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Open Heaven 26 September 2023 Topic: Put God First Always
Memory Verse: Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase. (Proverbs 3:9)
Bible Reading: 1 Kings 17:7-16 (WEB)
7 After a while, the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
8 Yahweh’s word came to him, saying,
9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.”
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her, and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.”
11 As she was going to get it, he called to her, and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
12 She said, “As Yahweh your God lives, I don’t have a cake, but a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jar. Behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you have said; but make me a little cake from it first, and bring it out to me, and afterward make some for you and for your son.
14 For Yahweh, the God of Israel says, ‘The jar of meal will not run out, and the jar of oil will not fail, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the earth.’”
15 She went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and she, and he, and her house, ate many days.
16 The jar of meal didn’t run out, and the jar of oil didn’t fail, according to Yahweh’s word, which he spoke by Elijah.
Also see; open-heaven-25-september-2023
Today’s Open Heaven 26 September 2023
One of the things I have discovered about God in my little walk with Him is that He wants to be your priority at all times. He said in Matthew 6:33 that you should seek His kingdom and righteousness first.
In Psalm 10:4, the Bible describes those who do not seek God and have Him in their thoughts as proud. In Deuteronomy 26:2, God said that your very first harvest should be given to Him.
He wants to be your number one or nothing at all to you. In fact, one of His names is ‘Jealous’ (Exodus 34:14). Now, when God sees that you always put Him first and you have honoured Him,
then He will begin to work out a befitting reward for you. In Proverbs 3:9-10, the Bible says: “Honour the LORD with thy substance,
and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 19.5o shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine”.
In our Bible reading for today, Elijah told the widow of Zarephath to prepare his meal first before making that of herself and her son.
Some other women would have said, “Prophet, did you not hear that there is only one meal left? If I prepare that one for you, there will be nothing left to prepare for me and my son”.
Instead of saying that, she honoured God in the life of the Prophet in that difficult situation and in return, she never lacked food again. While the entire nation was starving, she had food in abundance.
That is what happens when you put God first. I was in Ilesha, holding a crusade many years ago when my Professor took my PhD thesis to the external examiner.
Normally they post it, but he bought a ticket and took it. If you ask all those who got their PhDs back then, they will tell you that it usually takes months for external examiners to invite PhD candidates for an oral examination.
While I was busy in Ilesha doing the will of God, my Professor took my thesis to the external examiner and said, “I am not going back until you read this”.
After the external examiner read it, he said “Go and give the boy his PhD”. If you do the will of God first, He will take care of all your needs.
When you honour Him and put Him first in all you do, what you will get in return will be a multiplication of what you sacrificed for Him.
Also see; special-sunday-service-with-pastor-dr-mensa-otabil-message-for-13th-august-2023
Today’s Open Heaven 26 September 2023
Points: Always put God first.
Hymn: Take My Life And Let It Be
Bible in one year: Zephaniah 1, Zephaniah 2, Zephaniah 3
