August 19, 2012 – Pastor Tim – “Abundance” – Click to download
We can all have the abundance of God’s blessings and enjoy the fullness of life greater than what we have ever imagined. God wants us to experience life in abundance. It’s the very reason Jesus came to the earth.
In the Amplified Version of John 10:10 Jesus said, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” Unfortunately, too many of us are not enjoying the abundance that this verse talks about. But what many Christians don’t realize is that it is really up to us as to how much abundant blessing from God we enjoy.
Some Christians are enjoying God’s abundance, but they’re not experiencing the abundance that John 10:10 talks about. Others are at the bottom of the barrel, so to speak. They’re barely making ends meet. And some have come up a little from that point, but they’ve become satisfied with the status quo.
Although there is never a shortage of God’s resources, there is often a shortage of faith on our part in understanding His goodness. And to experience this goodness, we have to renew our minds and develop a mentality of abundance. Until we know it’s God’s will for us to live above life’s limits, we won’t. Here are a few scriptures that show us how God wants us to live.
Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Deuteronomy 8:18, And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
Proverbs 10:22, “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich,
And He adds no sorrow with it.”
Psalm 37:25, “I have been young, and now am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor His descendants begging bread.
The more we study His Word, the more we will know that God’s supply will never be exhausted. And the more our faith is built up in this area, the more we will start talking abundance.
Some people talk about only what they don’t have and what they can’t do. They talk about how little they have and how they’re always coming up short. In essence, they’ve become POW’s—prisoners of words. They are hung by their own tongues.
But if we’ll get our eyes off the limitations and onto the promises of God, we won’t be in bondage to lack anymore. We won’t be sick—we’ll walk in health. We won’t live in fear—we’ll enjoy peace that passes all understanding. We’ll experience the overflowing abundance that God wants all of His children to enjoy.
Here are some tips on understanding God’s prosperity plan.
1. Biblical Prosperity is more than money. 3 John 2 tells us “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” The mind is part of the soul. So this verse indicates that we must prosper in our minds to experience God’s blessings. And we prosper in our minds by renewing them with God’s Word. It is up to us to use our authority in Christ to combat lack and poverty.
2. Operating in God’s laws of sowing and reaping will open the doors of prosperity for us. Galatians 6:6-10, “Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” God will prosper us so we can bless others. If we give God what we have in our hands, He will give us what He has in His. And His hands have a lot more in them than what our hands can hold!
3. God’s prosperity often comes through our employment. Proverbs 14:23, “In all labor there is profit,
But idle chatter leads only to poverty.” God will bless whatever we put our hand to. But if we’re doing nothing, God has nothing to bless.
4. We can’t live in sin and expect to have prosperity. Proverbs 28:13, “He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. It is obvious that we can’t blatantly sin and expect to be blessed. 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” But it is also the “little foxes” that keep God’s abundance from flowing to us. Hebrews 12:1-2a, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”
5. Exercising faith in God’s Word will empower us to walking in prosperity. Joshua 1:8, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. We receive prosperity the same way we are born again—by faith.
What is the world God wants you and me to have? It is a world of faith and love that we create with our words. It is a world of peace and joy that we create with our mouth, from our soul, based on what the Word of God says. It is a world where we can take our thoughts captive. It is a world of abundance and prosperity, healing and health, and protection and safety, according to God’s Word. That’s what He has promised!
Scripture verses are quoted in New King James Version unless other wise noted