Possessing An Abundance Mentality

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“Brother Harold, there’s just no money available.  It seems if the windows of heaven have closed over us.”

You would be surprised and saddened by how many times I hear variations of that statement.

According to the FBI there is $1.4 trillion dollars in U.S. notes (paper money) in circulation.  If that cash were to be divided equally among the 322,762,018 people living in the United States each person would have an average of $4,337.56 in cash on hand (not counting what’s been stuffed in mattresses or other hiding places no one knows about.

The problem is not a shortage of money. . .we just need it to end up in the right hands.

Most Christians believe there is great insufficiency in the world …that they must live their lives in insufficiency.

Let me assure you God says, “There is more than enough.” In fact, He says, “The good life is your portion!”

Do you see how Satan is waging a battle in your mind, a battle of containment? It is hard for many to grasp just “having enough,” let alone seeing God wants you to have more than enough.

Remember, it is the world’s money managers that teach insufficiency, shortage, and want. They feel that’s the way to keep prices up, through contrived, manipulated shortage!

But we are not of this world, and our God and King declares that the basis of His Kingdom is abundance! John 10:10 in the King James Version plainly says:

“…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

The lifestyle God has chosen for us is His abundance.

Nothing can keep you from breaking through to an abundant lifestyle if you don’t let the devil distract you from knowing the truth of God’s Word like we are sharing with you right now.

Oh, Child of God, press on, and you will stomp on the devil. God says the devil is to be bruised under your feet:

Romans 16:20 in the King James Version says:

“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.”

What’s God financial will for you?

Ecclesiastes 5:19 in the Classic Amplified Bible says:

“Also, every man to whom God has given riches and possessions, He has also given the power and ability to enjoy them and to receive [this as] his [allotted] portion and to rejoice in his laborthis is the gift of God [to him].”

Notice the last portion of Ecclesiastes 5:19 says that the good life is your portion, it is “the gift of God,” and you have the power to eat your portion.

By the way, if you missed “7 Keys To The Good Life” our teaching on Sunday Nite Live last week. . .go the haroldherring.com and check it out.  It will reveal the fullness and richness of the kind of life. . .God wants you to live.

I can hear some Christians saying:

“Well, Brother Harold, if wealth and the good life are God’s gifts to me, then why don’t I have them?”

If you know anything about God, you know that God does not hand out all of His gifts on a silver platter.

A good illustration of God’s nature is seen when He “gave” the promised land to Israel. It was a gift, but they had to take dominion to receive it. There was not one square foot they didn’t have to walk out, yet Scripture clearly states it was God’s gift to them.

God has set aside a portion of the world’s wealth for you. It is yours for the taking. But taking control of that wealth involves your decision to violently take it out of the control of God’s enemies, just as Israel took the promised land from the enemies of God.

What the Israelites had to take with their real swords, we take by the “Sword of the Spirit (described in Ephesians 6:17) which is the Word of God!”

At the moment, you may feel powerless in the area of your finances. You may be the victim of your environment which taught you that “poverty is godly,” and which brought about a poverty mentality.

But if you are hearing this truth…it means God want to remove your false teaching and concepts about wealth and replace them with His Word.

Start with the rhema Word found in Deuteronomy 8:18 in the King James Bible which says:

“But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee [that means you] power to get wealth….”

It may go against everything you have been taught but there it is in your Bible.

Child of God, your breakthrough cannot come unless you cooperate by violently pressing against the restraints of Satan that make you question the validity of this Word from God. Read it again and again.

Personalize it.

“But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth <<Your Name>> the power to get wealth….”

Our Heavenly Father is a God of abundance and He wants His children walking in His good gifts.

Luke 11:13 in the Classic Amplified Bible says:

“If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts [gifts that are to their advantage] to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him!”

God never has nor will He ever ask His children to live in scarcity.

Scarceness is found one time in the King James Bible and it’s in Deuteronomy 8:9 which says:

“A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.”

 According to the Strong’s Concordance . . . the Hebrew word mickenuth (H4544) means:

“poverty, scarcity”

Even though scarceness is only found one time in the Bible, it’s important to note that it comes from the root Hebrew word micken (H4542) which means:

“poor, poor man”

Even though scarcity is not a word you often hear in our current vernacular . . . way too many of God’s children are living with a scarcity mentality.

