RETURNS ON YOUR GIVING;

“I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed”(Psalm 37:25-26).

Sometimes when people give to God, they expect immediate financial returns from Him. Yes, when you sow a financial seed, God blesses and multiplies your seed sown, but never get discouraged or wonder whether or not you did the right thing just because the harvest didn’t come the way you expected it would. Your blessings on financial giving don’t necessarily have to be in money. There’re several other blessings that accrue to you as a giver, and some of these blessings are by far greater than financial blessings.

There’s a lot more than the immediate financial result. There are other blessings that God causes to take place in your life that you may not even know about. Some parents for instance pray every day that God would touch the hearts of their wayward children. They wouldn’t need to worry if they were constant givers in the house of God, for their commitment to the gospel through giving would bring their children under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

If only you knew what your giving to the Lord could do for you! It connects you and everything that concerns you with God’s Spirit and gives you results that aren’t only for today, but for tomorrow and for all time. So, if you’ve been giving, keep at it. If you haven’t, start today. Each time you have the opportunity to give, be excited; for it means the Spirit of God is doing something in your life that will affect the course of your destiny: “Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant” (Psalm 35:27).

Further Study:
Proverbs 13:8;
2 Corinthians 9:10

GIVE BIG;

“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6).

Givers are very special to the Lord, and they rule the world. You can never be less than what you give, for the more you give, the more you receive. The Lord Jesus alluded to this when He said in Luke 6:38 “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom….”

Our opening scripture says is a spiritual principle that is always sure to produce results: “Let each one [give] as he has made up his own mind {and} purposed in his heart, not reluctantly {or} sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, “prompt to do it”) giver [whose heart is in his giving].And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always {and} under all circumstances {and} whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation]” (2 Corinthians 9:7-9 AMP).

The Bible records in 1 Kings 3:4 that Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings to God, and this moved the Lord to visit him that same night: “…the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.” He got a blank cheque from the Lord for his big giving. This clearly shows that no matter how big we give, we can never out give God.

Make up your mind this year to give bigger than you’ve ever done. Your giving begins with giving to God that which belongs to Him. That means your first-fruit offerings, tithes, and special seeds. When you do this, He’ll surely multiply your seeds sown and increase your capacity to give, and you’ll have more!

Further Study:
Proverbs 3:9-10

“SUCH AS YOU HAVE…GIVE!”

“Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk”(Acts 3:6).

Jesus said in Mark 16:17-18 “these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils…they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Notice He didn’t say we should negotiate with sickness; He said heal the sick.

Lay your hands on the sick and they shall recover. The apostles didn’t just pray for those who were sick; they healed them. Peter healed the crippled man at the gate of the temple called Beautiful. He said to the man: “Look on us” (Acts 3:4).

The impotent man, expecting to receive alms, gave Peter and John his attention, but Peter didn’t have any money on him at the time. But he knew he had something greater than money; the Name of Jesus. Hence he said to the impotent man, “silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee.” Peter made a demand on the Name of Jesus and a miracle took place. He transmitted the power of God into the man’s body using the name of Jesus.

It reminds me of a certain lady who came to one of our meetings. She was confined to a wheelchair because she was unable to walk. I had preached during the service on the name of Jesus and as I looked at her, I noticed she had been crying, and I said to her, “In the Name of Jesus, get up.” She leapt off the wheelchair instantly, walking and praising God. I had something to give.

We’ve been given the power of attorney to use the Name of Jesus. You can bless your world with the Name of Jesus and the life of God in you. When you make a demand on that Name, miracles take place. Your hands are divine instruments through which eternal life flows. So you have something to give; something with which to bless the world.

Further Study:
2 Corinthians 4:7;
Mark 16:17-18

THE GIVING THAT STANDS YOU OUT;

“And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed You Out Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet”(Acts 4:36-37).

It’s possible for a Christian who only gives his tithes and offerings to feel like an accomplished giver, but the Bible lets us know these aren’t enough. Your tithe for example belongs to God, and He expects you to give them to Him anyways. The man who does otherwise is a robber: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8).

God is not a man; He’s God. So you MUST give Him your tithes and your offerings, as God. Actually, you pay your tithe; you don’t give it, as you would your free-will offering. So your tithe is not a gift, because you don’t pay a gift. Your offering on the other hand isn’t just a donation made to the Church, but a sacrifice offered to a divine being. God actually demanded for it in Exodus 23:15: “None shall appear before Me empty-handed” (AMP).

