SECRET OF THE HUNDRED FOLD

SECRET OF THE HUNDRED FOLD  

2 Cor. 8:1-5
“Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; how that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord and unto us by the will of God.”
 1.    The first thing in sowing your seed is to give yourself first.
God is more interested in you than he is in your money. Paul said concerning the Corinthians who sowed: they planted their seed and were going to reap abundantly from God. They were the same people he spoke of in Phil. 4:19; 

  “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”  

You see these people gave generously to the saints at Jerusalem because according to the prophecy of Agabus, there was going to be a famine and the famine was on at this particular time; particularly in Jerusalem and the gentile churches began to send succour to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. In Philippians chapter four, they also gave to the man of God for which reason, Paul told them, “God will supply all your needs.”

Some of these people received great promises from Apostle Paul that they were going to be blessed as givers. However, the first thing they did was that they gave themselves. Give yourself to the Lord. Get born again if you are not born again. And if you are born again, surrender yourself. 

Your money cannot take your place. God needs you first. Of course, he needs your money for his work, but he needs you first. God is more interested in you than in your money. So give yourself. 
 

2.    Give thoughtfully.  

According to 2 Cor. 9:7; God wants you to give thoughtfully. Know what you are doing. At times, people will whip up a lot of sentiments and emotions and will ask you to sow. In the euphoria of the moment you sow and most times receive no harvest. Be deliberate and very reasonable. Don’t give emotionally. 
 

3.    Give willingly. 

Don’t give reluctantly. 2 Cor. 8:12-13 says to give not of necessity. The word necessity here is more accurately interpreted or translated compulsively. God does not want anybody to give under compulsion. That is why some people are not getting anything out of their tithes. It’s because they are tithing the Old Testament way. They tithe for fear of being cursed otherwise. Don’t give with that type of spirit in the New Testament. God wants you to give willingly.

4.    Give Cheerfully. 

The bible says in 2 Cor. 9:7; God loves a cheerful giver. He loves an excited giver. That’s the kind of giving God wants you to do.

5.    Give Commensurately. 

According to 2 Cor. 8:12; God does not tell you to give what you don’t have. That’s why if somebody stands up and he tells you something like if you sow anything below one thousand naira there is no harvest for you that is a lie. It depends on what you have. 

So never feel bad when some people are giving millions or they are giving a hundred thousand or they are giving fifty thousand or they are giving ten thousand and you cannot afford it. God will never ask you to give what you cannot afford. He will only ask you to give what you can afford. He respects what you can afford, He honours what you can afford and he will bless you for what you can afford. 

6.    Give Expectantly. 

To give expectantly or to give by faith means to give believing a harvest will follow. So when I give, I should give expecting that God will bring a harvest into my life. I am to give in faith. (Heb 11:4)

7.    Give lovingly. 

My motive for giving should be for the sake of Jesus and the gospel. Look at the reason why God gave in Jn. 3:16. God’s own giving was not just because He wanted our harvest, but the original motive for his giving was because He so loved the world. Do you love Jesus? Do you love to see the gospel of Jesus Christ get on television; would you like to see it get on radio?

There are principles to giving. The secret to the hundred fold harvest lies in these principles.