THE MYSTERY OF SACRIFICIAL GIVING
Message by Pastor Henry Arikpo

Text:

2 Samuel 24:24 “And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel”

Psalms 126:4-6 “Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. 5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

A lot of us have heard this message, but there is need to remind ourselves once again so that those of us who have not been giving sacrificially will change our attitude and those of us that have been doing it will remain blessed by God.

Are you giving something to God that does not cost you anything? From the passage, we see that David choose to give God what will cost him a fortune.
Giving attracts prosperity especially when it’s sacrificial. A sacrifice is a giving that will cause you great pain. It honors God and causes Him to bless you in an extra-ordinary manner.

Sacrificial givers occupy a good spot in God’s heart. Sacrificial giving is giving what cost you a great deal. Such givers will experience prosperity beyond comprehension. No mortal man can comprehend the mystery of sacrificial giving - your prosperity will defy human logic. The amount of prosperity God will give you will exceed human calculation.

God cannot watch a sacrificial giver go poor. He will release all his riches till poverty dies in such life.
In Genesis 8:18-22 God changed his mind towards the earth because of what Noah gave – a sacrifice.

What is sacrifice?

1. The act of giving something important to man or God.
The Bible tells us that “the gift of a man maketh a way for him”. The devil cannot give something freely but our God can give anything free of charge without demanding anything from us. But all he needs from us is to ‘give back’

Giving must be done with compulsion. We give because we love the Lord. When we give the way we are expected to give, God will visit us in a special way.
When you read the Bible, the widow of Zeraphath was to eat her last meal. Elijah greeted her; Good day Madam. Elijah said: get me water, the woman said ah, ok. As she went, he added; and a meal. The woman said: I am going to prepare my last meal to eat with my son so we would die thereafter. Elijah said prepare for me first, you will not die. Your food will never finish. The woman obeyed and her supplies never ran dry.

2. Giving provokes blessing. 2 Kings 4:8-17, Proverbs 28:27, Luke 3:11, Matthew 5:42.
There something I heard while I was in Lagos. An old man, a stranger, was passing by a store where he demanded water from the store keeper, a woman. The woman gave him. He demanded for food, the woman gave him. Then the old man asked the woman; please send your child to remove the plates. The woman said I have no child. Very sympathetic,  after 20 years of marriage. The old man said, by this time next year, you will have a child. Exactly one year later, the woman conceived and had a child. This is what giving can do.
In Luke Chapter 6:38, the Bible commanded us to give. Note that it was not an advice. When you refrain from giving, you will remain in poverty

All the scriptures above are saying one thing: give and get, keep and lose.

Some facts about giving.

1. The hand that gives will gather.
2. Trying to cheat God is a bad economy.
3. Two qualities make a Christian stand out - giving and forgiving.
4. What you give lives on even when you die.
5. Giving is God's medicine to cure greed. If you don’t want to give to the church, better go and look for God where He is and give to Him
7. Your uncommon sowing will create an uncommon harvest for you
8. Giving is a divine attribute and those who give are God-like
9. If you are a lazy giver, you will be a lazy receiver
10. There are three kinds of givers (a) giving grudgingly (b) duty giving and (c) thanksgiving
11. If you want to change what you get, change what you give.
12. You have to sow before you get.
13. There is nobody in the Bible who gave and did not receive more than what he/she gave.
14. One reason for poverty is stinginess.
15. Giving is not a contribution but an eternal investment

Roman 12:1 is one key scripture every believer should take to heart. It says “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” It talks about giving your life and body to God as a sacrifice. This is the most acceptable sacrifice we all need to offer. In Mathew 27:3-4 money destroyed Judas Iscariot, do not let it destroy you. Give today and be blessed.

Prayers
1. My father my God, re-arrange my life and turn it to your covenant
2. Lord Jesus purge out of my life every habit of the old man
3. My father restore me to my glorious destiny