Recently, I shared a few thoughts at the church here I attend
After the church service, a guest there told me that what I shared was something ministers hesitate to share
If they do, they could easily be misunderstood
Yet, this was something which people need
but even sincere ministers hesitate to share it because of possible misunderstanding
Moreover, this is an area where there has been lots of abuse
The subject was about Giving to the church..
I reminded them about the widow who offered two pennies
Jesus said that the widow gave much more than the rich because she gave all she had while others gave just a portion from their abundance.
Jesus Himself said that when you give, he receives back a hundred fold return
He said to Peter that if one left houses, family, lands etc he will receive hundred fold in this life itself
Yet, the Bible doesn't say what happened to the widow after she gave the two pennies
But, in the Old Testament, we learn about another widow
It was during the ministry of Elijah the prophet
Elijah told the wicked King Ahab that there won't be any rain in that land until he said so
It was more like a judgement to the wicked King and his more wicked queen, Jezebel
Then the Lord told Elijah to stay near the brook Cherith and that He had commanded the ravens to feed him there
Every morning and evening the ravens brought him bread and meat and he drank from the brook
But later on since there was no rain, the brook dried up
Then the Lord told him to go to Sarepta where He has commanded a widow, who was a gentile, to sustain him
When Elijah reached the gates of that place, he saw the widow picking up sticks
Elijah asked her for some water
And when she was off to fetch the water, he asked her to bring some bread too
And the widow replied, "As the Lord your God liveth, I just have a little flour and oil left for myself and my son. We were going to have it and die"
Remember, Elijah was sent to this widow so that she would sustain him during the famine
Yet, when Elijah finds her, she has hardly anything even for her own survival
But, Elijah who hears the Lord and sees as He does, told the widow
to bake him a cake first
And he added that the Lord says that the flour and oil will remain until the famine ends
She obeyed the prophet and what the prophet said came to pass
The flour and oil remained to sustain her, her son and the prophet all the years of famine
The lesson from that is that when we give to servants of God
from our resources including financial
we are not making them rich but making ourselves richer
It is God's system of prospering us and making us fruitful in the area of finances
When she offered the last meal; the only meal she had to the prophet
in return she got 3 years worth of food
Another point to note is that it was Elijah who gave her first what she needed most in that situation
The WORD
Remember what Jesus said to the devil when He was tempted
Man shall live the abundant life when he feeds on the Word of God
What the widow needed was the WORD
When the Prophet gave her the living word (bread of life), she gave him the bread for his living...
This is a key point in how finances work in the spiritual system
There are people who are sincere in their giving but are ignorant on what the Bible says on how, where etc to give
They do give generously to churches, ministers etc
but they are ignorant on the most important principles associated with giving
The major part of our giving should be to those who minister to us God's word
those who teach us the Word
The Word which creates blessings in our lives
When they minister to us Life with all its fullness, we should pay them a portion from our earnings.
It is the Word that creates the Life eternal and with all its fullness and blessings (John 6:63)
So, those who work hard or labour in the Word is worthy of double honour 1 Timothy 5:17
And this spiritual law is similar to the principle of sowing and reaping in agriculture. The quantity we reap is proportional to the quantity we sow
Everything is created from the spiritual to the physical
And when the widow's son got died, he was raised back to life by the prophet
And that happened because she was sustaining Elijah's life
Think about the returns on her investment from just a small cake to start with. She was blessed in all areas of her life.
We should make sure that who we give are genuine when it comes to teaching the word and that they are ministering to you LIFE and not death..
They should be responsible and be prioritizing on the ministry or teaching of the word
Paul says in Philippians 4:19; "And my God SHALL SUPPLY ALL YOUR NEEDS ACCORDING to HIS RICHES IN GLORY in Christ JESUS"
Notice that the supply is SURE
and yet the supply is not according to YOUR NEEDS BUT ACCORDING TO HIS RICHES
It is just like the difference when we give a gift and a King gives one
There is a story which I am not sure whether it is true
Long time back a famous golfer showed his skills before a Saudi King
The King was very impressed with his game and asked him how he could gift him something for his excellent talent
The golfer said that he didn't need anything and thanked the King for the opportunity
But, the King insisted
And on the King's insistence, he said a golf club would be fine
And the golfer thought he might be getting a gold golf club since it was from a King
But, the King gifted him a golf club (course) spanning hundreds of acres
The golfer wasn't expecting anything in return at first
and then when he asked for a club he expected maybe a golf club
But what the King gave was from his riches which was way beyond the golfer could imagine or expect or dream
The gift was according to the King's riches and his status not according to the golfer's need
Likewise, our needs are met from the riches of the King of Kings
Remember Psalms 91 when it says that God will not only deliver us from trouble but WILL ALSO HONOUR US
We should believe those promises
Philippians 4:19 is a conditional verse
The condition is that it is a promise to those who supply for the needs of people ministering to them spiritually
The Philippians were generous towards Paul's needs even when they were struggling
And hence, Paul says, that God WILL supply ALL their needs according to His riches in Glory in Christ Jesus
because what they offered was a sweet smelling sacrifice to God
which is WELL PLEASING TO GOD
He says that he would have been content even without their giving but this was a system where fruits would ABOUND to their account and hence his desire for them to flourish when they used this opportunity
It is just like sowing a seed and reaping hundreds of seeds from within a seed. He wanted them to use that opportunity for them to flourish.
