FOUR (4) KINDS OF GIVERS: DR. MENSA OTABIL – SPECIAL SUNDAY SERVICE, 1ST MAY, 2022.
SPECIAL SUNDAY SERVICE BY DR. MENSA OTABIL (GENERAL OVERSEER INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) CHRIST TEMPLE, ACCRA GHANA)
TOPIC: FOUR (4) KINDS OF GIVERS.
DATE: 1ST MAY, 2022
TEXT: MATTHEW 6:2
Let’s rise up together as we take our DECLARATION OF INCREASE in this Year of Increase:
Are you ready? Say with me:
I confess today that Jesus Christ is my LORD and Saviour. In Him I have life, His Abundant Life.
The Lord is my Light and Strength. As He is, so has He made me. By His Spirit I Increase in Word and in Wisdom. In Faith and in Favour.
The Lord has said: “In Blessing, I will bless you. In multiplying I will Multiply your Seed.”
So, I can boldly say: My God shall Increase me more and more. What I Place in God’s Hands grows into Overflow.
Though I begin small, my end shall Greatly Increase.
In this Year of Increase, I grow in Grace and in Strength. To be all that God wants me to be.
In Jesus’ Name – AMEN!
Last Year (2021); I started teaching on Giving and Christian Stewardship because Giving seems to be like a simple thing to do – It’s just giving!
But it’s far more complicated than just Give. Because our attitudes are involved and God’s expectation is involved, God’s blessing is involved.
So, it is not just about what you feel like doing; it has to be done right.
And if God wants us to do it, God has to be honoured at the end of our Giving.
DMC NOTES: Kindly find below the Links to the Teachings on Giving as Christian Stewardship as discussed Last Year:
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 God?”
In Part 5, we asked: “What Kind of Giver am I?’
So today, I am going to talk about: FOUR (4) KINDS OF GIVERS.
And we will all determine which kind of Giver we are.
And hopefully all of us can learn, improve on our Giving and do things in an intentional and deliberate way that brings Glory to God.
There are many things we have in Life that are Precious. But I think the most Precious things that determine how our lives turn out is our Time, our Talent and our Treasure.
These three (3) things are so important – Time is so Precious, Talent is so Precious, your Treasure (your money, acquisitions) they are so Precious.
They are so Precious that none of us want to waste any of these things.
You don’t want to waste your Time, your Treasure and your Talent because when you waste them, you are wasting the entirety of your Life.
And because we are Particular about our Time, our Talent and our Treasures, we sometime take Possession of them in a tough way. And don’t want any of these things to go out of us.
… We don’t want to give away our Time, our Talent and our Treasure.
But as Christians, we also recognise that our Talent, our Time and our Treasure belongs to God.
As important and as Precious as they are, they belong to God. And He has given them to us as Stewards.
That means it doesn’t belong to us – We are Managers of it! We manage our Time, our Talent and our Treasure.
When it comes to Giving, these are the things I want you to have in mind as we talk about the FOUR (4) KINDS OF GIVERS.
- The first Kind of Givers we find in Matthew 6:2.
This is Jesus speaking on the Sermon on the Mount. And He gets to Matthew Chapter 6, He starts talking about things we do right as Christians.
He says: Therefore, when you do a Charitable Deed, do not sound a Trumpet before you as the Hypocrites do in the Synagogues and in the Streets, that they may have Glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their Reward.
Jesus is talking about some People and the way they Give.
So the first kind of Givers are: THOSE WHO GIVE TO SHOW OFF WHAT THEY HAVE.
There are People whose Giving is motivated by showing off. And they use this Giving to make themselves feel important and Special.
And in the days of Jesus there were People like that – He called them Hypocrites.
Normally what those People would do was, when they are going to Church, they hired Praise Singers to go ahead of them. Some would have People blowing the Trumpets to announce their Presence in the Synagogue or in the Streets.
And so these were People who really advertised their Giving.
And there are People who are like that – They are influenced by Publicity and Applause. For whatever they Give, they want Publicity for it and they want to be applauded.
For such People, they only Give when every eye is on them. When People can see they gave! They cannot give quietly – It has to be advertised.
