"But just as you excel in everything-in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us-see that you also excel in this grace of giving." (2 Corinthians 8:7).
As a born-again believer, you have unlimited potential. Because of
Christ in you, you can walk in unlimited faith, knowledge, love, and
victory. The Bible encourages you to excel and grow in these areas and
as you do, you will begin to experience that overcoming life of victory
that God has in store for you. How do you excel in these areas? Just as
a muscle grows when you exercise it, your faith grows when you exercise
it-your love grows when you exercise it, and the grace to give grows
when you exercise it.
So make a commitment today to start your new exercise program and soon you'll become victorious in every area of life!
Our Prayer for you Today
God, I want to grow strong in my faith! Please help me to exercise my faith daily by reading my Bible, praying, and staying in fellowship with other Christians. Help me to reach my full potential, God, by living, loving, and giving the way You intended. In Jesus' name - Amen.
Life Is What You Make It
—Glinda Bridgforth
Have you ever started a telephone call or letter with the question, "Hello. How's life treating you?" I know I have done it many times. I don't think anyone's ever responded bluntly, "Life's not fair!" but it doesn't mean they haven't thought it. Today, perhaps because of my growth and maturity, I'm less likely to think it personally, however when I do feel life is not treating me fairly it passes quickly. The reason is that I now understand with every situation that seems unfair ultimately there is a valuable lesson to be learned as a result. The problem is having patience until the lesson or gift is revealed.
My greatest gift came from the second most painful period of my 55 years on the planet. What was the gift? It was and still is the work that I do as a holistic financial coach. For 17 years I have been able to help countless individuals and couples get their finances straight and achieve financial peace of mind. Who knew the most rewarding and gratifying career I could imagine would come from circumstances that, at one point, had me mentally, physically, spiritually and financially depleted?
The point at which I questioned why life was not treating me fair began almost 20 years ago when my personal debt was so bad that three financial professionals, including two attorneys, advised that I file for bankruptcy. I had always tried to be a good person and do the right thing—live by the Golden Rule and treat people the way I wanted to be treated. But I soon found myself caught up in a financial and emotional nightmare.
My Virtual Prosperity
As a bank manager I was responsible for managing a $90 million unit with 22 employees. And I did a really good job managing their assets, but my personal finances were out of control. My ex-husband and I had good credit and good incomes. So we received plenty of pre-approved credit invitations. We religiously accepted one card after another with the intention of using the card only for emergencies. As you can imagine the best of intentions can go awry because those cards got used for dining out, clothes, cruises—you name it, we charged it. Simply put we were living beyond our means to the tune of $50,000 in unsecured debt. This led to a period I affectionately call the 3 B's: my breakdown, breakout and breakthrough.
The Breakdown
I became an expert at juggling payments and robbed Peter to pay Paul. This went on for years until an unexpected $8,000 sewer repair bill at my income property left me reeling with no where to turn. When a creditor called me at the office requesting a payment I was devastated. Remember, I was a successful bank manager who lived in the right neighborhood, drove the right car, and took the right vacations. Things continued in a downward spiral until the income property was in foreclosure and the home I was living in was about to go into foreclosure.
The Breakout
I had hit my bottom. I prayed often for clarity about my situation and I remember one afternoon, depressed and in total dismay, sitting on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. I asked God out loud, "What could you possibly have in store for my future to have me in such pain today?" There was no bolt of lighting or bold voice from the heavens with an answer to my question. But eventually my inner voice told me to leave the banking career because I was burnt out, leave the marriage that was no longer working and move my ego out of the way to get the financial coaching I needed to turn my life around.
The Breakthrough
As I continued to refine my financial system and see positive
results, I said to myself, "You know what? You could teach this to
other people!" This was God's answer to my question. Had I not
experienced the depression, shame and embarrassment of my own financial
situation and trusted that something good would come out of it, I
suspect I would not have the empathy and compassion for those who
financially suffer in silence and feel life is not treating them fairly.
There
are millions of stories of how others have turned lemons into lemonade.
You can too. Ask God for guidance. Be patient. Hold tight or as my new
husband would say, "Slow your roll, dear." The answer is coming and
it's all in divine order.
Dig Your Way Out of That Financial Rut
—Glinda Bridgforth
In today's culture we find ourselves addicted to many things—from gourmet coffee to video games, from compulsive spending to uncontrollable gambling. Certainly day-to-day life experiences present an ongoing challenge that can even make worrying addictive because we do it constantly. We all handle stress in different ways, but not all coping skills are healthy. Some people over eat and gain weight, some under eat and look anorexic. Some excessively drink and some take drugs. Some fill their schedules with numerous activities so they don't have to face painful facts of their daily lives. And some just pull the covers over their heads and sleep the day away—anything to numb out or medicate themselves and not deal with the real problem.
Paulette's Inaction
I remember my very first financial coaching client, Paulette (not her real name). This thirty-something year old woman was seeking support on getting her finances together. For our first session I made a house call to her upper-middle class neighborhood in the suburbs of Oakland, California. Upon entering her apartment I found it somewhat unorganized and disheveled, pretty much the same as Paulette's appearance.
When presented with her stack of bills, some opened and some not, we proceeded to develop a system which addressed the most recent bills first. To my surprise there were 24 and 48 hour notices for utility disconnection of services, as well as final notices for payment due on her telephone bill. Paulette had no idea she was so close to having necessary services shut off. What was even more startling for me was looking at her bank statement and realizing she had over $15,000 sitting in her checking account! There was obviously money available to take care of her finances, but Paulette was stuck.
bridgforthfinancial.com
When it comes to finances, inaction to dealing with the results of compulsive debting or spending can be misinterpreted for indifference. People are subject to act paralyzed. But often that paralysis is based on fear, not apathy. They say, "I don't care about this debt," or, "The heck with the consequences. There's nothing I can do about it anyway. So if I don't have money to pay my debts, I don't have it." Oftentimes they just don't know what to do and ultimately the credit report and credit score begin to suffer. That makes matters even worse for their financial future.
Paulette's inaction was based on fear passed on from her parents who grew up during the Great Depression. In her mind, if her checking account went below $15,000 she was out of control and likely to become destitute.
Get Moving
Let's be clear. We should trust in God for He will never give us more than we can handle. But you must also be responsible and utilize your free will to begin your own intervention. You need to be honest with yourself, break through your denial to get to the core of your issues. The healing will begin when you do your innerwork, legwork, and homework.
First, consider how your financial situation is affecting you. Take a notepad and write at least one paragraph on each of the following questions.
- In what ways are you more irritable with family and friends?
- Are you having sleepless nights? If yes, what is it that is keeping you awake?
- Are you distracted at work? What is keeping you from focusing on your job?
- What are your fears?
- What is it that makes you procrastinate and become paralyzed when it comes to dealing with your finances?
If you're feeling stuck or apathetic, you should take action sooner rather than later. Waiting to take action can turn a simple problem into a severe consequence. If you've been stuck in a financial rut, don't overwhelm yourself by feeling you have to be debt-free tomorrow. But do something. Do it for yourself and do it for your family. After completing the above exercise, talk to an objective third party about your situation. Contact the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) at 800-388-2227 or nfcc.org Or contact the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA) at 800-450-1794 or aiccca.org.
You don't need a college degree and it's not rocket science to make a positive difference in your finances. By repositioning your thinking and making some simple shifts into action, you can be well on your way to living debt-free and care-free.
How to Get Answers to Your Prayers
The Bible tells us that God is Love. And in page after page, we see the countless demonstrations of His great love. We read of His compassion and promises, and we see His willingness to use awesome power on behalf of His people. God is faithful—to His people, and to His Word.
There are times, however, when we as the very chosen of God tend to rely on our five physical senses to decide whether He is really “out there” and whether He is hearing—and answering—our prayers. Once we pray our prayers, all too often it’s easy to look around for physical evidence and then believe for what we prayed.
In effect, when we do that, it’s like trying to see with our ears or hear with our noses. We must determine even before we pray that any physical evidence contrary to what we pray will not sway us into doubt and unbelief. We need to realize that the evidence—or the Word—upon which our faith rests is far more reliable than what we can see. Regardless of physical evidence, the Word is perfect!
That’s the truth of the matter, but sometimes it does help to have some practical guidelines to keep us within the bounds of truth. So, the following seven steps are suggested as guidelines to help you in your determined walk of faith when it comes to your prayers—and waiting for them to be answered.
- The Word
1 John 3:22, 5:14-15; John 15:7; Romans 12:2
Prayer that brings results must be based on God’s Word. We should start
with the answers to our prayers—the Word. Jesus said, “If ye abide in
me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall
be done unto you” (John 15:7). The Bible contains over 7,000
promises—promises which include wealth and wisdom, health and success.
Finding the specific promises that apply to your situation may take
some time, but it will be well worth the effort. We’ve listed several
at the end of this article.
- The Application of Faith
James 2:14-24, 3:11-17; Romans 3:4; Hebrews 4:11-16
Start your confession of faith before you see the manifestation of
answers to your prayers. Believe you receive when you pray. Hold fast
to your confession by acting as though it were already done. To be
afraid to confess or act before you have it is to doubt God’s Word.
- Refuse Doubt and Fear
2 Corinthians 10:5
Refuse to allow doubt and fear to enter your consciousness. Satan will
tell you that your answers are not coming. But take those whispers of
doubt captive. You have the right and power to demolish every argument
that comes against the knowledge of God’s Word.
So control your mind with the Word and dwell on the answer instead of the problem.
- Success, Not Failure
Proverbs 4:20-24; Matthew 6:22-12, 13:15-16; Romans 13:14
See yourself through the Word—as a success, not a failure.
- Testify
Revelation 12:11
Testify of what you believe. Testify of the Word. Add your testimony to
what you have received by the blood—your redemption. You have the
rights to all that Jesus did.
- Faith Works by Love
Galatians 5:6; 1 John 4:12
Faith works when we operate in the love of God. Get involved in helping
someone. As you adhere to the message of God’s love, His love will flow
from you to others.
- Be a Giver
Luke 6:38; James 5:16; Mark 4:14-29; Acts 20:35
Get on the giving end. If you need healing, then give the message of
healing to someone else. If you need money, give money. It’s God’s
law—you will reap what you sow. The way you measure out is the way it
will be measured back to you.
