We published a dream that one of our supporters had a few years ago in our last newsletter. Some had questions about it. Therefore, I would like to take a few lines to clarify what I believe is the essence of that article for you.

In this article, the woman who shared her dream spoke of giving certain amounts of funds to the Lord and that in turn, certain things would transpire.

My sense was that the Lord was simply trying to help her understand that giving, when it is difficult to give, is still important. The power lay in the fact that obedience to Jesus on this issue reaps certain benefits to the giver and the kingdom.

She mentioned that for instance to give smaller amounts would provoke a certain level of activity in the spirit and to give larger amounts would provoke another. Of course this must coincide with other principles in action which I will also briefly attempt to discuss. However for the moment let’s continue with this train of thought.

Giving, a Provoking Force

Since she used the figure $100, we will as well. A person can give a hundred dollars to the work of the Lord and He will reward it regardless. Somewhere in the world, someone is going to be affected by the selfless act of giving, regardless of whether or not the benefactor ever knew that someone had given the $100 gift.  Why? Because giving in the name of the Lord is a spiritual as well as temporal act.  If that same person gave $5000 and it took a greater act of faith, the faith released would provoke greater things in the kingdom. The same is true if a person by faith, gives the widow’s mites wherein they are truly giving all they had to the work of the Lord and as a result, suffer temporary lack. In fact, it is possible that the widow’s mites, due to its extreme selfless giving, could provoke more in the kingdom than someone who gave $100,000, if in the case of the latter, it cost them very little to do so. The degree of benefit would of course, depend upon the obedience of the giver to give at the right time and place.

In tough times people withhold their tithes and offerings from the Lord thinking they must meet their personal needs first. Of course we need to pay our bills and care for our families. However, consider the widow in Zarephath with whom Elijah stayed. (I Kings 17: 11-24) This Gentile woman, like the widow with the mites, gave all she had in her moment of extreme poverty. She did so in obedience to the prophet who was God’s mouthpiece. The Lord blessed this woman supremely and she never suffered want throughout the entire drought. Further, her son was later raised from the dead by Elijah. Great were her own personal blessings from her selfless act of giving. However, the blessings from the Lord cup did not end there. Her glass of water and small cake, paved the way for God to care for her, her son and the Prophet whom God would use to bring a great revival to Israel. The Bible is replete with such examples. You see, giving is a force, as is faith. Money is also a force to provoke evil or good. Finances working with faith for good in the kingdom can be powerful. The two together can unlock your door of expectation and it can unlock doors in the kingdom for the salvation of souls. People may take offense to that truth; however, it is true nevertheless. The practical side of that is that the Word must be sent, and those who stay at home are called to send those who carry the Word to those who need its life giving power. The spiritual side is, as I mentioned, obedience and faith release the powers of heaven to do what money alone cannot do.

I felt that what the woman who shared her dream was attempting to say was that it is important to take the gridlock off of your finances by walking in faith and not fear. Giving big can unlock big things in the kingdom. Keep God big in your mind and keep His work on earth central in importance in your financial decisions. You never know what your gift may provoke when you obey and release it to the Lord.

I can give many personal examples of giving when we simply did not have the finances to make such commitments. Our tape and book library is offered free of charge to any who desire their contents. When the Lord asked us to make such a decision it required a mega step of faith. The appreciation the Lord has shown to us in our endeavor has never ceased to amaze me. He has always met the need to keep the cycle moving forward and keep our supply restocked. The funds come in the least expected way and at the least expected time. Further, we have received so many letters of appreciation from the widows, widowers, young college students and the poor both home and abroad, for making the word available to them when they cannot afford to pay for it. I am so glad we obeyed the Lord’s command to buy the truth and sell it not (Prov. 23:23). Further, Jesus has given other promises to me because of our obedience and He is keeping the promise of those blessings.

I could tell of times when we gave to a needy cause at a time that it took our last dollar to do so. However, the money was replenished by the Lord before we could miss it. God is ever faithful.

I believe the point of the article was this; when we give, the larger we give in faith, the more we provoke in the spirit realm to the blessing of others. For instance, if our budget can handle $100 monthly for tithe, give $150. Fifty is over the tithe and is rewarded differently. The Lord spoke to me about this many years ago. Planting tithe is like planting a seed in the ground. It will spring forth, bear fruit and reward us in due season. However, when we give over and above the tithe, it is like planting a little tree in the ground. It will grow and bear fruit much faster and the return will spring back to us quicker.  Give, pressed down, shaken together and it will come back to us in the same measure. (Luke 6: 38) The key is to give in faith!

Any time we step forward in faith sending out our money into the seedbed of God’s kingdom, it does in fact release a veritable force that produces varying results according to the gift and the faith it takes to give it. The Lord probably does not have a table in heaven that states such and such gift will return this or that. He does, however, know why He asks you to give and what He plans to provoke in the spirit realm through your obedience, both for you and the recipient. So, my counsel is, be like Isaac and in joy, plant in the time of drought so it can spring up 30, 60 and 100 fold to your great blessing.

In His Love,
Nita Johnson