More Principles For Giving by Grace

1Ki 17:8  Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
1Ki 17:9  “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
1Ki 17:10  So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.”
1Ki 17:11  As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”
1Ki 17:12  But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.”
1Ki 17:13  Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son.
1Ki 17:14  “For thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth.'”
1Ki 17:15  So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days.
1Ki 17:16  The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah.

2Co 9:5  So I thought it necessary to urge the brethren that they would go on ahead to you and arrange beforehand your previously promised bountiful gift, so that the same would be ready as a bountiful gift and not affected by covetousness.
2Co 9:6  Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
2Co 9:7  Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2Co 9:8  And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;
2Co 9:9  as it is written, “HE SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER.”
2Co 9:10  Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness;
2Co 9:11  you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.
2Co 9:12  For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.
2Co 9:13  Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all,
2Co 9:14  while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you.
2Co 9:15  Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

Transforming Power Statements:

1) As we go through this life as being those who believe in Christ Jesus, we must realize that just as God provided for the widow to support Elijah according to the word of the LORD, He is still able also, to provide for us if we support the things He has made important, and learn to be generous toward God’s Gospel program as well as those who represent Him.

2) As we can also see, the teaching of the Apostle Paul is clear that there is no prescribed set amount, but God oversees the intentions of the heart as we learn to practice good stewardship toward the things of the Kingdom, in our support of the progress of the Gospel.

3) As we have taken this time to study what it means to be a good steward toward the things of God, let us pray about what we each can do to utilize the things we have had allotted to our accounts, realizing that as Paul has said, God is able to cause great things to abound to our accounts; things we have never imagined!