Abundant Giving - Rev. Buddy DeLong

Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Let's do that. Let's thank him tonight. Thank you for your goodness, Lord.

It's been following us all of our life. We thank you tonight how good you are to every one of us. Wonderful to be in the house of the Lord with you tonight. Been looking so forward to uh teaching this word tonight. I got uh bumped off the last time I was ready.

But by a very good thing, my my daughter and my son came up and prayed for their little ones, my little grandkids, and my goodness, what a work the Lord did. And we got two good reports out of that. And that's the wonderful wonderful working of God. Thank you. Let's thank him with me.

Thank you for what you did, Lord, for our little ones. What a blessing it was to hear those reports come back that no major anything and just so thankful for that. I know that many of you have grandkids and would be able to understand how I felt when that report came. It's It's just so good to get those good reports. We are living for an abundant God tonight.

I get to talk a little bit about abundant giving. And the first example I'm going to give you tonight is about this abundant God that we serve. He's the most abundant thing in our lives. You can be seated. Through the years, I've been very blessed to be surrounded by abundant givers.

Like they're on my left, my right, behind me, they're everywhere in my life. Um My wife, she's always been a abundant giver. She'd give you the shirt off my back if you needed it. Just kidding, but she probably would. She really She really has inspired me.

Like she is a giver. Like she's really really good at that. And I respect her and thank her for that. Um her mother, she's here tonight. She's also an abundant giver.

I guess the nut doesn't fall too far from the tree, right? So So they say. I don't know if I should have said it that way to my mother-in-law. But my mother-in-law loves me, so and I love her. She's I've got the best mother-in-law on the planet, folks.

Like she's top notch. Um Also, Bishop and Brother Weaver, they're guilty of pouring out abundant love on my life and caring for me. So yep, they check off the the box of abundant givers in my life. Thank you, Brother Williford and Brother Weaver. Uh helped me so much as a young man growing up in the church.

I needed it. They were there to help me out and be such a blessing in my life. And then my mother, she was the type of person who would literally she'd empty her purse if you needed it. And you she knew you needed it, she would do it. And so as I said, I am surrounded by a bunch of abundant givers already.

So this lesson wasn't hard for me at all. Um and there are others in my life and many of them are right here in this place that through the years have been abundant givers and have blessed my family and have shown me what it's like uh to be a giver. And I thank you for that. But what exactly does the word abundant that mean? I'm glad you asked.

It's nice to be asked, you know. Abundant, present in great quantity, more than adequate, over sufficient, well supplied with something, abounding, richly supplied as with resources. That's what the word abundant means. So, you have the foundation tonight, and as I said, our heavenly father is the greatest example of abundant giving tonight. Truth is, everything we have, including the very air we breathe tonight, comes from him.

He provides us with food, shelter, clothing, and his great love, doesn't he? Now, one might say, "Wait, I provide food and shelter and clothing by working hard." And you would be right to an extent, but I would argue with you and say, um without the body that God gave you, the strength, the mind, and all those things, you wouldn't be able to work and provide anything for yourself, right? So, uh we can see it in James 1:16 and verse 17, it makes it clear where all good things come from. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. Everybody say, "From above." That's where it comes from.

Comes down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. God alone is the one who ultimately provides all good things for us. He's the one. He is the source. Can I get an amen?

It is true. In John 3:16, we see God's abundant giving, providing eternal salvation. It's a familiar verse, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." What a debt we owed. Think about that, folks. Not No one sitting in this place right now was without a great debt, but God made a way to pay it all.

That is abundant giving right there. Jesus said in John 15 and verse 13, "Greater love has no man than this, that a man would lay down his life for his friends." And on that note, I would like for us just to stop and take a praise break right here, and to thank God for his abundant salvation. Is there If there is something I never want to stop being thankful for, it's that abundant gift of salvation. I want every day to remember that. Would you praise the Lord with me for that?

Thank you, Lord, for your abundant salvation that you provided us, that you brought to us, Lord, when we were without hope. You gave us hope, Lord, and you paid the debt so that we could go free, and we thank you for this abundant salvation tonight. We give you thanks, Lord. That is fitting to give the Lord thanks for such abundant salvation that he provided for us. And just in case your understanding is not abundant enough, listen to this verse describing our great God as Paul described him as he was addressing the scholars on Mars Hill, found in Acts 17 verse 28.

