The Blessings and Benefits of Giving

We've been looking at the last five weeks and helping you understand how to get a grip on on your giving patterns. What does the Bible say about that? I wish that we could have exhausted the topic, but because the Bible speaks so voluminously about giving that there's no way we could ever exhaust the topic in six weeks, let alone six months, maybe not even in six years. There's so much that the Bible has to say when it comes to to giving. And so we have tried to help you understand just some basic principles that will help you understand what it is God requires of us, his children, that we might live not just in obedience to him, but experience the blessings and the benefits of giving.

And that's the topic for today. As we conclude this series, what are the blessings and the benefits of giving? But before I do that, I just want to remind you that there are many people who seem to think that they never ever have enough money. They always fall short when it comes to finances. And the question always is asked, why is that? Why is it you can preach on money and people hear what you say, but come back with a conclusion? I have no money. I don't have enough money. So I want to begin with some principles that will help you understand maybe why it is you don't have money.

And then conclude today with an illustration about what to do when you have nothing. When you don't have enough money, ask yourself these questions. Number one, do I really need more?

You might want more, but do you need more? That's the first question you got to ask yourself. I mean, you might want a new car, but do you need a new car? You might want a new house, but do you need a new house? You might want a new tie, and you'll probably get a new one for Christmas. One you probably will never wear. But do you really need more? Second question you got to ask is, does or is God in the process of testing my faith?

Is God right now in the process of testing my faith? And the Bible says, faithful and little, faithful and much.

God wants to know, will you be faithful with the little? Because if you're not, you won't get any more. Because if you can't be trusted with a little bit, he's not going to entrust you with more. So ask yourself, is God testing your faith? Next question, did I already misuse what he's already given me? That's a good question to ask, right? Have I misused and abused what God has already given me? Because if you have, you need to repent and ask God to forgive you and get back on the right path, right?

And then, have I violated some basic biblical principles? Let me give those to you. Number one, am I stingy?

I know you guys aren't stingy, but let me give you the verse anyway. Proverbs 11 24, there is one who scatters, yet increases all the more. And there is one who withholds what is justly due, but it results only in want. Are you stingy? Now, all these verses are going to be taken from the book of Proverbs. We told you that the book of Proverbs is the only book written to young people in scripture. Although the Bible applies to everybody, it's a particular book written to young men, young women. And the book of Proverbs has a lot to say about money, because young men and young women need to know how to handle their money when they're young, but they won't be able to handle it when they're old.

So you got to ask yourself, am I stingy with my money? Because Proverbs 11 24 says, if you are, you withhold what is justly due, you will live only in want. Here's another one. Am I hasty in decision-making? Some of us see something, we want it, and we want it now.

The Bible says in Proverbs 21 5, everyone who is hasty to be rich comes surely to poverty. So ask yourself, am I hasty to obtain more? Am I quick to make decisions to get more? Am I stingy? Am I stubborn? This is more for second service people than first service people, but Proverbs 13 18, poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline.

The stubborn person says, I'm going to do with my money what I want to do with my money, no matter what God says.

But the Bible does say that poverty and shame comes to those who neglect God's discipline. How about this? Are you lazy? That's always a good question to ask because the principle of laziness in scripture is profound. Proverbs 20 verse number 13, do not love sleep. Do not love sleep. How many of you guys love sleep? Don't raise your hand. Okay. Lest you become poor, lest you become poor, open your eyes and you will be satisfied with food. Get out of bed. How about this? Proverbs 23 21 drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.

How practical is the scriptures? Are you lazy? Are you indulgent? Self-indulgent? Proverbs 23 21 for the heavy drinker and the gluttonous man will come to poverty. Are you overindulgent when it comes to what you drink and to what you eat, even to what you wear? And then are you shifty and crafty with your money? Proverbs 28 19 says he who tills his land will have plenty of food, but he who follows empty pursuits would have poverty in plenty. Wow. Do you ever follow empty pursuits? There's a new fad that comes around.

New thing to do. New product to sell. You sell it. You can get these people under you. They'll sell it. You'll get more. You ever been a part of those things, those programs that people promote on TV and maybe come to your door? Be careful about those things. He who tills his land will have plenty of food, but he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty of plenty. So ask yourself some questions and ask yourself, am I this way? Because that could be one of the reasons you don't ever have enough money.

