Topic: THE BEST THINGS YOU CAN GIVE GOD PART 2 – Faithwheel.com – 19 August 2021

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IN CONTINUATION OF THE BEST THINGS YOU CAN GIVE GOD

1. Time: According to the worldly slogan, “Time is money”, with such slogan and the quote, “Money answereth all things” combined together give people invigoration to pursue money instead of God’s knowledge, and they see giving of money in anything bearing God’s work as a proof that they love and fear God; and have given Him what He wants, even as many Pastors’ have made them believe. They wouldn’t have thought so, but because of so much uncanny emphasis from their Pastors’ on the giving of money (for man-made tithe and offerings of money for God’s work) gave them such notion that giving their money for anything that is called God’s work or come in the name of God is a way they give God what He wants, and this is totally absurd! Time and money are two different things before God. Money you give in the name of God can’t do things like these for you, edify you spiritually, make you see visions of God or hear God speaking to you, it can’t give you wisdom, knowledge and understanding of God, and it can’t intimate you with God, it can’t give you justification from God, and it can’t give you acceptance from God. But time spent with God in prayers and fasting, worship, adoration, studying the word, and humbling yourself before God always can give you these things and others. Among the lists of God’s priorities for mankind, His fellowshipping with us, and we with Him through prayers and fasting, studying of the Word, praises and worships, are what God treasure more than our money. To some Christians the Saturday or Sunday two or three hours of ceremonious activities is a enough for God. But Saturday or Sunday services are ceremonious than other weekly activities of the Church in which you see low outcome of people. There are many things spiritually and others we gain, learn, and discovered in spending time with God personally. God loves and treasured such times than any millions of dollars you will give in anything that come in the name and work of God.

Time is the most valuable thing to man in this world, because we have limited time to do and attend to so many things. Time can count for money before man, but not before God, because time can control us but not God. Just see my book, “Why God’s Time is the Best”, and know beautiful things about time and what it is to God and man. God didn’t mean we should devout all the 24 hours of the day for Him nor 168 hours of the week nor 627 hours of the month nor 8064 hours of the year for Him, but there is a time for everything says Ecclesiastes 3:1. We must have that time for God daily, time spent with God enable us to know Him better than any man can tell us of Him. Time we spent personally with God gives us better Revelation of God, intimacy with Him, and filled us with the radiant beams from His Holy face. Most people who give fat money inside the Church never have time for God, but they always assumed as Pastors’ made they believed money is so important to God that their money will answer for then before God anything. We have discussed this in chapter six. The blessedness of spending time with God is not found on a collective basis such as weekend and midweek Church services. And it cannot also be found in giving of money, but only few people give God their time by spending it with Him. Fellowshipping with God requires time we must set aside time to do it with God. God knows the importance of time to man and He will treasure such sacrifice of our time we sacrifice for Him than that of money which have no spiritual edification. Time spent in fellowshipping with God is much more of the love and fear of God than money giving. We know God, His Word, long-suffering, will, love, agenda, thought, and things He hates through fellowshipping with Him which is a product of time, and our money cannot do any of such for us. Fellowshipping with God is time we sacrifice for God, and God loves it so much, but only few offered Him this sacrifice He loves. God is happy with us when we use our money for the services of the poor and the needy for that is the purpose He commanded us to give in the Bible and the purpose He commanded or instituted giving (See Deuteronomy 15:11; Matthew 25:31-40).

2. Our Bodies: Among the things we can give God which God treasure most is our body, yet many Christians are ignorant of this truth because we have been brainwashed by many Pastors’ uncanny emphasis on giving of money as the things God treasure most. Many giving that are done in the Churches by tithes and offerings have blinded many Christians’ eyes and hearts from many truth of what God want from us and like to see us doing. I am not mystified nor surprised by what many Christians think and believed about God, because blind man leading blind man will both fall into ditch says Jesus Christ in Matthew 15:14. Many Pastors’ are Pastors’ for many reasons, their personal interests is what they preferred above God’s interests. And their personal interests are what they present to the Churches as God’s will and God’s work to blind people from seeing the falsehood of their hearts. People like mesmerizing their bodies to achieve their lusts for money have funs and pleasures through indulgence in sexual immoralities, smoking, drinking alcohol, masturbating (sexual uncleanness), scarification (tattoos and others), adultery, fornication, homosexual, lesbianism and other dehumanizing vices. Many believe they can do anything with their bodies and that they are the owners of their bodies. After all, the money they make using their bodies can be given to God in the Church services and they believe giving God money will cleans their sins, justified them before God, and made them acceptable to God. The most dangerous effect of money inside the Church as a god is that it influences some Pastors’ preaching, making them telling lies, quoting the scripture out of context and purpose, and holding the truth in unrighteousness. Money becomes so important to Pastors’ that they transferred the spirit of the love of money to their hearers through uncanny emphasis on money making people believe that giving of money is the fear and love of God.

