Rodney Howard Browne

God has guaranteed a special blessing to those that read His book of prediction, Revelation. However, this is going to be one of the least read books in the Bible. Many folks are threatened by its tricky images or by the judgments recorded in Revelation. They don’t understand the book is also worshipful and celebratory.

The books of Psalm and Revelation are maybe the 2 most praise-filled books in the Bible. The 5th chapter of Revelation records one of the strongest worship experiences that ever will happen. True worship honors God, and it’s not based mostly on emotion or feeling. The main incentives for our praising and adoring God are who He is, what he’s done, and what he’s going to do. This has nothing to do with pursuit of a non secular high; in truth, such a pursuit takes one’s focus away from God. Always confirm your worship is targeted on Christ as you praise and love only Him.

This quite naturally can bring some fitting emotion.

Yet we should worship God without greedy motives, without looking to be spotted or considered “super-spiritual.” We should worship Him because we recognize His worthiness to get praise. It also honors God when we inspect the worshipful passages of God has guaranteed a special blessing to those that read His book of prediction, Revelation. However, this is going to be one of the least read books in the Bible. Many folks are threatened by its tricky images or by the judgments recorded in Revelation. They don’t understand the book is also worshipful and celebratory.

The books of Psalm and Revelation are maybe the 2 most praise-filled books in the Bible. The 5th chapter of Revelation records one of the strongest worship experiences that ever will happen.

True worship honors God, and it’s not based mostly on emotion or feeling. The main incentives for our praising and adoring God are who He is, what he’s done, and what he’s going to do. This has nothing to do with pursuit of a non secular high; in truth, such a pursuit takes one’s focus away from God. Always confirm your worship is targeted on Christ as you praise and love only Him. This quite naturally can bring some fitting emotion.

Yet we should worship God without greedy motives, without looking to be spotted or considered “super-spiritual.” We should worship Him because we recognize His worthiness to get praise. It also honors God when we inspect the worshipful passages of Revelation and try to commit them to memory. Then we’ll already have a head start by knowing the words.

In today’s passage, God teaches us about His relationship with His kids. He asserts that He is going to deal with us as a potter works along side us and we, like the clay, are in His hands. ( Jeremiah 18:6 ) God is molding each one of us into the picture of His Son Jesus.

Second, he is shaping us for a particular purpose, one that is individually designed and brings about our utility in building His dominion. Our part as clay is to submit ourselves to His purpose. As the potter, He may take away something from our life - like removing mounds from clay - or He may speed up the pace until we feel as if we are spinning. Or, wanting a new shape for His “vessels,” he would dramatically rework our pattern of living to start us in a new direction.

Our responsibility is to accept any changes from the Master Potter. We can do this confidently as we are in God’s hands.

Scripture describes them as creative hands whose efforts is displayed in nature, hands filled with righteousness, hands that give life and take it away, mighty and strong hands that saved Israel from Egypt and us from slavery to sin. Hands that protect us, hands that were pierced so we’d be made new. So when we think about being clay in God’s hands and about how God deals with us, we will be able to relax knowing “in His hands” is precisely the place we wish to be.

 

1 Corinthians 12 verse 7

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

 

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are as He will’s not as we will - however He will’s more than we will.

 

The Gift of Faith is a supernatural Gift from God of His Faith given to you at a specific time at a specific place for a specific purpose. 

 

It is the ability from God the divine grace to receive a miracle

Miracles of Salvation, deliverance, healing, protection, provision etc involving all of our needs down here on the earth.

 

We see passages of scripture that these are showcased in.

 

1. The Red Sea parted making a way for them to pass and burying their enemies.

2. Water provided from the Rock, Manna and Quail from Heaven.

3. The Pillar of Cloud by Day and the Pillar of Fire by night.

4. God brought the Children of Israel forth with Silver and Gold and there was not one sick or feeble one among their tribes.

5. The Son and the Moon stood still.

6. The Axe Head Swam 

7. The ravens fed the prophet.

8. The Oil and the meal did not Fail.

9. The Rain that came to break the drought.

10. Water into wine.

11. Feeding the Five thousand with 5 loaves and 2 fishes.

12. Tax money from the Fish’s mouth 

 

The List goes on and on I have only sighted a few examples from the Scripture.

 

The Gift of Faith will propel you supernaturally - the Lord will sustain you in  the most adverse circumstances - He will make away where there is no way and He will furnish a table in the wilderness and make the crooked path’s straight.

