GIVING - ACTS 20:32-35
32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
33 I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.
34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said,It is more blessed to give than to receive.KJV
The Apostle Paul spoke these verses in Acts, he is a proven man of faith by numerous demonstrations of God's power. Therefore, the Lord knows we can all learn something very valuable from his teachings. When these principles are presented to us from the scriptures we can all be very confidence that these are not just the words of a mere man, but rather a Christian Apostle inspired by God. I have found the writings of Paul both spiritual and practical because we need both to live a successful life on this earth. We do operate in both realms in our everyday life. Hopefully we start with spiritual prayer and fellowship with God to get us ready for a day full of physical activity. I like the fact that Paul starts off on the spiritual side by commending you to (recommend, commit you to the care of, or entrust you to) the Heavenly Father and His Word of Grace, which is Jesus Christ. We know that abiding in the Father’s Love is our place of refuge and comfort, He is our Life. We know that God's Word is our safe guide through the wilderness of this world. Paul simply points out to start with God's Word because that is our spiritual road map. Therefore, pick-up your map first by reading it and understanding God's Word then proceed on your daily journey through life. Today journey is a simplistic teaching of giving. Any time we spend with God by reading and meditating on His Word (these verses right now) will empower us to be built up. Once we are spiritually built up we can easily have the faith necessary to boldly proclaim our inheritance in Christ Jesus. The next point presented to us is that, “we should not lust after (strongly desire, covet) other people’s possessions”. Does not our Heavenly Father have enough for all His Precious Children? Think many Christians believe they should not covet other people’s things but I wonder how many Christians believe they should not covet period. Basically meaning as Christians we should not possess a strong desire to get material wealth. It is better to grow into God’s prosperity by doing things His Way then to crave wealth which gives place to lust. Paul is still teaching us some spiritual principles, he is giving us the spiritual guidance first to build a proper foundation for the practical hereupon (about to come, immediately after). The man of God makes the practical statement that "these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me". First, the hands Paul is speaking of are his own. Yes, Paul being a spiritual man of faith actually did practical physical work. We could say, the Apostle Paul who was mightily used of God said, "he labored". This is to contradict any teaching that supposes any Christian living by faith does not need to work. For those who refuse to work because they think they are living by faith are looking to receive too much from the hands of others, instead of receiving the blessing that comes from the works of their own hands. This is a very practical teaching not to be confused with a lack of faith. We should never take the spiritual principle of working with our faith in God that was intended to bless God's Children and twist it to fit an erroneous doctrine of using our faith to justify not working.
James 2:18
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. KJV
Paul took this a step further with the statement that his hands blessed others also. This is good and wholesome and right because any decent person on the face of this earth knows that God gives some personal satisfaction to everyone who puts in a good day’s work. Surely, even the devil stays busy harassing the saints of God and any person who will listen to him. As Christian we must stay with the scriptures that encourage us to work, yes labor, and once the Lord has blessed the works of our own hands, we can take a portion of that blessing to help someone else in need. This is exactly what the Apostle Paul did in his walk upon the earth. This is the precise reason Paul taught "how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak". This was not Paul's confession of faith but rather his practice in life as a man of faith. Angela and I practice this form of giving as a way of life. Therefore we can clearly see why it is more blessed to give than to receive. Simply put, it is better for you to be in the position of having a job with the extra money to help those less fortunate, than to be in the position of having to rely upon the hands of others to meet your own personal needs.
Principles for Prosperity:
First, God gave you hands that work for you to do some work for future prosperity.
Then, those same hands can be used to give to others from your extra (prosperity),
and after that, you and the receiver can lift those same hands to
Praise the Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father in Jesus Name. Amen!
In His Love, Eric & Angela Foster