Enter His Courts with an Offering, Too

Wednesday, October 25, 2006  From a study on worship from Jack Hayford's book "A Heart of Praise"

Psalm 96: 7,8  Give to the Lord, oh kindreds of people, give to the Lord glory and strength.  Give to the Lord the glory due His Name; bring an offering and come into His courts. 

It is impossible to talk about worship in the biblical framework without talking about offering to God our material substance – our money.  He doesn’t need it, but the fact is, giving our financial resources is a proper response that opens the way to the spiritual law of giving and receiving. 

Giving generously is the measure of how generously we can receive, how open we are to the impouring of God’s blessing. 

II Cor 9:6  “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”   God wants to pour into our lives His blessings, but our capacity to receive depends on whether we ‘let the plug out’ at the giving end of our lives.   We are created to be channels of blessings. 

Here is the process:

*  He provides

*  We trust and give

*  He blesses our gifts

*  He fills us again with His abundant provision

God’s intended blessings of material resources are far more abundant than we can imagine or ever repay.

Let praiseful obedience break any stingy spirit and according to His generosity and grace let us worship with abounding financial gifts of gratitude.   

Jack Hayford's words say it well, "God of good and gracious gifts, I praise You for blessing me with so any good things"   

Increase my capacity to be content with what I receive, and as You enable me to become a generous giver, make me an example of one You can trust to give aboundingly as You have increased my ability to praise You in this way.  

Through Him who gave His all for me - AMEN!