Happy New Year everyone and thanks for looking into Prosperous Life Newsletter today. We've prayed that this article will edify you with the TRUTH of God's Word and cause your FAITH to grow stronger (Romans 10:17).
Here we are again with the start of a New Year and not in a long time have so many people been asking the Lord for a new vision and a chance to start over. Many of us are weary from financial stress and think we're on the verge of losing hope or just giving up if something doesn't change. Our minds have been so focused on our tribulations we've forgotten to put our eyes on Jesus and pursue the peace that passes all understanding (Psalm 34:14 with Philippians 4:7). There's REST available for the Believer in Christ but we've allowed our problems to displace our diligence to enter into it (Hebrews 4:1-11). And even though the PEACE of the Holy Spirit is already within us, instead of endeavoring to access what's on the inside some of us have given too much attention to what's going on outside, over there in the World where Satan is still ruling things (2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 6:12).
The Bible says that in the end times there'll be a great tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now and that unless those days are cut short no life will be able to survive (Matthew 24:21-22). The good news for Believers is that those days WILL be cut short for the Body of Christ and the way to get the jump on that good news is to start this New Year by putting ourselves into a new LIFESTYLE of giving thanks. Scripture shows that learning to be genuinely GRATEFUL for the presence of God's FAVOR in our lives instead of focusing on what the devil's doing all the time can become a powerful spiritual FORCE that connects us to God's GRACE. Let me be clear about it: according to the Bible developing an attitude of gratitude, a lifestyle of THANKSGIVING will in and of itself produce VICTORY in every area of life no matter what's going on with the World system.
Thanksgiving Honors God
As we've pointed out in previous newsletters, the Bible says quite clearly that we HONOR God by giving Him a sacrifice of THANKSGIVING:
He who offers a sacrifice of THANKSGIVING, HONORS (glorifies) Me"(Psalm 50:23).
Thanksgiving is a sacrifice when we don't exactly feel like it. It's a sacrifice when everything around us seems to be in turmoil and tribulation. It's a sacrifice to take our eyes off our problems long enough to notice the blessings of God that are all around us and to lift up praises of THANKSGIVING for them. It's a sacrifice to override the refusal of our Flesh to ever be grateful to Creator God for anything. But when we DO offer up a sacrifice of THANKSGIVING despite everything we're dealing with, some of the best news you may ever hear is that in return for that sacrifice He HONORS us back:
"For those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed" (1 Samuel 2:30).
To be HONORED by God is something special. The Hebrew word translated HONOR conveys the concept of "bestowing heavy value." Everything that God does in the universe manifests abundance and He's looking for opportunities to provide abundance. All we have to do is HONOR Him first and He always responds with HONOR for us, with His manifested "heavy" and overflowing abundant provision. Jesus said He came to give us "abundant life" (John 10:10) because it's the nature of God to provide abundance at every opportunity. Indeed, He wants us to have that abundance so we can be directly involved in expanding the Kingdom of God on the earth. Abundance isn't to satisfy our own desires and lusts; no, the purpose of it is to carry out God's work on the earth.
As we start this New Year, if you're tired of insufficiency and frustrated dreams, maybe it's time to develop a new operating plan based on THANKSGIVING. Think about it: according to the Word of God the result of your sincerely-expressed gratitude is to be HONORED by God. Stated another way, the result of your sacrificial THANKSGIVING will be prosperity in every area of life: spirit, soul and body. With that in mind we can start to develop a new vision for 2012 featuring a new focus.
Considering a New Vision
Even in more normal times the beginning of a new year is a great time for Christians to get before the Lord and reassess their vision, but this is an especially good year to do it. It's not about making New Year's resolutions like the World does; resolutions tend to be self-focused goals that pertain to correcting habits and behavior we're not happy about. The success of resolutions usually depends on one's own efforts to achieve the objectives.
But the Christian focus should be on reconnecting with the purpose and plan of God instead of on the pursuit of personal goals. The Christian approach should be God-focused and Kingdom oriented; it should be concerned with the achievement of Spirit-led plans and purposes. Success will be defined by our faithfulness to God's plans, and by our willingness to let Him carry them out as He wants to. What does God want us to do this New Year? How and what are we supposed to change from the things we did last year? What could we have done better? What mistakes did we make and what did we learn from those mistakes? Where did we stray from God's plan for our lives and how did that happen? What new things is the Lord leading us to pursue in the New Year in addition to the focus on THANKSGIVING?
Understanding Spirit-Led Planning
Now in order to get the right answers to these kinds of questions the Believer needs to be Spirit-led. No problem: the Bible says the sons of God will be led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14). So we receive that Truth by Faith from God's Word and when we go before the throne of GRACE with all our questions, we go there boldly and with confidence (Hebrews 4:16) expecting to get the answers, refusing to doubt that we'll be able to hear, resisting the hindrances and distractions of the enemy, recording what the Lord tells us, ready to act on the revised plan that emerges.
Friend, whenever you get something directly from God and you know it's especially for you, it's called revelation and it's what you've been looking for. In the New Testament the Greek word that's often translated as REVELATION means toDISCLOSE. In other words, by divine REVELATION, the Holy Spirit is working to DISCLOSE His plans and purposes for our lives so that we have direction and a basis for Hope and Faith. The composite of those various plans and purposes is often referred to as His VISIONand as long as we try to live our lives within the boundaries of God's VISION, we'll experience His abundance. In other words, we want to define and live by God's VISION for our lives instead of a Flesh-led vision we develop on our own.
