• by admin
• (0) Comments

Sun. 24/8/2014

Quarter’s Theme:REVIVAL IN THE CHURCH

Unit 2 Theme: Agents Of Revival (Lessons 7-13)

STEWARDSHIP & ACCOUNTABILITY MONTH

24/8/2014 LESSON 13

REVIVAL WILL AFFECT GIVING

Suggested Hymns: G.H.B. 27, 32  

Devotional Reading: 2 COR. 8:1-7

Topic For Adults

HAS MY POCKET (PURSE) BEEN REVIVED?

Topic For Youths

ALL I HAVE BELONG TO GOD

Scripture Lessons

2 CHRO. 29:31-36; MAL. 3:7-11;

ACTS 2:44-45

 

Memory Verse:    Then Hezekiah… said “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord, come near, and bring sacrifices and thank offerings… (2 Chro. 29:31a) NKJV

DAILY BIBLE READING

Sun. 24/8/2014

Generosity Glorifies God

2 Cor. 9:11-15

In order for generosity to be outwardly expressed, the heart must already be enriched with sincere love and compassion for others. Giving of ourselves and our possessions results in supplying the needs of poorer brethren, praise and thanksgiving to God and reciprocal love from those who receive the help. Therefore, don’t be hard in giving i.e to say, you must not be a “flint giver”; don’t be a “sponge giver” somebody that is pressed like a bathing sponge before water can be released from it but strive to be somebody that gives generously, freely like our Lord Jesus Christ who gave His life freely for you and me. You must be an “honeycomb giver”.

Point of Emphasis:     Christian giving is an outflow of the grace of God bestowed on the giver.

Prayer Point:              God, bestow Your outflow grace of giving upon my life.

BACKGROUND

When the Spirit of God renews a heart, it becomes His heart, a giving heart,
and a consistently giving heart. He gave us this world, His word, life, and
even HIS SON. He keeps on giving. What does He ask? He asks us to give. First, we give Him all that we are, all that we have, and all that we hope to be. We begin by giving Him our heart and life, this is called being saved. Then we give Him all that we have. We are His stewards or managers. To be truly renewed means that giving flows out of our hearts and brings a great deal of pleasure. .

 

NOTES ON THE LESSON 

 

1. DEDICATION (REVIVAL) LEADS TO BETTER GIVING – 2 CHRO. 29:31-36

In our passage, 29 we find a 25-year-old king named Hezekiah. Hezekiah succeeded his father, Ahaz. Now Ahaz had taken everything out of the temple and closed it up. Ahaz had altars built all over and placed burnt sacrifices to other gods.

Once Hezekiah became the King of Judah, things changed. Hezekiah had the priests and the people assemble together. The priests then went into the temple and purified it. Once the temple was cleansed then they were ready to start.  Next, the King had the city officials bring offerings for a sin offering. After this offering was completed, the people worshipped and praised God.

Verses 20-24 speaks of the people and the leaders ‘giving a huge sacrificial offering’ for the Lord. In fact, verse 32-33 gives the exact number of animals given. To look at this offering is to realise how generous they were towards Jehovah God. Candidly, to be renewed by God is to become generous towards God. To properly focus on giving, let’s think about giving in this way; what is required, what is desired, and what is inspired.

One thing that was significant about the sacrifice was that it was done after the great revival in Judah and they did it because their hearts were willing and not through persuasion or coercion. If we are truly revived, we should follow the good example exhibited by this people.

II.    RETURN TO THE LORD WITH TITHING AND GOOD OFFERINGS – MAL. 3:7-11

 From our previous studies on revival, we know it means returning a life that is dead or dormant to an active state.  God, in verse 7, it tells us to return to Him, and He will return to us. What does that mean? It means that we have the responsibility of going to God first. And once we go to Him, He will respond by coming to us.

When we have experienced revival, it means we have returned to the Lord and we are to do this by paying our tithes and offering to the Lord.  Verse 8 says we are actually robbing God by not giving Him our 10%. In verse 9, it says that we are under a curse because we are not giving Him the required 10%, but we don’t even realise it.

In verse 10, God says that if we bring our 10% into the Church, He will bless us with so many blessings we won’t have enough room for them. And God even invites us to test Him on that! Did you know that this is the only place in the Bible that God says it is okay for us to test Him? In verse 11, God says that if we do what He says, He will even keep us safe from the enemy.

As the Lord has revived us, let us return to Him with our tithes and good offerings.

III.   REVIVAL LEADS TO GREAT SACRIFICES – ACTS 2:44-45

This passage describes the Church at its finest state.  The early Church was a revived Church because they gladly received the word of God and they practiced it.

One evidence of the pure state of the Church was that they were willing to give sacrificially.  Members were willing to sell their property and to distribute to the needs of others.  No one said what he or she owned belong to him but believed they held their property, wealth and all in trust for other members of the Church.

Some even sold their land and gave the proceeds to the Church for distribution.  What a great sacrifice!

If truly we have been revived and we follow the word of God, no sacrifice should be too much for us to make to demonstrate the newness of our lives.  Revival should lead to high commitment which should show in our sacrificial giving.

 

CONCLUSION

We should demonstrate our newness of life (revival) by returning to the Lord through faithful tithing, paying good offerings and giving sacrificially to support our Church’s project.  The best way to know if we are really revived is when we give willingly from our hearts without persuasion or coercion. Our revival should affect our cheque book! 

QUESTIONS

1. When Hezekiah assembled priests and the people, what did the priests do to the Temple?
2. To be renewed by God is to become generous towards God – true or false?
3. If we give our tithes and offerings appropriately, what are the blessings that follow?
4. Mention few of the great sacrifices made by the early Church.
5. Revival should lead to high commitment which should show in our sacrificial giving – Discuss.

French

DIMANCHE 24/08/2014

LA GENEROSITE GLORIFIE DIEU

2 Co. 9:11-15

Pour que la générosité puisse être extérieurement exprimée, le cœur doit être enrichi d’un amour et d’une compassion, sincères envers les autres. Nous adonner nous-mêmes et nos biens occasionne la fourniture des biens aux frères pauvres, les louanges et les actions de grâce à Dieu et l’amour mutuel de ceux qui reçoivent l’aide. Cependant, ne sois pas dur en donnant c’est-à-dire, tu ne dois pas être un ‘donateur cruel’ ; ne sois pas non plus un ‘donateur-parasite’ quelqu’un qui est tordu comme une éponge de bain avant que l’eau n’en sorte mais qui s’efforce d’être quelqu’un qui donne libéralement, librement comme notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ qui a donné librement sa vie pour toi et moi. Tu dois être un ‘donateur criblé de miel’.

Point essentiel : Le don chrétien est un débordement de la grâce de Dieu manifestée dans le donateur.

Axe de prière : Dieu, accorde à ma vie le débordement de la grâce de don.