CHRISTAIN STEWARDSHIP – PART 5: DR. MENSAH OTABIL – SPECIAL SUNDAY SERVICE, 5TH DECEMBER, 2021.
SPECIAL SUNDAY SERVICE BY DR. MENSAH OTABIL (GENERAL OVERSEER INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) CHRIST TEMPLE, ACCRA GHANA)
TOPIC: CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP – PART 5.
DATE: 5TH DECEMBER, 2021
TEXT: 2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-8.
Amen and Amen! Let’s keep Standing, as we make our DECLARATION OF FRUITFULNESS in this Year of Fruitfulness:
Are you ready? Well say with me:
The Eternal God is our Refuge. He opens Rivers in desolate Heights.The Lord makes the wilderness a Pool of water.
The LORD God is my Sun and Shield; The LORD gives Grace and Glory.
Therefore, I delight myself in Him. Those who are Planted in the House of the LORD shall be Fresh and Flourishing.
Though the Earth be shaken; the Name of the Lord is my Strong Tower. By Faith I affirm that: In Christ alone is my Salvation. In Him I live, and move and have my Being.
It is written: The Righteous are like trees Planted by the waters; bearing Fruits in its Season.
So I boldly declare: As for me, my God has made me Exceedingly Fruitful.
In this Season, my Spirit bears Fruits of Righteousness, my Talents make Way for me. With my hands, I will Plant, I will Build, I will Harvest – Day by Day, Step by Step.
In Jesus’ Name – Amen!
Today I’ll be Teaching on CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP – PART 5. On the Sub-title: WHAT KIND OF GIVER AM I?
… That is a question to ask yourself.
In Part 1 we asked: “Why do we Give to the Lord?”
In Part 2 we asked: “What do we Give to the Lord?”
In Part 3 we asked: “Where should we Give to God?”
In Part 4 we asked: “How should we Give to God?”
Then today, it’s a more Personal Question: WHAT KIND OF GIVER AM I?
We want to look at ourselves and think of how we worship God Financially.
It is a sort of a follow-up from the last one, where we talked about the Churches in Macedonia. And Paul’s Mission of reconciling the Churches in Jerusalem, with the Gentile Church.
And the Offering that the Churches in Macedonia gave, to make this a Possibility.
We centered the Teaching on 2 Corithians 8 – Where Paul talked about the Giving of the Churches in Macedonia.
Now I am going to go a little further from that same thought, where I was in 2 Corinthians 8, and move to the next Chapter – 2 Corithians 9:6-8.
That is where I am going to base my Teaching on, today.
Now you have to understand that it is still the same mode of Paul’s writing – Commending the Macedonian Churches for their Giving.
And now, he is telling the Corithian Churches to imitate the Macedonian Churches on how they gave.
And then he gives further Instructions on what happens when we give. And the Kinds of Givers that there are.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (NKJV):
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
7 So let each one Give as he Purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of Necessity; for God loves a Cheerful Giver.
8 And God is able to make all Grace abound toward you, that you, always having all Sufficiency in all things, may have an Abundance for every Good work.
Paul mentions two (2) Kinds of Givers in this Passage: The Sparing Givers and the Bountiful Givers.
… So I will take the Two (2) Givers and explain what it means.
- First, he talks about those who Sow Sparingly: I call them The Sparing Givers.
… They Give Sparingly!
The word ‘Sparing’ comes from a Greek word which means ‘TO HOLD BACK”.
So a Sparing Giver is someone who holds back what must be given.
It is a very interesting Greek word: Sparingly – And a form of that word is used in Romans 8:31-38, which says:
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not SPARE His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a Charge against God’s Elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the Right Hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the Love of Christ? Shall Tribulation, or Distress, or Persecution, or Famine, or Nakedness, or Peril, or Sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are More Than Conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am Persuaded that neither death nor life, nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers, nor things Present nor things to come,
… That word “SPARE” is the same word that is used about Sparing Givers.
The Bible says that: “God did not Spare His Son…”
In other words, He did not “HOLD BACK” His Son; He did not withhold His Son.
But the Sparing Giver is one who withholds
He or she is not like God, Who did not Spare His Son.
A Sparing Giver is one who holds back from Giving.
WHO IS A SPARING GIVER?
There ew different kinds of Sparing Givers. And I am hopeful that they are not listening to me now or reading this Message now on the label of DMC.
But Peradventure they are; I am sure you can now determine what kind of Giver you are: Whether you are the one who Spares, or you are the one who is a Bountiful Giver.
QUALIFICATIONS OF SPARING GIVERS.