A portion of our says, "For in him we live and move and have our being." So, there it is. Go as far as you want out into the night sky, as far as you can imagine, and you'll still be inside of our abundant God. There's nowhere you can go and not be in within side of him. We need to push away any attitude that would try to sell us on the idea that we could be self-sufficient. We cannot be self-sufficient in any way.

We are all sufficient in him. He has everything we need. I don't want to be guilty in any way of being self-sufficient. God provides it all. If we ever hope to be pleasing to God and to be an abundant giver, then we must understand where abundance truly comes from.

We have to. It does not come from our hard work only. It comes from God allowing us to have the strength and so on and so forth. We can then, through prayer and following the spirit, plug into that great abundance and watch it flow through our lives to others, and even back to God himself. Jesus said in John 15 and verse 5, "I am the vine, and you are the branches, and he who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit.

For without me, you can do nothing. So, there it is. If we're not plugged into him and he's not working through us, we won't bear any fruit that this world needs, anyway. But while we are in him, he will make us bear much fruit and be an abundant uh blessing to others in our lives. Then in Matthew 10 and 8, Jesus told his disciples, "Freely you have received, freely give." That should be our attitude.

The Lord put a treasure in you the day you got the Holy Ghost. He put that treasure in you and he gave it freely. You received that freely and he said, "Freely give." We should allow the blessings of the Lord to just flow out of our lives, be very bold everywhere we go. He owns this world. Who has the right to shut our mouths and to not allow us to be bold in what God has done for us, right?

Like if anyone is off base or there's any kind of a feeling of, "Oh, you shouldn't say this or that." It should be folks who would try to stop the the mouths of the people of God. Those should be the people feeling out of place. We should abundantly proclaim what he's done in our life. I keep touching this thing and it's going down the page, so I got to find my place again. All right.

So, we've established the greatest example of abundant giving. Now, let's look at what some incredible characters in the Bible did to show us an example of abundant giving. I I I was looking into these folks in the Bible and it is just wonderful to be able to receive from the word of God. And that's what we are doing tonight. There's a smorgasbord here.

So, there's a there's a table laid out like no Christmas dinner you've ever seen in the spirit. And if you'll take advantage of it, who knows how how much strength you'll leave here with. Not from me, but the word of God is clear. It's quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. You can take it.

Who knows that one verse that is mentioned here tonight, what it could mushroom into faith in your heart, and a skip in your step, and just excited about Christmas and the New Year coming, right? That's what God can do for us tonight. Why? Because he's abundant. And watch what some of these people did.

Uh we're going to look into some of these examples in scripture. The first one involves a widow, her son, and a prophet named Elijah. In the beginning of 1 Kings 17, we pick up in verse 7, uh where Elijah is at the Brook of Cherith being miraculously fed by ravens and drinking from the brook there during an extreme drought. And verse 7 says, "And it came to pass after a while that the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land." Bishop preached a message on this uh few years ago and I've not forgotten it. I just love this this message he preached.

His title was something like, "When your miracle dries up." And he went on to say, "It just means there's a bigger miracle around the corner and something better." When your miracle dries up, so that brook dried up, it was a miracle that he was being fed by these ravens, but when it dried up, you're going to you're going to see as we proceed that it tells us that there was even a a greater miracle that was around the corner. Um in verse 8, it says, "And the word of the Lord came unto him, Elijah, saying, 'Arise and get to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you.'" We are talking about abundant giving. And this Elijah is told by God that he's going to be on the receiving end of a widow, okay? Uh think about that for a moment a moment.

Uh isn't it amazing that God takes the seemingly weak of this world to show his abundance? I think that's just awesome. Um he makes them powerful and abundant givers. Don't forget to notice as we read on how it becomes clear to the prophet that this widow also has a son that she's responsible to take care of and feed, right? It's like uh on the surface, it could appear that Elijah is being heartless when he says, "Hey, take some of the last bit of food out of the mouth of your son and give it to me." Right?

