I’ve been teaching people how to get out of debt for 30 years.  I was doing so before it was cool, fashionable or even profitable.

Over the years, I’ve resisted the temptation to align myself with financial planners, insurance agents, real estate brokers and others in the financial professions to make money off referrals from those who follow this ministry.  I have at times recommended them as good … but not for a profit.

The Bible is an instruction manual for success. . .revealing how to walk in God’s blessing flow and experience the good life He envisions for us.  It’s all in the Word.

God’s instructions are not situational. . .they don’t vary based on current economic conditions, which party is in power, your personal circumstances or  unrest anywhere in the world.  The principles in his Word are clear and absolute.  This is important to know … now more then ever.

If you want to experience God’s power. . .you must know His Word.

Matthew 22:29 is so powerful that I’m going to read it to you in four translations because if you get nothing else but this scripture then this teaching would have accomplished its purpose.

 

Matthew 22:29 in the King James Version says:

“Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.”

The New Living Translation of Matthew 22:29 says:

“Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.”

The Contemporary English Version of Matthew 22:29 says:

“Jesus answered:  You are completely wrong! You don't know what the Scriptures teach. And you don't know anything about the power of God.”

The Message Bible translation of Matthew 22:29 says:

“Jesus answered, "You're off base on two counts: You don't know your Bibles, and you don't know how God works.”

Sounding spiritual doesn’t make you spirit-led.  I have discovered that a little truth or a half-truth is a dangerous thing. . .and truthfully, it can be deceptive.

I get thousands of letters, emails and phone calls.  Sadly, there are a number of Christians. . .well-meaning heaven-bound believers. . .who just don’t understand prosperity, seedtime and harvest.

Sometimes I’m amazed and not in a good way. . .at the lack of knowledge about what the Word has to say. . .and what it doesn’t say.

Here are seven things faith and the Word bring success.

1.     If you don’t give now. . .the Bible says you never will.

I’ve heard people say they’ll begin to sow when they get a job.  No, they won’t.

I’ve heard people say they’ll give big when they get a bonus or a raise.  No, they won’t.

I’ve heard people say they’ll begin to sow when their ship comes in. . .no, they won’t.

I’ve got news for you. . .if you don’t send a ship out. . .. . .then your ship is never going to come in.

You’ll spend your life like Otis Redding “sitting on the dock of the bay, wasting time.”

You have to plant seed before you can ever expect to see a harvest of anything other than weeds.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 in the Amplified Bible says:

“He who observes the wind [and waits for all conditions to be favorable] will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.”

The Living Bible Translation of this verse says:

 “If you wait for perfect conditions, you’ll never get anything done.”

I’ve heard the comments. . .well meaning. . .good intentioned. . .words of those who say they’re going to do great things for the Kingdom of God when they receive their financial windfall.

It’s not going to happen.  How can I be so sure these good folks will never pay off the church mortgage or give a million dollars to their favorite ministry?

It’s simple. . .the Word of God.

 Luke 16:10 says:

“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”

The New Living Translation of Luke 16:10 says:

“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.”

If you don’t sow what you got right now. . .you will never sow later on.

2.     Things are never so tight that you can’t afford to give.

If the enemy can get you to believe you can’t afford to tithe or give offerings. . .he has the ability to take advantage of you.

Your words will empower or eliminate the enemy’s ability to wreak havoc in your financial life.

The enemy is powerless to impact your life. . .until you give him the power.  It’s done by how you communicate your current financial situation with the words you speak or the things you confirm in writing.

Make no mistake about it.  The enemy wants you living in fear over the appearance of lack in your financial situation.

If the enemy can transfer fear into your mind, he immediately has the ability to take advantage over you.

If the enemy can get you to believe you can’t afford to give. . .he has the ability to take advantage of you.

If the enemy can get you confessing lack in your life. . .he has the ability to take advantage of you.

