OPEN HEAVEN [16 MAY 2019] GIVING THAT HONOURS GOD

Open Heaven 16 May 2019: [Thursday] Daily Devotional By Pastor E.A Adeboye – Giving That Honours God

GIVING THAT HONOURS GOD – Thursday May 16^th 2019

Memorise: Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with firstfruits of all thine increase: Proverbs 3:9

Read: Genesis 22:10-18 (KJV)

¹⁰ And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

¹¹ And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

¹² And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

¹³ And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

¹⁴ And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.

¹⁵ And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

¹⁶ And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

¹⁷ That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

¹⁸ And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Bible in one year: Exodus 26-27, Jeremiah 36:4-19, Hymnal: Sing hymn 4

Message:-

Many of us desire the blessings of Abraham, and this is a good thing. However, how many of us are ready to do the things Abraham did? 

OPEN HEAVEN [16 MAY 2019] GIVING THAT HONOURS GOD 

Abraham gave gifts that honoured God, so much so that God swore by Himself to bless Him. After Abraham gave his very best on the altar of sacrifice, God said to him in Genesis 22:16-17:

“And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies”

Our God is not a respecter of persons. If you can also honour Him with your living, He is ready to give you a blessing that has everlasting value in return.

This most precious thing you can give to honour God is your life. Just as God demanded the son of promise as a burnt sacrifice from Abraham, so does He demand your life. He says to you today:

Open Heaven 16 May 2019: [Thursday] Daily Devotional By Pastor E.A Adeboye – Giving That Honours God 

“My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.”

Proverbs 23:26

The devil is also struggling to have your heart so that he can thwart the great plans of God for your life. When you choose to give your heart to God, you have done Him a great honour, and you will find favour in His sight and in the sight of men (Proverb 3:4). Another form of giving which honours God is found in today’s memory verse. Giving God the first fruits of your increase is an act of faith that brings delights to His heart. There is no ambiguity as to what we stand to gain from this. In Proverbs 3:10, He clearly says:

“So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst our with new wine.”

Open Heaven 16 May 2019 Thursday: Prayer Point

Unfortunately, many Christians still argue against the doctrine of first fruits. Some say that it belongs to the Old Testament, and I ask them whether the Old Testament is not part of God’s word to us. There are some pleasant promises of God we love which are only found in the Old Testament. We do not say we will not key into them because they are only in the Old Testament, so why ignore the doctrine of first fruits? Beloved, give God your best today. Honour Him by offering your spirit, soul and body to Him as a living sacrifice in holiness and acceptable service (Romans 12:1-2). I pray that the Lord will grant you grace to completely obey His commands like Abraham, the father of faith, did.

Prayer Point

Father, please give me a heart of flesh that is receptive of keeping Your precepts.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional Lessons was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical Churches in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.