MULTIPLY: OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL, 25TH SEPTEMBER 2018

MEMORISE:

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.  Genesis 1:28

READ: Deuteronomy 28:1-14

1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:

2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.

4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.

6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.

7 The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.

8 The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

9 The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways.

10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee.

11 And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee.

12 The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.

13 And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

MESSAGE:
A major characteristic of every living thing is growth. A child that was born 5 years ago now looks like a 5 year old child, this is only normal. If an orange tree you planted four years ago is now yielding fruits this is also normal. You don’t need a miracle to grow, it is just natural. Multiplication on the other hand is a special thing. God did not tell us to grow, He told us to multiply. 

Other people may be growing, but we as children of God must multiply because it is a command from God. You may be wondering “How can I begin to multiply?” Notice that when God told His children to multiply in Genesis 1:28, it was a time when there was no sin and they had constant fellowship with Him.

The simple secret to multiplication is to live holy and to have God with you. Psalm 22:3 says that God inhabits the praised of His children. If you want God to be with you always, then you should live a lifestyle of giving praise to Him.

Many years ago, I was preparing for a three-day program. While I was in my prayer room, I was praying to God saying “Lord, heal the sick today, show forth your power and do mighty miracles.” Suddenly I heard God respond sharply to me, and He said “Keep quiet! What about all the miracles I have done in the past? Have you thanked me for them?” My response to Him was ” Lord I’m sorry, thank You for all the miracles you have done for us; now today heal the sick, and perform great miracles…” He suddenly cut me short again, saying “keep quiet!

I don’t want to hear any request from you for the next three days; all I want you to do is to praise Me.” This was very difficult for me because my mind was set on having the people who would be attending the program receive their miracles. I struggled with the instruction but I obeyed. After the program was over, God told me to tell my people to prepare; He said that we had been experiencing increase in our church, but that from that time forward we would be experiencing multiplication, and that has been our story ever since. 

Do you want to multiply? Learn to praise God regularly, and avoid sin. Taking Solomon as a case study, when he became king, he feared the Lord and kept away from sin. His only desire was to rule the people according to God’s will. There was even a time he sacrificed twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep, all just to worship God (2 Chronicles 7:5). In 2 Chronicles 2:1, he determined to build a house for God and spared no expenses at all in building this house for God. All the while, he kept multiplying. 

He multiplied so much that silver and gold were like stones in his kingdom (2 Chronicles 1:15). However, the moment his heart turned away from the things of God, the anointing for multiplication dried up, so that by the end of his reign, he was taxing the people heavily just so that he could maintain his lifestyle. Determine today to stay away from sin and stay in the place of worshipping God and your multiplication will be unending.

KEY POINT:
God multiplies those who live a lifestyle of holiness and praise to Him.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:  Isaiah 4-6, Mark 13:3-23

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 6: A NEW THING
(Tune: There shall be showers of Blessing)
1. We will soon shout Halleluyah
Because GOD will do new things
Sinners will soon be forgiven
Prodigals will come home soon.

Chorus:
Shout Halleluyah
Because God will do new things
Rivers in desert now flowing
Halleluyah  to our king.

2. We will soon shout Halleluyah
Because God will do new things
Sickness and sorrow will be gone
Bondage will be forgotten.

3. We will soon shout Halleluyah
Because God will do new things
The barren will be fruitful soon
Failure will be forgotten

4. We will soon shout Halleluyah
Because God will do new things
Poverty will be forgotten
Stagnancy will soon be gone.

5. We will soon shout Hallelujah
Because God will do new things
To all miracles are given
There shall be celebrations

6. We will soon shout Halleluyah
Because God will do new things
Many will have testimonies
Of prayers answered fully

7. We will soon shout Halleluyah
Because God will do new things
One of us will chase a thousand
Two will conquer ten thousands.

8. We will soon shout Halleluyah
Because God will do new things
Songs of praises we will sing
Halleluyah to our King.