David [00:00:02]:
Good morning, everyone. Today we’re talking about the fact that God is a giver. You know scripture, throughout scripture, it shows that God is generous and he overflows in goodness toward us. While many people may see or say or think that God is distant and way out there and far off, or God is demanding, I would do this, do that, do this, say this, say that, don’t do this, don’t do that.
David [00:01:04]:
They miss the fact that the heart of God is giving. He created the universe and all. We’re going to look at this more here in a moment. But let me say this. He created everything around us and gave it to us for us to enjoy. And we see this in John 10:10 there. And the New Testament, Jesus said this. I’ve quoted it many times.
David [00:01:42]:
I’m sure you’re familiar with it, but I want to quote it to you. It says in John 10:10, in the Amplified classic translation, it says, the thief comes in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life and have it in abundance to the full till it overflows. Wow. God is a giver. Jesus said, here’s what the enemy does. He’s going to steal from you. He’s going to kill, he’s going to destroy.
David [00:02:23]:
But God has given us life and he wants us to enjoy that life. And Jesus went on to say, he wants us to have it in abundance. And that word abundance there in the Greek means to the full. He wants you to have a full life till it overflows. He wants you to have a full, overflowing life every day of your life. God is a giver. The word giver here is one who supplies. That’s what it means, one who supplies.
David [00:03:08]:
God is our source and our supply. Again, he’s created everything, and he created it for us, and he’s given it to us. It means to author something or cause one to have something. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. God has authored and created within us all that we need to be who he created us to be. He’s caused us to have it. Giver means to give from one’s own power or resources.
David [00:03:47]:
And we see that. We’ll talk about that more in a moment also. But all of life flowed out of him by his creative power, from his resources. And then the word giver there also means one who bestows. And that word bestow means to give. So giver means to bestow, and bestow means to give. But it also means this to put upon someone. Like you put a cloak upon someone, you put shoes on someone, you put a hat or a crown on someone.
David [00:04:33]:
It also means bestow means to appoint. I appoint you over this. I appoint you as the head. I appoint you as a member of my family. You are appointed. It also means to assign or designate. You are a child of God, ruling and reigning here in the earth as a priest and a king. Hallelujah.
David [00:05:07]:
God has bestowed that upon you and given it to you. I love what First Timothy 6:17 says. That verse there in First Timothy chapter six closes with this statement. Trust in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy. He gives us richly. God is a liberal giver. He is a liberal giver. He is not holding back.
David [00:05:42]:
He wants us to enjoy all things that he’s made and created, and he gives them to us richly in abundance. What we see is God’s word. The Bible is a record of his giving heart from the Garden of Eden throughout history to the cross and beyond in Ephesians, in the amplified, it says infinitely beyond. Today I want us to explore and look at five ways God gives to us or has given to us. And the first one is this. God gave us life and creation. I’ve already been talking about that here for a moment. But God gave us life and creation, all that’s around us.
David [00:06:40]:
God has given us a world full of beauty. And you’ve heard me talk about this. And I love driving where we live. We just go for a drive sometimes because I love driving through nature and seeing God’s beauty and his craftsmanship and His. His creativity. And I just sit and thank God for it. It’s so beautiful. God has given us all of creation, a beautiful creation.
David [00:07:13]:
He’s given us a world full of provision. And we’re going to see here in a moment. Creation provides for us. And within all of that, he’s given us purpose. We have a reason to be. God has a plan and a purpose for you. He’s given you that purpose. Genesis 1:29 and we’re going to go back to the beginning here.
David [00:07:44]:
And God said, see, he’s going, look, see, I have given you every plant, you yielding seed that is on the face of all the land and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. So nature all around us is making provision for us. We can eat fruit from the trees. We can eat what the plants bear for us. We can eat what the seed Brings forth for us that it goes into the ground. God has given us all things richly to enjoy. You see, he’s given us life.
David [00:08:41]:
In fact, scripture says he breathed into it us the breath of life. He’s given us the ability to breathe. But he’s also created oxygen so we could breathe and live because we need oxygen to live. But he’s created plants and the earth that give off oxygen so that we have plenty. We have more than enough for all the 8 billion plus people on this planet to live all of this life, breath and everything else. These are divine gifts that God has given us. God has given us all of these things. Isaiah 42:5 in the Amplified Classic says this.
David [00:09:38]:
Thus says God, the Lord, he who created the heavens and stretched them forth. He who spread abroad the earth and that which comes out of it. He who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it. There it is. Isaiah is confirming what we’re saying here, what we saw the Lord say there in Genesis 1:29. He created. He created the earth, the universe, all that’s in it. And he created us.
David [00:10:18]:
He formed and fashioned the earth for us. And then he formed and fashioned us and gave us breath. He gave breath. Everyone breathes because God gave us the capacity to breathe. And he gave us his spirit. He gave us a spirit. We are spirit beings. We’re made in his image and his likeness.
David [00:10:50]:
So he breathed the breath of life into us. His breath become our breath. His life has become our life. And so every day when you get up, God has given to you. It’s a gift he has given you. Acts 17:25 in the Amplified Classic says, neither is he served by human hands, as though he lacked anything. For it is He Himself who gives life and breath and all things to all people. We may think we’re creating it, but we may think we’re working for it and causing it to come.
David [00:11:42]:
But God gives it all to us. If we look at it and go back and acknowledge and see that it is because of his life in us, his breath in us, his strength in us, his creativity flowing through us, that we’re able to do what we do. And so in truth and honesty in reality, all things flow from him. Every good thing flows from Him. We are not self made, we are not self existent. We are sustained daily by God’s gifts He gives us. And he gives us all things so that we can have life, have it to the full, have it in abundance, have it till it overflows. Here’s a reality.
David [00:12:43]:
Think about this. If his spirit, God’s spirit, were to leave this world, we would no longer be able to exist because all of our existence in this world flows from Him. It flows out of Him. God is a giver, and he has given us all things. The next thing is God gives good gifts. Now, I ministered on this verse here back at the beginning of the year, but James 1:17, this is from the new King James Version, says every good gift and perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. He’s not one way today and another way tomorrow. He.
David [00:13:42]:
He’s not shifting in his thinking. God is faithful to His Word. And God’s gifts are not just good, they are good, but they are perfect also. And that word perfect there in the Greek means this. They are free. They are large, and they are full. They’re free. God’s not charging you anything for all the gifts and everything he’s giving you.
David [00:14:12]:
You, you can’t earn it. You don’t deserve it. It’s his free gift to you. They’re large, they’re more than enough, because God is more than enough. And they’re full. God’s gifts fill you on and on and on and on, forever and always. Hallelujah. See, he is not reluctant to bless us.
David [00:14:49]:
He delights in giving us what is best for us. Hallelujah. My God loves to give. Matthew 7, verse 11, the Amplified classic. Jesus said this. If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father, who is in heaven, perfect as he is, give good and advantageous things to those who keep on asking Him. And this here in Matthew is the the chapter where Jesus says, ask and it shall be given. Seek and you will find.
David [00:15:40]:
Knock and it will be open to you. God is a giver, and he’s ready. He’s waiting for us to petition him to ask him and know that he is there, ready to bless us. Trusting God’s generosity frees us from anxiety and striving. Lack does not come from God. There is no lack in God. Like I said, he’s the Source of all things. He’s our supply.
David [00:16:19]:
God is a God of provision. Being in Christ is being in the flow, his provision. And so knowing that I don’t walk in fear and doubt and anxiety and stress about, am I having enough? No, I know my God is there. If I seek him first, if I pursue him, run after him, all things will be added to Me. Hallelujah. God gives us good gifts. The next thing the Lord gives us is God gave his son. John 3:16 and the new King James version says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.
David [00:17:18]:
I’m going to stop right there. Think about that. For God so loved that he gave. For God so loved the world that he gave. God loved us so much that he gave us his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. And as we believe in him, we are redeemed by him and he gives us life eternal. That life that Jesus said in John 10:10 that he came to give us. That’s what this verse is talking about.
David [00:17:59]:
God wanted us to have that life, that eternal life, that abundant overflowing life that we find in Jesus Christ. See, the greatest gift given to mankind is Jesus Christ. And as we see here in John 3:16, it was given out of love, not obligation. God did it because he loved us. I love the way this verse is written in the amplified classic. John 3:16 in the Amplified Classics says this. For God so greatly loved. He loves you greatly and dearly prized the world.
David [00:18:45]:
God prizes you dearly that he even gave up his only begotten unique Son. So that whoever believes in, trusts, in clings to relies on him shall not perish, come to destruction or be lost, but have eternal, everlasting life. Eternal, everlasting. Do you know what that means? That means life without end. God gives us a life that just keeps on giving. It never ends. For all time and eternity, God’s life is ours. Through Jesus we receive forgiveness and eternal life and sonship.