And other things God treasured become irrelevant to many Christians because they have been made to believe their money is counting or speaking for them before God so big as their Pastors’ have brainwashed them because of their lusts for materials and financial blessings, success, and prosperity. God’s most desired thing for His children beside mercy (love) and His knowledge, is sanctification. We can be sanctified in our bodies, spirits, and souls, from the world, its love, funs, pleasures, and styles. But sanctification don’t gain emphasis like money, it is more important and pleasing to God than money though many Christians are ignorant of it. Our bodies are great treasures to God, though it is an earthen vessel, but God accept it and love it more than money if we offer it to Him as a living and pleasing sacrifice. God who gave us our bodies would love to see it be a holy habitation where He is pleased to dwell. Many Christians so believe God is still dwelling in Church buildings rather than their bodies and they are not ready to give Him their bodies because they still love worldly pleasures and sexual funs. I will write out some scriptural verses that highlight the importance of our bodies to God than money. And God’s pleasure to inhabit our bodies by having us sanctified it for His use and glory. Let us see them with added emphasis of its importance to God. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”—Romans 12:1. Apostle Paul started with, ‘I beseech’ you and this beseeching was done by the mercies of God. He has to beseech the brethren in Christ to bring to their knowledge or consciousness the importance of their bodies to God. Self-knowledge is found through God’s knowledge, this is why many Christians are ignorant of themselves because they have not the knowledge of God and I speak this to their shame.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God”, is a cry to awake from slumbering, a cry for self-awareness, of alert, and of importance. God’s mercy is the only beseeching tool or instrument to call people attention to what is God’s will, pleasure, and treasure. Beseeching us by God’s mercies is an alarm bell to call us to awareness of the important things to God which we never see as important to us and to God. “That ye present your bodies as a living sacrifice”, no emphasis on this by many Pastors’ because they know this is the sacrifice they are not going to eat from, but belong wholly to God. The presenting of our bodies can be done individually and collectively, but here, the presenting was individual and the sacrifice is collective, and this is called consecration or sanctification. The works of the precept of men found in the Church which is money tithes and offering is a carnal work or thing just like the Levitical Priesthood which was also more carnal than spiritual, makes many Christians also have the Levitical Priesthood mentality. Many Christians with this mentality believed that only Pastors’ are to consecrate themselves always. This mentality makes many Christians see no reason why they will present their bodies to God. They believed that anybody not a Pastor that is living a consecrated or sanctified life is going to be a Pastor in the future. Some know the truth in 2 Timothy 2:20-21, and they fear being used by God because they know God make use of consecrated or sanctified people. Why this assumption? One, many Israelites in the Old Testament have this mentality too, that sanctification or consecration of the body matter most or belong to only the priests not them. Because without sanctification the priests cannot come near God’s alter or tabernacle and perform certain rituals or ordinances. The Israelites not of the Levites see sanctification of no necessity to them but for only those who do business with God. Because men were their mediators, they hold high esteem for their priests more than God. And they see consecration of their bodies as of no importance to God as that of the Levites, and this is the same mentality with many Christians all over the world today. In my life, a lot of people have been asking me, are you a Pastor? Not just because of preaching God’s Word, but because of the things I do. I keep asking myself, must one have to be a Pastor before you do good and godly things to people, live a sanctified life, and preach Christ crucified? It’s because of the mentality giving to many Christians from their Pastors’ teaching or preaching that made them think so.

