The Bible says in Psalm 24:1, that the earth is of the Lord and the fullness thereof, even the human beings that live in it, and so in this short sermon, we are going to look at how every good thing comes from God.
Origin of human sacrifice.
In life, so many people have had a romance with wealth or riches in various ways and instances.
So many have even gone out of the way to “make the money” as some say.
In my country, Nigeria, stories of ritual killings perpetuated by especially young boys in order to become wealthy abound.
Sometimes it’s hard to believe that someone can be sacrificed in order to make another person, or group of persons rich.
But human sacrifice has its roots in the bible.
In Jeremiah 32:35, we see how the Israelites built the high places of Baal where they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire unto the God Molech.
It is worthy to note that in Leviticus 18:21, God forewarned the children of Israel not to pass their sons and daughters through the fire to the god Molech.
And with this knowledge, we can all come to the understanding that human sacrifice, especially for wealth is real; and so many are engaging in it.
What does James 1:17 say?
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
James 1:17.
Surveying the above scriptural text.
There are two main issues we are going to decipher from the above scriptural text and let’s outline the words we are going to use.
- Good and perfect gift.
- Variation or shadow of turning.
1. Good and perfect gifts.
There is definitely a difference between a good gift and a perfect gift.
Because a gift can be good today and tomorrow turns bad or not be useful again.
But a perfect gift is that which can never turn bad or lack the need for use.
And with this knowledge, we can therefore understand that good gifts are physical gifts, for example houses, cars, children, etc.
While the perfect gifts are spiritual gifts, for example, the Holy Spirit, love, joy, etc.
2. Variation or shadow of turning.
Variation denotes change, while the shadow of turning means retrieval of reversal.
So all this mean is that, whatever God gives to us humans can never be subjected to change, and neither will He take it back from us.
As the bible again assures in Romans 11:29 that the gifts and callings of God are irrevocable.
How every good thing comes from God.
Knowing that so many people are engaging in human sacrifice for wealth, it is important to point out that so many people are also being blessed by God.
And to understand some of God’s blessings, let us study the blessings given to human beings by God in the bible.
1. The blessings of Abraham and his cousin Lot.
In Genesis 12:2-3, God promised to bless Abraham and make him great if he obeys His instruction to leave his father’s house to a place He is going to show him.
While leaving his father’s house, Abrah took with him his cousin Lot.
And Genesis 13:2 records that Abram become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
In Genesis 13:5-13, we see how Abraham and Lot separated because the land both of them were living on could not accommodate their wealth.
2. The blessings of Isaac.
In Genesis 26:13-15, we see that Isaac became rich and His wealth continued to grow until he became very rich.
He had many flocks and herds and servants. Isaac had so much that the Philistines became jealous of him.
3. The blessings of Esau and Jacob.
Even though Jacob deceived his brother to receive their father Isaac’s blessings, that did not stop Esau from becoming a very wealthy person.
In Genesis 33, Jacob saw the awesome wealth his brother had in their first encounter after he flee from his father’s house.
And in Genesis 36, we see how the place Esau and Jacob lived was unable to accommodate them because of their wealth, so they had to separate.
What does it mean to have a perfect gift?
The Bible reveals in John 10:10, that the devil comes in order to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus came so we might have life and have it more abundantly.
This abundant life in essence includes the wealth and riches of the world that God is going to bless His people with.
In Jeremiah 29:11, He said that the thoughts He has for His people are to prosper them exceedingly and give them an expected end.
3 John 1:2 shows the wish of God above every other thing is that His people should prosper and be in good health, even as their soul prospers.
And from the above observations, we can decipher the following significance of the good thing that comes from God.
- The devil will not be able to steal the wealth God gives to us because he will make security around it. Job 1:10.
- Good things that come from God will not allow you to put your trust in riches. Job 31:24.
- God will not take away or change His mind about the good thing He gives to His people. Romans 29:11.
How to receive every good thing that comes from God.
Below are the two ways to receive every good thing that comes from God:
- Loving God, as the scripture says in Romans 8:28 that all things work together for those who love God. So loving God is the key to receiving what we want from God.
- According to Isaiah 59:1. we understand that God’s ears are not too heavy to hear us, neither are His hands too short to save, but sin is what prevents him from doing so. And for that reason, we must not sin so we can receive every good thing from Him.
Conclusion.
The most important thing to understand about the good thing that comes from God is that there is nothing that can take those gifts away from you.
