Jesus Christ's Commandments to His Disciples on Giving to the Church #16

Jesus Christ's Commandments to His Disciples on Giving to the Church #16. Blessings, this is Pastor Francisco Gómez greeting you. Today we continue our teaching series Called to Be a Disciple. Today we are on teaching number 16. Today we will be talking about the commandments our Lord Jesus Christ gave His disciples concerning […]

Blessings, this is Pastor Francisco Gómez greeting you. Today we continue our teaching series called Called to Be a Disciple. Today we are on teaching number 16.

Today we will be talking about the commandments our Lord Jesus Christ gave His disciples concerning giving offerings, supporting the church, supporting its work. As with practically every topic in the Bible, the devil takes it upon himself to cause confusion and to use different strategies to lead people into disobeying God's command. In this area, for example, one of the things I know he does widely out there — and one of the reasons many people have this resistance to supporting churches — is that unfortunately there are many false prophets, and you hear videos and things about how they fly around in private planes, how they've become millionaires off the ministry, how they're liars, and things like that.

And things like that are what the enemy has used to turn it into a kind of trauma — a trauma around giving to the work of God — and it has many people blocked because of all these things. The devil does this to lead people into disobedience, because there certainly is wickedness, there is deception, there is manipulation from the powers of darkness, there are weaknesses in mankind, and the enemy uses all of these things. But just as there is deception, just as there are false churches, there are also true churches; just as the devil unfortunately uses false ministers, there are also true ministers. But in the end, for each one of us, the important thing is one thing: if we are His disciples, then we should be doing what the Lord commanded us to do. So we will look at what the word of God says in this area. Some important points I want you to take into consideration, to receive here, or questions you may be asking that we will answer within this same teaching: Is giving an offering a commandment of Jesus Christ? Does the Lord command that the church be supported? Is it a command of God — yes or no?

Why and for what purpose would Jesus Christ command that we give offerings? What is the purpose of giving? Did the Lord Jesus Christ Himself receive offerings while He was with us? Did the Lord receive donations? Did people support His ministry? And the last question would be: are you living according to the word of God in this area, in the area of giving? The first point is whether giving an offering is a commandment of Jesus Christ. We will read several Scriptures and see what the word says about this.

Matthew 10:41-42: "The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is righteous will receive a righteous person's reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly I tell you, he will not lose his reward."

Here the Lord is saying that whoever gives even a cup of water to one of His disciples — if he does it with that understanding, and because he honors God, because that person is a disciple of the Lord — the Lord promises that truly he will not lose his reward. Just imagine, for simply giving a cup of water in faith, in the fear of God, to one of His disciples, the Lord speaks a blessing over whoever does these things. But the word also says that the one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward. In a few words, this is a path — a shortcut to many blessings — if we receive the servants of God with humility, in faith, in the fear of God. But note well: true servants. Sadly, this isn't something to be deceived about or ignored. In this teaching series I have mentioned several times that there are many false prophets, there is much deception, and if you receive a deception, if you are led by the blind, you fall into the pit, into the lake of fire. If you receive a false prophet, you will also receive a false prophet's reward, which is eternal torment. But if you receive true prophets, true servants of God, true disciples of Jesus Christ, you receive a reward.

Luke 10:5,7: "Whatever house you enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house."

Here the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, while He was present with us, is giving instructions to His disciples as He was sending them out at the beginning to do the work. And here He tells them that if there is a house of peace, they should stay in that house, because the Lord commands His disciples to go visit different places, to evangelize, to share the word, to heal the sick, to cast out demons. And the Lord commands us that if there is a house of peace, we should look there, but He also commands us that if people invite us in, we should eat what they offer, because the laborer is worthy of his wages. In other words, whatever they offer us, they do it because they have a noble heart, but at the same time, whatever they give us, we deserve it, because we are working. We are working; our peace rests in that house that receives us — what is peace worth? But if we are true disciples, we bring light, we bring freedom, we are a blessing wherever we go, we save souls. So what they give us is not like a gift, it is not something we did not earn, it is not something we do not deserve, because we are working. The laborer, the Lord says, is worthy of his wages. We are worthy of our food, we are worthy of the things we need.

