Today is day twenty-one on the 21 days of breakthrough and we’ve been for those of you that don’t know, for 3 weeks, we’ve been praying, fasting, and we’ve also been giving we’re about to do our giving and that’s because, in Matthew chapter six, Jesus talks about them as three breakthrough principles and already, we’ve been hearing I’ve been hearing of some testimonies that have been happening through the life of our church and very often what happens is each year. There are common themes with some of the breakthroughs that happen.
So, I remember one we had a breakthrough in terms of jobs and also career promotions and then also another year we had just all these people got supernaturally provided with you know supernatural miracles to get their first to get property. So which has been fantastic. And this year already even before having received the offering we’ve been seeing some breakthroughs. I’ve noticed two themes.
The first theme is that we’ve been getting a breakthrough in rugby. So here at King’s just this week during the 21 days of breakthrough. For the first time ever, our grade sixers beat Emmanuel College. It’s never happened before. And the second thing is for the first time ever, our open boys won the whole APS for the Gold Coast on this week as well. I know it’s a big round of applause for the grade sixers. Praise God.
Another thing that’s happened which is a bit unusual and I know of two people actually here at Reedy Creek that have two people have separately received in the same week an unexpected $50,000 windfall. Just amazing and so you know so God is doing great things. One of the things that happen every year doing 21 days of breakthrough.
People get breakthroughs all the way across and then they come to you and tell you privately and that sort of thing which is great but we’d really love for people to send through testimonies. You can do it on our social media. You can do it to our email. If you received a breakthrough, most of the time what often happens is the breakthroughs that come after this season.
Things open up but even some have as we’ve said so far actually come in the midst of it and so we’re believing for that to happen. And so as you know there was praying and fasting. But the third one is actually giving. And so with that in mind I want to share with you from Matthew chapter six verses three to four. And it says this.
Matthew 6:3-4 NKJV
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Now, I want to read from one Kings chapter 17 verses eight to sixteen. And it says this.
1 Kings 17:8-16 NKJV
Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”
“As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”
She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.
My message today is called Anatomy of a Breakthrough Offering. Let’s pray. Father I thank you for your word. I just ask and pray that today you would release faith that today you would release revelation. I thank you and I praise you for that Lord. In Jesus name. Amen.
A couple of weeks ago, I preached here on the Anatomy of a Breakthrough. Today, I want to talk about more specifically, the Anatomy of a Breakthrough Offering. As you know, we’ve been spending the last 3 weeks on prayer and fasting and also we’re going to start doing giving and the reason why we do that is because if I believe if you do all those principles at once, then, the breakthrough is certainly around the corner and so, here in this passage of scripture, we see a classic example of somebody who received a breakthrough because of their generosity.
Generosity Releasing a Miracle
That their generosity released a miracle in their own life. Let’s never get so religious that we say things like, oh well, that doesn’t happen or it doesn’t matter but if you look through scripture, there are a number of times where people because of their generosity, actually receive breakthroughs and they receive miracles.
You know, there are many kinds of offerings that you can receive as a church. We obviously do our regular tithes and offerings where people give a percentage of their income to the local church and it’s a great blessing and then, there are designated offerings. There are specific offerings we can things up for.
We can take things up for missions. We can take things up to support a particular ministry. We could do it to support a charity. You know, there’s all these different designated ones where you just seek God and give and you can just give whatever you want to give but today, we’re doing a different type of offering. And the type of offering we’re doing today is called a Breakthrough Offering.
And what that means is it’s an offering. Believing for a breakthrough in the lives of the givers. And so today I want to look at one at this passage of scripture that I just read out to you. One Kings chapter seventeen because in it we can see somewhat of a pattern or the anatomy of a breakthrough offering. What does it mean to give a breakthrough offering?
And we’re going to look at this passage of scripture and then after the end of the service we’re going to start receiving an offering. It’ll be open up for the next few weeks. But I just thought before we did that I thought I’d talk to you about the anatomy.
The three key components that comprise a breakthrough offering. That we can find in this passage of scripture.
1. Specific Amount
First one is this. Says in one Kings chapter seventeen verse eleven it says that as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. So, up until that time, Elijah said, can you get me some water? And he said, and she said, Sean, she was going to get it and then he said, could you bring me a morsel of bread in your hand? And then she turned around and she said, I’ve only got enough flour and oil to make two small cakes for me and my son and then we’re going to die but then he says in verse thirteen, and Elijah then said to her, do not fear, go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first. And bring it to me and afterwards make some for yourself and your son.
