Generous Appreciation
35 I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Acts 20:35 (NKJV)
This verse came from Paul when he called for the elders of the church of Ephesus where he spoke to them for the last time. This was just prior to him boarding the ship that would take him to Jerusalem where his ministry would come to an end. He spoke to them about his work for the Lord Jesus Christ and his works to help all peoples throughout his ministry. Through teaching, charity, and hospitality, Paul was generous toward those he would go to preach to. In the context of this verse, he is not giving them orders on how to be generous but showing them an example of how God has provided for him throughout his ministry.
32 So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
33 I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.
34 Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me.
Acts 20:32-34 (NKJV)
He was jealous of no one’s money, yet he was still provided for. From the food he ate to the ground shaking releasing him from prison, Paul has always been provided for throughout his ministry. So, what acts of generosity did Paul do to merit God always giving him everything he needs? Did he do something special? Was he just one of many that was blessed this way, or is there something we can learn that will bring God’s blessing like this in our own lives?
First, we will look at 2 Corinthians. Paul taught many things about giving and being charitable and in chapter 8 he talks about the generosity of the Macedonian Christians. These people had very little, they were often extremely poor, yet they were extremely generous with what they had. From their money to their services, Paul commended them for their generosity.
13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened;
14 but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality.
15 As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”
2 Corinthians 8:13-15 (NKJV)
A large reason for generosity in Scripture isn’t just for us to “be good people” and give a small portion of what we have to someone who might need it, but it is for us to store up treasure for ourselves in heaven and be a light to the world as an example of Christ-like faithfulness and gratitude. Paul here speaks of equality, a term often used today with a poisoned definition. In the world today, especially among the youth, the term “equality” has come to mean something very different than its original translation, even to the point of being the exact opposite. Paul says in verse 13 specifically that he does not mean for our generosity to cause us to be burdened. Though God blesses abundantly those who give all they have to the point that they have nothing, just like the widow who gave her last two pennies in the offering in Mark 12:41-44, He does not require this of us. But when we have more than we need, which most of us often do, God desires of us to bless others who have little with our abundance. God has great compassion for the poor, as Jesus demonstrated throughout his ministry, and He desires for us to bless the poor. This is why Paul mentions equality in this passage, not that we should all be the exact same and have the exact same, even the saints in heaven do not have equal possessions, status or wealth, but so the poor can be fed, the needy have their needs met, and the wealthy invest all their wealth for the good of others. This is something we all need to be conscious of in our lives—that we all have more than we need and someone else does not. For those who have the Holy Spirit, and those seeking to know Him and hear Him more; listen to the still small voice of the Spirit when He speaks to you about the needy. Be generous, and God will be generous toward you in your life. Give thanks to God for what you have and be willing, even if it requires constant effort, to listen to the Spirit and be generous with what you have.
38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.
Luke 6:38 (NKJV)
Why is generosity such an important part of thanksgiving? Because it blesses others, inspires equality, feeds God’s people, and spreads the Gospel. Thanksgiving is an important part of how God runs His Kingdom on Earth. Thankfulness to God for his provision to us by being generous to others that they may be thankful to God for his provision to them. But what does it do for us? If we are not on the side of being blessed by someone else’s generosity, what do we have to really gain from it? God gives out many, many blessings to those who are faithful to give to the needy, and there is more on that subject to cover later in this study. But it’s a hopeful and wonderful thing to know that God desires to, and does, bless those who are generous by giving them more than they had. Just like a cup overflowing, when you pour out what you have instead of holding onto it, God begins to pour out more and more into you that you will have more and be full and yet still overflow into those who need the generosity. This level of thanksgiving truly comes from having a heart of thankfulness toward God and what He has given us.
