Giving opens doors for heavenly blessings

Luke 6:38: “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.”

God’s hand is always moved to bless His people through giving. Givers are always commensurately rewarded according to their giving, hence givers never lack. People who do not know this will continue to suffer in poverty, while those who understand the principles of giving enjoy God’s blessings.

There are abundant resources in Heaven. God made Nigeria a Canaan Land, where both human and material resources, including oil and other mineral deposits, abound in tremendous quantity. Nobody in this country should have any reason to complain of lack. Unfortunately, people are suffering because they do not understand the principle of how to move God’s Hand to bless them. If you give, you will be given and mightily blessed, but if you do not give, you will not be given and there is no blessing for you.

God blessed Abraham in all things because, in obedience to God’s instruction, he offered his only son Isaac for a burnt offering. Abraham took his son, Isaac, to the place of sacrifice. Then he prepared the wood, bound the boy, placed him on the wood, and raised his knife to slaughter him when a voice called him from heaven and instructed him not to kill his son. Rather, let him look up to see the ram God has prepared for the burnt offering. However, we should know that before God, Abraham had already offered or killed Isaac. This obedience of Abraham made God bless him beyond measure. Genesis 22:15-18, “And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time; 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 seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

Note that God does not take oath anyhow and for God to swear by Himself, is indeed a serious matter. However, it goes to show the seriousness God attaches to obedience in giving. He took an oath to bless Abraham beyond measures. This was in response to give. God actually blessed Abraham in all things, as the Bible tells us in Genesis chapter 24:1.

Moreover, King Solomon was recorded as the wisest and richest king in history; God blessed him as such because of giving. In 1Kings 3:3-5, the Bible says this, “And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. 4. And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. 5. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. Then in verse 9, he made a request to God saying: “Give, therefore, thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people”?

The great number of burnt offering King Solomon offered provoked God to tell him to make a request of what He should do for him. Solomon asked for wisdom to enable him judge and guide the Israelites aright. This request pleased God that He gave him wisdom, wealth, and honour. In verses 12 and 13, God answered him in this manner, “Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days”. God also gave him a peaceful reign because, during his kingship in Israel, he did not fight any war.

All these are rewards of giving. Again, you can discover from the scripture that King Solomon loved God. Giving is love in action; it is a demonstration of care and love. People who give for the work of God love the work and want it to go on. They are also happy while giving. That is why the Bible says in 2nd Corinthians 9:7: “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” When you live happily and with an open heart God rewards you accordingly. God sees the heart of the giver; if you give grudgingly, complaining at the same time there might be no reward for you. Be happy whenever an opportunity presents itself to give to the work of God. The little help you offer to the brethren in the vineyard of God counts, as God equally takes note of them and rewards the giver accordingly.

People who have poverty, as their trademark will always complain when they are told to give to the work of God. But they forget that heaven and earth and everything therein belongs to God, and the little they have is given to them by God. This should not be the portion of the believers, who are actually running a heavenly race. We should be obedient to God’s Word. Giving is also an investment, which one reaps later. The Bible says in Genesis 8:22, “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” When one gives, he is making an investment that will yield dividends in return. Testimonies abound in our congregation of people who gave little amount of money for God’s work and they were bountifully rewarded. Whenever the opportunity presents itself for giving to the work of God or to offer help to the people in need, do not hesitate to give, because your blessing lies in it, in Jesus’ name.

TESTIMONY
Obedience Brings Blessing, Healing
MY name is brother Duru Chima. l came to The Chosen for the first time in 2008, though l was not serious then. In 2009, when l became serious, God did marvelous things in my life. During the last Sunday combined service of the month, when the Pastor usually calls for transportation offering of N500 for the maintenance of the church buses, before that offering was called, G.O highlighted the blessings that had followed those that had been faithfully paying their pledges on this. l said to me, if N500 is what is going to give me a car, l would pay. Quickly, l sowed this seed. It did not take long after that when God blessed me with five Mark Trucks, one SUV (Jeep), and one 2007 Toyota Camry car.

The above miracle gave birth to other miracles in my life, as God also healed me of HIV disease, after spending N1m in the hospital without remedy. Moreover, God broke the yoke of 18 years delay in conception and blessed me with a bouncing baby boy after l had adopted three children. Before this blessing came, l had been subjected to all manner of ridicules. While some said l was not a man, others said l used my manhood for ritual. Today, God has silenced all my scoffers, to His glory.

Lastly, my younger brother l had been inviting to The Lord’s Chosen and he refused to honour the invitation finally came when l was dedicating my baby. After that day’s service, he attested that the presence of God is in this church and that he heard the undiluted word of God. One day in his house, armed robbers visited him. The armed robbers came in and while they were demanding money, he declared himself a Chosen as instructed by our Pastor, that anytime any Chosen member is in danger, he/she should declare himself/herself Chosen three times and ask the danger who are you? Surely, the danger will be averted.

He did that and the armed robbers shot him, but the bullet could not penetrate his body to the glory of God. He is full of thanksgiving to this good God, Who has even vindicated him because prior to his joining The Lord’s Chosen, any member of his family that died, accusing fingers would be pointed at him that he had used the person for ritual. He is full of Thanksgiving and praises for God, Who has done these great things for him. Praise the Lord!

l pray for the General Overseer and all Chosen members worldwide, heaven at last in Jesus’ name.

• Brother Duru Chima