Transcript: The Blessing of Giving Part 2

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This message is from believers equipped, a meeting organized by the Disciples Christian Network where the word of God is taught with practicality and believers are raised to reign in life. Join apostle Emmanuel as he walks us through the word of God. Father, we give you praise, give you honor, give you adoration, Accept our worship. Accept our thanks. Accept our praises. In the name of Jesus. Break the burden that our eyes will hold on. Minister to the deepest part of our hearts. Let the sick be healed. Let your prayers be delivered.

And let every expectation be met. In the name of Jesus. In Jesus' name, we would pray. Have your seat in God's presence. The temptation to worship God is one that I usually struggle to resist because I have quite a lot to do today, and it was my intention to just come and get straight into the world. It's almost not possible to not give God reverence, not give God worship. I have two assignments today. I'm going to I'm going to be completing very fast what I started sharing with us on Sunday. I'm gonna complete it, then I'm gonna start another teaching, which is for today. It's gonna be an introduction, really.

An introduction is gonna be a two part series. I'll be introducing it today and then continuing next week Tuesday. It is a burden that the Lord put in my heart. There is such an outburst of revelation that I usually would struggle to select what to come and communicate. But thank God for wisdom. Glory to God. Amen. So I was teaching you on Sunday on the blessings of giving, right? Yes sir. And I was attempting to make you understand the subject of giving from God's perspective.

Glory to God. Amen. From God's perspective. And I'm going to quickly finish that teaching now, and then we'll proceed to what I wanna share with us today. So if you remember on Sunday, we're talking about the four dimensions of mindset that believers can have, and we said that it is possible to have. Number one is what? These are the transactional believers. They usually frown every time you mention the subject of giving. It becomes an irritable conversation to them because they believe and their mindset is why should we be talking about giving? All these pastors want is just people's money.

Whereas if such people also find themselves in a place, such people find themselves in a place where a preacher is promising them a particular breakthrough for an amount of money they would not mind giving whatever it is they have at that point in exchange for the breakthrough. You see, it's it's a very unfortunate place to be, but it's a place where many believers are because of lack of maturity. Are you with me? Yes, sir. Because of what now? Lack of maturity. Lack of maturity. The second... So we have to grow. For many believers who are there, we have to grow out of that place ultimately to the fourth.

But there is also the second category of believers, which are the Corinthian mindset. Right? These ones are teachable. These ones want to give, but they just don't know how to go about it. So they are submitted to no one to learn, you see. And the third are the Philippians. These ones are givers. They see a need in the church, and they promptly respond to the needs of the church. And then you have the Macedonian mindset who give according to God's own heart, who give exactly how God has ordained that a man should give. They gave not only of their substance and their materials, but they gave of themselves to God and then to the apostles.

They were willing to serve. They didn't just give God substance. They were also willing to serve in the church. Are you with me? Sir. Offer themselves to serve in the house of God. And I said every believer needs to be taught into the Macedonian mindset. That's where you have to be. This is where you understand that giving has to be primarily your lifestyle. It has to be your habit.

It has to be something that you commit yourself into doing. It has to be something that you have sold your life into. And we spoke about the blessings of giving and why we have to give as believers, and that's where we stopped. Correct? Yes, sir. Yeah. I believe the last night mentioned was that giving strengthens the area of your covenant with God. Yes, sir. That even... That if God has promised you a thing, how you turn that promise into a covenant is through sacrifice, is through giving.

A giving that is sacrificial in nature. And how you strengthen your covenant with God is through consistent sacrifice, consistent giving. Now when a man begins to give and continues to give, there are many things that happen beyond what you are taught and beyond the basic knowledge that many people have. Giving is beyond the transaction. Are you with me? And I highlighted a lot of things that happen when we give. Do you remember that? Stop. Can some of us give... Can you can you still mention number one?

Is it that thing that we do now? Is it that thing that we do? If you wrote notes at leading student, what's number one? Number two? So for number one, I said that if because you have the nature of God, the bible said, let us create man in our own image. And so if you have the nature of God as a believer, it means that you respond to God, And you give because God gives. The bible says for God so loved the world that he gave, and God is love. And if we are after the likeness and the nature of God, then the way we also respond is also to give. And number two, I said that what? Eternal treasures.

Do not lay up yourself treasures on earth. Lay up yourself treasures in heaven. That the kind of life you would have for yourself after we leave this earth is predicated on your giving. Many people don't know this, but it is true. That many who appear to be first in church would go to heaven and they will be the last. And so many who would think are the last in church would go to heaven and they will be the first. This is... You know, I hope you know that Jesus never concerns himself with what is not eternal. Everything Jesus concerns himself with is what is eternal and what is dear to the heart of God. What matters in eternity.

Are you with me? And so to... When Jesus Christ stayed at the treasury and was watching how much everybody was given, it shows you that that heart is eternal in nature. That's why Jesus was interested in it. Do you understand what I'm sharing with you? Number three. That if you give and as you give, you are responding to the finished works of Christ. You are responding to your understanding that this thing is done. On the cross, you have become rich. On the cross, you have become blessed.

On the cross, you have prospered. You see, so it's a response really to knowing that I'm blessed. It's a response to knowing that I'm the prosperous of God. The bible says, God has given us every spiritual blessings in heavenly places. We have been given all things that pertains onto life and godliness. The bible says that he die, he became poor that we might become rich. And so the believer knows that I'm not going to be rich. I am rich. The same way you're not gonna be righteous. You are righteous.

That's the same way you're not gonna be rich. It is done on the cross. And your faith response to what has been done on the cross is given, is to give. If you believe you're prosperous, you'll give. If you believe you're successful, you're rich and wealthy in Christ Jesus, you give. Is that okay? Yes, sir. What's the next one? An act of worship. And I said because it's an act of worship, it determines a lot about how you give and what you give and the attitude you use in giving.