“Present your bodies a living sacrifice”, was a specific statement by Apostle Paul to the Roman Church which he did by the mercies of God. Why does Paul beseech them by God’s mercies to sanctify their bodies? Because Paul knew we all have been made kings and priest to God through Jesus Christ (See Revelation 1:6), and as priests we must be consecrated always. Paul knew this is the sacrifice that God eat from not our sacrifice and burnt offering of money. Paul also knew that our sanctification is one of the lists of God’s priorities for us. Paul lastly, in Romans 12:1, point out the importance of the presentation of our bodies as a living sacrifice. One, God doesn’t dwell in unclean place and things and because of this truth He demanded that we be sanctified always so that He might live in us, move in us, and have His being in us even as we have ours in Him (See Acts 17:28). God want us to be holy even as He is Holy (See 1 Peter 1:16; Leviticus 11:44; 19:2; 20:7). Two, because God desire to fellowship with us He warned us always to be sanctified from worldliness and unclean things (See 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 7:1; Isaiah 52:11; Revelation 18:4). When this is done He can fellowship with us and we can do His will which is our sanctification, and that we abstain from fornication (spiritually and physically). See 1Thessalonians 4:3-4. Three, God can only use us when we are sanctified (See 2 Timothy 2:21), and this is one of the reasons why many Christians fear sanctification. They love to see God use others rather than using them, because they are not ready to glorify God in their bodies, bear the cross of sanctification (See Luke 9:23) because of the things of this world they stand to lose if they are sanctified. They know they will no longer be friends of the world and the world will hate them, and they also will no longer have worldly funs and pleasures. These are why people fear sanctification or presentation of themselves to God as living sacrifice individually. They can be giving money sacrifice to Pastors’ which Pastors’love and treasures, but they can’t give God the sacrifice He loves and take pleasure in. God is looking for those who offer Him this sacrifice not of burnt offerings which many Pastors’ are looking for.

Any living soul can be a living sacrifice but God is looking for holy ones such are acceptable unto Him. Living sacrifice is our presentation of our bodies to God or the offering of our bodies to God in a sanctified or consecrated platform, ram, goat, and bulls cannot be living sacrifice nothing else can be living sacrifice save only the living souls. Christ offered Himself to God as a slain lamb and an offering to God for our sins, our acceptance to God, and our justification from His wrath. Being the first born among many brethren (See Romans 8:29), He offered Himself to God, so that we His brethren can do likewise. Not as a slain lamb, but as a living sacrifice. Apostle Paul showed us the truth of the importance of our bodies to God in saying, “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Tithe and offerings was a must do thing for those who lived under the law of the Old Testament, but the presenting of our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God is a must for us living under the New Testament. Our body presentation as living sacrifice in holiness is the reasonable service because this is the offering God is please with, benefits from and His emphasis is on this too. Pastors’ emphasize on their personal interests which is burnt offerings (giving of money tithes and offerings). Many Christians are so conscious of Pastors’ interests more than God’s interest or desire. Even though we give money offerings as unto God, yet practically they are not for God’s belly but for the belly of men. God’s offering which is the presentation of our bodies to Him as living sacrifice in holiness should be our priority not burnt offerings. I know many Pastors’ and all those who are also having their personal interest in money tithes and offerings will never see or agree with the truth here. Why? See my book. And ye shall know the truth. Their personal interests they will defend and it will appear to the ignorant or cretinous Christians as if they are defending God or really looking for God’s interests which some of them don’t know neither tell or teach their congregations. God loves our bodies and love to inhabit it if only we are consecrated or sanctified, because we are bought with a price of inestimable value (See 1 Corinthians 6:20).

Our body was meant to be God’s temple from the beginning though sin defies it, but Christ sanctified it by His blood, so that God can make it His holy habitation where His Spirit is pleased to dwell. We have a part in this matter and our part is to bear our cross of sanctification (See Matthew 10:38; Luke 9:23; Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5-6; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Lastly, Apostle Paul bring us to the knowledge of how important our body is to God if it is sanctified or consecrated, and how God’s anger will burn against all those who indulged their bodies in all dehumanizing vices or uncleanness. In that, Paul asked, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Many Christians don’t know this truth even till now and it will be difficult for them to glorify God in their bodies. “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” This truth in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, should awake us to the importance of our bodies to God more than our money. And the virulent consequences we stand to face for defiling this body which we think is our own, but the owner is God. We must keep these facts at the fore front of our hearts not at the back of our hearts, so that we can see them always and keep this temple holy.

IN CONTINUATION
Dearly beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” We all have sinned in one way or another because of money and the commonest means was by telling lies to get money. Don’t do any ungodly thing to get money, we know we can’t eat and drink without money, but don’t sin to have it. Repent from all secret sins and works of darkness and yield completely to the Lord Jesus Christ. Share with your friends. Shalom!

Writer: EDOBOR AUSTIN EDOBA

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