Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar & there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go, & be reconciled to your brother, then come & offer your gift. (Mathew 5:23-24). This is an example of where the OFFENDER is to take the initiative to get RECONCILED with his brother./// If your, brother sins against you, go & show him his fault, just the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter will be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; & if he refuses even to listen to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or tax collector. In other words, treat him or her as a heathen. (Mathew 18: 15-17). Here we see the OFFENDED taking the initiative to get reconciled with his brother. God is serious about Christian relationships. Why? The Bible says: For anyone who does not love his brother, whom He has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. So, if anyone says: I love God, yet hates his brother, he is a LIAR. In religion, the offender is the one who initiates reconciliation. If he refuses, the problem continues, there is no end in sight. In Christianity, both the offender & the offended have a moral obligation to initiate the process of reconciliation. Whoever is in the light first must initiate the process. In today's text, we see the offender being instructed not to give his offering before he gets reconciled to his brother. The Bible says: Leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go & be reconciled to your brother; then come & give your gift. Why was this necessary? Because offerings are an ACT of WORSHIP. You can't give them to God when your heart is full of hate, unresolved conflicts, junk stuff, etc. God wants us to offer our gifts to Him with PURE hearts. He knows that if we do not have pure hearts, we will not see Him. He is not after your money but after your heart FIRST. Get your heart right with Him first & then offer your gifts to Him. How? Be reconciled to your brother. God does not accept offerings given where sin or offense is prevalent in our hearts. He will not bless them. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Those who are STUBBORN & give under UnBiblical conditions, look at them: they are always struggling, they are not growing spiritually; old people will behave like infants; they are not righteous; they may have success but not good success. All success is not good success. Their problems have no real solution in sight, they have no peace, no joy & are unstable; they are not getting more than enough blessings as promised us by God,  etc. Lack, unending stuggles, bad decisions, characterize their lives. Their blessings are HELD up largely because of stubbornness. Pending what? Pending their submission to God & His Word. You cannot force God to do your will. Its impossible.  He will just close the Heavens to you. When you operate under a closed Heaven, the above happens to you. You won't have anything to show for your giving. Note: Giving which is in accordance with the Word of God attracts righteousness. The Bible says: He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever. (2 Corinthians 9:9).  Church, the manner in which we give our gifts is key if we are to receive uncommon blessings from God. Be a doer of the Word. Weigh all things that you do in the light of the Word of God. Give in the manner that God wants us to give & He will MULTIPLY our gifts back to us. He will not add to it but MULTIPLY so that you are able to give MORE tomorrow. If your giving is not growing, or if it is decreasing, check the manner in which you are giving your gifts to God. The problem is not with God but with yourself. You are probably missing some key Biblical principles here. Align your giving to the Word of God & uncommon blessings will come your way. Everyone will see them & give glory to God. Relationships are key in the Kingdom of God. If you mishandle them & refuse to reconcile with your brother or sister, you can BLOCK your blessings. Prayer: Father, help us to maintain good relationships with the brethren so that our blessings will not be held up. We will reap the full blessings each time we give our gifts. We acknowledge you as the God of MULTIPLICATION. You multiply back to  us what we give to You. This you do, so that we are able to give You MORE tomorrow. This is our faith & conviction.  Forgive our sins. Help us to deal with sin as it comes. Sin separates us from You & blocks our blessings. Have mercy on us Lord. Thank you Lord for forgiving our sins. Now that we have made peace with You & men, i make this request: May you release all HELD up blessings due to Your children. Thank you for hearing & answering my prayer. Put your angels to action. In Jesus mighty name we pray, believe & give you thanks, Amen. Good morning Holy Spirit.  Heaven Rules.