So, beyond paying your tithes and giving your offerings, which are compulsory for every believer, you have to go the extra mile by getting financially involved in the spread of the Gospel. This type of giving is special because it isn’t a compulsion, but is done out of your love and commitment to the Gospel. 2 Corinthians 9:7 (AMP).

Remember it’s in your interest and in your favour when you give to the Lord, for He has promised great returns and mighty harvest of blessings for the giver. So be sure to be counted among those who give financially towards the things of God. In our ministry, we have several platforms through which we reach millions of souls around the world every day with the Gospel. Locate such opportunities and participate big-time. That’s how to get relevant in the Kingdom and make your life count.

Further Study:
Luke 8:2-3

GIVE GOD WHAT YOU HAVE!

“And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod…”(Exodus 4:1-2).

Back in the Old Testament, when God saw the affliction of the children of Israel, He needed a point of contact in the person of Moses to help them. Moses was a shepherd, and all he had with him when God visited him in the dessert and spoke to him was his shepherd’s rod. Now, he could have said “I know God is not blind, He must have seen this rod, so He possibly couldn’t be asking me about the rod.” But he was smart, he said a rod! He mentioned something that didn’t have any value! But then the Lord said, “Moses, place the rod on the ground.” Moses did and it became a serpent. Next, the Lord said to him, “…put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand…” (Exodus 4:3-5).

God could still have performed the signs He performed before Moses in the desert without Moses’ rod, but He needed a point of contact and Moses’ rod was that point of contact. Soon as Moses cast the rod before the Lord, the Spirit of God came upon it and it was no longer an ordinary rod. The presence of God was now on it, imparting it with the supernatural power of God (Exodus 4:20).

This is what happens when you present anything you own to the Lord. You may be a petty trader with a little retail shop, but when you commit that business to the Lord His presence will come upon it, and it will cease to be a petty shop and become God’s shop! What’s that thing you can present before the Lord today and say “Lord, this is what I’ve got?” His presence will come on it and it’ll become your point of contact through which you’re plugged into an unending stream of the miraculous.

Further Study:
Exodus 4:20;
Exodus 17:9

HE’LL MULTIPLY YOUR SEED SOWN!

“Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness…”(2 Corinthians 9:10).

Whenever you give to God, He multiplies your seed and releases an abundant harvest to you. That’s His nature, He’s a multiplier. He never gives you back exactly what you gave to Him. He multiplies it and ensures that your storehouse bursts at the seams with an overflow of abundance (Proverbs 3:9-10). Jesus demonstrated this when He fed five thousand men (women and children not counted) with five loaves of bread and two fishes.

The Bible records that the multitude had been with Him in a desert place for three days, listening to Him teach. His disciples got troubled and asked to send the people away so they could go into the neighbouring villages to get food (Matthew 14:15). But Jesus said to them “They need not depart; give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes” (Matthew 14:16-17).

Naturally, five loaves of bread, no matter how big, and two fishes, no matter how large, certainly wouldn’t suffice to feed five thousand men (not including the women and children). But then, the Bible says, Jesus took the five loaves and two fishes in His hands and blessed them. When He did, the anointing came on the bread and the fish, and He asked the disciples to feed the multitude.

After they had eaten, twelve baskets full of bread and fishes were gathered as leftovers (Mark 6:43). It stands to reason that the leftover twelve baskets went to the little boy, who volunteered his lunch with which the Master fed the multitude. He received more than enough, because he gave the Lord what he had, and the Lord multiplied it! Keep sowing your seeds and giving to God’s work, and He’ll see to it that you’re plugged to an unending supply. He’ll multiply your seeds sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness.

Further Study:

Luke 6:38;
Proverbs 3:9-10

LEARN TO WATER YOUR SEED;

“And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes… I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase”(Ezekiel 36:27-29).

In the Church of Jesus Christ, there’s been a lot of preaching on prosperity. For instance, it’s been preached that “When you give, God will give back to you.” But the truth is, it doesn’t end there. So many of God’s people give: they sow seeds and give their offering but it doesn’t seem to come back to them multiplied as God said it would. Why?

The reason is that for seeds to germinate, the conditions necessary must be present, and water is one of such indispensable conditions. Any seed planted wouldn’t grow and mature unless it’s properly watered. The same thing happens spiritually when you give or sow your seeds! Scripturally speaking, the rain is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, “Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field” (Zechariah 10:1).

