Giving To God 2

**fennywest** Tue 11 May 2010, 9:51 am

The whys and Hows of offering

Ex:25:1: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Ex:25:2: Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.
Ex:25:3: And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,
Ex:25:4: And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair,
Ex:25:5: And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
Ex:25:6: Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,
Ex:25:7: Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.
Ex:25:8: And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Ex:25:9: According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
Ex25:1-9

Offering from the people
For building the temple
From people that are willing
Without coercion, cheerful giving

Offering of quality
Not necessarily quantity
One that is costly
Not one that is mouldy.

An offering for the temple
To usher His presence
His presence for the anointing
The anointing for power
Power for productivity
Innovation, creativity
Multiplication, abundance
Increase, divine release
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[b]The temple was a picture
Shadow of the future
The substance to come
The kingdom to come
The offering must be sacrificial
Not merely superficial

For it to ignite God’s favour
It must be a sweet smelling savour
yourself you must offer first
As a living sacrifice
to signify your devotion and thirst
That is the price
That will give you the prize.

Lessons

Why did God want an offering?

After all He owns the earth in all its fullness; the cattle on the thousand hills belong to Him. Silver and gold are His.
There is nothing we have that He did not give to us. His nature is to give and give abundantly. Yet He has asked for offering in this passage.

God wanted an offering for the following reasons:
1. He wanted to teach us Hs nature of giving. He did not want us to be selfish but selfless.
2. He did not want us to make idols of what He had provided for us, but put Him first.
And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. Gen.14:20
And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's: it is holy unto the LORD. Lev.27:30

Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. Deut14:22

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Mal.3:8,10

3. He wanted us to be partakers in the temple that He wanted to build and furnish.

We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. KJV2Cor6:1
Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Ro.8:17NIV

4. He wanted to build the temple that will house His presence and His presence brings power, provision and protection.

The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household. 2 Sam6:11 (1Chro13:14)

5. Most importantly, He wanted to be given an opportunity to bless us more.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2Cor.9:8

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. 2cor9:10

¹¹And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts Mal3:11

The Believers Share Their Possessions
³²All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. ³³With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. ³⁴There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. Acts4:32-35

¹⁷Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. ¹⁸I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. ¹⁹And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Phil4:17-19
What type of offering that is acceptable? Hows

It is not every offering that is acceptable. God wants quality offering- not mouldy left-overs. He is not interested in the quantity which may disguise how paltry the offering is. He looks at what is left after the offering. He wants an offering that is truly generous. For the offering to be acceptable it must cost you something like David said: ‘I will not give to God that which cost me nothing.’ This was why He wasted Gold, Silver, bronze etcV3

But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. 2 sam.24:24 ( 1Chro21:24)

God does not want an offering that is deceptive but one anchored on integrity.

Ananias and Sapphira
¹Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. ²With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet.

³Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? ⁴Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."

⁵When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. ⁶Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

This is the attitude God wants from us as we bring Him our offering.

Our offering must be brought willingly and not by coercion ( V2). He loves a cheerful giver. We must come to the place where we realise that that the offering is for our benefit and not for His.

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2Cor.9:7

The widow that God sent Elijah to was in dire straits. She had a little oil and flour- enough for her and her son to eat and die. Was God being insensitive in asking the prophet to go to her to feed him? God wanted to bless her super-abundantly, but He wanted a seed of faith and trust. He also wanted to teach a lesson for posterity that: out of little He can bring abundance; out of a ridiculous request He can trigger the miraculous.

"As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die." 2 Ki.17:12

For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.' For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah." v14 16