Dictionary.com defines scarce as:

“insufficiency or shortness of supply; dearth; lack; want”

There is nothing in God’s Word which reveals His desire or plans for you to live in insufficiency.

On the contrary. . .God wants us living in total sufficiency.

2 Corinthians 9:9 in the Classic Amplified Bible says:

“And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].”

We’ve established God wants you living in sufficiency . . . as well as the reason why.

Too many believers live with a scarcity mentality.

They believe . . . they’re only entitled to have a small portion of income and happiness.  Not true, God wants you to have more than enough.

They believe . . . success comes at the expense of someone else.  Not true, if God didn’t want you to be successful . . . He wouldn’t have told you how to become successful in Joshua 1:8.

They believe . . . sharing recognition, credit, power and profit takes something from you.  Not true, sharing in the God’s Kingdom has a multiplying effect.

Proverbs 11:24 AMPC

“There is the one who [generously] scatters [abroad], and yet increases all the more; And there is the one who withholds what is justly due, but it results only in want and poverty.”

Here’s what you need to know. . .God will sustain you in every situation.

Genesis 45:11 in the Classic Amplified Bible says:

“And there I will sustain and provide for you, so that you and your household and all that are yours may not come to poverty and want, for there are yet five [more] years of [the scarcity, hunger, and starvation of ] famine.”

Now let’s look Proverbs 6:10-11 in the King James Version which says:

Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.”

The Hebrew word for want is the same word used in Proverbs 14:23 for poverty.

Proverbs 14:23 says:

“In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to poverty.”

According to Strong’s Concordance the Hebrew word for poverty is machcowr (H4270) and it means:

“need, poverty, thing needed”

A scarcity mentality will lead you into poverty, need and lack.

I did a Google search and found opposite-word.com which is a site for antonyms.  I found the antonyms for scarcity are:

“abundance, commonness, excess, surplus"

You can get rid of a scarcity mentality by applying the Word of God to develop an abundance mentality.

It’s important to understand that an Abundance Mentality will take you beyond having a positive attitude.

The positive attitude causes you to look at the bright side of every situation. 
The Abundance Mentality knows that based on faith in God & His Word there is always more than enough.

Here are seven keys to possessing an abundance mentality.

1.       We have unlimited opportunities for personal success.

Our Heavenly Father is a God of infinite possibilities. . .which means nothing is impossible to those who believe.

God removes all limitations on abundance from your life.

Matthew 19:26 says:

“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

Mark 9:23 in the God’s Word Translation:

“Jesus said to him, “As far as possibilities go, everything is possible for the person who believes.”

This scripture just ignites my faith and stirs by spirit to new levels of expectation.

“. . .everything is possible for the person [that’s me!; that’s you!] who believes.”

There is no limitation to our manifestation.  The Message Bible translation of Mark 9:23 says:

“Jesus said, "If? There are no 'ifs' among believers. Anything can happen."

All things are possible . . .anything . . . no matter how illogical to the natural mind . . . can happen in our lives. . .as we exercise our faith and believe on what God says in His Word.                         

The scripture also says there is nothing impossible to those who believe.

Luke 1:37 in the Classic Amplified Bible says:

“For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.”

A life lived with endless possibilities will produce abundance beyond our imagination.

2.       There is only one way to do things.

I enjoy hearing Frank Sinatra’s great voice singing “My Way” which is a classic. . .but it’s scripturally inaccurate.

The world tells you there are only two ways to do something. . .my way or your way.  However, neither of these two choices ever brings lasting change or results.

The greatest rewards in life don’t come from doing things my way or your way. . .but His way.

Doing things God’s way is so important that He tells us twice in scripture. . .to always do things His way.  You find the exact same wording in 2 Samuel 22:31 and Psalm 18:30, both in the Classic Amplified Bible.

“As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried. He is a Shield to all those who trust and take refuge in Him.”

If God tells us something twice in the exact same way. . .He wants us to get what He’s saying to us.

If you want God directing your path. . .then you must do things His way.

Psalm 37:23 in the Classic Amplified Bible says:

“The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step].”

Obedience to His instructions. . .doing things His way. . .will create an Abundance Mentality in you.

3.       If at first you don’t succeed. . .continue to press the Word.

An abundance mentality knows that a lack of success is not failure but rather an opportunity to improve on a previous effort.

The abundance mentality produces persistence in the face of incomplete success.

Someone once said:

“A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.”

Napoleon Hill said:

“The most interesting thing about a postage stamp is the persistence with which it sticks to its job.”

What does the Word of God say about persistence?

Revelation 2:2 in the Message Bible says:

"I see what you've done, your hard, hard work, your refusal to quit. I know you can't stomach evil, that you weed out apostolic pretenders. I know your persistence, your courage in my cause that you never wear out.”

Such a powerful verse.

Adlai E. Stevenson, a two-time nominee for President, said:

“On the plains of hesitation lie the blackened bones of countless millions who at the dawn of victory lay down to rest, and in resting, died.”

Persistence is one of the main keys to your success and the Abundance Mentality.

4.       An abundance mentality allows you to see beyond today.

Tomorrow is never totally unknown. . .but rather an opportunity awaiting manifestation.

Never worry about tomorrow. . .because you never have to face it alone.

Matthew 6:34 in the Message Bible says:

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”

In every challenge. . .every adversity. . every battle. . .the person with the Abundance Mentality knows they’re going to win.

2 Chronicles 20:17 which says:

“You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.' "

Not only will God help you defeat every enemy. . .He will remove them from your life.

Joshua 7:13 in the New Living Translation says:

“Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the Lord. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you.”

We should face the dawn of every new day knowing that God is going to do supernatural things through those who walk in an Abundance Mentality.

Joshua 3:5 should become our expectation for each new day.

“For tomorrow, Jehovah will do wonders among you.”

5.       An abundance mentality allows you to create and experience greater success in the marketplace.

A lack of job security often produces a counterproductive stress in the lives of employees.

This is especially true in today’s economy. . .when unemployment is way over the number being reported by the government and sadly, many people have even stopped looking for jobs.

There is also an unease. . .a fear. . .among many employees about their job.

An Abundance Mentality allows you to realize. . .there will always be a job for you. . . regardless of the economic climate. . .so you can rest in peace …His peace.

First, being successful in the marketplace is one of the reasons you’re on planet earth.

Ecclesiastes 3:22 in the New Living Translation says:

“So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is why we are here! No one will bring us back from death to enjoy life after we die.”

Second, the Word of God says that you should be happy in your work . . . it’s your portion.

Ecclesiastes 2:24 in the New Living Translation says:

“So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.”

Ecclesiastes 3:13 in the Contemporary English Version says:

“Because God's gift to us is the happiness we get from our food and drink and from the work we do.”

Third, those with an Abundance Mentality realize who they’re working for.

2 Timothy 2:15 in the New Living Translation says:

“Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.”

Colossians 3:23 in the Classic Amplified Bible says:

Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men,”

6.       Always look for opportunities to bless other people.

Thirty years ago, I traveled with a national civic organization and I was known among other things for reciting the following poem:

“There is a destiny among us that makes us brothers.

“None goes his way alone.

“All that you pass into the lives of others

“Will surely come back into your own.”

People with a Success and Abundance Mentality understand and practice one scripture perhaps more than any other.

Ephesians 6:8 says:

“Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.”

The Contemporary English Version of Ephesians 6:8 says:

“You know that you will be rewarded for any good things you do...”

When you realize that putting others before yourself. . .always brings great rewards, then you’re headed into abundance.

7.       You ain’t seen nothing yet.

When something wonderful happens my 88-year old mother is known for saying “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Once you understand, obey and practice the instructions in the Word. . .you will experience abundance beyond your wildest dreams.

Ephesians 3:20 in the Classic Amplified Bible says:

“Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams].”

I remember reading once a pretty good explanation of abundance. . .not sure who said it but there is real power in the words.

"The more I sell, the more there is to sell."

"The more I give, the more there is to give."

"The more I know, the more there is to know."

"People are great. They will help me reach my goals."

"If I need money, I'll find the money."

"If I need people, I'll find the people."

"If I need ideas, the ideas will come."

There is a momentum. . .a seed time and harvest effect of blessing flow that comes through obedience to His word. . . doing the things He directs you to do.

Abundance is created when you sow.  There are no limitations on the number of times and ways in which you sow.

Your giving can create multiple streams of income for you.

Galatians 6:7 in the Classic Amplified Bible says:

“Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap.”

I realize this is understatement. . .but it bears saying.

The Abundance Mentality begins in your mind. . .but so does the Scarceness Mentality so the choice is yours.  Which way are you thinking?

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