But Elijah had a word from God. And he knew that by following the word, that it would mean life for that widow and her son, right? Verse 10, we're going to pick back up. So, he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the woman was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Fetch me, I pray you, a little water in a vessel that I may drink." And as he went and as she was going to fetch it, he called out to her and said, "And bring me, I pray you, a morsel of bread in your hand." And she said, "As the Lord lives, as the Lord thy God liveth, I don't have a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse, and behold, I'm gathering two sticks that I may go and dress it for me and my son that we can eat it and die." This is the state this lady was in, like and here here she is, she's ready to make that little cake, her and son eat it, and die.

But Elijah says to her, "Fear not. Go and do as you have said, but make therefore but make me therefore a little cake first and bring it to me, and after make for you and thy son." And then he tells her the promise. For thus says the Lord God of Israel, "The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth." What a promise this lady is getting from the Lord. And sure enough, she goes. Did it again.

Technology doesn't always work, does it? She goes and does what the what the prophet says and finds that sure enough that cruse of oil didn't fail and that that meal didn't fail until the day that it rains and her and her son have life and everyone it says in her family. It doesn't say how many were others were blessed. Maybe just her and her family, but there it was. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail according to the word of the Lord which he spake by Elijah.

Wow. A widow became an abundant giver by simply following the word of God. She gave from what seemed to be the last of her resources, but she was obedient. So I place a question I want to pose to you tonight. I'm going to ask this question for a show of hands for anyone here tonight that has been prompted by God to give from a place where your resources were low and only to find that God turned it around and showed you his great abundance as you obeyed.

Look at these hands, folks. We are already surrounded by a a wonderful group of abundant givers tonight and obedient saints of the Lord. What a wonderful thing we can actually celebrate tonight that we are surrounded by such folks and the witness of what God has already done, much less what he's going to do with his word in the days to come. Our heavenly Father watches over us day after day and makes us shine with his rich abundance. He really does show himself strong on our behalf.

The next example is found in the New Testament. As Paul writes to the Corinthian church, he gives a report on the abundant giving of the Macedonian churches. These folks these are some incredible folks in the Macedonian church. I was so encouraged as I I read 2 Corinthians 8. Starts with Paul saying, "Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done to the churches in Macedonia." He's like, "You got to hear this.

This is some something else. Listen to their state. They are being tested by many troubles and they are very poor." Everyone say very poor. Okay. But he goes on to say, "They are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity." Verse three, "For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more, and they did it with of their own free will.

They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gifts for the believers in Jerusalem." They begged. These people that were in trouble and very poor begged for the opportunity to give to the church in Jerusalem that was in need. He goes on to say in verse five, "They even did more than we had hoped. For their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do." These these Macedonian folks are great examples of abundant giving. Uh you might think giving should be reserved for those who are rich and well, they have it to give.

These Macedonians didn't think that way. These church folks were like They were begging to give even though let's the Bible says they were very poor. So, this example shows that no one is exempt. Not Not only from giving but from abundant giving. Like we can all abundantly give as we give ourselves to the Lord.

Verse two is awesome. Paul starts by explaining their current condition. They were being tested by many troubles. What? I thought someone that had a bunch of troubles in their life that they wouldn't be able to give.

Not these Macedonians. They They had trouble and they were like They shrugged it off. They're like trouble? They just gave with fervency. Then Paul says they're very poor as we mentioned.

But not just the they not just very poor. Not just poor, very poor. One may ask how can someone who finds themselves very poor be an abundant giver? I'm glad you asked that and we all know how because with God all things are possible. These people were able to give abundantly because they had the joy of the Lord in their hearts and they gave more and abundantly above even what they could afford because of the love of God in their hearts.

The second part of verse two has an all important transition word that pivots these Macedonian believers who have many troubles and are very poor. And he says this. He transitions them to but they are also filled with abundant joy. What a difference that makes in your life? You know you can be very poor and have a lot of trouble and be full of joy.

Not just joy but abundant joy. Time out. I have to tell a Bunny Buddy and Benny story. Um for you that don't know, my my little brother, 3 years younger, uh Benny, we had a lot of adventures in our young young young life growing up together. And one of the stories uh of our childhood was uh when me and Benny experienced a move.

