THIEVES IN THE SANCTUARY
II – Thursday
October 6th 2016
Memorise: Thou therefore which teachest another; teachest not thyself? Thou
that preachest a man should not steal, does thou steal? Romans 2:21
Read: 1st Samuel
2:12-17, (KJV)
2:13 And the priest's custom with the people was, that, when
any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in
seething, with a flesh hook of three teeth in his hand;
2:14 And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or
pot; all that the flesh hook brought up the priest took for himself. So they
did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.
2:15 Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant
came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest;
for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.
2:16 And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn
the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would
answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by
force.
2:17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before
the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.
Bible in one year: Ezekiel 37:15-39:29,
Psalms 74:12-23
MESSAGE
The
worst of all thieves in the church are the ministers who take the tithes,
offerings and the first-fruits collected from member for their personal use.
You hear them say, “He who serves at the Altar must eat from the Altar.” As
true as this statement may be, custodians of the Lord’s sanctuary should be
wary of greed and the love of money. Open Heavens 6 October 2016:-Thieves in
the Sanctuary II 1st Timothy 6:10-11
says:
“For the love of money is the
root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the
faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of
God, flee all things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love
patience, meekness.”
In
the Bible reading for today, the children of Eli corrupted the people’s
sacrifice through greed. Unfortunately, the same thing is happening today; some
ministers of God, through greed, have made the tithes, offerings and
first-fruits that people bring to the sanctuary unacceptable to God. Sometimes,
members of the congregation suspect this foul play and begin to ask the
ministers in charge what they use their tithes and offerings for. Though the
ministers should be accountable to God through men, however, the tithes and
offerings become an abomination before the Lord when the givers monitor it to
the extent of wanting to know what God does with it. This is the reason some
people claim to be paying their tithes and offerings and there is nothing to
show for their giving. 6 October 2016 open heaven.
In Matthew 6:3-4, Jesus Christ said:
“But when thou doest alms, let
not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in
secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.”
It is
dangerous when brethren are not being encouraged or motivated to give more
because they do not have anything to show for their previous giving. This
happens when they begin to develop a negative attitude towards the way their
pastors handle the finances of the Church. Some people leave their local
assembly to go and pay their tithes and offerings elsewhere. This is
counterproductive. Hence, the ministers handling God’s assets must be very
careful. They must not become thieves in the sanctuary. The Lord enjoins us to
fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life whereunto we have been
called, and keep away from the love of this world. If it is dangerous to rob
God by not paying our tithes and offering, it is deadly to steal out of the one
that the brethren are faithfully contributing for the advancement of the
Kingdom business. We must learn from the children of Eli and the children of
Samuel himself (1st
Samuel 8:1-5).
Prayer Point
Father, please deliver me from
the demon called mammon and don’t let me end up like Judas Iscariot.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional, written by Pastor E.A
Adeboye
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