God first spoke to Abram that through covenant He would establish an entrance into every nation on earth. God was moving to bring His dream of blessing mankind into reality, and He needed a man with which to start.

Abram, who would later be called Abraham, is the father of faith, and he is called the father of us all. It was his faith in God's Word that changed everything. The covenant he entered into made God's blessing and abundance available to anyone who would pursue the God of Abraham.

Notice Genesis 12:1-3 where God first speaks to Abraham: Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

People bless themselves when they bless the blessed. This is a law of God, which needs to be explored. Those who would confer prosperity or happiness on Abram would bring upon themselves the blessing which God placed on him.

This law works for you too. You will bring blessing and prosperity on yourself by finding men and women of God who are walking in their covenant of blessing and joining with them by blessing them. When you give to those who are receiving from God with success, you can enter into their success and also begin to receive for yourself.

To use the words of The Amplified Bible, those upon whom you confer prosperity and happiness will be blessed by God, bringing blessing on themselves. The word bless is interesting. Its meaning includes "to empower to prosper." When you confer prosperity through your giving, you empower another to prosper. When you bless another, you also bless yourself.

It is a misconception to think that the only kind of generosity God is expecting in us is toward the poor. Without question we are to give to those who are less fortunate. However, government assistance has demonstrated that giving financial help without teaching people how to come out of lack and poverty is never going to answer the problem.

The real issue of poverty is spiritual. You must get poverty out of a person in order to keep a person out of poverty.

Not a Waste, But a Link
There were people around Jesus who did not understand His view of this exact truth. We see this in the account of a lavish offering given to Jesus:

Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.

Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" This he said not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always"
(John 12:1-8).

This offering was given to Jesus by Mary, the sister to Lazarus. The value was equal to an average worker's salary for an entire year. This was a wealthy woman who gave an extravagant and seemingly unreasonable offering directly to Jesus. It was not something He needed, yet He still received it.

The disciples, however, criticized her sharply for her extravagance. They considered it a waste to pour out this expensive oil on Jesus.

Judas took his criticism to another level. He said this should have been sold and given to the poor. His motive was not his love for the poor. He was a thief, and his heart was governed by dishonesty.

This same criticism can be heard today, and for the same reason. Carnal-minded people fail to see the value of giving to the ministries and ministers of God. It is viewed as a waste and manipulation. Yet, the same motive that Judas revealed governs their hearts also. They may not be stealing from the offerings, but they are thieves by failing to honor God with their own offerings.

Jesus did not view this extravagant offering as a waste but rather as a spiritual offering from Mary's heart. It would also link her to her own blessing. She had honored a law of God.

Let Blessing Rest on Your House
The prophet Ezekiel shed further light on this concept. Notice Ezekiel 44:30: "The best of all first fruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest's; also you shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, to cause a blessing to rest on your house."

He said their giving would cause blessing to rest on their houses when they gave the priests the best of their first fruits.

Proverbs 3:9-10 goes on to give details about how this blessing would come: "Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine."

Filled with plenty and overflowing! God is looking for ways to bring His overflow and abundance into your life. He wants there to be such a supply of wealth and every good thing that it is flowing out from you in every direction. His way is for you to be a resource of increase to others. Whatever you do to make God's dream in others become reality, God will do to make His dream in you become reality.

Every person must learn the system God has given to us. It is to enter into the abundance of God by giving and to bless those who are blessed of God. Both the work of ministry and the worker are worthy to be blessed. You can expect more to come back into your hands than what you gave out.

Sowing Into Fruitful Soil
If we limit our giving to only those who look like they are in need, we have turned a deaf ear to the voice of the Holy Spirit. The ministry that is growing financially is blessed of God. If I choose to send my support to one who is struggling because he is struggling, I am being led by my feelings and reasoning. That is simply carnal thinking.

There has been a limited idea of what a need actually is. It has contributed to a great deal of misunderstanding in giving. In Philippians 4:19, Paul said, "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

Needs are not what it takes to merely exist. Some have thought their need was for a house, an automobile, or enough money to pay the bills. God's view of your need is not based on you but on His calling for your life.

When He speaks to you about your life, He will actually create a need. One Word from God gives you a need. He will give you a vision for something that you could never do on your own. You will need His supernatural supply to fulfill His plans and direction. But along with His will comes His grace to supply that need in full with His abundant supply.

The Holy Spirit is moving His Body out of carnal thinking which has been led by need and feeling. No longer will we be led by manipulation and guilt. He is leading us into seeing from His point of view and blessing those He is blessing.

God will move on you to do the unreasonable in order to move you into the unlimited. It may seem unreasonable to your natural way of thinking, but you are no longer limited to the natural point of view. You are free to see things from God's point of view.

When you find someone who is blessed and being a blessing to others, sow your seeds of prayer and finances into that field, and you will bless yourself.

Source: The Power to Increase by Dennis Burke.
Excerpt permission granted by Dennis Burke Publications