God’s Greatest Guarantees
Need some help finding scriptures that cover your need? Here are a few to get you started.
Promises for your unsaved loved ones:
Luke 5:32, 19:10; John 3:3, 17; Acts 11:14, 16:31; Romans 5:8; 1
Corinthians 7:13-16; 1 Peter 3:1-2; 2 Peter 3:9
Promises for your children:
Psalm 8:2, 91:11-12, 127:3-5; Proverbs 3:4, 22:6; Isaiah 44:3, 49:25, 54:13; Colossians 3:20; 2 Timothy 3:15
Promises for prosperity:
Psalm 23:1, 34:10, 37:25; Matthew 6:31-33; Luke 6:38; 2 Corinthians 9:6-8; Philippians 4:19; 3 John 2
Promises for your marriage:
Genesis 2:18, 24; Psalm 101:2, Proverbs 3:5-6, 10:12; Joshua 24:15;
Romans 13:10; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8; Ephesians 4:31-32, 5:21-33; 1 Peter
3:1-11; 1 John 4:15-21
Promises for healing:
Exodus 15:26; Psalm 103:3, 107:20; Proverbs 4:20-22; Isaiah 53:5;
Jeremiah 17:14, 30:17; Malachi 4:2; Matthew 8:8, 9:35; Mark 16:15-18;
Luke 6:19; Hebrews 13:8; James 5:14-16; 1 Peter 2:24; 3 John 2
Psalm 37:11, 119:165; Isaiah 26:3, 12, 55:12; John 14:27; Romans 5:1, 8:6, 14:17-19, 15:13; Philippians 4:6-7
Praying in the Spirit
by Terri Copeland Pearsons
Recently my husband, Pastor George Pearsons, preached a series in our church titled, God Has a Plan for Your Life. (He also wrote an article by the same title in the June Believer’s Voice of Victory magazine.)
Most
of us have heard before that God has a plan for us. But when Pastor
George called attention to it from the Word of God for several weeks,
our faith that God does have a plan began to grow and the
anxiety level over our lives began to decrease! So often we are under
such pressure as we face life’s decisions. It is good to be confident
that God has these decisions already made.
The following is the outline he used for those messages:
- God has a plan for me (Jeremiah 29:11, New International Version).
- I receive God’s plan by faith—nothing wavering—sight unseen (James 1:5-8).
- God’s plan will come out of the realm of the spirit— not the natural (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).
- I have the ability to hear God’s plan (Psalm 85:8).
- I am obedient to God’s plan. Whatever He tells me to do, I will do! (Isaiah 1:19).
As we covered Point 3, “God’s plan will come out of the realm of the
spirit—not the natural,” I could almost hear people thinking, Well, how do I get it “out of the spirit” into the natural realm so that I can act on it?
Sometimes when people hear the word spirit,
they panic. The very word conveys an image of vague uncertainties. But
the spirit realm is not vague or uncertain. It has perfect, even
scientific order. Our natural world is a reflection of the spiritual
realm. It functions whether you understand it or not. But, it can be
explored and its principles revealed. “Yet to us God has unveiled and
revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches
diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the
profound and bottomless things of God [the divine counsels and things
hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny]” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10, The Amplified Bible).
The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom and it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you that kingdom
(Luke 12:32). He will teach you all about it.
Pray in the Spirit
Since the Word of God is God revealing the things of the Spirit to us, we must look there first to understand all spiritual things. Clearly God has revealed the part of His plan that covers all of us in His Word. You must begin there with what He has already said and the parameters He has given for a successful life. But the specifics of His plan must come through prayer. Frankly, without prayer, we can even become unclear how to apply what God has already revealed to us through His Word.
To learn more about the kind of prayer that will take you from where you are now to where you want to be (squarely in the center of God’s plan for your life) let’s take a close look at one of the foundational verses about prayer, Ephesians 6:18, The Amplified Bible:
Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).
As I’ve already said, prayer is primary and essential to finding that exact plan of God that is waiting for you in the Spirit. It is our entrance into God’s courts and our communion and connection with Him. It’s more than a plan that we desire. We want Him.
Charismatics and Pentecostals use the phrase “praying in the spirit” in reference to praying in tongues. It certainly would include that. But if that is all Paul is referring to, then all other prayers from pulpit to table side are invalid because He said, “Pray at all times and with all manner of prayer in the spirit.”
Actually, praying in the spirit, in its most basic definition, is praying from your heart. It doesn’t take much Bible study to see that man is spirit (also called your heart), soul (the mind, will and emotions) and body. Proverbs 20:27 says the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly. It is in your spirit that God talks to you. In your heart, with your heart. God doesn’t want head prayers that have no heart. Why? Because your heart is you. Your mind only belongs to you. Your heart is where faith is produced. In fact, all the forces of life flow out of your heart, not your head.
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:20). Your heart is where God meets you.
Pray With All Manner of Prayer
There are many different kinds of prayer (such as prayers of faith, of agreement, of dedication, of petition, of intercession, etc.) not to mention the tongues of men (unlearned by my mind) and the tongues of angels. Plus, I’ve counted close to 30 different scriptural ways the Spirit expresses Himself in prayer. And the combination of possibilities is fathomless! No wonder He is able to do exceeding abundantly more than we can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20)! Clearly, our prayer lives should never be dull or dry. They should be adventures in God. Because we have the Word of God, we don’t have to wonder what the manners of prayer are. And because we have the Holy Spirit sent to lead us, we are not left alone to discover which manner is the right one for each prayer. “So, too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought” (Romans 8:26, The Amplified Bible).
Thank God for the Spirit of Truth!
Prayer can be learned. In fact it must be. The disciples asked Jesus, “Teach us to pray.” And He did. Although I feel as though I know so little, I have learned some things I can share with you that will help your understanding. However, remember, prayer is not by formula or head knowledge; it is by the Spirit, from the heart!
For if I pray in an [unknown] tongue, my spirit (by the Holy Spirit within me) prays, but my mind is unproductive [it bears no fruit and helps nobody]. Then what am I to do? I will pray with my spirit [by the Holy Spirit that is within me], but I will also pray [intelligently] with my mind and understanding (1 Corinthians 14:14-15, The Amplified Bible).
There are two basic categories for all Spirit-led prayer: With the mind engaged and helping, and with the mind disengaged and unfruitful. We’ve already discovered that all prayer is out of your spirit.
Romans 8:5 tells us to set our minds on the things of the Spirit. That means our heads should take orders from our hearts! Your head is designed by God to hear from your heart.
Mind-engaged prayers are the ones we quote from Scripture, the prayers we pray over our meals or the prayers we teach our children. Our opening service prayers and most corporate prayers are mind-engaged. By this we pray the prayers Paul prayed, we make our confessions of faith before the Lord, and we come in agreement together. The danger of this kind of praying is the mind being so confident of what it knows that it loses its grip on the leading of the Spirit. That results in the mind of the flesh, which is hostile to or acting independent of God. And you never want to find you’re praying independent of God. It’s a waste of time, not to mention dull, dry and dead.
The second category is without the mind engaged. This would include praying in tongues. In fact, tongues is the most frequent expression of this kind of praying. The Bible speaks of diverse (different) kinds of tongues. It is no wonder that Paul proclaimed, “I thank God I pray in tongues more than ye all” (1 Corinthians 14:18)!
I am so glad that there is prayer beyond our mind. Why? It only knows what it’s been told! How limiting! It is limited to what has been input through the less-than-perfect five senses. It can only suppose the future and can only touch one issue at a time. But not so when your spirit, by the Holy Spirit, prays. It is prayer as deep and wide as the Spirit of God Himself. It surpasses time, distance and all natural borders. It knows no limitations other than it is confined to the power at work in you (Ephesians 3:20), or in other words, the development and working of your faith. Actually, no prayer reaches beyond faith. Thankfully, God’s faith is at work with ours along with the faith of other believers. We are never alone.
The scope of this kind of prayer goes even beyond tongues. There is a place of praying in the spirit in your known language where words flow out of your heart and then across your lips, bypassing your mind. This praying reaches deep into the heart of a person for expression, worship and revelation and is spoken in words the mind is enlightened by. What glories there are in our fellowship with God!
Watch With Strong Purpose
There’s much to be said about “watching” and “purpose,” but I want to leave you with one of its most important meanings.
Watch as you pray, every time you pray, for the leading of the Spirit. When you are praying those learned prayers over your meals or over your tithe, watch to see what the Spirit is saying. He could lead you to not eat what you’re praying over! He could lead you to pray for someone who desperately needs your prayers or in any one of a thousand different directions. We must always be conscious of our total weakness to pray effectively apart from Him. Pray the Word, but watch Him for what Word to pray. Purpose to stay connected to your heart and let life flow from it through every prayer you pray.
There you will find the will of God revealed to you. There He will speak to you. There you will find Him.
Terri Pearsons is the eldest daughter of Kenneth Copeland. She and her husband, George Pearsons, pastor Eagle Mountain International Church located on the grounds of Kenneth Copeland Ministries. For information or ministry materials write to Kenneth Copeland Ministries, Fort Worth, TX 76192-0001.
Your Will and Your Life
by: John Park
When we accepted Jesus as our personal Savior, did we not do this to save ourselves from damnation? Some of us chose Jesus because our life was a mess from trying to live it our way. But, for whatever your reason was for accepting Jesus, we all hope to meet together in Heaven. But for some reason, a lot of us tend to have a problem, and that is giving up our independence. I call the shots or nobodys going to tell me how to live my life. Yup, that's how we are.
One of the things Jesus taught about was what it takes to get into the Kingdom of God. Jesus said in Mark 8:34-36 'If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel, shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the lose of his soul? It may seem strange at first that one would give up his entire life to someone he can't even see. But you knew something drew you to call on Jesus and that would be God. John 6:44 'No one can come to me, unless he is drawn by the Father, who hath sent me.' So by a knowing, you felt a presence in your heart, you knew something was missing and you found Jesus who came into your life. So, like many others you probably wondered what to do next. Like most people they start going to church and bible study, but there's a matter more important than that.