This is talking about the Holy Ghost! When you sow your seed or give to God, if it’s going to come back multiplied, it’s going to be as a result of the rain-the outpouring of the Spirit in prayer; especially praying in the Holy Ghost and speaking in tongues. This will lead to such an outpouring of such a great harvest, that there’ll be no room enough for you to receive it; praise God!

Further Study:
Genesis 39:2-3;
Isaiah 58:14

KEEP THE BEST SEED FOR SOWING;

“Remember that the person who plants few seeds will have a small crop; the one who plants many seeds will have a large crop”(2 Corinthians 9:6 GNB).

Any good farmer will tell you that your harvest for the next season will be dependent on the quality of seeds sown during the planting season. A man who grows yams, for example, and eats up all the best tubers, and plants the shriveled ones will be foolish to expect a bountiful harvest. In the same way, when money comes into your hands, you ought to be smart enough to know you shouldn’t spend it all up and sow the smallest part of it!

Besides giving your tithes and offering, you should consciously sow quality seeds from the money God blesses you with. This is the way to move higher in your financesby sowing your seeds and trusting God to multiply them. There isn’t any mystery about why some of God’s children are doing better financially than others-it all depends on the quality of seed they’re sowing from the harvest they got. Nobody is small; it’s what you do with your seed that matters. What you need do is have faith in the Word of God-put your faith into your seed and sow it.

Whenever you receive money, always remember to put some aside as seed offering to the Lord. Always think of sowing into God’s work. Consequently, the Lord will cause all grace to abound towards you, so that you will always have everything you need and more so that there will be enough for your own needs, but plenty left over to give joyfully to others.

Further Study:
Genesis 8:22;
2 Corinthians 9:8 CEV

LIVE TO GIVE!

“I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive”
(Acts 20:35).

The Lord Jesus, teaching in Luke 6:38 said “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom….” He thus established a spiritual principle which implies the more you give, the more you’d receive. This principle makes giving a channel through which God blesses you materially.

God already took the responsibility to supply all your need; not through the labour of your hands, but according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

So it would be wrong to rely on the income from your job for your life’s sustenance. There’re people who say the reason they work is to make a living, but that’s not what the Word teaches: “lets us know why we ought to work: Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth” (Ephesians 4:28).

Giving is so important to God, and givers are very special to Him. He always responds to givers. Take for example the account of the Roman centurion in Luke 7:3-10. The Bible records that the elders of the Jews pleaded with Jesus to heal his sick servant. Jesus responded and healed the Centurion’s servant after they informed Him of how he had built them a synagogue.

Givers will always move the heart of God. God appeared to Solomon and gave him a “blank cheque,” only after Solomon offered to the Lord one thousand burnt offerings (1 Kings 3:3-5). Never let opportunities to give pass you by unutilized. As you give, not only will the Lord multiply your seeds sown, He’ll also increase your capacity to give, so that you can have more. So for the giver, it’s a win-win situation. Halleluiah!

Further Study:
2 Corinthians 9:6;
Proverbs 3:9-10

GIVE WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE;

“Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy”(1 Chronicles 29:9).

Many don’t know how so easily the Spirit of God can be grieved when they do things with insincere motives or with the wrong attitude. There’s the right attitude for everything, otherwise, even after doing something good, if your attitude isn’t right, you may never receive the blessing or reward the Lord for what you did. There’s an attitude to giving, and there’s also an attitude to receiving. If you don’t have the right attitude towards your giving, the blessings that accrue to the giver will not come to you.

When you give to God, you give with reverence, submission, gladness, gratitude and pleasure. Remember, He sees your heart, He knows when you’re truly excited about what you’re doing.

There’s the giving attitude that creates for you a perpetual atmosphere for the miraculous. Such an attitude makes God come to your aid speedily. Notice the attitude of the givers in our opening scripture: “Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord:” This is the kind of attitude you should have when you give; one of pleasure, great joy and delight. That’s the kind of giving, offering and service that God seeks and rewards.

Has anyone ever given you something, and somehow you just didn’t want it. Not because you didn’t have need of it, but because of the giver’s attitude. There was something that just wasn’t right in the way he or she offered it to you. Maybe it had to do with the manner of presentation or the packaging, but somehow you just didn’t want it. In the same way, God looks at your presentation. He looks at how you give to Him.

Some squeeze, frown, grumble and complain when they give, and expect God to bless it. No, He says do all things (including your giving) without murmuring and disputing (1 Corinthians 10:10). Learn to give with the right attitude.

Further Study:
2 Corinthians 9 AMP;
Romans 15:16