I. First, they are those who NEVER Give to God.
They never give to God! They may give to other courses but have a Spiritual and Mental blockage when it comes to Giving to God.
They can come up with every excuse as to why they should NEVER give to God. Or never give in Church.
They come up with Excuses, such as: I don’t trust the Church – They don’t use my money wisely. Or, Giving is not by force – I want to do what I want I want to do.
And all the while, they have no Problem Giving to someone or something else, which is far less reliable
So the Sparing Givers Never Give to God!
They may be in Church; but every time have an excuse about their own Needs, bills, concerns and all of that! And they never Give.
… So that is the first qualification of a Sparing Giver.
II. And then secondly, the Sparing Givers are those who Give “OFF AND ON”.
They give irregularly – They give when they feel like it.
When they are in the mood they Give. When they are not in the mood, they don’t Give to God.
They are People that I call “GOD TIPPERS.”
They Give as a Person would tip a Waiter or a Doorman. They can’t bring themselves to frequently give to God.
… So when they are in the mood, they TIP.
They don’t Give a lot. But they just Give enough to represent that they came to Church.
You know, when I was a kid; I don’t know maybe our Parents did not teach us well.
When we are going to Church, they will Give us a tiny coin to go and Give in the Collection Box. And so we went with half (½) Pesewa (Ghanian currency).
… How many of you remember half (½) Pesewa? Alright! How many of you never used the half (½) Pesewa? – Quite a number of you!
Well, in Ghana we used to make use of half (½) Pesewa. It was worth something back then.
So, they would give us a coin (½ Pesewa). And before then, there was a quarter (¼) of a Pence – the Farthing. Which had a hike in it. So we go with coins, put it in the Collection Box.
Somehow, we felt that going to Church and Giving an Offering, you just Give a ‘Left Over.’ – Go and TIP God. Go and give something to God just for Him to know you came to Church.
… A Sparing Giver is one who Give “Off and On!”
III. Thirdly, the Sparing Givers are those who Give Grudgingly.
When it is time to Give to God, they Give with their faces squeezed.
When you talk about Giving in Christ Church, they feel offended. When you ask them to Give they just feel insulted.
They don’t enjoy Giving in the House of the Lord – They are Sparing Givers. They give Grudgingly, Complaining.
IV. And fourthly, the Sparing Givers are those who only Give because of Necessity.
They Give because they are out under Pressure to Give.
And the Scripture says some People only Give when you Give them juicy Promises of a Miracle happening for them.
If you don’t tell them ‘Something Great is going to happen to them’ they don’t Give.
And these days many Christians only Give to connect to a Grace or a Blessing but not simply to Honour God.
So, it is becoming a quick procold thing: “I do this for God, God does that for me.” Not that I do it for God because I Love Him – Hence, they are those who Give out of Necessity.
All these Categories of Givers are Sparing Givers – They give Sparingly. They Withhold, Grudgingly Giving out of Necessity; “Off and On”, Irregular or those who find it difficult to Give at all.
Unfortunately, some Christians fall into the Category of Sparing Givers.
- The Second Category of Givers that Paul talks about is the BOUNTIFUL GIVERS.
… They are the opposite of the Sparing Givers.
And I supposed, among those listening to me or The DMC Readers, we would find a lot of Bountiful Givers – Okay!
QUALITIES OF BOUNTIFUL GIVERS.
I. They Give Regularly.
They are not like the ‘Tippers’ or the Sparing Givers. But the Bountiful Givers are Regular Givers.
They are those who Give Systematically either once a Week, once a Month – Whenever they are Paid, it is a routine.
When they go to any Church Service, they know they have to Give and they Give! It has become a habit of theirs – They are the Bountiful Givers.
They know that anytime they come to the Presence of God, they will Give an Offering and they Give regularly.
If they are Tithing, they do it regularly.
Whether it’s First Fruit, Offering or whatever Offering; they do it very Regularly and Systematically.
… That is a Bountiful Giver!
II. Secondly, Bountiful Givers are those who give Purposefully.
They think through what they want to Give to God; they Plan ahead and determine their Offerings.
Many times, at the beginning of the New Year, they determine their Offerings for the Year. At the beginning of a Month, they determine what they want to Give.
Before they come to Church, they determine their Offering – They think Purposefully. They Plan ahead of time and they are never under rush to Give because they have Planned Purposefully.
As the Scripture says: “Let each one Purpose in his heart…”
… They Give Purposefully.
III. Thirdly, the Bountiful Givers are the People who Give Generously.
They do not hold back on God. They are so Passionate for the Lord. That they will go the extra mile to Give to the Lord. They are very Generous when it comes to Giving to God.
IV. And fourthly, the Bountiful Givers Give Cheerfully.
Giving is not a burden to them. They don’t see Giving and Offering as a loss, but a Gain.
So, the Question is: Which one of these are you? Are you a Sparing Giver or a Bountiful Giver?
The Qualities are there and you can easily fix yourself somewhere in there.
And maybe you are in-between Sparing and Bountiful Givers; but you can always identify what kind of Giver you are.
Whether you are a Sparing Giver or you are a Bountiful Giver; God’s expectation is that all His children would become Bountiful Givers.
Giving is actually a matter of the heart – “Let each one Give as he Purposes in his heart”.
The Passage says it is a matter of the heart!
Whether you are a Bountiful Giver or a Sparing Giver, it is a matter of the heart.
Your heart condition (and I am not talking about your Physical heart condition). But I am talking about where your Passion is; your Passionate desires.
Your heart condition would determine what you Give.
Actually, Jesus is the One Who established this Truth when He said in Matthew 6:21 – “For where your Treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Giving is a matter of the heart – Whether you are a Sparing Giver or a Bountiful Giver; it is a matter of your heart.
Outside of the necessities of Life, what you spend money on reveals your Priorities. It is an heart matter!
When our hearts are distant from God, we Give Sparingly – The way we Give to God Paints a Portrait of our Relationship with God.
I have said it many, many times: “Giving reveals the condition of your heart.”
If you love your children, you are going to Give to them. If you love your spouse, you are going to Give to them – Whatever you love you Give to.
If you are not a Giver, it simply means you don’t Love.
You can’t tell somebody “I Love you so much” but never Give.
What kind of Love is that?
How many married Couples would say – “Oh, my husband loves me so much, buy he had never given me a Pesewa (Ghanian Currency). He gives nothing!”
Or, can you say: “Oh, my wife loves me so much, but the woman, her hand is strong oooo! When she has money, you won’t get one Pesewa out of it.”
Nobody says that!
Because, Generousity is an expression of your heart. What you love, what you are Passionate about.
So, when our hearts are distant from God, we Give Sparingly. But when our hearts are drawn closely to God, we Give Bountifully. It is a battle of the heart.
When we are in love with the Lord, we reach out and Give to Him. Because we Give Passionately to what we feel Passionate about.
If you feel Passionate about food, you spend a lot on food. If you love food, you’ll spend a lot on food.
If you feel Passionate about Clothes, you spend on Clothes. There are People who can live in a Kiosk – but dress to kill.
You know, sometimes when you see the homes People are coming out of, and the Clothes they are wearing; you know what their Passion is. They don’t care about where they sleep, they care about how they look.
And they will go the extra mile to dress well. Why? – Because they feel Passionate about what they wear.
There are People who would never wear Good Clothes, they don’t even care about where they sleep. But they care about their Stomach. And they would munch a lot of food.
There are those who know the lastest Joints and Restaurants in Town, where the best food and the best whatever are sold. But beyond that, they care about nothing. Why? – Because their Passion is food!
If you feel Passionate about Socializing, you’ll spend a lot of money on Socializing and going out with friends.
And so there are People who spend so much on going out with friends, and never take care of their children’s Education; never take care of anything at home. But they would spend all the money on Outing. Why? – Because that is what they feel Passionate about.
You know, People spend money on Football – On Soccer, because they are Passionate about it.
If you feel Passionate about yourself, you spend a lot on yourself – Sometimes to the detriment of your Spouse and your children.
Some People are so fixated on themselves and their looks, that they will starve their children, so they look Good.
Whatever you are Passionate about, that is where you spend your money – “For where your Treasure is, there will your heart be also”.
So, if you feel Passionately about God, you spend a lot on things related to God. If God is important to you, anything related to the things of God, you will not be compelled.
You don’t need a Promise; you don’t need to be dragged; you don’t need to be encouraged – You just Give!
Because really, a Person who loves Food doesn’t need encouragement to buy food – They encourage themselves. They can be driving through Town and they say: “Hmmm, I smell that nice aroma; let me go and buy the food.” It’s a heart matter!
So when you say: “LORD, I love You!” How do you know if you love Him? – You Give to Him.
So a Sparing Giver, a Bountiful Giver – Matters of the heart!
WHAT MAKE PEOPLE GIVE SPARINGLY AND BOUNTIFULLY?
Proverbs 11:24-25(NKJV):
There is one who scatters, yet Increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right,
But it leads to Poverty. The Generous Soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.
