Sunday Service Message 15/08/2021
TOPIC: THE REWARD OF FAITHFULNESS
Text: Genesis 22: 10- 18; Psalm 50: 14 & 15; Proverbs 28: 20; 1 Thessalonians 5: 24
Many people as a result of lack of fear of God have made God secondary in their lives. Such people neither acknowledge God as first in their lives nor do they honour God in their activities.
Matthew 6: 33
From the above scriptures, we can understand the mind of God. God must be the first thing in your life and not the last. If you have to do anything in life, God must be the first.
Luke 6: 38; Proverbs 3: 9
Give and it shall be given to you.
If you want the faithful God to work with you, then honour him.
Take note that many people do not pay their debts or fulfil the pledges they make.
Such people are making a lot of mistakes. Before you do your own project or whatever you want to do, you must firstly fulfil that which you promised God.
Many people treat God with unfaithfulness and this results in lack of blessings.
If you put God secondary in your dealings, that is unfaithfulness.
Malachi 1: 6
God has first given you and that which you promised him, you must make sure you fulfil it.
God will bless us as he blessed the faithful Abraham.
Genesis 22: 12, 13, 16
After so many years of working with Abraham, God confirmed that Abraham has the fear of God because he did not withhold his only son.
Many of us that make pledges without redeeming them, it shows we do not fear God.
Abraham gave God his only son. He feared God and obeyed God. As a result, God blessed him.
Genesis 24: 1
God is faithful. He cannot lie.
In this message, we shall consider the following sub-headings :
- THE REASONS, EXAMPLES AND UNFORTUNATE SITUATIONS.
Many people are quick to make pledges, vows and promises to God. However they are very unfaithful in fulfilling the same. Many people seat on their vows and sometimes forget about it. They do not fear God like Abraham nor have respect for God. Such people do not realise that whatever they have is a gift from God.
These people demonstrate unfaithfulness in every area of ther lives. It is not only as it relates to redemption of their vows and pledges.
They are unfaithful in paying tithes, fulfilling their pledges, in offering, in coming to Service on time. These people do not keep to what the word of God says. They feel to big.
God demands that we give him priority in every aspect of our lives.
We should honour God and fear him.
May I remind you that Matthew 6: 33 admonishes us to firstly seek the kingdom of God and all its righteousness. We must therefore make God our foremost priority in life.
If you want God to give you this or that and bless you; God is willing. However make sure that you are a child of God, maintaining righteousness on every side.
Proverbs 3 : 9 & 10; Malachi 3: 8-12
If you firstly obey the Lord and give him the first fruit, God will bless you. He is a faithful God.
Many people who think they are wise and do not pay tithe, God sees them as thieves and Robbers.
I want you to understand every robber or any thief is under curse.
All such people that are depriving the work of God, tend to loose their money in mysterious ways. No peace, no joy, no progress, because they refuse to obey God.
Brethren, if you are not paying your tithe in the House of God, you are paying it somewhere.
It is possible you are paying it to hospitals, problems and Armed Robbers.
In some cases, people give to God what they cannot give to man. They offer to God rejected things.
Are you sitting on the pledges you made to God and you are waiting for God to beg you to redeem them?
Deuteronomy 28: 1 -3
If you will be faithful with God; God will bless you in every area of life and make you to be above others.
When any person to whom God has given life and other benefits, delay in giving back to God, it will be considered as unfaithfulness.
It is a terrible sin for you to withhold that which the Lord has given to you.
May I remind you that Nabal lost all that he had for being stingy to David and despising his messengers ( 1 Samuel 25).
The demand of God is give and it shall be given to you.
If you refuse to give, you will definitely lack.
For further reading, please search the following scriptures: Genesis 22; you will see where God took an oath to bless Abraham.
Another example is King Solomon who offered a Thousand burnt offerings and he did not request anything from God. Yet God appeared to him and blessed him ( 1 Kings 3: 4-28).
We can attract the blessings of God, if we will willingly give to God and fulfil our vows and pledges.
Let us consider another type of giving to the Lord.
1 kings 17: 9-16
Giving God first makes miracle of having plenty even throughout the years of famine.
If the widow woman had withheld from giving Elijah, she would not have been blessed.
When you withhold what you have from God, you might just be eating your last meal.
Matthew 14: 15
Whenever you are withholding what will benefit others or what God is demanding from you, you are withholding it from multitudes that should have been blessed through that medium. You are also withholding your own blessings.
The unfortunate situation in our present day is that many have promised, vowed and pledged and never redeemed their vows whilst expecting God to bless them.
This is very wrong. Are you like that?
