David [00:00:01]:
The last two months of our year, November and December, we enter into what I’ve come to call the season of giving. Two of our key holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, are celebrated and centered around the aspects of giving. And that’s our November and December is pretty much consumed with those.
David [00:00:44]:
And then we entered the New Year. So we end our year celebrating one of the key themes in Scripture. And what we find is giving is truly a key theme in Scripture. There are over 1,300 verses in scripture related to giving. This number includes the words give, giving, give and giver. However, it does not include all the other definitions of the word used in scripture that denote giving. So I haven’t done all the math, but we see here that there are well over 2,000 verses centered around giving. Now let’s take a moment and explore some of the ways we give the word here.
David [00:01:40]:
In the Hebrew, to give means to put or to set. It means to bestow something on someone. It means to grant access to someone. To give means to permit or give permission. I don’t know why every time I read that, I remember growing up we’d go get our fisherman’s license, our license to fish or license to hunt. You had your hunter’s permit. Always think of those things. Give means to ascribe, Honor means to employ, offer someone a job, give someone a job to do.
David [00:02:23]:
It also means to pay wages in exchange for one’s time. I will give you this much if you will give me your time to do this. It means to devote oneself or to consecrate oneself to something, to dedicate yourself to something or someone. To give means to sell, to exchange, to lend, to commit to something. It means to entrust, to give over give responsibility. It means to deliver up. To give means to yield, to produce, being fruitful. It means an occasion, a requiet.
David [00:03:10]:
It means to report, to mention, to utter, to stretch out, to extend. Wow. It just goes on and on and on and on. We’re not finished yet. It means to a point, to give means to a point, to assign, to designate something, to make, to constitute is the capacity to be or become. Wow. Wow. No wonder there are so many verses in scripture related to giving.
David [00:03:47]:
Giving is happening all around us every moment of every day in various ways. It’s being expressed what we find as we study giving in Scripture. And look at all this. God is a giver. That is his heart. He is all about giving. In fact, everything we have here on the earth he gave us first. Timothy 6:17 says, he gives us richly all things to enjoy.
David [00:04:23]:
Everything, everything. Wow. Everything he gave us. Not only is God a giver, he loves it when we partner with him in giving. 2 Corinthians 9, 7, 8 says this so let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity. For God loves a cheerful giver. 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. One of the things I take away from this is our Father.
David [00:05:13]:
God loves it when his children want to be like him and give as he directs them. We could explore many ways giving is expressed throughout Scripture. However, today and over the next few weeks, I want us to focus on four ways we give during the season of giving. The number one way we express is by giving thanks. Every year our season of giving begins by giving thanks. We come first with a heart of gratefulness and thanksgiving for the harvest of blessing we have received throughout this year. The practice is inspired by the Pilgrims who arrived here in the winter of 1620, and we’ll talk about that more in a moment and over the next week. But the concept of Thanksgiving is a national holiday, however, evolved and was formalized much later in American history.
David [00:06:17]:
In fact, it was 242 years later after the Pilgrims arrived. In 1863. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens, to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November. And so for the last 161 years we have celebrated this day together. The word beneficent there means kindness and charity exerted in action. God takes action based on his heart and what he feels and thinks and believes about us, how he loves us. It isn’t something he just thinks about or talks about. God is our benefactor.
David [00:07:15]:
He is active every day. He is the one who is acting favorably and generously toward us. In the midst of the Civil War, President Lincoln recognized it was God’s goodness and grace that needed to be celebrated and honored to bring us together as a nation. As James 1:17 says, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Even in the midst of challenge and seeming devastation, we should give thanks for God’s kindness, His love, his favor, and his goodness. I love this Psalm. When we’re talking about giving, I think it sums it up for us. Psalm 100, verses 1 through 5.
David [00:08:15]:
We’re going to read all of them. Make a joyful shout to the Lord all you lands. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence with singing. Know that the Lord, he is God. It is he who has made us, and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise.
David [00:08:42]:
Be thankful to him and bless his name. For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endures to all generations. Hallelujah. That is our God. And that’s what our season of giving thanks is all about, is honoring him first. Thessalonians 5, 16, 18 says it this Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing in everything. Give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.
David [00:09:22]:
For you rejoice always means evermore, evermore. Don’t stop rejoicing at all times. Rejoice in the Lord. Pray without ceasing. Have that direct discourse with the Father. Communicate with him, talk with him, fellowship with him, worship him throughout the day. Both of these verses speak to a heart attitude, a mindset, a way of living. Psalm 100 and here in Thessalonians and so first Thessalonians 5, it speaks about a way of living.
David [00:10:10]:
This is God’s will for us. While we intentionally celebrate Thanksgiving Day each year, giving thanks and gratitude should be a manner of living a lifestyle we express daily. So, number one, give thanks. The second way we celebrate this season of giving is God’s gift to us. So we start with Thanksgiving, and then we come celebrating through gifts, the gifts given us. As we enter the Christmas season, the day after Thanksgiving, it all begins. The shopping, the decorations, the music, the wrapping of gifts, the lights, everything, all the Christmas movies. Yet in all of this, we need to remember the reason for the season.