That the first people that gave in scripture gave an act of worship unto God. Not even necessarily because they were expecting anything in return. And because it is an act of worship, it has to be the best that you give. You remember that? It has to be the best that you give. You have to have that consciousness that if it ever leads me to go to God, it must always be the best. The offering time, it should never be a place where you are thoughtless and mindless. I showed you in scripture that the bible says that your offering to God must be mindful. You must be mindful of your offerings to God. You must think about it carefully and structurally.

You don't just come to church and it's time to give to God, and you just... You're thoughtless about it. You wanna dispose all your foolish notes. That no... Not even not even the man... The woman saying a car can collect from you. But you feel as though it's it's the house of God. It is dishonor to God. Are you with me? But you have to understand that the curse...

The bible says honor the Lord your God with your substance. It does... It tells you how to honor him. It it does not leave the system of honor to your own creativity. It says honor the Lord your God with. So don't decide how you want to honor him. So if a man says that we should not give, then how do you just oppose the fact that the bible say you should honor the lord your god with your substance? That is an act of worship. Do you know why it is important to honor the lord your god with your substance? Because that is the only thing that Jesus ever compares with god, not the devil.

The bible says you cannot serve two masters. It is either a man serves God or serves mammon. So every time you give, you're actually saying I worship good God. I serve God. I'm not mammon. Do you understand what trying to say? Every time you give, what you're saying is I serve God and not Mammon. Every time you find it difficult to give, what you're saying is I serve Mammon and not God. That's why one has to pace... Pave the way for the other.

It's an act of worship. Let's go. What's the next one? Joy. Right? Yes. What's the next one? Let me not stay on that. You understand that? Yes, sir.

What's the next one? Very good. What's the next one? You know the word that the bible says, the Lord shall author his voice from Zion. I think it's the book of Amos or Joel thereabout. The Lord shall author his voice from Zion. The word author there when you check the original word that was used is the word. It's also the word given. So it means that to give is to. To give is to speak.

So every time you give, every time you sow a seed, what happens? Yeah. The word there is the word is the word given. So every time you give, what happens is that you are speaking a language in the spirit. You're doing what now? Every time that you give. Every time that you give. Do you remember that battle where four kings gathered? And Elisha was hungry and would not prophesy. But because of Jehoshaphat and his very cordial relationship with Elisha, he chooses to forgive them for their atrophies and prophesies over them and tells them that they would win the battle.

They came to come and check with Elisha whether or not God is with them in that battle. And Elisha told them that God is with them. And you know Elisha is a major prophet? Told them that God is with them in that battle, and as they go on in that battle, God would go with them. That battle is theirs. He gave them all kinds of promises to ascertain that God is with them. They would go and they would defeat their enemies. And to even verify that what he was saying was true, he even gave a sign. He said there will be no rain. There will be no wind.

But the valleys will be filled with water. The wells will be filled with water. The ditches will be filled with water. How is that possible? That's a... And it happened exactly as the prophet said it. There was no rain, yet their valleys were filled with water. Imagine that that was the sign the prophet gave them, and they saw it exactly as the prophet gave them, then what was in the mind of those people as they are going for that battle? Surely, we have won. Yes, sir.

Yes, sir. But the Bible says that the king that they went to fight against saw that he could not prevail against the Israelites, and he tapped into a mystery. He took his firstborn son, slammed him against the wall, split his blood, and sacrificed him unto his God. And the bible says there was great indignation against Israel. Because whatever he did spoke a language. Whatever he did, did what now? And the sacrifice that the king gave was more than the sacrifice than those who commit to God give. And as that language spoke in the realm of the spirit, when Cain killed Abel and the blood of Abel touched the ground, God came and said, what have you done? Where is your brother? Am I my brother's keeper?

What have you done? Don't you know that the blood of your brother is crying to me in heaven and is crying for vengeance? Because that was a sacrifice. And the and the man that was shedding that blood did not... He just thought he was doing something. He did not know that that sacrifice would speak a language. And even though the man is not alive to come and speak for himself, the blood that has been shed can still cry vengeance. That was why David, when he sent... He didn't even send them. He just said, oh, how I wish that I would drink from the well of Bethlehem.

Then three of his strong men, three of his mighty men heard what he had said, and they pierced into the Philistine camp, fought their way through an entire army to fetch water for David from the Well Of Bethlehem. They fought their way back again through an entire camp. And when they came to David, there was blood all over them. Both their blood and the blood of the enemies they slaughtered. Blood dripping into the water. And they told David this was what you said you wanted to drink. And David said, this represents the sacrifice of men. I cannot drink this. This has to be offered out to God as a sacrifice. And what does he do?

He just poured it away. You will call it a waste. Heaven called it sacrifice. That's what he did. He poured it as they brought it like this. He just poured it. Those men would say, ah, all our effort. Yet heaven is saying wise man. Because seed speaks. Do you remember that woman that came and broke a jar of perfume before Jesus?

And everybody there on that table thought that they knew better ways to spend money than to give it. And Jesus told them, listen. You think you wanna give to the poor, the poor you will always have amongst you. Many of you are not givers. You are philanthropists. They are the... Are two different things. That one explained that? Giving... Listen.

Giving to advance the purposes of God and the purposes of the kingdom is different from giving to the poor. As a matter of fact, the devil does not mind you giving to the poor. What he minds is advancing the purposes of God. Advancing the purposes of the kingdom. That's what he has a problem with. So you might not be able to stop, and that also has benefit, actually. There's nothing wrong with that. But that should be second to your commitment to kingdom come. Because the mandate is thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth. And it is in heaven.

