Greetings in the Name of Jesus and welcome to the PLN Sunday Night Bible Fellowship!

 

So many Christians these days seem to be stuck out in a wilderness somewhere wandering around lost and wondering how they're going to get out. You know what a "wilderness" is, right? Sometimes folks call it a storm or a trial or a tribulation that lasts for a long time; but whatever you call it, a wilderness is an unpleasant rough place in life that's full of discomfort and difficulty. The Bible says we can expect tribulation in our lives so they should come as no particular surprise. They don't necessarily have to be prolonged though because the same verse that tells us to expect tribulation also says that Jesus has overcome their causes (John 16:33). All we have to do is humbly submit to the Lord, cast our cares on Him and EXPECT that in due course Christ will Himself exalt us out of those difficulties (1 Peter 5:6-7).  

 

I can tell you from personal experience I don't much like it out in a wilderness and I'm pretty sure most of you don't either. And for certain I don't like those longer-term wilderness experiences that seem to go on and on. Prolonged wildernesses can cause frustration, discouragement and weakened HOPE. But what we need to understand is that the length of our stay there is very often determined by how we deal with the tribulation from the start. Do we turn to God in FAITH expecting help or do we try to overcome it ourselves and look for the way out in our own strength? Last week we looked at the Israelites because they turned an eleven-day trip into a 40-year wilderness experience and that happened because they insisted on trying to deal with their hardships without trusting God (i.e. without FAITH), because they FORGOT what God had done for them in the past and because they were filled with grumbling and complaining instead of GRATITUDE and THANKSGIVING for their escape from slavery in Egypt.  

 

Friend, one of the main points of this series has been that the way out of a tribulation is revealed by THANKSGIVING. It's a powerful, relatively easy-to-use tool at our disposal but we have a tendency to overlook it. In the face of tribulation, instead of focusing on our circumstances we need to focus on God because He's the one, the ONLY one who knows the BEST way out. We may think we can find it without trusting in Him like the Israelites tried to do, but whatever way we find on our own will NEVER be as good as God's way. In sum, being GRATEFUL to God causes us to focus on Him instead of on our circumstances and that's the key to finding the way out of our trials and getting the VICTORY.

 

Guarding Our Attitudes

 

Developing a lifestyle of THANKSGIVING requires study and practice and FAITH. When you first start working on it you may not feel very GRATEFUL but you SPEAK it out anyway as you REMEMBER all those times God already showed up in the past to rescue you. If you don't reach back for those memories once in awhile you'll FORGET them just like the Israelites did. Maybe at first your THANKSGIVING will have to be worked up because you're used to focusing on the circumstances your tribulation has produced. But after a while of focusing on it, your GRATITUDE will become genuine and you'll be focusing less and less on your circumstances until after a little while longer you can begin to be GRATEFUL by FAITH for what God is about to do in your future. While you were focused on your circumstances you weren't able to discern the way out of your storm even though the Holy Spirit may have been trying to reveal it to you. But, when you move your focus over to Him, you'll be able to find it. All along He had it waiting for you just as during all those forty years that the Israelites were wandering around, the Promised Land and the shortest way to it, the way God had originally wanted to go, were there waiting for those who had the FAITH to TRUST Him.

 

Now in order to develop true GRATITUDE there are certain things about most people we have to change because they tend to block our development. In previous newsletters we've already talked about how PRIDE can do that; we need to be HUMBLE so God won't actually RESIST our exit from the tribulation (1 Peter 5:5-6). Also, we have to get rid of any UNFORGIVENSSS we're holding on to so God won't just let us stay out there in the wilderness indefinitely (Matthew 19:34-35). Along those same lines, if we're mad at God for our tribulation we need to stop grumbling and complaining about it because it stifles GRATITUDE and He's not the cause anyway. Most likely the real cause is some dumb decision we made or it came from the world or the devil or some other person. God had nothing to do with it!

 

Guarding Against Envy

 

Today I want us to look at yet another issue to guard against that'll always block our sincere expression of GRATITUDE and that issue is ENVY. The Bible instructs extensively in both Old and New Testaments against being ENVIOUS and biblical instructions are ALWAYS there for our own good. Sometimes scripture refers to it as JEALOUSLY or COVETOUSNESS but they're all essentially the same basic character flaw: a resentful desire to acquire some other person's possessions or advantages. Our corrupted Flesh is by nature ENVIOUS so we all have the tendency within us and left unattended it will grow and become a big hindrance to the development of our new lifestyle. Why a hindrance? Because if we're ENVIOUS of what some other person has, by default we're dissatisfied with what we presently possess or where we are in life and we're wishing we could be walking in the other person's shoes. In other words, we're not GRATEFUL for what God has done in our lives so far, and we've become resentful because we see someone else enjoying what we want. So, we have to cut that tendency off because it will become a WALL that blocks the emergence of the sincere GRATITUDE we're trying to develop.