And you need to be honest with yourself. Do a self-examination of where you are. That's always a good thing to do. But on top of that, God promises many benefits and many blessings to those who are generous. And last week I had you in second Corinthians eight.

This week, I want to take you to second Corinthians chapter nine. So if you got your Bible, second Corinthians chapter nine is Paul, once again, addresses the Corinthian church and gives one last ditch effort to get them to realize the importance of keeping their promise to give to the Jerusalem church and why it's so important for them as a church to give to those in need.

If you've got a piece of paper and a pencil, you need to write this down. Okay. Just to keep it somewhere so you can remember it. Great living is always based on generous giving. Great living is always based on generous giving. And that's taken from second Corinthians chapter nine, particularly verse number six, where God says these words.

Now this, I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, but he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. He who sows extravagantly will reap extravagantly. That's just the way it is. He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly. And this is based off the old Testament principle of Proverbs 11, verse number 24 and 25, which says there is one who scatters and yet increases all the more. And there is one who withholds what is justly due and yet results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous and he waters will himself be watered.

So Paul takes the old Testament principle, applies it to the Corinthian church to help them to understand that when you sow extravagantly, you will reap extravagantly. That's important. He uses an agricultural metaphor because they will all relate to that. They would all understand that because that's what they did to maintain their living. And they would understand exactly what it is he would be telling them. Jesus would say in a different way in Luke 6, 38, he says, give, and it shall be given unto you.

But it's a command, give, and it will be given unto you, pressed down, shaken, and overflowing, because that's how God deals with his children. The generous Christian never needs to fear not having enough. The generous Christian never needs to fear not having enough because the more you give, the more you get. It doesn't mean you give to get, because then you won't. The motive is wrong. You give to glorify God. You don't give to get more for me. You give for the glory and honor of God because giving is a glorifying issue, not a me issue.

That's important for us all to grasp. So Paul says, if you give bountifully, you will reap bountifully. Now some might say, well, isn't that a little greedy, a little selfish, little self-serving? But we forget that God makes all kinds of promises in scripture to reward the Christian, to reward obedience, to reward and to bless those who honor him first.

And if we had time, we could take you through the Old Testament, the New Testament, and give you all the promises that God gives. I mean, you can look at the promise given to the overcomer in the church in Revelation 2 and 3, to he who overcomes, to him I will grant to sit on my father's throne.

I mean, what kind of better promise is that, that we can sit on his father's throne with him? There are many promises. At my right hand are pleasures forevermore, the Lord says. And as you go through scripture, you begin to realize that God rewards those who are obedient. We get the crown of life. We get the crown of righteousness. We get the crown that glorifies the name of God. God rewards obedience. God rewards believers. That's what God does. And you will see that in this text, in 2 Corinthians 9, on how God wants to do that.

God is gracious to keep his promise to reward those who simply trust his promises. Now, God never promises a reward to the disobedient. There's nowhere in scripture where God promises a reward to the disobedient. He only promises a reward to the obedient. Now, that doesn't mean that God doesn't bless the disobedient, because God blesses in spite of us more so than because of us, right? If God had a way around for us to always be obedient, do always the right thing, well, we never get a blessing. So God does bless in spite of us, but God never promises a blessing to the disobedient.

Always to the obedient. He who honors me, I will honor. If you dishonor me, I'm not going to honor you, but if you honor me, I will honor you. So God does make promises, and God keeps those promises. So are the promises only spiritual promises? Well, the answer to that is no, because you could fulfill all kinds of spiritual promises and still be cold, naked, and homeless. God says, you seek first my kingdom, my righteousness, everything else will be added unto you.

Make me a priority. Follow me. Seek me. I will clothe you. I will feed you. I will take care of you. I will secure your future. I care for the birds of the field. I care for the flowers of the field, the birds of the air, sorry, flowers of the field. I care for those things. If I care for them, how much more would I care for you as your heavenly father? So God does care for his children. God watches out for his children. I think sometimes, hear me as I say this, that we have been so accustomed to hearing prosperity preachers on TV that we get really nervous when someone talks about God promising to reward those who are obedient to him.

