2 Corinthians 9:6-7
“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Something to think about
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer in the hospital at Stanford, I met a little girl named Liz who suffered a strange sickness. The only way she could get better was through a blood transfusion from her five year old brother, who had survived the same sickness and had developed the necessary antibodies to fight it. The doctor explained the situation to Liz’s brother and asked him if he would be willing to give her his blood. I saw the little boy doubt for a minute before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes, I’ll do it if it’ll save Liz”.
As the transfusion was happening, he was laying down on a bed next to his sister, smiling as we assisted and the color slowly returned to Liz’s face. Suddenly, he became very pale and his smile disappeared. He looked at the doctor and asked with his voice trembling, “When will I start to die?”

The child hadn’t understood the doctor’s request; he thought he had to give his sister all of his blood, and yet was still willing to do it.

Let’s go deeper
1. GENEROSITY IS PART OF WHO A TRUE DISCIPLE IS
2 Peter 1:4 NLT
“And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”
Let’s clothe ourselves with generosity!
Jesus fed five thousand people with just five loaves of barley bread and two fish. Being generous was part of His nature; it defined His actions and habits. That’s why the good works He did for others resulted in abundance. This is the nature of God with which we must clothe ourselves every day as Jesus’ disciples.
Today, allow generosity to become a part of your life. The only thing you need to do is meditate on and obey the Word of God, which will completely transform your way of thinking. You will have the same desire to give like Jesus did and be able to practice the culture of generosity at all times and in all places.

2. YOU DON’T NEED A LOT TO BE GENEROUS
2 Corinthians 4:5 NLT
“You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.”
The attitude of a true Christian is very different to the one we currently see in society. Nowadays, many people stay in the comfort of assuring their own wellbeing and forget to contribute to the wellbeing and building up of others.

The Word teaches us that we don’t need a lot to be generous. God has already blessed us and wants to use us to glorify Himself as we share His love to others. How do we do it? We can be generous when we offer our time, talents, abilities, intercession and the resources that are within our reach to bless others.
Start with a little! Be generous in your tipping, give words of gratitude to those who surround you. If you’re married, you can start by being generous with your spouse in the first hours of the day, helping them in what they need. You can volunteer in your church as well; there are so many ways to start being generous.

3. HE WHO IS GENEROUS TRUSTS IN GOD
James 1:17 NLT
“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.”
We cannot speak about generosity without mentioning the principle of the offering and tithe. We are blessed to bless and we are made prosperous to give! What releases the abundance to bless others is to give our offerings generously with joy, not out of obligation.

An inspirational example is William Colgate, an english businessman born the 25th of January of 1783 who practiced generosity as his lifestyle. Being a poor young boy of 16 years old, he made a living selling soaps. But one day, covering himself from the rain, he found shelter in a church where he heard a preacher talk about the covenant Jacob made with God. “And of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You” (Genesis 28:22). His trust in God was evident in the way he tithed. Applying this principle made him prosper and triumph as a businessman. After beginning with the 10% as his tithe, he continued to give 20%, then 30%, then 40%, then 50%, until giving 90% of all of his earnings. His sales rapidly increased, and currently the Colgate-Palmolive Company is a multinational business present in 222 countries around the world.

Prayer
Along with your disciples, read 2 Corinthians 9:6- 7. Organize them in groups and invite them to make a list of different ways they can be generous this week, and then share the different ideas.
Generosity is a virtue of God that is reflected in us through little details in our family, society, finances, etc. Guide your disciples in a prayer to enter into covenant with God to be people of the kingdom who are generous in every area of their lives.
Offering our time to serve in the house of God is to put into action our love for Him. Motivate your disciples to join a volunteer team in the different areas of service in our church: kids, ushers, welcome, etc.
Pray declaring Malachi 3:8-10. Decree that from today on, your disciples receive the nature of generosity, that they are affirmed in the Word and that their trust in God will take them to be faithful in their tithes and offerings.