REVIVAL MEETING · TUESDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2026 · APOSTLE PAPY MPIANA · MATTHEW 20:28
Prefer YouTube? Watch this meeting on YouTube.
In this revival meeting, held during the church’s days of prayer and fasting, Apostle Papy Mpiana opened with Jesus’ words about His own mission: “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). From there the message built one principle: there is no redemption until there is giving. It then looked at the heart behind giving through the parable of the sower, and closed with a time of prayer against a scarcity mindset, greed and stinginess. Watch or listen to the recording, then use these notes to read the passages and pray.
Scriptures in this meeting
| Passage | Main point |
|---|---|
| Matthew 20:28 | Jesus came to serve and to give His life as a ransom |
| John 3:16 | For God so loved the world that He gave |
| Luke 8:1–3 | The women who supported Jesus out of their own means |
| Mark 12:41–44 | The widow’s two small coins |
| 1 Kings 17:8–16 | The widow of Zarephath feeds Elijah first |
| Matthew 26:6–13 | Mary’s jar of expensive perfume |
| Matthew 13:3–23 | The parable of the sower: four kinds of soil |
| Proverbs 11:25 | A generous person will prosper |
Outline of the message
- Redemption begins with giving (Matthew 20:28; John 3:16)
- Giving begins with a cause (Luke 8:1–3)
- Giving entails a sacrifice (Mark 12:41–44; 1 Kings 17:8–16; Matthew 26:6–13)
- The heart decides the harvest: the four soils (Matthew 13:3–23)
- Giving leads to life (Acts 20:35; Proverbs 11:25)
- Prayer: breaking scarcity, greed and stinginess
1. There Is No Redemption Until There Is Giving
“Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Everything that has to do with redemption starts with giving. The world teaches “get all you can”; Jesus came to give His life. The same principle runs through John 3:16: God did not wait for the world to give first. He gave, and He did not give little: He gave His only Son.
At the heart of Christianity is giving: of our time, our gifts, our service and ourselves. Whatever we want to see change (souls saved, evangelism going far, a family or ministry that flourishes) starts with what we are willing to give.
Lesson: You cannot redeem without giving. Christianity is built on a God who gave first and gave everything.
2. Giving Begins with a Cause (Luke 8:1–3)
A cause is a root, a ground, a reason. It does not live in the head but in the heart, and over time it builds a mindset. The disciples left homes, jobs and security to follow a travelling preacher because they had found a cause: they understood His mission (Luke 5:11).
Luke records women who had been healed by Jesus (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna and many others) “helping to support them out of their own means” (Luke 8:1–3). They had received miracles; they believed in His cause, followed Him and gave. The early church did the same, giving houses, land and possessions to advance the kingdom (Acts 4:32–35), and enduring persecution because they saw the bigger picture.
Lesson: When the cause of Christ is rooted in your heart, giving stops being a struggle. It becomes who you are, and you teach it to your children by example.
3. Giving Entails a Sacrifice
Sacrifice cannot be separated from the heart. Jesus’ ransom had to be paid; does He expect anything less from us? Shallow giving leaves no legacy. The Bible gives four pictures of giving that cost something:
Four pictures of sacrifice
- The widow’s two coins: the size of the gift matters less than the size of the sacrifice. She gave all she had (Mark 12:41–44).
- The boy’s five loaves and two fish: he let go of his only meal, and Jesus fed the crowd (Matthew 14:17–21).
- The widow of Zarephath: in a famine she served the prophet first with her last flour and oil, and it did not run out (1 Kings 17:8–16).
- Mary’s perfume: what the disciples called waste, Jesus called a beautiful thing, remembered wherever the gospel is preached (Matthew 26:6–13).
None of these makes sense to human logic, and people who judge spiritual things by logic will criticise them. Spiritual things are discerned by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Lesson: The law of addition starts with subtraction. God gave His only Son; Abraham offered his only son (Genesis 22:2). Sacrifice goes deeper than what is comfortable.
4. The Heart Decides the Harvest (Matthew 13)
In Jesus’ day familiarity kept His own town from receiving from Him, while a Gentile widow in Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian received (Luke 4:24–27). Mindset is built in the heart, and Jesus described four conditions of the heart in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3–23):
The four soils
- The path, a hard heart: pride, sin or scepticism. The seed cannot go in, and the evil one snatches it away (Matthew 13:19).
- Rocky ground, a shallow heart: initial joy but no root; it never counts the cost, and falls away under trouble (Matthew 13:20–21).
- Among thorns, a crowded heart: the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word (Matthew 13:22). Judas walked with Jesus, yet asked, “What are you willing to give me?” (John 12:4–6; Matthew 26:14–15).
- Good soil, a receptive heart: an honest, obedient heart that hears, understands and bears fruit with patience (Matthew 13:23).
Lesson: Judas sold the redemption that had to be received by giving. You cannot sell redemption; to receive it you must give. What we keep for ourselves at God’s expense destroys us.
5. Giving Leads to Life
Fresh water flows into the Sea of Galilee, which is full of fish, and out into the River Jordan, which turns the desert into a fruitful land. But where the Jordan ends, in the Dead Sea, nothing flows out, and nothing lives. One has to give to live.
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
People do not give because it hurts; they give because it brings joy. The happiest people are givers, and God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). Give, and it will be given to you (Luke 6:38).
6. Prayer: Breaking Scarcity, Greed and Stinginess
Stinginess is not just a physical act. It is a spiritual stronghold, rooted in fear and in doubt about God’s provision, that builds a mindset. The meeting closed with these prayer points:
Prayer points
- Renounce the scarcity mindset: confess where you have looked at life through the lens of “not enough”, and replace it with the truth of God’s abundance (Proverbs 11:25).
- Uproot greed and materialism: you cannot serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24).
- Pull down false security: stop measuring your security by what you can keep.
- Dethrone stinginess and put Jesus on the throne of your heart.
- Release a generous, cheerful spirit (2 Corinthians 9:7), and ask for grace to abound in every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).
The Grand Lesson
“You haven’t given God anything until you have given God everything.”
There is no redemption until there is giving, and the giving that redeems comes from a heart that has found Christ’s cause.
- God gave first, and He gave His only Son (John 3:16).
- Sacrifice is measured by what it costs us, not by its size.
- The condition of the heart, not the size of the wallet, decides whether the word bears fruit.
Note
- Giving is more than money: it is our time, our gifts, our service and ourselves.
- Give in love. Giving that is not backed by love is empty (1 Corinthians 13:3).
Conclusion
“Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”
- Let the cause of Christ take root in your heart, give with joy, and trust God to provide. The revival meeting continued on Wednesday evening.
- What does Matthew 20:28 teach you about why Jesus came, and what it means to follow Him?
- What “cause” moved the women in Luke 8:1–3 to give? What is the cause behind your giving?
- Which of the four pictures of sacrifice speaks to you most, and why?
- Read Matthew 13:18–23. Which soil best describes your heart today?
- Where has a “not enough” mindset kept you from obeying God?
Prayer focus: Lord, You gave everything for me. Uproot fear, greed and stinginess from my heart and give me a generous, cheerful spirit. Let Your cause take root in me, and let my giving be backed by love. Amen.