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God loveth a cheerful giver. Giving is a principle set forth in the Word of God. Each man does not decide in his heart whether or not giving is right. Every man purposeth in his heart HOW he is going to give. Will it be giving out of obligation, grudgingly and because of necessity? Or, will giving be a joyous and cheerful act of a willing heart? It is the attitude of heart that God is interested in searching out.
Proverbs 21:2
Every way of man is right
in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the
hearts.
1 Chronicles 28:9
And thou, Solomon my son, know
thou the God of thy father, and serve him
with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all
hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations
of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou
forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
God looks at what is on the inside. God looks on the heart. God is looking for a perfect heart - one that is completely devoted to Him. God is looking for a willing mind. One who serves willingly.
2 Chronicles 16:9a
For the eyes of the LORD run
to and fro throughout the whole earth, to
shew himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward
him . . .
God is continuously checking out the heart of man. He is not looking to blame or find fault. He is looking to bless.
2 Corinthians 9:8
And God
is
able to make all grace abound toward you;
that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound
to every good work:
God is looking over the whole world for willing and giving hearts wholly devoted to Him so that He can show Himself strong in their behalf. God is able to take care of ALL our needs and He will.
Genesis 14:22-23
And Abram said to the king of
Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD,
the most high God, the possessor of heaven
and earth,
That I will not take from
a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that
is
thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
Abraham is called in the Word of God, "the father of all that believe." Abraham's heart was that God was the possessor or owner of all the heaven and earth. To "lift up mine hand unto the LORD" is to completely surrender to God's care. Abraham was a very rich man, but in his heart he knew that all he had belonged to God. He did not allow the king of Sodom to make any claim on providing his wealth. And what was God's response to Abraham's attitude of heart?
Genesis 15:1
After these things the word of
the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I
am
thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
God provides all we need. He is our protection. He is our insurance policy. He is our abundance.
Acts 5:1-4
But a certain man named Ananias,
with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
And kept back part of
the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain
part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
But Peter said, Ananias, why
hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost,
and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Whiles it remained, was it not
thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why
hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto
men, but unto God.
When the Word of God uses the word "Satan" it represents the Devil's influence in the world. The world will always tell you that if you give you will not have enough. Ananias and Sapphira sold some property and brought a portion of the money they received from the sale and gave to the needs of the believers. They presented the money as if it were the whole amount that they had received. No one told them that they had to give anything. They gave grudgingly and of necessity and because (Acts 4:34-35) many other believers were selling properties and giving to the needs of the church. They gave with covetousness and jealousy in their heart in an attempt to lie to God. When they were found out, the guilt was too much for them and they died. Willful giving is very much a matter of heart.
1 Chronicles 29:9-17
Then the
people rejoiced, for that they
offered willingly, because with
perfect heart they offered willingly to the
LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with
great joy.
Wherefore David blessed the LORD
before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD
God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.
Thine, O LORD is the greatness,
and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all
that
is in the heaven and in the earth is thine;
thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above
all.
Both
riches and honour come of thee, and
thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and
in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.
Now therefore, our God, we thank
thee, and praise thy glorious name.
But who
am
I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly
after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have
we given thee.
For we are strangers before
thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth
are
as a shadow, and there is none abiding.
O LORD our God, all
this store that we have prepared to build
thee an house for thine holy name cometh
of thine hand, and is all thine own.
I know also, my God, that thou
triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in
the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things:
and now have I seen with joy
thy people, which are present here, to offer
willingly unto thee.
David was a man after God's own
heart. In preparing to build the temple for God, this chapter in
God's Word records the willing, giving, joyful heart that David and the
believers demonstrated in their preparation for the work. They recognized
that all things that they had came from God and that God was their strength
and sufficiency. God loveth a cheerful giver.
Michael
& Christine Cortright's Fellowship Homepage