MAY 2013 THE DIMENSION OF EXTRAORDINARY GIVING

Pastor Ambrose Nyangao

The Story

The widow of Zarephath was experiencing challenging times as the famine in the land progressed. Her resources were dwindling by the day. Her son was becoming weaker and weaker. She had prayed but it seemed as though God was far away. Where was the God of Israel? What wrong had she done to deserve this?

Yes, she had heard that the man of God, Elijah, had spoken that there would be famine in the land. Why did she have to suffer? The day reached when she knew that this was her last day on earth. Yet, deep down, she had a feeling, that God would not fail her.

As she walked out of the house, Elijah, the man of God was standing before her. What he said was too much for her. She uttered these words, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I a may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die. [I Kings 17:12 NKJV]”

What she did not know was that God had already placed a divine command upon her that would enable her to feed the man of God and her household. God had already supplied to her what to give to the prophet. God had given to her generously. God’s giving would not be interrupted by any negative situation in her life. This is what we call extraordinary giving. This is the kind of extraordinary dimension that God has before you. You better believe it by faith and take Him at His word.

The story ends on this fashion, “So she went away and did ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF ELIJAH; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF THE LORD which He spoke by Elijah. [I Kings 17:15-16 NKJV]”

The Word

Psa 24:1-2—The earth is the LORD’S and all its fullnessPsa 23:1—The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not be in wantI Tim 6:17—The Living God gives us richly all things to enjoyProv 3:9-10—Honor the LORD with your substance and with the firstfruits of your produce, then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will burst with wine

Lk 6:38—Give and it shall be given to you a good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over, shall men give into your bosomJohn 10:10—I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantlyJohn 3:16—God so loved the world that He gave His one and only SonI Cor 3:21—Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours

Phil 4:19—My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ JesusDeut 8:18—the LORD has given you the ability to make wealthMt 6:33—Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you

The Declarations

We decree and declare that the Living God is our ultimate Source. In Him we live and move and have our being. He is our first priority. As we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these other things that we need are added to us

We decree and declare that our sustenance is of the LORD. He created us for Himself. He has provided for us all that we need for life and godliness. In Him all our sins are forgiven. In Him all our sicknesses are healed. In Him we are redeemed from the pit. In Him we are crowned with good things. In Him our youth is renewed like the eagle’s

We decree and declare that we have no need to worry. Life does not consist on what we have or do not have. Our life finds its source in God. He uses various channels to meet our needs. He has given to us principles that open doors for our provision. When we give it is given to us a good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over.

We decree and declare that our tithes belong to God and we bring them to Him. We watch with expectation as He opens the floodgates of heaven and pours out a blessing upon us that we cannot contain. He rebukes the devourer for our sake. We shall not withhold the tithe from the LORD

We decree and declare that we shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. We shall give of our time, talents and treasures. We shall be faithful stewards of what God has given to us. We shall manage what we have been given well. We shall not be greedy. We shall not be wasteful. We shall not be envious of those who do not fear the LORD and yet prosper. Our prosperity is from the Kingdom dimension and not the earthly dimension. We stand in faith for God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

We decree and declare that we shall glorify God with all that He has given us. Our allegiance is to Him and Him alone. We are amply supplied by the Living God. We ask and it is given to us. We seek and we find. We knock and the door is opened to us. We shall walk humbly before our God for He has done great things for us and through us.

The Reflections

It is in God’s nature to supply and provide for all our needs—HE IS THE DIVINE SOURCEIt is in God’s plan to give us the keys of the Kingdom that open doors for our supply—HE IS THE DIVINE GIVERIt is in God’s grace to give us all things to enjoy—HE IS THE DIVINE SUFFICIENCYGod is generous and seeks not to take from us, but to give to us. We must become as generous as He is

We should never focus on things. Our focus should be on God. Delight in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.

God’s greatest gift is that of His Son. We must receive His Son to enjoy our inheritance in God. Jesus Christ is the sole owner of all that God has. We are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ

We must learn to be content placing our trust fully on the Living God. He never fails. He comes in time. He knows our needs better than we do

We must engage the Kingdom principles of provision. We must tithe. We must give to the work of God. We must give to the poor. We must give as we have made up our minds. We must give cheerfully. We must give generously. We must give willingly. We must plan our giving. We must give continually. We must expect a harvest. We must be faithful stewards of the resources that God gives to us

The Prayer

Heavenly Father, we rejoice that in you we have all that we need for life and godliness. We look up to you and our faith is connected to you. Indeed you are our Shepherd and we shall lack no good thing. We delight in you. We trust in you. We commit our life to you. We wait upon you. We are indeed blessed to be a blessing. Thank you for the extraordinary dimension of giving.

AMEN AND AMEN!!