Hebrews 12: 17
Esau was careless and thereby mismanaged what God has given to him. He lost the blessings of God.
Let it not be you are among those that are sitting on what God has given to you or what you have promised God.
Let it not be that you are among those that despise God.
If you are like that, do something before itbis too late. Fulfil your vows and pledges.
- OUR EXPECTED RESPONSE AND BENEFITS.
Remember that God gave Isaac to Abraham after 25years of following the Lord.
Genesis 12: 1-3
God had made this promise of blessing Abraham from the beginning.
Genesis 21: 1; Genesis 22: 1
Abraham never promised God that he will give him Isaac rather it was God that demanded for Isaac
When you consider the aforementioned insight, you will recognize the wickedness of people who voluntarily come forward to make pledges and are not in any hurry to redeem it.
This is why sometimes when people say they do not know what is wrong with them, it is most possible that it is the lack of fear of God.
Proverbs 28: 20
Abraham abounded in blessings because he is a faithful man and God blessed him.
We should be faithful in dealing with God. We must put God first and not secondary.
God has given you Isaac.
If you are a Chosen, God has given you Isaac.
As long as you be a Chosen, honestly God has blessed you.
The question is, will you pass the test? Where is your Isaac?
Solomon passed the test; the widow of Zarapheth passed the test.
Whenever we withhold that which God has demanded from us, it will be considered as unfaithfulness.
Also go out for evangelism. The hour we are now is the hour of evangelism.
Let us reach out to all the people, there is no more time.
Invite everybody to the House of God.
While we make good the pledges we have already vowed to God, we must obey every aspect of the word of God.
Psalm 50: 14 & 15
Do it first and call upon me. That vow you made, offer it. Pay it and then call upon God.
As I conclude this message, I wish to address those that are sinners and Backsliders.
You must confess your sins and repent of them and promise God you will not return to those sins.
Accept Jesus Christ today as your Lord and personal Saviour.
1 John 3: 8 & 9;
A Sinner is not a Christian and a Christian is not a Sinner.
You may be asking, what is sin?
1 John 5:17a
Unbelief is sin. Selfishness is sin; Covetousness is sin, Insincerity is sin; backbiting, murmuring, speaking evil of others, these are terrible sins.
Going to native doctors, going for divination and palm reading, all that is terrible wickedness. No child of God does that.
If you are into stealing, any form of stealing; stealing from Government, stealing from companies and individuals, that is sin. Amend your ways.
If you are there and you are involved into armed robbery, duping people, do not bring such money to this Church. Repent and promise God, “no more”.
If you are among those people that are involved in fornication, adultery, homosexuality, lesbianism, abortion, that is terrible wickedness.
Fighting and quarreling, smoking and drunkenness all these are evil. Ask for the mercy of God.
Are you into fighting and quarreling? Are you disobedient to your husband or you are beating your wife, that is sin.
Are you into any kind of killing, poisoning people, hired assassin? Confess that sin and amend your ways. Promise God you will not return to that wickedness.
Are you into divorce? That is sin.
Matthew 19: 4-6.
Are you into polygamous marriage or you have sent away your wife or you moved away from your husband, that is sin. Marriage is between a man and a woman until death separates you. If death has not separated you, you have no right on earth to marry another while your partner is still alive.
Are you a woman dressing like a man or a man dressing like a woman, all that is sin. Deuteronomy 22: 5
Are you among those that take snuff, take cigarette and banned substances, that is sin. That is wickedness against your soul and against humanity.
Anything that will pollute your heart and eyes, turn away from them. Do not set your eyes on wicked pictures and those that expose their bodies. It will pollute you.
Psalm 101: 1-3
All these people that bleach their body and turn yellow over night, that is sin. All those that paint their eyes and mouth, that is sin.
Jeremiah 4: 30
I have not spoken this word to condemn you but to point out what is evil thereby enabling you to amend your ways.
The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Are you among those that wear chains and rings, that is sin. Do not be deceived and say you are wearing cross on the neck. Cross is wear thieves were hung and those that were cursed. Jesus Christ took away our curses by being hung on the cross. No man should be carrying curse around his neck.
Proverbs 28: 13; John 14: 6; John 1: 29; John 10: 10b; Matthew 11: 28; John 1: 12; 2 Corinthians 5: 17
As you give your life to Jesus Christ and begin to live the life of the kingdom of God, I am assuring you, that power of faithfulness shall come upon you.
Romans 10: 13
As many of you who will call upon the Lord asking for mercy, the Lord will intervene. Promise God that you will be faithful and do his will.
Remember, the Lord will reward the faithful. If you do what you are told to do, the Lord who is faithful will bless you.