The Principle of Giving and Receiving

Wednesday 25 February
READ: Prov. 11:24-28
MORE LESSON: Gen 8: 22

God operates by principles and His principles have no respect for personality. If a rich man and a poor man jump from a skyscraper, the principle of gravity will do justice to both of them equally. With God's principle; no matter who you are, if you meet the standard you will get the result and if you violate the principle, you will pay dearly for it. God bases everything on principles because He is just; He wants you to be the one to determine whether you will get results or not.

One of God's principles is the principle of sowing and reaping, giving and receiving:- Give and it shall be given unto you...: Lk. 6:38. Tithing is a principle of God for prosperity and defence. I have discovered that when it comes to the principle of giving and receiving, it primarily does not have to do with whether you are born again or not. If an unbeliever gives, he will receive and if a believer doesn't give he won't receive. Being born again is the principle for eternal life and going to heaven but as far as prosperity is concerned if an unbeliever chooses to be a giver, he will still prosper because it is the principle of God. The analogy is that if a sinner plants maize and a believer eats his own, when it is time for harvest, the sinner will have a harvest to take home while the believer will not. It is very strange not to sow and be expecting an harvest.

Fasting and prayer is a very powerful weapon for victorious Christian living. But fasting and prayer is not the principle for prosperity. I actually get surprised when believers think that it is by prayer and fasting that they can have financial prosperity: it is not the principle. The principle for receiving is giving and the principle for harvest is sowing. It is not in the quantity of the seed sown but in the quality. If a man has millions and he gives a hundred and another has only a hundred and he gives fifty out of it. God respects the fifty more; it might be less in quantity than the hundred given by the other person but it is higher in quality.

The reason God makes the principle for prosperity to be tied to giving is not because He needs money to do whatever He want to do; He always has a way of getting His job done. It is because He wants to test a man's heart before He blesses the man. If you make up your mind to work by the principle of God in giving and seed sowing, it will undoubtedly work for you.

Prayer/Action
* Promise God you will never withhold your seed and your harvest will never be delayed.
* Ask the Lord to fulfil His promises over all your past and future seeds.
* Pray that you may never be tempted to doubt the law of sowing and reaping.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
This month, Father, bless me indeed and enlarge my coast, in Jesus’ mighty name.

God's Signature

Tuesday 24 February
READ: 1 Sam. 3:19
MORE LESSON: Num. 23:19

A word is as powerful as the one who speaks it. The Bible says where the word of a king is there is power (Eccl. 8:4). In a nation, the word spoken by the Head of State and the one spoken by a school teacher do not carry the same amount of power. The strength of a word is in the personality who speaks it. This doesn't apply only to words of men but also to the Word of God.

Many believers have not been able to engage the Word of God for performance because they lack the understanding of the power behind the Word. The Word of God is as strong as God Himself. We read about Prophet Samuel for who God did not allow any of His word to fall to the ground. This happened because Prophet Samuel was speaking as the mouthpiece of God. So when Samuel spoke it was God speaking to the people and He would not allow His own Word to fail. This tells us how much God respects His Word.

When you read the scriptures that end with “saith the Lord”, do you know what that means? It means God is writing you a cheque and He needs to put a signature on it. The expression, “saith the Lord” is like God's signature on that promissory note that He has given you. In Isaiah 54:17 the Bible says: No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. This is a promise signed by the LORD! If you have been looking for Jehovah's signature, that is it for you. Anywhere you see 'saith the Lord', you should know that signature can't fail. Any bank must honour it in heaven and on the earth. In 2 Kings 7:1, Elisha said,'Hear ye the word of the Lord; THUS SAITH THE LORD, tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. But one man thought he was too intelligent and said that it couldn't be. The word came to pass but the man died as God had said.

Today, thus saith the Lord, 'you shall not die'. So no sickness can kill you; you will live to testify of the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. That word must be honoured because it is signed by the Creator and Governor of the universe. So keep confessing what the Lord has said; keep shouting and celebrating it. The scriptures will come alive for you. Everything written in the Scripture concerning you will come to pass, not as the word of man but as the Word spoken by the mouth of the Lord. God’s Word is His signature and it can never fail.

Prayer/Action
* Declare that every Word of God spoken or written concerning you shall come to pass.
* Proclaim that no Word of God will lack it’s mate in your life.
Read Isa. 55:11 and pray it.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, let the Abrahamic seed of success which You planted in me through Christ germinate, grow and flourish from now on, in Jesus’ mighty name.

