God has called us to be successful

 God has called us to be successful

Friday 30 June 2017

So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’  His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.

Matthew 25:20-21

In the parable of the talents we are reminded of many life lessons, such as the importance of work ethic to God. We are also reminded that we are all capable of achieving different levels of success before God, provided we put in the correct work ethic. In Matthew 25:14-30, in the parable of talents we are reminded that God is a God of multiplication who expects us to bear fruit and multiply.

1, God expects us to work hard and multiply

God rewards hard work. He expects us to work hard and prosper. In the parable in verse 25:24-28, the servant who was given just one talent and only returned one talent is severely punished for not earning more money on the talent he was given. The men who increased the amount of money they earned on top of the talent they were given, are rewarded with compliments.

 ‘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.  And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Matthew 25:29-30

Biblical success is working diligently in the here and now using all the talents God has given us to produce the return expected by the Master.

2, We work for the Master, not our own selfish purposes. 

The master gave the servants talents and expected the three servants to all multiply them. Their role was to act as stewards over the master’s money and all the money made on top was to be given back to the master. God has entrusted us with money, wisdom, skills and creativity to look after the resources He has blessed us with. We are free to enjoy them and use them to bless others and ourselves, however they essentially belong to God. We should feel satisfaction and joy from doing our best with what God has given us in the place where his providence puts us, seeking to succeed in order to honour him.

Summary

We are to honour God with the skills and resources He has blessed us with. We are accountable to God for the way we live our lives. We must be willing to be bold and take initiative where necessary. God has given us wisdom, knowledge and understanding to be successful, to prosper and to multiply.

For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding

Proverbs 2:6

 Join is at out up and coming events:

Christian Millionaire Book Club

Millionaire Tour to London

5K Fundraising Walk

 

God bless,

Annette Galloway

Financial Educator

How do you overcome small thinking?

All the kings on the west side of the Jordan heard about this, including those in the highlands, the lowlands, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea toward Lebanon. They were Hittites and Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They formed an alliance to fight Joshua and Israel.

Joshua 9:1-2 (CEB)

“Perizzite” means, “belonging to a village”. Villages have a connotation of “smallness”. People who grow up in villages are exposed to very limited opportunities for growth; educational, cultural, and entertainment opportunities are scarce. If not careful, people who grow up in villages can develop a very limited vision of life.

Since villages impart a sense of “smallness”, villagers tend to see themselves as small and insignificant people who are a small part of a small and insignificant community. People trapped by the Perizzite spirit, therefore, see themselves as people with little potential whose only task in life is to live a quiet biological existence and to stay out of the way of the people who are “really” important in this world. Perizzites not only believe in their own smallness, but also believe in the smallness of the “villagers” around them, including their children.

The Perizzite spirit, therefore, can lead to many generations of spiritual stagnation. Since stagnation always leads to poverty (in the material and in the spiritual realm), Perizzite spirits tend to produce many generations of spiritual (and even literal) poverty. The effect of Perizzite spirits in someone is limited vision, laziness, low self-esteem.

How do you overcome small thinking?

1. Recognise that we serve a big God who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think

Whatever dream God has placed in your heart He is more than able to fulfil it even beyond your wildest imagination. You see we serve a God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20);

2. Surrender your life to Jesus and seek His vision for your life

When you surrender your life to Jesus, it means you are no longer your own. Ask Jesus to come into your heart and be Lord and Master of your life. Once you surrender your life to Jesus you can then ask Him to show you His vision for your life. His vision for you will always be much bigger and better than you thought;

3. Recognise that you can do all things through Christ which strengthens you

Most dreams that God gives you to accomplish may seem impossible to you. And in the natural it may well be, however please remember that you will not have to accomplish them on your own. If you have made Jesus your Lord, then no matter how challenging the dream may be just remember that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13);

4. Think big

When God made man He blessed man and gave man a command to be fruitful and to multiply. To be fruitful and multiply means exactly what it says. If your current dream is to run a business that serves 100 customers per day, think big and ask The Lord to show you how you can serve 1,000 customers per day. If your dream is to buy food for one homeless person a day, ask God to give you the means to buy food for ten homeless people per day. However many people you serve, always think big and ask God to show you how you can serve more and more people.

5. Ask God to make you a blessing to the world

God told Abram to leave his country and his people and his father’s house and go to a land that He will show him. He said He will make him a great nation and He will bless him and make his name great, and he shall be a blessing (Genesis 12:1-2). Pray and ask God to show you how you can be a blessing to the world, and when you do, you will see how He will begin to drop ideas and visions of greatness into your heart, and as you follow the leading of His Holy Spirit, step-by-step, He will make you a blessing to everyone you meet.

6. Use your God-given talents

In the parable of the talents, the Lord rewarded the servant who was able to double his talents and He punished the one who simply buried his talent and did nothing with it. Ask God to help you identify your talents and then use them so that you can make it better and serve more people with it. For example, if your gift is teaching, ask the Holy Spirit to give you opportunities to teach, study and prepare messages and teach at every opportunity you get and always look for ways to serve more and more people with that talent.

7. Visualise the promises of God

It was God that took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” (Genesis 15:5). God wanted him to visualise His promises and likewise we too must visualise the promises that God has placed inside of us. You become what you think about therefore spend time on a consistent basis to visualise the promises that God has given to you because as a man thinks in his heart so is he (Proverbs 23:7).

Prayer

And may the Lord, the God of my ancestors, multiply me a thousand times more and bless me as He promised in Jesus name (Deuteronomy 1:11).

For more information about the Perizzite spirits and how to overcome them please visit here.

Listen to the Message

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How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

Do you know God’s purpose for your life? If not, please buy a copy of: How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams