From This Day On: Unlocking The Floodgates Of God's Favor In 2024

From This Day On: Unlocking the Floodgates of God's Favor in 2024

(Haggai 2:19, Malachi 3:10)

Introduction:

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you are all excited and hopeful for what God has in store for us in 2024. As we enter this new year, I want to share with you a message that God has placed in my heart. It is based on two verses from the Old Testament prophets, Haggai and Malachi. Let me read them to you:

Haggai 2:19 (NIV): "Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. 'From this day on I will bless you.'"

Malachi 3:10 (NIV): "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.'"

These two verses reveal to us a powerful promise from God: He wants to bless us abundantly in this new year. He wants to open the floodgates of heaven and pour out His favor on us. He wants to make us fruitful and prosperous in every area of our lives. But how can we experience this promise? How can we unlock the floodgates of God's favor in 2024?

The answer is simple, but not easy. It requires faith, obedience, and action. It requires us to do four things that I want to share with you today. These are the four subtitles of my sermon:

1. Tithing as an Act of Faith: Opening the Windows of Heaven (Malachi 3:10-12)

2. Generosity that Triggers Abundance: Sharing Blessings to Multiply Blessings (Proverbs 11:24-25)

3. Seeking First the Kingdom: Aligning Our Priorities with God's Flow of Blessings (Matthew 6:33)

4. Stepping Through the Open Door: Embracing the New Year with Faith and Courage (Joshua 1:9)

Let us look at each of these points in detail.

1. Tithing as an Act of Faith: Opening the Windows of Heaven (Malachi 3:10-12)

The first thing we need to do to unlock the floodgates of God's favor is to tithe faithfully. Tithing is giving the first 10% of our income to God through His church. It is an act of worship, gratitude, and trust. It is a way of honoring God as the source and owner of everything we have. It is also a way of testing God's faithfulness and generosity.

In Malachi 3:10-12, God challenges His people to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, and promises to bless them beyond measure. He says, "Test me in this, and see if I will not throw open the windows of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,' says the Lord Almighty. 'Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,' says the Lord Almighty."

What a wonderful promise! God is saying that if we tithe faithfully, He will open the windows of heaven and pour out His blessing on us. He will protect us from harm, make us fruitful, and make us a blessing to others. He will make us a delightful land, a land of favor and joy.

But we have to take the first step. We have to test God in this. We have to give Him the first 10% of our income, not the last, not the leftovers, not the spare change. We have to give Him the best, not the worst, not the least, not the grudgingly. We have to give Him with faith, not with fear, not with doubt, not with reluctance.

Tithing is not a matter of money, but a matter of the heart. It is not a matter of law, but a matter of love. It is not a matter of obligation, but a matter of opportunity. It is an opportunity to show God how much we love Him, how much we trust Him, how much we depend on Him. It is an opportunity to open the windows of heaven and receive His favor in our lives.

Let me share with you a story of a man who experienced this in his life. His name is John D. Rockefeller, one of the richest men in history. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was also a devout Christian who tithed faithfully from his childhood. He once said, "I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 per week."