 

If the Gift of Faith is as He will’s and not as we will then how do we access the gift - we can use our Faith to receive the gift of Faith

Just lift your hands right now and pray this prayer and Say

Father in Jesus name I thank you for the gifts of the Spirit and especially the gift of Faith - we receive by Faith this gift right now to help me in my situation and I receive by Faith

 

Divine Grace so as to move mountains. I receive this in the wonderful name of Jesus and by the power of the Blood of Jesus.

 

Thank you in Jesus Name

Amen.

 

PS Love and blessings to you as you read this I am in Tulsa Oklahoma and it is Friday 17th April pm 6.30 and I am preaching on the gift of Faith tonight and felt to post my notes on this blog - looking forward to the Sunday am and pm at the River

 

Love and Blessings 

Pastor Rodney Howard Browne

 

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. 22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.  Colossians 3:5-25 NIV

1. In the Family, we have been raised to a new life through Jesus Christ—He was raised to new life therefore we have been raised up with Him.

 

We are to seek the rich eternal treasures that are above—in the Heavenlies.

 

Set your mind on the higher things.

 

You died with Him, you were buried with Him and you have been raised to new life with Him.

 

Putting off the old—verses 5-9  

Putting on the new—verses 10-12

2. Your conduct in the Family of God.

Forgiving one another—verse 13

Put on love—verse 14

Let peace rule—verse 15

Be thankful—verse 15

 

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord—verse 16

Whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him—verse 17

3. Christian family conduct.

Verses 18-25

Husbands; wives; children; parents; fathers; servants.

The Word of God must be the foundation for our lives.

4. Foundational things you must do in order to live your life prosperously and effectively in the Family of God.

Decide to obey God’s Word and take it as the written, spoken, God-breathed pattern for your life in the Family.

Don’t be conformed to the world—its ways and ideologies.

Don’t be persuaded by outside influences—be controlled by the Holy Spirit.

 

The Holy Spirit is the One who has been sent to help you live your life in the Family.

 

He will constrain and restrain you and also release, empower and enable you to live by the grace of God to handle any situation that might come your way.  

NB You are part of the Family of God in Heaven and Earth! 

Jesus came to earth as a human being. He was born of a

virgin and lived a sinless life. He went to the cross of Calvary

and paid the price for our sin. Then He rose from the dead, sat

down at the right hand of the Father, and sent the Holy Ghost

to live in the hearts of those who believe. So now you and I can

come and simply surrender our lives to Him, and the Holy

Ghost can come into our hearts and give us a new life.

 

I thank God for the reality of the risen, resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.

If you want to see Jesus clearly, take your Bible or go

to the back of this book and read through the gospels of

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Underline everything He did and

everything He said. Put yourself in every verse. I’ve been at the

pool of Bethesda. “When did you go there?” you might ask. I

went there in the pages of the Word of God!

 

Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool,

which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having

five porches.

 

In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind,

halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

JOHN 5:2-3

 

I’ve been there. I’ve seen it in the Spirit! When you walk

through the pages of the Word of God, Jesus will walk right off

the pages of the Gospel and into your heart. The living reality of

the resurrected Lord will walk up and down in your heart. The

Bible says, Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have

believed (John 20:29). I haven’t seen, but I believe. I haven’t

seen with my natural eye, but I’ve seen Him with the eye of my

spirit in the pages of the Word of God.

 

The Word says, Lo, I come in the volume of the book

(Hebrews 10:7). We must see Him as He really is — not through

the eyes of religious tradition, but through the eyes of the Holy

Spirit and God’s Word.

 

Jesus was not a barefoot, scrawny, weak-kneed individual with a

lamb under His arm who spoke in Elizabethan English, “For yea, as

thou hast gathered here this day.” That’s not Jesus, that is religion

and tradition. If you read the Bible, you’ll see that the reputation Jesus

had among the religious people was that of a gluttonous man and

a winebibber, because He hung around with the sinners. Religious

people don’t want to be around sinners, and they didn’t like Jesus

because He convicted them of their hard-heartedness.

 

And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast

mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou

mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou

weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.

Judges 16:13

 

I want you to see that Samson had begun to touch

the very key to his anointing. He had played the other

three times but now he was starting to touch the covering

of the anointing of God on his life. He even mentioned

part of the secret which was his hair.

 

He didn’t tell them to shave him, but he told them

to make seven locks of his hair and then to bind it up and

fasten it. This is what Delilah did.