David [00:11:08]:
There is a gift that was given to all mankind by God the Father, and that gift was His Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Redeemer. Christmas is a celebration of God’s gift to this world in the form of Jesus. The book of John tells us that God so loved that he gave. In fact, let’s read that John 3:16 says this. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. What a gift relationship with God our Father, which Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. And then everlasting life. We get this gift forever.
David [00:12:09]:
Hallelujah. It just goes on and on and on and never ends. Romans 6:23 declares this. For the wages of sin is death. Sin pays us in death. But the bountiful free gift of God is eternal life through and in union with Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Everything to do with giving gifts starts right here.
David [00:12:40]:
This bountiful free gift, it’s not a gift we had to earn or even deserve. It was freely given in love. Not only is the gift of eternal life given, but we never, we have a never ending relationship with Jesus Christ and our Father God and the Holy Spirit who comes alongside of us. As I said earlier, the gifts just keep coming. They keep on giving. For God so loved us that he gave. And know this. God loves you.
David [00:13:25]:
God loves you. Say that God loves me. He does. And he’s always with you. He never leaves you or forsakes you. The third way was celebrating giving. During the season of giving is our gifts to one another. Matthew 2, 10:11.
David [00:13:54]:
You remember this from the story. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshiped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. As the wise men honor Jesus with their gifts. We honor our Father God by giving gifts to one another to celebrate all that God has done for us through his gift of Jesus Christ to us. Gifts are demonstrations of love, of kindness and goodness given to those we love and cherish. I love giving gifts.
David [00:14:53]:
I love sitting at Christmas and watching my grandchildren get so excited as they open their gifts and get so excited about what’s inside those boxes. Gifts are important and we give them every day. In some way, we have the opportunity to bless those around us by giving gifts. We don’t just have to do it during our season of giving. It’s something we can do every day. Give a gift to someone. Today could be a smile, could be a hug, could be a kind word, a text, an email, phone call. You never know what’s going to make a difference in someone’s life.
David [00:15:47]:
Number four, the fourth way we celebrate the season of giving is by giving ourselves to him. Giving ourselves to him. Like I said earlier, this should be a daily way of living. It’s stepping into that place of total surrender as we prepare to begin the new year. Each year at the end of the year, I invest some time seeking God about the coming year. And how can I serve him and those around Me more? And what is the focus of the year that’s coming? One of the ways we can give to him is by giving ourselves in total surrender to his will. How would you like to engage with me, Lord, this year? Romans 12:1 says this. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
David [00:17:05]:
Wow. That’s our reasonable service is we worship him by giving ourselves to Him. God gave all for us. And as we give ourselves to him, we find he has prepared our way before us a path, as it says in Ephesians 2:10, of doing the good works that he’s prepared for us to do. God has good works for you to do. He has ways for you to go out there and bless others by giving yourself to Him. And that becomes a gift to them from him through you. Hallelujah.
David [00:17:49]:
Proverbs 3, 5, 6 from the Amplified. I love the way it says this. Lean on, trust in and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind. And do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways, know, recognize and acknowledge him, and he will direct and make straight and plain your paths. In all your ways. Not some of them, not a few of them, not one or two of them, but all. In all your ways, know, recognize and acknowledge Him.
David [00:18:36]:
He is working in your life right now. Whether you realize it or not. God is there. He’s working in your life. He is always with you in every moment of every day. He’s right there with us, preparing the way before us. Recognize that’s him working in there. That just didn’t happen.
David [00:19:00]:
That wasn’t just coincidence. Hallelujah. Jeremiah 29:11. Love this verse. It expresses the heart of God for us. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, Cecilia Lord, and know this. Let me stop right there. God is thinking thoughts toward you right now.
David [00:19:24]:
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. This verse speaks of God’s plans for a future for you filled with hope, signifying a fresh start, new possibilities. He has quite a year planned for you and filled with hope. Now we talk about the definition of hope. It’s expectation. It’s active expectation. It’s confident expectation.
David [00:20:01]:
It’s unshakable expectation. You can get up every day, expect expecting God to do something great today, to bring good things into your life, to see you make progress, to succeed, to advance, to profit and all that you set your hand to. Hallelujah. God is working in you. He’s working through you. He’s working with you and he’s working for you right now. So welcome to the season of Giving, everyone. Over the next few weeks we’re going to explore each one of these ways of giving more.
David [00:20:50]:
I also want to challenge you to sit and write down all the things you are grateful for that God has given you over the past year. Make a list of it. Think of all the people you were thankful for and send them an email, a text or card letting them know how grateful you are for them. And have fun being thankful. The season of giving is also a season of rejoicing. So come into his presence with thanksgiving, with gratitude, with singing and rejoicing. As we enter into the Thanksgiving season, let’s rejoice. Let’s just spend a whole lot of time rejoicing.
David [00:21:34]:
Amen. Let’s bow our heads in prayer. Father, we thank you for this season of giving. We thank you for all that you show us in your word about what giving means and how we can be a part of it, and the blessing that comes in our life and all the lives of others, Father, and how it even blesses you. Lord our Father God, as we enter with you into giving and sowing into others, so thank you for directing our steps and showing us a way to give. And so let’s see a harvest of gratefulness and thanksgiving come forth and we thank you for that. Father, in Jesus name, Amen. Pastor Conia is coming with some closing thoughts and a prayer.
David [00:22:21]:
God bless you. Have a blessed week.
