You Get Out What You Put In

You Get Out What You Put In

2 Corinthians 9:6-8 “Here’s my point. A stingy sower will reap a meager harvest, but the one who sows from a generous spirit will reap an abundant harvest. Let giving flow from your heart, not from a sense of religious duty. Let it spring up freely from the joy of giving—all because God loves hilarious generosity! Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace so that you will have more than enough of everything —every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.”

I was planning to use a different verse today. Then, all of a sudden, this verse popped up in a notification on my phone as the verse of the day. The moment I read it, I felt as if the Holy Spirit said I want you to talk about the concept of “you get what you put into it.” When you first read this verse, you might think of money first. It sort of sounds like they are talking about how much money they will give to the church. In the verses before this section in the Passion Translation, they are talking about a donation they are going to give. I think the Lord wants me to touch on this, but this is not the main point of what He wants me to talk about today. So, let me begin with that to get it out of the way.

When it comes to how much money we give to the church, or to the poor, or whoever we are giving money to, this verse is very applicable. This can be a difficult decision to make because we want to make sure we are still able to pay all of our bills and buy all the things we want to buy. However, are we buying much more than we actually need? As the verse says, are we stingy with our giving to the church and yet have plenty of money to waste on things we don’t need? Giving to the church is part of our duty, even if we don’t want to, even if we disagree with all the church is doing. We are all obligated to give to the church. Many churches will recommend you give 5% of your income to the church and 5% to the poor.

This is where this verse comes in handy. It is a good thing to remember when you are deciding how much to give to the church. “A stingy sower will reap a meager harvest.” God cannot be outdone in generosity. We sometimes worry if we give too much, we won’t have enough for ourselves. There is no way that God lets you give so much that you don’t have enough for yourself. The more you give, the more God gives. God doesn’t want us to give just because we have to, though. He wants us to give freely, and He wants us to do it with a joyful heart. Think about how you are giving your money. Are you doing it with a joyful heart? Are you being stingy or are you being generous?

What I feel the Lord really wants me to talk to you about today is how much of You, you are giving to the Lord. How much are you putting into your relationship with the Lord? How much time? How much effort? How much vulnerability and openness? This is what jumped out at me when I read this verse this morning. If we are stingy with the time and effort in our relationship with the Lord, then our relationship will reflect that. We can not expect to have a close and intimate relationship with the Lord when we don’t put in any effort.

I always wondered what people meant when they said they wanted to have an intimate relationship with God or with Jesus. I mean, He is God; how can you have an intimate relationship with the Almighty God in heaven? The idea of it all seemed so foreign to me. I couldn’t even picture what that would look like. I couldn’t picture how that would work and how I could cultivate that. Yet, I still dove in. I joined a  prayer group full of people who clearly knew the Lord intimately, and I learned from them. I would like to pass along what I have learned to you so you can have the same thing they have. Let me start by answering the questions that I had because if I had them, then some of you do too.

My first question was, what does it even mean to have an intimate relationship with God? For me, it means really knowing Him and for Him to really know me. It means I know without a doubt of His love for me. I can take any problem to Him, and I know He will be there for me. I know He will comfort me and protect me. I know He will help me solve all my problems if I let Him. I also know He will celebrate with me. When good things happen, we celebrate together. When I need a pep talk, He is ready to give it to me. In short, He is my go-to for all things, and He is never too busy and never too upset. He always receives me with loving arms.

My second question was, how do I cultivate this type of relationship? This was surprisingly simpler than I thought. The reason it was simpler than I thought is because this is the type of relationship God wants with each of us. The way you cultivate an intimate relationship with God is the same way you would with a person. Think about your person. The one you can always go to with anything. The one who will celebrate with you when you are happy and cry with you when you are sad. The one who will give you that pep talk you need when you need it because they believe in you way more than you believe in yourself. Think about how that relationship developed. Most likely, it started out by talking with each other and getting to know each other. Then you probably started spending more and more time together. Once you built up trust you started being more open and more vulnerable. Eventually, you grow to really love and trust each other. It’s the same with God.

It is ok if it is a gradual journey. It is ok if you don’t trust God enough to open up and share your deepest darkest secrets with Him at the moment. He is ok with starting at the beginning. He is ok with just chatting with you. Just talking about surface-level stuff if that is what you want to bring to Him right now. The important thing at the beginning is to make the time to sit and talk with Him. What you are talking to Him about is not as important.

The next step would be to get to know Him. You can do this in a couple of different ways. First, you can ask Him questions and listen to His answers. God wants to talk to us, and He will reveal things to us if we ask Him. Second, you can spend time in His word. God revealed all we need to know about Him through Jesus. If we want to get to know God, we can spend time in His word and read about the things He has done in the past. You can read stories on-line of the things He is still doing now. If you seek to know God, He will reveal Himself to you in many different ways. It says in Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” So, ask questions, seek knowledge and understanding, and knock on doors, and the Lord will help you.

Once you start to spend time with Him and you get to know Him better, you will start to trust Him more. You will see you can bring all things to Him, and He will take care of them. If you begin to listen to Him, you will get to know how He talks to you. You will see He is gentle and caring. You will feel His love in a very intimate and personal way. You will understand what people mean when they say yes, God loves all His children, but He also loves you personally and individually. The love of God is something that is like nothing else in the world.

What would you give to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God loves you, forgives you, and accepts you? When I hear that question, my answer is, what wouldn’t I give? What about you? What is your answer? The verse above begins by saying, “A stingy sower will reap a meager harvest, but the one who sows from a generous spirit will reap an abundant harvest.” When it comes to your relationship with the Lord, you get what you give. If you invest heavily in your relationship with God, you will reap a great harvest. God already wants to have a close relationship with you, so you aren’t risking anything by asking Him for it. The last part of the verse above says, “Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace so that you will have more than enough of everything —every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.”

A notification just popped up on my phone as I was writing this episode. It was from the Amen app, and it said, “Do we have zeal and urgency to seek and follow Jesus?” Well, if that isn’t confirmation of what God wanted to tell us this morning, I am not sure what is. Spend time with the Lord, talk to the Lord, and learn about the Lord. You won’t be sorry that you did!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode this morning. Lord, I pray that each person who hears this episode desires a close and intimate relationship with you. I pray that over each and every one of them. I pray they seek you, Lord. I pray you let your presence known to them and that they know beyond a shadow of doubt your love for them. Help us find the time to spend with you, Jesus. Help us to be more positive in our thoughts.  We love you, Lord, and we ask all this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I want to remind you about an audio training I did on how to invite Jesus into our everyday activities. Spending time with God, talking to God, and spending time in His word is a great idea, but finding the time for it can be a problem. This training shows you how to add these things to the things you are already doing. If you would like this training, just go to my website, walkboldlywithjesus.com, and click on the button to get the video, or you can CLICK HERE. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I. Have a blessed day!

Today’s word of the Lord was one I received yesterday at a prayer group. We were listening to a song by Tasha Layton called “Look What You’ve Done.” If you haven’t heard this song, I invite you to look it up on YouTube and listen to it. It is an amazing song. In the song, it was talking about the Lord digging all her roots up, and this is the word that came to me: “I want to do this in each one of you. I want to dig the roots up for every single stronghold you have. Jesus died for your sins, yes yours. Let them go. Why do you hold onto them when I have already forgiven them? Why do you listen to the enemy’s lies? Why do you let the shame in? I am stronger than the enemy. Is there anything too great for me? Let the shame go. Let my love in. You are blocking it. Open your heart with a few simple words. Come, Lord Jesus, come. I give you permission to come in and heal me. I love you, my children, believe that!"

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