John Bevere - Do You Want to Multiply Your Blessings?
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Hey everyone, welcome to lesson nine of Multiply. In this lesson, we’re going to talk about investing. Yes, this is what the servants did to multiply; they invested the bags of silver, and they multiplied. So I’m going to begin this with a story. I have a friend named Mike; Mike is an amazing guy. He has been a Christian since he was 11 years old, and at the age of 35, he was just fed up— in his own words— of being an unproductive Christian. So he made a commitment at the age of 35: «This is going to change. I want to be fruitful in building the kingdom of God.»
What he did was make a personal commitment to memorize over 2,000 scriptures over the next six months. He wanted to start by filling his tank with the word of God— that was so wise. He didn’t realize how wise that was, but anyway, six months later, he went to a conference in Phoenix, Arizona. He was so poor, so broke, that he had to live with 11 Bible school students in a two-bedroom apartment for the conference; he couldn’t even afford a hotel room.
In the conference, the pastor was taking up an offering for a special project, and Mike said, «John, I heard the Holy Spirit say, 'I want you to give $200.'» Mike responded to the Holy Spirit, «That’s all I have.» He said, «John, this is what the Holy Spirit said back to me: 'Son, I’m not asking you for any more, just $200.'» So he said, «John, I gave everything I had to my name. This is everything I had.» He said, «I remember just having to believe God to be able to get back from the conference.»
Well, over the next few months, God started giving him some inspired ideas. Remember, that’s very key to multiplying. He started implementing these ideas, and within a few months, the Lord started telling him, «Mike, I want you to give $100 above your tithe every single month.» So he started doing that. Then it eventually went to $400 above his tithe. His businesses, which he had started from the inspired ideas, started prospering, and within a short amount of time, he began giving $1,000 above his tithe every single month. Then it went to $4,000 above his tithe, then $10,000, then $117,000, and then $225,000. It went to $440,000 above his tithe every single month, and then it went back down to $50,000, and finally to $100,000 above his tithe every single month.
The last time I spoke to Mike, which wasn’t long ago, he said it was $150,000 that he gives every single month above his tithe. To be very honest, I asked Mike, «How much of your income do you give away?» He said, «John, my accountant tells me it’s between 85% and 90% of my income.» So I want to make this really clear: Mike lives off of 10% to 15% of what he makes, and he gives the rest to the kingdom. He lives pretty well off that 10% to 15%.
So what has Mike done? He has multiplied the gift of God in his life. If you go to the book of Romans, one of the gifts specifically identified is the gift of giving. Now remember, Romans is not an exhaustive list; there are so many different gifts that God has given His people. They’re too numerous to list, but one of the more widespread gifts is actually the gift of giving. Mike has that.
Now, think about it. It didn’t start happening until he was 35, 36, or 37 years old. It could have happened when he was 20 years old or 15 years old. Where would he have been today if he had started then? He had the potential, but he wasn’t multiplying. Why? Because he didn’t have the faith. Why? Because he hadn’t memorized those 2,000 scriptures after his decision to be more effective in building the kingdom of God.
In this lesson, I want to focus not just on the gift— and I know in all the other lessons we’ve discussed our gifts and using them to multiply— but I want to talk about the general principle of giving or investing because you will never have multiplication without this principle of investing. Most well-meaning believers have this attitude when it comes to giving: «What am I willing to give up for the sake of others?» Now, let me affirm that that’s a very godly attitude. However, if that’s the only attitude, it’s incomplete regarding what God intended for us to have when it comes to giving.
You say, «Incomplete? What could be more complete than being willing to give up to benefit others?» First of all, let me say it again: it’s godly and noble, but giving is also an investment. Okay, what’s an investment? To invest is to refrain from consuming a resource in order to grow it. Specifically in regard to finances, it means to abstain from spending in order to invest funds for growth.
For example, Lisa and I, in our later years— I’m not saying I’m old, but let’s say just in the past few years— had some extra cash, and we decided that instead of spending it, we invested it in two pieces of property, small plots of land. Well, do you know what happened? In a few years, those plots of land doubled in worth, allowing us to sell them and grow our money twofold. So giving in the kingdom is investing so that you can grow it.
There are two extremes when it comes to finances and giving. First, there are those who give only to get; it’s a selfish reason, a covetous thing. The other extreme is people who resent anything to do with giving; they hate hearing about offerings because they feel like others are trying to swindle them out of their money.
Regarding Lisa and me, we were raised as young Christians in our early 20s in a church in Dallas, Texas, where there was a big emphasis on giving in order to receive a harvest. We saw many people take that teaching and pursue giving to get bigger houses, bigger cars, and it kind of put a negative taste in our mouths. I remember when we left that church, we went to the next one; we could have swung the pendulum and resented offerings, but we had heard enough of the word of God to understand that there’s something to this.
This experience revealed that we can give and even reap the benefits but do so with the wrong motives. God’s laws will work even if the motive is not correct. Okay, let me give you an example: you can have two farmers. One farmer sows seeds to get a huge crop like the guy in Luke 16 so he can build bigger barns and say, «Take it easy, soul. Eat, drink, and be merry.» God says, «You fool! This night your life is required of you!» Jesus said that was a covetous motive. But then you could have another farmer who says, «I want to sow a bunch of seeds because I want to feed the needy in my community. I want to help people have food on their tables.»