And you know our world has entered the Social Media Age. And the Social Media Age is influenced by Self-Promotion. And that’s why People Promote everything.
They buy a shirt, they Promote it on Social Media – Ha! Look at my New Shirt.
They eat some food – Oh look at the food I ate in the Restaurant! They will never tell us the miserable ones they have been eating.
Because the Social Media Life thrives on everybody blow your horn! And there is some Value in advertising yourself and letting People know what you are doing and what you have.
But when it comes to Giving to God, Self Advertising is a Liability; it’s not an Asset.
So, you cannot treat Giving in the House of the Lord the same way you treat your Life on Social Media.
It’s not about Publicity, it’s not about Applause, it’s about watching you and clapping for you and telling you well done, you have done so well.
And Jesus said something, that there are People who give to show off. Their Reward is the Praise they receive from men! So the clap is all you’ll get.
And if you are on Social Media the Likes are all you’ll get.
God says, I’m not involved in that! If you Give because you want Publicity, yes you’ll get the Publicity. The Newspaper will Publish it, People will talk about it, but I’m out!
Because your Reward is what People give you.
So, if that is all you are looking for and by all means Give to show off; if you don’t want God’s Blessing, Favour and Reward, then do it Publicly and all of us will clap for you and you will get all the Reward.
But you know, we don’t Give simply because we want People to clap for us.
Because after People have clapped for us, they will go home and sleep and you have to deal with your Life.
The one you really want to clap for you is Jehovah God Almighty. He is the One Who must Reward you. He is the One Who must take notice of what you do.
So, if we are motivated by Applause and Publicity, then our Giving is going to be like those guys Jesus is talking about – He calls them Hypocrites.
I know there are no Hypocrites listening to me or reading this Message now on the Label of DMC – You are Good Christians, you love the Lord and you don’t Give for show off!
There are People who show off. But if that is your Motivation – You want Applause and Publicity, you want People to take note that you have given? Then Jesus says that your Reward is from men.
And I don’t think that’s why we give our Time, our Treasure or our Talent.
- The Second Kind of Givers – Luke 14:12:
Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a Supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.
Jesus has a way of saying things in Places that can really make you unnerved.
He is saying this to Somebody who has invited Him to a Party. And Jesus is saying, if you have a Party, don’t just invite People who can pay you back or People who can honour what you have done for them.
… So that gives us the clue as to the Second kind of Givers;
They are: THOSE WHO GIVE WITH EXPECTATION TO BE PAID BACK.
It can be all kinds of Giving, but what they are looking for is reciprocity – They want when they give that they will receive back.
I will never forget years ago, Somebody said: Pastor, when we come to Church and we are Giving Offering; it’s like we are doing Contributions. So that when we are in Need, the Church will also give us back.
A Church must be responsible to it’s Members and people must be responsible to appreciate what is done for them.
And when Somebody does a Good thing for you, you must be Mindful to remember the Good they have done for you. But that should not be our Motivation for Giving.
Although People must remember to respond well to People who give you something.
I mean, if Somebody helped you in a time of Need, of course, when they are in a time of Need, you help them.
But our Motivation as a Giver should never simply be because we want People to pay us back – And that’s what Jesus is talking about!
And People who Give with the Expectation to be Paid back; they are influenced and controlled by influence – They want to gain influence, they want to have access to certain important Circles of Life, they want People to owe them.
Sometimes People Give in certain Quarters because they want to enter those Quarters – They want Somebody’s Friendship. They want Somebody to invite them to a Party Next Year, they want Somebody to put them on their Phone Contacts.
… But that’s not why we Give! – That’s what Jesus is saying.
Because the essence of Giving is not to get People to Give you back. The essence of Giving is to do Good – That’s it!
Do Good for what? – To be Good!
So after I have done Good, what again? – You have done Good!
That is what Giving is all about – It’s about doing something because it is Good to do it.
Giving to God because it is Good to Give to the Lord.
Helping Somebody in Need because it is Good to help Somebody in Need.
… That’s all! – That’s the Biggest Motivation.
And Jesus says if we are Giving in Church because we want to be Paid back; so when the Church announces who are really “Good” Givers, your name would be mentioned.
