Did you know there are more Scriptures in the Bible about money and possessions than about faith, prayer, and love combined?
- About 500 verses about faith
- About 500 verses about prayer
- Over 2,300 verses about money, possessions, and generosity
- About 25% of all of Jesus’ teaching was about money, giving, and generosity
Jesus spent a lot of time talking about it because He knows our possessions have the power to possess us. It’s not bad to have stuff—just make sure your stuff doesn’t have you. Jesus said:
It’s more blessed to give than to receive.
Acts 20:35
You’re going to be happier as a giver than as a getter.
You Always Reap More Than You Sow
The problem is that we don’t see giving the same way as God sees giving. We tend to think of giving as losing. “If I take what I have and give it away, it’s gone. That was money I could have used for a car payment, my child’s college tuition…”
But that’s not how God sees it. He says, “When you sow, you’re going to reap.” If I take some seed and sow it into the ground, it’s coming back! And the secret is, you always reap more than you sow!
You could take one ear of corn, throw it on the grill, and eat it, and it would be delicious. Or, you could strip the kernels off the ear of corn and plant it into the ground—an average ear of corn has about 800 kernels on it! After watering it and waiting, that one piece of corn would produce rows and rows of stalks of corn! And each one of those stalks would produce thousands and thousands more stalks of corn.
That one ear of corn has fields and fields of potential inside of it, but it has to get planted. If you don’t sow it, you’ll never see it.
When we take something as ordinary and natural as money and sow it into the supernatural, God does something extraordinary with it. He takes what we have and uses it to create Spiritual homes for those who are Spiritually lost. God multiplies it.
The Act of Giving Comes After the Act of Deciding
Deciding implies taking time to think through what you’re going to give and what you’re going to sow in the ground. It’s a thoughtful and prayerful decision. It’s not circumstantial—“Well, if I have enough left over, maybe I’ll sow some into the ground.” No. It’s based on a prior commitment that you make after a time of understanding what the Bible teaches about giving and generosity.
Each person should give what he has decided in his heart to give.
2 Corinthians 9:7
Have you ever taken the time to understand what God’s perspective is for your money? Remember, it’s about what God wants for you, not from you. God wants to set you free in this area of your life. He wants you to have MORE THAN ENOUGH so you can share and be generous on every occasion with people.
But you have to first take the time to understand what God says about sowing, reaping, and money. Otherwise, you’ll put your hope and trust in something that will always let you down.
Don’t Have a Scarcity Mindset
Some people just put a little seed in the ground because they’re afraid they’ll run out. They’re living with a scarcity mindset. Perhaps when you grew up money was tight. When you heard your parents fight about money, you thought you had to hold on to what you’ve got. But seed can’t reproduce in your hand. It needs to leave your hand and go in the ground.
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7
God loves a cheerful giver—not a tearful giver or a fearful giver. This is because God Himself is a cheerful Giver. He didn’t hold back when He gave His only Son. God gave His best to us.
When we give cheerfully—back to God or to another person—we are imitating our Father in Heaven. We’re looking more like our Heavenly Father.
God Produces a Great Harvest with Our Generosity
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. For they have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, and their righteousness endures forever.
2 Corinthians 9:8-9
What you are giving to when you sow into the ground of God’s Kingdom will endure forever. Not just while you’re alive, but for all eternity. It proclaims Jesus until He comes back.
When we give our tithe—that first 10% of our income—it has a holy purpose attached to it. It’s set apart for Him. God is going to do something great and produce a great harvest with it.
Partner Up with God
Be open for when God lays it on your heart to give to someone or something He’s part of. It gets sown onto fertile ground. God takes what we give and uses it on the earth to do His work. We get to partner with God!
When we sow, it’s sacred and an act of surrender. Give God first place in this area of your life. It takes faith to put a seed in the ground. It takes faith to take what’s in my hand and put it in God’s hand.
Today, be the kind of giver God is looking for—a cheerful giver. A giver who understands that all we have comes from God and all He asks us to do is give back to Him what is already His. When we do, it’s holy.
This week: Be open to what God lays on your heart when you feel Him telling you to give to someone or something.
Note: This was adapted from Pastor Todd’s message in the series, Sow What?