Well, guess what? That farmer’s motive is good. The other farmer’s motive is not. But you know the law of sowing and harvesting worked for both equally. God’s laws of sowing, investing, and harvesting work regardless of whether your motives are right or not. It would be ridiculous if all the farmers in the community said, «We’re not going to plant seeds anymore because this guy has a covetous attitude.» See how ridiculous that would be? Nobody would eat.
This is what a lot of believers have done: they say, «I don’t want to hear anything about giving. I don’t want you to talk to me about giving. I don’t want you to read scriptures to me about giving because some people have been covetous and given in order to gain personally.» That believer, who gives offerings just so they can get money back, is no different than that farmer who says, «Let me build those silos so I can eat, take it easy, and be at peace.» God says, «You fool! This night your life is required of you.»
This is why Jesus says to avoid the motivation of being covetous. But let’s dive deeper into Paul’s words because you’re going to see something amazing here. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:5, «I thought I should send these brothers ahead of me to make sure the gift you promised is ready.» Paul is clearly talking about a financial gift here. «But I want it to be a willing gift, not one given grudgingly.»
Okay, verse six: «Remember this: A farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop, but one who plants generously will get a generous crop.» Not only is Paul talking about having the right motive of helping others, but there’s a second motive here: if you plant a generous gift, you’re going to reap a generous harvest. So Paul is literally discussing investing with this church.
I’m going to read some questions for us to consider:
1. If our sole motive in giving is to help people, then why is Paul talking about a harvest that we’re going to receive?
2. Is it wrong to have a secondary desire for multiplication, especially when it will help fuel an increasing primary desire to build lives for the kingdom of God?
3. Could it be that Paul is training new believers in the Corinthian church how to multiply their effectiveness, as Jesus did in the parable of the talents?
4. And this one’s really important: Is Paul appealing to them to be moved with compassion while, at the same time, also investing for the purpose of being a greater blessing?
2 Corinthians 9:7-8 states, «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. God will generously provide all you need; then you’ll always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.»
So Paul’s saying, «You want that harvest so you’ll have plenty to share with others.» Our capacity to be generous is multiplied because we have invested or planted seeds, so the motive is reinforced even more in the very next verse. He said, «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.» Those are your finances or other resources! Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous.
Can I tell you? I would have been so frustrated if I couldn’t give books to pastors overseas. But as we continue to sow and invest as a ministry, God continues to bring us more and more ability to bless others. I remember this started out when Lisa and I were just a young couple, and in that original church I talked about, the pastor was taking a special offering. Lisa and I had $1,800 to our name— that’s all we had— and we were trying to get into a house. You needed $5,000 down for a house because we wanted to have children, and we couldn’t move into an adult apartment community with kids; they just wouldn’t permit it.
We were saving and saving, and I figured out if we ate potatoes and tuna fish over the next two years, we might have enough to get into a house. Our pastor was taking a special offering, and Lisa and I looked at each other before the day was out and said, «We really believe we should give $1,000.»
I remember we had $1,800 to our name, and we gave that $1,000 with joy. Do you know what happened? God brought in $5,000 from unexpected sources in the next three months, and we were able to move into our house. Now, just last year, Lisa and I were able to give in missions 50 times that amount. What happened? God gave us more and more ability to be generous because we had sown seeds, we received a harvest, and now we’re able to help more when we give these books to the nations.
Let me tell you something: it’s not just the businessmen; it’s not just the pastors. Lisa and I personally want to be involved; we don’t want to miss the opportunity to help pastors and leaders in these nations. So what happened? God increased our ability to be generous. Paul makes this statement in the book of Philippians: «Not that I seek or am eager for your gift» — this is the Philippian church giving him a gift— «but I do seek and am eager for the fruit which will increase to your credit.»
Listen, the harvest of blessing that is accumulating to your account. Just as you have a bank account here on Earth, you have a heavenly bank account. God says, «When you sow into that account, you’re going to receive a harvest.» That harvest thieves cannot break in and steal; it will not rot; it will not corrupt.
So a principle of multiplication, as Jesus shows in the parable of the talents, is the principle of investing. I have specifically talked about finances, but it applies in every area of life. Let’s say your gift is hospitality. I know a woman who has cooked for over 2,000 guests in her home; she is the wife of one of the most popular pastors in the United States. Amazing woman! She knows her gift— her gift is hospitality, and she loves it. I have been one of the fortunate ones to enjoy the beautiful Mexican meals she has provided.
Let me tell you, I love seeing people who know their gifts and invest them. They give to others, and I watch how God grows it. You know, with her, it’s not so much finances— although the financial principle applies to every believer— it’s in the area of our gifts. If you’re gifted in painting, paint! Let people be blessed by the beautiful images that God gives you. I think of Akana. Akana was a 4-year-old girl; God gave her the gift to paint. She started painting, and do you know what? At the age of eight, she painted the famous «Prince of Peace» that hangs right behind my desk; it’s my very favorite painting.
That girl, at eight years old, had already begun to sow and invest. God gave her more and more until a man came to her house one day that her family had never met before. They didn’t know who he was, but he looked like a carpenter. She painted that man— to this day, I believe that man was Jesus manifesting in Akana’s house, unbeknownst to her family. They said they never saw him again; they never heard of him again, yet God said, «I’m going to give you the ability to bless people all over the world.»
This is what happens when we’re faithful with our gifts! Find out what your gift is and begin to invest it so that your ability to bless others will increase. We have covered so much, but in the next lesson, we’re going to talk about the key catalyst to multiplying our gifts, and you won’t want to miss that lesson.