The Blessed Life Part 3

The Blessed Life

Matthew 6:33 (NIV)
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

WHEN GOD IS FIRST, WE ARE BLESSED!

Proverbs 3:9-10 (NIV)
Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

Mal 3:10-12
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

2 Cor 9:7-8
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

I. The Requirement is to PUT GOD FIRST.

MATT “Seek ye first the kingdom…”
PROV “Honor the Lord with firstfruits…”
MAL “Bring the tithe…”
2 Cor “Each one of you should give…”

COL 1:18
And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Matthew 6:21 (NIV)
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

II. The Reward is that WE WILL BE BLESSED.

MATT “…and all these things will be given to you as well.”

PROV :…Then your barns will be filled to overflowing…”

MAL “…see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it….”

2 COR …And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

YOU NEED TO WALK IN THE PROVISION, PROTECTION AND COVERING THAT GOD OFFERS.

GOD INVENTED TITHING SO THAT YOU WOULD MOVE FORWARD AND GROW IN YOUR FAITH AND UNLOCK HIS BLESSING.

HOW YOU GIVE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAT HOW MUCH YOU GIVE.

2 Cor 9:7
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

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Three Levels of Giving

Three levels of Giving

1. Tithing
2. Offerings
3. Extravagant Giving

Luke 6:38 NKJV
38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

We need to ask, “What measure am I using to give?”

When we become cheerful, willing givers, we become more and more like our Heavenly Father.

Part of becoming a tither and a generous giver is controlling our thoughts.

Deuteronomy 15:10 NKJV
10 You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.

Selfishness can attack us before we give, but grief can attack us after we give.

We need to say, “I was born selfish, but I was born again generous.”

Your new nature inside of you wants to be generous.

Let’s live in an attitude of gratitude—so filled with gratitude to God for all He’s done for us that we can’t help but to give.

Acts 20:35 NKJV
35 I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

Acts 10:1-2 NKJV
1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.

He gave generously.
He prayed always.

The BLESSED Life

The Blessed Life

We are not supposed to test God; however, when it comes to tithing, God says, “Try me now in this.” God desires His children to bring their tithes and offerings into the storehouse of the church. When we do this, God says He will pour out His blessings upon us, and He will rebuke the devourer for our sakes. Tithing is a test of the heart.

“I am the Lord , and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’ “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Malachi 3:6‭-‬12 NLT

What test?

Tithing is a test.
The word tithe means a “tenth part.” Throughout Scripture the number ten
represents testing. God tests our hearts through the tithe, and tithing is
the only area where God says we can test Him too. If we tithe, we are
under blessing. If we don’t tithe, we are under a curse.

And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine. Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.
Genesis 14:18‭-‬20 NLT

Tithing is biblical.
Leviticus 27:30 says, “All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the
land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord.” Moses
said: I have removed the holy tithe from my house and taken it to the
place where You have chosen to make Your Name abide. Jesus takes it
further by scolding the Pharisees and saying they should do more than
just tithe; they should show mercy, justice, and faith.

“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession and you have conquered it and settled there, put some of the first produce from each crop you harvest into a basket and bring it to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored. Then you must declare in the presence of the Lord your God, ‘I have taken the sacred gift from my house and have given it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows, just as you commanded me. I have not violated or forgotten any of your commands. I have not eaten any of it while in mourning; I have not handled it while I was ceremonially unclean; and I have not offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God and have done everything you commanded me. Now look down from your holy dwelling place in heaven and bless your people Israel and the land you swore to our ancestors to give us—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
Deuteronomy 26:1‭-‬2‭, ‬13‭-‬15 NLT

Tithing is a blessing.
God gave the command that all His people are to tithe; however, with our
obedience comes a blessing. The believer’s tithe helps support the work of the church, the priest, and the ministry to people. The place where we receive our “spiritual food” is the place where we are to pay our tithes.
Obeying God’s word through tithing breaks the curse and invites God’s
blessings and provision for our lives and finances.

In addition, he required the people in Jerusalem to bring a portion of their goods to the priests and Levites, so they could devote themselves fully to the Law of the Lord . When the people of Israel heard these requirements, they responded generously by bringing the first share of their grain, new wine, olive oil, honey, and all the produce of their fields. They brought a large quantity—a tithe of all they produced. The people who had moved to Judah from Israel, and the people of Judah themselves, brought in the tithes of their cattle, sheep, and goats and a tithe of the things that had been dedicated to the Lord their God, and they piled them up in great heaps. They began piling them up in late spring, and the heaps continued to grow until early autumn. When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw these huge piles, they thanked the Lord and his people Israel! “Where did all this come from?” Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites. And Azariah the high priest, from the family of Zadok, replied, “Since the people began bringing their gifts to the Lord ’s Temple, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare. The Lord has blessed his people, and all this is left over.”
2 Chronicles 31:4‭-‬10 NLT

The Year of Prayer: 2020

The Year of Prayer: 2020

1. Practice the discipline of fasting and prayer
2. Practice the discipline of reading and studying God’s word.

II Timothy 2:15 NKJV
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

1. He prayed
2. He talked about prayer
3. He demonstrated answered prayer.

Luke 3:21-22 NKJV
21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. 22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

Luke 6:12-13 NKJV
12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:

Luke 23:34 NKJV
34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.

Luke 9:29 NKJV
29 As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.

John 15:7 NKJV
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

Matthew 5:43-45 NKJV
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Romans 5:5 NKJV
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:8 NKJV
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Matthew 6:5-6 NKJV
5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Luke 5:16 NKJV
16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

Luke 18:1
And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Mark 1:33, Mark 1:35 NKJV
33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

Mark 6:44-46 NKJV
44 Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men. 45 Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. 46 And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.

James 1:6-7 NKJV
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

Hebrews 11:6 NKJV
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

I John 5:14 NKJV
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

Matthew 7:8-11 NKJV
8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

1. Let’s ask
2. Let’s seek
3. Let’s knock

1. Remove all unforgiveness.

Matthew 6:15 NKJV
15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

2. Practice obedience

I John 3:22 NKJV
22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

3. Treat your spouse right.

I Peter 3:7 NKJV
7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

4. Add praise and thanksgiving to your prayers.

Philippians 4:6 NKJV
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

Philippians 4:6 NKJV
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

John 14:13-14 NKJV
13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.