I mean, Natural Law would say: “If you Withhold, you gain more. If you Give, you are losing”.
But Scriptural Principle says: “If you Give, you are Gaining; if you Withhold, you are Losing.”
And so, there are those who Scatter – They Give a lot and they flourish. And there are those who Withhold and are Poor.
So what does that teach us? – It teaches us that they have a SCARCITY MENTALITY.
… They Give Sparingly because they have a SCARCITY MENTALITY.
A Person with a Scarcity Mentality always feels like Taking, instead of Giving – They never appreciate what they have or what has been given to them.
Even when they have a lot of money and, they are never happy. They always want to take.
You know, since I started using Computers; and those who know me Personally, know I am always on my Laptop, constantly working, writing, typing, Studying – My Computer is my Office.
I don’t need a Physical Office – I just need that little thing in my hand, and I can work anywhere.
I have tons of tons of Programs on Computer. But even from the beginning when I started using Computers, I made an effort to buy every Program I run on my Computer.
In those days when People will go on and give you Microsoft Office; some People say: “I’ll copy it and give you the Disk.”
I didn’t do that! I would go and but the Original Microosoft. Because, I believed if Somebody has worked so hard to make my Life so easy, I must reward them for what they have done for me.
And so, all the Programs I run on my Computer, I Pay for them.
If there are Free Versions, I don’t use them as a matter of Principle!
In my Phone I have a couple of Games. When I Play Games, if there is a Pro-Version that you must Pay for, I Pay for that one!
Because you see, the Person who is giving you Pleasure worked hard on that. And you must ensure that the Labourer receives his or her Hire.
… It is a Simple Principle!
And then there are People who always want the Free things – They want the Free Things!
And there are People like that – When it comes to things of God, they want Free Things.
But if we want People to reward us for what we do, then we must also Reward those who helped us.
Is that so? – It’s a Simple Logic!
So, if Somebody has gone out of his way to Produce a Computer Program for me, I must show my appreciation for what the Person has done!
A Scarcity Mentality Person has a sense of entitlement; they never have enough – They are Grabbers!
They are the kind of People who would go on a Buffet Table and by the time they go through; it would be as if an Atomic Bomb visited the Buffet Table.
Nothing behind them survives! Because, when they are Picking, they never think of the Next Person in the line.
… Because if everybody has taken the way you took, you would not have your Chance at the table.
It is Scarcity Mentality that makes you think “if I don’t take all of it, I will have Nothing”.
It is not a Godly Mindset; it is not a Generous Mindset – It is a Scarcity Mindset.
And it translates into how we Give; how we show Compassion, how we show Mercy and how we Help other People – Scarcity Mentality!
Then there are the Bountiful Givers – Bountiful Givers have an Abundance Mentality.
Even when they have Money, they are Cheerful and Joyful – They are always in a Good Mood. They always have More Than Enough.
Not because they have Physically More Than Enough; but because they appreciate what they have – When you give then a little, they appreciate it.
One of the things that sometimes can be very Painful is: People who never show appreciation for what others have done for them – You give them money, they don’t appreciate; you offer them Help, they don’t appreciate. They think you should do better – That is Scarcity Mentality!
The Abundance Mentality – If you give them very little, they Treasure it.
It is that Mentality that helps us to be Generous Givers.
Because we always feel Full and Complete – There is Joy in what we do. There is appreciation for what we do. We take that same Spirit into our Spiritual Walk. And when it comes to doing things for God, we do it wholeheartedly.
So What Kind of a Giver are you? – Are you a Scarcity Mentality Sparing Giver? Are you the Abundance Mentality Bountiful Giver? Which one are you? Where is your heart? Where is your Passion?
Do an Audit of your Expenditures – Think of all the things you spend money on. It would tell you what is important to you. Look at that!
… Just do an Audit, it will tell you where your heart is.
Where you spend your money shows you what is important to you!
So, God is looking out for People whose hearts are Generous – Because, as 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 teaches us; God responds to us according to our Giving.
He who sows Sparingly; when you give the money, you have given been it like seed that you have sown.
He who sows Sparingly would receive Sparingly. He who sows Bountifully would receive Bountifully – That’s is God’s Law!
So What Kind of a Giver am I? And what kind of Givers are we?
And I Pray that God teach each one of us to become Bountiful Givers, whose heart is right with Him – Amen.
And if we talk short in any way, may the Lord help us correct our Mindset and bring us in Alignment with His Purposes; so that our heart will always express our desires for the Lord, in Jesus’ Name – AMEN.
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