Practical Definition: Sacrificial giving is the act of strategically giving something that is precious and costly or something one
barely can afford as an act of worship and devotion to God with an express purpose of getting an extraordinary breakthrough. It is a well considered, but painful giving.

To fully understand the nature of sacrificial giving let us appeal to the Law of Precedence and carry out a Scriptural survey of Sacrificial Giving.

1. Exhibit One. Abraham Gen 22

In those two verses Abraham’s destiny is altered and his seed guaranteed a place in God’s plan for mankind. Theologically speaking by Abraham offering his son as a sacrifice to God, he opened an opportunity for God to be able to offer the Lamb of God on the Cross for our salvation. The language of the spirit in sacrifice spoke louder for Abraham. Sacrificial giving can be painful. But it strategically opens a door for greater breakthrough.

Sacrificial giving often requires that we give up something we love dearly and cherish as a demonstration that we are more committed to God and His purposes than to things. Sometimes God may ask you to give up your dreams for His.

Sacrificial giving involves giving your time, talent, life and treasure.

Exhibit Two. Solomon 1 Kings 3:4-10

Sacrificial giving is often marked by extravagant and reckless abandon. This kind of giving raises an altar that silences the
sacrifices of ancestors to idols. By its very nature it cannot be frequent. It has been said by an eminent African prophetic minister, ‘Unless our sacrificial giving exceed the sacrifices made by our ancestors to forces of darkness, our worship would still be in vain.” (paraphrased). I contend that as Africans we should raise altars of sacrificial giving that speak louder than the sacrifices made to the devil before we can cleanse our continent.

Exhibit Three.

1Kings 17:9-16  Widow of Zarepath.

This exhibit shows that sacrificial giving may come out of scarcity rather than abundance.

Giving sacrificially sometimes gives out of the preciousness of your scarce resources and when directed by God,
often results in abundant supply and financial breakthrough. It may hasten God’s assignment through a man of God.

Exhibit Four

 2Sa 24:24  David

A sacrificial offering will cost you something. If your sacrificial giving is not costly then it is not sacrificial. However God does not require that we giving sacrificially all the time. Sometimes sacrificial giving stops plagues and iniquities in our lives.

It is unfortunate that people who have not realised the different types of offerings have made God’s people feel guilty by asking them to give costly offerings all the time. Sacrificial giving is by nature infrequent.

There is a seed that is so precious and costly that it can only be sown in tears. And yet ignorance cause people to speak of cheerful givers for all kinds of offering. If you give a sacrificial offering cheerfully then more likely than not, it is not sacrificial and painful. It does not cost you anything. I have had once in a while give in tears.

Exhibit Five

Mar 12:41-44  Widows Mite

This passage has often been misunderstood. Jesus did not say that you should give all you have. I have heard preachers make the saints feel guilty as they state that when you give God does not look at what you gave but on what you have kept to yourself. This is not true for normal offerings. It only applies to sacrificial giving. Jesus and not condemn those who gave out of their abundance. There is a place for giving out of need and a place for giving out of abundance. I have often said that while sacrificial giving makes a huge difference in the life of the giver, it does not make much difference in funding the work of God. The widow’s mite was strategic and critical to her but did not make a significant dent in funding the work of the temple.

The story of the widow’s mite also busts another church myth that says that your giving should be in secret. It is clear that Jesus was watching this public act of giving and commenting on it. The secret giving is mostly about alms.

Sacrificial giving may be measured by giving all or a significant portion of your source of sustenance.
Consequently if one gives sacrificially all the time they will become negligent on some of their responsibilities.

Exhibit Six

Mark 14:1-9 

Sacrificial giving maybe a demonstration of extravagant love and devotion. This kind of sacrificial giving will immortalise your memory and create a legacy. The strategic nature of this giving is shown in how she was anointing his body for burial.
Sacrificial giving once initiated of eth Holy Spirit may have a higher prophetic significance that is known by the giver.

Exhibit Seven  God Gave Sacrificially.

Sacrificial giving can and should be giving for a specific return in harvest. It is a type of giving intended for uncommon harvests. It is driven by an intense love.

