Meted by your Measure
This morning, we are studying Lk 6:38. It’s a verse about giving. The preachers of the prosperity gospel have made a mockery of this verse. We won’t do this today.
This is a sermon for people who have already trusted Jesus Christ as their Saviour. Therefore, we are going to preach the gospel first, so that if you’re not saved, you can be now. Then this message will be for you, as well.
God gave Jesus so that the world through him might be saved. Jesus gave his life so that we could receive the gift of eternal life when we believe on him. Believe on him now, receive Jesus Christ, and you will have eternal life.
There is a principle in life. The measure you use to mete a thing is the measure that will be used to mete it out to you. It’s meted by your measure.
Notice this example from another passage in the Bible. In Matt 7:2, “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again”. We always have a tendency to be more critical of the problems in others’ lives that we are having trouble with in our own lives. See Rom 2:1. You tell on yourself when you rag on others, and you set yourself up for a worse judgment. God will judge you according to your judgment of others.
In Luke 638, we read, “Give, and it shall be given onto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again”. It’s meted by your measure.
If you measure out just a little of your abundance when you give, then, when you have a need, it will be measured to you the way you measured it out. Just a little. But if you meted your gift out in abundance, then it will be measured to you in abundance, as well. When men give to you, it will be pressed down, shaken together, and running over the measure that you used.
We can illustrate this principle with three measures, a small vase, a drinking glass, and a large vase. By this illustration you can visualize this truth. (Pastor Welder filled each measure with corn meal to demonstrate the gift. And then refilled each measure by shaking and pressing the corn meal down in the measure and then letting it run over).
When your measure is little, God will use your little measure (the small vase) and press it down, shake it together, and let it run over to give to you when you have a need. If you increase your measure (the drinking glass) the Lord will use that to give to you. But will you notice that the spill over from the drinking glass is more than the small vase can hold.
And if you increase your measure even more (the large vase) then the Lord will use that measure to give to you when your need arises. And then notice that the overflow from the large vase is more than the drinking glass can hold.
As a matter of fact, with each of these measures, when what men give to you is shaken together, and pressed down and running over, the quantity is at least, if not more than, half again as much as you measured out. It’s meted by your measure.
We see examples of this in the Bible. In Ruth 2:17–18 Ruth gave most of the barley she collected to her mother-in-law. Later, in Ruth 3:15–17 Boaz gave her six measures. And then, when he married her, she ended up with the fields, as well, Ruth 4:9–10. On top of that, her son ended up being the grandfather of king David, in the line of Christ.
Rahab gave the two spies protection in Jericho, Josh 2:12-14. She risked her life to save theirs. But when she was protected from the destruction of Jericho, she was able to spare not only her life, but also the lives of her father, mother, brothers, and sisters, Jos 6:22-23. And, on top of that, her son ended up being Boaz, the man that married Ruth. Her son was in the line of Christ.
The widow gave Elijah the last of her meal and oil, and so she received a daily provision of meal and oil for herself, her son, and Elijah, as long as the famine lasted, 1 Ki 17:12-16. Jesus used her as an illustration in Luke 4:26.
We have seen this principle in our own church. In the very early years of our church, over two dozen of us went to Montreal to remodel a church building. One of the members of that church said, “You have come here to remodel our building, and you don’t even have your own. We’ll pray that the Lord will give you a building for the gift that you have been to us”. And the Lord did just that and more.
The contractor on our building, Benny Craft, was at a lull in the oil business. So, he gave his time to us to oversee the first building. In return, the Lord picked up his business when we were finished and carried him through the next downturn in the oil business.
Since then we have helped with church buildings in Colorado, Piñon, Dominican Republic, and other places. And the Lord has continued to supply our need in abundance. The pastor of the new church forming in Kingsville is seeing this very principle as they are completing renovations on the building the Lord has supplied for them.
Conclusion: so the question is, now that you understand that your gift is meted by your measure, “What measure will you use as you consider your giving to the Lord”?