How to be Perfect in Giving

Mathew 19:21

Scripture Mathew 19:21: NLT

Jesus told him, If you want to be perfect, go and sell

all your possessions and give the money to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come,
follow me.
Prologue

National theme
Meaning of Perfect
Being entirely without fault or defect, flawless
Satisfying all requirement, accurate
Corresponding to an ideal standard
Faithfully reproducing the original
Mature
Why do we need to be perfect in giving?
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There are promises attached to the obedience of

Giving. Numerous blessings for giving in the Bible for
giving
List
Blessings of financial return.
Blessing for obeying God.
Show of stewardship and the reward that
follows, etc.
Perfect in giving, means there is a way to give that is
not perfect. This means the blessing that ought to
follow may be lost!
[from defn] God is our Standard
John 3:16
1. God loved 1st, then gave
2. Purpose of giving was for restoration; which
benefits the receiver
3. To restore relationship. Relationship was
important to God
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1. God promises depend upon Relationship

A. God wants Relationship

God makes marvelous financial promises in the

scripture for those who give to His purpose, but none
of these promises will ever be fulfilled when they are
taken out of the context of Relationship .
The first thing God requires from anyone who serves
Him is relationship.
Matthew 22:37, 38
"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
thy mind. This is the first and great commandment."
Friends, you can pay your tithe and give your offerings
faithfully for fifty years, but if you are not in a
prayerful, holy relationship with your God, then do not
expect God to pour out an heavenly blessing in return
for your giving!
Mention seed example: your financial seed must be on
fertile ground!
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Luke 8:15
But that on the good ground are they, which in an
honest, and good heart, having heard the word, keep
it and, bring forth fruit with patience.
Giving, without relationship, with God, will not produce
abundant financial fruits in your finances . That
statement is so vital to your understanding that I want
to repeat it again: Giving, without relationship with
God, will not produce abundant financial fruits in your
finances .
Even if you follow all the famous formulas touted by
the "prosperity" preachers even if you tithe, even if
you give generous offerings -- that's not enough!
If your heart is not in union with God's heart , if your life
is not in relationship with God's Law, then you are
foolishly -planting financial fruit on non-productive
ground.

B. God Looks at your Heart

God looks at your heart. No simple biblical formula on

giving will ever result in prosperity unless your heart is
pure and in tune with him.
For example:
Matthew 5:23, 24
"Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there
rememberest that thy brother hath aught against
thee;
"Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way;
first be reconciled to thy -brother, and then come and
offer thy gift.
Now, notice the priority.
Get your life in order FIRST, then come back and give
to the Father.
Rich favoring
Theres a popular misconception that being a rich
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Christian must mean that God is favoring your life.

That's not completely true. Certainly God can give
wealth to those He knows will make good stewards,
but wealth in and of itself is not a sign you are a good
Christian .
God is not impressed with your wealth. He created
everything on the face of the earth, and He has no
particular respect or admiration for those who
manage to accumulate a greater portion of His wealth
than most. [God is not like some bankers] [ Dangote
example ]
God only looks at your heart and determines your
"richness" or "poorness" from your relationship with
HIM!
In the Scripture, when a rich man was troubled about
where to store all of his wealth, God answered:

"But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul
shall be required of thee: then whose shall those
things be, which thou hast provided?
"So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not
rich toward God.
Luke 12 v 20 & 21
Jesus is not interested in your wealth...
He is only interested in HOW YOU USE IT!
Here is why
In the story of the servants and the talents. The good
servant was rewarded not because he made his Lord
rich, but because he was faithful , and USED the
talents the master gave him.
Luke 19:17 NLT
Well done! the king exclaimed. You are a good
servant. You have been faithful with the little I
entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities
as your reward.
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[recap] More than our giving, God is interested in our

relationship with him. He is impressed with the size of
our heart towards him.
C. God is not interested in the size of your giving

An examples of this from the Bible:

When Jesus ...sat over against the treasury, and
beheld how the people cast money into the treasury"
(Mark 12:41), He noticed a poor widow as she threw
in her two mites. When He witnessed this, He called to
His disciples and said,
Mark 12: 43, 44
Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast
more in, than all they which have cast into the
treasury.
For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of
her want did cast in all that she had, even all her
living

Jesus was not impressed with the SIZE of her gift, He

was impressed with the SIZE of her heart her
willingness to give All for the work of the lord.
Before we can begin to discuss how God's Grace can
change your finances, you must examine your own
heart to determine if you PUT GOD FIRST in every area
of your life.
God comes before any attempts to reap rewards in
your finances.
He comes before 'any job or hobby.
God must be first in your life, then all other things will
follow from that relationship.
Exodus 20:2, 3
2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out
of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before
If you want your finances to improve, and if you truly
desire to be about God's work of reaching lost souls
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through the financial enablement He will bestow upon

your life, then repent now of any wrong emphasis in
your life, and prayerfully ask God to put your heart
into His Divine Order. [Emphasis]
What is the Devine Order?
Matthew 6:33
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and al/ these things shall be added
unto you."
This is the first priority!
Once you have asked God to purify your own heart,
and have acknowledged that HE is definitely the FIRST
priority in your life, you must then begin to understand
His next priority:
The Next Priority
God want us to care for our neighbors

Matthew 22:37, 40
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37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and
the prophets.
Jesus commanded us to give our neighbors a position
"as thyself .
When you are squarely in God's will, then you will find
yourself starting to be as responsive, as caring about
the needs of others around you as you are to your own
family.
[Neighbors; orphanages, used clothes etc.]
[Missing in Christianity today, - eastern example]

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God not only commands us to LOVE our neighbor, He

goes even further than that! And this is perhaps the
toughest task, the true challenge, the absolute acid
test of our day today Christianity:
In Matthew 5:44-46
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them
that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and
pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which
is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil
and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on
the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward
have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye
more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which
is in heaven is perfect
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Obedient relationship with God.

That's the key to your prayer life, your spiritual
growth, and your financial freedom in God's heavenly
plan. Jesus clearly stated that He expects relationship
with you, and expects you to care about and have
relationship with others -- BEFORE He releases the
promises of His Word into your life.
John 15: 7
"if ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall
ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."
[Recap]
Gods promises depends upon our relationship
with him
o He wants our relationship
o Looks at our heart towards him
o Not interested in the size of our giving
God wants us to care for our neighbors

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Conclusion

When your heart and your financial desires line up

with God's word, then He can begin to enrich your life
for HIS Glory!
The bible declares in Mark 11:23-24
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say
unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou
cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but
shall believe that those things which he saith shall
come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye
desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them,
and ye shall have them.
For your business to succeed, for your job to bless you
abundantly in financial gain, begin with proper prayer,
the proper heart, and THEN ask God to grant the
desired finances you need, pledging to use a portion of
what He returns for His Glory.

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Resolve in your heart in all sincerity that God gets Nr 1

priority in your life
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and
all these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6:33

"All these things" can include financial blessings IF

that is your desire, and IF God deems your heart is
ready to receive, and is prepared to function in good
stewardship.
Prayer and Ministration

Salvation
Outreach testimony and call for sponsorship

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