The Bible says in the Old Testament that "Where there is NO "vision," the people perish..." (Proverbs 29:18). So it's important for God's people to be involved in His VISION. The Hebrew word for VISION in this scripture also means REVELATIONand so another meaning would be that where there's no REVELATION the people perish. For the New Testament Believer, REVELATION starts with the Word of God but consistent with that Word there's also ongoing REVELATION. The Holy Spirit hasn't stopped talking, has He? if we get cut off from God's ongoing REVELATION through carnality, resistance, indifference, lack of fellowship with God, inattention to the Word, disobedience, rebelliousness, tradition, religion, dullness, hardness, etc., then we're going to have a hard time understanding the specific VISION God has for us. The plan He has for me is totally different than the plan He has for each of you. I have to discover the VISION He has for me and I implement it by Faith because I am a son of God and the Word of God says He WILL lead me. It also says I WILL know His voice (John 10:4). And friend, the SAME is true for you!
One of the English dictionary definitions of the word VISION is INTELLIGENT FORESIGHT. The question we have to answer today is this: on whose intelligence does the Believer's FORESIGHT depend? Is it my own intelligence or the intelligence of some other person, or some guru or expert? Without question the FORESIGHT we need to have in our lives should be based on the intelligence of God, which comes to us by revelation that springs from having a strong personal relationship with Him by Faith through Christ.
The Bible says that Jesus only did what He SAW the Father do (John 5:16-19). In other words Jesus received His VISION for what He was supposed to do by WATCHING the Father. When and how did Jesus WATCH the Father do those things? Many people think He must have had some supernatural way of communicating or that He had seen the Father do these things before He came to earth. But Jesus was subject to the same ways of doing things as we are (Philippians 2:7); the difference was He spent a lot MORE time communing with the Father than we do and He had developed His faith into a force that could move mountains. He could SEE His Father in His Spirit and He watched Him day to day as He walked out His earthly ministry. He could also HEAR His Father and He KNEW His voice.
In sum, for Believers the development of a New Year's plan should be a process of SEEING and reaffirming God's VISION for our lives based on His personal REVELATION. By apprehending that VISION the Believer then has direction that has come from God Himself and we can feel secure in immersing ourselves BY FAITH in the flow of that VISION in the weeks and months ahead. By the way, most of us shouldn't waste our time looking for some long-term VISION for years in advance because we'll do well if we can just see the next few steps ahead. God wants us to receive the VISION by Faith and then walk it out trusting Him to keep us on the right path and moving in the right direction.
Elements of a Good Financial Plan
As part of the overall process of reaffirming the family's vision, PLN has always recommended that every Christian include an annual review of the family's financial plan. Here's how it could work. Biblically, God has appointed the husband as the family's financial visionary and it's his responsibility to consult the Lord along with input from his wife and the other counselors God has placed in his life. The husband's role is to prayerfully seek after the VISION from God; the wife's role is to prayerfully agree (or disagree) that what her husband HEARS, what he SEES, is actually from God. When the consultations have been completed, husband and wife should be in total agreement as to what the family's financial VISION (direction) will be for the coming year. If they're not in agreement, they should continue to consult the Lord and each other until they come into agreement.
An essential part of the process should be to carefully record in writing everything God tells you. The Bible says in Habakkuk 2:2 to "Record the vision and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that reads it." In this scripture we have the same Hebrew word for VISION as in Proverbs 29:18; so without a VISION we perish but with one written down we can RUN with it to accomplish God's plans and purposes. When you have written down everything the Lord tells you to do, when you have recorded His revealed VISION, you'll have your financial plan for the New Year and you'll be able to act on it in Faith.
Once God has given you your financial plan you should be prepared to start confessing and acting on it so you turn it into prophecy for your family. Be prepared to release your Faith for the fulfillment of His Word in His time and in His way. And, be prepared as well to release your Faith for the manifestation of the fullness of biblical prosperity for you and your family. And then lastly, THANK Him for the victory at every opportunity. THANK Him for the successes every day out loud with your mouth confessing and speaking and singing and praising. Your Faith can change your circumstances and make them, force them to agree with the VISION you have received from God. Your sacrifices of THANKSGIVING honor God; the Bible says so. And when we HONOR God, He has promised to HONOR us.
NOTE: There's a supplement to this article which is a list of the specific steps to go through in WRITING your plan for the New Year. Be on the lookout for it because it will have arrived by separate email on the same day as this article. Contact us if you missed it.
Thanks for dropping by today. We'll be looking for you again in three weeks on January 27. As we start this New Year remember to THANK God at every opportunity until you come to the place of continuous THANKSGIVING.
Sinners' Prayer
If you've never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, you need to and you can do it today just by saying out loud the following simple prayer:
Jesus I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and that God raised you from the dead. I receive forgiveness for my sins and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.
If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.
Donations
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Prayer Requests
If you have a Prayer Request, please connect to the Link below and follow the promptings. The PLN staff members pray over Prayer Requests every Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM eastern time. God bless you.
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