1 Corinthians 9:14: "In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel." Here it is even clearer — here it's clearer. That's how the Lord commanded it. Here the Lord is saying that those who live by, who minister the word, should live from the gospel; those of us who preach should live from it. Now then, how will we live from the gospel if those we serve don't support us? But I believe you also — as another Scripture says, and in that house the Lord sends His disciples to different places — but in this present time of apostasy, most pastors still preach only two or three days a week for two hours, and then cry for five or ten minutes a week, and call that the whole of their work. The truth is, that is not real labor; that isn't really the work itself. I consider these Scriptures to be more relevant to those who are truly writing to God full time, whose work truly is to serve Christ — those who, yes, may preach two or three days a week in a formal, organized way, but every day are serving God, serving God as though it were their job. Serving Christ is their job; praying for people is their job; healing is their job; being involved in the process of winning souls for the kingdom of heaven, in the process of healing and delivering, is their job. They are actively working, easily forty, fifty, or sixty hours a week for Christ. Those who truly live a life to serve God, whose labor is to save souls, to contribute to that process — if they live, if they work for the work of God, they certainly deserve their wages, because the world does not dishonor the workers of Christ. Even I myself have been asked this — people who know me, who see that I serve God ten, twelve, fourteen, sixteen hours a day, people who have known me, who have seen that every day I am healing people, and people who have even witnessed many healings of cancer and other things — they ask me, 'Pastor, do you actually work?' And the truth is, because of false doctrines and the diabolical perception the devil has planted, there is dishonor toward what we have dared to do for God — what we've dared to do for God isn't seen by people as real work. But a teacher who goes to school and, say, teaches math, is working because he's teaching. We are true pastors; we go and teach too — for example, in some schools, especially in earlier times, they taught theology, and the teachers who taught theology in school were considered to be working. But when we do it for Christ, by revelation of the Holy Spirit, with power and signs and wonders, somehow that's not work? In a few words: if you do it for the world, it's work, but if you do it for God, it's not work. But that dishonors not only us but Christ, because He said the laborer is worthy of his wages. The One who said the laborer is worthy is the employer. We who are truly called by the Lord Jesus Christ have a boss, and He is no ordinary boss, because He is King of kings and Lord of lords, Creator of all things — through Him all things were made. He is the righteous Judge and will judge with justice those who believe that when we serve God we are not working; that is something to repent of. In reality, the most worthy work on the whole earth is serving the Lord Jesus Christ. The word says, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace' — how beautiful are the feet of those of us who serve the Lord. We are so fortunate — undeservedly so — because many in the world serve perhaps the government of their country; if they happen to live in a country with kings, they serve the king, perhaps working for the king in the palace doing something. But we do not serve some ordinary king; the One we serve is the King of kings, Lord of lords, the One who is faithful and true, who created all things, who is the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega. We are so fortunate that, even without deserving it, by His mercy and by His great love, the great love with which He loved us, He makes us worthy to be able to serve Him. That is to say, yes, we work, and yes, we have a great King. That is why in the Old Testament, to those who were not supporting His work, He said, 'You have robbed me,' and all the people of Israel said, 'How have we robbed you?' 'In tithes and offerings' — because if you are not supporting the work of God, it is Him you are failing. If people say they are part of a church, if they benefit from the servants of God, and having the opportunity to contribute do not do so, they are stealing — but they are not stealing from a man, they are stealing from Christ. It is as if you went into one of those big stores — there are many of them now in every country — and you stole merchandise; you would not only be stealing from the worker there, the salesperson; you would not even be stealing from the manager of that company — you would be stealing from the owner of the company. In the same way, the One who calls us and enlists us into His service is named Jesus Christ. He is our employer, He is our King, it is Him we serve. Therefore, whoever does not give an offering is acting like a thief, but it is Him they are stealing from. That is why He said to the people, 'You have robbed me' — it is Him they rob. Therefore it is a sin, it is a sin not to support the work of God. If people say they are part of the church, if they benefit from the church, they have to support the church. If they go to doctors, go to psychologists, and pay exorbitant amounts — worse still, some go to witches and pay witches to be cursed — then how much more, if they come to the servants of God and are truly healed and set free, should they support the work? We do not charge for it the way the world does — that's a different matter, we don't charge — but they should still support it.