But we need not be. And let me show you what God says in his word so you understand it. And we qualify that by always letting you know that you never give to get. You always give to glorify the name of the Lord Jesus. Because if you give to glorify his name, you don't really care if you get anything in return. But if you give to get, you make sure you get something in return. There's a big difference there. The motive behind all that is supreme. We need to honor the Lord with the first fruits of our increase.

So let me give you five principles from 2 Corinthians chapter 9, based off of 2 Corinthians 9.6, that he who sows bountifully shall reap bountifully.

That's the promise. If you sow sparingly, you'll reap sparingly. So if you are giving, and this is the context of generous giving, this is the context of materialism, not spiritualism. In other words, this is the context of possessions and your material goods. It's not in the context of spiritual goods. So you must understand that. And so Paul says these words in verse number seven. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

The very first blessing that you receive when you sow bountifully is that you receive a special affection from God.

Listen carefully. This is the only place in the entire Bible, the only place in the Bible, where God grants a special display of his love to the believer because of a particular behavior. Only place. God loves a cheerful giver. Only place. So circle it. Mark it down. Highlight it. Only place in all Scripture where God promises something unique and special when it comes to his love as a result of a particular behavior that you do. God loves a cheerful... God does not love one who gives grudgingly.

God loves those who give cheerfully, joyfully, hilariously. God loves them. Now, God loves the entire world. We know that for God so loved the entire world that he was only begotten son, right? We know that. We know that God has a special love for his own children that's unique and different than he has for the world. And it's hard to understand and qualify God's love because it's so... it's beyond anything that we can ever imagine. But we know that God loves the world, right? We know that God loves sinners, that he demonstrated his love to them, that when he died for their sins.

So we know that. We know that God has a special love for his children. But God has a unique special affection for those who give cheerfully. Let me illustrate this way.

Jacob loved all of his sons. But there was one son he had a special affection for, right? He made him a coat of many colors. Why? Because for Joseph, there was uniqueness about his life. A uniqueness that the other brothers did not have. It's not that Jacob didn't love all of his sons. He loved them all. But there was a special affection for Joseph because of his character, because of his obedience, because of his submission to authority, which the other ones did not evidence, but Joseph did. So he received the special coat, the coat of blessing, the coat of honor, not because he was any better than the other boys, but because he was completely obedient and subservient to his father.

But his father loved all his sons, but he had a special affection for Joseph. It's not true you love your children, but the ones who are the obedient, there's a special affection for. This is. It's not that you don't love your disobedient children. You do. You love them. But the ones who are obedient, who follow and obey the word of the Lord and follow obey the direction of their other parents, that there is a special affection for because, and they're the ones who receive the blessings. Because you're not going to reward disobedience, right?

You're not going to reward rebellion, right? Why would you reward rebellion? That just incurs more rebellion. Well, hey, if you're going to just go ahead and sin against your parents here, let me give you a car.

And that will just make them want to sin all the more, right? You don't, you don't do that. You don't rebel. You don't reward rebellion, but you do reward obedience. And the Lord loves a cheerful giver. There's a special affection that God has for those who give his way. He was a cheerful, joyful giver. We'll talk more about that in a moment, but you need to understand this. That's why the Bible says in June 21, keep yourself in the love of God.

How do you do that? Keep yourself in the love of God. What do you mean? I can be outside the love of God? No, not necessarily, but you can be outside the special affection that God gives to those who are obedient to his, his name. That's why over in John 15, Christ said these words, he said in verse nine, just as the father's loved me, I have also loved you abide, remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love. Just as I've kept my father's commandments and remain in his love.

The son always obeyed the father. The son always remained in the love of God. So Jude would say, keep yourself in the love of God or remain in the sphere of God's blessing. Don't get outside of God's blessing. Stay in there. Remain in his love. Stay obedient to God. If you become disobedient to God, you can never expect God to bless, although he might, you can never expect him to bless. But if you are obedient to God, you can expect him to bless because he keeps his promises. That's the way God works.

