Giving from a willing heart
“I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. Amos 5:21-22
It doesn’t matter what you claim, what you say, or what you practice. If your heart is not in it and it is not sincere, then it’s just a stench in God’s nostril. In this regard, we are nothing more than a noise and smoke show. We may fool others, and we may fool ourselves into thinking that it matters, but it doesn’t! We can’t fool God. We cannot claim we want peace with God and not offer up the most important part of us to Him. Nothing we do can compensate for our heart and it’s intent. The people weren’t giving God what what He wanted: their heart and true willingness to give. They had given their hearts away to other things and desires, and were living wickedly.
And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. Genesis 8:21
It’s kinda like this, no matter what you give or sacrifice, It doesn’t matter if the basis isn’t God and love. It’s in vain and as if it wasn’t done at all. All for nothing or all to Him. With God it’s clear. He is all or He is not at all.
“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats. Isaiah 1:11
It’s important to read through Isaiah 1. God was calling His people to repentance. We cannot bribe God and we cannot change our lives if we aren’t willing to change and surrender to Him, and to give accordingly. This is where it all begins and true service will come from the heart. He wants our whole hearts and so He will have our lives and then our devotion, allegiance and giving will all be to Him. The heart is the basis to every other form of giving after we have dedicated our lives to Him.
Many who will readily part with their sacrifices, will not be persuaded to part with their sins. - Matthew Henry
But Samuel declared: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22
So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. Joel 2:13
See where it all begins?
And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. Ephesians 5:2
It’s simple. We can’t walk in love as Christ has loved unless we first received His love. Love comes from the heart. We can’t give anything better than a heart felt giving of our hearts and love in everything we do. Everything that we do, must be done out of love. Not for show or have to! Love is the greatest gift. It’s not earned. It was freely given and it must be freely received. No amount of sacrifice will ever help you to gain or deserve it. He died to give it.
Let all that you do be done with love. 1 Corinthians 16:14
The people in Amos didn’t do their feast in or out of love. They were all out for themselves and God knew it. He hated and despised their feast because of it. He refused to partake or take delight in them. Even though they offered up their sacrifices, He didn’t accept them. He didn’t want it done without a pure heart then and He doesn’t now. He doesn’t change. He wants us to offer up willingly and from the heart.
God doesn’t want the leftovers or second pick. He doesn’t want it just if we have enough. He wants first and first place. He wants your best. If He doesn’t have your heart, He doesn’t have anything. Just because we do something or give something, doesn’t mean that it’s sincere. Have we given Him our lives? Our whole hearts? Our devotion? Is there anything that we’re holding back? How do we give to others? How do we do life?
Maybe we’re just going through the motions, or maybe we’re driven by guilt. Maybe we feel like we have to go to church. Maybe we do good deeds for show or because we hope to get something in return, and so we don’t just do it to simply bless somone and to bless God. Maybe we do it all to impress. It doesn’t matter why, if it’s not done in love and out of the pure sincereness heart. Otherwise, it’s all in vain. It all begins with our heart. That’s why it’s called “heart service.” Whether it’s our efforts, our time, our service or in our giving.
“These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.” Matthew 15:8
God knows the heart and the why behind the heart.
Luke 21
1 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury,
2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.
3 So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all;
4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”
She gave all. She gave out of faith and willingness. They didn’t.
Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 1 Corinthians 3:13
God knows why we do what we do. And, God knows why we don’t.
It’ll all become clear on the day of judgment why I did each and every work that I did, and for what or for whom. It’ll make a lasting effect or it won’t! That’ll be all I got when I got it if it was all for the wrong reasons. There will be no eternal reward. It’ll become clear because it’ll be tested by fire to see whether it was genuine or fake. Pure gold can stand up under the heat; the impurities are burned off. May our hearts be pure.
If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 1 Corinthians 3:14
In other words, “If the work survives the fire, you’ll get a reward.”
1 Corinthians 13
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
Continue to read on in 1 Corinthians 13 to see what love really is and what love is not.
You can possess all the gifts and all the goods and even do good, but if it’s not motivated by love and love alone, then it’s all for nothing but show.
2 Corinthians 9
5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.
The Cheerful Giver
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
7 let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 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.
Paul had something to teach the church but it is Christ Who first showed us what was vital through and out of His love and willingness on the cross. He showed us what it meant to truly love and to lay down one’s selfish will, in order to pick up our cross and daily live and walk it out. We must fight our flesh every day. My desire and will that naturally rises up in me to serve “me, me, me.”
