Thursday, July 21, 2005

Obedient Giving Opens Heaven

Do you know that “giving is a commandment from God”!

And why did God commanded us to give?

It says in Book of Duet 15:10 –11

Vs.10. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.
Vs.11. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.

We see that God commanded us to give with an open hand because Christ has opened His arms towards us and blessed us first.

The Father heart of God reflects His love and care for every 'poor' and 'needy' person by providing for them.

He wants to use us in this process of giving so that we could reflect the very character of God through our generous giving. People around us would be able to testify that Christian God is actually the most generous God based on the attitude of our giving.

And in turn God has promised to bless us more abundantly.

He gave us first so that we could give and in turn receive more abundantly to give more generously. This is our God!

One thing we must remember that God gave us the 'promise of blessing' first and then the 'commandment to obey' so that our faith can be tested.

If you want to be blessed that let's put into practice the principle of giving in whatever we have so that He will open His heaven towards us to always be a blessing.

We must ask ourselves, are we living a life of reservoir, holding back whatever we have or living a life of the flowing river nurturing the poor and needy around us?

One poor guy put this principle into practice by telling God that regardless of his poverty condition he will give back to God 90% and will live on the rest of 10%. And God granted his request.

Because He made that commitment to the Lord even at his most down time in his life, God made sure that he would never lack anything in as little as 10% he lived on.

Amazingly, God multiplied his business so much that on his portion of 10% he could afford his own private jet. He traveled all around the world sharing the gospel and testify the goodness of the Lord in his life.

This is how faithful our God is if we dare to step out in faith!

Let's obey God by giving generously!

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Principle of Prosperity

Today I want to share with you the Principle of Prosperity.

“The harvest depends on how we sow”.

Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:6 - he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Sometimes we undermine the power of God’s Word. It's proven through the centuries that God’s Word has always accomplished its meaning whoever have applied it.

We all know that when we sow a seed in the ground, we reap plenty of fruits from it's tree. When we deposit a sum of money in the investment, we reap it with interest in due time.

Likewise, whatever we sow in God’s kingdom, we will reap the great and abundant riches in our lives.

It's not the 10% of our money that God is after, He is after us. He wants us to give our 'entirety' to Him. He wants us to give our heart, soul, mind, body, and spirit.

And when we give our whole being to Him, He has promised us to give back as it says in
Luke 6:38 - give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back."

I have experience it so many times in my own personal life. The day I learnt about what God had promised, I said to Him, “Ok Lord! because you are always true to your promise I entrust my entire life completely into your hands and now you do the rest.”

Since then I also started giving with a cheerful heart and more than just 10% of my pay.
Above and beyond my tithes, I started giving in every fellowship I attended, without counting, whatever amount came into my hand.

Thereafter, God never shortchanged me.

When God called me to Bible College, He sent two unknown persons into my life who wanted to pay for my fees. Later, after I realized from my principal, I had to say ‘no but thanks’ to both of them because someone else had already paid it for me. Even when I came to Singapore, God blessed me with the entire airfare and met all my needs in Singapore, not only financially but also physically, emotionally and spiritually. I never lack anything in His presence. I can truly testify that God’s Word is always true and proven.

We might fail God but God always have kept His promise and remains faithful to His Word forever.

If we put God first in all the areas of our lives, and not just one or two areas where we feel comfortable, he has promised to give back to us with good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. He has said in His Word in Ps. 23 that when we make the Lord our shepherd, we will never lack anything.

Let us open our hearts to give today with the measure where it stretches our faith and test God’s Word to become true and real in our own personal life.