Giving of oneself Giving of oneself The submission of the self to the will of God, in thanksgiving. Bishop Patrick L. Frazier Jr. Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas, Inc. [1] Giving of Oneself Committing fully and faithfully in service to the Lord. Handling all the abilities and opportunities entrusted to us according to His will and purpose. Jesus Christ’s self-giving as an example to believers 1 John 3:16 NKJV By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. See also Mt 16:24; Mk 10:45; Jn 15:13; Ro 15:3; Ga 1:4; Eph 5:1–2; Eph 5:25; Php 2:5–8; Tt 2:14 Why self-giving is reasonable service to God God’s people belong to him by creation Deuteronomy 32:6 NKJV Do you thus deal with the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father, who bought you? Has He not made you and established you? See also Ps 100:3; Re 4:11 God’s people belong to him by redemption 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NKJV Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. See also Re 5:9 [2] All good things are given by God 1 Chronicles 29:14 NKJV But who am I, and who are my people, That we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given You. See also Dt 8:18; Ac 17:25; 1 Co 4:7; 1 Ti 6:17 God’s people giving themselves To God Romans 12:1 NKJV I beseech you therefore, brethren, by te mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. See also 2 Co 8:5 To one another 2 Corinthians 8:5 NKJV And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. See also 1 Co 16:15 To holy living Romans 6:19 NKJV I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. See also Pr 23:26; Ro 12:1 [3] To the service of God 1 Corinthians 15:58 NKJV Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. See also Jdg 5:2; 1 Ch 29:5; 2 Ch 17:16; Ps 40:7–8; Is 6:8; Ac 6:4; Ro 1:9; 1 Ti 4:15 To a life of self-denial Luke 14:33 NKJV So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. See also Mt 16:24; Lk 14:26; Ro 15:2; 1 Co 8:13; 1 Co 10:33; 2 Co 12:15; Php 3:8 To martyrdom Daniel 3:28 NKJV Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any God except their own God!” See also Ac 20:24; Ac 21:13; Re 12:11 Rewards of self-giving Matthew 10:39 NKJV He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. See also Mt 19:27–29; Mk 8:35 The giving of thanks Psalm 50:23 NKJV Whosoever offers praise glorifies Me; [4] And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God. See also 1 Ch 16:8; Eph 5:4; Php 4:4–7; Col 2:7; Col 3:15; Heb 12:28 Giving of possessions Making one’s possession available for God’s service in the way in which he directs, as a practical recognition that all possessions come from him. Ministries that require the giving of material possessions The relief of the poor Proverbs 28:27 NKJV He who gives to the poor will not lack, But he who hides his eyes will have many curses. See also Le 25:25; Dt 15:7–8; Is 58:7; Mt 19:21; Lk 12:33; Ro 12:13; Ga 2:10 The support of God’s servants 1 Timothy 5:17–18 NKJV Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.” See also Nu 3:48; Nu 5:9; 2 Ki 4:8–10; Mt 10:10; Ga 6:6; Php 4:15–18 The care of widows and orphans James 1:27 NKJV Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. [5] See also Dt 26:12; Ru 2:5–12; 1 Ti 5:3–4 Motives for the giving of material possessions Obedience to God 2 Corinthians 9:7 NKJV So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. See also Ex 30:11–16; Le 12:6–8; Dt 14:28; Mal 3:8–10; Mt 22:21; Ro 13:6–7 Gratitude for God’s generosity 1 Chronicles 29:14 NKJV But who am I, and who are my people, That we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given You. See also Ge 28:20–22; Dt 26:9–10; 1 Sa 1:27–28 Love for others 1 John 3:17 NKJV But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? See also 2 Ch 28:15; Mt 7:9–11; Lk 10:33–35 The manner of giving material possessions Willingly and cheerfully Matthew 10:8 NKJV Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. See also Ex 25:2; Ex 35:5; Ex 35:22; 2 Ki 12:4; 1 Ch 29:6; 1 Ch 29:9; 1 Ch 29:17; 2 Ch 24:10; 2 Ch 35:7–9; Ezr 8:28; 2 Co 8:11–12 [6] Unostentatiously Matthew 6:1–4 NKJV Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. Regularly 1 Corinthians 16:2 NKJV On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. Generously Exodus 36:5 NKJV and they spoke to Moses, saying, “The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the Lord commanded us to do. Luke 6:38 NKJV Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. 2 Corinthians 8:2–3 NKJV that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, See also Nu 7:13; 1 Ch 29:3–4; 1 Ti 6:18 [7] God measures his people’s giving With a reckoning different from the world’s 2 Chronicles 6:8 NKJV But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well in that it was in your heart. Mark 12:41–44 NKJV Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.