Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. -2 Corinthians 9:7
For God loves the hilarious giver (the laughing giver). -Godbey
God loves, (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is not willing to abandon or do without) a cheerful, (joyous, “prompt to do it”) giver [whose heart is in his giving.] -Amplified Classic
In over 25 years of pastoring, I found that the quietest part of the service was when it was time to receive the tithes and offerings. However, all through the scriptures I found people who were extremely happy about giving. I asked the Lord, “Why don’t my people get happier when it’s time to tithe and give?” The Lord answered, “Most people give just enough to irritate themselves.” Most people give with a consciousness of their giving rather than a consciousness of God’s generosity.
You see, some people give and think subtraction. They feel a sense of loss. However, God says, “I will multiply your seed sown!” Therefore, you should give with an expectation of increase and provision in mind. You should give with the promises of God in mind. The Lord said to me, “You can give your way into abundance.”
There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. -Proverbs 11:24-25
One gives away, and still he grows the richer: another keeps what he should give, and is the poorer. A liberal soul will be enriched, and he who waters will himself be watered. -Moffat New Translation
The Bible promises the generous person will be abundantly provided for. The key word here is generous. You see, this scripture doesn’t say they didn’t give. It says they withheld more than is appropriate, meaning they were not generous.
I studied this scripture for years and finally said, “Lord, I really don’t understand this. What are you trying to say?” This is how He explained it to me: “You would think that if you withhold money, you would have more money. But if you hold on too tightly, you’ll have less money.” Second Corinthians 9:6 says, “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” Lack does not come from money you don’t have. It comes from money you do have that you shouldn’t have. God’s sowing system will always outperform man’s saving system!
Your generosity is a way God brings increase to you. You can literally give your way out of debt. Your tithing and your giving will open up supernatural resources in your life. God said it to me like this, “If you’ll get addicted to giving, I’ll support your habit!”
I like the story about the man who told his wife he had worked hard all his life for his money. He saved and saved. He said to her, “I’ll be the first one to take my money with me when I die. As a matter of fact, all my money is in the attic. When I die, I’m going to take it with me.” After he died, his wife climbed up in the attic, and found all the money was still there! So she said, “Hmm, I guess he should have put it in the basement!” (Ha ha ha! So he could get it on the way down.) That’s a funny story but many people have wrong ideas about money.
Some say money is evil, but that is not true. Money itself is not evil. The Bible says the LOVE of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10). God is not opposed to us being rich; but He is opposed to us being covetous (Dad Hagin). Covetousness is being stingy and constantly chasing money. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” We are to seek God, not money. And when we give and are generous, we demonstrate that God is our source. Money isn’t our source. Our trust is in the living God.
HOW TO RECEIVE GOD’S EXTRAVAGANT GENEROSITY
This month we want to offer you our book and 4CD set, How to Receive God’s Extravagant Generosity. For your offering of $20 or more we will send these resources to you right away. We believe they will strengthen your faith and cause you to increase in revelation knowledge in this area.
PARTNERS IN CHRIST
We are so excited about our time of ministry in South America later this month. We will be ministering for three days and three nights at a Campmeeting at Rhema in Bogota, Colombia. We will also be ministering with Pastor Mac Hammond in the Dominican Republic. Your World Missions partnership with us is making this possible.
We also want to invite you to some of our upcoming events at our MHM Conference Center. Ladies, Trina is hosting her first annual Women’s Conference in October, and we would love to have you attend. And then in November we will be having our In Christ Conference where we will be studying one of my favorite subjects, Paul’s revelation. You can get more information on all events at markhankins.org or by calling 318.767.2001.
In Christ,
Mark and Trina Hankins