Anyways, so Jesus tells them that the poor you will always have amongst you. Always. Till Jesus come, there will always be poor people, but it don't have to be you. It don't have to be you because poverty is a choice. Many people don't believe what I'm saying, but poverty is a choice. Somebody can say, sir, but is it my is it my fault that I was born in a poor family? It's not your fault you were born in a poor family, but if you remain in a poor family, it's your fault. Because you're creating your future is your responsibility. Where you were born into, you might not have had control over it. But where you arrive hard, you have control over that.

Do you understand what I'm teaching you? Yeah. And so Jesus tells them, poor will always have amongst you. But because of what this woman has done, what she has done today would always serve as a memorial. In other words, the seed she gave, that sacrifice she gave will speak until Jesus returns. That everywhere the gospel is preached, her name too will already be mentioned because of the sacrifice that she gave. Do you realize that almost no other message is known about that woman, save for the fact that you gave something to Jesus? You can't really preach a sermon. Say that. What...

What's what's the next one? Let's be fast. So he strengthens the covenant with God. Right? Yes, sir. If you're an evangelist and you continue to give, you will find that that mandate becomes stronger as you give. Yes, sir. If you're a prophet and you continue to give, you'll find that that mandate becomes stronger as you give. If you're a business person and you continue to give, you find that that man that that man, they become stronger as you give. Is that okay?

There are two more I wanna show you, and then we start the teaching for today. Number 10. Giving is God's covenant principle for prosperity, for your prosperity. Wanna personalize it. Giving is God's covenant principle for my prosperity. Giving is what now? For my prosperity. Let's be very fast. Luke chapter six and verse 38. You see, the reason I'm teaching you this is not to call for a seat or to raise an offering.

We don't need anything. We are we are very blessed. You're ready to go? And I am also very blessed. The reason why this is being taught is so that you can prosper. So that you can come into the fullness of your inheritance in Christ. So that you can mature. That's the reason, so that, that's the reason why this is being taught. It's not because of the church. Mm-mm.

Mm-mm. Pastor Paul Enenche said that when they were building the Glory Dome, if they had known what would go into the building of the Glory Dome, they probably would not have embarked on the project. He said, it was when they plot... You know, they were not moving by feet. Was when they plunged into it that they started realizing the cost of the thing. Then they told themselves, we are already here. Let's let's keep on going. The man said that the amount that they were spending on the construction of the Glory Dome per month per month was greater than the entire tithe and offering of the church per year. The man said, my CFO is here. Ask him.

So the amount we are give... We spent per month was greater than the entire tithe and offering of the church. Per year. The amount they were spending in a month. So he now asked a question. He said, so who was giving? Were you the one? If your tithe and offering in a year could not build this church, That means if you decide not to give again, the church will stay stand. Sir. So if we tell you to give, it is not because the church needs it.

There will always be people, always, who God will raise to advance his purposes. Always. Yes, sir. If God has given a mandate, he... That mandate will not die. It will never lack help. Even if it means the stones of the ground, even if it means the birds of the hair, even if even if it means that angels themselves will vomit resources. But the mandate of God will not be incapacitated because some people refuse to give. When Nehemiah wanted to go and build the wall, it... The the the the resources needed to build the wall came from a pagan king who did not believe in God.

In the book of Hezra, the resources to build the temple came from a pagan king who didn't believe in God. The Cyruses and the Dariuses. God will always raise Cyruses and Dariuses again and again. If the people in the church refuse to commit themselves to kingdom assignment, don't you think for a moment that God's kingdom project will stop? It will not. It will not. If we announce today that we wanna get something, we will get it whether you give or you don't give. Yes, sir. Do you understand what I'm trying to say? I went to a church some time ago.

And as I got there, I went I went to pray on the mountain there, and it was a church service, and I joined the church service. And the prophet came up and said, look at our roof. Rain fell yesterday and took it off. You have to fix it before because it's raining season. That was sometimes last year. And imagine the amount they wanted to use to fix it. 350,000 naira. Right there, I gave the thing. These are things I never tell anybody because it's not for public announcement, because the reward is mine and mine alone. Right there.

Because such things are insults to some people. If I have got the money, why should they be announcing that kind of a thing? I'll be collecting offerings. They they went on to say that, and we just need every member here. I'm a mother. I do 1,000 naira. Every Sunday. And I sat down there and said, no. This is not how the kingdom of God advances. And I chose to set an example.

Glory to God. That was one of the pastors of the mountain. By the time the service was done, the prophet was speaking to me, and he said, all these prophets, you don't even know that these people understand principles. He said, well, I want to... He he was saying it in your bible, let me just say it in English for you. Then look at all these people praying. The reason their lives don't change even after many years of prayer is because they have not understood the the simple secret of honoring God. He said, look at everything that is in on this mountain. On that mountain, there was a huge school, a huge school. He said it was one lady in America that sent 150,000,000 to build the school.

He said, look at this prayer retreat. On that mountain, there was a huge prayer retreat. He said, well, one was one man in Canada that sent us 250,000,000 to build this place. And when I look at everybody in the church, none of them appears to be successful. Yet the prophet commands that more authority and power that politicians and governors and leaders would travel states to come and see him on the mountain. Yet you go to the church and you would see dilapidated Iran Boba. With people tying scarf, dirty scarf, contouring brown, sleeping on the mountain, praying against. And people like me will come once in a while, drop every tool you can drop. Carry grace and go back. The...

See, the the the the the... If the people with the man are foolish, God will send people like me. That's what I'm saying. But don't you think that because a man refuses to give, then the mandate of God's kingdom has stopped. One of my very interesting people messaged me some time ago and said, was talking to him and say, ah, apostle, I'm sorry I could not give my tithe. I could not pay my tithe for some time now. Did you notice I did not pay my... Did I notice you did? Did I notice you did? I'm too blessed to notice.

