John K. Jenkins Sr - Financial Freedom Series: Keys for Giving

I want to thank Dr. Ed Ster for filling in for me last Sunday. I appreciate him and his message. I’m going to talk about money again; this is part eight, or is it part nine? Part nine! Oh Lord, when is he going to be done? When I finish, this is part nine. We’ve discussed a lot of aspects of money. We’ve talked about debt, getting out of debt, and cutting up credit cards. We 've talked about budgeting; you must have a budget. We’ve talked about tithing. A couple of Sundays ago, we discussed tithing. Amen, thank you, one person. Thank you very much! So today, I want to talk about giving-yeah, giving.

Unfortunately, some people think, and it’s unfortunate, that paying my tithe is enough. Look at your neighbor and say, «That ain’t enough.» Look at the other side and say, «Tithing is the bare minimum, the basics.» When you give your tithe, you are giving that which is holy back to God. Amen! The best way I know to describe that is to use this illustration. Today, I talked about Lawrence, Deacon Lawrence McCoy, here, who has some kind of Acura. What kind is it? An Acura? You know what I mean? An AC -you know what? Let me see if I can find somebody else with a better car.

What kind of car do you have, Dr. Queen? I have a Chrysler 300 that I pretend is a Tesla. A Chrysler 300-that’s okay. Which one do I want? Do I want the Chrysler or the Acura? They said, «Forget about your car.» If I borrow his car, his Acura, and drive it for a week, then it’s due back on Friday, and I bring it back on Friday and give him his keys back. I’ve only done what I’m supposed to do, amen? It’s not my car; it’s his car. He let me use it, amen? So I can’t take any pride or celebrate that I gave him his car back; it’s his car. Are y’all with me? Yes.

What I should do, though, is give him his car back after I’ve taken it to the car wash, amen? After I’ve filled it with gas-that’s the offering. See, we think that if we just give our tithes, we’ve done enough. The key to receiving blessings from God and having victory from God is when you give an offering. A lot of you pay your tithes down to the penny and not a penny over. You say, «Not a penny over,» and we think that should somehow open up the windows of Heaven.

The scripture says in Malachi 3:10 that you rob God in tithes and offerings. It’s the offerings that take you over for God to open up the blessings and doors to you. Can I get an amen from anybody today? So, I want to talk about the keys to giving. That 's why I want to talk about the keys to giving. I know some of you might be tired of me talking about money, but it’s okay; I’ll be finished when I get done.

Luke chapter 16, let’s go to Luke chapter 16. I want you to follow me on this real quickly. Now, I have a lot of stuff to talk about, so you have to pay attention. Lean over and tell your neighbor, «If you want to follow the message, you have to pay attention.» Matter of fact, tell the person sitting next to you, " I give you permission to smack me if I go to sleep.» For real, tell them that! Tell them, «I give you permission to punch me in the face,» all right, and wake me up, because I need this. Say, «I need this.»

Luke chapter 16:10–12-"He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much, and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.» In other words, God evaluates His ability to trust you based on how you manage the minor things in life. Verse 11: «Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous man, who will commit true riches to your trust? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?» Amen.

God’s trying to see how you manage what He’s already given you so He can determine whether He can trust you with more. Thank you! Where did that come from? I appreciate it. So I want to talk about the keys to giving. I want to give you four keys to giving-four simple, important keys. Here 's number one: Proverbs chapter 3.

Proverbs chapter 3-the powerful verse starts at verse 9. Proverbs 3: 9 says, «Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first fruits of all your increase.» Y’all see that right there? Honor the Lord with your possessions! We are honoring God! And He says, «Here 's what we do: with the first fruits of all your increase .» The first fruits mean, with however God has increased your resources and your possessions, you honor Him by taking and giving Him the first fruit. The first-before you pay anybody else, before you pay your mortgage, before you go and buy groceries, before you pay your car note, before you do any of those other things, you honor the Lord. You give Him first fruits, which means you put Him at the top of the line. You pay Him first. You honor Him; you sew into Him first.