 

There were a lot of weavers in those days. They

would weave carpets and clothing and all kinds of things.

That’s what Samson was saying. “Weave all my seven

locks into the weaver’s beam. Then I’ll be weak.” He

didn’t give the secret, but he was touching the very source

of the anointing on his life.

 

And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him,

The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked

out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the

beam, and with the web.

 

And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love

thee, when thine heart is not with me? Thou hast

mocked me these three times, and hast not told me

wherein thy great strength lieth.

 

And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with

her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed

unto death.

Judges 16:14-16

 

She did what only a woman could do. It must

have been hell on earth. Nag, nag, nag, nag, nag.

Morning, noon, and night. “You don’t love me.”

It was so bad that his soul was vexed unto death.

Samson wanted to die. That’s how bad it was. This

woman went on and on and on so that he wanted to die.

 

He said, “My soul is vexed to death.” Some women have

that ability. She bugged him and bugged him, until he

told her all his heart.

 

That’s what the enemy wants to do. He wants to

get you to a place where you open your heart and

compromise the very deep things of God and lose your

effectiveness for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Every believer needs to develop a lifestyle of

prayer. The Word says, “Pray without ceasing” (First

Thessalonians 5:17). We need to realize that we can live

in the spirit of prayer, whereby we pray all the time. Our

heart can always be crying out to Him. Our thought life is

never far away from God.

 

I asked the Lord why some people never feel or

sense His touch in their lives. It’s because most of their

waking moments are caught up in the affairs of this life.

Their hearts are far from God.

 

Jude 20 says, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves

on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy

Ghost.” It is important to pray in the Spirit and keep

yourself built up spiritually. Some would say; “I need to

get prayed up.” Don’t just get prayed up; stay prayed up.

Stay in the Spirit.

 

Different Rules for Different Prayers

 

We know that just as different sports have

different rules, so there are different kinds of prayer and

not all prayer has the same rules. For the believer who

would be used of God, there are two prayers especially

among all the others that need to be prayed.

 

The first is the prayer of consecration. Jesus

prayed this prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was a

prayer of consecrating His will to do the will of His

Father.

 

The second prayer is the prayer of repentance,

always keeping our hearts right with God. This is not on

the basis of sin consciousness, but out of our love for

Jesus. We would not want to do anything to hurt Him in

any way, shape, or fashion.

 

These two prayers are lacking in many lives. For

those who desire to have the anointing, a consecrated,

yielded, repentant heart will be used of God.

 

Is God a Captive in His Own Heavens?

 

There are those in the Church who think that to

see revival our prayer life must be directed towards the

devil in a warfare attitude. They believe we must wage

war on the devil in the heavens to release God so that He

can move freely. They act as if God is bound in the

heavenly realm, waiting desperately for a believer to

loose Him so that the plan and purpose of God can be

done on earth.

 

Honey, I Blew up the Devil and other Nintendo Games

 

This game of spiritual warfare is nothing more

than a spiritual Nintendo game played by baby Christians

who have no understanding that Jesus defeated the devil

two thousand years ago. He has sent the Holy Ghost to

empower the believer and to flow through that

individual’s life to enforce the devil’s defeat.

 

In this game, the devil is seen through the eyes of

the believer as very big and in control. God is having a

problem containing him. Believers, instead of preaching

the gospel, are in their closets waging war on the devil.

 

Many live in a fantasy world of spiritual warfare. It’s

probably the result of a bad dream and an overdose of

pizza with too much cheese.

 

This has permeated the Church, infiltrated the

worship, prayer, and study of the Word to such an extent

that when you go to some churches, you wonder who are

you going to worship. All they ever seem to do is talk

about the devil and pray about what he is doing. Even the

sermon and their heavenly language is directed toward

the devil.

 

By the end of the service, all the believers are

stamping their feet, binding and loosing in a frightened

frenzy. It reminds me of a bunch of kids who have been

told they are going to have to walk home in the dark past

a graveyard after they’ve just seen a horror movie.

 

Pulling Down Strongholds in the Mind or Heavenlies?

 

(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal,

but mighty through God, to the pulling down of strong

holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing

that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and

bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of

Christ (Second Corinthians 10:4,5). This speaks of a warfare

in the mind of man rather than in the heavenlies.

 

We have no account of Paul or anyone else -

including Jesus - indulging in these so-called warfare

practices. This practice is based on Daniel’s 21-day fast

while the angel was trying to get through. This, of course,

is Old Covenant. The Holy Ghost is here on earth now.

