God’s Laws of Receiving

Many Christians have learned how to give, but they don’t know how to receive. Receiving isn’t “automatic.” When we give, God doesn’t automatically rain blessings down from the skies. If we want to receive from God, it is our duty to find His laws of receiving in His Word and then to study and meditate on them and apply them in our lives.

Virtually every one of God’s instructions on giving is combined with a promise of receiving. See for yourself in Luke 6:38, 2 Corinthians 9:6–8, Malachi 3:10–11, etc. If God himself places an emphasis on receiving, why should we feel that there is anything wrong with expecting to receive?

We should expect a return on our giving. All Christians should release their faith for a
great return, not to “feather their own nests,” but to finance worldwide Christian revival.

Men Will Give Unto Us
How will God give back to us? Will he just pour money down from heaven? No. Luke 6:38 tells us that “men” will give unto us. “Men shall give unto your bosom.”  What does this mean? It means that our Father has arranged it so that His children who follow His laws of giving will receive – from men. As we give generously to others, our Father will inspire other men and women to give to us.

The Blessing and Favor of God
Most people judge their worth by their savings and retirement fund, but those things are just a physical manifestation of the real asset – which is God’s favor. The blessing and favor of God are what make you rich – not money. Wealth is just a byproduct of God’s blessing and favor.

Money isn’t our true asset. 
Our real treasure is the blessing and favor of God. 
Financial increase is just a byproduct.

We Determine the Size of Our Harvest
We regulate exactly how much others give to us. How do we do this? The closing words of Luke 6:38 tells how:

For with the same measure that you meet, it will be measured to you again (Luke 6:38)

If we give with a teaspoon, we will receive a “teaspoon measure” in return. If we give with a tablespoon, we will receive a “tablespoon measure.”  If we give by the barrel, we will receive “by the barrel.” Whatever measure we use to give is exactly what will be used to measure what is given back to us.

The King James version of Proverbs 11:25 says, “The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”

Fat – Hebrew translation, Dashen, daw-shane’, Verb, (Qal) of prosperity (fig) to make fat, anoint

God gives money to people who sow into his kingdom, not to people who are just going
to keep it all. The liberal soul shall be made fat is another way of saying that when you
are a giver, you will have more money than you need. God will multiply you.  You’ll have
riches in reserve to abound to every good work. You will be blessed to be a blessing!

2 Corinthians 9:6 tells us that we can “reap bountifully.”  Malachi 3:10 tells us that God will “open the windows of heaven and pour out such a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.”  Luke 6:38 tells us that we can receive in “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.” 

This receiving can be in many forms.  We might receive an especially good deal in business.  We might receive a promotion on our job.  We might receive an unexpected cancellation of a debt.  We might receive revelation concerning an investment opportunity or starting a new business.

G. LeTourneau invented earthmoving machines. He gave away 90% of his.
But the money came in faster than he could give it away. He said,
“I shovel it out and God shovels it back – but God has a bigger shovel!”

You can’t give by the teaspoon and expect to receive by the truckload.
If you want to receive by the truckload, then you have to give by the truckload.

Shift your trust to the Lord so that you can start receiving prosperity by
faith instead of depending on your own intellect and stressing yourself out.

As Your Soul Prospers
The Word provides additional perspective on how God will prosper His people in 3 John 2.  There, the Apostlle John writes by inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou may prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers”

Here is a key point. This scripture doesn’t say I pray you prosper even as the economy prospers or even as your employer decides to promote you. It says I pray that you prosper “as your soul prospers.”

That’s where most believers miss it when it comes to receiving financial prosperity. They keep looking at outside circumstances in the physical realm, thinking that’s where their hope lies. But God doesn’t work from the outside in. He works from the inside out.

God blesses you materially as your soul prospers as a result of your mind being renewed to the Word of God.

As the seeds of the Word are planted in your mind and as you allow those seeds to grow, they will be settled in your heart and eventually produce a financial harvest, no matter how bad the conditions around you may be.

Believe You Receive
You must receive by faith just like you sow by faith. Instead of just sitting around “waiting on the Lord,” you must become intentional. You have to go after what’s yours.  Mark 11:24 tells us how to do that. It says,

What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray,
believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Look again at that verse. It says you’re to believe. Believe that you receive. It’s not enough for you to believe God is good and wants you to prosper. It’s not enough for you to believe that your harvest is out there somewhere. You must believe that you receive. In this passage, the word translated “receive” literally means “take.” You can’t be a timid soul and be successful in the Christian life.

The Apostle Paul told Timothy, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life” (1 Tim. 6:12). When it comes to enjoying the blessings of God that are provided for you, you have to wade in and lay hold – you have to be bold to stake your claim in the spiritual and possess, lay hold by faith, what God said belongs to you.

If we give abundantly to our church, to missions, to Christian ministries and to needy people, we
will be blessed abundantly.  We determine the harvest we will receive by the seeds we plant.
This harvest is not only a financial harvest, but a harvest of blessings in every area of our lives.

