OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL: MONDAY, JANUARY 16TH 2017-OPENING OR SHUTTING THE DOORS

Memorise: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6
Read: 1st Kings 17:8-16
8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.
12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.
15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.
Bible in one year: Mark 3-4, Isaiah 13:1-16

1. If you learn to give liberally to God, you will be rewarded with increase through divine favour.
2. Whatever you give to the Lord will be multiplied. The widow of Zarephath, who was in a very sorry state, was asked to give the man of God a little cake from her last meal. Thank God she did. Millions of people have read about her all through the ages because of what she did. By that singular act of obedience, she has gained so much recognition and is a celebrity in God’s Kingdom.
3. Do you know that if she had focused more on her need, and if she had told the prophet to leave her alone, she would have taken a meal which would have been her very last before dying? May you not eat the last meal that could become your very first in a continuous line of blessings for the rest of your life!
4. Moreover, this woman gave God’s servant a cake, but she got flour and oil in return. If you give God a cake, He will give you flour and oil on an enduring basis. He expects you to then do the baking yourself. He will not come down to do the baking for you.
5. Beloved, do not sit down expecting money to rain down from Heaven. God can open doors, even mighty doors of blessing to you. However, when He does this, it is His expectation and your responsibility to recognise and walk through them. Such open doors will cause you to work hard.
6. After I was saved, I used to argue about tithes. As a mathematician, I told then that if 100% of my academician’s salary was not enough for my needs, how would 90% be sufficient after paying 10% as tithe? One day, God cautioned me about this, and I began to pay my tithe. God then began to open doors of opportunities to me. As a lecturer, private practice was out of the question. One day my dean called me and said he just discovered that I was the best mathematics lecturer he had, so he was sending me to teach in a particular secondary school for girls. Consequently, extra income flowed in. When the results of the school leaving certificate exams for these girls were released, they excelled in mathematics without stress, and the news spread. Other schools began to call for me.
7. God’s word is true. Are you faithful to God in your tithes? If you are, you will be creating a platform for open doors, but if you are not, you will be shutting the doors to blessings with your own hands.

Many Christian believe they are doing the pastor a favour by doing the word of God, paying their tithe, working in the house of God or seeking God diligently. The truth about the word of God is that when you do it the way you are instructed to do it, there is always result. Numbers 23:19 tells us that ” God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” He wants us to dare Him by doing his word and then see if He won’t do what He said. His word is true and won’t return to Him void. I will like to encourage us to dare to do God’s word and do His will. It is well with us in Jesus name. We are grateful to God for the vessel through which we receive this revelations and insight daily: Pastor E.A Adeboye. God bless him greatly with greater knowledge in Jesus name.

Key Point
Violating God’s command makes a man his own enemy.

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