Gifts and Talents

          Generosity often encompasses acts of charity, in which people give without expecting anything in return. This can involve offering our time, our assets, or our talents, to assist those in need. People will voluntarily contribute resources, goods and more to help those in need. The impact of generosity is most profound when it arises spontaneously rather than being directed by an organization. People can experience joy and satisfaction when they positively affect someone’s life through acts of generosity.

      God is very generous to us. He gave us life. He gave us salvation. He blesses us in many ways. We then can be generous to God also, in the way we give back to Him.

      There are three levels of giving. The first level is the tithes: We bring the tithes to our church. You will notice that I said ‘bring’ the tithes. The tithes already belong to God we just bring them to Him.

      The second level is our Offerings: Our offerings are what we decide to give to the Lord. Our offerings can be directed by us to go to a certain ministry, or a missionary, or a building fund. We decide where our offerings go.

      The third level is Extravagant Giving: Extravagant giving is when we give over and above what we have given before. Mary brought some very costly oil to Jesus and anointed His head and His feet. She anointed Jesus for His burial. Judas complained that she should have sold it for more than three hundred derail. Which was about a years wage. She gave the oil because she was grateful that her brother ‘Lazarus’ was raised from the dead. She was very Extravagant in her gift to Jesus.

      Jesus was sitting next to the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury, The ones who were rich gave much, There was a poor widow who came and gave two mites, which was everything she had. Jesus said, she out of her poverty, put in all that she had. She was very extravagant in her giving.

      It is not the amount that we give, it is the attitude of our heart that matters to God. Do we give out of the gratitude of our heart, or out of the surplus that we have? Extravagant giving will hurt a bit. Extravagant giving is more than we are comfortable with giving. When we give, we are giving thanks to our God for all He has done for us. Our God cannot not reward us, for He is a very gracious God.

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      New King James Version
Mark 14:3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.
4 But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, "Why was this fragrant oil wasted?
5 "For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they criticized her sharply.
6 But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.
7 "For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always.
8 "She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.
9 "Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."

      New King James Version
Mark 12:41 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much.
42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.
43 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;
44 "for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."