WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DESIGN OUR LIVES OUR OWN WAY?
MALACHI: A Case Study In Life Engineering Gone Wrong
You are doing it wrong!
Who does your life belong to?
MONEY: A Case Study In God’s Ways
REVERSE ENGINEERING: Choosing to live today so that you can have the life you want tomorrow.
FIVE DECLARATIONS FOR A BLESSED LIFE
Malachi 3:8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings.
1. My Life Belongs To God
Psalms 100:3 Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of his pasture.
GOD is my Creator.
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Everything I have comes from Him.
1 Chronicles 29:14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.
Everything I give belongs to Him.
Malachi 3:8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings.
2. I Give God My Best
A TITHE is one-tenth of one’s income given to God.
Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
An OFFERING is a gift given to God over and above the tithe.
2 Corinthians 9:7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
We give out of obedience and devotoin to God.
Blessing is a by-product.
Malachi 3:9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me.
3. I Miss God’s Blessing When I Do Things My Way
Matthew 7:26-27 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
IF WE WANT TO LIVE IN GRACE AND GROWTH, WE CANNOT IGNORE GOD’S WAYS.
WHEN WE DO THINGS OUR OWN WAYS, LIFE IS FLAT AND FAILING.
No matter how much money you have, you will always be Flat until you choose to do it God’s way.
You will miss out on your potential if you are disobedient.
Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
4. God Wants Me To Be Blessed
2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
GOD WANTS TO BLESS YOU FOR YOU.
To be BLESSED is to have all you need to do what God has called you to do.
Start giving something.
Teach your kids to give.
2 Corinthians 9:10-11 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
GOD WANTS TO BLESS YOU FOR OTHERS.
Malachi 3:10-12 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the LORD Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.
5. When I Give God My Best My Life Is Blessed
THERE ARE BLESSINGS IN YOUR LIFE THAT YOU WILL MISS OUT ON UNTIL YOU ARE OBEDIENT..
WHEN I GIVE GOD MY BEST MY LIFE IS BLESSED.
Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
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