Who are you trusting this new found life with? Do you let the church and bible studies and the people who go to the church teach you? Of course not. Your probably saying HUH! Let me explain. They don't know you or your needs and putting your life in their hands is like playing russian roulette with 5 bullets. Jesus was sent by God to show us the way back to God. Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the Lord: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. When you trust God, that's where your heart is, but put your trust in man and that is where your heart will be. Also it says in Luke 12:29-31 But you, you must not set your hearts on things to eat and things to drink; nor must you worry. It is the pagans of this world who set their hearts on these things. Your Father well knows you need them. No; set your heart on His kingdom, and these other things will be given you as well.
When you truly give your your life and will over to the Lord and you build that relationship with Him, you will not want to have anything to do with being taught by man. Jesus knows you better than you know yourself. He knows what's best for you and He certainly can manage your life better than you can. All you have to do is trust Him and do not try to do things your way. One of the things you do have to understand is that it is a long and lonely road to travel, but it is one amazing journey. And at the end of the road, there is an unspeakable peace and joy waiting for you. I am in no way telling you not to go to church or bible studies or even to talk to people, what I am saying is don't become dependant on anyone of them. Keep an open mind, ask questions if you need to, then ask the Lord to help you sort things out, and pretty soon you'll be able to listen and know that Jesus is a part of your life. You'll be able to know when He is talking to you and when He isn't. Anybody that misses out on this experience is losing so, so much.
Jesus wants you to give Him your burdens and He wants to give you His, which is LIGHT! There will be a lot of tests and trials (these will build up your faith and make you stronger) but have trust in Jesus, He'll guide you through them. You will learn about yourself and what God's will is for you. God loves you so much you just can't imagine. He wants you to come home. One thing you have to do is be willing enough to accept His son Jesus Christ. Follow Jesus, not man or your own mind.You've been deceived long enough, let the Lord teach you truth. Luke 11:9 'So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.'
Your carnal life is as temporary as this world, follow Jesus and your life will be everlasting and eternal light. There are many who believe and have tried to get me to believe that you can have God and take pleasure in the things of this world together, you can't. Find God and His will first, then see if you can take pleasure in the things of this world. John 18:36 Jesus replied, 'Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.' Bless you Jesus. Aways remember what Jesus said, John 5:30 'I can do nothing by myself; Ican only judge as I am told to judge, and my judging is just, because my aim is to do not my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. May God Bless You Dearly
Thanks John for your article, may it open peoples eyes that just because they are saved by Grace does not give us a right to live any way we please. Again, God Bless and Thanks.
Grace To Be Ourselves
by: Cory L. Kemp
Brett Favre, quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, announced his retirement this week. At a news conference yesterday his simple explanation for the move was that he was tired. At thirty-eight and possessing graying hair, Favre and his family have been through multiple tragedies and upheavals in the last few years, but he kept on playing, even the day after his father died.
Having given more to the game than most and played the game with more joy than anyone, Favre had a right to his reasons and wanted his loyal fans to hear those reasons from him, not filtered through the media, which has been known to have quite vivid imaginations regarding the facts at times. Favre was emotional during the hour broadcast from Lambeau Field, home of the Packers and all they have accomplished. It seemed he embodied every uphill battle and triumph the team had delivered to the people of Wisconsin during his sixteen seasons.
What was quite wonderful, and rather poignant, was that of all the records that Favre holds - most yards passing, most starts, most passes completed among them - he claimed none solely for himself. He believes everything he did was a team effort and the whole team deserved credit for what are labeled publicly as his achievements. And what matters most to him is that he is leaving at the top of his game by his own standards, not anyone else's.
That said, Brett Favre is the first to tell you his is not perfect. His battles with prescription drug dependency and alcohol abuse are well-known and almost cost him his marriage and family.
But between the public hero and the private man who struggled to work through his issues to reemerge in wholeness and health lies grace. In this respect Brett Favre, Jesus and the rest of us have grace in common.
Grace is one of those words that gets tossed around like a Frisbee at a church social, so for the record, my dictionary and I are defining grace as, " unmerited favor or generous courtesy granted." Take your pick. Either way, grace is something we cherish when we are the recipients and something we have a lot to learn about offering up more often. So I think it is important to take the time to say that we may not be as familiar with how grace functions as we may pride ourselves.
With that settled, please know that I am not calling Brett Favre a messiah in any way, shape or form, nor do I believe he had a messiah complex. I don't think Jesus did either. Jesus lived His life with humility, kindness, faith and a complete boldness that was unheard of in His time and unmatched in our own. His public ministry, marked by frequent run-ins with religious authorities and filled with conflict, also contained instances of insightful teaching, miraculous healings and speaking events that drew crowds simply by word of mouth. The level of warmth and acceptance He felt for the marginalized people of His culture - women, children, tax collectors, prostitutes - drew controversy, but didn't distract Him from His work and did little to damage His image with the general population. People loved Him for who He was and what He brought to their lives: hope.
Meanwhile, scripture tells us that Jesus did struggle with this work He was called to do, and even more so, the brutal end he foresaw for His own life. Frustration with the disciples is evident. They can't be blamed for not quite getting the full depth of Jesus' thoughts and ideas. We have barely scratched the surface of that ourselves and we possess two thousand years of hindsight. I am fairly sure Jesus didn't blame them either. Having grown up in the Temple, Jesus also never left his faith behind to pursue or create a new religion. He understood, better than most, the power religious institutions can have over people. So even in his verbal scuffles with Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees He knew they were trying to preserve a history and a people which had known more slavery than freedom, while He was pointing the way to a newly-defined freedom in God's love. Crowds followed Him day and night, hardly giving Him any opportunity for sleep, let alone personal reflection and prayer, but for these and the many people who were never able to grasp what Jesus was offering them, Jesus only had mercy and compassion.
And yet, in all that he thought, said and did, He didn't take credit for His knowledge, insight, teaching or preaching abilities, but always pointed back to God as His Sources of being. It may have been easier to smile and say, "Thank you," but He didn't. We remember Him today as One with authority, but also great humility. We remember Him as a man of grace, a man who gave unmerited favor and generous courtesy to those least deserving and those most in need of its transformative power.
And so, we are back to Brett Favre, expressing humility in the face of great opportunity to take all the credit, smile and say, "Thank you." Instead he chose the grace of shared experience, shared victory and shared credit with the people who helped him make it all possible. He chose grace, giving favor to those who had not asked him for it. He offered generous courtesy when no one would have faulted him for doing otherwise. He chose grace.
We too have the opportunity to express humility in the face of opportunities to take all the credit, smile and say, "Thank you." But instead, we can choose to extend grace to others at times when unmerited, unearned favor or generous courtesy may take some effort on our part. The effort is worth it, particularly when we may be blessed with grace we have not merited or earned, or have generous courtesy extended at a time when someone else makes the effort for us.
Cory thanks for your insightful article. May it be a blessing to others.
Financial Roadblocks
Your Miracle is On the Way!
A great man of God once said that miracles pass us by every day.
Well, I’m here to say it’s time for that to stop!
It’s time for miracles to stop passing us by, and it’s time for them to start manifesting in our lives—in our homes, our families, our businesses and jobs, our churches and communities. It’s time for us to expect miracles all the time, to expect God to do the extraordinary...to overrule perverted nature.
In Judges 6:13, Gideon said it like this: “If the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of?”
That question is still valid today. In the Church, at large, people don’t see many miracles happening. And they certainly don’t see them happening in their normal, day-to-day living.
So, where are all the miracles? Do they really exist? Isn’t God willing to intervene in our lives anymore?
God Is Still God
Miracles don’t just happen, my brother and sister. In part, you and I have to make them happen. We have to activate them by cooperating with God. Only by our yielding to God can His supernatural power manifest on our behalf and override the natural circumstances we face in this life.
Galatians 3:5 says, “He therefore that ministereth [or supplies] to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”
In other words, God, the One Who supplies us with His Spirit—or with supernatural power—is still in the business of working miracles among us.
If you think about it, the word god itself means “one who must be worshiped as having supernatural abilities.” Take that a step further, and we find that the word supernatural means “that which goes beyond the law and power of nature.”
So we’re talking about the One Who must be worshiped as having abilities that go beyond the law and power of this natural world in which we live.
That’s
why the Bible is full of scriptures such as Matthew 19:26 which say,
“With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
Luke 1:37—“For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
Mark 9:23—“All things are possible to him that believeth.”
Still, the majority of people in our world today choose to live by their own limited resources and go their own way rather than depend upon God and go His way.
For us as believers, however, the moment we became Christians we were called to live in the realm of “all things are possible.” We took a step from impossible with man (the natural realm) to possible with Almighty God (the supernatural realm).
Now, it’s wonderful that we took that step, but as we’re about to see, there are some things we must know, and continually remind ourselves of, if we are to walk further in that miraculous arena with God—and let Him be God in our lives.
Don’t Hold Your Peace!
You’ll recall we saw in Galatians 3:5 that God supplies us with His Spirit and works miracles among us. He does it by our faith in what He says. So, we do have a vital role in the miraculous.
To understand just how vital our part is, however, I want us to examine a miracle recorded in Luke 18. Let’s begin with verses 35-39:
And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
First, notice that the blind man was begging.
If we do not learn to yield to the power of God, Satan will have us begging through life—and, all the while, our Father has made every provision in heaven and earth so we shouldn’t have to beg a day in our lives.
Truthfully, I see this blind man as those Christians who do not know their covenant rights and, as a result, they have been placed in a beggarly position.
“Oh, God, won’t You please heal me?”
No, that’s not our position in the blood covenant. God, Himself, told us to put Him in remembrance of the covenant (Isaiah 43:26), and make a demand on His power. We have every right to be healed, every right to be prosperous, every right for our children to walk with the Lord—because we have a covenant!
Next, notice that when the blind man heard all the commotion of the crowd passing by he called out to find out what was happening.
What did the people tell him?
Jesus of Nazareth is passing by!
My friend, Jesus is passing by us every day. Moment by moment, He passes near us. In fact if you’re a Christian, He is in you right now. Still, if we want our miracle, we will have to take action. We will have to do our part.
In this case, the blind man started hollering.
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!
Now, once this man started making his demand on Jesus, notice what the people around him did. Verse 39 says they rebuked him and told him to shut up.
Today, as then, organized religion tries to keep us from our miracles. I know, because it kept me from them. Religious traditions kept me from the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, healing, and so on. They may have kept me out of hell, but they also kept me from so much of heaven.
So, here we have a blind man who was able to see his miracle passing by, yet the religious people around him couldn’t. His natural eye couldn’t see a thing, but he saw clearly with the eyes of his spirit, with the eyes of revelation—and what he saw, the religious folks rebuked. But that didn’t stop him. He just cried out louder, and with more intensity.
When Faith Talks...
Now that we’ve seen the blind man’s part in this press toward a miracle, let’s examine God’s part. We find it in Luke 18:40-43.
And Jesus stood, and commanded [the blind man] to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
In the middle of a noisy crowd, Jesus heard a distinct voice. It was the voice of faith. When He heard that voice, The Amplified Bible says He “stood still” (verse 40). He stopped.
Jesus hasn’t changed. He’s still the same (Hebrews 13:8). Any time He hears the voice of faith, He stops. When anyone speaks words of faith, it’s like calling Him to attention. He must stop, because He is under divine orders. The voice of faith places a demand on His power.
So once we make that demand on God’s power, and once Jesus stops...then notice what He does—verse 40 says, “Jesus stood, and commanded … ”
When we make a demand, God makes a command. He makes a command on our behalf. He releases supernatural power to change natural, perverted situations, and causes them to line up with what we are believing. His power submits to our faith.
You see, God has placed Himself in a situation where our faith controls Him, as well as all of His resources in heaven. You and I have the ability to move God and all of heaven at any given time—in the supermarket, in the car, in the house, in the yard, on the job.
So, on the road that day, Jesus could not go anywhere or do anything until He answered the voice of faith that cried out to Him.
Just Receive
After Jesus commanded the blind man be brought to Him, He asked the man, “What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?” Notice He didn’t say, “Let me see what I can do for you,” or “Sure, I want to help you, but let’s don’t get carried away.”
No, Jesus placed no
limits on the man’s request. Actually, the limits were up to the blind
man. So he told Jesus, “Lord, that I may receive my sight” (verse 41).
With that, Jesus replied, “Receive thy sight; thy faith hath saved thee” (verse 42).
Receive. All the man had to do was just receive.
Today, Christians lack a lot because they don’t receive—and that shouldn’t be.
As believers, we should have such a lifestyle of deliverance that
people are constantly attracted to us. And why not? We have something
that can stop Jesus, the Miracle Worker, at any time...and for any
reason!
My brother and sister, Jesus stopped on His way to Jericho that day because He heard the voice of faith. That voice stopped Him in His tracks. He didn’t have to think about it or pray it. He had no choice. He had to respond. But the key was faith.
Jesus doesn’t just drop in with miracle-working power. As with anything, He must have a faith invitation. If He doesn’t, He will pass us by.
A lot of miracles have been getting away from us because, even though Jesus shows up, we let Him pass by. We don’t call out with the voice of faith necessary to stop Him.
So, stop Him! Don’t let Jesus pass you by! Speak words of faith—cry, shout, use greater intensity if you have to, but do it with the voice of faith!
And
once Jesus stops, don’t back off. Don’t limit Him, or yourself! Go
ahead and tell Him what you would have Him do for you. Then receive.
Yes, we serve a miracle-working God, and heaven has come down to us.
But, your miracle is up to you. So, don’t let it pass you by. Stop
Jesus!
Dr. Leroy Thompson Sr. is pastor and founder of Word of Life Christian Center in Darrow, La. For more information or ministry materials write to Word of Life Christian Center, PO Box 7, 40066 Hwy 22, Darrow, LA 70725, or call 1-225-473-8874.
BETRAYED: When Someone Else Takes the Credit for Your Work
—Nancy Lovell
It was sooo not fair!
Shauna worked hard and she worked smart. Her overtime all but equaled her punch-in-punch-out time. In fact, you know the old saying about companies that spawn workaholics—"If you can't come in on Saturday, don't even bother coming in on Sunday"? That wouldn't apply to Shauna's work record as projects coordinator. Mentally and very nearly physically, Shauna never left the job.
She didn't do it for the kudos, not exactly. But when pats on the back are getting handed out, who wants to get skipped?
So on the black day when Shauna's boss emailed a memo company-wide praising Stacie for Shauna's idea—Shauna's pet project—she mashed the mouse and dropped her jaw.
What could she do? Complain to the president? That's who sent it out. She'd make him look stupid and make herself sound like a whiner.
Wait just a minute, Shauna thought: Stacie! Stacie would set it straight. No one grabs credit for someone else's work. But not only did Stacie absorb the company-wide kudos, not only did she bask in the praise garnered from the president's emailing the wrong message, later that day she stepped into Shauna's office and said, "Are you mad?"
To bruised pride and mental confusion, add dumbfounded. Shauna's boss bypassed her for praise, the wrong person knowingly hoarded the misplaced praise—it was like not returning a fat wallet to the rightful owner—and Shauna hadn't a clue what to do next.
That's why what Shauna did do next is a study in betrayal response, in unfairness recovery. So let's outline it in four steps:
Step one, Shauna called an objective third party, someone unrelated to her job. True, she wanted a sympathetic ear, a friend to feel her pain. But her call was more than venting, it was a plea for objectivity and a willingness to act on good advice.
Step two, Shauna applied the sound counsel by resolving not to react in the heat of emotion and not to gossip. Her friend had told her two things. First, she said, while the pain is high, say nothing. Let no one in her office know that her feelings were hurt—reactive emotions are the least professional. Temptation would be high, but to confide in a fellow employee would only feed the gossip and rumor mills. Second, Shauna took her friend's advice to under no circumstances bad mouth either Stacie or the boss. It wasn't easy; it was hardest for the first few days, but Shauna did it.
Step three, Shauna let some time pass. Instead of angrily venting her mistreatment and risking looking both immature and small, Shauna did her best to detach. "This is definitely a form of betrayal," her friend said, "but you don't have all the facts yet. You only have your hurt. See what plays out." (As it turns out, very little played out for quite a while, but lying low was smart.)
Step four, Shauna learned that the person asking the questions has the power. Though Stacie wasn't going to give up the credit, she was curious about Shauna's state of mind. "Are you mad?" she asked Shauna. Instead of unleashing how she felt, Shauna turned the discussion back around. "Why would you think I'd be angry?" Shauna asked. Now Stacie had to frame the situation, not Shauna.
Make no mistake: Shauna was still stinging. And she was checking Monster.com for new jobs.
But here's the interesting part. Eventually Shauna got back into her
job, and she enjoyed the work. Mentally, she filed away what she'd
learned about two people and about human nature. And time passed.
YES there are times a person cannot suffer an indignity in silence. YES
there are times to speak up for oneself or set the record straight. But
every slight, perceived or real, requires judgment, not a hard and fast
rule. Shauna's good judgment told her this time not to whine, not to
gossip, not to demand that the credit go to her...but to seek counsel
and to wait and see.
And you know what happened? Well, it happened just last week. Staci asked Shauna to grab some coffee. And over coffee, Staci said to Shauna, "I wasn't very fair to you a couple of months ago, and now what I let happen to you is happening to me. Someone else has taken credit for work I did, and it's not fair."
Shauna almost laughed out loud. In the process of unraveling the current situation with her supervisor, Staci was forced to credit Shauna for Shauna's work.
"What do I do?" Stacie asked Shauna.
"Well, to begin with," Shauna began wisely, "don't react in the heat of emotion."
"For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:6)
The Lord grants wisdom. He gives good sense to the godly. He shows
how to distinguish right from wrong and how to make the right decision
every time.
Friend, you can make the right decision in life, every single time,
when you listen to the wisdom of God and make the choice to obey it.
One definition of the word "wisdom" is simply "common sense." I believe
many of the challenges we face in life can be turned around by using
the common sense God has given us.
If you are facing a challenge today–perhaps in your business, in your
home, in your finances or relationships, ask the Lord for His wisdom.
Ask Him to show you if there is anything that you may be doing to cause
the problem, or should be doing to resolve it. When He reveals the
answer to your heart, be quick to act on it and you will experience the
victory!
Our prayer for you today.
God, I confess that I often turn to friends, talk shows, and books for help before I think to seek divine intervention. Please help me to ascertain the answers I am looking for right now. Grant me the wisdom and the understanding to tackle what I am facing today. In Jesus' name – Amen.
A Double Portion
of Blessing
"Return to
the stronghold, O prisoners who have hope. This very day I am declaring that I
will restore double to you." (Zechariah 9:12)
Today's Word from
Jim & Annette
No matter what has been taken
away from you, no matter what you've lost or experienced in the past, if you
give it over to God, He will return to you more than you could ask or imagine.
He'll make things right and give you more than what was lost or stolen. The
Bible says that when you put your hope in God, He blesses you with a double
portion. God wants to multiply your joy, peace, wisdom, health, finances — a
double portion of His favor in every area of your life! The first step in
moving forward into this fresh future is forgetting the disappointments of
yesterday. It's time to turn loose those disappointments of your past and reach
out in faith to God's abundant future. .
A Prayer for Today
What Season are you in?
"In due season, you shall reap if you faint not." (Galatians 6:9)
God has a due season in store for you! The Bible doesn't say you
might reap, it says "you shall reap"–if you don't give up. In order to
reach your due season or harvest of blessing, you must continue to
believe God's Word and confess His promises daily.
You are the only one who knows what God has placed in your heart, and
the evidence of that is what comes out of your mouth. It's as if you
are in a courtroom and the enemy is your accuser but the Holy Spirit is
your Advocate. Your testimony will prove that you are standing strong
on God's Word!
Our prayer for you today.
God, this is the time for me to stand strong in my faith. Whatever the circumstance, I will confess your power and mercy all the days of my life. You have a plan for me. Give me the patience to wait with a cheerful heart for my "season of blessing." In Jesus' name – Amen.
Living By Faith & Not By Sight
by: Janie Baer
Your ability to live by faith has nothing to do with:
Who you are, where you were born, or where you live.
