The Bible tells us a wealth of stories about true generosity from the heart.  Let me introduce you to one such inspiring story in the Second Book of Corinthians. Meet the Macedonian church.

In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. (2 Cor. 8:2-4)

Did you see that start contrast? Overflowing Joy and Extreme Poverty. Imagine that!  This church was experiencing extreme poverty, trials, and persecution, they were literally one of the poorest, and yet, they still chose to be richly generous towards their needy brothers in Jerusalem.

Are you a pastor? This eBook will help:

The Building Blocks to a Generous Church

In this eBook, I share with you the building blocks that the WWP ministry has identified as critical to growing a generous Church. It will provide you with some of the foundations for putting your Church on the journey to both a more generous culture and a strong financial position.

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GIVING WITH JOY

The Macedonian church miraculously gave so much, far beyond their ability to give, and enjoyed doing it. This was the key. In the next chapter, we see this key highlighted as “…God loves a cheerful giver” – 2 Corinthians 9:7. This church knew what would touch God’s heart. They were after God’s heart. This is God-inspired giving, no doubt, pure generosity from the heart.

GIVING TO GOD

Found in the second part of verse 5: “They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.” The Macedonian church GAVE THEMSELVES to the Lord first which is why they responded with such generosity to God’s people in Jerusalem. They understood that material things are a gift from God, to be used for His glory. They were materially poor but spiritually rich.

Poor people may be cash-poor but they can be very rich spiritually. If you consider the poor people around you today, you will notice that their values are closer to kingdom values.

GIVING THE EXTRA MILE

They show humility, service, and concern for others. The Macedonian church was willing to walk the extra mile and even sacrifice for the sake of serving another human being. There are poor people who live a generous life of giving, good stewardship and service to others.  Their generosity may not necessarily be in the form of cash but in sharing whatever resources they have—their time, labour, strength, and the testimony of their resilience in the midst of hardship. Generosity from the heart, and inspired by God.

GIVING FROM THE HEART

Rich people give out of their disposable income but the poor give sacrificially. Jesus honoured the widow’s offering of her last mite more than what the rich put in the temple treasury (Luke 21:1-4). In the sight of the Lord, it is not the amount of money that you give but your willingness to let go of your possession and say, “it belongs to the Lord and I am only entrusted with everything I have and I can give it away as the Lord summons.”

How can you encourage the poor among you to be generous towards God? Start giving sacrificially yourself! The impact of your generosity will certainly become the lifeline other people need.

I’d like to share with you a virtual webinar to help you develop personal generosity.

Generosity Express

Do you have a vision for your Church, but not the finances to fulfil it? Generosity Express is our rapid learning generosity course where each day for 23 days, you can watch one of our high impact videos (3 – 10 minutes) designed to help you create a Church of genuine, God honouring Stewards passionate about multiplying God’s Kingdom!