So the very first benefit is the special affection you receive from God. You're able to sense the love of God, see the love of God, recognize the love of God. There is an intimacy that you have with God that far surpasses those who give legalistically or grudgingly or bitterly, not joyfully. And that's a benefit. That's a blessing that God gives to you, which is a unique and special blessing because it helps us understand exactly what God wants to do in our hearts. God is overjoyed, thrilled, beyond anything we can ever imagine because he says, God loves a cheerful giver.

Number two, not only is there a special affection, but with that special affection leads to a stupendous benefaction, a stupendous and extravagant, a breathtaking, a staggering generosity gift from God.

It says, and God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed. Wow. This is a stupendous, this is an extraordinary gift, generosity, benefaction that we receive because of a special affection that God has for those who give joyfully. He says, God is able, very important. Why? Because what good is it for me to promise you? If you do this, I'll give you a million dollars. If I don't have a million dollars, I can't do that, right?

I can't promise you a new car. If I can't buy you a new car, see, I'm not able to do that. God is able, same phrase used by Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, O king, our God is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace. In other words, it speaks of God's all powerful ability to do whatever he wants to do. What good is it for God to make a promise that says, if you, if you sow bountifully, you will reap bountifully. If he doesn't have the power and the resources to pull it off, but he does. Why? Because he owns everything.

He has all the resources plus all the power because God is able, it's used throughout scripture to speak of God's irresistible power, God's strong power, his power without limits, his power that's incomprehensible, incomparable and sovereign. In other words, it was said of Abraham in Romans chapter four and being fully assured that what God had promised he was able to perform. In other words, Abraham believed, although he had never seen or heard of a resurrection, he could take his son up on top of Mount Moriah and slay his son, believing in the promises of God because he was able to perform those things.

Although he had never seen those things, that's what it means to understand God's ability that God is able to do this. So therefore, because God is able, I trust his power. I trust his promises. And this in context is particularly talking about earthly possessions. It doesn't mean that God's going to give you a whole bunch of stuff so that you can just store it up in your house and collect it. No, the reason God gives you more so that you will give more of it away. You don't get it to keep it, you get it to give it away.

You just keep giving more and more away. That's what God wants you to do. And that's what those who want to give do. They don't want to give so they get to hoard it. They want to give in order to get that they might give it away again and give even more away because they want to honor the true and living God. No, that's what he says. He says, and God is able to make all grace abound to you, said always having all sufficiency in everything. That was the word used by the Stoics to speak about how they were able through their own self-will to obtain happiness and contentment.

Paul turns that around and uses it from this standpoint that God is so able to do what he's able to do that you will be sufficient. You will be content having all contentment because of what God does to supply all of your needs. You will be content because God's able to do that for you. Paul had learned contentment. He learned it very well. All of us as well must learn contentment. And then he uses two Old Testament passages. One he quotes, one he paraphrases. The one he quotes is from Psalm 112.

The one he paraphrases is from Isaiah 55. So he says this. He says, having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed, as it is written from Psalm 112, verse number nine, he scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, his righteousness endures forever. And that's speaking of the godly man in Psalm 112. In Psalm 112, it says he has given freely to the poor, his righteousness endures forever. His horn will be exalted in honor. And horns always in the Old Testament represent, they're taken from animals, to represent power and prosperity.

And the godly man who freely gives to the poor, the godly man who truly scatters his riches, his horn, his power will grow for the glory and honor of the living God. That's a powerful statement. So Paul will take you back to the godly man's picture in Psalm 112 to show you that this is what the godly man does. And this godly man, because of a special affection given from the father, has a stupendous benefaction from the father because of the affection. The father has for him. Very unique. And then he quotes or paraphrases from Isaiah chapter 55, verse number 10, I'm sorry, Isaiah 55, verse, yeah, number 10, which is verse 10 of 2 Corinthians chapter nine, he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

So in other words, if you're sowing seeds for God's kingdom, you will reap the benefits of God's kingdom. Because that's what God promises. So that you in turn will continue to be able to not only increase your harvest of righteousness, but to have the ability to provide for those who have needs. And so Paul is addressing the Corinthian church to help them to understand, look, there's a church in need here, the Jerusalem church, and you have an opportunity to meet that need. And when you do so joyfully, there's a special affection you receive from God because he loves a cheerful giver.