I I I... When I was telling someone what this... I've never heard that before in my life. The person now told me that, ah, sir, it's because in some churches, they have record oh. I said, I'm more aware. I am more than aware that people have record of who tithe and who don't tithe. I'm too blessed. Glory to God. There is nothing that we wanna do in this ministry that will not be done. It is a greater blessing when you are the one that does it.

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. That is the blessing. Whether it will not be done, that's a lie. That we need 20,000,000 naira and you can say, sir, I'm the one dropping this. That is the blessing. Do you understand what I'm saying? Yes, sir. That is the blessing. That is the blessing.

So to bring you to that point of massive wealth that there is nothing the kingdom ever needs, that we even announce some things will be an insult to you. To come and say, buy land that we need 20,000,000 naira right now, and you say, ah, apostle, I'm here. Why would you announce that? How would you announce that? How much is that amount of money? How much is that amount of money? Thank you, Lord Jesus. So I was saying that giving is what now? God's covenant principle for your prosperity. In Luke chapter six and verse 38, the bible says, can we read the first word together?

Shout it loud and clear. First. The first word. Give. This is why people fail exams. I'm telling you. I'm I'm telling you. And you are about to write exams for people who are This would mean that if this was an exam paper, have failed. Pay attention to instructions before you start writing exams. Read the instructions carefully.

That's the word of God for someone. Listen. Give. Listen. Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your bosom. Give, and it will be given to you. All prosperity in this kingdom begins with give, which means that everybody in this world has the capacity for wealth. That's the reason why it begins with give. Think about it like this.

If prosperity began with receive instead of give, then it means that you will be powerless to produce wealth until someone decided to contribute to your welfare. In other words, it would be rational for a man to blame his poor condition on the actions of men. He would say the reason I'm like this is because nobody has given to me, so I've not been able to receive. Afterward, the bible says receive. He can say the reason why I'm poor is because nobody has given to me. But the bible leaves the choice to either prosper or to be poor in your hands when he says give. It means prosperity is initiated in your life with the statement, give. You are the sole determiner of when you will activate your heavenly endowment to receive God's power to produce wealth. Someone can look at me and say, but I grew up in a poor family. I don't have anything to give, but you're wrong.

Everybody has something to give. Everybody. Do you remember the Macedonians? Yes, sir. Jesus does not say give money. He says give. Everyone has something to give. Everyone. Listen to me. If you underestimate your ability to give, you will undermine your capacity to receive.

The second part of this scripture is also very powerful. The second part says, for with the same measure that you use in giving. You see that? It will be measured back to you. Scriptures are just so beautiful. Jesus is the one teaching here, and he says he says with the same measure. Look, note that it. It doesn't say what you give will be given back to you. It says with the same measure that you give, it will be measured back to you. So Jesus is not saying, oh, you gave 10,000 naira.

10,000 naira will return back to you because that's the metrics people use. And we make this mistake a lot. Even if people say, oh, I I gave I gave 50,000 naira. I gave 500,000 naira. And before next month, I had... My 500,000 naira came back to me. That's not how it should come. Bishop David Oedepo came to Ibadan for a program. His friend's program in Ibadan. And whilst he was there, he gave a seat.

You know when you come for a meeting, you are supposed to be the one to receive honorarium. But he gave a seat. A very heavy seat. And the PA told bishop, as they were entering to the plane, that sir, sir, sir, someone just sent you 1,000,000,000 naira. He said, that's not my reward and enter the the helicopter. So that's not my reward. Enter the helicopter. I don't wanna mention the sum that came, but the sum came even before the Topper landed back at Otter. In hundreds of times, what was initially given. And the bishop said, now that looks more like it.

Because the man knows that it is not what you give, it's the measure with which you give. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. It's a different thing. And you have to understand it. Are you with me? Yes, sir. Jesus says with the same measure. In other words, this is a heart issue. That every time you give, there is a heart measurement of what you have given.

It is with that heart measurement that heaven apportions what comes back to you. Do you understand this? So it's like saying, if you give a teaspoon of rice, God gives you 10 teaspoons of gold. Do you get that? Not if you give a teaspoon of rice, you receive rice. It is just that the metrics of measurement was a teaspoon. And so because the metrics of measurement was a teaspoon, whatever comes back to you is measured with a teaspoon. Do you understand this? If you give a bucket of rice, God gives you 10 buckets of gold. Why am I saying 10?

And not one bucket because you cannot give God. When you sow a seed, what come back to you is never what you sowed. Even if sow one grain of mace. What you will get back is not one grain or one corn. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Do you understand what trying to say? Yes, sir. So so you should not expect that I used to give 10,000, 10,000. Nah.

Come on. They are still at a small level. That is not the reward for what was sown. Many a times, the reward for what we give does not come immediately. That thing that thing that came immediately was just consolation. That's not the reward. What is happening many a times is that the the the cloud is gathering. The cloud is gathering. When the harvest of what we have sown comes, it's more than what we sowed. Because what we use in measuring it is not what you sowed.

It's the heart that's... It's the it's the heart that sowed it. And so if all I have in my hand right now is 50,000 naira, that is my salary for the month of January. And the holy spirit tells me you have to give it as a false foot unto me. It will be unfair if what comes back to me is 50,000 naira. Because now I have to live by faith. I have to live Yes, sir. Yes, sir. By faith wondering where my food will come from, wondering where my transport to work that month will come from. Sometime I have to ask fellow brothers and and sisters in faith.

Is that not so? Yes, sir. And then somebody now comes and give me 50,000 naira and I say, I thank God, oh, I gave 50 k 50 k k back to me. That's not your reward. That's it. That's merely a consolation. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Because if it were to be measured, what you gave at that point wasn't just... It was your hall.

