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Five Keys to Divine Increase - Key 3, Increase God's Kingdom
In this third message on divine increase, Pastor Mirek Hufton challenges the congregation to reject a poverty mindset and embrace God's kingdom-first approach to finances. Drawing from Jesus' Parable of the Minas, Pastor Hufton declares that God entrusts us with resources, and expects a return. We are stewards, not owners, and we will give account for how we handled what God gave us. The foundational principle is Matthew 6:33: seek first the kingdom, and everything else follows. From Adam's mandate to multiply (Genesis 1:28) through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God's consistent pattern is increase, never poverty. Pastor Hufton illustrated God's supernatural provision through the story of Pastor Randy White, who needed $450,000 in 30 days to purchase a building. With almost nothing in the bank, he told the banker, "My Father has it", and a woman walked in and wrote the check. The message culminates in the tithe (Malachi 3:10) as God's covenant test, and a congregational "Vow of Prosperity", committing to pursue increase so others can be blessed.
Related Sermons
Small Group Guide
Small Group Discussion Guide
"Five Keys to Divine Increase — Key 3: Love to Increase God's Kingdom"
Based on the teaching of Pastor Mirek Hufton
1. SERMON RECAP
In this message, I shared that the third key to divine increase is loving to increase God's kingdom — and that our entire financial life should be oriented around that one question: How can I further what God is building? We walked through scripture from Genesis to the New Testament to see that increase, multiplication, and abundance have always been on God's heart for his people. We also looked honestly at the tithe as God's invitation to trust him, recognizing that when we honour him with the first 10%, we're declaring that he — not our own effort — is the source of our increase.
2. KEY SCRIPTURE
Luke 19:13 (NKJV) "So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.'"
3. ICE BREAKER
Keep it light and fun — give everyone a chance to share!
Think about a time you received an unexpected financial blessing — big or small. What was your first reaction, and what did you do with it?
4. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Question 1 — Opening Up the Text In Luke 19, the nobleman gives his servants money and says, "Do business till I come." What do you think it means practically for us, right now in 2025, to "do business" for the kingdom? What does that look like in an ordinary week?
Question 2 — Shifting Our Mindset I talked about how a "vow of poverty" mindset has crept into church culture — the idea that having less somehow makes you more spiritual. Have you ever felt tension between pursuing financial growth and feeling like a devoted Christian? Where do you think that tension comes from?
Question 3 — Going Deeper into Scripture In Genesis 12:1–3, God told Abraham, "I will bless you… and you shall be a blessing." Notice the order — God blesses first so that blessing can flow outward. How does that change the way we think about pursuing increase for ourselves? Is wanting more always selfish, or can it be an act of faith?
Question 4 — The Tithe as a Trust Test Malachi 3:10 frames the tithe as a challenge: "Prove me now herewith." I described the tithe as a 10% "test" — God's way of seeing whether we truly trust him as our source. Be honest as a group: What makes that test feel easy for some people and genuinely hard for others? What circumstances make it feel nearly impossible?
Question 5 — Sons and Daughters of Abraham Galatians 3:7 says that those who have faith are the sons and daughters of Abraham. Since Abraham was described as "very rich" — a man God specifically set out to bless — what does it mean for your own identity that you carry that same spiritual inheritance? Does that feel real to you, or does it feel distant?
Question 6 — Blessing Others as Motivation I shared that one of the greatest joys of increase is the ability to bless someone else — to write a check, meet a need, fund a missionary, or lift a family. Has generosity ever been a motivation for you to grow financially, rather than just a result of it? What would change if you started thinking that way more intentionally?
5. APPLICATION CHALLENGE
This week, do one specific, concrete thing to align your finances with a kingdom mindset:
Choose one of the following based on where you are right now —
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If you're not yet tithing: Sit down with your last pay stub, calculate what 10% looks like, and write that number down. Then pray over it and set a date — even 30 or 60 days out — when you will begin. Tell someone in your group so they can cheer you on.
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If you're already tithing: Identify one giving opportunity beyond your regular tithe this week — a missionary, a need in the church, or someone in your life — and give something, even a small amount, specifically with the prayer: "Lord, let this advance your kingdom."
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For everyone: Write down one answer to this question and put it somewhere visible: "If God increased my income by 20% this year, what kingdom purpose would I use it for?"
6. PRAYER POINTS
Pray together over these specific items before you close:
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For a renewed mindset — Ask God to uproot any poverty thinking or fear around money that has taken root in your heart, and replace it with a genuine, faith-filled expectation of his increase.
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For kingdom focus — Pray that every person in your group would grow in their desire to see God's kingdom expand — through missions, generosity, and the practical use of what God places in their hands.
