Kinds of Givers (part 1)
Kinds of Givers (1)
Good Morning,
Our dear friend Pastor Ruiz has been such a blessing to us over the years as we visited the Philippines. On our last visit, he mentioned an outline of giving he used during his church anniversary and I asked for it. The following are a few of the things he mentioned interlaced with my thoughts.
Types of Givers
Jose Ruiz
Open Door Bible Baptist Church
Sixteen Kinds of Givers in the Church:
1. The Cheater
A cheater violates rules; he is a swindler or a liar. Such were Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. They sold land; and as others were bringing their goods to benefit the ministry, they wanted to appear generous. Only, they just gave a part of their profit. It was not wrong to only give part, but it was wrong that they wanted to appear to be something they were not. At the end of the story, God killed them.
• They thought no one would know about it.
• They were not aware of the consequences.
• Their concern was for themselves not for the lost souls or the ministry of Christ’s Gospel.
2. The Controlled Giver
He restrained and regulates giving as he can see and plan, but misses many biblical principles in his philosophy.
1 Corinthians 16:2 “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.”
• He lacks faith.
• He lacks faithfulness.
• He lacks focus on eternal things.
When someone gives a little (compared to their abundance), he is offering God a little token, not a gift that expresses his love and gratitude to God. Is God not big enough to help you do something significant or something special for the eternal work of Christ? When we consider our love for God, could any gift be too big?
3. The Carnal Giver
Notice the difference between the one who lives by sight and one who gives freely meeting the Saviour. The disciples could not see any way of providing for the need to feed the five thousand. Without prayer or care, they suggested Christ send the people away on their own, hungry. Jesus saw the need and could not allow the crowd to go without Divine help.
One focused on the need; the other focused on the supply. One focused on that which they could see; the other focused on the God they could not see.
• The Disciples
Mark 6:36 “Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.”
• The Saviour
Mark 8:3 “And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.”
We cannot focus our attention on only what we can see (or our budget). We need to go to God on behalf of needy people and ask the Lord to help us meet that need. I have often driven and prayed with tear-filled eyes from Murrieta to Sun City and through the endless neighborhoods and homes of Menifee. I saw that there was not a Baptist church, soul winners, or someone caring for those who are spiritually faint. While I see no way I can fix the need, there is a God and a longing in my heart. Perhaps, in mercy on these lost souls, God will do a miracle.
In John’s account of the story, it says, “There is a lad here.” All it takes is for us to offer what we have- the boy offered his small lunch. Carnal vision keeps our eyes on what we see and on only what is possible; spiritual eyes gaze heavenward looking for a miracle.
Pastor