Exhibit Eight

2Co 8:1 -5  The Macedonians

Sacrificially giving is giving willingly and voluntarily out of a deep desire to be a blessing. It should never be coerced or forced. Sacrificially giving may include giving beyond one’s means – and hence should not be done lightly or to
impress others.

Sacrificial giving seems to be strategic, God-directed times when one gives abnormal and painful offerings to provide unbelievable breakthroughs. These are not frequent small givings. From the examples given above from scripture it appears to me like sacrificial giving is quite rare. In daily usage we have cheapened sacrificial giving to anything even that which costs nothing. Sacrificial giving is costly giving. It causes an ache inside.

Sacrificial offerings unlike free will offerings, are strategic offerings, given at specific times, to break something in the
spirit. They therefore are not as frequent as freewill offerings. The Scripture does not require a Christian to offer sacrificially regularly as it considers his life a sacrifice offering. (Rom 12:1).
It is however critical that at strategic times a believer will be led by the Spirit to offer sacrificially.

Apart from the fact that the tithe belongs to God, there are material benefits to tithing and disadvantages to not tithing. God promises a number of things to those who tithe:

• The      Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest      (Deuteronomy 14:29)
• When people obey and give tithes, the Levites and priests are well provided for and God blesses His people (2 Chronicles  31:5-10)
• God says …prove me now herewith, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it (Malachi 3: 10).
• He will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field (Malachi 3: 11).
• The tithe is not mine to withhold; it BELONGS to the LORD. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” Leviticus
  27:30, 32 A tithe of everything from the land … BELONGS TO THE LORD; it is holy to the lord…. The entire tithe of the herd
  and flock … will be holy to the Lord.
• Tithing is an indicator of our FAITHFULNESS. It’s an opportunity to demonstrate to God your faithfulness and commitment to His work on earth. 2 Chronicles 31:12 Then they FAITHFULLY brought in the contributions, tithes and dedicated gifts.
• Tithing allows God-called ministers to devote themselves fully to the Lord’s work. Numbers 18:21 I give to the LEVITES all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance IN RETURN FOR THE WORK THEY DO while serving at the Tent of Meeting.
• I wouldn’t want to take a chance on God considering me a ROBBER! Malachi 3:8-10 “Will a man ROB GOD? Yet you rob me.” But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In TITHES AND OFFERINGS. You are under a curse — the whole nation of you — because you are robbing me.  Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you
  will not have room enough for it. There are two robberies mentioned here!
•  Because God says He wants His “house” to be ABUNDANTLY supplied. Malachi 3: 10. Not meat in your house
  but in my house. To finance the activities of the local church.

In Leviticus 27:30-31 there is no doubt as to who owns the tithe. All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s and is holy to the Lord. If a man redeems any of his tithes, he must add a fifth of the value to it. In case anyone should think that this only applies to plants, he deals with the tithe of the herd or flock in Leviticus 27:32, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord.

Not only is the tithe God’s but the Scripture emphasises that it is holy and is separated for God’s use.

A tithe was a king’s share and by offering a tithe one was acknowledging the Kingship of the person to whom it was given. Our tithes are an acknowledgement of the Kingship and Lordship of our God. The tithe is the Kingdom taxation system. It is not an option but an obligation of every Kingdom person.

The tithe establishes the issue of ownership and God who owns it all through the principle of dominion gave man the stewardship over
His resources on earth. The tithe is therefore a Kingdom tax an obligation which reminds us that it is all His after all. There is even an interest charge if you delay the payment of the tithe in the Old Testament.

Someone once suggested, “Well, if the tenth already belongs to God, why doesn’t He just automatically withhold the tithe and then give us the rest, like ZIMRA withholds taxes from our wages? That way God won’t have to depend on us to pay our tithes.”

God has chosen for us to personally return the tithe so that we can demonstrate our stewardship of his property. Stewardship is the faithful
and responsible management of something that belongs to someone else. Obviously, if God observes that we are irresponsible to return the small percentage that belongs to Him as He has directed, He knows that we can neither be trusted with any greater responsibilities or blessings in the Kingdom of God (Luke 16:10-11).

