Ascending |
"...
I am come that they might have life,
and that they might have it more abundantly."
- John 10:10
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I will begin today by asking you to think of as many things as you can that exist in abundance on the earth. You will probably come up with things such as trees, grass, sand, water, flowers, insects, animals, birds, fish, people, etc. They all are very good examples. Now why do you think these things appear so abundantly on earth? I would venture to say that they exist in abundance because they give back to their creator in order to keep the work of Spirit perpetuating.
The Master Jesus proclaimed "...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." - John 10:10 He also taught a very important lesson that we can draw upon concerning this subject of abundance:
- "...out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." - Matthew 12: 34-37
What abounds in our heart will determine what we experience in life. What abounds in your heart? "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." - Proverbs 23:7
I believe this is because it is the thoughts that are dearer to your heart that you give the most energy and thus attract to your experience. We have heard it said that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This, believe it or not, is a Biblical principle:
- For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath. - Mark 4: 22 - 25
Why do you think the Master Jesus would teach such a principle? I think it is because he wants us to understand that our consciousness is vital to our experience. Consider the application of money by a rich person as opposed to a poor person. (Abundance applies to all areas of living, but I use money here to illustrate a point.) When a rich person receives a sum of money, what he will generally do is invest it so that it can grow. He puts it back into circulation with the assumption that it will bring in a return on his investment. In contrast when a poor person receives money he will generally spend it right away until it is almost gone and then worry about how to make the last bit s-t-r-e-t-c-h. because in his mind there is no more. It is really all a matter of the consciousness we bring to the equation. If we have a consciousness of abundance, we do not entertain thoughts of lack. The Master Jesus tells us *Don't worry - be happy!*
- " And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
- Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
- Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you,
- O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. " - Luke 12: 22-32
The Master Jesus is telling us that God knows in advance what we need, and all that we ever need is provided for us in the Kingdom of God. We simply must seek the totality of the Kingdom rather than little bits and pieces here and there. It is God's good pleasure to give us the kingdom.
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How then do we get to experience the abundance of God's Kingdom? Provided here are four applications of principle that may prove useful:
APPRECIATE - ASK - ACT - ACCEPT
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APPRECIATE
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The first principle is to appreciate what we have. That means to give thanks to God for all the little blessings in your life. Wake up in the morning and greet the day with love, giving thanks to God for a fresh opportunity. Look upon a loved one and thank God that you are able to see. Speak the words "I love you" and thank God that you are able to speak. Listen to your favorite music, the sound of the wind or children's laughter, and thank God that you are able to hear. Thank God that you are able to read this message today, that you have access to the planet's etheric web. Thank God that you are able to draw a breath, for as long as you are breathing there is always hope, no matter how dismal a situation may appear. Delight yourself in the beauties of nature, and give thanks. There are so many things for which we should be grateful, and once we start counting blessings, we never run out of them!
- Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
- Psalms 37: 4
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ASK
The next principle is to Ask. We have not because we ask not.
- Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: - - Matthew 7:7
Asking is an important step because when we ask we are recognizing the possibility of receiving. But we also have to remember how to ask.
- And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. - Matthew 21:22
If we don't have any faith in our request, or if we feel undeserving of it , it is not very likely that we will receive. We must ask believing that God is our provider. Ask believing that God wants us to have our good. Ask believing that It is the Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom.
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ACT
The third principle to apply is Action. Give and it shall be given unto you. There is a song we used to sing in church, "You can't beat God giving, no matter how hard you try." This is so very true. There is no way you can out-give God. Giving and receiving are one. Both the Old and New Testaments give instructions about not only our responsibility to give, but also how we are blessed by our giving.
- " Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything." - Genesis 14: 18-20
The practice of tithing dates way back to the time of Abraham (at least) Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek - King of Salem (peace) Priest of God Most High. But notice here that Abraham gave the tithe after receiving the blessing. He was acknowledging the gift - counting his blessings.
- " Then Jacob made a vow, saying, 'If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.' " - Genesis 28: 20-22
Here Jacob is making a covenant, a promise to give back a tenth (tithe) of all that he receives from God, knowing that the blessing comes first from God. What is the purpose of tithing anyway? Well, let us look at what it serves.
- It is a recognition of God as our Source of supply.
- It helps to perpetuate the Spiritual work (supports the church).
- It sustains the spiritual workers.
- It keeps us (the giver) intuned with the flow of abundance by circulating the blessings.
- "I give to the Levites [Priests] all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting. - Numbers 18: 21
- Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. - Galatians 6: 6
Metaphysically, the Levites are those appointed by God to be responsible for the tabernacle (the church in our case) and its operations. The Priests are the ministers who were entitled to receive the Lord's portion (the best and holiest ten percent of whatever is produced - the first fruits of your labor.) The Old Testament tells us that when the children of Israel finally made it to the Promised land, each tribe was apportioned an area of land for them to live on and cultivate in order to sustain themselves. The Levites were not given any land. They were to live among the others and serve as the spiritual leaders, ministering to the people of all the other tribes. In return the people paid tithes to the tabernacle, and this is how they were sustained. They had no land of their own on which to grow food or raise live stock. Their appointed work was devoted to the meeting the spiritual needs of the people. The Ministers of our churches to this day serve the same function, and are thus to be supported by those whom they serve.
Let us not be hesitant about sharing our tithes to support the spiritual workers. Don't worry about not having enough to spare a tenth of what you have been blessed to receive. There is always more. You cannot out-give God. Just think of the trees. (I use this example often because it so appropriately illustrates how this principle of abundance works) During the autumn season trees shed their leaves. All of the lovely foliage that they have grown in the spring and summer changes colors and eventually falls to the ground. Does the tree worry about losing its leaves? Does it dismay over not having enough to spare? Does it try to hold on the its last leaf to carry it through the winter? - No - The tree simply releases all that it has to be recycled with the knowledge that it will rejuvenate in the spring. Where do the leaves go when they fall from the trees? Most of them land on the ground at the foot of the tree where they simply lie there and rot. The rotted leaves turn into fertilizer which in turn makes the soil beneath the tree rich. The tree draws new nourishment from this rich soil, and in the spring it begins to blossom and bear fruit. Nature works this way. This is a principle of abundance. Our action of releasing good received nourishes our experience and allows more good to flow in.
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ACCEPT
And last but far from least, we must accept our good, so that we will have more to pass along. Let us consider now the blessings that come when we follow these principles:
- " Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." - Malachi 3:10
- " Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." - Luke 6: 38
- " This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
- Mark 4: 26-29So in order to experience God's rich abundance we must
- Appreciate the blessings that are already a part of our experience.
- Ask for an increase of our good.
- Act by sharing and circulating our blessings.
- Accept with gratitude the increased flow of abundance.
Now let us put in our sickles and gather our harvest!
© 1997 - Carolyn Odom Burleson, Ph.D.
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