"Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares... those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained." (1 Sam 2:30, NIV) "Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty (abundance), and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." (Prov 3:9-10) Honour the Lord! God constantly demands that we honour Him, and it is clearly stated in the scriptures the many ways in which we can honour Him. We honour God by having no other God besides Him. We also honour God by worshipping and praising Him for the good things in our lives. We also honour God by living a righteous life. In fact, there are so many ways in which we honour; and all those different wayss have their different blessings. But there is only one type of honour that attracts abundance or financial increase - and that is honouring God with our substance..
I have always emphasized how obeying God is the secret to every blessing. Yes, it is; and there are so many blessings we receive from God including health, long life, security, etc. And to receive each blessing you have to find out what the word of God says concerning that blessing and obey it. To receive financial blessing and abundance, this is what God commands that we do in order to receive it:
"Honour the Lord with your substance"
Your substance refers to your money, your income. Do you want God to bless you financially? Then you must honour Him with your finances. You must bring Him into your finances and make Him the Lord of your income. You must make Him a part and parcel of your finance. That is the first step to honouring God with your substance. It has to stop being your money and start being God's money. It has to stop being your business and start being God's business.
In this month of abundance, this is the first step to getting everything that God has in store for you. Many christians keep God away from their finances. If it were possible for them they would not even want God to know how much they have in their account! Isn't that ridiculous? To start experiencing God's abundance, hand over your finances to God today. Tell Him to come and be the chairman of your business, your job, your finance. Hold regular business meetings with Him. Ask for His advice and inspiration in running your business. That is where it begins. The reason many people find it difficult to pay their tithe is because they don't think God deserves a tenth of their income! They feel like why should they do all the work and God will come and take ten percent. This is only a sign of a person whose finances has not been surrendered to God. And such a person can never experience God's abundance.