful Love Endures Forever (Psalm 136)

Pr Anand Kumar

14-02-2021

Psalm 136

New International Version

Psalm 136

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
² Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.

⁴ to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
⁵ who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
⁶ who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
⁷ who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.
⁸ the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
⁹ the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.

¹⁰ to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.
¹¹ and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.
¹² with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.

¹³ to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
His love endures forever.
¹⁴ and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
¹⁵ but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.

¹⁶ to him who led his people through the wilderness;
His love endures forever.

¹⁷ to him who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
¹⁸ and killed mighty kings—
His love endures forever.
¹⁹ Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
²⁰ and Og king of Bashan—
His love endures forever.
²¹ and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
²² an inheritance to his servant Israel.
His love endures forever.

²³ He remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
²⁴ and freed us from our enemies.
His love endures forever.
²⁵ He gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.

²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.

 

The Jews call Psalm 136 the “Great Hallel”. The Hebrew word Hallel means "Praise". From “Hallel” we get the word “Hallelujah”. Psalm 136 is usually sung during Passover. “His love endures forever” is one of the most precious phrases and appears 136 times in Psalm 136. Different translations include “His faithfulness endures forever” (NLT), “His lovingkindness is everlasting” (NASB), “His lovingkindness endures forever” (AMP), and “His mercy endures forever” (KJV & NKJV).

 

When the psalmist wrote this song, they were giving praises and thanks to God for who He is and for what He has done.

 

God is good and He is always sovereign.

 

Deuteronomy 10:17

New International Version

¹⁷ For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.

 

God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. His love is unchanging. And the good God makes everything good. But sin causes God’s creation to live in a broken world. Through Jesus Christ, we are redeemed and are able to reconnect with God. His redemption plan is sovereign and He is working in and through us. Everything that God has done for us springs out from who He is. He is enduring, steadfast and unchangeable. That is the nature of God.

 

As such, we should radiate who God is in our thought and actions. Knowing that God is sovereign and He is faithful in loving us and He doesn’t change, it causes us to conform and to be transformed to reflect who He is and to love others.

 

In this world, we experience a lot of brokenness. Brokenness hurts and discourages us and we tend to become defensive, sceptical and protective. We experience brokenness in different forms such as through an offence, hurt or trauma. Over time, these forms of brokenness take a toll on us and affect us in how we react, speak and treat others. We struggle to trust people, we tend to avoid and become very defensive so much so that it is very difficult to build communities because we do not know who is authentic and real anymore. But this doesn’t reflect the heart of God. We are able to be redeemed and restored because God is sovereign and all loving. He is all powerful and is able to mend us in this broken world. And He wants to use us to reflect His love.

 

John 3:16

New International Version

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

God wants the world to come to know the saving grace of His only Son, Jesus Christ. But God has chosen us, the children of God, to carry this mandate to be His light and salt. Therefore, we are in the world as salt and light to reflect the lovingkindness and faithful love of God in our thought, actions and words.

 

The creator God’s sovereign love can mend and restore any brokenness. Life is unfair. The difficult people that we encounter can take a toll on our character. When people offend and hurt us, we tend to struggle to trust others. Traumas and bad experiences make us withdraw. When we do that, we are not able to love others like how God wants to love and we are not able to fulfil the Great Commission of making disciples.

 

God’s love is sovereign and powerful enough to forgive and to restore us. His love can heal every broken heart.

In spite of the people of Israel’s repeated rebellion and idolatry, God displayed that His lovingkindness is everlasting.

 

In Numbers 21:21-35, having defeated Israel’s enemies Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan, God gave the land to the Israelites as an inheritance. Love is an action verb. God protects, He saves, He acts.

 

God has given us eternal life through Jesus Christ.

 

Philippians 1:6

New International Version

⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

 

When we go through difficult times, it is very challenging but God’s faithful love is always acting and always perseveres. No matter how long we need to wait for our breakthrough, He will come through for us.

 

Jude 24

New International Version

Doxology

²⁴ To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—

 

Therefore, give thanks to God in the midst of difficulties and trials. Submit to His sovereignty and acknowledge  that in whatever situation that we go through, God’s ultimate love can turn it around for His glory. His enduring love marches forward for His people. Hang on and hold on to God’s faithful love that is always acting. Even in the midst of suffering and pain, God can still make us a blessing to others. Keep on persevering until miracles take place.

 

Sometimes, God allows us to go through a certain situation but it doesn’t stop God’s promise over your life and it doesn’t change your destiny. God’s love is so faithful that it will sustain us. God’s faithful love always perseveres. God is the miracle worker.

God’s faithful love endures forever. God’s faithful love is sovereign. God’s faithful love perseveres. No matter the situation, our posture is to be thankful. Praise Him in the midst of the storm and raise a Halellujah! He is our shelter and we can abide in His presence.

 

Eternal life is a free gift from God. But man cannot receive eternal life but sin hinders. God hates sin. Our hatred, betrayal and the bad things that we do hinder us from receiving eternal life. God is just. He loves us but He hates sin. Therefore, He sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross and pay the penalty for sin. When He died and rose again, all the penalty for sin has been paid. When you receive Jesus in your heart and confess that He is the Lord and Saviour, you are able to experience this powerful love immediately. God demonstrated His love for us—while we were still sinners, He died for us. Open your heart to receive eternal life by giving your faith and believing Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour. It is all for love that Jesus died for us. It is all for love that He reached out to us.