So, when we give from our physical resources to ministers who minister to us from the word the spiritual riches and Kingdom principles, we flourish and bear fruits
We should use this opportunity in our lives and we should doubly honour those who feed us from the word
And this was a system our ancestors knew even before the Old Testament laws were given
Cain and Abel for instance
Abel gave the best as his sacrifice
And God was pleased with it because Abel was acknowledging God as the ultimate source of his life and living
Cain though gave with reluctance and probably the leftovers from his crops because he didn't trust God as His source and probably thought it foolish to sacrifice the best to God
When we do farming, we try to save the best seeds for sowing for the next season because when we sow the best, we get the best harvest
Proverbs 3: 9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
In the New Testament, emphasis is given more to the giving to the labourers and teachers of the word
Whoever is speaking and teaching you the wholeness of life from the word, that is the person or persons you should support financially which may include tithes etc
Since this could be an easily misunderstood subject, ministers are reluctant to say it
And obviously there has been lot of abuse with this system as well
where the takers use the money for ungodly purposes
The priority of genuine ministers would be your wholesome wellbeing
and they are genuinely interested in your total blessedness in all areas of your life
The widow was broke and had almost nothing and even lost her child
But, God worked through Elijah in all these areas of her life and took care of her even in the time of famine
Now, let us look at another story; about Elisha and the wealthy woman of Shunem
As I said earlier, our ancestors knew these principles and followed it with zeal as if it was investment towards their life's blessedness
Though very rich, the Shunem woman knew the importance of ministering to the man of God
Whenever Elisha passed through that place, she offered him food and later on requested her husband to build him a fully furnished room in their house so that the prophet could rest there during his long journeys
At that point of time, she was not in any need she was aware of yet she knew that it was a blessing to have a prophet bless her house with his presence and words
People in those days who were believers knew this principle that the presence of God's people was equal to God's presence and honouring them was equal to honouring God Himself
Even our previous generations were so hospitable to servants of God that they never missed an opportunity to serve God's people..
There might have been many abuses of the system where sincere souls were cheated by false prophets
but it was the abuse of the system which was wrong and not the system per se which was a source of tremendous blessings
We should discern this area well and choose to invest wisely our resources, of which we are stewards and accountable...
The woman of Shunem was very rich but still Elisha asked her whether she needed anything at all including any recommendation to the King etc since he was very influential
But the woman said that she had everything she needed and also she lived among her own relatives
But Gehazi, Elisha's servant said to Elisha that she was childless
And Elisha told her that the following year she would have a child and it happened so
See, how her ministry to Elisha opened up a blessing in that area too which resulted in wholesomeness in her life. To bear a child is a blessing from the Lord and unknowingly her act of generosity affected the supply in that area too..
When we give to Lord's servants; the Lord even commands us to test Him in this that when we do so He will open up the windows of heaven
to shower blessings so huge that we wouldn't even have space to store it Malachi 3
In Malachi 3 the commandment is to bring tithes and offerings to the storehouses so that there will be FOOD for God's people
The Shunem woman had the baby by a miracle and later on when he died was raised back to life by Elisha
See how a man of God helps in every area of life of God's children
Later, she is warned by Elisha of a 7 year famine even before it happens
For 7 years, she is advised to live in another place with her relatives so that she is not affected by the famine
So he helped her with a problem even before it happened to her
And then after 7 years of famine, her whole property and also the proceedings are returned to her by the King
because the King came to know that her son was raised from the dead by Elisha
Just see how far reaching her little acts of generosity to the prophet were. How they opened up the floodgates of blessings upon her through different situations in her life
This is God's system of blessing you in abundance. Please do learn about it and practise it
You should know where you should give, how much you should give, why you should give etc from our resources including financial
and that it is a system by which we honour God
And Jesus said money is the least of all things and even called it the unrighteous mammon
and that we need to be faithful in that area if we are to be bestowed upon heavenly riches.
If we are not faithful stewards in the least, we won't be faithful in the greater riches
You should know where you should give, whom you should give, how much you should give, why you should give etc
This is a system by which we are blessed
Please practise it
These truths are rarely spoken even by sincere ministers because of the prejudices associated with it..
Just like Paul, they are not ministering to you expecting a reward from you but out of their love to God and His children..
But, for you to be blessed, you need to know these truths
You should give generously to those ministers
Your giving shouldn't be motivated by temporary praise from men
who might be prophets and priests yet false. You should discern the difference so that you don't waste away your money or talents for which you are accountable
It might be very tempting because of the praise and fame you get because they are master manipulators at this but unknowingly you might be funding their evil activities...
Learn this system where God is pleased with your giving and you are honouring God with your giving
Please remember to share this message so that others may be blessed too. Thank you..
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