 

He came on the day of Pentecost and never left.

So rather than indulging in religious practices that

do not produce any fruit, let us turn to the proclamation

of the gospel linked to the demonstration of the power of

the Holy Ghost resulting in the establishment of the

kingdom of God. “The kingdom is not meat and drink;

but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost”

(Romans 14:17).

 

It is interesting to note that the greatest soul

winners in the world have never indulged in such

practices. They have spent their time in prayer,

fellowshipping with the Lord on a daily basis, and

ministering out of an overflow of that communion with

Him.

There was a man of the Pharisees,

named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

The same came to Jesus by night,

and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that

thou art a teacher come from God: for no

man can do these miracles that thou

doest, except God be with him.

 

Jesus answered and said unto him,

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a

man be born again, he cannot see the

kingdom of God.

 

Nicodemus saith unto him, How

can a man be born when his is old? Can

he enter a second time into his mother’s

womb and be born?

John 3:1-4

 

People who try to understand the new birth

intellectually, are reasoning with their minds. Like

Nicodemus, they are trying to understand how we can be

born a second time. Some would say this born-again

experience is something new. No, it’s not. Jesus spoke

about it long ago.

 

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I

say unto thee, Except a man be born of

water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter

into the kingdom of God.

 

That which is born of the flesh is

flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit

is spirit.

 

Marvel not that I said unto thee,

Ye must be born again.

 

The wind bloweth where it listeth,

and thou hearest the sound thereof, but

canst tell whence it cometh, and whither it

goeth: so is every one that is born of the

Spirit.

 

Nicodemus answered and said

unto him, How can these things be?

Jesus answered and said unto him,

Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest

not these things?

 

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We

speak that we do know, and testify that

we have seen; and ye receive not our

witness.

 

If I have told you earthly things,

and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if

I tell you of heavenly things?

 

And no man hath ascended up to

heaven, but he that came down from

heaven, even the Son of man which is in

heaven.

 

And as Moses lifted up the serpent

in the wilderness, even so must the Son of

man be lifted up:

 

That whosoever believeth in him

should not perish, but have eternal life.

For God so loved the world, that

he gave his only begotten Son, that

whosoever believeth in him should not

perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the

world to condemn the world; but that the

world through him might be saved.

 

He that believeth on him in not

condemned: but he that believeth not is

condemned already, because he hath not

believed in the name of the only begotten

Son of God.

 

And this is the condemnation, that

light is come into the world, and men

loved darkness rather than light, because

their deeds were evil.

 

For every one that doeth evil

hateth the light, neither cometh to the

light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

But he that doeth truth cometh to

the light, that his deeds may be made

manifest, that they are wrought in God.

John 3:5-21

 

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and

Savior, something takes place. There’s a literal change

made in you. That’s why I have difficulty believing that

some people are truly born again. I don’t see a change.

 

The scripture 1 Peter 1:23 says, “Being born again, not of

corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God,

which liveth and abideth for ever.”

 

When you come into contact with God, something

is going to happen in your life. There’s going to be a

radical change. Everyone will be able to look at you and

see the change, not because you wear a T-shirt saying,

“Honk if you love Jesus.” Not because you have a fish on

your forehead or you carry a big Bible. But they should

see, just by your presence, that something about you is

different. In other words, when you meet up with God, you

change. The new birth means change.

 

When you have an encounter with God your life is

going to change. Don’t tell me you’ve had an encounter

with God if you’re suing your Christian brother. I won’t

believe you. The Bible says that we know that we have

passed from death unto life because we love the brethren

(First Jon 3:14).

 

If someone is born again, you’re going to see it.

You’re going to hear it. Everything about that person will

be different. When they’re involved in sin, they’ll dress

like the world, they’ll talk like the world, they’ll hang out

with the world, they’ll mix with sinners and feel

comfortable there and the sinners will feel comfortable with

them too.

 

But when Jesus comes inside, He cleans the house

out. Your lifestyle will be affected. You start loving

people. Your marriage gets turned around. Your finances

get healed. Your sick bodies get healed. That’s what the

new birth does.

 

Was it just a mental prayer that you prayed and

said, “Jesus come into my life and forgive me of my sins”?

You did it because you didn’t want to go to hell. Or do you

know the time and the place when you had an encounter

with God and your life changed radically? Can you say, “I

was going in the wrong direction? I was heading for a lost

eternity and the Lord Jesus Christ came to me and I

accepted Him. I turned my back on sin in the world. I

repented and I chose to go the other way.”