Yes it is important for the Church to recognise who gives; but our Giving should not be so that we will be recognised as Givers – I hope you get it?
Each one of us has a responsibility – Somebody does Good for me, I have to do Good for them. But their other Motivation should not be because they want me to do Good for them.
Their Motivation must be – I want to do Good! My Motivation also should be – I want to do Good!
All of us must do Good. But we don’t do Good in Expectation of Reward – That’s Bible!
You know many times I wished the Bible is not a Bible. I wish I can go to the Bible and just delete what is not convenient.
Sometimes you who is Preaching the Word know ‘this thing is heating you.’ But we have no option but to say what the Word says. And the Word says – if you are doing Good with the Expectation to be Paid bad, that’s not the best way.
And for such People Jesus says their Reward is what People give back to them. That’s their Reward – What People gives back to you.
God says, that’s what you will get, I am not in there! But People will do you Good; People will be nice to you, they will invite you to their Parties. They would talk well of you. But that’s all you’ll get.
But I don’t think that is the reason why we Give an Offering in Church – So that People will speak well of us! I think we Give because we love God; and the reward we are looking for is not People speaking well of us. The Reward we are looking for is not People clapping for us. We want something more than that!
… So the Second kind of Giver is the one who gives with the Expectation to be Paid back.
- The third kind – Luke 18:11-12;
The Pharisee stood and Prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other Men—Extortioners, Unjust, Adulterers, or even as this Tax Collector. I fast twice a week; I give Tithes of all that I Possess.’
… I like that! He is Praying with himself.
So this whole Prayer of the Pharisees doesn’t even focus on God. You know People do that kind of Prayer these days – They are Praying with themselves. Because they go and learn big, big words. You are Praying with yourself my friend!
Oh you have learned some nice ways to Pray for People to know that you know how to Pray. You are Praying with yourself!
That’s what this Pharisee is doing – He is Praying with himself, he is not Praying to God.
He is Praying with himself – He is the Initiator and the listener to his Prayer (laughs).
Oh Lord save us!
There are many times we Pray with ourselves. Whilst you are Praying you are listening to your own Prayer and you are Proud.
Have you been to that Place where you are Praying, you are listening to your own Prayer and you say – “I can Pray oooo!”
Especially when People are Praying in their Local Language and they go to the portmanteau down and pick up some Powerful words; deep, deep words! And you listen and say: This words still exist? And the Prayer is laced with proverbs.
… And when they finish, they themselves know ‘I have Prayed!’
You were just Praying with yourself! – You were the listener to your own Prayer. The hearer of your own Prayer – Not God.
So that’s what this Pharisee is doing! And I believe none of you here or reading this Message now on the Label of DMC is!
… Go and tell those People that they shouldn’t do that.
… But peradventure if they are here, I hope that you will learn.
Can you imagine! You are in a Prayer Meeting, you are saying: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—Extortioners, Unjust, Adulterers, or even as this Tax Collector. I fast twice a week; I give Tithes of all that I Possess.’
… That’s his Prayer!
The third kind of Givers are: THOSE WHO GIVE TO FULFILL THEIR RELIGIOUS DUTY.
The Pharisee is Proud! And you can hear the sense of Superiority and Arrogance because I follow the rules – I Pray, I Tithe, I fulfill my responsibilities. God You must hear me, because I tithe.
I have Paid You, You must listen (laughs) – That’s what he’s saying!
And he is speaking with such audacity ‘because I have Paid my the Tithes, and I have followed the Rules – You must listen. If you don’t listen to me You are not God.’
Have you Prayed any of those Prayers where ‘God is God’s depended on how you feel? ‘God if You don’t answer this Prayer, then You are not God.’
… You alone that was born just now, you want to erase God because of your Need!
If People have been erasing God from Adam, you would not come to find Him! God is not God because of you. He is God all by Himself.
People like this Pharisee are influenced by Legalism and Superiority. They do exactly as it is required because they are marking their Spiritual Points (to use it)!
And they feel that by their Giving, they have become better than other People – Their Giving is for Competitive Purpose.
So what is the Reward for such People?
Their Reward is a Settlement of Self Righteousness – That’s all they get!
They feel Righteous, they feel Pompous, they feel big, they feel Superior. They walk with Superiority.