“He who is faithful in a very little [thing] is faithful also in much, and he who is dishonest and unjust in a very little [thing] is dishonest and unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the [case of] unrighteous mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions), who will entrust to you the true riches?”AMP

Tithing is a test of our stewardship over the property of God, a test of our honesty to return to God what is rightfully His, a test of our obedience to do what He told us to do, and a test of our love and desire to please Him with our lives.
Tithing is a demonstration that we believe in God, and that we acknowledge that He is the provider of all material blessings. Tithing is a test of our trust in God. Do I trust God for my sustenance or will I hold tightly to my every income?

If you don’t have faith to believe that the tithe belongs to the Lord, neither can you have faith in Him to meet your financial needs. After
all, if you don’t believe that the tenth is His, you cannot believe that the whole earth is His either. Without that confidence in His supremacy, there could be no confidence in His ability to provide our needs.

Will you pass the test?

Many people do not realize that there is a definite link between tithing and giving. It is not an either or. One needs to both pay his tithes and give
his free will offering.

Mal 3:8-10  Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a
curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be
room enough to receive it.

When you tithe two things happen:

• Meat (supply) goes into God’s house and
• The windows of heaven are opened over your life

Tithing establishes a position of trust where God opens the windows of heaven ready to pour out a blessing. Tithing simply opens the windows of God’s abundance supply to you.

Your offering establishes or determines the measure which God will use to allow blessings of God to flow down to you through the open windows.

Luke 6:38 “Give, and [gifts] will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will they pour into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the measure you use when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you.” AMP.
Another witness is 2 Cor 9:6 “ [Remember] this: he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgingly, and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to someone] will also reap generously and with blessings.”AMP

So according to Dr John Avanzini:

A tither who does not give lives under open heavens but with empty pockets.

A giver who does not tithe has leaking pockets due to the devourer.

A giver and tither has open heavens and full pockets.

Its probably time to assess yourself. Stay blessed

My
giving a freewill offering is also a demonstration that my trust is not in
uncertain riches but in God. When wealth come sin it is very easy to turn one’s
trust to the wealth rather than depend on God. The Bible does warn rich people
to be careful.

1
Tim 6:17-19 “As for the rich in this world, charge them not to be proud and
arrogant and contemptuous of others, nor to set their hopes on uncertain
riches, but on God, Who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for
[our] enjoyment.  [Charge them] to do
good, to be rich in good works, to be liberal and generous of heart, ready to
share [with others], In this way laying up for themselves [the riches that
endure forever as] a good foundation for the future, so that they may grasp
that which is life indeed.” AMP

So
God gives us wealth so that we may enjoy but also so that we may do good, be
rich in good works and be generous. This a solution to the arrogancy of wealth.
So the free will offering prevents developing a sense of pride.

It is therefore clear that giving offerings is
multi-purpose: as an act of worship, to fund the church, as a seed for a
harvest, as an acknowledgement of our stewardship over resources and as an
expression of our love to God.

Mark 7:10-13 says,” For Moses said, Honor (revere with tenderness of feeling and deference) your father and your mother, and, He who curses or
reviles or speaks evil of or abuses or treats improperly his father or mother, let him surely die. [Ex 20:12; 21:17; Lev 20:9; Deut 5:16.]  But [as for you] you say, A man is exempt if he tells [his] father or [his] mother, What you would otherwise have gained from me [everything I have that would have been of use to you] is Corban, that is, is a gift [already given as an offering to God],  Then you no longer are permitting him to do
anything for [his] father or mother [but are letting him off from helping them].
Thus you are nullifying and making void and of no effect [the authority of] the Word of God through your tradition, which you [in turn] hand on. And many things of this kind you are doing.” AMP

Let me categorically state on the basis of this scripture that you giving to God does not exempt you from taking care of your parents financially.

