Get Your Shine On…As You Give (cont'd)

Listen, you need to understand the heart of God. So Jesus said, that's because the heart of God is not just about having your motive right and having your method right. Jesus is saying it also matters how much you give, watch this, based on your ability. Here's what 2 Corinthians 9 says about giving, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Hello and welcome to this Wednesday edition of Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepherd. Well, she didn't offer much, only a few pennies. Some would have said she had given sparingly. But as you'll see today, Jesus knew her circumstances.

He saw her faith and he told his disciples that she had outgiven everyone in the room. Your message is coming right up. Stay with us here or visit PastorPaul.net anytime to listen to Destined for Victory on demand.

You can also download the podcast at Spotify or wherever you'd like to get your podcasts. Let's join Pastor Paul for today's message. Get your shine on as you give. It still allows us to get tax deduction for our charitable giving included to churches and ministries.

I'm so grateful for that. Sometimes I run into folk and say, Pastor, I don't give through envelopes and stuff and I don't want a record because that's not why I'm giving. And I think, well, why don't you let us give you a record because you can use that to get some of your tax money back.

But some folk just feel like somehow that's a conflict with them. I don't want it. Okay, fine. Just keep giving and I won't give you your receipt if that's what you want. The fact of the matter is, though, I'm going to use that tax deduction to advance the kingdom anyway. So since I get to give and get credit from the IRS, then that's what I'm going to do.

But here's my point. Even if the day comes in America where they no longer give us charitable deductions for giving to the kingdom of God and that they could come, the more secular people begin to think, the more it's a possibility. I hope it doesn't happen in my lifetime, but it's a possibility. If it ever happens and we no longer get any charitable deductions, guess what? Our giving shouldn't change one bit because we're giving so that God's kingdom is advanced and so our reward will come from him.

Amen. But I just need you to know that God is looking at the motive and he's looking at the method. Don't do it to be seen, he says. Don't do it because it's about men. He said give with the right heart and give in a very low-key way.

Now let me just clarify one more thing. I've heard people say, oh, I don't like it. Sometime when there's a building fund or something going on, they'll talk about, there are some churches, I've been to churches where they'll call the names of the biggest givers and say, oh, they just gave $25,000 or $50,000 to the building fund, $100,000 to the building fund, whatever it is, and some people say, I don't like that at all. Well, when you give, tell them be sure not to call my name. But the fact of the matter is it's a wonderful thing because sometimes since your heart is right and you're not giving to be seen, what your gift can do though is motivate other people to give.

In fact, let me tell you something. As a man who now, as I said, has a media ministry, sometimes large donors say, I want this to be a matching gift. There are people who will say, I will give your ministry $10,000 if you will challenge other listeners in the case of Destined for Victory, other listeners to give by the end of the week, and if other givers combined give $10,000, then I'll send you an additional 10,000. So they put it out as a kind of challenge and it's nothing wrong because it helps a lot of ministries. You hear them on their broadcast and say, oh, we got a matching gift. Sometimes they don't tell you how much is it, but I need you to give this week so that we can match this gift that is subject to be received. I don't have anything wrong with that. I wish some of y'all would give me some big money and say, let's set this up as a matching gift.

I will be on the radio saying, oh, I got a matching gift. But the fact of the matter is you want to watch your motive and you want to watch your method. Motive and method are truly important.

Why? Because why we give matters to God, second point was how we give matters to God. I want to spend the rest of this message talking about what we give to God. What we give matters to God. Now the fact of the matter is what we give matters to God, whether you're talking about giving to ministries, giving to families in need, giving to individuals. It matters to God because if you're giving from God's heart, God never gives in a stingy way. Now if you drop out, I brought five amens with me in my pocket, I'll just pull one out and I'll keep on going.

So if you drop out, you just go head on and drop out. But what you give, whether you're talking about giving to help somebody in need, whether you're talking about giving to a family, whether you're talking about giving to a charitable organization, whether you're talking about giving a destiny for victory, whether you're talking about giving a destiny Christian fellowship, it matters what you give. Because Jesus is teaching us here, if you're giving to let your light shine, I am the light and so your giving comes straight from my heart. And he says, I'm not a stingy God. How many of you all know that if God had ever been stingy with you, oh, come on, church, think about this. If God had ever been stingy with you, if God had ever decided, I'm not giving them that much, I don't feel like giving them that much.

I just give them a little bit and they'll be all right. Oh, how messed up would we be if God were stingy, intentionally stingy with us? Instead, read your Bible, you will see that God lavished his love on us.

God doesn't just love us a little bit, God lavishes his love on us. Do you know that the prodigal son story is not about human relationships, it's about how God feels about you and me. And we are the son who went out and lived riotously and wildly and got rid of all these wonderful resources, ended up broken, messed up and then finally we made our way back to the Lord.

When you get back to the Lord, look at what God shows us. The father, first of all, was looking for the son and when he saw the son, while the son is walking toward home, the father is running toward the son. That's the lavish love of God. God runs to us to show us how much he loves us. And then when he gets there, what does he do? He embraces him, he kisses him.