The amount of money you presently have in your bank account, billfold or purse or don’t presently have in your bank account, billfold or purse.
Amount of time you have or don’t have. (Faith has no time, it is always “now” Faith. Faith is always present tense. – I have _____ now. I can do _____ now. I am _____ now.)
How much something costs.
Has nothing to do with your ability or inability. (Remember: Faith is God’s ability working on your behalf. If you could do it yourself, you wouldn’t have to use your faith.)
If you have planned well financially or if there has been lack of financial planning.
Job or no job.
Paycheck or no paycheck or income or no income.
The number of educational degrees you have or a lack of education. (The fishermen who walked with Jesus were men of faith and yet they were just “fishermen” and not highly educated men; but yet they told Jesus when He sent them out to minister on their own that their every need was met.)
Your five physical senses (They only relate to the physical realm and will only tell you what is going on in the physical realm, but faith is of the spirit, a higher realm. You’re actually living in a higher realm, not subject to the natural realm when you live by faith.)
Natural limitations. (Faith is supernatural ability and there are no limitations with faith. If there were limitations then we could say God is limited, but that will never be.)
A person’s intelligence or lack of it. (Actually intelligence can get in the way of faith by trying to figure out how it is going to happen. Faith is working when your heart and not your head is fixed, established, trusting in the Lord.)
Your ability in any matter. (Faith is God’s ability working on your behalf.)
What is faith? Faith is substance of things hoped for needed and desired, evidence of what cannot be seen by your physical eyes, your assurance, your confirmation, your title deed of things, proof of things not seen, conviction of their reality, perception as real fact what is not revealed to senses, leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom and goodness.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. KJV
Hebrews 11:1 NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. AMP
Hebrews 6:12 In order that you may not grow disinterested and become [spiritual] sluggards, but imitators, behaving as do those who through faith ( by their leaning of the entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) and by practice of patient endurance and waiting are [now] inheriting the promises. AMP
Faith is always now, present tense. You talk like it is done.
Faith is a law, spiritual law:
Romans 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. KJV
Faith and patience are power twins:
Hebrews 6:12 ….faith ( by their leaning of the entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) and by practice of patient endurance and waiting are [now] inheriting the promises. AMP
James 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. KJV
Acting in faith, you just believe and act accordingly; staying Holy Spirit connected and He will guide you through the whole process. How easy is that? We make spirit things complicated and really we are more spiritual then we are human or carnal since God lives in us and we are now born again of the Spirit and have the ability to operate out of our spirit rather than be limited and controlled any more by our intellect or what the five physical senses tell us.
How do we receive faith? We received the faith of God when we got born again. Faith is a gift from God. (Romans 12:3) We have the faith of Christ Jesus. (Galatians 2:20) Faith also comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17 So hear and hear again the Word concerning what you need; healing, prosperity, etc.) Building up your faith by praying in the Holy Ghost. (Jude 20)
To remain in faith or as the Word of God calls it, “established heart”, we have to guard the gates to our heart (our believing), which are our eyes gates and ear gates. Don’t keep looking at, paying attention to or listening to what is the opposite of what you want by faith.
Faith is not what we see or hear. Faith is not having faith in you and faith in your faith. Faith is having faith in God, His Word and the faith He has given to you which always does its work in any and every situation.
The Word of God is the written and spoken Word of God to us. The Word of God, itself, has enough power in it to bring things to pass; the Word just needs to be spoken out of your mouth for your situation. The Word needs you to be the receiver as well. So you are the spokesperson and the receiving person for faith. So don’t get so afraid you are going to fail in your faith for it is God’s faith He has given to you as a gift, just use it. And you are not the person to make it happen or you would be already doing it with your natural ability. You are just the believing person enough so that you speak it and act like it is done, finished. You receive it with speaking it is already reality. Speaking only the Word of God and speaking words that mean, “I received it.” Then acting like, “Okay, there it is. I’m glad that’s over with. It’s done, finished, over with.” When we speak in line with the Word of God we are not lying although in the natural we look like we are. Can we be lying when we speak what God has spoken about us. “We are healed by the stripes of Jesus.” No, that is not a lie, it is the truth about us. And we are not speaking it to make people believe we are healed. We speak it because we know it is the truth about us or our situation.
Abraham became fully persuaded in his faith to become a father when it was humanly impossible when He started speaking the name God gave to him, “Abraham”, which means “Father of nations”. When he spoke his name, “Abraham,” he was saying he was the father of nations. He never got fully persuaded in his faith he would become a father until God changed his name and he started speaking it and hearing it over and over by his family, servants, etc.
Stealers of Faith:
Being around natural, carnal thinking people and natural, carnal speaking people will steal your faith. They are always speaking what is, what they can see, hear, smell, taste or touch. So stay clear of them and seek to be around people who think in line with the Word of God, speak in line with the Word of God and act on their faith in the Word of God. (A good example of this is Abraham. When he was still named Abram, God told him to leave family and all that was familiar to him. If he had not done this, then he would not be known as our Father of faith, Abraham.)
Another stealer of faith is always looking, hearing, meditating, considering and speaking what is going on in the natural circumstances in your life. (If you want change, you have to change what you look at, listen to, meditate on, consider and speak. If you don’t, then you will only perpetuate the problem. What you focus on will expand.)
A good thing to remember in faith is to establish your heart in the Word of God about a particular thing you want to receive from God and then when the Word of God gets bigger on the inside of you through meditation then the problem or thing needing changed or brought to pass; that is the best time to speak it. That is when it is easy to speak the Word in spite of every thing and everyone that says, “That’s impossible.” Meditation plus speaking your faith brings possession. Faith’s actions can sometimes mean just speaking the Word of God or words of having received it or “It is done.” Then there are promptings of the Holy Spirit to do a certain thing. Acted upon will bring results no matter how ridiculous it may seem.
Some good examples of faith we can meditate to help establish our heart in faith are: Read about Abraham, the Father of our faith, Romans 4. The Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. And to see the New Testament Church with faith in action read the book of Acts.
To make faith simple: Faith is trust or confidence in Jesus and His finished work. How simple is that? Jesus has said, “It is finished.” Now He has seated Himself on the right hand of the Father not because He is tired from all His work. No, He is telling us He has done all that He needs to do for us to receive all that we need and all He has promised us. And we know Jesus would not lie to us. So we can say, “By the stripes of Jesus I am healed and made whole.” (1 Peter 2:24) “Jesus became so very poor in order that I could be enriched, abundantly supplied. I am rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9) “I have been made righteous by Jesus.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Let’s make this confession of faith:
God has given me the gift of faith. I actually have the faith of Jesus. Faith is the substance of things I hope for, need and desire. It is the evidence of what I cannot see by my physical eyes. Faith is my assurance it is mine. Faith is the only confirmation I need to know that it is mine. Faith is the title deed to the possession of it. Faith is proof to me this is all done and taken care of. Faith is the conviction of the reality of this thing. With faith I perceive it is real fact in my life no matter what the senses tell me. With my faith I lean my entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in Father God, Daddy’s power, wisdom and His goodness to me. I live by faith and not by sight.
Having Faith—Risk vs. Reward
—Glinda Bridgforth
When it comes to finances—whether you have a little or a lot—you gotta have faith. It probably seems obvious that if you have little money to work with having faith is important to use it wisely, stretch it to cover bills, meet all your needs and hopefully some of your wants. You need a system and a plan. If you have a lot of money your needs and wants are met, but the discretionary funds which are used for investment, retirement planning and such is a totally different area. You gotta have faith to make wise choices to make your money grow.
Steppin' Out to Step Up
Fear, being the opposite of faith, is a dream-killer. My favorite personal faith story involves what many of us refer to as "a leap of faith." Over 30 years ago, I contemplated making a move from my hometown, Detroit, to California. When I asked my mother what she thought of the idea she said, "Yes, I think you'd like living there." By the way, being the wise and practical woman that she is she added, "But why don't you pay off your bills first." Needless to say I had plenty of bills and very little money in savings, so her comment made plenty of sense. But when discussing it with my dad he said, "Well, if it doesn't work out you can always move back home." To me, those were the magic words. I knew I had faith in the Lord, faith in myself, and faith in the process of searching for a job, but the fact that I could always come home was the statement that sealed the deal because I also had faith in my dad's opinion.
In 1976, at age 24, I moved to San Francisco and lived with my Aunt Shirley and her family while I went through the interviewing process and landed a job at a major California bank. And as they say, the rest is history. I took a familiar road in corporate America for many years until I found my purpose and current path as an entrepreneurial financial coach, author and speaker. Not that the journey has been smooth, easy and effortless, but my leap of faith has afforded me a comfortable lifestyle and the most rewarding work I could have ever imagined.
Always Ask For Favor
Now, the way I continue to nourish my faith is outlined in Chapter Nine, "Healing Rituals for the Spirit: Prayer, Affirmation, Meditation, and Visualization" of Girl, Get Your Credit Straight! And keep in mind it's not always big things we need to have faith about. It's the little things, too! A friend of mine recently described misplacing her work cell phone. After 24 hours she knew she would start missing some key telephone calls. She couldn't remember where she had put the phone, but she had faith she would find it. When she finally slowed down, put herself in a quiet place and asked God to guide her to the phone, a little small voice inside of her said, "Go to your car and look in the side pocket on the door." She did and amazingly there was her cell phone! What was so ironic is that she never puts anything in that pocket!
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Create Your Own Rituals
Here are some steps you can take to help increase your faith:
- Pray: Ask God for what you want and for direction in all areas of your life.
- Meditate: Get quiet and listen to the guidance God provides. Remember, it may come in the form of your intuition, an inner-voice, or a message from some other person who doesn't even realize they are being used as a channel from God.
- Affirm: Find two or three statements or mantras that address issues you commonly deal with or need support around. For example: I approach credit with ease and confidence. Or I use my time just as wisely as I use my credit. Repeat these affirmations in the morning when you awake and at night before you fall asleep.
- Visualize: Create a mental image of what you want your life to look like. Then envision taking a shower—not a regular shower, but imagine being drenched in blessings of everything you desire for yourself and your family.