David [00:19:41]:
We are children of the Most High God. And I like to say this, we are all a part of the royal family. Romans 8:32 in the new king James Version says, 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? There it is again. Freely he gives us all things. He’s not saying, well, you got to do this many jumping jacks and callous all the stuff. No, he says, I give it to you freely because it’s priceless. The cross is the ultimate proof of God’s giving nature. Because on the cross Jesus gave all his heart’s desire to freely give us all things as we trust and rely on him was demonstrated in the way he gave to us on the cross.
David [00:21:03]:
His gifts are perfect. They are free, they’re full, they’re large, they are beyond measure. God loved us so much, so greatly, so dearly. He prized us so that he gave us Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, our Redeemer, so we could be in relationship with him for all eternity. Wow. The next thing God gives us, he gives us grace, he gives us mercy, and he gives us his spirit. God’s giving doesn’t stop at salvation. Nah, he’s ready.
David [00:21:56]:
That’s just the beginning. It goes on and on and on and on from there. And this giving that continues is daily. He blesses us and gives us grace. Ephesians 2:8 in the New King James Version says, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. We didn’t do anything to earn it. Deserve was simply God’s gift to us.
David [00:22:35]:
That word grace there in the Greek means unmerited favor. It means God’s favor that comes on us, that he blesses us with, surrounds us with. We didn’t merit it. We hadn’t done anything to deserve it or earn it. You could say this. For by God’s unmerited favor, you have been saved through faith, been redeemed and restored, renewed his unmerited favor. God favors you. And it’s not anything that we did in our own strength and ability.
David [00:23:19]:
It’s the gift of God. God gives us grace daily, his favor daily, but he also gives us power daily through the Holy Spirit. Luke 11:13 in the New King James Version says this. If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? All you have to do is ask him. You receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. And then ask the Father, can I have the fullness of the Holy Spirit too? Yeah, that’s a part of it. That’s a part of it. 1st John 4:4 in the Amplified classic says, little children, you are of God, you belong to him, and have already defeated and overcome them, the agents of the Antichrist.
David [00:24:25]:
Because he who lives in you is greater, mightier than he who is in the world. And so we see here, because we are of God and we belong to him, the greater one, the mighty One. The Holy Spirit lives and dwells within us, and he’s greater and mightier than anyone else in the world, anything else in the world. And so we are overcomers. We are more than conquerors. Hallelujah. We are victors in Christ. So God’s Spirit, His Holy Spirit, is a gift to help us live, grow, and serve the Lord in His power.
David [00:25:16]:
He doesn’t expect us to do it on our own. He goes, here, let me empower you to do this. Let me help you. Let me give you some power here. Philippians 4:13 in the Amplified Classic says, I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me. I am ready for anything and equal to anything through him who infuses inner strength into me. I am self sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency. Hallelujah.
David [00:25:52]:
Not in my own sufficiency, but in Christ’s sufficiency in his power through his anointing. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Yes, I am ready for anything and equal to anything. Don’t let the enemy tell you you can’t do this. You’re not strong enough. You don’t have enough faith.
David [00:26:13]:
Yes, you do. All you have to do is look to the Lord, to His Word, and lean on him and rely on Him. That strength and power for everything lives in dwell within you. Hallelujah. God gives us grace, favor, and he gives us strength through His Holy Spirit. And because of this, we walk and live our lives every day under the covering of his mercy. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
David [00:26:54]:
I love what Charles Capps used to say. God has blessed me so much. I have so much favor that he even makes my mistakes to be blessed even when I mess up. Don’t worry, we got this. Let me show you how to fix this. And he blesses me in that process too. Hallelujah. The next way God gives to us is God’s giving is ongoing and daily.
David [00:27:25]:
Now, we’ve already referenced this a little bit, but let me go deeper here and hone in on this. Lamentations 3:22 through verse 24, the Amplified Classic. It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving kindness that we are not consumed. Because his tender compassions fail not they are new every morning. Great and abundant is your stability and faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, my share, says my living being, my inner self. Therefore will I hope in him and wait expectantly for him. Hallelujah.