He doesn't allow himself to say, this boy went out and disrespected me and made an embarrassment of our family. God covers him with love. Anybody watching this service ever been covered by the love of God?

Come on now, anybody ever realize that God's love just overwhelmed you, just covered you? People thought you were bad, but God said, no, that's my child. People thought you should never be received back home, but God said, that is my child.

People said, well, maybe you'll be a worker in the field. And God said, no, this is my son. Not only am I bringing him home, look what God did.

He gave him a robe, he gave him a ring, he gave him sandals for his feet, and then he threw him a party. That's the lavish love of God. That's how much God loves you. So what we give matters to God. If you don't believe what we give matters to God, have you ever noticed that in two of the Gospels, it's recorded in both Mark's Gospel and Luke's? Let's look at Mark's Gospel chapter 12. Look at something Jesus stated in verse 41 of Mark 12. Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. Stop right there for a minute. Now Jesus said, I, here on earth, he tells the story of, I was looking at the offering.

Talk about politically incorrect. Jesus said, I was sitting where I could see what the people gave. He said, and I watched them as they put the money into the treasury. Keep reading. Many who were rich put in much.

That looks like that's good, isn't it? Rich people and they gave a lot. Praise God for that. Look at the next verse. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrants. That was an ancient Roman coin.

It was literally like a quarter. She came around and dropped in what we would consider a quarter. Look at verse 43. Jesus called his disciples and said, Assuredly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury.

Wait, this lady dropped a quarter in. Jesus called his disciples said, I want you to know she just outgave the rich people who gave much. Listen, you need to understand the heart of God. So Jesus said, that's because the heart of God is not just about having your motive right and having your method right. Jesus is saying it also matters how much you give, watch this, based on your ability to give. The rich had a lot, gave well in their giving. It was much, Jesus called it.

He didn't downplay it. He said they gave a lot, but they have a whole lot from which to give. He said, by contrast, this little widow, meaning in Jesus' day, she has no husband to support her. She doesn't have a job. She doesn't have a way to constantly generate additional income. She has very little to live on, and she gave a quarter, what we would call a quarter, and Jesus said she gave more than they did.

Why? Verse 44, for out of all of their abundance, they gave theirs, but she, out of her poverty, she put in all that she had, her whole livelihood. Do you know what that reminds me of? That reminds me of the widow of Zarephath, back in 1 Kings chapter 17. Remember when God fed Elijah first by the brook? He drank from the brook, and the ravens fed him, and then one day the brook dried up, and all the ravens stopped flying in, and the Lord spoke to Elijah and said, I'm going to keep providing for you, but the way I'm going to do it this time is I'm going to do it through a widow in Zarephath.

He said, I want you to go to her and ask her to feed you. Now, you've got to walk by faith as a man of God. The Lord's going to send you to some widow and tell you, tell her, God said you're supposed to feed me. Coming up next, the rest of today's message, Get Your Shine On As You Give, with Pastor Paul Shepherd, Senior Pastor of Destiny Christian Fellowship, located in Fremont, California. If you've never stopped by our website, pastorpaul.net, I invite you to do it today. You'll find all of Pastor Paul's recent messages on demand, plus a host of great resources at our online store, including books and DVD messages from Pastor Paul. Pastorpaul.net is also a great place to learn more about this ministry and all the great things, friends, like you are doing through your prayers and financial support. To watch selected video clips of Pastor Paul, subscribe at YouTube.

For more details and links to all of his social media, visit pastorpaul.net. Sewing bountifully isn't about how much you give, it's about how much you give in relation to what you have. Here's Pastor Paul with the rest of today's message, Get Your Shine On As You Give. I can't even imagine, I can't even imagine showing up at somebody's house saying, the Lord said you're supposed to give me some food, in a drought, in a famine. I'm over here to eat.

I can't even imagine. If the Lord sent me, I'd have to do it, but I sure hope he never pushes that button. I don't want to see the look on her face when I show up talking about God said, hook me up. But look at what Jesus said. He said this woman gave all she had, and that's the same thing God told that widow of Zarephath to do, because the text also tells you that she knew in her heart God had commanded her to feed the prophet. So when he got to her house, she wasn't surprised. She had a sense that something was going to test her faith. Soon as she heard his words, she knew in her heart this is God. And so of the last food she had, and she has a son, of the last food she has, she feeds the man of God. And when she did that, they looked over and meal was flowing out of the barrel and oil was flowing out of the oil jar, and everything she needed for the rest of the famine, God supernaturally supplied it.

Why? Because she gave all that she had. Now the fact of the matter is we're not all called to give all that we have every time. Jesus is just making the point that how you give liberally, generously, and as an act of obedience is extremely important to God.

I need you to know this. Why? Because in today's world, we have a whole lot of people who rail against especially churches like ours that teach that you should give generously to the kingdom. All the years I've been a pastor, every now and then I run into somebody who says, uh-uh, first of all, tithing isn't New Testament. And I don't fight with folk over tithing as to whether it's New Testament. Some folks say tithing is in the law and we're not under the law. Well, tithing predates the law. The first tither in your Bible is Abraham. He's Abraham. His son tithed, Isaac tithed. Tithing predated the law. It's not a law thing. It is an act of worship where I'm seeking to be generous and to say thank you, Lord, for giving me the ability to sow into the kingdom of God.