That was what Jesus was looking at at the at the treasury when he was sitting down, and he was measuring what people were giving. He wasn't using what the amount they were giving as the indices for measurement. It was using their heart, the heart that was given. The heart that was given. Yet these people came and gave out of their own. They just... They were giving big money, but in heaven meant nothing. Do you understand what trying to say? And a woman comes and empties her hall, and what she emptied was not even up to a penny. And according to the metrics of Jesus, she had given more than everybody who had given combined.

Combined. Because according to that measurement, she gave more. That's the meaning of with the same measurement that you give. So if I have a million and I bless somebody with a with 10,000 naira with the same measurement that you give. If I have 10,000,000 and I come and I say, apostle, I wanna bless you, and I bring 20,000 naira with the same measurement that you give. Because you have not given as God has blessed you. Are you with me? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Will show you very soon that it is possible to be a giver, but be a stingy giver.

Do you know that that realm is even possible? Where a man says I give up, but actually, because of this measurement thing, you are... You... Heaven has considered... Is in scripture. It's not my own statement. It's Jesus. It's the bible that said it, and I will show you a version. Remind me of a story of a of a of a of poor man. A poor man.

He was walking in the desert one time, and all he had with him was a bowl of rice that the wife had given him. And it was... And, you know, a bucket of water. And as he was joining, he got to a point he was fed up of life, just sat there in one corner, wanting to start eating his rice. Wife told him, said, what's the point? We are poor. Go and look for work. I don't come back to this house until you find a job. And so he goes out. And all he's looking for is a job.

Everybody has been rejecting it, comes to a point where he just gives up, opens the bowl of rice, and all of a sudden, he started hearing the thunderings in the ground like the voice of many chariots blasting through the hair. The roar of the horses was much. And as we are approaching him, they spilled dust everywhere. He was cursing whoever was in that chariot in his heart saying, what? Is it because I'm poor? Is it because I'm this? And they were marching. Was an entourage. And he observed clearly, he saw inside the dust and saw that all the chariots were made of gold. And he he started he started looking at it very carefully.

And all of a sudden, all the horses halted. And there was a royal carriage that stopped in his front. The window of the carriage got... Went down. It was rolled down. And a man stretched his neck out, and it happened to be a king. And the king asked him, told him, he said, my... Myself and my entourage has been traveling for many for many weeks. Can you give us rice that you are holding? And the man was muttering to himself, just muttering to himself in what kind of...

And he just speaks. Three spoons of rice. Three kernels of rice. From the bowl he was holding and gives to the king. And the king tells him, thank you so much. We are so grateful. And the king opened one of his treasure chest and picked 3 gold coins and gave back to him and said, thank you so much and drove off. Then he threw all his rice away and said I should have just given everything. Because we never know that whenever the king requests for substance, you can never out give the king. Many of us read the story of queen Sheba.

And we saw that when she came to come and visit king Solomon, she came with substance. She came with gifts, items of honor for king Solomon. Have you read that part of scripture? And we focus on that. We even read a preacher message. That like queen Sheba who was coming to visit king Solomon came with gifts. She must always go with gifts. But go and check what Solomon gave to Sheba as she was going. It was not... It was more than everything that Sheba brought.

Sheba too was a queen. You can never have give a king. That's the picture. And many people don't get that picture, and so they hoard what should not be hoarded. They think that they are saving is what will save them. I don't know why that thing is called saving because it has never saved anybody. Second Corinthians chapter nine verse six, tipity. Nine verse six, the passion. Can we read it together, everybody? A what now?

That it's possible for a man to sow and yet to be stingy. But the one... But they will reap a meager harvest, but the one who sows from a generous spirit will reap an abundant harvest. Are you with me? That it's possible for a man to say, I'm giving, but still be stinging doing that. Listen to me. Wealth is not determined by what you have. It is determined by what you give. In Psalms one to six and verse five, the bible says those who sow in tears shall what? Reap in joy.

And in verse six, it says, he who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing. Do you understand this? He continually goes forth doing what? Weeping. He's he's holding the seed he wants to sow, and he's weeping as he's sowing the seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. It is easy to miss the point of this scripture and just believe that it means, oh, when you cry as you are giving. No. No. No. No.

No. I believe that the psalmist is telling the story of someone who needs the very seed that he's about to sow to feed himself or to even feed his family or to even sort some bill. And that is why he's sowing in tears. Because you understand that if he does not sow the seed when he's broke, when he does not have much, then he will not have a crop next season. In other words, if he... If what he has right now is maize that somebody dashed him. Abado. And that abado is to feed his family, but he knows that the next season that comes, I might not be as fortunate as somebody that will dash me abado. Why not plant this one and have a harvest of abado for myself? And that one he wants to plant would be at the expense of what he would eat, what his family would eat.

Do you understand what I'm saying? But he understands that if I should just sow this thing, the next season comes, I will reap a mighty harvest. And in that mighty harvest, I will be able to feed myself and have even more to sow. Yes, sir. And so because of the temporal pain that he has to go through, his soul is in tears. He knows that he would have destined himself to poverty if he doesn't give. Listen. In order to change the economic level of your life, you have to give when you are in need. When it is inconvenient, give. When you don't feel like it, give.

Sometime you have to sacrifice today's comfort for tomorrow's prosperity. Give yourself into prosperity. Give yourself into wealth. Sacrifice today's comfort. You can do without a brand new phone. You can do without a brand new laptop. You can live within your means even though you can live more than that. We don't look like how blessed we are because of the way we give. If we wanted to do some things, we can do it. We can.

We can. And I know some people who are close to me that if they wanted to live in some manner, they can. But they sold themselves to this lifestyle because they understand that why why rush to go and buy what will eventually be innumerable when the harvest comes? Why rush? What is a rush about? Somebody says, ah, sir, sir, if you don't buy land now, if you don't buy land now, if you don't buy land now, land is appreciating. No. Land is one... There's just one millionaire now. Next year, it will become 10,000,000.