David [00:28:17]:
His mercy is new every morning. Hallelujah. His faithfulness and stability is new every morning for us. We’re not living on yesterday’s faith. We’re not living on yesterday’s strength. We’re not living on yesterday’s kiss. We’re living on today’s strength in life and gift. He is our portion, our portion, our inheritance.
David [00:28:48]:
Therefore my hope, my expectation, my faith, my confidence is in him. Hallelujah. His mercies are new everywhere morning, and he is faithful in every season, every day of your life. He is faithful no matter what you’re going through, what you’re facing, he is faithful. Psalm 84:11 in the Amplified classic says, for the Lord God is a sun, a light and shield. The Lord bestows presents, grace and favor and future honor, glory, splendor and heavenly bliss. No good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly. God is not holding back anything from you as you pursue him and walk in him, as you honor and trust and rely on Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
David [00:30:01]:
He says here, it’s all yours. His grace, his favor, even glory, honor, splendor, heavenly bliss. Think about it. You can experience that right now here on the earth. He will withhold no good thing from those who walk upright. God never withholds what is truly good. It goes back to what we said earlier about First Timothy. He gives us all things richly to enjoy.
David [00:30:42]:
But the other thing here is God’s giving is an occasional it’s not here and there, or one at a time or one and done. It’s continuous. God is always, always, always giving to us every day. Know that that God has given to you. He is giving to you now, and he will ever be giving to you. You can trust him with all of your life, here and now and throughout all eternity. So the last thing we want to talk about here today is as his children and as we receive him and walk in him, we should reflect his love, his life, his generosity to others. You see, when we receive God’s gifts, it leads to transformation in us.
David [00:31:41]:
Paul talked about that, Romans 12:2 that we transform, we renew our mind by the word of God and we’re transformed. And in that process we become channels of his generosity, giving to others as he has given to us. And I want to read from the 2nd Corinthians 9, 8, 11 and the amplified Classic. Paul is talking to the Corinthians here. They have just partnered with him in blessing other believers who are in need. And they had this great giving campaign, great blessing that they sent. And in response to that, Paul tells them this and God is able to make all grace, every favor and earthly blessing. Think about that now.
David [00:32:44]:
All grace, every favor and earthly blessing come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self sufficient, possessing enough to require no aid or support, and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation. As it is written, he, the benevolent person scatters abroad. He gives to the poor. His deeds of justice and goodness and kindness and benevolence will go on and on and endure Forever. And God, who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating, will also provide and multiply. Yield your resources for sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness, which manifests itself in act of goodness, kindness and charity. Thus you will be enriched in all things and in every way so that you can be generous. And your generosity as it is administered by us will bring forth thanksgiving to God.
David [00:34:05]:
Guys, that’s what it’s all about right there. Those four verses right there, Second Corinthians 9, 8, 11, tell us that when we partner with our Father God and come with a heart like his and we commit, we’re going to partner with you, Lord, and we’re going to give. Where do you want us to give? Where do you want us to sow? It’s going to come back to us. The blessing, the harvest of that will come back to us in a way that we’re going to have even more to sow. And it’s just an ongoing cycle of giving and receiving, of blessing others. God is the giver by nature. That is simply who he is. That’s a part of his heart, who he is.
David [00:35:00]:
He gives life, he gives provision, he gives salvation, he gives his spirit. He gives us grace, he gives us wisdom, inside understanding, and he gives us daily mercies. His giving is not transactional. This is not something you can create a transaction with him over. His giving is not transactional, but it flows from his character of love. Everything in God flows out of love. It flows from his character of love, his heart of abundance, his heart of grace and unmerited favor. As believers, we are invited not only to receive from him, but also to reflect his generosity and bless others.
David [00:36:01]:
Wow, what a life to live. This is awesome. Let’s bow our heads in prayer today. Father, we thank you for all that you’ve given us and all that you continue to give us. And we thank you for the opportunity to join with you, Lord, to partner with you into giving, into being generous, Father, into blessing others as you blessed us. And we thank you for it. We thank you for more than enough, Father God. We thank you that all of our needs are met.
David [00:36:38]:
And then we have even more beyond that. So we’ve got plenty to give and sow into every charitable, every charitable need occasion that you direct us to sow into. And we thank you for that, Father. We are your children and we are givers also, just as you are a giver. And we thank you for all the gifts that you give us each and every day in Jesus name. Amen. Praise God. Pastor Conia is coming with a word of encouragement and a prayer.
David [00:37:16]:
God bless you. Have a great week.