But let me help you understand something. Even if you want to fight against tithing and that's not New Testament you want to say, I've said to people over the years, okay, let's set aside tithing. What is the New Testament standard for giving? And they say give whatever you decide in your heart to give. That's what Paul said to the church at Corinth. I said, well, read everything he said to the church at Corinth. The other thing he said is he that sows generously will also reap generously.

So don't just tell me it's whatever you decide in your heart. The apostle Paul said and make sure what you decide in your heart is generous. Now, now, brothers and sisters, let me just help you because I'm trying to help you get blessed when I preach tithing, when I preach giving generously.

I'm not trying to get from you. I'm trying to help you understand that getting your shine on by giving sets you up to be blessed because Paul said whoever sows generously will also reap generously. I hope you're like me and you don't mind reaping generous blessings from the Lord.

I want generous blessings from the Lord so it is my pleasure to give generously. Not only in the New Testament, the first time, look at the law of first mention. The first time you see giving in your Bible it's all the way back in Genesis chapter four.

And what is it about? It is about Cain and Abel. Genesis chapter four, let me just walk you through this real quick, I'm almost done.

I want you to get this. Look at what the Bible says. Genesis four beginning in verse two. Now Abel was a keeper of the sheep but Cain was a tiller of the ground. In the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat.

Look at the next sentence. The Lord respected Abel and his offering. He did not respect Cain and his offering and Cain was very angry and his countenance fell. And I love verse six. The Lord said to Cain, why are you angry?

Why has your countenance fallen? And then verse seven, if you do well, will you not be accepted? In other words, God said I don't know what you got an attitude for, you're the one who gave stingy. You're the one who didn't set yourself up to be blessed. What you all downcast about, why you angry with your brother he gave in a way that pleased me.

You had the same opportunity. Let me say to you, my friend, my brother, my sister, God wants to bless you and bless you to let your light shine in this dark world but it only sets you up to be blessed if you give right from the motive place, if you give right from the method place and if the amount of your giving is what God wants you to give. So generously giving, whether you're giving to the kingdom, that ought to be the first and the highest priority, why? Because we want to give in order to advance the kingdom.

The kingdom is the only organization that is dealing not only with time but with eternity. But we also want to give to the needs of other people. We want to give to folks in need. If you know some people in need, you don't have to pray all the time. Sometimes all you got to do is reach in your pocket. Sometimes we get spiritual at the wrong time. Oh, let me pray about it. Well, yeah, there are times when you want to say, Lord, what should I do? Fact of the matter is there are times you don't have to pray at all. All you got to do is reach in your pocket.

This is what you need. Here, let me bless you with this. Why? Because the more I release God's resources, the more I have open hands for him to give to me. I want to say to you who say you want to get your shine on but you stingy? Let God deliver you from stinginess right now. Let God deliver you.

You know why? Because you're blocking your own blessing just like Cain. You're blocking your own blessing by giving just some of the fruit of the ground in the course of time. No, no, give systematically. Give generously. Give intentionally.

Cain gave in a very haphazard manner but his brother Abel, look at what it said, gave of the first fruit of his blocks and he gave very, very generously and lavishly and the Lord respected his offering. I hope you're like me and you want God to respect how you give to the kingdom and how you give to bless other people. Make sure you know that your giving isn't just about what people see or what people know. Your giving is an act between you and God. It goes to people, it goes to organizations, it goes to families, it goes to individuals but it comes from the heart of God and if you will give from the heart of God, I have never seen God not bless those who check their motive, make sure the why is right and the how is right and the what is right.

I've never seen the righteous forsaken. Here's God's promise to you today from Luke 6 38. Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.

For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. Thanks for joining us for today's Destined for Victory message. Get your shine on as you give. If you need prayer, please visit pastorpaul.net and use the contact feature at the top of the homepage to share your request with us. The ministry team here at Destined for Victory considers it a privilege to join you in prayer, so contact us today. And when you do, be sure to ask for Pastor Paul's monthly letter of encouragement, yours at no cost or obligation. And here's something else, a booklet from Pastor Paul called Your Purpose is Calling.

If you're seeking God's specific will for your life, this will be a great resource for you, one that will give you three directives to help you discover his unique plans for you. That's Your Purpose is Calling, our gift to you by request for your generous gift to Destined for Victory. Call us at 855-339-5500 to give your gift over the phone. Or mail it to Destined for Victory, post office box 1767, Fremont, California 94538. You can also make a safe and secure donation from our website, pastorpaul.net.

Thanks in advance for helping keep Destined for Victory on the air. Believers in Christ should be people of prayer, but why we pray is every bit as important as what we pray. Here's Pastor Paul. We are to examine why we pray. And Jesus said, make sure you're not praying to impress anybody.

That's his point here. Make sure that you are not trying to impress people. Instead, you need to pray because you need a face-to-face encounter with the Lord every day of your life. That's next time in Pastor Paul Shepherd's message, Get Your Shine On As You Pray. Until then, remember, He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are destined for victory.