Today, we’re ripping off the band-aid. We’ve talked about mindset, doctrine, and prayer, but to be a truly MEGA church, we have to be a GIVING church.
Now, before you skip ahead, let me be clear: giving is not just about your bank account. It includes your finances, your talents, and your time. Giving is the very essence of creation. From the beginning, God gave light to guide the day, water to sustain life, and ultimately, as John 3:16 tells us, He gave His only Son.
As beings created in His image, we share the same responsibility and opportunity to be investors in the Kingdom.
1. Financial Giving: More Than a Tip
Financial giving in Scripture is a progressive revelation. It started long before the Law was ever written:
- Abram gave a tithe (10%) to Melchizedek as an involuntary act of worship (Genesis 14).
- Jacob vowed a tenth to God at Bethel as part of a covenant (Genesis 28).
- The Law later codified the tithe as a reminder that God is the source of all things.
In the New Testament, giving expanded. It wasn’t just about a percentage; it was about justice and benevolence. The early church fathers had various views: Irenaeus emphasized sharing everything with the poor, while Augustine later encouraged the 10% tithe as a “minimum standard” because people were becoming less generous than the apostolic days.
The Bottom Line: If we are willing to give a 20% tip to a waiter for good service but shirk when it comes to the house of God, we don’t have a budget problem—we have a heart problem. Start with the tithe as a foundation of obedience and let the Holy Spirit lead you into radical generosity.
2. Giving Your Talents: Don’t Bury the Gift
In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14–30), a master entrusts his property to his servants. Two of them invest what they were given and double it. The third, out of fear, hides his talent in the dirt.
The master calls that third servant “wicked and slothful.” In our context, “wickedness” isn’t just breaking a commandment; it’s withholding the investment of your giftings.
Whether your gift is prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, or acts of mercy (Romans 12:6–8), those abilities were given to you to expand the Kingdom. We are “good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). When you refuse to use your talent to serve the body, you are burying the Master’s investment.
3. Giving Your Time: The One Thing You Can Only Spend
The Bible doesn’t have a specific “Thou shalt give three hours” commandment, but time is implied in every act of ministry. Whether it’s outreach, discipleship, or volunteering in the nursery, your time is the currency of your life.
We often hear “time is money,” but time is actually more valuable. Money can be replaced; time can only be spent. God is omnipresent—He exists outside of time—but He gave us “signs and seasons” (Genesis 1:14) to help us steward our lives.
How you spend your time reflects what you worship. Stewarding your time means intentionally carving out space for the Kingdom amidst the busyness of work and pleasure.
Conclusion: Investing vs. Losing
A giving church is an investing church. We don’t “give away” our resources to lose them; we invest them to gain something eternal.
When we give our money, talents, and time, we gain:
- Souls won for Christ.
- Lives transformed by grace.
- Believers sharpened and matured.
Investing is an act of obedience. Let’s take the limits off our generosity and see the Kingdom expand in powerful ways!
