How to Defeat Satan with Generosity

God has a passion for those whose hearts are truly and totally His.

In fact, this is really at the core of Jesus’ statement in Mark 12:30 when He says:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

The Lord places a priority on the heart because it’s the place of spiritual transaction. Scripture tells us that salvation happens because we believe in our hearts (Acts 16:31) and that faith is a matter of the heart (Proverbs 3:5-6).

The heart is also the battlefield of every Christian ministry because it’s where spiritual warfare is really waged. Since the human heart is the Father’s greatest desire, it’s no wonder that money has become such a powerful weapon in Satan’s arsenal. He knows that if he can get you and me to treasure wealth more than Jesus, or if he can convince us that money offers greater security than God, he will win. He will keep us from fully following the Lord.

That’s why giving is crucial to defeating our enemy.

Giving Advances God’s Kingdom

If our hearts are more intent on gaining or maintaining wealth, then we won’t properly fund God’s Kingdom work. We will hold back and decline to invest as we should in what He’s doing in the world today.

As a result, we will limit what a particular church or ministry can do to lead people toward personal relationships with God or encourage discipleship. That means God’s Kingdom will suffer on the spiritual battlefront.

This is one reason why, as followers of Christ, you and I must seriously commit to funding God’s Kingdom work – either through the local church or Christian para-church organizations. Our support makes it possible for these ministries to advance God’s purposes and win the hearts of those for whom Christ died!

Giving Strengthens Your Devotion

But there is another reason to give generously – and it’s one I believe most Christians don’t fully understand. You and I can’t truly become whole-hearted followers of God if we don’t properly invest in God’s Kingdom work.

Remember, Jesus Himself made it abundantly clear that our money and our hearts are inextricably tied.

How we view and value money and what we do with money have everything to do with whether God possesses our whole hearts. And if God’s deepest desire is to truly and completely possess His children’s hearts, then He cares a lot about how we steward the money He has entrusted to us.

Let me say this again, because it is so important.

You and I cannot be wholly devoted to God if we are not investing our money in His Kingdom work, because our hearts follow wherever we invest our money!

Giving Helps Defeat the Enemy

So when we, as God’s people, are driven to and committed to fund His work, not only do we advance God’s Kingdom plan to win the hearts of men, women, and children – but we give Him our hearts, as well.

And that’s the last thing Satan wants.

You can understand why the devil so actively thwarts the funding of God’s Kingdom here on Earth. He not only wants to undermine God’s work by limiting resources, he also wants to keep you and every other believer from giving his or her whole heart to God.

That’s why giving is, indeed, a critical part of spiritual growth. When we give to God’s work, we don’t just fund a ministry, we align our hearts with God and increase our devotion to Him. That is what giving is really all about.

For more on the importance of giving and the biblical view of stewardship and money, check out my book, Secure.


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