Faith provides a sense of peace, confidence and the comfort that helps us get grounded and centered over and over again. Focus on increasing your faith so it can help you overcome any challenge—financial or otherwise.
God's Free Market Economy
By Pastor Brian Zahnd
Matthew, please, chapter 13, verse 10, "And the disciples came and said to Him, 'Why do You speak to them in parables?' He answered and said to them, 'Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.'" Jesus was teaching by the Sea of Galilee in the town of Capernaum, which is one of my favorite places in all of the earth; is the town of Capernaum. We're going to be over there in November. If you want to go with us, you better hurry up and do something about it. And Jesus had just given the parable of the sower. He had not explained it, He had just given the parable. He said, you know, "There's a man went out to sow seed and it fell on different kinds of soil - on hard ground, stony ground, thorny ground, good ground. Hard ground - birds ate it up; stony ground - had no roots, sun burned it out; thorny ground - thorns choked it out; good ground - produced a harvest; some thirty, some sixty, some hundred fold." Jesus didn't explain the parable, He just gave the parable. Then His disciples in private said, "Why do You teach the people in parables?" There's a common misunderstanding that Jesus used parables only to explain truth - that's not true. Jesus used parables both to conceal truth and to reveal truth.How many of you understand that the Kingdom of God is a mystery? The Bible talks about it being a mystery and it's full of mysteries, and the apostle Paul wrote much on the mysteries of the Kingdom. It's a parallel universe - it's another kingdom with different laws that are mysterious to those that have only known this world, and the parables were meant to conceal truth from those that would not make a personal commitment of their life to Jesus Christ. But to those that would make such a commitment and then become citizens of the Kingdom, the parables would be further amplified that more truth might be revealed unto them. Jesus taught not to cast pearls before swine. People that really have no interest in the truth and won't make a commitment to Jesus Christ to find the truth, they get everything in parables that they may just continue in darkness. But for those that recognize there is some pearl of great price in the truth of Jesus Christ, they pursue further and then the Lord Himself, in private, begins to reveal to them the secret meaning of these things. Does that make sense to anybody?
Then Jesus added this comment and I want you to see it very clearly. I want you to look at it in your Bible. Pay attention to it. Verse 12, "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have?" What? Abundance. How many of you want to have abundance? When it comes to the things of God and what Jesus has appointed for your life, do you want a little or a lot? One scoop or three? Somebody said, "Four." "For whoever has, to him will more be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."
Alright, turn please to Matthew, chapter 25. I'm going to take some time and lay a foundation here. Matthew 25, verse 29. Matthew 25, verse 29. "For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away." Well, now Jesus is in Jerusalem, sitting on the Mount of Olives, teaching His disciples, and He gives them the Parable of the Talents. And He talks about a man that's going on a journey, and he gathers his servants and he distributes talents. A talent is a monetary measure. A talent of silver was about a year's income, so they are substantial amounts of money. To one man he gives five talents - that is five years of wages. To another, two; to another one. The Bible says, "According each to his own ability." And he goes on his journey. He returns. He calls for his servants to see how they did in trading - in business - with these talents. And the man that had five produced five more; the man with two produced two more; and the one that had one did nothing with it - buried it in the ground. And the master was angry with him. Look again. Matthew 25, back up to verse 28 this time. Look at verse 28, "Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to the one that has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him that does not have, even what he has will be taken away." That has just happened in that parable.
Now turn to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 4, please. The Gospel of Mark, chapter 4. Let's begin reading in verse 23. Mark 4, verse 23, "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. Then He said to them, 'Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.'" Alright, this is now the third time that we've heard Jesus say something very similar along the lines of, "Whoever has, more will be given, he'll have abundance; whoever does not, even what he has will be taken away."
Turn now to Luke, chapter 19, and we'll stay there for a little bit. Turn to Luke, chapter 19. Luke, chapter 19. In Luke 19, Jesus is in Jericho. Specifically, He's in the house of Zacchaeus, who has just been converted. And He's teaching on the Parable of the Minas, which is similar in some aspects to the Parable of the Talents, but it's a different parable. We'll talk about that more in a moment. And look at verse 26, "For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." Now, this is now the fourth time that we've seen Jesus, from the Gospels, uttering the phrase something like, "To everyone who has, more will be given, and he'll have?" What? But if you don't have, what's going to happen? It's going to be taken away and you're going to end up with nothing. In other words, this is obviously a recurring theme in the preaching ministry of Jesus.
If you listen to certain preachers a lot, you'll notice that every preacher has certain themes that they come back to again, and again, and again. They just keep hitting this same theme. They may even have a phrase they use over and over again. Well, this was very true with Jesus. And one of the recurring themes in Jesus' ministry was, "To him who has, more will be given, and he'll have an abundance; but to him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away." And from this recurring theme in the ministry of Jesus, I want to preach the message, "God's Free Market Economy." Without apology, I'm going to require you to think a little bit today. But the Bible says we should, "Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength." Word of Life people have a good mind - they're smart, so I know you can handle this.
Let's back up. Well, let me begin to set the scene of the Parable of the Minas for you, because there are certain aspects of it I don't want to spend time developing. But He gave this parable sitting in the house of Zacchaeus, there in Jericho. And He talked about a certain nobleman that was going to go to a far country to receive a kingdom. He then called ten of his servants and to each of them he gave the same amount of money. He gave to each a mina. Everybody say, "A mina." (Audience: "A mina.") A mina is roughly equivalent to three months wages, so take your annual income, divide it by four, and that gives you an idea of what a mina would be - at least in your own perspective. And to each one of these ten servants, he gives a mina. Then he goes on his journey. He finally returns. He's received a kingdom, he comes back, and he begins to find out how they did. Let's pick it up in verse 16. Luke, chapter 19, verse 16, "Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.'" Alright, what was the total original investment of this nobleman, in minas, to his servants? Ten minas. Alright, with the first guy he's already got back his original investment, so that's fabulous, he's already back to even with just one guy. Verse 17, "And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in very little, have authority over ten cities.'" Remember, this guy has just received a kingdom, so he's going to have to have somebody help him to govern it, and he said, "This guy here, man, he turned one mina into ten minas. That guy, he's a mover and a shaker. He can get things done. I'll put you over ten cities."
Verse 18, "And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.' Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'" Verse 20, "Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.'" How about that? He kept it in a handkerchief so it wouldn't get dirty, I guess. I don't know. Verse 21, '"For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, you reap what you did not sow.' And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?' And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him and give it to him that has ten minas.'" Look at this, verse 25, "But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.'"
And now we step out of the parable and Jesus adds His concluding remark. The application of the parable is this, verse 26, "For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."
This idea for this message came to me while I was in Russia. You need to understand that my Russian friends are among the most educated people that I know personally. We have, sitting on the front row - or on the second row, I guess it is - Sergei Akhmedzianov. He was a History teacher before - teaching atheism actually - until the Lord got a hold of him and saved him and said, "I'm here," and Sergei was born again and is a pastor of a church. And like so many of my Russian friends, he's an intelligent man. I don't know if all Russians are smart, but all the ones I know are. The ones I hang out with seem to be very educated, very intelligent people. And we were having a discussion - this is when I was in Perm a few weeks ago - on economics. And out of that discussion, this revelation came to me, and I think it is very profound and going to help you an enormous amount if you'll allow it to help you. But in preparing you for this, I need to give you a brief summary of three economic systems: Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism. I know this might sound, at first, like Economics 101, but there really is a spiritual point to all that we're doing.
Capitalism I will briefly summarize as an economic system characterized by private ownership, and the accumulation of wealth through personal industry and investment. Did you get that? It's what is sometimes is simply called the "free market economy" or "free enterprise." It's the idea, it's a certain economic system that says, "You know what? We're just going to let people kind of like, just privately own stuff. They'll own the majority of the land and the property. And we'll try to keep taxes low, and not teach the people to look to the government for everything. But instead, we'll expect the private sector to produce and to generate a healthy, strong, vigorous economy of prosperity, and things like that." Okay, that's the capitalistic system.
There is Socialism, which is an economic system characterized by intrusive, or you might say, extensive - when I say intrusive, you can catch my bias in that, so if I'm trying to not let you see my bias maybe I'll say extensive - an economic system characterized by extensive governmental control of wealth and poverty. In a socialistic system you have very high taxes, because the idea is that the government is going to control a lot of things. They're going to control a lot of the wealth and a lot of the property, because they're going to have a lot of programs. And the government is going to take care of everybody. And so the government controls much of it and you don't have a lot of emphasis on private enterprises and free market economy. Okay, the third - and Socialism, the idea is that it is achieved democratically. The people begin to vote in this kind of system. It's arrived at democratically.
And then there is Communism, which is radical socialism - total state ownership of everything. Radical socialism achieved through revolution and totalitarian means. The Communist, he's not going to wait for there to be a democratic process to install this program of socialism. They're going to have a revolution, they're going to overthrow things, and then they're going to install a totalitarian government to make sure everybody participates. Now, the United States won the Cold War with the Soviet Union because the Cold War became an economic war. Thank God it never became a real war, but it became an economic war. And basically, you had two nations that said, "We're going to have a spending contest and we're going to see who can spend the most in building weapons." One country had an economic system of Communism, the other country had an economic system of Capitalism. Here's the thing though. Capitalism is a system that tends to produce prosperity; whereas Communism is a system that tends to produce poverty. And eventually the whole thing of Communism collapsed because it could not economically sustain what it was trying to do.
Alright, now let's get back to the Bible. I've given you these three systems for a purpose. From what Jesus teaches, generally throughout the Bible and very specifically what He teaches in the parable of the minas, I want you to understand that Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God operates according to a free market economy. In the Parable of the Minas, the Socialist would have done things differently. The Socialist would have taxed 'ten mina' man. See, he had a guy that produced ten minas, and he would have said, "Okay, we're going to tax you. We're going to take at least half of them, maybe six or seven of them. We'll leave you with two or three minas, but we're going to take six or seven minas and spread them out more evenly, because we have one fellow here who only has one mina. Poor guy's only got one mina. And so, we're going to tax you very heavily and we're going to redistribute it." That's the way the Socialist would have done it. The Communist, he wouldn't have gone to that. He'd just killed 'ten mina' man, taken all the minas, and called it a "worker's paradise." But in the parable that Jesus gives us of the ten minas, the nobleman instead says, "You know what? I like you 'ten mina' man. You're resourceful, you know how to get something done. I'm going to put you over ten cities. 'Five mina' man, you get five cities. 'One mina' man, hiding in your handker - hiding your mina. Give me that mina back, you crazy loser," and gives it to 'ten mina' man so now he's got eleven. Socialist wouldn't have done that. But that's what the nobleman did. So, I'm saying that as far as the Kingdom of God - I'm not talking financially right now, I'm talking about the way things are in the Kingdom of God - because that's the purpose of this parable. Jesus is saying, "Now look, this is what the Kingdom of God is like." The Kingdom of God operates according to a free market economy, free enterprise, a capitalistic model is how the Kingdom of God operates. Not something else.
Now there is, very often, a criticism level at Capitalism, which may be very legitimate. I'm not really trying to comment on the systems. I'm using that as a way to teach you the Bible. But the common criticism of Capitalism, and you've heard it is: the rich get richer and what? The poor get poorer. That's the criticism of the Capitalistic system. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Now listen, in the Kingdom of God, that's exactly right! Because I have just shown you four times where Jesus said, "To him who has?" What does he get? High taxes? No, he gets more. "To him that has," is more taken from him? No, he gets more. And to him who doesn't have much, what happens to him? He, he los - poor guy loses what little he had. Four times I showed you Jesus saying, "To him who has, more shall be given and he'll have abundance," he'll be rich. "To him that does not have, even what he has, he's going to lose that," and come to nothing.
What I'm saying - what I'm trying to teach you - somebody's thinking, "Please tell me, what are you trying to teach me?" When it comes to the Kingdom of God, you better get rid of your social welfare mentality. You think, "Well, I'm just going to sit around. God's just kind of like - you know, He'll take care of me like, He'll just bless me and somehow it'll be alright. I won't do anything, but it'll be okay." No it won't. No, it won't. No, it won't! Those that are using some kind of effort and industry, some kind of investment to gain more blessing, more revelation, more faith, more truth, more breakthrough - they're going to get more, and more, and more, until they live the abundant life. But to those that sit around and say, "Well, you know, I don't know, I just kind of go to church, maybe twice a month and just sit around. And somehow I think it'll get on me because I go to Word of Life Church, you know. And it'll just fall out of heaven and hit me in the head like Chicken Little." It's not going to happen. To him that has - you've got some revelation, you've got some truth, you've got some insight, you've got some anointing, you've got some faith, you've got the ball rolling, you're going to get more. And you, my friend, are on your way to living the abundant life that Jesus talked about. But to those of you, who through laziness and inactivity, have not lifted the littlest of your finger to do something to grow in God, what little blessing you got, you're just about to lose. "Whew! He's preaching today!" The kingdom of God is such.
You know, I have been criticized in the past. You may find this shocking, but I have been. I have been subject to various criticisms over the course of my ministry. Quit laughing so much, Joe Turner. And one of the things that I get, people say about it is, "He's an extremist." Well, that's not a criticism, that's accurate. That's true. I'm like that austere man in the parable there. Yeah, I kind of am. I'm an extremist. But let me say something. The Kingdom of God tends to push people to the extremes. See, people say, "I just want all things in moderation." That isn't the way the Kingdom of God is designed. It tends to, "those that have get more until they got?" (Audience: "Abundance.") Which is a word for extreme. Huh? Abundance is not, "Everybody's equal and everybody's got it in moderation, you know." People use that word "moderation" like it's something out of the Bible. Like the angels gather around the throne of God, "Moderation, moderation, moderation." God is not moderate! Those that have, they will get more until they have abundance. They are pushed in that direction. Those that don't have, even what little they have, they are in danger of losing so they get pushed in to the other extreme. So what you need to do is make sure you're heading in the right direction, because ultimately, the Kingdom of God is such that it tendeth toward the extremes. You just want to be on the right end of the extreme.
Now, here comes a little balance because somebody says, "We need some balance here." Here's a little balance. Everybody can live the abundant life. And it is God's will that everybody live the abundant life. Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy," and if he has his way in your life, you'll have nothing. But Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life?" In moderation? (Audience: "No.") "That you might have life and have it?" What? "More abundantly." It's the will of God in Christ Jesus for you, that you have the abundant life. But you must learn to operate according to God's free market economy. Because - and this is going to shock you and I mean to shock you, I mean to shock you - the spiritual laws of the Kingdom are not designed to produce equality. We have a fascination with moderation. We have a fascination with equality. I'll say it again, "The spiritual laws of the Kingdom," you study them out of the Bible, "The spiritual laws of the Kingdom are not designed to produce equality." Does that surprise you? I mean, did you think that God was an egalitarian? He is not. The laws of the Kingdom are not designed to produce equality; they are designed to produce abundance.
Now, everybody has the possibility of arriving into the realm of abundance - everybody, everybody, everybody, every body. But some will and some won't. And for those that won't, God does not have a social welfare system in the Kingdom of God to say, "You haven't done anything to have the anointing and this guy over here, he's been fasting, and praying, and seeking God, but I'll tell you what - I'm going to take some of the anointing off of him." He takes it away, he taxes it of him and comes over here to poor little guy that never did anything. Never seeks God, comes to church once in a while - this is the Good Friday and Easter Sunday Christian - and put some on him. That's the Socialist's way, but it's not the way of the Kingdom of God. God says, "This guy's got like three ounces of anointing, but it's not doing him any good. I'll take it away from him, give it to this guy over here. He's healing the sick and raising the dead. We'll put some more on him." It tendeth to the extremes. Just make sure that you're on the right side, going in the right direction, because the laws of the Kingdom are not designed to produce equality but abundance. That's good stuff. God wants you to live the abundant life - abundant joy, abundant victory, abundant anointing, abundant revelation, everything; but you cannot sit around, do nothing, and expect to enjoy the abundant life.
In the Parable of the Minas - and this is how it differs from the Parable of the Talents - some people get them mixed up, like they're the same parable. They're not. They were given at a different time, different place, and there are different details. In the Parable of the Minas, the nobleman gave each of his ten servants the same amount. He gave each one a mina and what they did with the mina determined what they had. And in the end, the king did not redistribute the wealth so that there would be equality. He didn't do that, did he? They started off equal. See? You see the equality in the beginning - one for you, one for you, one for you, one for you, up to ten of them. But then some of them were industrious and some of them worked. Some of them had creative ideas, some of them did stuff. And then there began to be an inequality, so one guy ends up with ten, and one guy's got five, and one guy did nothing but hide his mina in a handkerchief. And the king comes and sees - so many people have a perverted concept of justice. They think God's going to show up on the scene and then make everything all out equal again, and he doesn't do it. He doesn't do it. And in fact, He says, "You're not doing much with that one money," and He gives it to - so 'ten mina' man becomes 'eleven mina' man over ten cities, and the other guy is just out in the cold. So, the equality of God is seen in this, in that God has given to everybody the same spiritual capital. See, we're going to talk about God's free market economy. We need to understand that - how do I put this? The abundant life is the result of the wise and industrious use of spiritual capital. And we've all been given the same spiritual capital. But what you do with it, hmm? Well, that determines everything.
Now, that brings us up to the point of the BIG question of the day, because everything has been preparatory for this moment. "What is the spiritual capital of the Kingdom of God?" (Audience: "Faith.") That's what they all said in the first service. And they were wrong in the first service and you're wrong in the second service. People say it's faith. No, it's not. Because faith existed in various - you're responsible for developing your own faith. That's why Jesus criticized. He says, "Well, you've got no faith. What's wrong with you? Where is your faith?" And then He finds this one, and says, "Wow, great faith! I've never seen such great faith, not even in all of Israel," and He made distinction among people based on their faith. Your faith is what you produce. No, the equality and the mina that God has given to every man, which is the spiritual capital of the kingdom is? (Audience: "The Word.") There you go, there you go. It's this right here. This is it. How many of you have one of these? You all, you all own one of these? If you don't have one, we'll give you one. Not only will we give you one, but you come here and we're open for business every Sunday morning, 9:00 and 11:00, Friday nights at 7:30, and we got all kinds of other stuff out all during the week, and in every thing we do. You know what we do? We teach you this Book. Not only do we teach you what's in it, we teach you how to use it. We teach you how to use it in your life to produce abundance. Abundant joy, abundant victory, abundant anointing, abundant breakthrough, abundant grace. We teach you how to get all of that. That's what we do around here.
Turn to Luke, chapter 8. Luke, chapter 8, verse 18: "Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him." Alright, here is the fifth time in the Gospels that Jesus says, "Whoever has, he's going to get more. Whoever doesn't have, he's going to lose what he's got." Jesus says in this context, He begins it by saying, "Take heed how you hear." Be careful what you allow in to your heart and how you listen to the Word. Why is it important that you not listen to the Word of God with a careless attitude? Because when I said, "What is the spiritual capital of the Kingdom," a lot of people said, "Faith," because they think that is the answer to every question at Word of Life Church and they're right 9 out of 10 times. The reason that it's important how you listen to the Word is because, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word." And everything in the Kingdom of God happens by faith. See, they've heard me say that. That's one of my recurring phrases, "Everything in the Kingdom of God happens by faith." Ever heard me say that? I say it all the time. That's why you answered that question, "Faith." But God doesn't give you faith, He gives you the Word. And then the Word creates faith, if you properly use the Word. If you get the Word working in your life, it'll generate faith that will change your world, and change your life, and bring abundance in all that it will do. But He gives you the mina of His Word, and then it's up to you to do whatever you're going to do with it.
Let's, well, you'll find this very interesting. This will be fascinating to you, I hope. Luke 8, verse 18, "Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him." Verse 19, "Then His mother and brothers came to Him..." How many of you know that Jesus had a mother? What was her name? Mary. He had brothers. Did you know He had brothers? Do you know their names? James, you know that one. Joses, and Judas, and Simon. Those are His brothers. He had some sisters, too. "Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd." Well, you know they're thinking, "We're His mom, we're His brothers, we can get VIP seats." Verse 20, "And it was told Him by some, who said, 'Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.'" Now, what everybody expects to have happen - Mary expects it, James, Joses, Judas, Simon, they all expect it, the people standing by, everybody. "My mom? Are you kidding Me? My brothers? Drag them in here. Here, here, get off the front row. I've got My mom and My brothers coming. VIP seats for them right up here." But Jesus is always full of surprises, isn't He? Verse 21, "But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."
