YOU ARE BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY JUNE 6, 2021.

SUBJECT : YOU ARE BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!

Memory verse: "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great. and you shall be a blessing."  (Genesis 12 vs 2.)

READ: First Chronicles 29 vs 10 - 12; 16 - 17:

29:10: Therefore David blessed the Lord before the assembly; and David said: 'Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. 

29:11: Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all. 

29:12: Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all.

29:16: O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own. 

29:17: I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You.

INTIMATION:

God supplies most people with the personal and financial abilities to respond to the needs of others. Regrettably, many of the people have wrongly arrogated these abilities as their efforts. Rather than use God’s gifts to them to actualize His purposes and will, they put their trust in their possessions and God is pushed away on the sideline of their lives. If we all realized how God has blessed us, and if we all use our resources to do God’s will, hunger and poverty would be wiped out. Wealth is a blessing only if we use it in the way God intended.

Many people are afraid to loosen the death grip they have on their possessions because they have the wrong perception that the accumulation of possessions is an indication of prosperity and good success, in accordance with societal norm of assessment. Ironically, this is far away from God’s idea of prosperity and good success. Prosperity and good success, in the assessment of God, is in your relationship with Him—doing His will; being obedient to, and trusting Him in all things. (Joshua 1 vs 8).

The people with death grip on their possessions, always think that their grip will ensure it’s not taken away. Actually, God is El shadai, not El cheapo; a giver, not a taker. God will treat you better than you treat yourself. Though, He might make different choices than you would, but He will certainly treat you better.

When you open up your hands to give out willingly; serving God and others with the resources He put in your possession, and putting your trust in Him, you'll see that God is not a taker—He's a multiplier. He has not come into your life to take from you. Rather He is there to give to you ‘exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think’ (Ephesians 3 vs 20), according to His mighty power at work in you who believes and puts your trust in Him.

The Bible is full of stories of men and women whom God blessed and prospered, and they all had the attitude of a steward. They all recognized God as their source. David was a good example of a steward. He wanted to build the Lord a temple, but God told him he couldn't. God wanted his son Solomon to build the temple instead. David obeyed God, but he started set aside the money and materials Solomon would need one day in order to build the temple. David set aside the equivalent of $36 billion in gold and $14 billion in silver while Solomon was growing up. 

Then right before he handed over the throne to Solomon, he made one last gift. For that one gift, David gave 110 tons of gold and 260 tons of silver. By current prices, he gave the equivalent of $6 billion in gold and $300 million in silver. After giving this huge gift, David encouraged other people to give. All the leaders of the tribes caught the spirit of giving and began to donate large sums of money. The leaders gave more than David: 190 tons of gold and 375 tons of silver. All together, they gave $17 billion in gold and silver in one day.

Now, the passage we read today, enumerated part of David's remark in First Chronicles 29 vs 10 - 19. David saw himself as a steward. He knew that all of his assets had been given to him by God. David gave God the credit for being the source of all his riches. Notice how David said that they had only given what God first gave to them; all they had done was give back to God what was rightfully His anyway. 

David had the kind of heart that pleased God. He was a man after God’s heart (Acts 13 vs 22). David was kind, benevolent, forgiving, and courageous. He, more than anything else, had an unchangeable belief in the faithful and forgiving nature of God. He was a man who lived with great zest for God, and was listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. David had his rest in God, and was the ruler in Israel who never lost a battle. Eventually, David’s kingship was eternal through Jesus Christ (Second Samuel 7 vs 29). 

Truly, godly prosperity is different from coveting riches. Yes, God wants you to have nice things, but you shouldn't get them by hoarding your possessions and spending it all on yourself. When you give and handle your assets like a steward of God's resources, then God will bless you, and ‘His blessing makes you rich and adds no sorrow with it.’ (Proverbs 10 vs 22.) You will have nice things, but you won't be in hock up to your eyeballs or working yourself sick.

God wants to bless His children, and wants His children to depend upon Him as their source. It is true that you can look at everything you have and say, "I did this; this is all the result of my effort," but in so doing, you haven't tapped into God's supernatural limitless abilities—you're just depending on your limited capabilities.

Prayer: Abba Father, Your hand has made me, and given me all I have. Engrace me to responsibly and effectively use Your blessings to serve your purpose and will, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!