1 Timothy 5:18: "For the Scripture says, You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain, and, The laborer deserves his wages." Here again it says the laborer is worthy of his wages, but also, you shall not muzzle the ox that treads the grain. What is an ox that treads the grain? An ox that treads the grain is a hard-working animal, one that can get the job done — not every ox has that kind of discipline for work. The Lord is saying you shall not muzzle the ox that treads the grain — meaning, not that we are animals, but it's a reference to the fact that some of us are workers, willing to serve Christ and serve souls; that is why we are used so that there may be signs and wonders, so that there may be healings and deliverances. We heal — we not only save the soul, but even in the temporal, there are people who are dying, and we minister to them and they get up out of that bed instead of dying — we extend life. In fact, practically the hardest cases, the ones the doctors have given up on, the ones the doctors send home to die after they've spent everything they had — those are often the ones who come to us, and they get healed. How much more would they be healed if they came to us first, before going to the doctors? So when the word says you shall not muzzle the ox that treads the grain, it means: if you don't support the work of God, then those of us who are serving Christ would have to go work out there in a secular job, and we would no longer be available to serve. That is a way of tying our hands — it is a way of muzzling us, because by not supporting the work of God, those who are served leave the servants without the availability to serve. That is why it says you shall not muzzle the ox that treads the grain — meaning, support the work of God, support the true servants. Galatians 6:6-8: "Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." Here it speaks of the one who is taught sharing all good things with the one who teaches him — meaning that, yes, what we teach may mean we don't have a secular job, but you who are blessed through us, the Lord commands that you share with us, that is, that you support, that you contribute, that you show consideration for the one the Lord uses to care for your souls.

Luke 6:38: "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you." Here the Lord is speaking about giving; in this word He is saying that just as you give, so you will also receive back. It's really not a business transaction the way the prosperity gospel preaches it — give five hundred dollars, receive five thousand — that's not what this is about. But there certainly is blessing, and the Lord Himself speaks of blessing, speaks of reward — even for giving a cup of water to one of His disciples there is a reward. This is not man's word; I am not inventing this — this is the word of our Lord Jesus Christ. He Himself said that whoever gives even a cup of water to one of My disciples, because he is a disciple, truly will not lose his reward; whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward — and so on. There are various Scriptures in which He not only commands giving but also speaks of blessing, a reward, for the one who does it — the one who does it in faith, the one who does it in love, the one who does it in obedience, the one who does it with understanding, the one who does it because he wants the kingdom of God to advance, the one who does it out of conviction that those people are truly doing, for example, the kind of work Paul did, or Peter did, or the Lord Himself did — truly setting souls free, truly saving souls. So whoever understands this and supports that ministry, that church, with that conviction, with that understanding, in faith, truly will not lose his reward. Why and for what purpose would Jesus Christ command that offerings be given? These are almost questions that maybe shouldn't even need to be asked, but the truth is, in the time we are living in, they need to be answered, because in reality, even something as clear as this — even people who have been in church for five or ten years don't understand it or grasp it. It's as though the enemy has placed a spirit of stupor and mental blockage on them so they cannot understand even the basics. Unfortunately, we are in a world right now that the devil manipulates, where everything has a price. So if people don't give to the church, then how are those of us who serve — for example, people call me pastor, they come to me now for help — but if they don't give to the church, how are we supposed to cover the cost of gas to give our time freely to everyone else if no one supports us? 'Pastor, pastor can still help me, I have a problem' — they don't even ask for money — but if they don't support the church, how do they expect us to have money, when we are serving people and not charging them, because in faith the word says, 'Freely you received, freely give' — we give freely, and you receive freely, but you also give freely. If we all do what the Lord commands, we are all built up — so that the pastor, the prophet, the evangelist, the teacher, the apostle can have his time available to serve you. He needs his food, he needs food in his house, he needs electricity — even to livestream, he needs electricity — he needs water to bathe, he needs food so his children and his wife can eat, he needs a roof over his head. All of these things have a cost, and if we live to serve you, the right thing is — even though what we give you, you can't repay, because what comes from God has no price. In the word we see how Ananias and Sapphira — many sold their houses and laid the proceeds at the apostles' feet, but there was a couple who sold their house, kept back part of the money for themselves, and died. What comes from God has no price; you couldn't pay for it even with your life. So it's not about paying for what you receive for free — you receive it for free, but you also give freely. And if the pastors truly understand their purpose, their calling, and their commandment, and do it in faith and obedience, but the sheep, those who are served, also act in love and obedience and do what the word commands, then together we will grow, together we will come to the measure of the stature of that perfect man, together we will prepare for the coming of the Lord, which is very near. But on our side, we pastors, we ministers, have a purpose, we have a calling, we have a job. You also have your part.

