PREPARING OURSELVES TO RECEIVE THE BLESSINGS OF GOD
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OUTLINE
1.REFLECT
2.REPENT
3.RELEASE
4.RECOVER
5.REARRANGE
6.RENEW
7.REJOICE
THE MESSAGE
PREPARING OURSELVES TO RECEIVE THE BLESSINGS OF GOD
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1.REFLECT
We prepare ourselves to receive the blessings of God by reflecting on our lives and examining our actions and attitudes . We must allow the Lord to search our hearts and shows us if there is any offensive way in us that prevent the blessings of God in our lives. We must know the true condition of our hearts.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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HAGGAI 1:5-7
Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways.
You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."
This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways.
PSALM 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
2.REPENT
We prepare ourselves to receive the blessings of God by repenting of the sins and iniquities that the Lord has revealed to us that are blocking the blessings of God in our lives. We must acknowledge our sins and repent of it and receive God’s forgiveness. We must not harden our hearts or justify our wrongdoings or give excuses for our behaviour.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PSALM 32:5
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD "— and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
PSALM 51:1-3 , 9-11
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
3.RELEASE
We prepare ourselves to receive the blessings of God by releasing the guilt and condemnation from our hearts once we have repented and received the forgiveness of God. We must not continue to carry the burden of a guilty conscience once the Lord has forgiven us and released us from our guilt. The Lord has promised not to remember our sins anymore and we must accept His forgiveness and move ahead with our lives.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PHILIPPIANS 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
HEBREWS 10:16-17
"This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts,and I will write them on their minds."
Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."
4. RECOVER
We prepare ourselves to receive the blessings of God by recovering all that we had lost due to our sins and failures. We must receive the joy of salvation once again in our lives. We must revive the gifts and talents that the Lord had given to us to serve Him and glorify Him. We must not remain lethargic and passive and continue to remain idle and fail to ultilise the opportunites that the Lord has given to us to live a fruitful life.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PSALM 51:12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
2 TIMOTHY 1:6-7
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
5.REARRANGE
We prepare ourselves to receive the blessings of God by rearranging our lifestyle to make us more efficent and effective in serving the Lord. We must give up those practices which are hindering us from being the best that we can be. We must be willing to make the changes and modifications that are neccessary in order to position ourselves to receive the blessings of God in our lives.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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EXODUS 18:12-26
Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.
When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?"
Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.
Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and laws."
Moses’ father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good.
You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.
Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him.
Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform.
But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.
If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied."
Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.
6.RENEW
We prepare ourselves to receive the blessings of God by renewing our strength by waiting in the presence of God. We must not continue to function with a depleted energy and weakened strength. We must take time away from our routine labours and toils which have drained our strength and left us weary and tired. We must seek a renewed strength from the presence of the Lord which will enable us to progress towards our destiny with enthusiasm and excitement.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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ISAIAH 40:29-31
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
7.REJOICE
We prepare ourselves to receive the blessings of God by rejoicing in the Lord and looking forward to the future with joy and happiness. We must not continue to be filled with regret and shame for the failures of the past. We must forget the past and rejoice in the mercy of God who gives us a new opportunity in our lives. We must look forward to the future with a positive attitude of hope and expectation and receive all the blessings that the Lord has in store for us.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PSALM 13:5-6
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.
PSALM 85:6-8
Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your unfailing love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.
I will listen to what God the LORD will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints— but let them not return to folly.
