[00:00:00] I want to challenge you today to discover the great reasons in God's Word that you would seek a giving heart.
[00:00:09] I call this breakthrough giving. Now personally, the desire to give was always hindered in my life
[00:00:17] because I was born back in those deep depression years, the 1930s.
[00:00:24] I saw poverty in its deepest form and I was then as a result of that, I'm convinced,
[00:00:32] was beset with a poverty mindset. And I began to pray God would make me a generous giver
[00:00:41] and he answered that prayer and changed my life. I learned that giving is one of the most liberating,
[00:00:47] joy-producing, and high-impacting disciplines in which a Christian can engage.
[00:00:52] Now researchers at the University of British Columbia recently found that giving money away
[00:00:59] actually increases a person's feeling of happiness.
[00:01:03] Hear that again, that they found that giving money away actually increases a person's feeling of happiness.
[00:01:10] So I would urge you, pray for a giving and generous heart.
[00:01:14] Pray for the discipline to give your best gifts to God's kingdom work.
[00:01:18] Once you start giving, you'll just never go back.
[00:01:22] The Holy Spirit will change you so you'll know how to become truly generous.
[00:01:27] Pray that you'll sow generously and give cheerfully.
[00:01:30] God will equip you to be a blessing to others.
[00:01:34] Simply stated, giving honors God.
[00:01:37] Have you read Proverbs 3, verse 9 and 10?
[00:01:43] Honor the Lord with your substance, with the firstfruits of all your increase.
[00:01:48] Then your barns will be filled with plenty.
[00:01:51] So I want to encourage you on the authority of God's word.
[00:01:56] Say goodbye to poverty.
[00:01:57] Say goodbye to a life of lack.
[00:02:01] I say give and God will give back to you.
[00:02:05] When God gives back to you, sometimes it'll be financial blessing.
[00:02:09] Sometimes it'll be with a fresh anointing on your life.
[00:02:12] Sometimes it'll be an intimacy with the Lord.
[00:02:15] And it's rewarding to see God's benefits.
[00:02:19] Now, I want you to meditate on these four words.
[00:02:23] My cup runneth over.
[00:02:26] Remember David's words in the 23rd Psalm.
[00:02:30] Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
[00:02:34] Thou anointest my head with oil.
[00:02:37] My cup runneth over.
[00:02:39] Now, notice what it does not say.
[00:02:41] It does not say it could runneth over.
[00:02:44] It doesn't say it runneth.
[00:02:46] It isn't that definite.
[00:02:48] It doesn't say half full.
[00:02:50] It doesn't say full.
[00:02:52] It says runneth over.
[00:02:54] Thank God my cup runneth over with God's blessing.
[00:02:59] And there isn't that more than enough enough.
[00:03:02] So if you're going to live free from a hurting life because of lack of money,
[00:03:07] you must banish the words fear and impossible from your vocabulary.
[00:03:13] And then full hearted gratitude is the open door to abundance.
[00:03:17] So give your gifts in complete trust to the Lord.
[00:03:22] Give boldly, happily, and generously.
[00:03:25] In Acts 20 and 35, Luke quotes Jesus as saying,
[00:03:30] It's more blessed to give than to receive.
[00:03:32] And a thousand years before that, King Solomon taught the same thing when he wrote,
[00:03:38] A generous man will prosper and he refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
[00:03:45] Proverbs 11, 25.
[00:03:47] Now you as a Christian, if your discipline is a giver,
[00:03:51] You'll know these verses teach an important spiritual principle.
[00:03:56] If you want to benefit your soul, expand your heart, increase your joy,
[00:04:00] Then give generously.
[00:04:02] I love the scripture of Proverbs 11, 24 in the message translation.
[00:04:08] The world of the generous gets larger and larger.
[00:04:12] The world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.
[00:04:15] And I think those are good words.
[00:04:17] So I want to appeal to you that are hurting today.
[00:04:22] Not only hurting financially, but hurting spiritually and physically.
[00:04:26] God is a healer of broken hearts.
[00:04:28] And he wants to minister to you.
[00:04:31] Now, I can well remember the deep, deep hurts I had way back in 1961.
[00:04:39] Just the year before I had suffered the most hurtful event of my life to that time.
[00:04:44] I lost my home by repossession.
[00:04:47] And it was a sad event when I had to move out with no place to live.
[00:04:53] And for most of the next 14 months, my wife and five children and I traveled.
[00:04:58] Often having to sleep in very inconvenient times.
[00:05:02] And the hurts were severe.
[00:05:04] I mean, really hurting.
[00:05:06] And then God visits my life.
[00:05:09] I asked him the question, Lord, your word promises you'll supply all I need.
[00:05:15] But Father, for me, it's been one loss after another.
[00:05:20] Always an inability to cope with the financial matters.
[00:05:24] Some time it was those deep hurts of not having a home for my children.
[00:05:29] Other times it was the hurting of not being able to pay bills on time.
[00:05:34] Hurting, hurting financially.
[00:05:37] It was almost more painful than any physical pain I'd ever had.
[00:05:42] And then I asked the Lord that question.
[00:05:44] And he spoke to me by his Holy Spirit from Amos 3.3.
[00:05:49] How can two walk together except they be agreed?
