STEALING FROM GOD
Memorise: For ye are
brought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit,
which are God’s. 1st Corinthians 6:20
Read: 1st Corinthians 6:18-20, 18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body;
but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
19 What?
know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you,
which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye
are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your
spirit, which are God's.
Bible in one year:
Leviticus 25:8-26:13, 1st Corinthians 14:26-15:11
MESSAGE!
The Bible makes it clear that aside from stealing from men, it is also
possible to steal from God. Malachi 3:8 says:
“Will a man rob God? Yet
ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and
offerings.”
Your tithe is one tenth of your income, increase or profit. It belongs
to God and should be set aside for God immediately after the provision comes.
Not paying your tithes can introduce a curse from God into the blessing He has
given you. If a man curses you, someone with a higher spiritual authority can
break the curse. For example, if your pastor curses you, the general overseer
with a higher spiritual authority can break it; but if God curses you, to whom
will you run? It is important you pay back to God 10% of everything He gives to
you. It is also important you do it the way He expects it to be done. Your
tithe must be brought into God’s storehouse, and God must be given a free hand
to spend it as He directs. Some people believe that as children of God, they
can use their tithes to rescue someone who is in need or in critical condition
in the hospital. No! You don’t have the right! If you spend your tithe like
that, in God’s record, you will still be a debtor.
In addition, you can also steal from God by denying Him access to, or
using inappropriately, whatever part of you He has claimed ownership of. In
today’s memory verse, we see that God has claimed ownership of our body and our
spirit. He therefore expects that anything we do with our body will be such
that will bring glory to His Name. Doing otherwise is stealing from God. For
example, overeating, or taking any substance that can destroy your body, makes
your body unavailable to its Owner; this amounts to stealing from Him. Anytime
you engage your body in any sinful act, you are guilty of inappropriate use of
God’s property and therefore a thief. Also, God demands access to your spirit
in the place of prayer and meditating on His word. If you deny Him this, you
are stealing from Him because He has claimed ownership of your spirit. If at the time you should be fellowshipping
with God in your spirit, you are busy watching television or engaging in any
other type of activity that does not connect your spirit to God, you are stealing
your spirit away from God. In what ways have you stolen from God? Repent and
restitute today.
Prayer Point
Father, in whatever ways I
have stolen from You, I ask that You forgive me. I repent of these and ask for
grace to glorify You with my body and spirit at all times.
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