The equality of God is found in the fact that the Word of God will work for everybody. I'll say that one more time. The equality of God is found in the fact that the Word of God will work for everybody. But God's economy of His Kingdom is a free market economy, and you'll have what you produce from the Word. Nothing more, nothing less. And the mother of Jesus has no more advantage than anyone else. See, it's not based on some sort of personal favoritism. See, that's where a lot of people miss it. They think, "Well you know, I'll just sit around and do nothing, and Jesus will bless me because He loves me." He loves everybody. He loves everybody. But His abundance that He said He came to bring, will not work in your life just because He likes you. I mean, His mom tried to pull that one. And He said, "Look, My mother and My brothers are those that hear the word of God and do it." The things that Jesus talks about, the abundant life that He promises, will work in the life of every person who hears the word and does it, who hears the word and acts on it, who hears the word and lives by it. And those that don't do that, it doesn't matter who they are. They can be Jesus' mom and it's not going to make any difference.
Now, there's whole segments of people that won't like what I just said, that even Jesus' mom can't get some sort of special favoritism break. But it's true. It's true. See, I guess, I guess, maybe I can illustrate it like this. Here's your mina, given to you by the Lord. I've got my handkerchief up here. Here's what a lot of people do, you know. The Lord gives them the Word. (Folds the Bible up in the handkerchief) There it sits, and then the Lord shows up, and they say, "Oh, Jesus, here's Your book back. I kept it real clean. I didn't, I wrapped it up in this handkerchief so it wouldn't get dirty, you know. And ah, I didn't, I didn't ever mark in it, or write in it, or anything like that. In fact, I didn't even open it. And here You go, here's Your Bible back." And see, you got people that basically live their Christian life like that, and wonder how come it's not working, and then want to blame God, and say, "Well, God's not fair, man. I mean look at those people over there. Look there. They've got abundance and all that, and God's not fair." You got a Bible? How many of you've got a Bible? Alright, God's fair. You got a Bible? God's fair. You have a Bible? The promises are for you, they will work for you like they'll work for anybody, but pal, you're going to have to go to work. You're going to have to get it out of the handkerchief. Get the thing open, spend some time in it, find out what it means. Come to church, sit under the anointed preaching. Start doing this stuff.
A.W. Toser, he just puts it this way. He didn't go all around through economics, like I did. He just said, "Every man is as spiritual as he really wants to be." A lot of people wish, hope, dream, desire that they would be more spiritual; but the fact of the matter is, you really are as spiritual as you really want to be. I mean, I say, I say, watch this. How many of you, Jesus says, "The thief comes to kill, steal, destroy," you don't want that? Jesus said, "I've come that you might have life and have it more abundantly." How many of you say, "Oh, I want the abundant life!" How many here? "I want?" They're afraid of me, Peri. I've scared them. "How many of you want the abundant life?" Alright, I know you do. Now I'm going to say, "How bad do you want it?" Bad enough to get your Bible out of your handkerchief and start doing something with it? Spend some time in it, learning it, memorizing it, speaking it, using it, standing on it, confessing it, sowing and reaping it.
God's economy is a free market economy because you have a free will. Did you know that? I know they had years, and years, and years, and centuries of debates over it. That's nonsense. I mean it's as evident as, "I think, therefore I am." You know you've got a free will. I mean, you can sit around and have polar discussions about it, but when the day is done, you know you have a free will. You know you do. You're not a puppet on the string, and you can't blame your messed up life on God. You know that. You have a free will. It's part of being created in the image of God. He has endowed you with a measure of sovereignty. You make your decisions and your decisions make you. That's the way it is in life. And God's economy is a free market economy, because you have a free will. And He's given you His word, and it'll work for you. But you're going to have to use it.
But here's the good news. Once you get some equity - I mean, there's some things that you know - I mean there's some things you know about healing. There's some things you know about faith. There's some things you know about prosperity. There's some things you know about the devil being under your feet. There's some things you know about spiritual warfare, there's some things you know about binding and loosing. There's some things you know about the keys of the Kingdom. There's some things you know about how to cast out demons. There's some things you know about how to bring peace in to your home. There's some things you know about the fruit of the Spirit. There's some things you know about the gifts of the Spirit. There's some things you know, and that becomes spiritual equity, and creates a spiritual momentum. And the good news is, to those of you that have, you're about to get some more, and more, and more, and more, and you're on your way to abundance. And to those of you that don't have, I'm just trying to wake you up. But don't just sit there and think, "Surely God's got a safety net." No, He doesn't. "Yeah, but surely God's got a kingdom welfare program, you know, where I can just kind of get some anointing for free." No, He doesn't! No anointing stamps. No! You're going to have to go to work in the Word. But you can do it. Anointing stamps, I can't believe I said that. That's a new one.
Alright, I close with one more parable given by Solomon. Out of the book of Proverbs 24, he says, "I passed by the field of the lazy man?" Everybody say, "Lazy man." (Audience: "Lazy man.") The problem with lazy people is, they're lazy. But they don't think that's their problem. Because the Bible says, "A lazy man will not?" Yeah, it says, "He won't eat," but it also says, "He will not listen to seven wise men who can give an astute answer." You can have seven wise men come say, "You know, your problem is you're lazy." He goes, "No, it's not that. Something deeper." "I passed by the field of the lazy man and by the vinyard of the man devoid of understanding; and behold, it's surface was covered with nettles; it was overgrown with thorns; it's stone wall was broken down. I looked and considered well; a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest; and your poverty will come like a prowler and your want like an armed man."
See, what you need to do is go to work. Break up the fallow ground, break up the hard ground. Get out the stones, get out the thorns. Make sure your heart is good ground and sow the seed of the Word of God in there. Let it grow up like a mustard seed, become the most influential force in your life. Learn that faith comes, faith grows, faith speaks. Start speaking the Word that is generated and start releasing the faith that is generated in your heart by the Word you planted there, and then you're on your way to abundance. Then you have something. Then you have some faith, you have some revelation, you have some anointing, and to those of you that have, more will be given and you're going to have abundance. And I believe that Word of Life people are abundant life people. Because we're the kind of people that wear out Bibles and are serious about it, and we're digging, and we're growing, and believing. Amen?
Stand up on your feet. Economics class is just about dismissed. God's free market economy - you can have as much as you want to have. It's not based on how smart you are, it's not based on that. It's not based on who your mom and dad are, it's not based on that. You're not limited by your past, you're not limited by your family, your inheritance, by your - you're not limited by your intelligence. You're not limited by these things. Simply start taking this Book, finding the promises, believing them, and then you're on your way to abundance. If you believe that, give some praise to the Lord. Hallelujah!
Heavenly Father, I pray that these people would be the kind of people that put the mind of the Word in their life. They've sowed the Word, and they grow the Word, and they speak the Word. They reap the Word. The Word will be working in their life, and Lord, I say this of them, "They have and they shall have more, and they shall have abundance." I believe for it, in Jesus' name. Amen.
You've Got To Speak Faith Words
By Pastor Brian Zahnd
Hallelujah. Oh, I lift up holy hands without wrath, without doubting. Come on, lift up your hands with me. Oh Lord! Hallelujah. Lord, You, You spoke through Your prophet Moses, said unto that second generation that would possess the Promise Land, You said, "For you, it is not a futile thing, because it is your life, and by this word you will prolong your days in the Promise Land." Lord, I confess that we believe that, that for us it's not futile. Yes, this is our life, and we can make decisions, and we can move by faith, and by Your Word we can prolong and establish our life in the Promised Land that You have declared and decreed. Now Lord, help me to minister the Word. Help me, help me to minister the Word. Help me to minister the Word. Oh, and my Father, I ask in the name of Jesus, please give each and every one ears to hear today. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah.Now, this morning I want to minister a word that's entitled, "You've Got to Speak Faith Words." And in just a moment, we're going to go over to John, chapter 13, where we will call a verse there our text; but, we're going to look at something else first. But the Apostle Paul, when he was writing to the Thessalonians, he said, "Hey, you know I have longed to see your face, that I may perfect what is lacking in your faith." Now, I tell you this, I don't want to get all sentimental or anything like that, but, you know, I felt that way this week. I mean, we'd been gone for two weeks and we missed services - missed two Fridays and a Sunday - and I just thought, "Man, I couldn't wait to get back here to see your face, and to minister to you to build up your faith." Now, I was, I was praying on Tuesday real earnestly with the Lord. I said, "Now Lord I, I want to really help them. I want to give them something worth coming to church for. What do You want me to do Sunday morning? I'll do whatever You want. You tell me what to do. I'll do whatever You want." And the Lord impressed this on my heart, he said, "I want you to tell them what you told those pastors in India." And if you can receive it, the Lord impressed upon my heart, He said something I like. He said, He said, "I like what you told those pastors." Now, that'll do a heart - a pastor's heart - good to hear God say, "Well I liked the way you ministered to those pastors. I want, I want you to do the same thing." And so I want to move along some of the same lines of what I told them, and how I ministered to them, but I want to preface this by saying - and I say this as sincerely as I possibly can - other than my salvation, what I'm going to teach you today has changed my life more than anything else. Now, I mean that and that's a pretty strong statement. Other than my salvation - other than being born again - other than that, this thing that I'm going to minister on today out of the Word of God has changed my life more than anything else. So, what I'm saying is, this is not some little theory that I just came up with. This is not some new doctrine. This is not some teaching that I just found this week and thought I'd just try it out and see if anybody bites. No, this works. It works in my life. I know it like the sun rises in the east, I know that this works. And so let's look at a few verses, just real quick. We'll just probably not even say anything, just look at them.
Turn if you would first of all to Proverbs, chapter 18. Proverbs, the book of Proverbs is filled with wisdom. Proverbs, chapter 18, verse 21. You can't believe how much I want you to get this today. You understand, I'm not