Sermons
Excel in Grace Giving


God could have asked anyone to provide for Elijah, but He chose to test the faith of both His prophet and a widow—a Gentile Phoenician woman who worshipped Baal. Because of her worship and the judgment Elijah declared on Ahab, King of Israel, and Jezebel, no rain fell for three and a half years. During this time, God sent ravens to bring bread and food to Elijah and used a widow with nothing to show His glory through His power and miracles. This act of provision strengthened Elijah’s faith that God would meet the needs of His servant and ministry through His people, while revealing to those unfamiliar with the one true God—Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Creator and Sustainer—that He alone is God, and the false gods they trusted had no power, leading her to believe in Him. Just as God, through Elijah, told the widow to give to the man of God “first,” regardless of her circumstances, and trust Him, so today God asks us to trust Him with our finances and give to Him first, knowing He will abundantly bless and provide for all our needs, Proverbs 3:9,10.  

Under the Old Covenant, not everyone was required to pay tithes. This included (weavers, fisherman, merchants, carpenters, masons, and others). Only those who were farmers or were herdsman. The Levitical tithe was the first and most fundamental, given to the Levites, who were set apart for religious service and did not receive a land inheritance in Canaan (Numbers 18:21-24; Leviticus 27:30-33). The Levites, in turn, offered a tithe of the tithe to the priests, ensuring ongoing support for those serving in spiritual leadership and worship (Numbers 18:26-28). The festival tithe, also called the pilgrimage tithe, was set aside to fund religious feasts and pilgrimages to the central sanctuary, later Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 14:22-27). The third tithe was collected every third year and dedicated to supporting the Levites, sojourners, orphans, and widows in local towns (Deuteronomy 14:28-29; 26:12-15).

In the New Covenant, giving has been perfected, and all are commanded to give through the local church on the first day of the week, I Corinthians 16:1,2. This giving is to be as God prospers, increases, and blesses, planned and prepared, not given grudgingly or out of compulsion, but with an attitude of worship motivated by God’s love shown on the Cross, where He sacrificed and gave His very best—His precious life. This offering continues the principle from the Old Testament, where Israel was commanded to give their “first fruits,” the best of the harvest, first to the Lord, accompanied by a promise of blessing and provision. We now continue this by giving God our time, talent, and treasure, offering Him our “first fruits.” The Bible also teaches the law of reciprocity, “sowing and reaping”: those who sow sparingly will reap sparingly, but those who sow abundantly will reap abundantly from God (II Corinthians 9:6).
 
God stated that giving would supply both the sower and those who received the seed, with a promise of providing all our needs through the riches in Christ, for every good work. The Bible also teaches that giving is a ministry and proof of our salvation in the Lord Jesus, because it bears fruit and shows faith in action, as noted in II Corinthians 9:13 (II Corinthians 9:8-15). Furthermore, it says we are to lay up treasure in heaven, not on earth where things are temporary and will perish, gaining an eternal perspective through our giving, time, and service. The Bible also says that if we seek the kingdom of God (FIRST) and His righteousness, all these things will be added to us, Matthew 6:20,21, Matthew 6:33.