If you sow words that indicate a lack of faith in God’s provision. . .or over his ability to move in your current situation. . .then you are going to live a life of financial shortage.  Life and death is in the power of our tongue (Proverbs 18:21).

If you say, “This is all I have” or “I can’t afford to give” then you are effectively negating the promises of God. . .you are consciously or unconsciously limiting the power of God to bring financial deliverance into your life. . .and giving up your right to the financial last will and testament of our Lord.

God wants you to get your eyes on Him and His ability to create supernatural manifestation in your life. . .it’s time for you to raise your level of expectation.

Nowhere in the scripture does God tell people not to give when things are bad.  To the contrary, He told Isaac to sow in famine and hard times. . .He told the widow woman to give her last meal to the prophet. . .

He says: Give and shall be given unto you”. . .He says that He will give bread (seed) to the sower. . .not to those who think or talk about sowing. . .but never do.

3.     Saying you have nothing to give means you aren’t applying the Word of God.

Even if you feel like you have nothing to give. . .don’t say it.

The words that you speak either empower or disable the blessings of God. 

Angels respond to His Word which is why you should be speaking words of faith over your finances regardless of your current situation (Psalm 103:20).

There have been times that I’ve been so broke I couldn’t pick up all the pieces but I never said that I don’t have anything to give. . .and no surprise, God made a way so that we always had something to give.

More than once Bev and I have lost our jobs and gone months with no job income but we made it.  When we sold the car we owned, we never thought twice about tithing off the proceeds. 

At other times, the Lord gave us ideas of how to earn income and we never missed a payment. 

Sadly, there is a shortage mentality where the immediate sub-conscious response is “I have nothing to give.”  That’s not true unless you believe and confess it so.

Second Corinthians 9:10 AMP says:

“And [God] Who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply your [resources for] sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness [[which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness, and charity].

The key phrase in this verse is that God will provide “. . .seed for the sower.”  If you’re not a sower, then it’s not likely He’s providing.

But if you sow. . .He will provide.

2 Corinthians 9:6 in the New Living Translation says:

“Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.”

The farmer will receive a harvest proportionate to the number of seeds that He has sown.  If you sow nothing. . .you’re going to reap nothing.

Galatians 6:7 in the 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.”

The Bible is clear. . .if you sow. . .you will reap. . .if you don’t. . .you won’t. And whatever you sow is what you will reap.  If you sow groceries, you’ll reap groceries. If you sow money then you’ll reap money.  It is not that hard to understand… you reap apples from apple seeds.

4.     Stay away from doubt. . .at any cost.

One of the enemy’s greatest weapons is to create doubt in our minds about the promises of God.

Doubting is not of God.

Mark 11:23 says:

“For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.”

Let’s look at the verse that I have underlined.  If you shall not doubt in your heart. . .you can have whatever you say.

However, if you have doubt in your heart. . .you will never possess what you say or do.

I’m going to recommend that you read the next three verses a minimum of seven times straight.

James 1:5-7 in the Amplified Bible says:

“If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.

“6 Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind.

“7 For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord.”

1.     If you need wisdom. . .ask Him He will give it to you.

2.     Ask in faith

3.     Don’t doubt

4.     Doubters are unstable

5.     Doubters will never receive anything from God.

James 1:7 in the New Living Translation says it this way.

“Such people [doubters] should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.”

F.F. Bosworth, the author of the classic book “Christ, The Healer” said that faith and doubt can never live in the same house.

5.     You’re blessed so you can bless others.

Don’t get me wrong. . .God wants you blessed.  However, the foundation of God’s covenant with you. . .is that you’re blessed so you can be a blessing.

So many Christians mistakenly think that God’s covenant with us is found in the first fourteen verses of Deuteronomy 28.  But that is not the covenant we have!

Deuteronomy 28:1-14 describes the blessings that keepers of the covenant will receive from God.

The actual covenant with us is first spoken to Abram in Genesis 12:1-3 which says:

“Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kingdom, and form thy father’s house, unto a land that I will bless thee, and make thy name great; AND THOU SHALT BE A BLESSING. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall ALL FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED.”

