The Two Sides of Giving and Receiving
Message Summary:
[Philippians 4:14-16 NKJV] 14 Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress. 15 Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. 16 For even in Thessalonica you sent [aid] once and again for my necessities. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.
In today’s message, Pastor John continued to teach us about the Laws of Giving and Receiving. We can’t anchor ourselves in the reports that we hear. We have to learn how to anchor ourselves in the God who can get us through everything, including every financial season of our lives. We must be anchored in Jesus and the Word of God. In this passage of scripture, Paul is addressing his time traveling during his missionary journeys through Macedonia, and how of all the churches he visited, only the church of Philippi gave financial support to him. Unlike the other people who had become hard of hearing regarding giving and receiving, the church of Philippi was open and receptive to the teaching of giving. And because they gave, because they partnered with the command to give in the Bible, they received the blessing promised in the Bible to those who give.
This reminds us that sometimes we can become “dull” or take Bible teaching for granted. When this happens, we must be reminded and retaught the word regarding the truth and the life of God’s word. Paul is saying there is a message, doctrine, and teaching (a word from God) on the subject of giving and receiving. And in this season, our church needs to be reminded and taught again about this truth that God wants us to experience as alive and new in us. Giving and receiving are two sides of the same teaching. He wants you to learn how to be a generous giver, and how to receive from Him. We must learn the power of both sides of the teaching. Everything belongs to God anyways. Everything in it, including anything we might think belongs to us, actually belongs to Him. He gives us the opportunity and the command to give as He directs, and when we do, he rewards our obedience with blessing.
Scriptures:
[Hebrews 5:11-13 NKJV] 11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need [someone] to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes [only] of milk [is] unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
[Psalm 24:1 NKJV] 1 The earth [is] the LORD's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.
[1 Cor. 6:19-20 NKJV] 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [who is] in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.
[1 Cor. 4:7 NKJV] 7 For who makes you differ [from another]? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive [it], why do you boast as if you had not received [it]?
Discussion Questions:
Why are giving and receiving considered two sides of the same teaching?
What does it mean to be a giver?
What does it look like to be a receiver?
Why do we need to be both a giver and a receiver?
What will happen if we are only one or the other, and not both?
Life Application:
Over the next week, as you study the key scriptures, ask yourself: Are you both a giver and a receiver? Are you a generous giver, and are you able to receive blessings from the Lord? We are called to be both a giver and a receiver. Are you more comfortable with one than the other? Why is that? This week, ask the Lord in which role you need to grow and ask Him to show you how to live a life balanced in both giving and receiving.