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| Pastor Olagoke Olu David |
Text: Isaiah 60:1 to end
Your Perception Generally Becomes Your Reality. Did you know that the way you perceive God can keep you from knowing the truth about Him? You will have the God you perceive.
If you perceive Him as poor, you will always think He is trying to get money from you. But when you understand He is a rich God, you will realize He is trying to get money to you not from you.
Your perception of God and His relationship to your financial status will cause you to see Him in one of two ways: He will either be Jehovah Needy or Jehovah Jireh.
According to the Bible, God is Jehovah Jireh and is ready and able to prosper and abundantly bless you beyond your imaginations. He is not Jehovah Needy, standing with His hand out trying to get all you have for his own selfish need.
The primary purpose of this teaching is to provide you with 21 key requirements for keeping heavens open over your life. When the windows of heaven are open, the abundance of God can continually FLOW into your Stewardship, revealing to the world, the rich and generous God you serve.
Key 1: Keep Your Priorities Right
You will not receive increase from God if you ask for the wrong reasons.
"Ye ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts." James 4:3
You can be assured of an ever-increasing flow of wealth if you will always put the Kingdom of God first in your life (Matthew 6:33).
Key 2: Don’t Be Double Minded
A double-minded man does not have the ability to receive from God.
"A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." James 1:6-8
You can overcome double-mindedness first by reading and studying the Word of God.
Key 3: You Must Tithe
For the tithe belongs to God.
"And the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD" Leviticus 27:30
God promises that if you faithfully tithe, He will open heavens over your life and abundantly bless you (Malachi 3:10). In light of this verse, it is clear that if you do not tithe, the windows of heaven will not be opened in your life.
Key 4: Give Acceptable Offerings
God does not accept every offering, but you can give in such a way that all your offerings will be acceptable to Him. First, always give from a willing heart( 2 Corinthians 8:12). Two, Always give your offerings with joy and thanksgiving.
2 Corinthians 9:7… "let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for god loveth a cheerful giver."
Key 5: Have Proper Understanding
Understanding always governs every part of your ability to receive from God.
"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul (understanding) prospereth" 3 John 2
Key 6: Cast Out All Fear
The spirit of fear does not come from God.
"For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7
You overcome fear by believing and trusting God’s Word more than you trust the words of anyone else, the devil included.
You can’t please God if you don’t have faith in Him (Hebrews 11:6). Strong faith is absolutely necessary for increase, for it is the raw material of every promise to God.
"Now faith is the substance (raw material) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1
Key 8: Cast Down Unbelief
If you are in unbelief, you are not operating in faith. Unbelief will keep you from receiving God’s promised blessings. (Hebrews 3:19)
Key 9: Don’t Look Back to Your Old Life
You must let go of the past. Whether it was good or bad, it is over. Keep in mind that your future is ahead of you, and in Christ it looks bright (Luke 9:62). Remember that with Jesus, things just keep getting better.
Key 10: Maintain Proper Relationships
A turbulent marriage will hinder your prayers and stop the flow of God’s abundance into your stewardship (1 Peter 3:7). This is not only true in marriage. The way you interact with other family members, friends, and co-workers is also important if you desire to live under an open heaven.
Key 11: Walk in Love
Do not allow strife and bitterness into your relationship with your Christian brothers and sisters. It will stop the increase that comes from your giving. Matthew 5:23,24 imply that God will not accept your offerings if you have strife with a brother or sister in the Lord. In Mark 12:31, Jesus said no commandment is more important than to walk in love.
Key 12: Believe God’s Proven Ministers
Believing God establishes your life, and believing God’s proven ministers will bring prosperity to your stewardship.
"Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established: believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper." 2 Chronicles 20:20
Remember that God has ordained the five- fold ministry to help bring us into maturity in Christ. If you believe His chosen preachers and teachers, He promises you will prosper.
Key 13: Be Willing to Work
"For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat." 2 Thessalonians 3:10
You must keep in mind that the number one reason for working hard is that you may have money ( Ephesians 4:28). You can’t expect a harvest unless you plant seed.
If you want to ensure plenty of seed, you must be willing to work for it.
Key 14: Keep Sin Out of Your Life
If you choose to give sin a place in your life, you will bring a curse upon yourself (Deuteronomy 28:15-68).
"And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt harken unto the voice of the LORD thy God." Deuteronomy 28:1,2
Key 15: Speak the Right Things
Guard your words; speak only of health, life, prosperity, and the godly desires of your heart. Jesus said you will have what you say (Mark 11:23). If you want the windows of heaven open over your life, always speak the things that agree with god’s Word. When your words line up with His Word, you can more easily receive all that God promises you.
Key 16: Pay Your Pledges to God
Unpaid vows cause God to look at you as a fool ( Ecclesiastes 5:4). No one wants to be a fool in God’s eyes, for we all know fools do not live under an open heaven. When you make a promise to God, be wise and fulfill your vow.
Key 17: Perceive God As He Is
Continually renew your mind so that you will always perceive God to be who He truly is – the rich and generous God of heaven.
He is the God who desires to bless, not curse all of His children. If you perceive Him to be good and generous, you will readily receive the abundant life He has promised you.
"I am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10;10
Key 18: Refuse to Love Money
The love of money is the root of all evil. This simply means that it is the first step to most sins ( 1 Timothy 6:10). Money is not for loving. It is for blessing you and your family, as well as all the families of the earth (Genesis 12:1-3).
Key 19: Respond to the Cry of the Poor
You must realize the needs of the poor are of primary importance to the Lord. Giving to the poor is actually lending to God (Proverbs 19:17).
"Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard." Proverbs 21:13
Key 20: Be a Doer of the Word
It takes more than just hearing God’s Word to prosper. You must also act upon the Word.
"But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." James 1:22
As a doer of the Word, you will qualify yourself to receive God’s blessing.
Key 21: Exercise Patience
The full transformation of your mind will take some time. Be patient. Sowing never brings an instant harvest. As you exercise patience, you will receive the promise of god. It is time for you to act upon these truths you have learned from the Word of God.
Our God is rich, as the rich God of heaven, He is eager to supply all your needs as well as your desires through his rich Son, Jesus Christ. As His child, you are standing at the threshold of a bright new existence of stewardship in the rich Kingdom of your rich God.
In closing, please join me in making the following affirmation:
(I pray that God) would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man;
That Christ may dwell upon your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love.
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding and abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Unto him be glory in this Church in the name of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Olagoke Olu David,
Minister in Charge,
CAC GRACE LAND,
Kajola Estate, Ibadan.