Do not hold anything good back

1st of October

PART 1

I am just as curious as you are about the content of to-day’s message. God gave me the title, but the rest comes as I am writing. We just have to see what the Lord has for us to-day. It is always something good.

We can start with 2.Cor.9:8. We read: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have abundance for every good work.” The headline over this Scripture in my Bible is: “A happy giver.” We can read in a few verses before that those who sow sparingly, will reap sparingly. I do not believe that this chapter only talks about money even if that is included. We read a few verses ahead about filling all the needs of the saints and then all their generosity. We can also read about giving to the poor. They are not mentioned as part of the saints. I recommend you to read the entire chapter 9 of the 2.Cor.

God really do not want us to lack anything, but wishes to fulfill all our needs in glory.(Phil.4:19) He first fills our needs and then He gives us grace in order for us to fill the needs of others. I can sense that some of you are saying: “This is not correct. I lack both food and work and I have nothing that I can share with you.” I really do not know your situation nor do I know the circumstances of your country, but I do know that the Word of God is not lying. If you are a child of God, you have promises that you can claim and hold on to.

I have seen extremely poor women giving me money that could be enough for a week’s supply for their family. I wanted to give the money back, but the Lord stopped me. He said: “Do not hinder Me in blessing them.” I did not stay long enough to see how He did it, but I am sure that He did in a wonderful way. I mention this in order to show you that they had something to give even if it was very costly. God is not stingy. He gave what He loved the most. He gave us His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. What did Jesus give to us? Himself. He carried all our sins and all our sicknesses in order for us to have peace. He said: “I have done nothing wrong, but I love you and therefore I carry all your mistakes on me.” He didn’t only do that for you and me, but for everybody. 

Our needs are very different and rice for once a day can be a great blessing if you are in the middle of famine. Some people are very grateful to have a roof over their head while some of us measure our house in squares and how many rooms. Others do not care how they live as long as they are healthy and have a good relationship to their family. We have individual needs as well as universal needs. All of us need love. We also need a protection against bad weather or extreme temperatures. We need a certain amount of food and water every day. God has also given us a need for a relationship with God. This has unfortunately led to idol worship since many do not know the real God. There might be many more than those I have mentioned.

Everybody has something to share with others. I remember a story from a prisoner during the Communist regime in Romania. He was in death-cell together with other prisoners. Many of them were believers. They had a lump of sugar and this was sent around to since they always thought that somebody else needed it more. They sacrificed everything, even the luxury of a lump of sugar. Remember this story when you think that you have nothing to give to others. I grew up in a home where we always gave food to the beggars. We didn’t give money since everybody wasn’t honest, but always food. We might not even have money ourselves, but we always had food to share with others. My friends remember this in spite of all the years past. We were the last to buy a fridge and a telephone, but we always had food for everybody.

The Bible encourages us to give to the poor. We have millions of people suffering from hunger, catastrophes, wars and persecution. Ask God how you should help and where to give money. No one can help everybody, but everybody can help someone. I give where I know they use a minimum to administration and a maximum to those that really need it. “I am tithing to my church and that’s enough”, you may say. Yes, we should tithe where we receive spiritual food, but if your church does not have a program supporting those in need, you should. It does not need to be far away in another country, but maybe in your own area. God says that He let it rain over just and unjust. That means that we should not only give to our spiritual sisters and brothers. Many have become saved because of the concrete love shown by Christians, but many are those who have turned their back to God because of the lack of love and concern shown by Christians.

The story in the Bible about the “The Good Samaritan”, shows us clearly that we are supposed to help people. Even a pastor ignored the one who needed help, but we should never pass by a needy person without offering our help. To-day we can be involved in dangerous situations and I therefore recommend you to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance before you do something. Maybe your role is to call for more help. We always need help from Heaven. We can always pray when we hear an ambulance or another sign of a crisis. Our prayers can save another person’s life. It doesn’t matter who they are.

It doesn’t always need to be so drastic before we should do something. Go with me to Rom.12:13. You see that we should distribute to the needs of the saints and show hospitality. When we look at the first church, they sold everything they had and shared with those that were in need. I believe that this is a secret since God wants everybody to have their needs met in glory. We must get rid of our superfluous things then. I believe in the law of sowing and reaping. I really believe that those who give lots will, receive lots. One will never become poor by giving. We should fulfill our obligations, but God gives us seed to share.

Many are those who open their homes and give room and food to the needy or to those travelling around  in the ministry for the Lord. I have myself been blessed in this way and have done the same in return. I am not talking about renting now. That is not giving.

I do not know if you react in the same way, but I can become very encouraged if somebody smiles at me or comes with some nice words. I am not talking about flirting now. This can be from people I know and people I have never seen before. I think all of us want to be seen and recognized. We have a variety to-day of possibilities to contact each other. It can be by using the phone, sending a sms, a letter or a mail. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. He can remind you of people you should contact. You can start each day by asking God to give you a possibility to be a blessing. Look for opportunities yourself. It might be by concrete deeds, but also by using your personality. Don’t be stingy with yourself. Jesus drew the crowd to Himself. It was something about Him that drew people to Him. You might not want a crowd around you, but you should have an attractive personality. An introvert person does not reflect Jesus.

ALLOW JESUS TO SHINE THROUGH YOU!