That’s hilarious. So he says to her can you make me a morsel of bread? She goes no I’ve only got enough to make two small cakes. And he says oh you can make cake? Okay. Well then make me a cake. And then he and he said to her this is exactly what I want you to do. The first key component of a breakthrough offering is that a breakthrough offering is often a specific amount.
He said to her go and make this. This is what I want you to do. If she hadn’t brought the water it wouldn’t have been enough for the breakthrough. She actually had to give specifically what he had asked her to do. One of the things I found is that there are times when God tells you to give a specific amount. And that specific amount could very well be the thing that causes you to get a breakthrough.
I remember several years ago, I’ve told you before about the time that we sowed. Trish and I. We sowed 2,150 to believe for a breakthrough for a house. It was about 20 years ago and we believe that brought us a significant breakthrough after that time. I was talking to a friend of mine recently. He’s a pastor from a place called Tanham Sands which is near Gladstone, a guy named Anthony and he told me a couple of years ago about a time when he was at a conference and he felt God tell him to sow a thousand dollars at that conference and he’s like, oh gee, you know, he’s not someone who’s very wealthy and said, okay and so he sowed $1,000 and then, the next week, he was at another conference and he felt God tell him, want you to sow a $1,000. He’s like, oh gosh. So, he sowed $1,000 and then the next night of the conference, felt God say to him, sow $150. It’s like a hundred and fifty, okay? And so, he sowed $150 and it ended up being $2,150.
Three months later, he was at a conference that I was speaking at and I was giving a testimony about how God had spoken to us about giving $2,150 to believe for a house and when I said that, he said, that’s why I’ve given it because I needed a breakthrough in property. They were not wealthy people and they were really struggling financially and but he said, he knew at that moment, God spoke to him. This is why you’re giving. You’re giving to believe for this.
That week, he said he got a miracle property. That week, he received a breakthrough. But it first started with a specific amount. Make no mistake. God can speak to you about a specific amount. Go make me a cake. The water won’t do it. The water’s not going to get you at breakthrough. Give me this cake because that is going to be the key to your breakthrough. That’s why we’re encouraging people right across our church. It’s just between you and God.
It’s just between you and the Lord. We’re not asking people for pledges. We’re not following up anybody. We’re not going to try and look up and see if anybody gave or not. It’s completely between you and the Lord. And all we’re asking you to do is this, seek him and see if he gives you a specific amount. I know myself every year when it comes to the breakthrough offering. Trish and I pray about it. And each year we feel God give us a specific amount and it’s not the same each time. And we feel God does that.
And in the past we’ve sown and it’s not always been for something specific but we know God’s given us a specific amount. But this year God’s given us a very specific amount. And we know what we’re believing for. But make no like when it comes to things like this, there are times when you can just determine in your heart what to give. There are times where it’s kind of like preordained what you’re supposed to give but in moments like this at a breakthrough offering.
Just seek the Lord and it’s between you and him about he would want about what he would want you to give. He what the first component of a breakthrough offering is it’s a specific amount.
2. Specific Place
The second thing about a breakthrough offering is this. He says in verse thirteen of one King seventeen
1 Kings 17:13 NKJV
And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.
He said okay make a cake but bring it to me. Now, if you know anything about this passage of scripture, before going to Zerephath, he had actually been at a place called the Brook Cherith. He had pronounced a drought upon the land and it was a very severe drought but God looked after him.
So, he was actually being fed the whole time by ravens with meat in their mouths and he was actually drinking from the brook. When that dried up, God then told him to go to Zerephath So, while all these other people were potentially starving, he was still getting it. He was still eating meat.
Now, he goes into this town and he says to this lady, go bring me a small cake and then make one for you and your son afterwards. If I was her, I’d be thinking, mate, you don’t need the cake. Looks like you’re eating a lot of protein. I tell you what, how about I give it to someone needier? I’ll take that amount. I’ll still be generous but instead of giving to you, I will go and find someone else.
This, you know, some people in our street really struggling. I’m going to take it and go and give it to them. The problem with that is this, if she hadn’t done that, she would have missed her breakthrough. Why? Because it was not only a specific amount but secondly, it was to a specific place. It was to a specific place that when God speaks to you at this time, he’s saying, I want you to give a specific amount to a specific place.
