2 Corinthians 9:10-11 NIV (10) Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. (11) You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
Luke 9:12-17 NKJV When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.” (13) But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.” (14) For there were about five thousand men. Then He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.” (15) And they did so, and made them all sit down. (16) Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. (17) So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.
- The food did not multiply when Jesus prayed over and blessed the loaves and fishes.
- The miracle of multiplication did not happen in the Master’s hands – it happened in the disciple’s hands.
Four Principles of Multiplication:
- What you have must be blessed before it can multiply.
Malachi 3:8-10 NKJV “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. (9) You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. (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.
Hebrews 7:8 NKJV Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.
- It is the blessing of Jesus that gives it the potential to multiply.
Luke 9:16 NKJV Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them…
- Once it is blessed, what you have must be given away before it can multiply.
Only what you give over and above your tithes can be multiplied.
The way that we should operate in our finances:
- Receive income (paycheck, gifts, sale of items, etc.)
- Tithe (the FIRST 10%)
- Pay your bills and debts
- Give out of your discretionary income
- There will be times of sowing and times of reaping.
A good farmer, learns the seasons and the cycles, so that they never go long without a harvest.
2 Corinthians 9:6-11 NLT (6) Remember this–a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. (7) You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” (8) And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. (9) As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” (10) For God is the One who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, He will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. (11) Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.