OPEN HEAVENS 2016: TUESDAY 12 2016

Tuesday January 12

GENUINE PRAISE AND WORSHIP: A PATH TO PROSPERITY

Memorise:
The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. 
Proverbs 10:22
   
Read: 2 Chronicles 20:24-26
24  And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.
25  And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.
26  And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.

Message
Yesterday, we considered genuine praise and worship as a path to victory, today we want to consider prosperity; the genuine praise and worship.
"And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much."
2 Chronicles 20:25

When God tells you that He would prosper you, don't insult Him by asking "how?" This is because while you do not have one way that can lead you to your prosperity, God has uncountable ways. All you need is to believe and obey Him (John 11:40). Is it not amazing, if not unusual, for the soldiers in our Bible reading to go to battle with precious jewels and costly outfits as if they were going for wedding ceremonies? The reason for this was that God had determined to bless His people, because He knew from the onset that His people would praise and bless the beauty of His holiness, so He prepared their compensation beforehand! Another lesson we must learn from this story is that our praise and worship must be Holy Spirit inspired; it must not be offered from our carnal man. The way we sometimes sing God's praise confirms that these songs are carnally motivated; not seasoned with grace. It would have been acceptable if we were singing it to praise men like secular musicians do. Unfortunately, the One we claim to be praising is a Spirit; He knows everything.
"But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." 
John 4:23-24

Moreover, the Almighty demands our praise and worship of Him. He is also prepared to bless our obedience to this divine mandate. In other words, if we deny Him the praise that He is worthy of, He will also deny us the prosperity that we can so easily get. I once visited a relation with the aim of blessing him with a certain amount of money, but changed my mind because he failed to give me a modest hospitality according to our custom. When I left his house, I used about 5% of the money I should have given him to buy the soft drink he should have entertained me with. He lost 100% because he did not host me with 5%. Let us cultivate the habit of giving God abundant praise and worship and He will bless us with abundant prosperity.

Hymn
Sing hymn 3

Action Point:
Throughout today, worship God in truth, in spirit and in holiness as you go about your daily business.