Open Heavens 2012-OFFERING S & SELF EXAMINATION

15 October

OFFERING S & SELF EXAMINATION

Memorise: Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Matthew 5:24

Read: Matthew 5:23-24

Before giving to God, make yourself acceptable first. If you person is not accepted of God neither will your offering be acceptable to Him. Not only must your ways be right with God before giving to Him, they must equally be right with your fellow man. You are blessed when you give to God and He accepts it. It is a great privilege. If God is presently pleased with you but somebody else holds a grudge against you, you have scaled through God's test but your gift will not be accepted. One reason God placed this as a criteria for receiving your offering is so that your heart will be free towards God and men. Hence Raul says in Acts 24:16:

And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.

This is not limited to your offerings but also your sacrifice and service in the Kingdom. If you serve God with sin in your life, your service will be unacceptable. Even if you were to make the greatest sacrifice to God, for instance giving yourself to be burnt for the sake of the Gospel and you are yet living in secret sin, you would have killed yourself for nothing. In 1 Samuel 15:22, Samuel said to Saul:

And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

If you disregard any of God's instructions and think you can bribe Him with a big offering or sacrifice, better get some shock absorbers ready. God wants you to have His best hence Jesus says whenever you bring your gift before God, examine yourself to find out if there is some malice, anger, bitterness or an unforgiving spirit somewhere, capable of eroding your gains from that offering. If there is, keep your offering safe, go and meet that brother and say: "Bro, you are so important that without you my offering will be a waste. Please forgive me for what J have done wrong" or "I forgive you for what you have done to me." Embrace each other and come and offer your gift or offering.

KEY POINT

If you use God's Word as yardstick for measuring the quality of your service, gifts and offerings, you can tell which ones will be relevant in Heaven.