He is All You Need

Monday 23 February
READ: Job 23:10-12
MORE LESSON: Matt 6:31 - 33

There are many things that men seek that are important needs in life; for example, man seeks what to eat. Every man on earth is doing something for food. People go out in the morning and come back late at night with little or no time for anything else in order to ensure that they and their families can feed. All the schooling, working, business and moving up and down that people do always boil down to the issue of bread. Many times when you try to make people go after spiritual things, they ask, 'How does that put food on my table?' But today you must know that getting Jesus is more important than getting food because He is the bread of Life (John 6: 48). This is better understood when we read John 6:27 which says, Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you: John 6:27 (NKJV).

This, of course, is not to advocate laziness and not doing anything for a living under the guise of spirituality. Every believer should be hard-working and have a job in his hand, but our priority in life should not be what to eat and possess but to know God and advance His Kingdom. That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. There is more to life than food, and to your body more than clothes ...So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs: Matt 6:25-32 (NLT). God is all you need; He is more important than the things you count as important.

The most important things that man cannot live without in the natural world are air and water. And these two are the most abundant resources on earth. But you need Jesus more than you need air and water. The Spirit of God in you is more important than air. The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life Job 33:4. The words translated 'spirit' and 'breath' in the Bible actually mean 'wind' or 'air' in the original language. So the Holy Spirit is the air you need to live. Jesus also is the giver of the Living Water which if a man drinks, he will never thirst again. (John 7: 38, John 4:13-14). Jesus says He is the water of life. Jesus chooses to compare Himself with the most essential thing in the life of a man because not having Jesus can be compared with not having the most essential thing in life and destiny.

Prayer/Action
* Promise God that your salvation will remain the most valuable thing in your life.
* Tell God you will not trade your salvation for any piece of bread or gold.
* Pray that no challenge or pleasure of life will be strong enough to take the place of Christ in your life.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, let the wind of positive change blow in my direction and move me forward today, in the name of Jesus.

Equipped for Good Works

Sunday 22 February
READ: 2 Tim 3: 16 – 17
MORE LESSON: 2 Tim 4:11-13

In the world today, where everything is becoming faster and faster, people no more sit down to spend quality time in studying. The habit of extensive reading, which is necessary for relevance, impact and leadership is being lost. You however should be an information seeker because if you are not informed, you will be deformed. The store house of the best and most powerful information is the Bible. Let nothing deprive you of having ample time for an extensive study of the Scripture. The irony of life is that many do not have time to study the Bible because they are busy running up and down to look for things, money, jobs, success. But all the things they are looking for are hidden in secrets and mysteries that are revealed only in the scriptures. So they are busy looking everywhere except in the right place.

A studious life is directly linked to success and prosperity. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success: Joshua 1:8. Studying the Word of God is a prerequisite for wealth and fruitfulness in life (Ps. 1:2-3). Especially as a minister, worker or a believer that wants to be used mightily of God, you cannot compromise the place of reading. Reading is part of what equips you for good works; All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work: 2Tim 3:16-17( NKJV).

Your library speaks a lot about your capacity and seriousness in ministry and service to God. Every man, both in the Bible and in contemporary times that has made impact for God has been a studious person. Moses, as far back as thousands of years ago, was a writer and definitely a reader. David invested his life into diligent study of the law of God; Solomon read wide and wrote thousands of proverbs, songs and wise sayings; Daniel was an avid reader; Paul was a very ardent student and reader, and his books were his most valued possessions (2 Tim. 4:13). How much more, our Lord Jesus Christ was a reader: {Luke 4:16 (NKJV)}.

A serious believer who wants to be effective for God should have different versions of the Bible; a good concordance, and a commentary for in- depth study. If a man of God doesn't know anything in the world, he ought to know the Word of God. He must be a versed reader. From today, develop the discipline of reading and studying the Bible, anointed books and other materials relevant to your vision and your profiting will appear to all men.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God for the spirit that thirsts after God’s Word always.
* Pray against anything that can take the Word of God from you.
* Pray for grace not only to read but also to be a doer of His Word.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Today, I silence every evil generator supplying the current of failure and backwardness to my life and destiny, in Jesus’ name.