The Bible talks about generosity and giving is like sowing, sowing seed but the thing about sowing a seed is, that it doesn’t sprout till you put it in the right environment. You can walk around with seed in your pocket. You can come up to me and say, oh, what are you doing? It’s like, oh well, I’m growing a herb garden. Where? In my pocket. I’ve got the seed in my pocket. I’ve put it there. I’m expecting it to sprout. It will never sprout.
Because it has to be in the right environment. I’ve told you before about the time I went home and visited my parents and they had out the backyard, vines growing everywhere with pumpkins on the end of them. And I said to my mum, what have you done? Well, he’s grown a pumpkin garden. She said, no, it was in the compost.
So, basically, what had happened was this, earlier, at some point, they’d somewhat, they’d made pumpkin, they scraped out the seeds, and they put them in the compost bucket. There’s a compost bucket under the sink at mum and dad’s place. Some of you might have one of those as well and so, she put that there and then, they go and take it out to the compost heap and they put in the compost heap and they turn it around and spin it in that sort of thing. Then, they grab it and they put it on the garden and it was after putting it on the garden that those pumpkin seeds that had been dormant. Yes. Dormant on the plate. Dormant in the bucket. Dormant in the compost heap. They eventually sprouted because they were put in the right place.
Make no mistake. It’s not just about a specific amount. It’s also about a specific place. It’s important actually where we sow it into. You know, when you do that, you actually could be potentially answering somebody’s prayer. Now, when you sow and you give to a specific place, sometimes you’re giving it to the exact same person that God has spoken to about. Notice this, God had promised Elijah before the widow even knew. He said to Elijah, I’m going to provide, I’ve commanded a widow at Zerephath to take care from you.
When he went and spoke to her about it, she’s like, but she would have been thinking, first time I’ve heard about this, nobody told me, but if she put it in the wrong place, she would have disobeyed the word of the Lord, she would have she would have missed out on the breakthrough that God had for her, and Elijah would not have received the promise that God was going to use her to supply in the same way that when we sow, when we give, not only, it’s gotta go to the right place because God is going to use it to supply the needs of others.
Told you before that when we receive the breakthrough offering, we basically give almost all of it away and it goes away to our missions commitments that we have made and also to our community care and we use it to serve the needs of the community and that sort of thing. Right now, over the last couple of years because of Covid, a lot of missions organisations have been missing out.
A lot of churches have kind of had to dial back because some churches’ income have dialled back and they’ve had to do the dial back what they were going to provide for those missions. But we made a decision day one of Covid that we said we will never allow external circumstances to stop us from honouring those commitments to these places. And in some cases, we’ve actually given more than what we first promised. But that all comes from people coming giving a specific amount to the right place. There’s something significant when comes to a breakthrough offering of giving a specific amount to a specific place.
3. Specific Breakthrough
And then the third thing is this. It says in one Kings seventeen verse fourteen.
1 Kings 17:14 NKJV
For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.
The third key component of a breakthrough offering. 1. It’s a specific amount. 2. To a specific place. 3. For a specific breakthrough. Watch this.
Elijah told her ahead of time what was going to happen. Elijah said if you do this act of generosity this is the word of the Lord to you. Have you ever heard people say things like, oh you know, when you give, you shouldn’t expect anything in return. You know, because you know, your motives have gotta be pure. So, don’t give expecting something expecting anything in return.
She didn’t give she gave expecting something in return. The only reason she gave. She didn’t feel sorry for Elijah. The only she gave is because God made her a promise and it was a promise about a breakthrough that was going to come to pass because of her generosity. Her motives weren’t pure. She didn’t feel sorry for him. But there were moments in your life where God will say, the way I want you to express your faith to receive something God has for you is by doing an act of generosity.
That’s why David said one Chronicles fourteen verse eleven.
1 Chronicles 14:11 NKJV
So they went up to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there. Then David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore they called the name of that place Baal Perazim.
I’ve partnered with him. That’s why we believe that one of the keys is prayer. One of the keys is adding fasting to that. But another one of the keys is actually through generosity. And we can receive breakthroughs as a result of our giving. A number of years ago we had when I was a youth pastor we had a youth camp and you know we had about 30 kids on it.
And I remember at the time I was just running it and we had the last day of the camp and we had a break and we’re about to do the last session and two of the girls came up to me and they’re like they were like in year 11 something like that and they came up and they said Pastor Ben are we going to take up an offering at the camp? Because I was used to taking up offerings at you know youth and that and I said no. I said well we don’t need to.