1 Corinthians 16:1-3 says: "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem." Here the apostle Paul — well, God through Paul — is giving instruction to the church. He says on the first day of the week, each one according to how he has prospered. This is, more or less, the correct way, the correct instruction for giving: according to how the Lord is prospering you, you set aside a small part, you set aside a portion according to your means, according to how you have prospered — because if you are in a true church, there will be prosperity in this sense: many people arrive without a job, but the chain gets broken and they're able to work. Many arrive enslaved to medication and to doctors for ten, twenty years, with depression, panic, and other sometimes incurable conditions — but here they arrive and are healed, they come out of their bondage. People arrive who couldn't work, and now they can work, because before, money never went far, since the devil was destroying everything, but when they are set free, their money goes further. So the Lord prospers them as they are truly receiving the truth, because the truth will set you free, and as they prosper, they support the church. When you support us with that, we have the resources to keep supporting you and reaching more people, and you keep growing, keep being free, keep being strengthened. But if God allows it, the devil sometimes counterattacks — that happens often — sometimes with a serious illness. If you are supporting the church, the servants of God will be available to serve you again when you need it in the future. But if you don't support the church, the servants of God have to go work out there, and when you need them, you'll be in trouble — how are they going to help you if they're busy working? There is a word in the Old Testament about how, likewise, the people of Israel were not supporting the priest, and the priests had to go work in the fields because they had no food for their children and their wives, and the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people. It was not kindled against the priests who left the temple to go work — it was kindled against the people, because the priest was doing his work at the temple, but if they didn't bring him the tithes they owed him, he had no food. And if he has no food, if he's starving, how is he going to serve while hungry, how is he going to keep serving while his children are starving to death? So the wrath of God was kindled against those who did not do what He commanded.

1 Corinthians 9:7-14: "Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink from the milk of the flock? Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? For it is written in the Law of Moses, You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain. Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? But we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel." That is how the Lord commanded it. Look how beautifully this word puts it — who ever served as a soldier at his own expense? If we who serve Christ are soldiers, we have a great King, and we are fighting a war — we are fighting a war against the powers of darkness. The greatest battle being fought on this earth is fought by us, the disciples of Jesus Christ, and we do it with joy and with love, because we serve a great King, and we know that in due time we will receive the reward of the crown of eternal life. So we are soldiers, but who ever fights at his own expense? We are fighting for you, to protect you, so that the devil will release you, so that you can be saved, so that the devil will let go of your families, your children, your husbands, your wives — we are fighting for your salvation. But who ever was a soldier at his own expense? If we fight for your healing, if we fight for your salvation, if we fight for your life because the devil wants to kill you, should we be the ones paying to protect you, or should you — the one being served — pay for the service of the soldiers the Lord has put in charge of you? We are soldiers of the Lord; we sow spiritual things in you — the word says, is it too much if we reap material things? According to 1 Corinthians 9:1-5: "Now concerning the offering for the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you, for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them. But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that, as I said, you may be ready, lest if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated — to say nothing of you — for being so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction." In other translations it says 'your generosity,' 'your offering promised beforehand,' so that it would be ready as a matter of generosity and not of our demand. Here the apostle Paul was sending word to the church of Corinth to also gather the offering; the church would contribute so the apostle Paul could — many use this to say, no, because the apostle Paul worked — well, sometimes we apostles do work when there's a need. If people aren't supporting the church, unfortunately we get muzzled and we go work — that's fine, nothing wrong with it. But the right thing is that if a person is being used by God, as Paul was, then just as he instructed the church to prepare the offering, that offering covered his sustenance so he could keep doing the work of God without having to be distracted by a job. It's a distraction. For example, there are people that someone like me ministers to — people with cancer, with tumors, sometimes with HIV, incurable diseases, people who have had ten, twenty years of depression or trauma, sometimes from childhood, people who are already fifty years old with trauma, who have gone to psychologists, living a miserable life, having lost many years, having spent enormous amounts of money — but through our ministry that person is restored and healed; surgeries worth three thousand, four thousand, five thousand, ten thousand dollars, and they are healed without having to spend that money on a doctor. So for someone like us, whom the Lord is using not only to save souls but also to deliver them, to heal them, to have that person waste time working — for example, I'm in the U.S., working a day job for two or three hundred dollars is a waste of time, because for just one person — think about what I'm giving that person. I'm not charging them those three thousand dollars, I'm not charging them the ten thousand dollars that surgery is worth, but they get healed. I'm not charging them for those years of depression, what a psychologist would cost them and not even heal them — but I am restoring a soul, and a soul is also being rescued, because many people, once they receive healing, then repent. So the work for Christ has no price. Therefore, those who are truly disciples, those who are truly anointed by God, those who are willing to labor for the Lord and for souls, for people — the right thing is that they not have a secular job. It's a waste of time; it's practically robbing the harvest — it's robbing you of the opportunity to bless, to heal people, people who are going to commit suicide. Many times we set them free, and they go from suicidal thoughts, from thinking there was no way out, to having peace, to having joy, to glorifying the name of God. But if we're off working, that person might die suddenly, that person continues in that torment. We are light, so that our light may shine even more; we have to be available for souls, but to be available for souls we have to be doing what is commanded. A job — a secular job — for us is a waste of time, it's a waste of time, it's a way the devil uses to try to keep us from continuing to advance the kingdom of God and save souls. Did the Lord Jesus Christ, or His disciples, receive offerings? We will look at what the word says. Matthew 20:28: "Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." We see in the word that the Lord Jesus Christ, after He began His ministry, did not work a secular job — He worked the most important work, the work of the kingdom, but He did not have a secular job.