Our mom, Rosetta, uh was incredibly She was an incredibly strong lady full of love of for God but we were very poor. She was trying to raise four kids on her own and she found herself as that single mom um in a position where we needed to find a new place to live. And it was my Uncle Ben that said this statement. He was the one my brother Benny was named after, Uncle Ben. Um he made this comment and I I never forgot it.

He said, "Those are the happiest poor kids I've ever seen." And mom used to say that all the time, "You know, Uncle Ben used to say you were the happiest poor kids we've ever seen." Kind of like that joy that those Macedonians had. Honestly, Benny and I didn't even know we were poor. We We didn't have any idea. We just were fun-loving kids, right? Uh but one of the many times that we moved, mom found a place in Defiance, Missouri and she had paid an elderly owner a cash down payment.

And uh that was on a handshake. She didn't have any kind of contract or anything. And the poor man, unfortunately, had a stroke the next day and he was in the hospital and wasn't able to communicate. And so when we went to move in, his family thought we were trying to invade their father's rental home and they're like, "No, you can't live here." So, mom, of course, didn't as you know, trying to raise four kids, didn't have enough money to pay another down payment on another house until the man could recover. Um so, it was my sister, my older sister Sherry's boyfriend, um her his mother had an abandoned gas station that we could move into.

Oh my goodness. Me and Benny were in seventh heaven. The old gas pumps were still there right out front. Now, they didn't work but they were they were great for playing gas station, you know? I mean, we were like boy, we have arrived, you know?

And um the flat roof on the place of the gas station, it was in disrepair and when it would rain, we we had buckets and pots everywhere trying to trying to catch the water, right? Um and so uh finally uh my my sister's boyfriend got a roll of that tar paper and made two stripes on one section out front, you know, closest to the front of the thing. So, when it rained, at least we could get under there and not uh have the rain coming down on our head, right? And so it it was that Benny and I flat out loved it. We, just like the Macedonians, were full of joy.

And the reason was because we still had a mom who loved us and loved God. And I can tell you this song that we sang right before I got up here is just so true for me and and my life and my brother and my sisters and my mom that God was just watching over us the whole time and making sure that we lacked for nothing. We didn't lack for food to eat, for clothes, or adventures shelters. Like we had those, too. The Lord provided, right?

And why? Because God watched over us and he took care of us. And that's why my Uncle Ben said, "Those are the happiest poor kids I've ever seen." We just didn't know it. And like the Macedonians who had abundant joy while experiencing trials and low resources, you, too, can have abundance in in whatever circumstances you find yourself tonight. Not only can you have abundant joy, but God will help you to find a way, if you'll let him, to be an abundant giver.

He can do that for you. And and you just test him and see and you'll see he'll come through with flying colors. The other thing Paul said about these Macedonians was that after he had transitioned and said that the Macedonians were full of abundant joy, he says that they overflowed with rich generosity. Wow. From very poor to rich generosity.

That's our God, isn't it? Like that's what he does for us. Paul said that they begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem, another town that was needing help. We could all learn a lot from these Macedonians and how to be abundant givers, no matter what the circumstances. When was the last time you found yourself begging pastor for an opportunity to be a part of giving to the work of God in another town or city?

Oh, wait. I know there's a bunch of people that answered that call recently as you gave to Hope Community. You did it. And even now you continue to do so. I believe our pastor has been able to feel some of the same things Paul did as the people of God stepped up and gave to the work of God.

Just like Paul, like he's receiving this. He's like, "They did more than I could even" and I've heard similar words from your giving. And what a blessing it is to be a part of the work of God and its movement forward. And what a wonderful church family you all are. I am so very blessed to be a small part of what you do on a regular basis.

I love living life with you. I really do. Let's talk a little bit about giving of our substance. Recently, our benevolent offering was launched to take care of those who are in need among us. And if you had the opportunity to be a part if you haven't had an opportunity to be a part of that or you want to add more to that giving, think about this verse as you give.

Second Corinthians 9 and 7. So let each one of us give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. I love that scripture, by the way. That's a That's a wonderful thing, a cheerful giver. I was out of town on the Sunday that that launched that offering launched, but I imagined folks with fistfuls of money, huge smiles on their face because of the joy of the Lord in their hearts, running down the aisles, right?

