Memorise: “The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”- Proverbs 11:25
Read: Hebrews 11:17-19, Malachi 3:8-12 (KJV)
Hebrews 11:17-19:
7 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
Malachi 3:8-12:
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.
12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.
Bible in One Year: Exodus 4-6, Jeremiah 31:15-30
MESSAGE:
Our God is a God of principles, and He runs the universe by the principles He has established. Understanding these principles is key to living a blessed life. One of God’s principles is the principle of obtaining a harvest after a period of sowing, while another is that whatsoever a man sows is what he will reap (Genesis 8:22, Galatians 6:7).
Based on these two principles, whenever God wants to bless a fellow, He creates an opportunity for the fellow to give up something precious as a seed into the fertile soil of His kingdom.
Such divinely organized investment opportunities must be grabbed with both hands. When God wanted to bless Abraham and make him a mighty nation, He asked him to sacrifice his only son to Him. After Abraham passed the tests, he received an everlasting promise of greatness (Genesis 22 16-17).
Those who want to get the results that Abraham got must be ready to do the works that Abraham did. It is ironic to hear people sing “Abraham’s blessings are mine” or claim to be Abraham’s children, and yet refuse to do the works of Abraham. The Lord said in John 8:39b:
“If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.”
Malachi 3:8-12 contains a divine investment opportunity which Abraham himself embraced. He and his descendants did this by faith, even before the Law of Moses was given in (Genesis 14:18-20, Genesis 28:22).
Today, this same investment opportunity is still open to all of God’s obedient children who desire to receive great blessings from Him. When I was confronted with the principle of tithing as I was growing in faith, I found it difficult to understand it as a divine investment opportunity, until I eventually learnt my lesson in a painstaking way.
I discovered that my financial problems persisted even though I was not paying tithes, to the extent that I used to borrow money from my driver to buy fuel into my car before my next salary was paid. However, immediately I realized that God was only setting His children up for blessings through tithing, I threw myself headlong into it. Before long, I stopped borrowing money and eventually had enough to build my first house.
When God says “Give”, it is because He wants to us to receive (Luke 6:38). Years ago, when we were preparing for our annual church convention, there were multiple building projects going on within our camp grounds, of which the major one was the roofing of our main auditorium. As I was wondering how to get enough funds for this project, one of my senior pastors came asking for financial assistance for his church’s project. I initially refused because I still needed funds to complete the national project, but God prevailed on me to give him all I had on me.
Shortly afterwards, the Lord laid it upon someone’s heart to give me the exact amount needed for the project on hand. I then knew that God was setting me up for supernatural financial breakthrough when He asked me to give all I had to assist this pastor. It was an investment that yielded high dividends. Beloved, I encourage you to invest in the business of God’s kingdom, and your business will not run dry.
Key Point:If you are a child of Abraham, you will do the works of Abraham in the area of tithing.
Open Heaven 6 May 2019 Monday Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.
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