The Way You Give is How You Receive
Are you giving off the top? Is tithing the first thing you do when you get income? If you’re slow to give, then you’re going to be slow to receive. Some people wait until the last possible moment, and then they give grudgingly or of necessity. They don’t really want to give, but they feel like they have to. Then they wonder why their needs aren’t supplied right away. The reason is this law – you not only reap what you sow, you reap the way you sow.

If you want to prosper in God’s system, then you have to start giving – and you can’t just grudgingly give a little bit if you want a significant harvest in return. You have to give generously, you have to do it cheerfully, and you have to give from the first fruits.

Patience – a Key to Receiving
If we are to prosper under God’s laws of prosperity, we must be patient. God doesn’t lie. All of His promises are real. We will reap – if we are patient. We can’t rush God. The carnal part of us wants answers and it wants them now! We must counteract this tendency by developing ourselves spiritually so that we will have the strength and the patience to wait for the harvest.

And let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not (Galatians 6:9)

We must commit to studying and meditating in God’s Word if we expect to develop our faith to the point where we will receive blessings from Him. We must be certain that we don’t throw away our confidence in God because of lack of patience.

For you have need of patience, that after you have done the
will of God, you might receive the promise (Hebrews 10:36)

Lack of patience blocks more Christians from receiving from God than many of us realize.
A farmer wouldn’t dream of planting seeds and expecting an immediate harvest. We can’t rush
this process. God’s laws of sowing and reaping always take time. God has a time for everything.

Jesus told us, “In your patience possess ye your souls” (Luke 21:19)

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

God’s Word says, “cast thy bread upon the waters for you will find it after many days.” (Ecclesiastes 11:1) The word “bread” means anything of substance to us – our money, our time, our abilities, etc.

We will receive our harvest “after many days.”  Many of us are expecting a return when our seeds haven’t had time to take root and grow and produce a harvest.

We develop patience by trusting in God’s Holy Spirit within us. If we really do this, patience is just one of the fruits that we will receive.

If you do those things over a prolonged period of time, then you can start to see a crop come in.

A Joyful Heart – a Key to Receiving
When you give grudgingly or out of necessity or because you think God is going to break your kneecaps if you don’t pay up, it profits you nothing. You get zero benefit from that kind of giving. The people you give to will benefit but it isn’t going to come back to you. That kind of giving won’t influence your future. You have to come out from under the mindset of old testament obligation and start giving with a joyful heart if you want to see a return on your giving.

You aren’t going to see a supernatural return on your giving when you do it with the wrong motive.
It has to come from a humble heart that desires to bless other people. Since the motive behind
what you do is more important than the action itself, giving with a wrong heart is of no benefit.

During the Hard Times
When recession hits, the first thing most Christians do is cut back on their giving, which is the absolute worst thing we can do. Like Joseph when he experienced difficult seasons in his life, we need to put God first regardless of our circumstances. In fact, when hard times come, we should increase our giving so that we can increase our harvest.

Consider Your Ways
Are you planting ample financial seeds and failing to receive abundantly? If so, God tells us what we should do.

Consider your ways. You have sown much, and bring in little, you eat, but you
do not have enough, you drink, but you are not filled with drink, you are clothed,
but there is none warm, and he that earns wages, earns wages to put it into a
bag with holes. Thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways (Haggai 1:6 – 7)

God’s Word clearly speaks of people who have “sown much and bring in little.” Therefore, an abundant return obviously isn’t automatic. We don’t “automatically” receive bountifully just because we sowed bountifully.

If we’re sowing abundantly and not receiving abundantly, what does God’s Word tell us to do? Our Father tells us twice to “consider your ways.” He is actually telling us that we need to take a good look at what we’re doing if we’re sowing seeds bountifully and if we’re still not receiving bountifully.

You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought
it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the Lord of hosts. “Because of My house
that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house” (Haggai 1:9)

After planting our financial seeds, we must cultivate them. We must continue to study and meditate constantly in God’s Word. We must constantly express our faith in an abundant return by our words and our actions. No matter how bad a situation might appear, we must not block God in any way by lack of faith, or by lack of patience.

How much of your harvest is blown away because we don’t make giving to
God a priority?  If we fulfill our obligation to God first, we invite His blessing
to help us pay our debts to people. But when we rob God by using “our”
money as we see fit, we rob ourselves of God’s blessing. No wonder we don’t
have enough.  It’s a vicious cycle, and it takes obedient faith to break out of it.

 Planting in Good Ground
As mentioned previously, the return on your giving is going to depend to a degree on how fruitful the ground is that you are sowing into, just like there is a difference between planting in concrete and dirt. If you give to a church or ministry that isn’t really accomplishing the Lord’s work, concrete, then you are going to get marginal returns. When you plant your seed in a place that is fruitful and ministering the Word of God faithfully, dirt, then you are going to receive a better return.

No Doubting
Our Father wants us to be single minded. Our faith must be firm. If we don’t get a prompt answer, we must not begin to wonder and doubt.

