OUR GOD IS A GIVER OF GREAT GIFTS.
BY ABIMBOLA .O. SALU
Dearly Beloved,
Do you know that we serve a great GOD that is also a giver of wonderful gifts? That’s right! Imagine if you see an offer in a store, in a magazine or on the Internet offering to give you One Million dollars. Imagine that all you have to do is to make a phone call, write a letter or send an e-mail and you will automatically win this gift –no gimmicks, no gadgets, you don’t need to buy anything before you become eligible to receive this fortune. You simply signify your interest and a million dollars is sent to you! If you are like me, not only will you apply immediately, you will pass the good news to all your friends and relatives. I know that some people will even apply with false names, just so that they can grab as much as possible!
What most people, especially believers do not realize is that such an offer already exists but they are not tapping into that storehouse of “God’s never-ending blessings”. Do you know that there are 8666 general promises in the word of GOD? That means that there are approximately 24 general blessings for each day of the year! Imagine if we can enjoy all these 8666 blessings in a year! What a great life that will be! And remember, all members of your family and even your friends will enjoy their own quota too! Now you know why I say that the storehouse of Our GOD contains “never-ending blessings’!!!! I particularly like the way the Bible puts it.
In 2Corinthians 9 V. 5, it says:
“ Thanks be unto GOD for his unspeakable gifts”
Wow! . Gifts so abundant, so great that they are unspeakable! So how do we receive these gifts? We can ask from God without doubting that he will give us these gifts.
Psalm 2v. 8 says:
“ Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possessions.”
He loves us so much that He gave us the best thing that he had- His own Son, JESUS CHRIST.
“ He that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all, how shall He not also freely give us all things?” [Romans 8 v. 32]
When GOD promises to give you a good gift, He doesn’t change His mind!
James 1 v. 17 says, “ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning.”
2 Corinthians 1 v. 20 “ For all the promises of GOD in Him are ‘yea’ and in Him “amen’ unto the glory of GOD by us. ”
Some people seem to have tapped into this blessing and they seem to have appropriated these gifts into their lives. However, for most people, there is no evidence of these abundant gifts that we are talking about. The reason why you have not received from him is not because God is slow or cannot bless you but because you failed to meet God’s conditions. 2nd Peter 3 v. 9 says
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness but is longsuffering to us ward, nor willing that any should perish but come to repentance.” Even now, most of us do not meet God’s conditions. The best way to equip you for God’s blessing is to please God. To please God, you must have faith. Hebrews 11 v. 6 says
“But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him
Isaiah 1 v.19 tells us the reward of obedience.
“If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land”
Thus, those who provoke GOD to anger cannot benefit from him. We need to cooperate with GOD. When God makes a promise and you refuse to fulfill your own part, you provoke him. Also don’t forget that if you don’t ask, you will not receive.
Mathew 7 v.7 says “Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you”.
So, how do we please GOD?
[1] By being obedient to his Word.
[2] Living a holy and righteous life.
[3] Praising him, no matter your condition- the reason God created us is to praise him, therefore let us learn to praise him continually.
[4] Forgiving others even as GOD forgives us daily
[5] We must be worthy examples to others so as to draw them to Christ.
What are some of these great blessings that GOD has promised?
There are two types of promises in the Bible.
[a] General Blessings
[b] Specific promises.
Some of the general blessings from God can be found in the following scriptures:
Exodus 23 v.25- “And ye shall serve the Lord your God and he shall bless thy bread and thy water, and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee”
3 John 1 v.2- “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
Deuteronomy 818- “But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God; for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”
Proverbs 8 v. 18- “ Riches and honor are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness”.
Exodus 23 v.26- “There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren in thy land and the number of thy days will I fulfill”
Isaiah 45 v. 3- “And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.’’
Exodus 25 v. 27- “And I will send my fear before thee and I will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee
Isaiah 52 v.12-“For ye shall not go out with haste nor go by flight for the Lord will go before you and the God of Israel shall be your rereward”
Psalm 63 v.5- “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.”
Isaiah 55 v.12-“ For ye shall go out with joy and be led with peace, the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
Isaiah 54 v.10- “For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee”.
Proverbs 4 v.18- “But the path of the just is as the shinning light, that shineth more and more unto a perfect day”.
Isaiah 54 v.12 and 13- “And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great will be the peace of thy children”.
Deuteronomy 28 v. 1-14 lists the blessings of those that obey the Lord. For example verse 13 says “ The Lord shall make thee the head and not the tail, and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them.”
All these promises and others that abound in the word of God must be appropriated into your life and you must boat in them all day long.
As for the specific promises, these are the blessings promised which must be fulfilled in the lives of those to whom the promises were made. For example, the promise that God gave to Jacob that he will not die until he sees the baby Jesus. See Luke 2 v.26.
With so many benefits and blessings waiting to be enjoyed, a lot of people are not receiving these blessings. It could be for the following reasons
[1] Sins- See Proverbs 6 v. 16- 19. There are so many and it includes the sin of “a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. ”The solution to this is to confess your sins and repent. Thereafter, live a holy life that pleases God.
[2] Spiritual wickedness in high places –See Ephesians 6 v. 12 “for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Call unto God who created you and he will deliver you from the hands of the wicked.
[3] Unbelief- already discussed above.
[4] Ignorance. See Hosea 4v.6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”. Study the word of God [2 Timothy 2v.18 – study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth] so that when the devil wants to cheat you of God’s blessings, you can stand firm and resist him. See James 4 v.7b –“ Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
I can assure you that if you follow these words, you will surely benefit abundantly from the vast storehouse of God’s blessings.
God bless you even as you begin to obey him, in Jesus name. I pray that in your life, even as our God has promised, he will
“Open the windows of heaven and there shall not be room enough to receive it” – See Malachi 3 v.10b.