When it becomes 10,000,000? Sir. Yes, sir. Sir. Then we will buy 10 acres. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. It's poverty mentality that makes you think like that. Who told you that when it is more expensive, you won't be able to buy it? There are many things that some of you could not get when it was cheaper.

Yes, sir. Sir. Yes, sir. Sir. Yes, Yes, sir. So what what what what makes you think if I don't get this thing now? Hey. Let me quickly let me quickly. Oh god. Give that thing.

Yes, Sacrifice that comfort and secure yourself for her... For your harvest. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Secure yourself what now? A harvest. Secure yourself a harvest. This is the mentality you should have. By by by matter of principle, I never buy anything whose worth I've not given. I never buy anything whose worth I've not given.

I cannot live... My my my lifestyle cannot be more than my given life. Jonestown transit. It means if I have it, it is because I've given twice of it. Sometimes even 10 times of it. Even 10 times of it. Some of you can afford to... Some of our guys, they... If they want to go and be eating in restaurants where they will charge them 50 k per day, they will go. And it not hurt their pocket.

God has blessed some some of my guys. There are most of you that God has blessed, yet you don't look like it. The reason is because of this thing. You just see a simple brother and he's dancing, and you don't know what God is doing in that brother's life. You have no idea what God is doing in that brother's life. The one of my guys, almost every two two weeks, he gives in 6 figures. Almost every two two weeks. Sometimes every week. Gives in 6 figures, yet you will never know. You just come and arrange the chairs and do everything and do everything.

Let alone now when you see this same person honing estates like your own paper. Some of you, you you go and put your tutors. My birthday is coming. My birthday is coming. Please, what I want is a guitar. When I see such things, it's a track record of uselessness. It means that you you have no value. You have impacted no life. Yes. Leave social media and go and build yourself.

Yes. A time will come. You will you will so grow in relevance that to even... You you... People like David don't know the implication of them saying, ah, I just want water in Bethlehem. Jesus. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. A time will come that you have to be careful not to even say I'm thirsty. You don't understand what I'm saying?

If... Imagine imagine papa Adebu, you just come and say, ah, and I just saw that can. I liked it. And you think 50 of it will not arrive in his house that day. Yes, sir. It means if you are begging for hate, stop. You are you are... It's a testament of uselessness. Go and put some value in yourself. Stop that nonsense.

This is my car number. This is my car number in case in case God is laying it in your heart. God is not laying anything. You are the one plastering it in people's heart. My new camera. You see, my birthday, if you really like me, if you love me, my new camera. So because people love you, they should buy you something worth $1.21500000 naira. That is how it happens. I would have the money and look at you and say, happy birthday, go and give the money to your pastor. Because you have not offered any value that suggests that I should give that thing to you.

That's why we do what we do. That's how we do what? What we do. As Paul said, he he he just announced. You don't use to announce. So he just announced that. He announced because it was his hometown. He said, we are going to our hometown for a crusade. I'm so happy. I'm rejoicing.

Before he left before he left the pulpit, more than 15 people had told him, what's the budget? What's the budget? I'm giving my own 100,000,000. I'm giving my own 50,000,000. I'm giving... What's the budget? What's the budget? Something that he just... He he he was excited because he's our... He's my hometown.

It's my hometown. They don't announce it. All you will see is a flyer. So even before a date was printed, even before they even know when the was paid for, overpaid for. That's how relevant you should be. Bless us. And how you command such blessings is by what lives your life per time. Deny yourself of temporal pleasure. Some... Someone receives 100,000 naira.

Is it... Maybe maybe by favor. By favor. And the first thing you are thinking about is not how to give. Something is wrong with you. Yes, sir. The first thing that come to your mind is is, ah, hey, apostle him. So so pastor, I want to just ask you that this money that has entered my hand now, should I should I give out of it? Go get out of this place. Who who will come and tell you to give out?

You think you are the one that come and tell you give out of it? No. Do whatever you want to do. We have integrity. Never will we tell anybody give out of that money. You will do according to as you have been taught and according to how convinced you are in your spirit. Yes, sir. But you know that this is an amount of money that has never entered my heart. What I do is sow it as a seed. It must enter the ground.

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. It must enter the ground. And one call itself times 10 to me. These are the principles I live my life with. Talking too much. Are you with me? Yes, sir. Yes.

One study Ecclesiastes chapter 11 from verse one to four. I won't be able to show you that. Let me give you one more and then we stop. Giving enlarges your heart. Ah, Jesus Christ. Giving does what now? Give me Isaiah 54 intivity. Isaiah 54 and verse two. The first three words, everybody. Pause.

Kai. It means whatever he is about to tell you is based on the fact that increase is coming. It says, increase is coming and because increase is coming, what must you do? Enlarge your tent. He says hard extensions to your dwellings. Hold nothing back. Make the tent ropes longer. Make the make the pegs stronger. The reason you are doing this is because increase is coming. Enlarge your tent.

Make the ropes longer. Enlarge your tent. Make the ropes longer. And as you do this, what happens next verse? It says, you will increase. You will speed up, spread out in every direction. Spread out in every direction. Your sons and daughters will conquer nations, revitalize desolate cities. All of this because you have enlarged your tent. Are you with me?

Yes, sir. Increase is coming. Remember, the bible says guard your heart with all diligence. For out of your heart proceeds forth the issues of your life. And I've taught you in this place that life does not happen to you. Life happens from you. Your tent, therefore, in this context that governs what happens in your life is your heart. So to enlarge your tent is to enlarge your heart. Are you with me? It means whenever increase is coming, you have to enlarge your heart.

