God’s Hand Revealed During FamineIn fact, according to God’s Word, His hand is always revealed in time of lack. For example, as recorded in Genesis 26, Isaac prospered supernaturally and miraculously while King Abimelech and the Philistines all around suffered great loss and famine. Isaac was not affected, not even for one minute!
Look at what happened to Isaac: “For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him” (Genesis 26:14). This happened after Isaac sowed seed during famine, an unnatural thing to do, but he received a hundredfold harvest within months! Yet King Abimelech and the Philistines experienced financial disaster daily. They were so envious that finally the king came and asked Abraham’s blessed son to leave: “And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we” (Genesis 26:16).
After Isaac left, the Philistines realized more than ever how much Isaac had been blessed. And without the blessing on him, they would have lost their own lives. King Abimelech and the leaders came to him:
And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the Lord. (Genesis 26:27-29)
What God did for Isaac, He did with Abraham previously, and then He did it again with Jacob afterward and repeatedly with His people Israel.
As a result we are told, “He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.… At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh” (Job 5:19-20, 22).
The Righteous Laugh in the Face of Famine!
God will satisfy us financially and physically, even in times of famine and financial chaos: “The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied” (Psalm 37:18-19).
What God has done He still does. What God has done He will continue to do. This is not the time to fear! This is the time to trust and rejoice in the Lord, for his promises are “yea and amen”—they cannot fail.
The New Testament also tells us, “Being enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:11).
God Almighty so wants to prosper and bless you. That is God’s plan for you. All He is looking for is your obedience:
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jeremiah 17:7-8)
Did He not promise that he would open the windows of heaven that “that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10)?
Did not the Son of God Himself also tell us, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down , and shaken together, and running over , shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38)?
These are not promises of lack. These are promises of supernatural abundance that are beyond our comprehension!
The Door—Giving to the Work of the Lord
The door to supernatural provision, even during famine and chaos, is through obedience and faithfulness to God’s Word. As long as believers support the work of God, they have nothing to fear; but those who do not support the work of God and the spreading of His Gospel do not enjoy that same protection and have much to fear.
Giving to the work of the Lord—I repeat!—giving to the work of the Lord is the secret to abundance! When we join hands with Jesus Christ and give to His work—spreading His Gospel to the ends of the earth—He has guaranteed that we cannot and will not lack financially! The same cannot be said of those who do not give to His work; so I encourage and urge every believer to protect yourself and your family by being generous with the work of God.
All you have to do to secure your present and future is give to the Lord’s work and let your faith be established in God’s Word. The Lord even promised to bless and prosper and protect your children and your children’s children.
When you give to God, you build a wall of protection around you and your family. You cannot lose! It is impossible for you to lose, for your guarantee comes from the highest authority in heaven and on earth.
I am sending you this message to remind you of God’s promise and to tell you as long as your trust is in the Lord, you stand on solid, unmovable, unshaken ground!
Do not let the world or the news weaken your faith in the mighty God of heaven and earth. God is not a man and cannot lie. His promises are eternal, and your life and future are safe. You will be safe forever as long as you trust the Lord.
So today, as you obey His unfailing Word and give to His glorious Gospel, He promises in His Word that He will increase you “on every side” (Psalm 71:21). Remember, every time you give, the Gospel will be preached, for it is your giving that enables me to preach the Gospel around the world, with the Holy Spirit confirming His Word with signs following.
Honoring Him with Your Firstfruits
Honor Him today with your substance. Honor Him with the firstfruits of all your increase. And He promises in His eternal Word that your barns will be filled with plenty, and your presses will burst out with new wine: “Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine” (Proverbs 3: 9-10).)
Give today to the Lord, for surely He will fulfill His Word!
Listen to this wonderful promise and apply it to your life—in fact substitute your name as you read it: “He [your name] shall be as a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his [my] fruit in his season; his [my] leaf also shall not wither ; and whatsoever he [I] doeth shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3).
