Can you imagine how Moses must have felt?

The first time he tried to help his people he ended up on the backside of the desert.

Talk about discouragement . . .Moses had every reason to be discouraged.

He was going to change the world! He was going to create a better environment for his people!  He was going to make a difference!  But instead he was rejected by his people. . .exiled from power and lost his position of prominence.

Life as Moses had known it . . .was over.

The first 40 years of his life, Moses had been somebody.

For the next forty years of his life, he was a nobody.

I have taught the story of Isaac sowing in the midst of an economic famine and reaping a hundredfold return many, many times to audiences around the world.

I’ve spoken, taught and preached how God told Isaac in Genesis 26:2 to “. . . Go not down into Egypt. . .” more times than I can remember.

However, not so long ago, I was listening to a sermon on the subject and it stirred in me.

I wrote down exactly what the Lord was giving me at that very moment, and it is the outline for this message. . . “Seven Reasons To Stay Out Of Egypt.”

At a time when everyone else was following the world system by heading to Egypt to escape the economic hard times . . . God told Isaac to stay. 

Unfortunately, way too many believers follow the “wisdom” of the world when it comes to their personal finances as opposed to following the instructions found in the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

You God is looking for spiritual entrepreneurs...are you the one He's been looking for?

According to dictionary.com “entrepreneur” is defined as:

“a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.”

Seven Success Habits Of A Spiritual Entrepreneur.

First, you must know the will of God for your life.

Have you ever heard someone referring to another person as someone with a strong will?  If so, that can be a spiritual problem.  We’re not put on this earth to fulfill our will or that of a domineering parent or a controlling spouse or anyone else. 

# 1    We’re on planet earth for one reason. . .and that’s to do the will of our Heavenly Father.

John 6:38 in the New Living Translation says:

“For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.”

# 2    Your personal growth. . .spiritually, emotionally and in every other area is fed by and gains strength from doing His will.

John 4:34 in the New Living Translation says:

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 of God.

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 than 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 show 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.”

Do you have “it”?  You should have…

Romans 12:8 in the New International Version says:

“If it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”

Everybody should have the gift of encouragement.

“Well, I’m not sure God wanted me to have that gift.”  Then it’s apparent that you’ve never read Hebrews 3:13 in the Amplified Bible:

“But instead warn (admonish, urge, and encourage) one another every day, as long as it is called Today, that none of you may be hardened [into settled rebellion] by the deceitfulness of sin [by the fraudulence, the stratagem, the trickery which the delusive glamor of his sin may play on him].”

We’re to encourage one another. . .HOW OFTEN?. . .EVERY DAY.

So let’s look at what encouragement means.

According to Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary the word encouragement is defined as:

“1. The act of encouraging; incitement to action or to practice; 2. That which serves to incite, support, promote, or advance, as favor, countenance, reward, etc.; incentive; increase of confidence.”

William Arthur Ward, noted for his inspiration maxims, said:

Have you ever been to a potluck dinner?

In North Carolina, where I was raised. . .potluck meals were often referred to as “Sunday dinner on the grounds” where everybody brought their favorite dish or dishes.  It was like a church-wide picnic.

The food was generally so good it would make your tongue slap your tonsils.  Please notice that I said generally. . .that was not always the case.

I can remember on numerous occasions where I sampled a particular dish and then prayed for the family that had to eat/endure that kind of cooking.

Bottom line. . .at potluck gatherings. . .you always dine on what others are serving. . .whether the food is nutritious, delicious or just plain awful. At least you get to choose.

Now, there’s a difference when you know the background of this dish.  It was great when you knew the cook fixed up one of the best dishes of chicken and dumplings in the entire county.  Then again, there were other dishes where you not only didn’t know who fixed it but it was a little questionable about what was in it.

Sadly, too many believers have a potluck mentality where they are willing to  feed on whatever thoughts others are serving to them.

In today’s economy, you’ve got the gloom and doomers.

These folks believe the world is going to hell in a hand basket and it’s God’s judgment upon this wicked nation and world.

By the way, if someone tells you the world is going to hell in a hand basket…tell them you’ve chosen not to go so they can go ahead and keep your ticket since they’re so excited about the journey.

This group includes:  the folks more concerned about going up in the rapture than growing up in Jesus.

10.  Never stereotype anyone based on their net worth or the lack thereof.

  9.  How a person responds to having money will reveal their true character…who they really are.  Money is just a reflection of us.

  8.  Your potential isn’t limited by your actions but rather your beliefs.  Mark 9:23.

  7.  You have something special to achieve in your life because God made sure you were born…you are not an accident.  Jeremiah 1:5

  6.  Never let what you can’t do…keep you from doing what you can do…today.

Here are the Top 5 Rich Thoughts Nuggets of the week.

  5.  Delay is a favorite deceptive and tactical weapon of the enemy.  It fuels the doubts he seeks to create.

  4. It’s the character of a person’s heart and not the balance in their checkbook or lack thereof that determines who they are.

  3.  Our destiny is determined by choice not by chance.

  2.  Never be moved by your circumstances or the opinions of others...base your decisions on the Word of God and nothing else.

And the # 1 Rich Thoughts Nugget you selected is:

1. The fastest way to get into financial trouble is to compare yourself to others and what they have or don’t have.

A couple of weeks ago, I felt impressed to write a teaching entitled “7 Ways to Meet A King Or Be One.”

God immediately gave me the seven ways. . .and I started writing this teaching but then I felt led to put it down.

Recently, I received a Facebook direct message from a lady that read:

“Can You PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Tell Me Where I Can Study "Wealth Management" (without charge).  Many Times Our Great MENTOR Has Referred To A GOD-WOMAN, A True Queen, A PROVERBS 31 WOMAN, Understanding WEALTH MANAGEMENT and since I Do NOT Really know What That Means, I TRULY DESIRE With ALL My Being To Acquire KNOWLEDGE Of That Which I Will NEED. Because One of These GLORIOUS DAYS My Heavenly Father Will Divinely SPIRIT-CONNECT Me To The GOD-MAN GOD, A True Proverbs 31 MAN, A True King, That In Eternity Past He Created Me For. I TRULY Need To Understand ALL That Is Embraced Within The Principals Of WEALTH MANGEMENT...”

As I read and re-read this message. . .I immediately realized three things.

One of my favorite Easter songs is “He’s Alive” by Ray Boltz. It’s a powerful narrative of the Resurrection and it always gives me glory bumps.

The chorus says:

He's alive, He's alive

He's alive and I'm forgiven

Heaven's gates are open wide

Can somebody say Hallelujah!!!

1 Corinthians 15:20-22 says:

Have you ever met someone who was educated beyond their intelligence?  People who think they know more than they do. . .or that they always have the right answers, no matter what.

I’ve met my share of Christians who feel they’re more spiritually mature. . .advanced beyond us ordinary Christians.  I suspect that somewhere in the Bible there is a verse or twoconcerning self-gratification or spiritual pride.

At one point I had a brief conversation with someone who said: “I heard you talking about focus but you need to know that word is not in the King James Bible.”

My first mental response was less than a spiritual one, but I fortunatelyregained my spiritual focus before saying that the word focus is in the Amplified Version (1);  God’s Word Translation (28); Message Bible (28) and the New Living Translation (4). 

He quickly said that may be true but it’s not in the King James Bible.