There have been multiple periods in my life where I have had nothing but faith and thankfulness to God knowing that He would restore to me what was taken, that He would provide for me. I made a move from Alaska to North Carolina soon after my wife and I got married because I felt I was being called to that area for a purpose, a God purpose. As soon as I stepped foot in Charlotte, North Carolina, everything went wrong… The place I planned to live turned out to be a roach infested stink hole. Four days later we were hit by a drunk driver that totaled my brand-new car and severely damaged a disk in my lower spine. Soon after I lost my job, lost my savings, maxed out my credit cards trying to survive, and the bills were piling up. It seemed as if someone really didn’t want me there. Even then, I tried to be faithful and generous. I didn’t really have any money, but I still gave what change I had to those in need, I gave little bags of snacks to people on the streets. Not much, but I want to be faithful, I want to be generous, even when it seems like what I give isn’t really helping. But I persisted. And with my last tank of gas while unemployment still hadn’t started coming in, my wife and I made a trip going to South Carolina to attend a three-day prophetic conference. All three days, I just chose to thank God that we were alive, that we had our basic needs met. I didn’t ask for anything, I just blessed the Lord’s name, thanked Him, and we kept attending the conference. The first day of the conference, an employer contacted me out of nowhere to do an interview over the phone, and I did it during the lunch break at the conference, and it went seemingly well even though I didn’t apply and had no idea what the job was. Unemployment also came in during the conference, right on time because I was down to my last few dollars. The second day, blessings were pouring out all over the conference, people were healed, prophetic words were given to those who really needed it, Holy Fire was truly all over that place. For us, nothing. It was a wonderful experience, but we didn’t receive anything more than feeling the Holy Spirit in that place. But I thanked God, blessed His name, and chose to continue to go. On the third day, during the last session of the conference, the speaker called for people with “mobility issues” to step up to the stage, so I limped my way up to the stage. And of course, I’m the only person under fifty that was up there. I was at the back of the crowd that came up to the stage because I was slower getting up there, and the speaker prayed for some, and many were healed, but to continue the message the speaker said the rest of us could sit down before getting to the rest… myself included. So, we did, and I limped my way back to my seat. When I got to my seat, I looked back and saw three others had stayed at the stage, and the speaker saw and began to pray for them. What did I do? I limped my way back up there because I knew I needed it, and I had faith in God that He wanted to turn the tables and bless me after all I had endured recently. The speaker turned to me without me saying and word and was right, I do have a calling here, I have been through hell and back, and I have been in an accident recently. How uncanny? I didn’t even have to say a word. After prayer, with my back straightened out, I walked pain free back to my seat and rejoined my wife. What did I do? I humbly thanked God for this blessing and a prophetic word over my life, and I stayed for the rest of the conference. A couple days later, after we were home from the conference, while I’m still trying to figure out what I’m going to do financially, I interviewed for that job that reached out to me out of nowhere. I never applied, I didn’t know anything about it, but I got it. They offered me the job immediately, making twice the salary I’ve ever made before. God truly does give to those who are faithful, grateful, and generous.
When you know it is God who has given you what you have and are truly thankful, you trust Him to give you more when you give what you have. That’s a lot of giving, but there’s more to generous thanksgiving than just material things. We also share things like our time and skills, our knowledge, and our spare room. This I know is the hardest type of generosity these days. Hospitality. To share ourselves, our homes, and our spare rooms to those in need. In many African and Asian countries, hospitality is an everyday occurrence, and even laws in some places, when someone who needs a place to stay, there are people lined up to give them somewhere to stay. Even I myself have a hard time thinking about this idea, I’ve had some less than preferable experiences with criminal minded people and I’m not stoked at the idea of having complete strangers in my home and around my family. But this is the mindset that Jesus taught; to share what we have. Not just our things, but also ourselves and our homes. By all means, be conscious and careful who you let into your home, there truly are some who only come to steal, kill and destroy. We live in the time of increasing great evil and it’s spreading, but now is the time where it is more important than ever that we be generous, walk in Christ-like faith, and spread the Gospel through more than just preaching. This is the time where many will rise up in Christ with great blessing and power, many of those people will be living the values written in this study, and many of them will be doing it in very small groups within their homes.
Where did Jesus and his Disciples stay when they traveled in His ministry? In other people’s homes. They welcomed Him and showed Him great hospitality. The same for the Apostles, when they travelled, they were put up by people in their homes. Many times, in Scripture there were important events and messages given to God’s people through their hospitality to complete strangers. This is a tough concept for me to grasp myself, and I take it with the same idea that Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 8:13 where he clarified that he doesn’t mean for charity to cause us to be burdened just to help others, because I will always be very careful with who I let into my home. My family’s safety will always be my main priority when choosing to be generous and hospitable, but I still want to improve and do more to show my gratefulness to God for all his provisions in my life, including the home He’s given me.
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