Giving: The Divine Plan
Part 1: The Widow's Mite
Living in God's Divine Economic Plan
Sunday October 6, 2024 - Pastor Wungreiso Valui
Mark 12:41-44
This series offers a spiritual perspective on tithing, offering, giving, and generosity.
Story: Mark 12:41-44 (NKJV) "Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."
Focus: The widow's offering teaches that true generosity is measured by the heart and sacrifice, not the amount given.
The Principle of Giving: In Malachi 3, God says, "Try Me on this."
Malachi 3:10 (NKJV): "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it."
Malachi's Call to Tithe (Malachi 3:8-10):
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, 'If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it." (Malachi 3:8-10, NKJV)
God's Divine Economic Plan: This plan included-
- 1. Support for the Priests and Levites:(Numbers 18:21-24).
- 2. Provision for the Poor, Widows, and Orphans:(Deuteronomy 14:28-29).
- 3. The Sabbatical Year and Jubilee (Leviticus 25)
How God Takes Care of Us When We Cheerfully Give to Him
Jesus said in Luke 6:38, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."
God First: Seek First The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.
"You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes." - Haggai 1:6 (NKJV)
Application: Encourage believers to give from the heart, recognizing that God values the willingness and sacrifice behind the gift more than the size of the gift.
Question: What does sacrificial giving look like in your life? How can you give in a way that genuinely reflects your trust in God?