OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL: SATURDAY, APRIL 15TH 2017- AND HE SPENT ALL

Memorise: There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. Proverbs 11:24
Read: Luke 15:11-14
11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:
12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
Bible in one year: Numbers 1-2, Jeremiah 14:1-12

1. Many people do not know that the act of giving has principles that must be followed in order to get rewarded for it by God.
2. Due to their ignorance, such people have become discouraged from giving because they had given in times past without getting the results which they rightfully expected.
3. The truth of the matter is: giving has principles, and unless you follow these principles, you will have no result for your giving.
4. For example, if you sow your corn or wheat on the sea, you will definitely get nothing. Therefore, we must learn the principles of giving in order to have the desired results for our giving.
5. God will never owe any man; He gave us His word of assurance on this in Hebrews 6:10: “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have administered to the saints, and do minister.”
6. However, you must know the type of ground you sow your seed into. For example, it is an exercise in futility to sow your seed into a church ministry where the more money comes in, the more women the leaders acquire to his pleasure.
7. Also, when you give to a ministry which you know diverts your seeds into private estates and into taking care of the body instead of using it for winning souls, do not expect any reward from God.
8. Apart from being selective of the type of causes you give to, you must also learn to give intelligently.
9. In today’s Bible reading, the prodigal son took all that he had, left the environment of accountability and spent everything recklessly. The result of his wild lifestyle is glaring in Luke 15:14: “And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.”
10. It is an established truth that giving brings blessings upon the giver (Proverbs 11:24a). The Lord Jesus Christ Himself established this in His teachings (Luke 6:38).
11. However, there is another truth we also need to pay close attention to in Proverbs 11:24b, which says: “…and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty”
12. In other words, though we are not expected to “spend all”, we must not fall into the error of conserving more than is necessary. This is the word of God.
13. Those who live a lifestyle of spending their all always become a nuisance to the body of Christ through excessive borrowing. Learn from the story of the seven years of plenty and strategy of conservation given by Joseph against the succeeding seven years of famine (Genesis 41:33-36).
14. Also, learn from the ants how to manage your resources prudently (Proverbs 6:6-8).
15. May God give you wisdom along this line, so that you can spend and give wisely.  

There are important points mentioned in our devotional for today that we should take seriously and that is what I will like us to reflect on. “There are principles that must be followed when we give in order to get rewarded for it by God.” “Giving brings blessings upon the giver (Proverbs 11:24a).” We must know the type of ground you sow your seed into. Be selective of the type of causes you give to and also learn to give intelligently. Let u study the bible references give in the last paragraph meditatively and I pray as we do the Holy Spirit will minister more truth to us as regards our giving. May God continually increase Pastor E.A Adeboye in knowledge, grace and strength so that more truth of God’s will can be published for the body of Christ in Jesus name.

Prayer Point
Father, give me wisdom to manage the resources You have entrusted to my hands.
HYMN
There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.
Refrain:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.
There shall be showers of blessing,
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.
There shall be showers of blessing;
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing,
Come, and now honor Thy Word.
There shall be showers of blessing:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!

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