Stuffing money into those offering bags and then looking to Jared Arnold, our head usher, and saying, "Bring more bags. Please." Begging him, "Bring more bags. We have such an abundant offering. We want to give to the Lord and to those that are in need." Then when I returned, sure enough, there was Bishop teaching about that very thing and going out with pastor and I saw those fistfuls of money going into their hands. And so it may not have been exactly the way I imagined it, but I know in the spirit, if you could have seen what was going on, I know how it feels to give.

And the Bible's clear, it's more blessed to give than it is to receive. And I saw so many of you with with bright faces giving to the benevolence offering and thank you for your giving. You You deserve recognition for that and God sees that. So very, very good to be a part of a church that gives the way you do. As we concentrate tonight on being an abundant giver, let's make sure we put God first.

Let's be like the Macedonians who gave themselves to the Lord and to Paul, the Bible says. It's not enough just to give our money. We need to give ourselves. And I love that they didn't put any restrictions on the way they presented themselves to the Lord. They literally gave their whole selves to him and to Paul, it says.

And it says just as God wanted them to. Do you know that tonight God wants you to give your whole self, like everything you have? Just like those Macedonians did. They literally gave their whole selves. That kind of giving reminds me of the great commandment, Mark 12:30.

And you shall love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. That giving of everything you have that those Macedonians did, it reminds me of that kind of giving as we give ourselves to the Lord with all the love we have in our hearts and all the talent we have and all the resources we have. It really all belongs to him anyway. Take time on a regular basis to ask God to lead you in what he wants you to do with your time and talent.

Give your all to him and to his kingdom. You'll never regret that. You'll never. I'm sure our pastor would love it if you would ask him, is there anything that I could do, any talent that I have that I could give, any time that I could give to the church? He's not going to be bashful about receiving that.

You might as well hit him up tonight before he leaves, right? Who knows what God's going to do as you offer him your all? It was a a few Wednesday nights ago we were on our way to church and Oakland, about every 30 seconds, was saying, "I want three coins. I want three coins." Just kept saying it, saying it. To his mom.

If he was saying it to me, I would answer right away, you know, like I'm Papa, you know, I got to answer right away. But he kept saying it and saying it. Finally, his mom What? What What in the world do you want? I want to give an offering.

Then I had ask him, "Why do you want three coins, Oakland?" And he says, "One for me, one for Titus and one for um Xavier." And there it was. He didn't want to just give himself, he wanted to make sure that his cousins had something to give, right? And I don't know about you, but if anyone lacks a little, I got a few coins. If you want to give in a benevolence offering, see me after church and we'll we'll make it happen. I want to be like Oakland and help you in any way I can to give to the kingdom.

Um the final point I want to cover is for all of us to be abundant givers of praise. We did it tonight. We were led to do it and we did and it was a sign for me that we are right on track. Um we began the study tonight with the greatest example of abundant giving, our great God. And as we wrap up, I want all of us to purpose in our hearts to abundantly give back to him our praise.

David the psalmist put it this way in Psalms 103 verses 1 and 2. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Praise the Lord.

I think uh of a father who works hard to provide food and shelter and clothes and protection and then one of his kids stops and pulls him down and looks him in the eye and says and realizes all that's been done and simply says to his dad, "Thank you, Dad. You were so good because and you fill in the blank." And then tonight, uh if you would stand with me, I'm going to invite you uh in this closing prayer to do two things. At the end of the service, we're going to stop and tell our heavenly Father how good he is and how thankful we are for how he watches over us abundantly, provides for us and protects us. And on the heels of that thanksgiving, I want you to also pray and ask him to help you be like him. To help you allow him to pour through you and be an abundant giver of your finances, your time, and talent to others as he leads you.

And of course, back to him. Amen. Would you pray with me tonight? Lord, we thank you for your abundance, Lord. For what you've done, we give you thanks, God.

You're so good to us. You protected us. You provided for us, Lord. We want to be like you, God. Help us, we pray, to reach out to others and be a blessing, God.

Thank you, Lord. Would you thank the Lord? Would you just ask the Lord for his help? We want to be like you, Lord. We want to give you gave everything.

You gave yourself, Lord. We want to be like you, and we thank you for the spirit of giving that's here at Apostolic Pentecostal Church. So, when we feel even here and now, God. Oh, I thank you, Jesus. I want to be like you.