John 12:6: "He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it." Here it speaks of the offering bag that the Lord Jesus Christ and the disciples carried with them. In that time they didn't have cards, there was no way to send money to a bank — it was simply coins, and they had a bag. And the disciples — in this case Judas, who was a thief — was the one who carried the offering bag. The Lord Jesus Christ and the disciples went about with an offering bag. They went about serving, but their ministry was also sustained by what those they served gave in offerings. It's just as it says, sirs — that's the same thing we have to do. Those who are served are indeed instructed to give offerings, and from their offerings we are able to persevere in doing the work of the kingdom.

Philippians 4:15-17: "And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit." So giving to the church is fruit that increases to your credit — important, once again: giving to a true church, if you give to a true church, is fruit that accumulates, that increases to your credit. But if you give to false churches in apostasy, unfortunately you are giving to the enemy — it's fruit that accumulates against you, because we don't want to give the devil anything; we want to destroy the works of the devil. Matthew 16:26: "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?" That is what we do, those of us who serve Christ in holiness, in obedience, in faith — those of us who are called by Him save souls. What could a man pay for his soul? What good does it do you to gain the whole world and lose your soul? What is more important — money, or the salvation of your soul? It's not that we have to do all the work for you — no, we show you the way and we fight so that you can stay on it. We fight against the spiritual predators that come to devour you. We share the word with you so that it becomes solid in you, so that you cannot be so easily deceived and lose your soul. We fight for your salvation — that is our job. What will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Mark 12:14: "And they came and said to him, Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?" Here the religious leaders, the Pharisees, were testing the Lord, and the Lord said, render to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's. In other words, yes, you have to give money to the government, but you also have to give money to the church, you have to give money to God. So, render to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's. 2 Corinthians 9:6-13: "The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all." Here it is answering the question of why we give offerings, because your offering — the word says here, the Lord, through the apostle — covers, supplies the needs of the saints. Here it is referring to the disciples who were serving in the church in different areas; what people gave in offering supplied the need of those who were laboring for the Lord and for you, and that is the purpose of giving — that the work, not only the pastor's — in fact, it's not only the pastor who is supposed to have an income, but everyone who works full time in the church. If someone serves an hour or two, that's fine, that doesn't have to come with a salary — but those who work full time, who are truly useful to the work, who truly do it with love, do it with faith, do it because they want to save souls, and by the grace of God have an ability useful for the advance of the kingdom, and are willing to serve Christ — not only pastors, but everyone should have an income that allows them to live with dignity, so they can continue doing the service they are doing. And here the word commands that God loves a cheerful giver; it is also saying that whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly — that is, those who are stingy, who could give three and only give one because they're stingy, will receive sparingly. God loves a cheerful giver — it says don't give reluctantly, don't give grudgingly — you have to give with love, with joy, with faith, as the word commands. I urge you to read these words for yourselves — these are not the words of man, this is the word of God.

1 Corinthians 3:3: "If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." Here the point is that the Lord commands us to give, but to give with love, because there is a reward in giving if we give in faith, in obedience, in the fear of God, according to His word. But if we give without love, if we give thinking, 'I don't want to support the church,' and give reluctantly, then really it's as if we're not giving at all — there is no reward. You have to do it with love. And to conclude this teaching, I will conclude with a question: are you living according to God's command in this area? That question is not one you have to answer to me — it is between you and the Lord. The Lord bless you. Until next time.

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Pastor Francisco Gomez

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