GIVING DETERMINES PROMOTION – Wednesday September 13th 2017
Memorise:
Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the
LORD thy God which he hath given thee. Deuteronomy 16:17
Read: Deuteronomy 16:16-17 (KJV)
16:16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy
God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened
bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and
they shall not appear before the Lord empty:
16:17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.
Bible in one year: 2nd Chronicle 29-30, Ezekiel 40:20-34, Hymn: Sing hymn 10
MESSAGE:
When
God commanded all males in Israel to appear before Him in today’s Bible
reading, He specifically instructed that they should not come before
Him empty-handed.
He also instructed that whatever they brought to Him
must be a reflection of the level of blessings they had received from
Him. Based on these two parameters, can you say you have followed the
divine pattern whenever you appear before God? Today, when God’s people
assemble before Him, many of them do not care about what they bring as
an offering, as long as they bring something. Do you know that God cares
about this? For this reason, 2nd Corinthians 8:12 says,
“For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.”
One
year, during our annual thanksgiving service for pastors and ministers
of our church, I told them that God expects them to bring an offering
that reflects how much He has blessed them individually. Then I asked
them this question: “Brethren, do you know that many of us demote
ourselves by the offering we give? “They appeared surprised to hear
this.
So I further explained that God knows us individually, and He
knows the level to which He has blessed each on of us. He knows those
who can afford to give N500 and those who are unable to give more than
N100. If you are in the category of N1000 but give N500 per offering,
you are indirectly saying to God, “Dear Lord, you made a mistake placing
me in the category of givers of N1000. You should have left me in the
category of givers of N500,” Then the Lord would reply, “I thought I
promoted you, but if you want to demote yourself, no problem.” This is
why some people are experiencing financial dryness. You are the one who
told God that the level He placed you at is too high and that He should
take you lower. I shared with my children that at the beginning of
every year, I draw up a budget stating what I want to earn as my income
for the year. Then I tell God that this is where I was last year but
this is where I want to be by the year’s end. Thereafter, I start giving
to reflect my expectations based on my target. I promote myself by
giving beyond my present level, and I can tell you in unmistaken terms
that God has never failed me, not even once. Before the end of the year,
I would have already surpassed the limit I set for myself. How has it
been with your life of giving? Make necessary adjustments today and key
into your joy.
Key Point:
Giving
at a level that matches the financial status of your expectations is a
way to compel God to supernaturally upgrade you to that expected level.
Open
Heavens Daily Devotional Lessons 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.
0 comments:
Post a Comment