Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
June 24, 2018 - W1825

Today, we’ll be talking about the Windows Of Heaven. My goal is to enlarge your thinking not only about how God provides, but the prerequisites necessary to have the confidence that He will provide! Let’s read…

Malachi 3:10, NASB, says, “’Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.’”

Early in my ministry, I heard God say that I had to make a choice to either provide for myself, or allow God to provide for me. I said, “Well, God, I’d like you to provide for me, if you would.” It was as if the Lord said, “Ok. But I require one major provision:

• IF YOU WANT GOD’S BLESSINGS, YOU MUST DO IT GOD’S WAY!

Remember, God is the God of the universe! He establishes laws (laws of precision of the orbital rotation of the solar system) everything is set by very strict laws. In fact, if the laws were to be broken, everything would end up in a cataclysmic collision. For instance, if the sun decided to quit shining or just disappear for one day, all of the planets in our solar system would fling into outer space—be gone!

God designed everything in the universe to abide by the laws with which they were made; whenever we choose to violate them, the results will be cataclysmic collisions in our relationships, homes, and lives. The condition of our world today is the result of choices made that violated the ways of God; there are certain laws that we must abide by!

How important is faith in your life? Is it as important as your finances, your wedding day, or your job? I ask because what we value the most is what will direct and motivate all the decisions in life—we discuss it and enjoy it! It becomes the epicenter for our fellowship and friends; but in the end, it sometimes falls secondary to other things in life, doesn’t it?

Paul the apostle said something amazing about his faith and how important it is to him in Colossians 3:3 NIV,“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”He is saying, “I’m going to stay with Christ and His plan. Without it, everything goes crazy. So I’m going to hide myself in Him.” Paul’s faith wasn’t just a sidebar in his life; it was the main thing. In fact, he’s saying that his life is a sidebar compared to his faith in Christ. If our faith is very important to us and we want God to provide for us, we will…

1. Put Jesus First In Everything

Whatever you want God to bless put Jesus first: for example, if you want Him to bless your dating, put Jesus first in your dating; if you want Him to bless your marriage, put Jesus first in your marriage; if you want Him to bless your mind and develop it, then put Jesus first in your thoughts; and if you want Him to bless your finances, put Jesus first in your finances.

That’s where the word “tithe” comes from. It doesn’t just mean a tenth—it means your first tenth. In other words, if I want God to bless my finances, I must put Him first in my finances. Jesus said in…

Matthew 6:33, KJV, “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”

All of God’s provisions will be added to you, but His prerequisite is that we seek Him first. Why should God provide if I’m violating His commands and ordinances and doing my own thing? God wants to provide, help, and bless, but He knows that He can’t if we are breaking His laws.

I’d like to encourage you that if you’re a young person living with your girlfriend or whatever, get that right. If you’re into pornography or problems that you found yourself falling into, get out of that. God wants to provide for you and bless your future. One of the best things you can do is to get your life right (get under His plan) then all of heaven starts to flow again!

God’s provisions happen when the universe moves under His command so do as God says—His provision is waiting to be unleashed for us. Scripture says it this way:

Luke 12:32 ESV says, “Do not be afraid little flock. It is my Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” We’re not waiting on God He’s waiting on us!

King Asa is one of the few rare exceptions to a litany of phrases you’ll hear again and again about so and so doing evil—the people kept doing evil in the sight of the Lord. Then comes Asa, and …

2 Chronicles 14:2 CSB says, “Asa did good and right in the sight of the Lord, his God.”

Asa removed the alters in the high places and commanded Judah to seek the Lord of their fathers and observe the law and the commandments. A few verses later, they were ready to build the towns that had been destroyed by the enemy; suddenly, there is a confidence that comes into Asa that they can arise and build! Let’s read where he got the confidence that God would provide:

2 Chronicles 14:7 NIV says, “‘Let us build up these towns and put walls around them with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the Lord our God and He has given us rest on every side.’ So they built and prospered.”

Where do you get confidence? How do you know that God will provide? When you have sought the Lord and put Him first, then you will have the confidence to build.

The other day at the college in Eugene, I stood before the staff and said, “Hey, listen. We’re going to put Jesus first on this campus and honor Him. And if students don’t want to do this, or do that, or if they don’t want to do devotions and go to chapel, let them go to another college because we will honor God here!”

And even if the student body gets a little slight, just as long as we raise God up and seek Him with all our hearts, then God will bring in the ones He’s calling. But, make sure we don’t compromise in seeking God first.

That’s what we’re doing here at New Hope. Some people say to me, “Wayne, what if you don’t clearly see where God wants you to go?” Sometimes God can’t show you what’s going on over there until you get over the crest—there’s a lot that we must do yet.

Keep moving in the direction that God is calling you to move in. Learn to honor God by putting Him first and move with righteousness. Make sure your relationships are right. When your heart goes off, get it back on board. Clean up bad relationships. When there’s sin in your life, get rid of it. As I said earlier, if you’re living with a girlfriend and you’re not married, get married—or she should kick you out! Get things right because God is ready to provide for you; He’s just waiting for you to get into His order.

Make sure you’re moving in the right direction: Some people only want money. They tell me they need to follow money, and I say, “No, you really need life experiences.” Help the needy and volunteer where needed because in the midst of that, you will learn people skills and develop relationships and…

2. Gain Life Experiences

What is the difference between a veteran and a newbie? A veteran has way more life experiences than a newbie does. Some of the veterans have confidence in their lives because they have tons of life experiences; the newbies have none—they walk with a sense of fear and trepidation.

If you’re a newbie, develop your patience and endurance—get rid of impetuousness and impudence. Gain all the life experiences you can because if you’re not careful, you’ll miss more than money! Be willing to give more than you’re willing to receive.Jesus said it this way:

Luke 6:38, ESV “Give and it shall be given unto you, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use, it will be measured unto you.”  

Often young leaders want to know how big the bag of money is before they start and miss life experiences—while looking for the wrong thing.

I was married with two children when I first got to Hilo. We lived on $500 a month; the only house we could afford at that time was infested with rats. In fact, it looked like a haunted house—really! The floor was slanted and sloped; the ground settled, so it fell; walking through the house took five times the energy because it was uphill. So one day, I crawled under the house, jacked the house up, and spent many months fixing it.

I was upset at times because I thought God was demoting me. I thought that He should have provided for me, but what I didn’t know was that He was teaching me skills on how to restore houses—after flipping 12 houses, we get to see what God is doing!

Sometimes God will take you up a hill; sometimes He will cause you to zigzag and come back because you can’t go straight up a hill; sometimes, you’ll ask, “God, why are you demoting me?” when He’s really not. Even though you may think you’re going backwards, you’re still going forward—that’s the way it has to get done…

3. Watch For The Windows Of Heaven To Open

Malachi 3:11-12 NASB says, “‘¹¹ Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes…and all the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

God says that He will open up the windows of heaven for you if you’ll obey the ways of the Lord, honor and seek Him first, and be generous. You’ll be surprised how many windows He’ll open for you. You’ll see miracles and see your family change. 

This is for the parents: Proverbs 22:6 NKJV says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” So if you have little children, start now to train them to seek God and to do it His way because God wants to provide for them, too. I don’t know about you, but I want the windows of heaven to open up. Amen?

STUDY QUESTIONS:

1. What are some of the godly blessings you’d like to have in your life, and are you willing to do things God’s way in order to receive His blessings?

2. What are some areas in your life that you can put Jesus first?

3. What are the things you can make right? A relationship? Give more?

4. Are you a newbie and following the wrong things like money and missing life experiences? If so, how will you alter your focus and prepare yourself to follow God’s path for you?