SEEK FIRST GOD’S KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS (9)
Matthew 6:31-33 (AMPC)
“Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?
32 For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.
33 But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.”
Dear people of God, today, we look at another of the topics under reference in this series concerning seeking FIRST God’s kingdom and His righteousness for us to receive God’s Divine blessings.
We look today at the Law of Tithes.
A number of ignorant Christians today believe tithing is an old testament practice. These same people give offerings in Church, contribute to projects supporting the Gospel BUT refuse to obey God’s command to pay 10% of ALL their income from paid employment or profit from business.
These same folks are quick to ask God to bless them and quote the Scriptures in the Holy Bible that support their prayers but choose to forget the condition precedent of paying tithes and other financial contribution to the work of the Gospel.
Let me share a testimony with you that happened sometime in May 2019.
I have this friend I had preached to concerning payment of tithes and how it is God’s key to prosper any believer in Christ.
This was in 2018.
This friend took the message seriously and started paying tithes and God blessed him even when he was not receiving salary regularly from his employer.
He came back to me later to testify how in spite of no salary God blessed him with a private job where he earned some income, paid tithes and even bought a shirt!
Fast forward to 2019, in February, this fellow told me he was getting married. When I asked him when, he was not sure as his family and the lady’s family had yet to agree.
Sometime in early April 2019, he came again to meet me and said he was struggling to raise money to fund his wedding and that nobody was willing to assist him.
I then told him pointedly that the reason why he was still struggling was because he was not paying tithes and he confirmed that he was no longer regular in his tithes payment.
I then asked him how much he had and he said N75,000. I asked him if he had paid tithes from this money and he said no.
Again, I lectured him on the importance of paying tithes and urged him to pay his tithes. I asked him how much he wanted for his wedding and he said N250,000 and when he wanted God to give him the money, to which he responded April 14, 2019.
I promised him that if by April 14, 2019, God had not given him the N250,000 or more, I would refund N20,000 to him.
We agreed and he went and paid his tithe. I did not see him April 14, 2019 but he came to see me the next day April 15, 2019.
I asked him if God had given him the money, to which he said no. I asked him if he had paid his tithe and he said yes. However, he was still excited and the reason for him was because the two families had finally agreed on a date for the wedding, which was Saturday May 11, 2019.
I was sad because I know God cannot fail and if God had not given him the N250,000, it was because there was a problem he had with God and the fault could never come from God.
I told him I would still give him the N20,000 I promised him but I warned him that he was trying to make God a liar and that could put him in very serious trouble with God.
I told him to search his life very well, ask God to show him his fault and ask for forgiveness so that God could help him.
After a while, he said what came to his mind was that on 2 different occasions at 2 different places, God had used 2 different people to preach to him to go back to preaching the Gospel as he had done in the past.
Even though I did not accept that as the reason for God not helping him with the money, I still felt there was something else he had not done that was preventing the Lord from helping him and I told him so.
I told him to ensure to go back and start preaching the Gospel as God had commanded but he still needed to check his life.
I saw him sometime later and the situation had still not changed. I probed further about his tithes and he again revealed to me that he had received salaries for about 3 months but he was not sure he had paid the complete tithes even though he claimed to have paid some.
I told him to calculate the tithe from the money and take out of the N20,000 I gave him to pay his tithes. He did and I did not see him again until Thursday May 9, 2019, just 2 days to his wedding on Saturday May 11, 2019.
This time around he sounded desperate and told me he had even approached someone I knew for financial assistance and that fellow told him off.
When I asked him how much he had, he said N35,000 and that his in-laws to be had asked him to send N150,000 for food preparation for the wedding.
This time around, he confessed again that the lady in question was pregnant and that was why they wanted to quickly conclude the traditional wedding.
It was now obvious why God didn't respond all along when he prayed because he had sinned through fornication and impregnated the lady before marriage and had not repented.
Again told him that he needed to repent of this sin and he did not need to be desperate to meet humans who would not help him but God.
I gave him 2 Scriptures in Ephesians 1:3 and 3 John 1:2 with which to pray.
I told him to repent sincerely and also ask God to forgive him for doubting His Word in the Holy Bible and that he should tell God he agrees with His Word in the Scriptures above and that God should show him mercy.
This friend of mine came last week to testify and thank God on how God gave him a miracle.
He followed my advice, repented for fornication and impregnating the lady before marriage, and prayed as I directed and it was on the day of his wedding in the early hours shortly after midnight of Saturday May 11, 2019 that God’s miracle came through his brother and others and God gave him over N250,000 for the wedding!
This fellow then went very early that day to his would be in-laws to give them the N150,000 they requested for the food for the wedding. According to him, they initially rejected the money saying it was too late but he persuaded them and gave them an additional N10,000 to make a total of N160,000.
What a Mighty God we serve!!!
Dear friend, with this testimony, you can clearly see that God can never be at fault when He withholds His blessings from any Christian because it is CERTAINLY the Christian who is at fault.
As you can see, when my friend cleared all obstacles to his blessings from God, my Father and Father of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ responded with His miracles upon the fellow’s life for a successful wedding.
If you have been joking with tithes payment, today you must repent, ask God for forgiveness, amend your ways, and start paying tithes before it is too late.
Pay your tithe as a condition precedent in seeking FIRST God’s kingdom and His righteousness so that every blessing God has promised would be released into your life.
The choice is yours. God has shown me the Truth of His Word as far as tithes is concerned so nobody can distract me with careless talk.
I urge you to key into this kingdom prosperity principle.
May the good Lord bless you as you heed His Word today, act on it and share with others in Jesus’ Most Righteous Name, Amen.
Gabriel Ama.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click HERE to buy the Book NOW, I UNDERSTAND to study to discover your many rights as a Christian so you can live holy and victoriously in every area of your life always and then go join the Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven when you depart this world.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------