Increase does not come to a small heart. Abundance and massive prosperity does not come to a small heart. If your heart cannot see pictures of greatness, increase cannot enter into it. Go back to verse two. If your heart cannot capture massive prosperity, increase cannot enter into it. And so he says increase is coming. Enlarge your tent. And in enlarging your tent, it now tells you hold nothing back. It means when the when the business of enlargement is concerned, you must not hold back. Are you with me brothers and sisters?

Yes, sir. Hold back in what? Proverbs 11 in the king James version verse 25. The Bible says a liberal soul shall be made fat. Giving is what makes your soul fat. Giving is what enlarges your heart. Giving stretches the boundaries of your heart. Giving breaks the limits of your heart. Solomon gave God a sacrifice. 1,000 cows and see what happened after.

First Kings chapter four verse 29, the King James version. The bible says, and God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much and largeness of heart. There is such a thing called largeness of heart. And how you break the limits of your mind and expand your heart is through giving. Remember, bible says guard your heart with all diligence for out of it proceeds forth the issues. The word issues means the boundaries of life. The assigned limits of your life is set by your heart. It means your life cannot experience any possibility that is greater than the boundaries that your heart are set. Boundaries. You know what boundaries mean?

To put a boundary over a place. Your heart sets the boundaries of your life. Your heart. It means if the boundary that your heart has set is small, if anything bigger than the boundary your heart has set is to be introduced into your life by God, your heart can limit what God wants to introduce. What find expression in your life is not what God gives you, it's what your heart receives. Do you understand what I'm saying? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. There are angels called measuring angels or angels of the measuring line. Have you heard about them?

Angels of what now? The measuring line. They are in... You find them in Zechariah. You find them in Ezekiel. Zechariah one verse two. The Bible... Zechariah two verse one. The Bible says, then I raised my eyes and looked, behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. So I said, what are you doing?

And he said to me, to measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length. NKJ gave it. It's what I'm reading. And what is its length? The next verse. The bible says, and there was the angel who talked with me going out and another angel coming out to meet him. Next verse. Who said to me, run, speak to this young man saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. Did you see that? The angel of the measuring line came.

Measured the length and the width of Jerusalem. Now decided that because of what I have measured, then Jerusalem shall be inhabited... Inhabited as towns without walls. In other words, we have removed the boundaries of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is free to spread. Jerusalem is free to increase. We have checked and we have found that there are no walls around Jerusalem. There is nothing that stops Jerusalem from spreading and from increasing. The boundaries have been increased. Are you with me?

Sir. It it tells me that when God wants to break people out, what happens is that the handle of God comes around you and begins to measure to see if the boundaries of your heart is greater than the level of abundance that God wants to pour into your life. The angel of the measuring line starts to measure. When Elisha wanted to help that widow, he told her gather many vessels. Gather not a few. That's the angel of the marine lion. When the prophet says, gather not a few, you will need to ask, what is the definition of a few? I hope you know that the prophet does not define what a few means. It means the prophet leave the definition of a few to the loudness of your heart. That's the angel of the measuring line.

He leave the definition of a few to the loudness of your heart. And the woman went to go and borrow. The woman went to go and borrow, went everywhere and borrowed. And the bible says she started pouring oil. She started pouring oil. Give me. And as soon as the oil got to the limit to which the measurement are defined, the bible says the oil stayed. He didn't finish. The bible says, and the oil stayed. Jesus Christ.

The oil did not finish, and the oil stayed. It means your heart determines the extent to which prophecy can manifest. When measurement is exhausted, prophecy stays. It does not mean that it has come to the fullness of his manifestation. It only means this is the extent to which your heart can allow manifestation. Jesus Christ. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. You are not seeing this thing I'm saying.

It didn't finish. It stayed. In other words, it can still do more, but this is how far your heart has allowed. So when the word comes, even the manifestation of prophecy is dependent on the largeness of a man's heart. That prophecy can manifest only to the degree to which a man's heart has allowed. And when it reaches the extent of the boundaries, it stays. So it means there's a way the ministry can grow and stay. There's a way the business can grow and stay. There's a wait, oh god. It does not mean that the word that spoke that started horse that increase has finished his work.

It only means that that heart can no longer expand to allow for the increase. So the angel of the mirroring line says, this is the highest they can take. When Elijah was to be raptured, he asked Elijah, what do you want? And Elijah told him, I want a double portion of what is upon you. Elijah was shocked at his request. This is someone with an enlarged heart talking. The angel with the measuring basket or the measuring line measured and he found that his heart was truly enlarged enough to receive what he was asking for. But how do you how do you ask a man that I want double of what is upon you? I am not joking. It's not that joke that we do now and say, want double.

I want double. And even the guy don't even know what he's saying. He doesn't even understand what he's saying. He just thinks double means we got two. I know we have even insulted. We even call it the... Everything is double double. Double means two cars, two houses. The one who asked for double knew that the order he was entering into is the order of the firstborn blessing. He's saying amongst all your sons, I've risen by his servants to be the first.

So what is meant for the first must come upon me? I want double portion of what is upon you. And the man asked, he said, you have you have asked for a hard thing. But if your heart is measured and we see that this thing you have the capacity to receive it, then you will see me when I'm about to go, and that thing will rest upon you. And when Elijah was about to transit, Elisha saw him truthfully and he made a statement. He said, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horseman Gareth. This means he saw Elijah in the fullness of his capacity. He saw Elijah as what he represented. What he had been calling Elijah up until that moment was master. But at the point when Elijah was to be transited, master became my father.

But not just my father, I see that you're not just a man. You are the horseman of Israel and the chariot thereof. And the moment his eyes open and he beheld what Elijah represented in the realm of the spirit, the mantle came and rested upon Elisha. But this is not where I'm going. When Elisha also was to transit, Many people think that Gehazi was meant to be the one to receive of the mantle of Elisha and that no other person rose. It is because I've not read your bible. Somebody rose. The problem with the person that rose was that his heart was not enlarged. The angel of the mellowing line came, measured his heart, and found out that you don't have the capacity to receive as this man received from his own. Are you ready?