Here is another witness to the need for Christians to take care of their families. 1 Tim 5:8 “If anyone fails to provide for his relatives, and
especially for those of his own family, he has disowned the faith [by failing to accompany it with fruits] and is worse than an unbeliever [who performs his obligation in these matters].” AMP

The main purpose of this giving is to provide for the needs of those God calls into full-time ministry.  Galatians 6:6. “Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. “ “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of
double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves  his wages.”  [1 Timothy 5:17-18]

Paul deals with the issue of giving to the servants of God so that they benefit from the fruit of their labours. 1 Cor 9:7-18  “[Consider this:] What soldier at any time serves at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any of the fruit of it? Who tends a flock and does not partake of the milk of the flock? Do I say this only on human authority and as a man reasons? Does not the Law endorse the same principle? For in the Law of Moses it is written, You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the corn. Is it [only] for oxen that God cares? [Deut 25:4.]  Or does He speak certainly and entirely for our sakes? [Assuredly] it is written for our sakes, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher ought to thresh in expectation of partaking of the harvest. If we have sown [the seed of] spiritual good among you, [is it too] much if we reap from your material benefits? If others share in this rightful claim upon you, do not we [have a still better and greater claim]? However, we have never exercised this right, but we endure everything rather than put a hindrance in the way [of the spread] of the good news (the Gospel) of Christ.  Do you not know that those men who are employed in the services of the temple get their food from the temple? And that those who tend the altar share with the altar [in the offerings brought]? [Deut 18:1.] [On the same principle] the Lord directed that those who publish the
good news (the Gospel) should live (get their maintenance) by the Gospel. But I have not made use of any of these privileges, nor am I writing this [to suggest] that any such provision be made for me [now]. For it would be better for me to die than to have anyone make void and deprive me of my [ground for] glorifying [in this matter]. For if I [merely] preach the Gospel, that gives me no reason to boast, for I feel compelled of necessity to do it. Woe is me if I do not preach the glad tidings (the Gospel)!  For if I do this work of my own free will, then I have my pay (my reward); but if it is not of my own will, but is done reluctantly and under compulsion, I am [still] entrusted with a [sacred] trusteeship and commission.   What
then is the [actual] reward that I get? Just this: that in my preaching the good news (the Gospel), I may offer it [absolutely] free of expense [to
anybody], not taking advantage of my rights and privileges [as a preacher] of the Gospel.” AMP

From this scripture Paul clearly indicates that he chose not to burden the saints through support although it is legitimate. I love Paul’s spirit.
Unfortunately stories abound of preachers who will blackmail saints to give to them in their personal capacity. Peter wrote to the elders and told them in 1 Peter 5 that they should shepherd the flock willingly and not grudgingly or for filthy lucre’s sake. My philosophy when it comes to preachers is that I give to them as I feel led by the Holy Spirit. If any preacher throws “faith hints” at me, he immediately disqualifies himself from receiving financial blessings from me. My pastor always boasts that he never asks for money for his own benefit but is not ashamed to ask the church to sow for the purposes of expanding the vision.

Sometimes in the late 1980s I made a commitment to pay schools fees for my pastor’s child who was then going to crèche. We kept the promise all the way till the child completed her high school. We diligently kept that promise for more than fourteen years. It was seed worth sowing because as a man of God he sowed his life into ours by teaching us the word of God. But this was an unsolicited seed that we sowed. Out of that seed we have been able to send our children to any school we wanted and have the fees paid.

Pastors should never demand, coerce or manipulate people to give to them in their personal capacities as men of God. People give as they feel led by God to bless them in return for laying down their lives for the flock.

