Power to Succeed Pt.9

Today, we continue with the message “Power to Succeed in Hard Times.” To review, hope is an expectation based on what has already been accomplished. The hope of God is guaranteed to come to pass if we persevere. Without hope there is nothing for out faith to give substance to. God’s hope makes you able to see what cannot be seen. The things that we cannot see are more real than the things we can see. Hope in God will allow you to hear the Word like never before. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Hope in God will allow you to obey the Word like never before. Hope in God will allow you to pray like never before. You must believe in your own prayer. You ought to have confidence in your prayer above anyone else’s.

Hope in God allows you to sow (give) like never before (Psalm 146:5). Are we showing ourselves committed to what God has given us to handle? We were designed serve – that’s a blessing (Matthew 6:24). People think they don’t serve. Satan knows that we are going to serve. Service comes out of the heart. We get to choose who we will serve.

You cannot serve two masters. In Matthew 6:24, “mammon” is defined as a spirit or a demon – it is the god over everything money rules over. It is also the personified version of riches and wealth or the pursuit of riches and wealth, a.k.a. greed. Money makes a poor God. God says that we cannot serve Him and that that idol “mammon.” Whoever you serve is your master. Whoever your master is determines what you will receive. If you chase pleasure possessions and prestige, you will have nothing. If you serve God, all things are available to you.

God set up the system for giving. In order for us to increase, we have to give away. If we are left to ourselves, we will hoard what we have. The power to succeed in hard times is in our hands.

In the Bible, prosperity equals giving. When you give, you are more like God. You are never more like God than when you give. It is an awesome privilege and supremely powerful to give. If you want God in your life, you have to give. Once you give, it doesn’t stop there. By giving, you start things in motion that will not stop. Your giving cannot go back the way it came.