Because when Elisha was about to die, He was also looking for who will receive the manifestation of this audacious spirits, this audacious grace that was upon him, this spirit of dominion that puts fear in the heart of the prophet of Baal. And we saw for the first time that it was possible for that spirit to not only come on prophets, it can come on people in the marketplace. Because the person who came to him was a king. The bible calls his name, Joash. In second Kings 13 and verse 14, the bible says in the New King James version, Elisha had become sick with illness of which he was about to die. Then Dorosh, the king of Israel, came down to him and wept over him and said the same thing that Elisha said unto Elisha, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen get off. When was that baton passed? When was that mandate obtained? Who told him? How did this step into the order of Elijah's to know how to receive of grace?

To know how spirit are transferred. Who told him? Who mentored him? That when the spirit of Elijah is about to go, you must see. You must see who... Whoever carries that grace and whatever represents to the body of Christ. Who told him? This was the king. He wasn't the prophet, but this king was was was in captivity. He was the king of Israel, beaten down by the Syrians, beaten down by the Hamonites, beaten down by the Moabites, beaten down by everybody.

His life did not resemble who had a covering of a prophet. So the moment he came and said, my father, my father, Elisha knew that what made the spirit of Elijah come upon me was because there was a mirroring line. And it was seen that I was truly deserving of the spirit, that my heart was enlarged enough to receive what I was asking for. So a mere test, Is your heart enlarged enough? Look at what he tells him. Next verse. He said, Elijah asked him, take a bow and some harrows. So he took himself a bow and some harrows. Next verse. And Elisha said to him, king of Israel, put your hand on the bow.

And the king put his hand on the bow. So Elisha put his hand on the king's hand and was releasing grace, releasing power, releasing dominion, releasing that same thing, but it was to the degree to which his heart could contain. Like like you say, like you like you tell that same... It was the same Elisha that told the woman, gather not a few. So this man always leaves the manifestation of prophecy to the loudness of people's heart. The same Elisha tells him, look at the next instruction. Open the east window, and he opened it. Elisha said, shoot, and he shot. And he said, what you have shot now is the harrow of the Lord's deliverance. The harrow of deliverance from Syria.

For you must strike the Syrians at havoc till you have destroyed them. Till you have done what? Till you have done what? So if they tell you strike and you know you have to strike and shoot and your shooting is a prophecy to the fact that you are destroyed. What you have shot is is the harrow of deliverance. How many times do you think you will shoot? Look at the next verse. Then he said, take the harrow, so he took them. And he said, strike it now. So he struck three times and stopped.

The angel of the measuring line coming to come and check. How enlarged is this person's heart to receive? There are some people that strike three times and stop. They get three contracts and stop. Have three phases of expansion in the ministry and stop. Three levels in promotion and stop. Because the angel of the measured man has measured and have found that this is how this is how large their heart has become. This is how large their heart has become. How do you... Why do you stretch three times?

To show you that Elisha knew what he was doing. Look at the vexation in his soul. Look at the next verse. And the man of God was hungry with him and said, you should have struck five times. You should have struck six times. Then you would have struck Syria until you have destroyed it. But now you will strike Syria only three times. What do you think happens after? I'm sorry, but no. Elisha died.

That was his own rapture moment. Ray would grab on to the mountain of Elisha and said, let this tempting. It means the person that would have received this spirit in his fullness would have been a king, who would have had the opportunity to see how the spirit of Elisha manifest in king, in kingship. But we never got that opportunity because a man struck three times. A man struck three times. That a man's heart can limit the operations of God. That how large you can become, how high you can rise in destiny is entirely dependent on the size of your heart. I didn't finish teaching you pictures of greatness. Listen to me. Listen to me.

Listen to me. This is some things I've put in the part three I would share maybe sometimes this year. Listen to me. Prophecy will be roaming over your head, and we'd look for the expanse of space you have given it to manifest. And it will start filling up the space. And when they find that there is no more space, it stays. And I'm telling you, what got us here is that when you give, what you are doing is that you are enlarging the space. That's the summary of what I'm trying to say. That one of the ways to break out of smallness of heart Yes, sir. Is to give.

That the more a man begins to give, the more he find out at home something is happening to his heart. His heart is enlarging. His heart is expanding. His heart is increasing. Do you know that when God was asking Solomon, what do you want? After Solomon gave and sacrificed, all that Solomon was seeing was Israel. He said, give me wisdom that I might judge your people right. Whereas, the wisdom that God has put in Solomon wasn't just to judge his people. It was the wisdom of the entire East. So if if if if his heart had not been enlarged, it would have affected the extent of his impact.

So God know it is possible for me to give you wisdom, but you reduce the operation of the wisdom by the smallness of your heart. So God had to increase his heart. So when a man begins to commit himself into giving, what happens is that his heart becomes a lie. It is... It happens almost subconsciously. You find that it is impossible for you to think in a way, in a way. You are doing your business, and then all you are seeing is expansion, increase, expansion, increase. Are you with me? Yes, sir. This is why we commit ourselves to it.

This is how... This is why we give ourselves to it. Have you been blessed? Yes, sir. We believe you were blessed by this message to connect with the Disciples Christian Network and get more from Apostle Emmanuel. Follow us on our social media platforms. You can follow us on Instagram at officialdisciplescn. You can follow us on Facebook at disciples christian network. You can also join our telegram page at DCN media for more messages by Apostle Emmanuel. If you have a testimony from this message, you can mail us at disciplecn@gmail.com.

God bless you.