John F Avanzini - Always abounding

Dedication

This book is lovingly dedicated to Paul and Jan Crouch of the Trinity Broadcasting Network

Contents

GiveExpecting To Receive

Every time God shows me something in the Scriptures that shatters man's normal way of thinking, my first reaction is shock. Not long ago when I was helping in a telethon, I received just such a shock.

Kenny Forman was delivering a message, and he made a statement that stirred my spirit. Kenny said: "It is God's way of giving...to give, expecting to receive something for the gift. It is a godly way to give to expect something for what you give!"

Those words really jarred my entire system. His statements were exactly backwards from everything I had ever been taught. Every teacher who ever had an impact on my life had taught me I should give, but never expect anything in return for my gift.

My mother and father had taught me that. All of my school teachers had taught me that. Bible college professors had taught me that. Everyone had taught me this very same principlenot the principle Forman taught, but the exact opposite.

They taught me never to expect something back from something I gave. How could it be godly to expect something back from my gifts to God?

When I began to study and search the Scriptures on this topic, how different I found the teachings and truths of God to be from the errors of man. Your Creator has always given, expecting to receive something in return!

In the very beginning, God created man out of the dust of the earth. He breathed into man the great gift of lifeGod's second gift. But when God gave man life, He was expecting to receive something back for the gift. God was expecting man to give Him worship, reverence, love, service, and obedience.

And if that first example of God giving, expecting to receive, starts to strip the cobwebs off your traditional ideas, then begin to digest the power of this thought: God's greatest gift of all, his most precious Son, Jesus Christ, was given by God with an expectation!

When God sent Jesus Christ to the earth, He wanted something back from man. He expected to receive men and women who would become His children.

Let this truth soak into your spirit: Expecting to receive something in return is a godly way to give.

The truth is often shocking. You are probably saying: "Why, Brother John, that thought just goes against all I've been taught, all that I know about how a good Christian gives to others!"

Now is the time for you to stop thinking man's thoughts. Learn now to hear God's Word, and think God's thoughts without putting a short circuit in your mind. If the Bible clearly teaches anything, it teaches to give, expecting to receive.

Ask the Holy Spirit right now to remove the spiritual blinders and to help you see Luke 6:38 in a fresh way. You have read it many times before, but this time read it with the anointed eyes of truth.

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete (measure) withal it shall be measured to you again.

I believe God is working on your spirit right now, and that you are beginning to understand His Word for you. Now look at what God says in Malachi 3:10. He says that when you tithe, He will ...open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing.

See what God says in Galatians 6:7: Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth , that shall he also reap.

Give, expecting to receive. Expecting to receive something in return is a godly way to give.

If you have financial needs, if you are sitting there staring at a stack of overdue bills, if you need something from God, then give something to God.

If your house payment is past due, and you are wondering what to do, the Word tells you this:

Today, this very day, give something back to the Lord. Give, and it shall be given back to you.

I started this chapter with a shocking statement, so it is only appropriate that I should also end it with one. If you are currently experiencing a tight financial situation in your life, it is very likely that you have not been giving enough awayto God.

"But Brother John, that just doesn't make good sense!" shouts the Skeptic . You are right. It might not make good sense, but it certainly makes God sense. Read what God says in Isaiah 55:8 ,9 :

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

In God's world, the first shall be last. In God's world, the leader must be the servant of all. In God's world, you must give away what you want in order to receive it. If you want to receive from God, you must first give to Him.

Paul understood this principle of giving to receive when he wrote in Philippians 4:15-17:

Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.

For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.

Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.

Paul understood the principle: expecting to receive is a godly way to give.

He felt concerned when those he loved failed to apply God's principle in their lives. Paul knew the result of the application was fruit to their account.

Every time God speaks in His Word about giving, He also speaks about what He will do as a result. Tithe, and the windows of heaven will open. Give, and it shall be given unto you.

Let this message sink into your spirit: expecting to receive is a godly way to give.

You Can Bank on His Promises

Whenever I write about giving, somebody gets angry. But the one person who never gets angry when I write about money and giving is God. He is glad when I write about giving. He knows it is only when you give that He can begin to release His wealth back to you to meet your needs.

If there were some thoughts in the last chapter that shook some of the shackles from your traditional thinking, then look at 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 in The Living Bible which contains a principle so powerful it will stagger you. Read this passage and make it part of your thought process, and it will change your life!

But remember thisif you give little, you will get little.

A farmer who plants just a few seeds will get only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much.

Every one must make up his own mind as to how much he should give. Don't force anyone to give more than he really wants to, for cheerful givers are the ones God prizes.

God is able to make it up to you by giving you everything you need and more, so that there will not only be enough for your own needs, but plenty left over to give joyfully to others.

It is as the Scriptures say: The godly man gives generously to the poor. His good deeds will be an honor to him forever.'

For God, who gives seed to the farmer to plant, and later on, good crops to harvest and eat, will give you more and more seed to plant and will make it grow so that you can give away more and more fruit from your harvest.

Yes, God will give you much so that you can give away much....

What powerful verses of scripture!

Begin now to grasp the significance of this principle. God tells you He will give you much fruit so you can "give away more" from your harvest. So often this part is not stressed in teachings about giving. Givers do get, according to the Bible. But they get to give again to His work! God wants to entrust His wealth to those who will wisely "give away more" for His purposes. When you plant seed money in the gospel ministry, into His fields for His work, then He promises it will bring forth a great harvest.