On top of that, there is a stupendous benefaction that you receive from a God who is able to do, as Paul would say in Ephesians 3, exceeding abundantly above all that you can ask or think according to the power that works within you. God is great. On top of that, remember God said, if you honor me with the first fruits of your increase, your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.

That's a promise. Okay. That's not a principle. That's a promise. If you honor me with the first fruits of your increase, your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.

And that's what Jesus said in Luke 6 38. You give, and it shall be given unto you. By your standard of measure, it will be measured back to you. So if you, if your standard of measure is a little bit, it'll be given back to you in a little bit. But if your measure of standard is huge, it will be given back to you in huge proportions. That's very important because it's a promise that God has made. And either we believe that or we don't. So Paul says, not only is there a special affection you receive, not only is there a stupendous benefaction that you receive, but there's also a supreme glorification that takes place.

He says this, he says, verse 11, you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing Thanksgiving to God for the ministry of this service. What's the ministry of the service. What's the ministry. The ministry is a giving ministry. The service is a giving service. Paul says, when you give for this purpose, it is a ministry. It is a service. It's a priestly service that you and you engage in for the ministry of services, not only fully supplying, it's a double intensive in the Greek.

It's, it's over the top intensifying and supplying. So not only is this ministry of service, not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many Thanksgivings to God because of the proof given by this ministry there. They will glorify God, a supreme glorification. This is so good. Why? Because what's happening is that the worship entailed by those who receive it are now going to worship God and in their worship of God, they're going to glorify his name. Why? Because there is, as he says, proof given by this ministry, this ministry of services, giving ministry is a service ministry, but it's also a proving ministry.

What are you proving to the Jerusalem church? You are proving to them the genuineness of saving grace that you truly love the Lord, that you've truly been born again. There is proof here in your giving in your generosity that yes, you, this ministry is from the Lord because you know the Lord. This is not something you're doing grudgingly. This is not something you're doing half-heartedly. This is something you're doing passionately, joyfully because you love the Lord. And when you do it that way, God returns the blessing in a unique and special way.

And what he does is he puts himself on display through your actions because we then as a church will give thanksgiving to God, worship his name and glorify him because this ministry of service is proof that you know the Lord and we glorify him with you because of the genuineness of your salvation. That's powerful. You know, we give all the time to churches in Russia, churches in Argentina, because we love the Lord. We're not giving it to get some kind of kudos in heaven. That's not the point behind all that.

We do it because we love them and we want to come alongside of them. We want to serve them and help them in any way possible. And how do they know we love them and love the Lord? Because we just keep giving and giving and giving to the ministry of the saints that are in need. They have nothing compared to what we have, nothing, not even close. So when we demonstrate our love to them, not just in word and in tongue, but actually indeed in the truth, as 1st John 3, 17 and 18 says, we give to them because we love the Lord.

Paul is telling the Corinthian church, you're proving the genuineness of this ministry. You're proving the genuineness of your heart because this is a supreme glorification of God. It magnifies his name. It shows everybody how committed you are to the King. So Paul says, there is this special affection because God loves that you're a forgiver. There is this stupendous benefaction because with it comes the reaping bountifully, extravagantly. And with that then comes a supreme glorification because God is magnified and put on display.

And with that, then number three comes a significant association. That is you obtain friends. Look what he says. He says, because the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all. You see the liberality of your contribution is proof that you are truly confessors of the gospel of Christ. Did you know that your giving patterns are proof of genuine conversion? How many times have you ever thought about that?

How you give proves the genuineness of your conversion. How you understand the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ. How you understand Christmas and the beauty of this season, which speaks to nothing but giving. That's why when the Magi came, they gave the best of what they had because they understood the one they adored was the King of Kings. But there is in verse 14, while they also by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. In other words, your giving and the liberality behind all that giving allows you to have a significant association with people you don't even know, but they will pray for you.

They will yearn for you. They will pray for you. And what greater blessing is there to have than to have another Saint praying for you on a regular basis, bringing you before the throne of grace, lifting you before God that God would protect and honor and take care of you and watch over you. There is a significant association that now you have with a group of body. We have a significant association with the church in Russia, church in Argentina, the church in Myanmar, even though we've never been there.

