Acts 20:35 reads “‘it is more blessed to give than to receive.” (NLT)

How many of you believe that? There’s a feeling I get when I give. A feeling of well-being, a feeling of joy, peace and contentment. Giving makes us feel good. It’s been said that real joy comes from being generous. And I believe it’s true.

In the Bible the words believe, or believer or believing is used 275 times. The word Pray or Prayer is used 371 times. The word Love, or Lover, Loves, or Loving is used 714 times. The word Giving, or Give is used 2,162 times.

So my question is, where does the Bible put the most emphasis? It’s obvious, isn’t it? On giving of course. The Bible is all about giving. It’s what Christian living is all about. To be a Christian means to be like Christ and Jesus was the ultimate giver.

Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and you will receive…The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” (NLT)  We all know that verse, don’t we?

So, my question is, what do we get back? Not that it would have anything to do with our reason for giving. The Bible says give and it will be given. So if we give, what do we get back? That’s what I want to speak about this morning. I want to talk about the seven benefits of becoming a generous person. First of all…

1. GIVING MAKES US MORE LIKE GOD.

God is a giver. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son.”(NIV)

 Everything we have is a gift from God. It’s been said that” We can give without loving, but we can’t love without giving “ If we want to be more like God then we need to learn how to become givers. God is the greatest giver there and He gives because He loves us. He gave his only son to die for our sins so if we want to be like God we need to become givers. Secondly…

2. GIVING BRINGS US CLOSER TO GOD.

Matthew 6:21 says, “For Where your treasure is, your heart is also.” (NIV) Where is your heart this morning? It’s wherever your treasure is. What do you treasure most in life? Is it your car, your home, is it new cloth, and is it your job? What do you value most in life?  Your heart is where your treasure is. Is your treasure in material things or is it in God?

Every time we give to God it moves us a little bit closer to him. It draws us closer to him. Because that’s where our treasure is.

3. GIVING ENABLES US OVERCOME GREED.

Every time we turn on our TV we’re told that happiness is in the things we buy. The commercial tells us that if we buy this particular product somehow our life will be that much better. If we wear a certain type of jeans we will look better or if we eat a certain food we will feel better. I we drive a certain car we’ll be better off. So we go out and we spend our money on all these things we’re told will make us happy and find out that we’re no better of that ever.

If true joy and happiness were in material things there would be a lot more happy people in our world but it’s not true it’s just false advertising. Why do you think there are so many unhappy millionaires in our world today? It’s because money can’t buy happiness.

It’s been said “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” Every time we feel like getting we need to give. Giving breaks the grip of materialism.

1Timothy 6:17-19 says “Don’t trust in money, which is so unreliable. Trust in God, who gives us all we need for our enjoyment.”

 There’s nothing wrong with enjoying nice things, the Bible tells us that God gives us everything for our enjoyment. But he doesn’t tell us to be greedy. You see there are extremes in every case.  In those same verses he says, “Be generous and willing to share

You see giving is the cure for greed. It teaches us to give it away. We can’t be greedy and give.

Deuteronomy 14 tells us that, “The purpose of Tithing (Giving 10% our Finances to the Church) is to teach us to put God first in your lives.” That’s why Satan hates giving and he fights it so much he doesn’t want God to have first place.

4. GIVING STRENGTHENS OUR FAITH.

God says in Malachi, “Test me, try me, prove me. I dare you! You give and see if I won’t bless you more in return.” God says “I dare you! Test me in this. See if I won’t throw open the floodgates of heaven so much that you won’t have enough room to bear it.”

You know I’ve never suffered because of what I’ve given to God. If I’m faithful in my giving he’ll always make sure my bills are paid. I don’t know where the money comes from but He always provides.

A remember a few years ago when I was a Pastor in another Church one Sunday Morning I found an envelope in my office with a $100 bill in it and a note saying give this to someone in need. There was a lady attending our church at the time who had three small children the youngest was just a few months old. She was going through a very difficult time. Her husband had just left her and she was finding it hard financially. Sandra and I decided that we would give her the money. After the church service we told her to come into our office. We gave her the money. When she opened the envelope she had tears in her eyes. She had just put her last twenty dollar bill in the offering plate that morning.

God always provides for those who are faithful.