It’s all about our faith and love and the hope that there’s a greater meaning.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and (charity) love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
Isn’t acts of charity, love?
It was all about His life, His death,and His resurrection. It’s still all about Christ but now it’s Christ in me. Christ in you. We’ve been given this life and called to partake, to give and to share in it. We can’t give what we don’t have, whatever it be: love, forgiveness, a helping hand, our time to God, or anything else that is good, unless we first have first received!
“Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Luke 7:47
Paul got it. He (his heart and life) was radically transformed from darkness to light. He was teaching the believers the difference between giving generously and out of generosity, versus grudgingly or out of grudging obligation or heart. Or, because you “have to”.
God loves a cheerful giver.
And a cheerful heart He will not despise. Even if it’s a just a little or a little act of kindness. As long as it comes from the heart it is everything to Him. You are met back with what you measured out and to what degree. Don’t give what you want. Give as unto God and as you’d have. Give love/ give kindness/ give generously and do it with no hesitancy or hold back!
How many times have I not and how many times have I missed a blessing? It’s more blessed to give than to receive. He died to give!
We must first give our lives before this concept will become full. Give as you feel in your heart to do. Don’t compare your life or ability to give to someone elses. Give as your heart urges you to give, not as someone else does or doesn’t. Whether it be a sign up sheet, time, money or talent. Not more, not less, and if you give it out of a begrudging heart or necessity, or being “required to”, then it is just as well as you didn’t give at all. Just as their feast meant nothing, our sacrifices are the same without heart. That’s all we get! Whatever we do is to be done from the heart, out of love and as unto God.
Don’t cheapen the grace and the love of God. It didn’t come cheap. Don’t idolize what doesn’t matter and we aren’t to try to be something that we’re not. We are His.
Again, 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. 2 Corinthians 9:8
It begins here: the heart. It’s the real matter of everything that we do and everything we do comes from it. He knows your heart. He knows our why. We can’t fool Him. We must live for Him.
Psalm 139
1 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
God, I want to live and aim to please You! I’m not perfect and sometimes more often than not, I feel like I get it wrong more than I get it right. This message is not to condemn but rather to get us back on the right track so that we can function properly, understand the true meaning of love, giving, blessing and live blessed. It’s also as equally important to learn to receive as this is harder for some than giving. May we not take someone else’s blessing from them by not receiving willingly and thankfully. We freely must receive what You freely died to give. It was costly.
You made me and if I’m not living for You and walking according to Your ways and purpose, then I’m not pleasing you or pleased at all. If im not doing everything that I do out of love and for You, then I’m not only a clanging noise but deep down I know that I’m not where I’m supposed to be. I may look like I’m happy from the outside and that everything may look right but deep down everything is wrong.
Things bring temporary happiness but You bring forever joy. When I do for and as unto You; for Your people and for Your kingdom - there is nothing that compares or that takes away that joy.
May I not distract the true meaning of Christ in my own life and why You came. May I live each day out with joy and confidence that You are on my side. May everything that I do come straight from my heart and from the good places. May I dedicate it all to You, holding nothing back and giving nothing out of impulse. May we all be more intentional in how we give and how we spend our time. We’re invested or we’re spent!
Whether I am giving a smile, doing a deed, showing love by showing up, doing an act of charity, or lending an ear, may it all be done as for and as unto You first. This is how we do to You as we do to the least of these. Forgive me for when I haven’t done correctly. May it not be for naught. May it not be just a smoke show or for the lights and attention. May we be the lights that point back to You. That our good deeds would reflect, honor and glorify You! All You ever wanted was our hearts. May it all point back To You in the end.
Thank You that I can give back but thank You most of all that in this season, I am reminded most that the GREATEST GIFT WAS YOU AND YOUR LOVE AND SACRIFICE FOR ME, when I deserved it least. I have hope that is firmly rooted in You, Your love and Your Son’s work on the cross and the sacrifice that You gave FOR ME. What a gift. I only have what You first gave. We are just stewards and managers and I only want to hear “well done.” You are The Greatest Gift that we can offer or receive. May we give back! May it be pure and golden. May we remember in this season WHY You came, WHY You died, WHY You freely gave and gave up Your own free will. All in order to give us life and that we might rise. It’s time to rise above self and to live the good life that You died to give and to live a giving life. One that gives freely and out of what You died to give. In Jesus name, Amen.