I said you know we don’t have a guest speaker. You know so we don’t need to take up an offering or anything and they said oh please please can we give an offering? They said please can we oh come on let us give an offering. I thought I’d never had anybody be me to receive an offering.
And I thought that’s gotta be God. I said, okay. I said we’re going to receive an offering and so went into the next session. I said to the kids, I said, hey, kids. We’re going to receive an offering and you know, and so if you want to do that, it’s an act of worship to God and that sort of thing.
Couldn’t believe it. Uh out of the, we had 30 kids in, some leaders received $1, 000 in that offering which was amazing and but what I found out later was this that one of the girls who wanted to give him the offering, she had an agenda behind it and the reason why she felt God tell her that she had to sow a seed believing for a breakthrough and so she and so she that day when we did the offering, she was believing for a car and she was wanting to get, she was going to get a license and she was wanting to get her first car and so, she had an amount. She felt God told her to give.
I don’t know how much it was. It wouldn’t have been much, you know, because they were just kids and so she grabbed her and she said, Lord, I’m believing you for a car. You know, she just felt God put on her heart and so she dropped that in the offering and later that afternoon, I got a phone call from her. We all went home. It was the last session. We got home late afternoon. She said, pastor, guess what? She goes, I won a car. I said, what? She goes, I won a car. I said, what do you mean? She goes, I’ll be, I was in this competition. Just found out that since I got home, I have won a car. I said, what kind of car is it? She goes, it’s a car. I said, yeah, yeah, I know. I said, what kind? And she goes, it’s a car and I’m like, what?
Basically, back then, it was about 2002, something like that. The Ford Motor Company, remember them. The Ford Motor Company put out a little small car called a car, Ka. She won a Ka. if you don’t believe me, her and her husband are coming to preach here in three weeks, okay? You can ask her because now they’re senior pastors of a significant church in Ipswich, alright?
And so, but she said as she sowed, she felt God was speaking to her and she was believing for a specific breakthrough. There’s another young lady that was in our the on you and she’d been struggling with sinus problems for many many years and one year, she’s at a conference and she just really felt, she said, Lord, you know, I’m sick of this. I’m sick of having these sinus issues and she just felt not prompted by anybody or anything like that. She just felt the Lord say to her, empty your account. And so she went home. She asked her parents and she was a teenager. She said Mum and Dad I just felt God told me I gotta empty my bank account. And they said okay well you know all right. No worries. And so she did. She emptied her bank account and her testimony is this to this 20 years later she’s never had another issue again. That she’s been completely set free and delivered and she herself would pinpoint the moment she did that outstanding act of generosity.
Make no mistake there is the possibility that God has got a breakthrough for you. And you know when it’s going to come to pass because he will tell you a specific amount to give to a specific place in order to receive a specific breakthrough. And I want people to open up their hearts to those possibilities. Make no mistake. We are not saying that you could somehow twist God’s arm to get you something that he’s not calling you to receive. But you can’t do that with prayer and you can’t do with that with fasting either. And in the same way so we’re not saying that this is somehow trying to twist God’s arm or anything like that. It’s between you and the Lord but there are times just like this woman.
There are times just like when I talked about David two weeks ago when he knew that he had to give something sacrificial at the right place. The threshing floor in order to break the plague that had hit the people. There are a number of times in the scripture where God is is prompted in the hearts of people that in order to get this breakthrough, give a specific amount, to a specific place. And I’m believing in the life of our church that God’s got breakthroughs for people.
I want to show you something. There’s a great couple in our church Laz and Louise Herrera. Louise is our kids pastor over at Pimpama and doing a phenomenal job and great couple in our church and they shared with me last year about a breakthrough they received as a result of last year’s breakthrough offerings. So we’ve recorded something from them so why don’t you turn your eyes to the screen?
Laz & Louises’ Testimony
Hi, everyone. My name is Laz. And my name is Louise. And we really want to share with you guys how God really came through for us last year during the breakthrough offering. God really exceeded our expectations in that and last year, we really needed a breakthrough. We really love giving. We love giving to the church and to the vision and we know that last year was a significant one for us and God really came through.
Yeah. So, we were in a situation where we had family move in and they were living with us. So, we needed a bigger place to live and we really did need a breakthrough and I really God challenge us as a family and just challenge us to come out of our comfort zone and so we chose to give an amount that was beyond what we’d ever given before but the difference I think last year was that we had an expectation for God to move. Um previously, we would give to the breakthrough offering but not really, I guess, expect anything to happen.