[00:05:53] God revealed to me that I had unwisely been disagreeing with his word.
[00:05:59] I'd spoken lack and financial defeat.
[00:06:03] I would feed upon the sympathy of precious people who wanted to comfort me.
[00:06:08] And when they would talk to me about how disadvantageous it was not to have a home for my five children.
[00:06:16] And how things were so abnormal.
[00:06:19] Hurting, hurting just continued to multiply.
[00:06:22] And then when God spoke to me that if I wanted to walk with him, I had to agree with him by my words.
[00:06:29] It was then that God showed me that my own words had been my worst enemy.
[00:06:34] That I had spoken defeat and failure instead of God's provision.
[00:06:38] And in that visitation of God in response to prayer, he spoke to me how I could overcome those vicious hurts by which I had lived for quite some time.
[00:06:52] And it was then I wrote down a very simple affirmation that changed my life.
[00:06:58] I want to share it again with you.
[00:07:01] Never again will I confess I can't.
[00:07:03] For I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
[00:07:07] Never again will I confess lack.
[00:07:10] For my God shall supply all my need.
[00:07:13] According to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
[00:07:17] Never again will I confess fear.
[00:07:19] For God has not given me the spirit of fear.
[00:07:22] But of power and of love and a sound mind.
[00:07:25] Never again will I confess doubt and lack of faith.
[00:07:29] For God has given to every man the measure of faith.
[00:07:33] Never again will I confess Satan's dominion over my life.
[00:07:37] For greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.
[00:07:41] Never again will I confess defeat.
[00:07:44] For God always causes me to triumph in Christ.
[00:07:47] Never again will I confess lack of wisdom.
[00:07:51] For Christ Jesus is made unto me wisdom from God.
[00:07:54] Never again will I confess the domination of sickness and disease over my body.
[00:08:00] For with his stripes I am healed.
[00:08:02] And Jesus himself took my infirmities and bare my diseases.
[00:08:07] Never again will I confess worries and frustrations.
[00:08:10] For I am casting all my cares upon him who cares for me.
[00:08:15] Never again will I confess bondage.
[00:08:17] For where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.
[00:08:21] My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
[00:08:24] Never again will I confess condemnation.
[00:08:27] For there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
[00:08:32] Who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.
[00:08:35] Thank God those 12 affirmations I have just shared with you were liberating truth that changed my life.
[00:08:43] I began to walk in the light of God's truth and praise the Lord miracle after miracle took place.
[00:08:50] God gave us a home that we had for 27 years there in Surrey.
[00:08:55] It was God's provision.
[00:08:57] He gave us a calling to a ministry to reach the nations and he was our provider.
[00:09:03] He spoke to the hearts of people who could hear his voice.
[00:09:07] And they've responded to share financially.
[00:09:10] To enable us to have the resources to reach out with the gospel in every nation possible.
[00:09:17] Well, it's continued ever since that time.
[00:09:20] Many years God has been our provider.
[00:09:23] And my beloved friend, if you are suffering and hurting financially,
[00:09:27] I want to pray a prayer of faith today.
[00:09:30] A breakthrough prayer to enable you to overcome your financial lack,
[00:09:36] your inability to cope with financial defeat.
[00:09:39] I want to encourage you to also know that you can overcome the hurt of physical ailments in your body.
[00:09:47] And the hurt of relationships that are broken.
[00:09:51] All these matters that bring hurt and suffer experiencing defeat and frustration.
[00:09:58] Oh, Father, I come in Jesus' name on behalf of every listening friend.
[00:10:05] Father, you see them in their negative circumstances.
[00:10:08] You see those who have a stack of unpaid bills they can't cope with.
[00:10:13] You see those, Lord, who are unemployed, who need a job desperately.
[00:10:18] You see those, Lord, who have their back against the wall because of hurting over financial defeats.
[00:10:26] I ask in Jesus' name that this be the day of a breakthrough miracle for each of them.
[00:10:32] That their provision will be made fulfilled by your wonderful promise.
[00:10:37] And I shall give you praise in Jesus' name.
[00:10:40] Amen.
[00:10:42] Michael Dell will tell you about a very helpful CD entitled, Are You Hurting?
[00:10:59] Let me just add that prayer.
[00:11:03] Father, I reiterate the words of Jesus.
[00:11:06] That indeed you'll keep each one who's under satanic power.
[00:11:11] To release today that they'll know of victory, provision, breakthrough for your glory and honor.
[00:11:18] In Jesus' name, amen.
[00:11:20] Amen.
[00:11:21] And now, my beloved friend, my partner in God's work, my loving Christian, fellow laborer, I want to invite you to join me.
[00:11:32] Please break the silence of fear and uncertainty.
[00:11:36] And let's together say, Praise the Lord, amen.
[00:11:39] And hold up your left hand.
[00:11:42] As you touch each finger, you'll say a joyful Praise the Lord, amen.
[00:11:48] Will you join me?
[00:11:49] Praise the Lord, amen.
[00:11:52] Praise the Lord, amen.
[00:11:54] Praise the Lord, amen.
[00:12:15] Hallelujah.
[00:12:16] Praise the Lord, amen.
[00:12:17] Praise the Lord, amen.
[00:12:18] Praise the Lord, amen.