 

If I stood on the interstate in the middle of the road

and a Mack truck came down the road at 65 miles an hour

and hit me head on, my friends and family would peel me

off the front grill of that truck. The first thing they’re going

to say to me is “Rodney, you’ve changed. You look

different, Rodney. You talk different. You walk different.

You’re not the same person we’ve known. What happened

to you?”

 

I had an encounter. I’m changed. I’m different.

Have you had a “Mack truck” experience that

revolutionized your life? Do you know the day the hour

that you crossed over from death unto life?

The Bible says we’ve been delivered out of the

kingdom of darkness and translated into the kingdom of

 

His dear Son (Colossians 1:13). There’s an actual

transition. Something takes place. And everyone can see

it. There’s something different about you.

But we have people in the church who say, “I’m a

born again bank robber, Brother Rodney. I rob banks part

time. Brother, I’m a born again Mafia hit man. I’m born

again and I deal cocaine on the side. I really feel I need to

support the church. I’m born again, Brother Rodney, and I

race horses on the side.”

 

I used to think every Christian had angels’ wings

and halos. One day I looked and saw the halo wasn’t there.

It was two little horns coming out of their head. Some

Christians have the symbol of the fish, but they should put

a shark on their car, not a fish. Just when you thought it

was safe to go back to church!

 

Christians are ripping each other off. Sometimes

I’d rather go to a sinner in business because at least I know

I can shout at him if he does a bad job. If you go to the

Christian and he does a bad job, you are expected to pay the

money and walk in love. At lease with the sinner you can

say, “You Philistine, thou hast not done the job correctly.”

 

When sinners can come to church and feel like it’s a

great place and sit there week after week and never give

their lives to Jesus, you know that church is a compromise.

When sinners walk in the door, they should be affected

immediately. They should sense the presence of God and

they should be convicted – not condemned – and should

want to repent.

Good News of Great Joy

But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people. 11 For to you is born this day in the town of David a Savior, Who is Christ (the Messiah) the Lord!
Luke 2:10-11 AMP

There was great joy at Jesus’ birth—not just because a cute, little baby was born, but because of all He was destined to do for mankind, in His death, burial, and resurrection!

You have loved righteousness [You have delighted in integrity, virtue, and uprightness in purpose, thought, and action] and You have hated lawlessness (injustice and iniquity). Therefore God, [even] Your God (Godhead), has anointed You with the oil of exultant joy and gladness above and beyond Your companions.  Hebrews 1:9 AMP

In Psalms 45:6-7, a prophetic word is given concerning the Messiah, which Paul quotes here in Hebrews. Jesus was anointed with the oil of joy and gladness above and beyond His companions because He loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Joy was His reward. True joy—the joy every human heart is so hungry for—is only available to the heart that is submitted to Almighty God! Jesus is God, Himself, but still, He submitted Himself to the will of the Father. His obedience was absolutely necessary for the fulfillment of the Father’s plan of salvation for mankind, however, Jesus did not obey because He had no choice or because He was forced to; He obeyed because He chose to, and therefore, He was anointed with the reward of great joy.

Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us, 2 Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:1-2 AMP

The good news is that Jesus never yielded to the temptations of sin, or His own flesh, or His own will or desire—He endured the cross, ignoring the shame, because of His expectation of the joy that would follow as a result of His great sacrifice. Jesus knew the terrible things He would have to endure and still He committed Himself to do everything that was required of Him, without complaint or argument. This was the course of His appointed race. You and I also have an appointed race. It is not an easy race—it is very tough, at times—but there is a joy-reward that lies before us when we obey God and run our assigned course. There is no reward for disobedience—there is no blessing in choosing our own way— we are blessed when we choose to go God’s way for our lives!

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 1 Peter 1:8 KJV

Now to Him Who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping or falling, and to present [you] unblemished (blameless and faultless) before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exultation [with unspeakable, ecstatic delight].  Jude 24 AMP

Let us rejoice and shout for joy [exulting and triumphant]! Let us celebrate and ascribe to Him glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb [at last] has come, and His bride has prepared herself.  Revelation 19:7 AMP

The Good News for the believer is that there is joy unspeakable and full of glory—wonderful, triumphant joy and exultation (unspeakable, ecstatic delight)—waiting for us in the presence of the Lord. If we, the Bride of Christ, prepare ourselves for heaven, by obeying the heavenly call, we will live to join the lavish, joy-filled, heavenly celebration that has been prepared for us—the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!

