“Freely you have received; freely you must give.” — Matthew 10:8

A Kingdom mindset says:

• “Everything I have came from God.”

• “There’s always enough to bless others.”

• “If I give, God multiplies.”

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” — Psalm 24:1

When you shift your focus from what’s missing to Who provides, peace floods the spaces where fear once lived.

John 15:1-17:  When we live connected to the vine, we will always bear much fruit.  Verse 8, this glorifies the Father, that in bearing much fruit, we show ourselves to be His disciples.  We must obey God's commands, living and giving in love, out of belief that we will never be empty, for it is in this way that (verse 16) "the Father will give whatever you ask in my name."

The Overflow Principle

In God’s Kingdom, overflow always follows obedience.

John 6:9–13:  Think of the boy who offered his small lunch of bread and fish. Jesus didn’t multiply it until it was surrendered. Once placed in His hands, it became enough to feed thousands—with baskets left over.  The boy didn't walk away hungry, he too got fed.  Further, the disciples got to experience open-handed living.  As they received from Jesus, they gave to those who were gathered, and they ended up with overflow.  If they would have said, "Thank you for my lunch," and not turned to share with the next and the next, they would have missed the miracle. 

That’s how God works. When you hand Him what feels too small—your paycheck, your time, your energy—He breathes life into it.  When you are "ready" at any prompting by the Holy Spirit to give, He will make sure you are able to keep giving.  This is the essence of His heart, and He's looking for people who are willing to be His hands.

Your obedience unlocks His abundance.

God’s abundance is not meant to be hoarded—it’s meant to flow. You are a vessel, not a vault.

As you live generously—with your time, at your table, with your finances—He continues to pour out more, because He knows it will reach others through you.

When you live open-handed, you stay connected to the Source.

“Freely you have received; freely you must give.” — Matthew 10:8

Notice that in the examples throughout God's word, when God's children trusted Him, He gave them more than enough.  I want you to grasp that too.  It's not paycheck to paycheck.  He wants your attention, He wants you to recognize you have everything you need and don't need to wildly spend on unnecessary things.  Further, He wants you to see that you have more than enough, and you can give freely: there is freedom in being a steward that is looking to honor Him.  You don't have to toil, worry that there will be enough, or walk blindly: He wants you to know you are cared for.  He has given you a work to do, but the work is not to be a distraction from His call for you, it is His call for you.  If you feel like you must work in order to provide and feel like you don't have the time, ability, or bandwidth to figure out what He's called you to, you need to lay that before Him and ask Him for His eyes to see the work He desires to put before you.  It might be He changes your perspective.  It might be He wants you to do something totally different.  This I know, He wants you to experience abundance, the peace that comes with doing His will, and the joy of giving.   As long as you are focused on what you can provide, you'll miss these blessings. 

Reading Matthew 6, the whole chapter's focus is in how we manage what we have; how we are to live generously.  His greatest commandments, loving God and loving others, looks like living generously.

Matthew 6:1-4:  Be careful that you do not do your acts of righteousness before men... "give to the needy without fanfare, so that your Heavenly Father may see what is done in secret and reward you."  Consider what you are doing in secret.  Are you joyfully meeting with the Lord and asking Him what He wants you to do with your time, finances, and talents?  Do you gripe about your work, your children or your husband?   Are you quick to announce where you "voluntarily" spend your time?  It is fine to invite someone to join you in the joy of working for, or as unto the Lord, when we have an attitude of praise.   Joyfully represent the Lord's work, and commit to pleasing the Lord and not seeking the attention of man or the accumulation of money.