Because they have Paid God – ‘God you know I have Paid you. You owe me Oh God.
God owes you? The One Who created you owes you? The One Who gives you breath owes you? Because you gave money!
Then everybody must take what they gave. Take the money and He will take His breath.
Can you imagine if God says, okay I owe you money; you also owe me Life?
So I will take the Life and afterwards I will give you the money (Laugher)!
So He takes the Life and He says, where are you? I want to give you the money!
It’s good to Tithe! We do it: we give our First Fruit, we honour God, we give offerings. But it doesn’t put God in our debts. And it doesn’t make us “Better Christians”.
In fact the Lord Himself said, after you have done all of these, you should say: “I am an Unworthy Servant. I have only done what is required of me.”
… That should be our attitude.
When People think we have done so well, we just say, you know if God had not given me that opportunity I wouldn’t be able to do it. If God had not given me that job I wouldn’t have been able to do that.
If God had not come through for me in my Village and taken me from the Village and given me Education – So that I can get to where I am, Who am I to be able to do these things?
We do what we do because God did what He did! And He gave us the opportunity so that we can give back to Him.
We don’t give because it is an Obligation; and we don’t give to score Points than other Christians.
It’s good to be a Tither, it’s good to Give your First Fruit, it’s good to give your Offering, it’s good to be a Generous Christian; but don’t do it by looking down on other People.
Because when you do that, you receive your Reward – Your Reward is Self Righteousness.
They will call you ‘Mr. Holy, Mr. Righteous” – That’s about all you’ll get.
- Final – This is one we must all seek for: John 12:3, 7-8. It is the Story of Mary.
Then Mary took a Pound of very costly oil of Spikenard, Anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
And you know that after that People complained about the extravaganza of Giving.
And in Verses 7 and 8; But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the Poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”
The fourth Group of Givers are: THOSE WHO GIVE WHOLEHEARTEDLY TO THE LORD.
… This is Genuine Giving!
It is when you see your Giving as unto the Lord. It is when you don’t hold back what you want to Give to the Lord.
Mary didn’t hold back – She broke the Alabaster jar, and it couldn’t be sealed back. Everything had to be Poured out. It was extravagant, but she did it for the Lord – Giving wholeheartedly to the Lord is where He wants us to be.
And she wasn’t really impressed by whether People will like what she did or not. As a matter of fact, People criticised what she did.
Those who Give wholeheartedly to the Lord are influenced by Worship and Service – They see what they Give to the Lord as Worship!
In the Old Testament; it would be considered a Burnt Offering. It’s gone! They just give it. And there is no remembrance of it. It’s ashes – it’s gone!
… In the sight of man it’s gone! In the sight of God it is not gone.
So whether it is our Time, our Talent, or our Treasure we are Giving; it must be wholehearted.
You can’t give and complain at the same time. You can’t Give and cry. You can’t Give and criticise – If you are going to Give to the Lord, Give to the Lord. If you are not going to Give to the Lord, don’t Give to the Lord.
But if you want to do it right, then the attitude must be right.
There will always be critics of Givers.
You know these days when you hear People criticising those who Give; you hear them say: “You go to Church and you Give your money away.” They forget they also give out money! Some give to all kinds of things I don’t want to mention this Pulpit.
But they give their money away.
They just can’t understand why People go to Church and give an Offering. And sometimes you can get a bit agitated with all the criticism.
But remember, when Mary gave her Offering; there was criticism, there was murmuring. People said, Mary what do you mean? Why do you throw this at the feet of Jesus? It could have been used for something else. It could have been given to the Poor.
Anytime People come with: “Oh, it should have been given to the Poor” you sense the Hypocrisy. Because People who really give don’t complain.
People who really give to the Poor don’t complain about the Poor. They just do their job. When People complain, it means they do nothing but they want to take comfort in criticism.
Those who really do stuff, they don’t complain. People who are doing well don’t complain about People doing well. It is those who are not doing well who complain about those doing well.
If you are Generous, you would not complain about other People who are not Generous. You will just do your stuff. But the reason why People complain is because they are doing nothing.
And the sense of guilt is what is driving all their criticism. And that is happening in Mary’s case – Sense of guilt.