There are a lot of promises in the But there are more promises regarding giving than anything else.  And as with all promises there’s a condition. God says, “You give and I’ll give to you.”

 But we often say the opposite, “God, you bless me and I’ll give.”  I’m sorry it doesn’t work that way. God says that we have to do our part first. Why? Because it requires faith. Giving tests our faith and strengthens it.

Proverbs 3 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. Honor the Lord by giving him the first part of you income and he will fill your barns to overflowing.” (NIV)  It’s a promise.

5. GIVING IS AN INVESTMENT FOR ETERNITY.

We all know we can’t take it with us. We come into the world with nothing and we leave with nothing. But we can send it on ahead. We send it on ahead by investing it in people who are going there.

Every time we give it’s an eternal investment. Jesus said, in 1 Timothy 6:18-19, “Store up treasures in heaven.”(NIV) How do you do that? Well Jesus tells us how in these same verses. He says, “Be generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good investment for the future so that they may experience true life.”(Paraphrase)

God says every time we give, it’s an investment into our eternal future.

6. GIVING BLESSES US IN RETURN.

We will always get more in return than what we give. Proverbs 22:9 tells us that, “A generous man will be blessed.” Then in Psalm 112:5-6 we are told that, “Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly. These people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered.” (NLT)

 What would you like to be remembered for? Do you want to be remembered for your generosity or greed? Calvin Coolidge once said, “No man is ever honored for what he received in life. He’s honored for what he gave.”

We’re not honored for what we get out of life. We’re honored for what we give. How would you like your children and grandchildren or friends to remember you? I don’t think I have to answer that it’s pretty obvious I think. The Bible says that we are blessed in return when we’re generous with others.

Proverbs 11:25 tells us that “The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” (NLT)

Have you learned this secret? Have you learned the secret that whatever you give out is what you’re going to get back in life? Have you learned that when you give out criticism what you’re going to get back is criticism? If you give out gossip, you’re going to get gossip back.

But here’s the really good part. If you give out encouragement, you’re going to get encouragement back. It’s a fact of life that we sow and we reap. And we reap what we sow. as the saying goes what goes around comes around. The more we give away, the more we get back in blessings.

Generosity makes us like God and it brings us closer to God. It’s the cure for greed. It helps us focus our priorities and put first things first. It blesses us in return. It’s an investment for eternity. And in conclusion:

7. GIVING BRINGS JOY.

Giving is a source of joy. Jesus said, “There is more Joy in giving than in receiving.” Do you believe that?

God wants every one of us to be givers. But giving goes against our sinful human nature. By nature we are selfish people. We’re naturally greedy. But God is teaching us to be givers, because giving makes us feel good. If you don’t believe or understand that then it’s because you haven’t given.

Nobody gives till it hurts. They give because it feels good, because it’s the source of joy. God wants us to enjoy being a generous person. The happiest people in the world are those who give.

There are only two types of people in life: takers and givers. The contented ones are those who give generously.

The word miserable comes from the root word “Miser.” The more we hold on to what we’ve got, the more miserable we are. It’s those people who give generously that are the most contented in life.

A few years ago an 80 year old bag lady was found dead on a street corner in Montreal. Apparently she had spent most of her life living on the streets and eating out of garbage cans. Everyone knew her as the bag lady. Apparently after some investigation the Police found out that she had a bank account with millions of dollars. She was a multi millionaire. She could have lived a comfortable life but because of her greed she lived the life of a bag lady. And in the end the Government got her entire fortune because she had no family.

Karl Menninger said, “Giving is a good criterion of mental health. Generous people are rarely mentally ill.”

1 Chronicles 29:9 says that, “The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord…” (NLT)

A church that gives generously is a joyful church. A Church that willingly and freely gives of their Time, their Talents, their Finances and their Energy to build God’s Kingdom is a Joyful Church.

A giving Church is a Growing Church. A giving Church is a Spirit filled Church.

Today we all need to stop and think are we giving generously? When we give do we give willingly, out of genuine love? Do we really love to give? Or are we a reluctant giver?

Do you just give out of obligation, because you think it’s what’s expected of you?

That’s the question we need to ask ourselves because in the end it’s the cheerful giver God blesses. Let’s pray.