•  Colossians 3:23-24 ....When you work for another, do it "with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

Matthew 6:5-15:  When you pray, may it be in sincerity, for the building up of the Kingdom, not your own reputation.  Even the "Lord's Prayer" is about living for the Kingdom, in trust for our daily provisions, and with generosity, that He would receive the glory.  Love God, love others is the theme of the prayer, without changing the theme: "Your Kingdom come, your will be my desire... for you have given us our daily bread, so let us be generous with others.... Forgiving debts because you are generous and have forgiven our debts and give us overflow.  Give me focus on Your provisions, that I would not be tempted to withhold what is Yours- for You are the giver and the forgiver." The Lord's prayer is really about our relationship with Him lived out in relationship with others. Verse 14, "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you."  His desire is for you, and restoration despite our faults.

Matthew 6:16-18:  I have heard it said that fasting is throwing in the face of the Devil that he cannot control you through your flesh.  It is stating that even your flesh will submit to the Lord, and that your trust is in Him alone for every bit of strength you need.   After his baptism, Jesus fasted for 40 days in the desert and resisted the devil's temptations by quoting scripture- hallowing the Lord's name. This act demonstrated spiritual strength, trust in the Lord's word, and a rejection of worldly power, comfort, and pride, which the devil offered.
Fasting is starving the flesh to feed the spirit: a personal and intimate part of you that only the Lord can see.  we are not to "look somber as the hypocrites do... for our Heavenly Father sees and will reward you," there is no earthly reward for our fasting. Fasting is a way to weaken the "flesh"—your worldly desires—to strengthen your spiritual connection to God. When you choose to prioritize spiritual nourishment over physical hunger, you are denying the devil a foothold in your life.  Timely for Jesus to mention this after His example prayer "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  Fasting strengthens you to resist temptations in the spirit.  It disrupts demonic influence, and reinforces your devotion to God as you experience His provision and dwell in His presence.

Matthew 6:19-21: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.... But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.... For where your treasure is, your heart will be also."  Where are you investing your time, money, and giftings?  For whose glory?  Reflect on the parables in Matthew 25, there is no gain in gluttony or being stingy.  We're not to store up treasures, but rather be a distribution center: believing God will continue to bring in, we give out.  Focusing on protecting "our treasures" takes our focus off of giving them freely as He directs us to.

Matthew 6:19-23: "The eye is the lamp of the body.  If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"  I have heard this be a teaching on purity of what we allow our eyes to land on and be distracted by:  the shiny things, the things (or people) we might lust after and lose sight of God's plan for.  I won't say that has no value, but want to consider that if we don't recognize God as our provider, where our every breath of life comes from, then we have the wrong perspective and we will be full of darkness.  We will strive for what we can do on our own, which will lead us to dark living- apart from God.  Instead, we are to see Him as the giver, and with that confidence we live in the light of His glory, givers of light (and everything He gives us!).  When you take into consideration the verses/discussion before and after, this too is addressing how we handle "our" money.  Through what lens do you see?

Matthew 6:24:  "No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and Money."  This does not mean you can't handle money, but rather the pursuit of money for gain is not elevated over the pursuit of God.  Similar to verses 19-21, we receive it with open hands, because it is not our master: we bring it to our master, who is delighted by our open hands.

Matthew 6:25-34:  "Do not worry..."  Jesus is reassuring us of this important concept that takes our focus off of what we can do and providing for ourselves.  Open receiving, for God is our provider.  We must recognize Him as this to be the efficient givers and lovers He wants us to be.  Our worry says it's not in God's hands, and we doubt that we are sufficient.  Trusting God, and "seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness, all these things will be given to you as well."  We are not on our own, he prepares us for His good works (Ephesians 2:10), and His desire is to complete His good works in us (Philippians 1:6), for this is the drawing near to Him and living out our relationship with Him that He delights in (John 17:21).  Just as Jesus lived open-handedly because He knew the Father, so He wants it to be for us.

Your obedience in adoption unlocks His abundance: if your eyes are good you will see it and your whole body will be full of light.  If your eyes are not good, you will not see what He has done, and your whole body will be full of darkness, and that is the atmosphere that will enter your home and poison your family.  Choose to open your eyes and your hands to your Heavenly Father.  Receive Jesus's prayer over you.