And apart from that the Bible says that Judas who was complaining was the one who received the money for the Poor!
And the Scripture is Particular to say that he wasn’t honest with that money. So his complaint is not even for the Poor, it is for his own stomach.
Mary gave all – For Worship and for Service.
If you Give your Time to the Lord; Give it well, Give it wholeheartedly.
If you Give your Talent to the Lord; Give it wholeheartedly.
If you Give your Money, Give it wholeheartedly.
Whatever you Give to the Lord, Give it wholeheartedly – Let it be from your heart.
And what is the Reward?
Their Reward is God’s Presence and God’s Favour.
God says to Abraham in Genesis 15:1, I am your Shield and your Exceedingly Great Reward.
Our Reward is not things; our Reward is God.
The Lord is my Reward! And when He is your Reward; in Him is everything you are looking for.
So in our Giving; we are not looking just for things; but we are looking for:
I. The Lord to be our Reward.
II. The Lord to be our Favour.
III. His Presence in our lives.
IV. His Goodness In us.
There is nothing more blessed in Life than “I Am with you, says the Lord
I mean, what more do you want? – If God says “I Am with you” where can I not go?
If God says “I Am with you” what can I not do?
If God says “I Am with you” where can I not reach to?
All I want is God: His Presence, His Favour. And then I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.
So what are we looking for when we Give?
We are looking for God, for His Acceptance, for His Applause – Instead of Men applauding us; For God to say: “I will Pay you back.”
Can you imagine if God says: “I owe you, because you gave.”
You didn’t say “God You owe me”. He says “I owe you, I will Pay you back.”
And when God Pays you back it is: “Good Measure, Pressed down, Shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same Measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” – Luke 6:38
… He outgives you in Large Proportions.
So today, which one is these Four (4) are you?
We all want to be No. 4 – Isn’t it?
So if you are in No. 3 start moving to No. 4; if you are in No. 2 start moving to No. 4; if you are in No. 1 start moving to No. 4.
That means that in all our Giving we must be conscious that:
- This has to be wholehearted.
- This has to be to the Lord
- This has to Worship
- This has to be Service.
- God rewards us with His Presence and His Favour.
All our Giving is for God to reward us with Himself:
I. That whenever you are, He will be with you.
II. That whenever battle you are, He will fight with you.
Your enemies are His enemies; your friends are His friends.
He said to Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who curse you.”
He didn’t say to Abraham – “Curse People.” He said, let them curse you and I will take up the task. Because I am with you. I am your Shield, I am your Exceedingly Great Reward.
May the Lord be our Reward! May He be the Satisfaction of our Soul, the Fulfilment of our heart desires – Amen.
May His Presence go with us wherever we are. May He go with us and come with us – Amen.
May He be the Man of War for us in our battle – Amen.
May the Lord be our Shield defending us against every attack of the enemy – Amen.
… We just heard and we have Prayed about it – That there is a Global Food Shortage;
But the Lord is our Provider – Amen.
The Lord is our Provider – He Provides in the desert, in famine, in Dry Season, when there is drought!
The Lord is our Reward – We hear of Bad News, but He delivers us from it!
And this morning I Pray that the Lord God Almighty would be your Reward – Amen.
For all your Giving, for all your Stewardship, for all the Talents you give in the House of the Lord. Those of you who serve in Departments: Musicians, Band, Ushers, Intercessors, everybody – just giving your Time, your Talent, your Treasure;
The Lord is your Reward! And He will reward you – Do not look to man for Reward, you will miss it.
Yes, we must reward you, yes we must honour you. But you must not demand it – God will Reward you. He is your Shield, He is your Exceedingly Great Reward.
And for every Need of yours, before you even talk about it, Pray about it, lift up Prayer about it.
May the Lord hear you, may the Lord answer you, Provide for you, deliver you, Strengthen you, heal you.
May the Lord touch your children, touch your grandchildren, touch your business.
May the Lord bless your going in and your coming out.
May he Protect you in the air, on the Ground, in the Sea, on Railways. May the Lord give you Safety.
May His Presence surround you wherever you go.
The Lord is your Shield and your Exceedingly Great Reward – ÀMEN.
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