The Cycle of Giving and Receiving
By Kenneth W. Hagin
God’s Word makes it very clear that God wants us to live an abundant life. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)” (Amplified). This abundant life is what God intends for every one of His children.
Unfortunately, many of God’s children aren’t enjoying this kind of overflowing life. One thing we all need to understand is that our living is connected to our giving. When people think of giving, they usually think about giving of their time, talent, and money. Although giving does have to do with more than money, in this article, I am going to focus on the blessings of God as they pertain to finances.
God has made a way for us to have abundant living through our giving. But we must be convinced that our quality of giving affects our quality of living. If we’re not convinced, we’re probably not going to give. And even if we do give, we probably won’t have faith for a return on our giving and receiving.
Let’s look at some verses that deal with giving and receiving.
LUKE 6:38 (NIV)
38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
2 CORINTHIANS 9:6 (NIV)
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
GALATIANS 6:7-10 (NIV)
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
9 Let us not be weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
The Bible clearly has a lot to say about the connection between giving and receiving.
At times in years gone by, people have said to me, “All that tithing and giving offerings won’t do you any good.” I never let that kind of talk bother me, because I believe the Bible. And the Bible says that God cannot be mocked—whatever a person sows, that’s what he’s going to reap (Gal. 6:7). And if I’m sowing obedience—if I’m acting in obedience concerning tithes and offerings—God will see to it that His promises come to pass in my life.
When you obey God and walk in line with His Word and His way of doing things, He will make His promises come to pass in your life too. Why? Because God is utterly faithful to His Word. If you obey Him, He will bless you.
Some people mock biblical prosperity by saying, “That sowing and reaping stuff doesn’t work. Those preachers are just trying to get your money.”
I’m not saying that there’s never been a preacher who has missed it in the area of finances, because some have missed it and have overemphasized money as it relates to ministry. But without money, a church can’t keep its lights on! It takes money to pay pastors and other staff. It takes money to operate a ministry that supports missions and funds outreaches that are spreading the Gospel not only to the local community, but to the four corners of the earth.
In the secular world, a company keeps its doors open by the finances it receives. In much the same way, that’s how a ministry keeps its doors open—by the finances that the ministry receives.
Some people complain when the pastor mentions tithes and offerings. And usually the people complaining are the ones who don’t tithe. And if they give at all, they don’t give very generously. Why don’t they tithe or give? They either don’t have an understanding of the Word concerning prosperity, or they just don’t believe it. God wants us blessed. But He wants us to be blessed His way, and one of the main ways He blesses us is through the avenue of our giving.
Other people will gripe as they’re tithing or giving. They’re not giving their finances according to God’s Word. And as a result, they don’t receive any blessing from their giving. The Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7), not a giver who gives begrudgingly or unwillingly.
There is a cycle of giving and receiving we must participate in if we’re going to tap into God’s overflow blessings and live above life’s limits. In this cycle, we give to live—to enjoy the overflow—and we live to give.
The Bible says that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). But until we receive something ourselves, we won’t have anything to give to others. Giving doesn’t stand alone, but neither does receiving. It’s a constant cycle of God’s provision. We receive, we give. We give, we receive.
God doesn’t want us blessed so we can hoard the blessings to ourselves. He wants us blessed so we can show others His goodness by always having our own needs met and having extra to be able to give to every good work (2 Cor. 9:8).
Friend, no matter where we are in life, God wants to take us to a higher level. I encourage you to read the Scriptures for yourself. Meditate on those verses that talk about giving. Meditate on those that promise a return on your giving—when you give with a right heart and a right attitude. Then begin to act on those promises. When you act on the Word of God believing it will come to pass in your life, you will be blessed in your doing (James 1:25)!
From, “rhema.org”/Page 4-6, by Kenneth W. Hagin
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