Today sow your seed for the work of the Lord and for the Gospel of His precious Son, our most beloved Lord Jesus. Then go to sleep tonight with peace and tranquility that passes all understanding. And when you wake in the morning you will awaken with a song in your heart, for the Lord rejoices over you in singing.
Sow your seed today, and the God who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask and think will surely prosper you, bless you, and increase you without measure!
Remember that your greatest days are ahead. Your future is healthier than your past, brighter than your past, and more prosperous than your past!
WE KNOW IT IS "NOT BY MIGHT,NOR BY POWER,BUT MY SPIRIT,SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS" (Zechariah 4:6)…
2 comments:
Friend, May I offer an alternative interpretation of Malachi for your study.
From: Tithing is not a Christian Doctrine
www.shouldthechurchteachtithing.com
Russell Earl Kelly, PHD
Malachi 3 is the Most Abused Tithing Text in the Bible. The “whole” tithe never was supposed to go to the Temple!
A. Malachi is Old Covenant and is never quoted in the New Covenant to validate tithing (Lev. 27:34; Neh. 10:28-29; Mal. 3:7; 4:4).
B. In Malachi 3:10-11 tithes are still only food 1000 years after Leviticus 27:30-34 and Numbers 18:21-28.
C. Malachi’s audience had willingly reaffirmed the Old Covenant (Neh.10:28-29). The blessings and curses of tithing are identical to and inseparable from those of the entire Mosaic Law. The rain in Deuteronomy 28:12, 23-24 and Leviticus 26:1-4 is only obtained by obedience to all 613 commandments. Galatians 3:10 (quoting Deu 27:26) “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” Trying to earn God’s blessings through tithing only brings curses for failure to keep all of the law. See also Galatians 3:19.
D. Beginning in 1:6 “you” in Malachi always refers to the dishonest priests and not the people (also 2:1-10; 2:13 to 3:1-5): “Even this whole nation of you --priests” (3:9). In 1:13-14 the priests had stolen tithed animals vowed to God. In Nehemiah 13:5-10 priests had stolen the Levites’ portion of the tithe. God’s curses on the priests are ignored by most tithe-teachers (1:14; 2:2 and 3:2-4).
E. Point #12 of the essay. The Levitical cities must be included in a correct interpretation of Malachi 3:10. Most tithe-recipients lived outside of Jerusalem.
F. The 24 courses of Levites and priests must be included in a correct interpretation of Malachi 3. Normally only 2% of the total Levite and priest work force served at the temple one week at a time. Subtract wives, males under the age of 30 and daughters. Therefore 2% did not require all of the tithe. See 1 Chron 23-26; 28:13, 21; 2 Chron. 8:14; 23:8; 31:2, 15-19; 35:4, 5, 10; Ezra 6:18; Neh. 11:19, 30; 12:24; 13:9, 10; Luke 1:5.
G. Nehemiah 10:37-39 is the key to understanding Malachi 3:10, The people were commanded to bring their tithes, not to the temple, but to the nearby Levitical cities. Verse 38 says that the priests were with the Levites in the Levitical cities when they received the tithes.
H. According to Nehemiah 13:5, 9 the “storehouse” in the Temple was only several rooms. The real “storehouses” were in the Levitical cites per Nehemiah 10:37b-38. Only the Levites and priests normally brought tithes to the Temple (10:38). Two rooms in the Temple were far too small to contain the tithe from the entire nation and 98% of the Levites and priests lived too far away to eat from them.
Therefore, Malachi 3:10’s “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse” only makes contextual sense if it is only commanding dishonest priests to replace the tithes they had removed from it or had failed to bring to it.
While the 3:10 of the Law in Malachi is so important to tithe-teachers they ignore the 3:10 of the Gospel in Galatians and 2nd Corinthians. Perhaps those wanting to enforce the 3:10 Law of Malachi should also enforce the 3:10 Law of Numbers. They share the same context.
Christian giving is freewill, sacrificial, generous, joyful, regular and motivated by love. That is enough to provide the needs of the Church.
appreciate it a Lot :)
thanks and God Bless U..
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