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the
sea driven and tossed by the wind.  For let not that man suppose that he will receive
anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:6–8)

We may experience seasons of financial difficulty. When this happens, it is important to not waiver in the least. Instead, we should meditate and study even more and show our faith by increasing our giving.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My
yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.  (Mathew 11:28-30)

Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings
like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint  (Isaiah 40:31)

 If God can get the money through you to other people, then he will get it to you
– and as the money flows through there will be plenty left over for you.

Speak Out the Promises of God
When everything looks bleak in the natural, I have learned to open my mouth and confess that God will provide abundantly just as He has promised.

If we aren’t receiving an answer, we need to speak out the promises of Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:1–3, Malachi 3:10–11, Luke 6:38, 2 Corinthians 9:6–8 and many others. We must stake our claim in the spiritual realm.  We need to praise God and thank Him for supplying abundantly. We must “believe that we have received.”

Too many Christians waiver after a while and allow their doubts to come out of their mouths. This negative confession cancels the results that would have been forthcoming if they had continued to cultivate their crops with faith and patience.

We must not doubt God’s Word. Our words and our actions should constantly show our
faith in the promises of God. We should boldly claim the return from our tithes and
offerings. We should boldly proclaim, “I have given freely and, because I have given freely,
my Father gives back to me a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running
over! You say this in your Word, Father, and in Jesus name, I thank you for this return and receive
it now.  Giving you all the praise, all the honor and all the glory!  Thank you Jesus!”

The farmer has to clear out the weeds in his garden. We cultivate our garden in the spiritual realm by boldly confessing the promises of God in spite of the weeds that are trying to choke off our harvest. If we really do believe that we’re going to receive from God, we should talk and act exactly the way we would talk and act if we had a guaranteed certificate of deposit that we know would mature in time to meet all of our needs! God’s Word is a much stronger assurance than any worldly promise to pay.

(Go to www.phlibrary.com/declarations to access sample declarations)

 The Same Holy Spirit!
The same Holy Spirit who lived inside of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago lives in our hearts today. He is just as willing and just as able to provide abundantly today as he was then. The only variable is the faith and patience of Jesus compared with the faith and patience that you and I exhibit today.

You can’t just go through the motions of giving and think that God is going to multiply your return many times over. You must exercise your faith and patience.  You have to rely on God and trust that He is your source. It has to be a heart–level revelation, not just a conclusion you arrive at mentally.

But once you grab hold of this, it will revolutionize your life. You will be completely transformed once you believe that by putting God first, he will begin to supernaturally take care of you. It will bring you a tremendous amount of peace and confidence.

Money Is Just a Tool
Understanding the true value of God’s favor on your life will cause you to have the same attitude that the rich master had toward his servant in Luke 16. You can look at all of the things you possess and say, “it’s just stuff.” You’ll know that money is merely a tool that helps you accomplish what God has called you to do – it isn’t true prosperity.

Wealth can be stolen and property can be taken away, but no one can rob you of God’s
favor. The rich master knew where his real treasure was, and that is why he didn’t
get angry with the servant. He didn’t consider his money to be his true net worth.

Once you get that same mindset, you can catch a thief robbing you blind and not feel fear or panic. You can get to where your life isn’t bound up in things. You can become so secure in your relationship with God, and so certain of His favor in your life, that you actually find something to complement a thief about.

Money is nothing! It’s the blessing and favor of God on you that is the
real asset. The true power of money is using it to bless others and change your future.

The Power to Get Wealth
Once you realize that God is the source of prosperity, you understand how pointless it is to chase after riches. This is one reason why Scripture reminds us that the power to get wealth comes from God.

And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that
He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day (Deuteronomy 8:18)

God is the source of our prosperity but notice the Scripture doesn’t say God “gives” us wealth. God doesn’t send us checks in the mail; He gives us the “power” to get wealth. He releases an anointing on whatever you do and causes it to prosper.  

 The Lord is Searching the Earth…

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself
strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect towards Him (2 Chronicles 16:9)

The word perfect here means “complete, whole, at peace.”  It isn’t talking about being sinless, it’s talking about having a mature heart with a right attitude toward God. The Lord is searching the earth, looking for people who will believe His promises and put first the kingdom of God. He is looking for people who will give genuinely, from the heart, not as a form of manipulation – not giving just to get. God is literally searching the world for people He can give finances to, people who are givers.

You could turn this around and say that if you are consistently short on money, if you
always have more month than you have money, then maybe God doesn’t see you as a giver.

Final Thoughts – God’s Laws of Receiving
While we’re waiting for our “crop” to come in, we must cultivate it by continuing to study and meditate in the Word.   We must “believe that we receive” by continually confessing the promises of God. We need to “water” our seeds with constant, unwavering faith and patience, refusing to let the “weeds” of doubt and discouragement choke off our harvest.

Our Father doesn’t want us to limit Him in any way. He knows no limits. The only limits are those that we impose through lack of belief in His promises.

We will receive from Him – in exact proportion to our unwavering belief that we will receive. This is His law.

It’s wrong to give with selfish motives, but it’s not wrong to give believing.
Money that is constantly given is like a clear, bubbling brook – always fresh and new,
always cool and refreshing. This continual giving, backed up by unwavering faith and patience,
will continually activate God’s laws of receiving and put us in His perfect will for our finances.