You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Psalms 16:11 AMP

From life’s first cry to final breath—and on into eternity—if we remain in God’s presence, we will continue on in His joy.

Thoughts on Stewardship – Lesson 25 from Deuteronomy

The Law of the Tithe
Foundation Scriptures: Deuteronomy 14 verses 22 - 29

You shall surely tithe all the yield of your seed produced by your field each year. 23 And you shall eat before the Lord your God in the place in which He will cause His Name [and Presence] to dwell the tithe (tenth) of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstlings of your herd and your flock, that you may learn [reverently] to fear the Lord your God always. 24 And if the distance is too long for you to carry your tithe, or the place where the Lord your God chooses to set His Name [and Presence] is too far away for you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, 25 Then you shall turn it into money, and bind up the money in your hand, and shall go to the place [of worship] which the Lord your God has chosen. 26 And you may spend that money for whatever your appetite craves, for oxen, or sheep, or new wine or strong[er] drink, or whatever you desire; and you shall eat there before the Lord your God and you shall rejoice, you and your household. 27 And you shall not forsake or neglect the Levite [God's minister] in your towns, for he has been given no share or inheritance with you. 28 At the end of every three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your increase the same year and lay it up within your towns. 29 And the Levite [because he has no part or inheritance with you] and the stranger or temporary resident, and the fatherless and the widow who are in your towns shall come and eat and be satisfied, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.  Deuteronomy 14:22-29 AMP

1.  The tithe was to be brought as an act of worship, to honor God, by all those who feared His Name

a. It was to be brought with joy – not with sadness or with reservations. It was a time to feast and rejoice and give thanks.
b. The whole family was involved - you and your house. God continually emphasizes the importance of His people personally obeying His word and also teaching these principles to their children and establishing them as a way of life so that every generation would love and serve the Lord. Joshua says, “As for me and my house, we WILL serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15b)

2.  Give according to the increase.

a. You are to tithe and give, according to the blessing of the Lord. As He has blessed you – give.
b. You are supposed to bring a tithe to God off of your increase. You are expected to increase – not decrease. God expects you to increase. You are to expect increase in your own life. God tells us to bring a tithe of that increase.

3.  Every one doing their part – taking responsibility - this is how the kingdom of God functions.

a. Don’t forget the Levites – the priests – the ministers of the Gospel. Don’t forget to bless and support them. The Body of Christ is responsible to take care of their own. Bring your tithe to your local church. Pray and give offerings as the Holy Spirit leads you. This is God’s way of taking care of ministers and the ministry. God does not want us to forget those who labor in the ministry.
b. God says that those who labor in the ministry are worthy of double-honor. When Jesus sent the disciples out to preach and minister, He told them not to make provision for themselves, because “the workman deserves his support (his living, his food). (Matthew 10:10 AMP) Also, 1 Timothy 5:17 AMP says, “Let the elders who perform the duties of their office well be considered doubly worthy of honor [and of adequate financial support], especially those who labor faithfully in preaching and teaching.”   
c. Today, so many people are totally focused on themselves and their own needs and they forget the stranger, the fatherless (orphans), and the widows. Hebrews 13:2 NIV says, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”  James 1:27 NIV says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Bless them as God blesses you.

4.  If you obey God in this, He promises to bless you and to bless all the work of your hands.

Pastor Adonica’s Thoughts:
Every one of us, in the Body of Christ, has a responsibility toward God and His Kingdom. God’s plan for His people is blessing and more blessing. Some of us are called to ministry; some of us are called to business; ALL of us are called to support the Gospel and each other. God does not want us to fearfully sit on what we have – He wants us to spread the blessing around. As the blessing is spread around, the Lord increases it. The more we give, the more increase comes to our life.

Pastor Rodney’s Thoughts:
There are many people, in the church world today, who want to be blessed even though they are disobedient to the word of God. With every one of the promises, there is a condition. If we meet the condition, we receive the promise. The tithe is Holy – it tells God you love Him, and fear Him, and put Him first, above all. Take care of God’s servants, the stranger, the orphans, and the widows. These are the basics of our financial responsibility in and to the Kingdom of God. If you don’t get this, then, as far as spirituality goes - you are still in pre-school!

Prayer and Confession:
Father, thank you today that I have the privilege of blessing You, even as You have blessed me. I honor you and covenant with You to obey Your word. I expect the increase and I thank and praise You for it.