A Call To Generous Giving

Evangelist Carolyn Malaika Foster-Brooks

THE MINISTRY OF S.A.R.A.H.

(serenity*atonement*restoration & healing)

Lyons, Georgia

May 2003

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father,

My God above, thank You once again for a day in Your kingdom and the memories of days gone by . Lord I know my life is in Your hands and that only You have the Master Plan for my eternity.

Forgive me God for not always doing my best and having shortcomings-thank You for Your grace, Your mercy and my opportunity to repent. Father, thank You for using me AND for giving me a willing heart to share the Gospel of the Good News.

Anoint me Lord, with a fresh spirit and allow Your people to look beyond me and see You who dwell inside of me.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight,although this message will prick the hearts of many, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. In the name of Jesus, I humbly pray.

Amen! And so it is!

SCRIPTURES:

kjv 2 Corinthians 8:15...AS IT IS WRITTEN, HE THAT HAD GATHERED MUCH HAD NOTING OVER; AND HE THAT HAD GATHERED LITTLE HAD NO LACK.

nlt...DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT THE SCRIPTURES SAY ABOUT THIS? THOSE WHO GATHERED A LOT HAD NOTHING LEFT OVER, AND THOSE WHO GATHERED ONLY A LITTLE HAD ENOUGH.

nlt 2 Corinthians 9:7...EACH MAN SHOULD GIVE WHAT HE HAS DECIDED IN HIS HEART TO GIVE, NOT RELUCTANTLY OR UNDER COMPULSION, FOR GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER:

Acts 20:35...IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE.

TEXT:

My brothers and sisters, God has a message for you today and I am being used by Him to deliver what thus saith the Lord, in spirit and in gospel truth and without an apology!

I will speak about perhaps one of the most controversial subjects in all the bible, which is "giving".

Many of our churches are in crisis because giving is a deep rooted problem, but, if we believe 2 Timothy 3:16, that ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD, AND THAT IT IS ALL USEFUL FOR TEACHING, REBUKING, CORRECTING AND TRAINING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, then giving is a subject we simply cannot avoid.

And I already know that satan is going to attempt to corrupt someone’s mind and quench their spirit in anger- but I want you to know that I have on the full armor of God as this message is delivered to you. I am armed and dangerous, so get back satan! Satan is about to be whipped with the scriptures of the Holy Bible and satan will not and cannot succeed against God’s Word!!

Matthew 5:21-22 nlt says, YE HAVE HEARD THAT IT WAS SAID OF THEM OF OLD TIMES, THOU SHALT NOT KILL, AND WHOSOEVER SHALL KILL SHALL BE IN DANGER OF THE JUDGEMENT: BUT I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT WHOSOEVER IS ANGRY WITH HIS BROTHER WITHOUT A CAUSE SHALL BE IN DANGER OF THE JUDGEMENT.

Proverbs 29:11 nlt...A FOOL GIVES FULL VENT TO HIS ANGER, BUT A WISE MAN KEEPS HIMSELF UNDER CONTROL.

So saints, take in the Word with an open heart and you will be blessed if you do....

In the first century of Jerusalem, being a follower of Jesus Christ was not always easy. Poverty and sickness was a problem for some people right from the beginning, but it seems that other believers had the resources to deal with the situation. (Acts 4:32-37:6:1) Intimidation and persecution were growing problems (Acts 4:1-18; 5:17, 18, 26-40; 6:9-12) increasing after the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:54-60) to the point that most of the Christians fled! On that day, says Acts 8:1, A GREAT PERSECUTION BROKE OUT AGAINST THE CHURCH AT JERUSALEM. Persecution and poverty continued. But later at the Jerusalem Conference, the apostles and elders encouraged Paul to "REMEMBER THE POOR", which he was eager to do.

Sometimes later after that conference, Paul began his second missionary journey. Paul encouraged the Galatian and Corinthian churches and the Macedonian churches to "remember the poor" and to send their contributions to the church at Jerusalem.

Brothers and sisters, the bible clearly tells us that there is nothing new under the sun and 21 centuries later we can look upon 2 Corinthians, the entire 9th chapter and identify Paul as a noble example for us today! Paul encouraged the Corinthians to give, not for his own profit, but for the benefit of impoverished Christians in the Jerusalem church!!

In this 21st century, most of us don’t need any encouragement to be selfish!!! We need encouragement to give willingly and sacrificially for the good of others as Jesus did.

Church, I’m still talking about A Call To Generous Giving, amen? But somewhere along the way, we have fallen short of our Christian responsibilities and this is why, especially in our local churches, we cannot come to the church when we are in need and get a quarter for a phone call without controversy!!!