As a side-thought it is important for pastors in their own personal capacity to also learn to give so that they receive a harvest. Many pastors are
not givers. That is why they tend to manipulate the saints to giving them. What happened to faith and believing God for their own finances?  I remember one pastor who was reportedly heard to say that he does not give because he is the founder of the work and so it would be equivalent to God giving to himself. How audacious?

a.) From Exodus 25:8 it is clear that one of the purposes of an offering is so that the sanctuary or the house of God may be built.  Offerings are thus for the purpose of meeting the needs that arise at the altar where God is served and can be used for any legitimate church expense.

b.) Offerings as an act of worship

Offerings as an act of worship are our way of appreciating God for who He is. They can be used as a thanks-giving offering when a person who has been blessed, delivered or protected, may want to come and give thanks to God for what He was done. Paul indicates this aspect of worship within an offering when he reflects on an offering he had received from the Philippians. He describes their gift as a sweet, smelling sacrifice that is
well pleasing to God. It paints the word picture of the offering at the altar whose sweet smell would rise into the presence of God, and if a sweet fragrance was perceived, the offering was accepted. “[Philippians 4:18-19]

c.) An offering acknowledges God as the source of total supply and blessing in our lives. It is a way of giving thanks to God just as David years ago would pray, “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.” [I Chronicles 29:13-14]

What a powerful prayer and a powerful truth! “Of thine own have we given Thee.” It’s an acknowledgement that we are just stewards over the resources of the earth but God is the owner. So we take out of our stewardship and give an offering as a way of acknowledging His right to ownership and title to all that we have.

d.) Freewill offerings are seed that we sow for a harvest. The Bible clearly teaches that we give an offering with an expectation of a harvest. Many
believers struggle with the concept of giving with an expectation to get. However they have no problem with a farmer who sows seed with an expectation of a harvest. They would consider an investor who invests with no thought of return as a foolish investor, but fail to see the folly in their view of giving without expecting to receive. The Scriptures clearly teach that God gave His son with an expectation of receiving a harvest of souls. John 3:16. We cannot be more spiritual than God. God expects a harvest. Even when he gives a gift or calling, he expects a harvest – that is why He will hold us accountable for the way we have used the gifting or the calling.

Luke 6:38 clearly shows that when we give, we can expect to receive a harvest multiplied, pressed down, shaken together and overflowing.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 while talking about offerings clearly indicates that the measure of our giving determines the measure of our harvest. This points to a clear expectation to receive.

This Scripture clearly shows that free will offerings should be given without any manipulation from the one taking the offering. As a matter of practice if I am in a service and I feel that undue pressure is been put on people to give, I refrain from giving in that service. A ploy that some use which I find quite humorous is when preachers ask those who do not have to raise hands and get money from those who have for them to sow seed.. Surely God knows who the actual giver is and he blesses that one. To me this is just a manipulation tactic to increase the offering. It manipulates those who have already given to give again indirectly through those who do not have. If someone does not have they should ask of God because the Bible says that God gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Believe God for seed to sow.

e.) From John 3:16 we learn that it was out of love that God gave his only begotten son. It can be concluded that it was love that was the source of God’s indescribable gift. Therefore giving can be viewed as an expression of love. We therefore give offerings as an expression of our love and commitment to God. This is critical because money is one of the greatest rivals against God for man’s affections. When one
gives an offering he is acknowledging that he loves God more than money. It is an anti-dote against greed. Matt 6:24 clearly teaches that one cannot love and serve both God and money. My giving an offering is a clear demonstration that money does not control me but rather I control it and direct it for godly purposes. Giving an offering is therefore a declaration that God has prior claim in my life above the claim of material wealth. A generous giver is rarely plagued by the love of money because the love of God has first place.

It is therefore clear that giving offerings is multi-purpose: as an act of worship, to fund the church, as a seed for a harvest, as an acknowledgement of our stewardship over resources and as an expression of our love to God.

David J. MacLeod, in his article in The Emmaus Journal 6 (1997), titled “The Primacy of Scripture in the Church,” powerfully summarises the New Testament principles of giving an offering: Free will Giving is to be … • voluntary, not forced (2 Cor 8:3, 9:5-7) • generous, not parsimonious (2 Cor 8:2, 9:6,13) • enthusiastic, not grudging (2 Cor 8:4, 11-12, 9:7) • deliberate, not haphazard (2 Cor 9:7) • regular, not spasmodic (1 Cor 16:2) • proportionate, not arbitrary (1 Cor 16:2) • sensible, not reckless (2 Cor 8:11-12, I Cor 16:2) • unobtrusive, not ostentatious (Matt 6:1-4)

From the above it can be summarized that New Testament Offerings should meet the following criteria: should be systematic, regular, proportional to the level of God’s blessing, liberal and generous, cheerful and without coercion while trusting God to supply our needs.