Well, last year, we expected and we gave as an act of faith to see God move. And of course, yeah, when Louise told me how much the Lord had laid on her heart gave. I was firstly shocked and I said, yes, ma’am. Happy wife, happy life. So, but no, it was really a time where I think not only with the breakthrough offering but I think with everything that had to happen for us to be able to have buy the house that we needed to buy for to house my parents and us in. Uh we had to have a miracle happen at to find a house. A miracle happened to sell a house.
And everything else and everything just fell into place in such a way that even the real estate wants saw the price that I have sold for. He’s like, he’s gobsmacked but with what it’s worth is like. He said this must be divine intervention. Yeah, this must be divine intervention and we said, yes, it surely was. He even said don’t tell anybody because this will never happen again. You know, what the miracle that happened against in terms of selling a house was just perfect and couldn’t have been timed any better and not only that, I think in our lives as well, there’s been breakthrough after breakthrough after breakthrough that God.
He has proven himself to be faithful. He’s so faithful. So, yeah, that’s our testimony. God really stretched us. We gave above what we would normally give but God had also shown up above and beyond. Praise God.
How awesome’s that? you know it’s a miracle when the real estate agent says it’s divine intervention. Amen. And so I believe that over the course of this season there are three breakthrough principles and we’ve encouraged everybody to participate in all of them. When you pray, when you fast, when you give. Your father who sees what you do in secret will reward you openly. And so today we’re opening up the breakthrough offering.
It’ll be open for the next four weeks and the reason why is because there’s tax-deductibility available. Some of the missions and organisations that we support. This tax deductibility is associated. So if you want it to be a tax deduction and you want it to do be next financial year then you could wait till after June 30 or you can do it or if you want it this financial year you could do it over the next couple of weeks before we hit that time. But we’re asking people to go away and pray about it.
You will see on your seat an envelope. 21 days of breakthrough offering envelope. If you go away from today and want to give it some other time what I’ll encourage you to do is put your offering in this envelope so that when it goes we can put it in offering at any time after this and we know that’s what it’s going to be designated for and that’s what it’s going to.
But I just want to encourage people to consider what they would do. If I can be brutally honest with you as a pastor the one that people, you know, you always know you’re next on the chopping block when you start talking about money and that sort of thing and remember one time, I was actually at a food court not here but some other town and I remember someone walked up to me at the food court and I said, are you Ben Naitoko? I said, yeah. I thought they wanted an autograph, you know? And we’ve been doing a series at the church I was part of on giving and my pastor had asked me do a number of messages in a row on it and they said to me well I’ve been going to church last few weeks. All you do is talk about money mate. I’ve had enough of it. The whole church I think has had enough of it mate. I’m telling you gotta stop. Right? And there’s food court. And I was with a youth kid doing visitation. And he’s like oh wow you know. And the girl walked off.
And I thought oh. Maybe I should. You know maybe I should stop talking about because I don’t want to offend people or anything like that. Then I brought it to the Lord and honestly, he rebuked me. He said, how dare you put your reputation in front of blessing coming to people’s lives. It’s more blessed to give than it is to receive and how could I as a pastor tell you, hey, pray and fast or don’t do the giving thing. It doesn’t matter when maybe that’s the very thing. That you need and so you put yourself out there. You put yourself at risk but there are times as a pastor, you gotta love the people more than your own reputation and stay aligned to God’s word. When Jesus said, when you pray, when you fast, when you give. Your father who says what you do in secret will reward you openly. Amen.
So, I want you to just grab that envelope and even if you’re not ready today, just grab it anyway and we’re going to pray. And we’re going to pray with you and after that, as we give up the front, I’m going to open up the altar as well. I’m going to pray for people who are believing for breakthrough, want to receive prayer. We’re going to open that up today but let’s just pray I might just get you to stand to your feet if that’s okay and Father, I just thank you for every single person here. And I thank you Lord that there’s a breakthrough available for your people. And I just ask and pray right now in Jesus name for every single person in this place. For every single person right across our church. I thank you Lord that some are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
I thank you Lord that you can make a way where there is no way. You’re a way maker. I ask and pray that you would speak to us about what you would have us to give. It’s just between us as individuals and you Lord. But I know that for number of people is going to be the key to their breakthrough. I thank you and I praise you for it lord in Jesus name. Amen.