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For courage to trust God with finances — Pray specifically for anyone in the group who is in a genuinely tight financial season, that God would make a way, protect them from the devourer, and give them the faith to honour him even in the hard moments.
7. MEMORY VERSE
Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
Write it on a card. Put it on your bathroom mirror, your car dashboard, or your phone wallpaper. Say it out loud every morning this week.
Thank you for leading your group this week. You are doing kingdom work — and that matters more than you know.
Daily Devotional
You Serve a God of Increase
Genesis 1:28 — "God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.'"
I want you to hear this from my heart — the very first thing God spoke over humanity was a blessing of increase. From the very beginning, our Father's plan was never poverty, never just getting by, never barely surviving. His first word over you was *multiply*. I grew up watching mangoes fall by the thousands in African forests — more than anyone could ever eat. That's the God we serve. He is lavish. He is abundant. He thinks big. When I came out of corporate life into ministry, I had to shake off a religious mindset that somehow said less equals holiness. That's simply not in scripture. God told Adam to fill the earth — you cannot fill something if you are shrinking. Today, let this truth settle deep in your spirit: your heavenly Father is a God of increase, and He has increase on His mind for you.
Father, I thank You that from the very beginning, increase was Your idea, not mine. Help me today to see myself the way You see me — blessed, fruitful, and multiplying. Shake every poverty mindset off me in Jesus' name.
Seek the Kingdom First
Matthew 6:33 — "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
I love this verse because Jesus is being so honest with us here. He knows we need food on the table, clothes on our backs, a roof over our heads. He is not naive about real life. But He says — put My kingdom first and I will take care of the rest. The nobleman in Luke 19 gave his servants money and said occupy, trade, multiply — until I return. He expected a return. That is kingdom thinking. I want to challenge you today — when you make financial decisions, when you plan your week, when you set your budget — ask yourself honestly, is the kingdom first in this? Not second. Not third when there is something left over. First. When you live with that kind of focus, something supernatural gets released. God begins moving pieces into position that you could never move yourself. I have watched it happen again and again in my own life.
Lord Jesus, I honestly confess that I do not always put Your kingdom first. Rearrange my priorities today. Let kingdom thinking drive every decision I make this week. I trust You to add everything else I need.
You Are Abraham's Heir
Galatians 3:7 — "Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham."
This changes everything when it really lands in your spirit. Abraham was not just a historical figure — he is your faith father. And the Bible says in Genesis 13 verse 2 that Abraham was very rich. That word means wealthy, prosperous, abundant. God told him, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and through you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. That was not just for Abraham. As his children by faith, that covenant flows to you and me today. I am not preaching a name-it-and-claim-it gospel with no roots — I am showing you what the written Word actually says. You are a son or daughter of the most blessed man who ever walked this earth outside of Jesus. Your Father's house is not struggling. Your inheritance is not poverty. Today, receive your identity as an heir of the Abrahamic blessing and walk accordingly.
Father, I receive today that I am Abraham's heir through faith in Jesus Christ. Let that identity replace every lie about lack that I have believed. I am blessed to be a blessing, and I receive that fully today.
The Tithe Is a Test of Trust
Malachi 3:10 — "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."
I love this verse because it is the only place in all of scripture where God actually says — test Me. He is so confident in this principle that He invites your skepticism. The tithe is ten percent — move the decimal point one place to the left and that number is God's. It is not about the money itself. It is about what the money reveals about your heart. When you hold on to that ten percent, you are essentially telling God, I will handle this myself. When you release it, you are declaring, God, I trust You more than I trust my own ability to manage this. I can tell you from my own life — I have never known anything but tithing. Whatever I put my hand to has been blessed. Not because I am special, but because I aligned myself with a covenant God established and He is faithful to honor it every single time.
God, I want to be someone who passes the money test. Help me to trust You with the tithe not out of obligation but out of genuine faith that You are faithful. Open my eyes to see Your blessing as I honor You first.
Blessed to Be a Blessing
Genesis 12:2 — "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing."
Here is what I want to leave with you as we close out this week — God's increase in your life was never meant to stop with you. Every time God told Abraham I will bless you, He finished the sentence with and you will be a blessing. The increase flows through you, not just to you. That is what changes your whole relationship with money. When my wife and I write a check to meet someone's need, there is a joy that money itself cannot buy. I want you to taste that. When you start thinking — how can I increase so I can lift others — poverty becomes your enemy because it limits your ability to serve. The servant who buried his mina had nothing to show Jesus when He returned. Do not be that person. This year, make a vow — I will pursue increase so that through my life, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Jesus, thank You that Your blessing on my life has a purpose beyond me. Let increase flow through me to missionaries, to the hurting, to the lost. Make me a channel of Your abundance, not just a container.