Giving starts as a discipline whose consistency turns it into a second nature lifestyle. One starts giving as matter of discipline before it becomes a joy and pleasure. God does not require us to do what he does not do himself. A great teacher is an embodiment of what he teaches. God as the great teacher and leader that He is models his values.  And giving is one of those values. God is a passionate giver.

2 Peter 1:3-4  For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the
[full, personal] knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue).   By means of these He has bestowed on us His
precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through them you may escape [by flight] from the moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the world because of covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers (partakers) of the divine nature.  (AMP) God through His great and precious promises has made us partakers of his divine nature. It is God’s nature to give. I am a partaker of His giving nature.

God is described as a giving God who gives liberally and without begrudging. He gives even rain and the sun to the sinner.  Not only does he give
liberally but he gives good and perfect gifts. He gives of his best. He is not like some people I know who give what they no longer want. He gives that which is precious to Him.  James 1:5, 17-18 “ If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. — Every good gift and every perfect ( free, large,
full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].  And it was of His own [free] will that He gave us birth [as sons] by [His] Word of Truth, so that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures [a sample of what He created to be consecrated to Himself].” (AMP).

God’s giving is motivated by love. He gives out of love and at the same time gives with another motivation. He gives with an expectancy of a return. It is interesting that while God gives for an anticipated return, many people do not expect to receive a harvest out of their seed given to God. I wonder whether we are more spiritual than God. In John 3:16 God gave His best in anticipation of a great harvest of souls into
eternal life.

“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ( unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.”  (AMP)

Jesus Christ the express image of the Godhead loved me so much that He gave Himself for me. Ouch this makes me pause and wonder: How much of myself is in my giving? Do I give other things in place of my life? Do I compensate with money what I cannot give of myself?   Gal 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life
I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”( AMP).
I suppose we could say that the measure of love in a gift is the measure of the giver that is included in the gift. Jesus did not gave part of Himself but He gave Himself in full to demonstrate his love. He did not send an angel to die for me but He took my place himself. So why do I put  substitutes into my gifts of love?

This is further confirmed in Eph 5:2 “And walk in love, [esteeming and delighting in one another] as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God [for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.” AMP. He gave Himself. When I give to God do I use money to avoid giving of Myself? In my marriage and family do I use money and toys rather than giving of Myself. How much of myself is given to
my wife or my children? Does my financial gift represent me or it is my substitute?

God is an amazing giver. Sample the following scriptures as they speak of the giving God.

1 Tim 6:17-18 “As for the rich in this world, charge them not to be proud and arrogant and contemptuous of others, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches, but on God, Who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for [our] enjoyment.  [Charge them] to do good, to be rich in good works, to be liberal and generous of heart, ready to share [with others], “AMP.
Because God gives richly all things for our enjoyment, He challenges rich people to be rich in good works, liberal and ready to share with others. Just like their God.

Rom 8:32 “He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things? “ AMP

Ps 115:16 “The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth has He given to the children of men.” AMP. Incredible He gave the earth to the sons of man for rulership.

Ps 84:11 “For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield; the Lord bestows [present] grace and favor and [future] glory (honor, splendor, and heavenly bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” AMP

1 John 5:11-12 “And this is that testimony (that evidence): God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who possesses the Son has that
life; he who does not possess the Son of God does not have that life.” AMP.
Even more important He gave us eternal life through His son. Once you accept Jesus Christ His son, you receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life. So what are you waiting for?

Acts 20:35 “being mindful of the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, It is more blessed (makes one happier and more to be envied) to give than to receive. “ AMP

Conclusion

God is a giver and because we share in his nature, we also develop a discipline of giving. There are different kinds of giving which we will discuss namely: free will offerings, tithes, almsgiving, sacrificial giving, and firstfruits. Each kind of giving is governed by different rules as we shall see.