We have a significant association with those believers because of the liberality of our giving to their needs, that they would be supplied in abundance so they could continue the ministry. And as we pray for them, they pray for us. And one day we'll be in heaven together to glorify the name of God together. You see, you don't give to get friends, but when you give, you always get friends. Did you know that? You can't give to get friends. That's manipulation. But when you give, you always receive new friends because you give secretly, you give anonymously, right?

No one knows what you give, how much you give, but you give to meet the need. And all of a sudden people begin to pray, support, yearn for you. And that's a special affection that God bestows upon those, a significant association with other brothers and sisters in Christ. And then lastly, it's this, a sublime identification. Verse 15, thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. What's the gift? The gift is Jesus Christ, our Lord, right? That's the gift that's indescribable. That's the gift that's incomprehensible, unspeakable.

But you see, Paul throws this in here. Why? Because what you're doing is identifying with the one who gave everything voluntarily, sacrificially, joyfully, willingly for your sake. Thanks be unto God for his indescribable gift. He throws that in there because he wants you to understand that in your giving patterns, what you are doing is identifying with the one who gave his all. That's why Paul says in Ephesians 5, 1, be imitators of Christ, walk in love, right? And he describes that walking in love this way in Ephesians 5, verse number 2, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us and offering the sacrifice of God as a fragrant aroma.

So he points to the sacrifice of God as walking in love, because no better way to demonstrate your love than to sacrifice on behalf of the one who sacrificed for you. So now Paul throws this illustration in to show you that when you do this, the reason there's a special affection is because there truly is a sublime identification. When you give joyfully, you are identifying with the God who joyfully gave his only begotten son for you. That's why there's a special affection. You're identifying with the living God.

You're identifying with the living God at the highest level, because you're giving freely, you're giving sacrificially, you're giving joyfully, you're demonstrating true love and affection. And God says, when you're like me, there's a special affection I'm going to bestow upon you because I want you just like me, just like me.

Can't see the clock, so I don't know what time it is. But I'm going to close with this. Turn back with me if you would in your Bible to 1 Kings chapter 17. 1 Kings chapter 17, Elijah burst on the scene. If you're with us on our study of Elijah, you know a little bit about this man. And God tells him what to say. God tells him what to do. He does it. He obeys. God tells him to camp by the brook Carith. He does that. The ravens come and feed him, provide for him. And God tells him to move. Now the context is there's a famine in the land.

There's a famine in the land because God said there wasn't going to be any more rain. No more rain, no more dew, no more moisture. It was a punishment upon Israel for their idolatry and following King Ahab and Jezebel. And so God calls Elijah on the scene to make the announcement there's not going to be any rain. Neither dew nor rain these years except by my word. Now we don't know how long it's going to be in 1 Kings 17, but I'm going to tell us. We know from the New Testament that's three and a half years.

Okay. Elijah didn't even know how long it was going to be. He just said it's not going to be any rain. Famine in the land. Famine grows severe. About a year later, God moves him. God moves him to Zarephath for there's a widow in Zarephath. Okay. And so verse 8, the word of the Lord came to him saying, Arise, go to Zarephath which belongs to Sidon and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you. Really? A pagan Gentile woman to provide for Elijah the prophet? So he arose and went to Zarephath.

And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called her and said, Please get me a little water in a jar that I may drink. She was going to get it. He called her and said, Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand. But she said, As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and little oil in the jar. And behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son that we may eat and that we may die.

Elijah says, Could you give me a piece of bread? I don't have any bread. I have some flour, some oil, but I only have enough for me and my son. And once we cook this, eat this, we're going to die. We have nothing else. It's all we have. Elijah said to her, Do not fear. Easy for Elijah to say. Do not fear. Go do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first.

A little selfish, Elijah. It's because you're a prophet of God. Why do you have to have it first? And bring it out to me. And afterwards you may make one for yourself and for your son. First things first.