Child of God. . .get a hold of what I’m about to say.  You can’t bless anybody else if you’re living from paycheck to Prozac.

It’s also important to understand that you can’t bless anyone else unless you have first been blessed yourself.

James 2:15-16 says:

“If brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?”

God is calling you to go BEYOND YOUR OWN PERSONAL BLESSINGS, and BECOME A BLESSING!

I really want you to get ahold of this next statement…write it down…get it deep into your spirit.

God does not prosper you for the purpose of raising your standard of living.  He prospers you so that you can raise your standard of giving.

Genesis 12:2 says:

“And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.” 

Why does God desire to bless His people?   He wants us blessed so we can become a blessing to others.

2 Corinthians 9:8  in the 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].”                  

6.     God wants you to make a difference and you can.

Jesus understood the reason He was born.

John 18:37 in the Amplified Bible says:

“Pilate said to Him, Then You are a King? Jesus answered, You say it! [You speak correctly!] For I am a King. [Certainly I am a King!] This is why I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the Truth. Everyone who is of the Truth [who is a friend of the Truth, who belongs to the Truth] hears and listens to My voice.”

Do you know why you were born?

Jeremiah 1:5 says:

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

The word “before” is used twice in this verse and it clearly indicates that the child was known before conception into time past.

The word “I” is used four times which clearly indicates that God is the one doing the speaking and that He knew this child before he was ever created by a physical act of intimacy.

The words “thee” and “thou” are used five times in this verse and it indicates that a baby is more than a bunch of goo and a mass of cells without a purpose and life plan.

It’s clear. . .Jeremiah was known as a person before he was ever born . . . and so were you.

Would it surprise you to know that you were created to meet a need?

Hear me very clearly. . .there are four things I want you to get deep in your spirit.

First, it doesn’t matter if you don’t know what that need is yet.

Second, it doesn’t matter if you don’t feel qualified to meet anybody else’s need.

Third, it doesn’t matter if you wonder how you can help meet anybody else’s needs when you can’t even meet your own.

Fourth, it doesn’t matter if you can’t see your potential as a difference maker because God can. . .and He’s the only One that counts.

Galatians 1:15 in the Amplified Bible:

“But when He, Who had chosen and set me apart [even] before I was born and had called me by His grace (His undeserved favor and blessing), saw fit and was pleased.”

God was not only pleased with your birth but He has plans for you.

Jeremiah 29:11 in the New International Version says:

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 

God’s plans include you being productive. . .making a difference and meeting needs.

Titus 3:14 in the New Living Translation says:

“Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.”

No question. . .you were created to be a difference maker.

7.     Five scriptures you must know to fulfill God’s plans for your life.

Isaiah 43:1-2 in the Message Bible says:

“. . .Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you. I've called your name. You're mine.  When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you.  When you're in rough waters, you will not go down.  When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end—Because I am God, your personal God.”

Psalm 141:8-9 in the New International Version says:

“But my eyes are fixed on you, Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge—do not give me over to death. Keep me safe from the traps set by evildoers, from the snares they have laid for me.”

Ecclesiastes 2:26 in the Amplified Bible says:

“For to the person who pleases Him God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and heaping up, that he may give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after the wind and a feeding on it.”

Job 27:13, 16-17 in the New Living Translation says:

“This is what the wicked will receive from God; this is their inheritance from the Almighty.. . .Evil people may have piles of money and may store away mounds of clothing.  But the righteous will wear that clothing, and the innocent will divide that money.”

Psalm 37:7, 9 in the New Living Translation says:

“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.  Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. . . For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land.”

Are you ready to possess the land?  Meditate on the scriptures in this teaching so you will be ready to possess the land.

God wants you moving into a deeper level of revelation and understanding as you assume a position of leadership. . .one. . .designed to move you from where you are to where God wants you to be.

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