You've got to honor the representative of God before you honor yourself. I might sound a little selfish on Elijah's part, but remember, the word of the Lord came to him. This is from the word of the Lord. It says in verse number 16, the bowl of flour, it says according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke through Elijah. In other words, God told Elijah exactly what to say. All she had to do was what? Obey. That's it. Verse 14, For thus says the Lord God of Israel, The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.

Wow. Make me a piece of bread first. Then you go and make you and your son a piece of bread because thus says the Lord, you will have enough flour, enough meal. You will have enough oil until it rains again. Now no one knows how long it's going to be till it rains again. Nobody knows. So she went and did according to the word of Elijah and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bowl of flour was not exhausted, nor did the jar of oil become empty according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke through Elijah.

Now, could God have given her greenery filled with flour? Sure. Could've done that. But why didn't he do that? So much better to give the woman a greenery filled with flour and jars filled with oil than to replenish it every single day. But if he did that, everybody would know. And the famine was a judgment upon Israel. And that famine would no longer be a famine if they knew where to get greenery, get food, get flour, right? They'd rob the woman. They'd riot her. They might even kill her. God wasn't going to let that happen.

Ahab would know then where Elijah was. Elijah was the most wanted man in Israel. So God was going to protect Elijah and the woman amidst the providence concerning the famine by demonstrating his power every single day. So every day she got up, there was flour and oil, flour and oil, flour and oil. God replenished it every single day because she had the trust of every single day. And she learned to do that. Elijah said, I need you to give me everything you got. She goes, if I do that, I'm going to die anyway.

If I just won't give it to you, I'm going to die anyway. No, no, you're not going to die. Because the word of the Lord said this. God says to you, give, give.

Say, I don't have enough, enough flour. I don't have enough. I can't give. God says, give. It shall be given unto you. Are you going to obey or not obey? Are you going to obey? You got the woman, the widow in Zarephath who had nothing. And Elijah says, give it to me. Give it to me. Watch what God will do for you. But give it to me because in giving it to me, you're giving it to God. And God blessed her immensely. Did he not? She survived the famine. But that was just the beginning because the next paragraph, her only son dies.

Remember that? And she's like, wow, you let me live this long and now you take my son? Oh no. See, God was doing a great work. God was preparing her to trust him day after day after day for daily provisions. That's why when God says, when you pray, pray this way, give us our daily bread, right?

Help us to trust you every single day for the provisions that we need. Because as you trust him day by day by day, when those tragedies hit you, like they did the widow of Zarephath with her son dying, you do not become distraught. You know where to go. You know who to appeal to. And she did. She went to Elijah. Elijah raised her son from the dead and she knew that Elijah's God was the only true God. We have not even begun to see in your life in a month what God can do to those who give his way. My challenge to you, my challenge to me, to us as a church is just to simply do what God says.

Either we're going to believe his promises or we're not, right? If the widow did not believe what Elijah told her, she would have died. She would have simply died. But instead she believed in the proudness of God, demonstrated the power of God and provided every need that she had. He did exceeding abundantly above all that she could ever even imagine. When Elijah raised her son from the dead. God wants to do in your life that kind of thing. He says, will you trust me? Will you believe my promises knowing that I am able to do this?

We have missed out on a special affection from God because we withheld from him. We robbed God thinking that we know better for our lives. And we've missed out on a stupendous benefaction from him because we have held back from him. God wants to bless immensely your life. He does. I firmly believe that. It doesn't mean you're going to live in luxurious homes down in Laguna Beach and drive a Mercedes Benz or a BMW to work every day or not even have to go to work anymore because you have all this money.

That's not the point. The point is just simply God saying, will you believe me and trust me? Obey me and watch what I will do for you. I will take care of you. I will provide for you. Keep your priorities straight. Seek me first, honor me first, glorify my name and see what happens.

Watch what I will do. And that's where all of us need to be. Let me pray with you. Father, we thank you for this glorious day, the opportunity we have to celebrate you, because that's truly what we're here for. Celebration of Christ. Our prayer is that as we go into this great season of Christmas, that we would see and understand the blessings and the benefits of giving. Because when you came, you gave your life away. And the fruit that you bore from that sacrifice is immense. And so you show to us, Lord, by your own life, the blessings of giving.

May we be just like you. In Jesus name, Amen.