 

There are two main targets of our ENVY. One is the pseudo-success particularly financial that we see in the world among non-believers and the other is the REAL success we see many Believers achieving in the Kingdom of God. We see those things and we think for some reason we deserve the same or better treatment. Why? Who says so? Fortunately for Believers we don't receive what we actually deserve and we fail to understand that our ENVY comes from evaluating other folks, both non-believers and Believers, with the same measuring criteria the world uses. But the Bible says it's the BLESSING of the Lord that brings true riches and success and that they have NO accompanying SORROW (Proverbs 10:22). Why would I want the world's kind of success if it ALWAYS produces SORROW? No, I want God's kind of success because it's a lasting success that causes me to live in the PEACE and JOY that pass all understanding. So quite frankly, being ENVIOUS of what's going on in the world is pretty STUPID so we just to have to decide not to do it.     

 

But friend, ENVY of the REAL success of other Christians, especially Christian leaders is just as deadly. We think because we've been good church-goers and have read the Word a few times and given our money that God owes us something. But God doesn't owe us anything. He already gave everything and it's up to each of us to make our own way by connecting to His GRACE (favor and empowerment) by FAITH. When you have a chance, read John 21:20-25 and you'll find there in sum where Jesus said that if God chooses to bless some other person, what business is it of ours? If some well known Preacher lives in a big house and owns an airplane, what business is it of ours? Isn't that a subject between the Preacher and God? Isn't our unscriptural judgmentalism just a form of being ENVIOUS of what God has done for that Preacher because He hasn't done it for us? If those kinds of things draw too much of our attention we're going to have a real problem being GRATEFUL for what God has actually done/is doing in our own lives and we would be better served to stop looking at what's going on with other people so we can focus on what the Lord wants to accomplish with us.

 

The Bible says that LOVE does not ENVY (1 Corinthians 13:4). In other words, we can't simultaneously LOVE and ENVY a Brother in the Lord.  If we insist on envying our Brother then we're refusing to love him; and if we refuse to love him, we're willfully disobeying the commandment of Christ (John 13:34 and 15:12, 17). Willful disobedience is a sin and willful sin is very, very DANGEROUS (Hebrews 10:26-29). Please read it for yourself. The Bible goes on to say that Christians who insist on being ENVIOUS also tend toward STRIFE and are carnal and immature, living like people in the world (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). Contrary to that description the life of the GRATEFUL, THANKFUL Believer is captured in the following scripture:

 

"...if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it" (1 Corinthians 12:26).

 

Friend, there's no provision for ENVY in that scripture, so knock down that WALL that blocks you from achieving the Plan of God in your life. Knock down the WALL that blocks you from to connecting to His GRACE wherein you will find all the favor and empowerment you need for overcoming your challenges. Forget about ENVY and put your focus back on the Lord so your THANKSGIVING can soar and flourish and help you find your way through your trials and tribulations into the VICTORY in this life that Jesus died for you to possess and enjoy. If you're in tribulation tonight, if you're in one of those wilderness places, we suffer with you and HOPE for your imminent deliverance. We know by FAITH it will come soon and we THANK God with you for its coming. If you're already living in VICTORY (2 Corinthians 2:14), we REJOICE for your God-given success and THANK God that you'll use it to INCREASE His Kingdom. In either case let your words of sincere and genuine THANKSGIVING reach the ears of God, not for His sake but for yours.     

 

Thanks for stopping by tonight. We'll be looking for you again NEXT Sunday night on June 8. In the meantime may the Lord bless you with every spiritual blessing, compelling you to PROSPER in every area of life!

 

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 acknowledge that my sins have been forgiven 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.

 

And, when you get a chance have someone help you look up the following scriptures because they confirm what you've done by saying this prayer today and believing what you said:

 

Romans 10:9

2 Corinthians 5:17

Ephesians 2:8

 

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. Agree with us for God to answer your petition.

 

http://www.creditcounseling.net/prayer-request.aspx

 

Donations

 

If you've been edified by Prosperous Life Newsletter, you may want to consider making a SEED FAITH offering to support the Ministry (Galatians 6:6-7). God has instructed us to simply provide folks with an opportunity to sow seed into good ground so in due season you'll be eligible to reap a harvest and the rest is up to you as the Spirit leads. For your information PLN is a nonprofit gift to the Body of Christ so your financial offerings will usually be tax deductible (consult your tax advisor). Just go to the secure Shopping Cart on the Cornerstone web site by connecting through the following link. We appreciate your support and generosity.

 

http://www.creditcounseling.net/shop/item.aspx?itemid=1

 

About Prosperous Life Newsletter

 

PLN is an outreach ministry of Make A Way Ministries domiciled in Miami, Florida. It is in its 17th year of distribution and has been published continuously since January 1998. It's an e-publication primarily about finances in the Kingdom of God and is sent ONLY to our email list of MINISTRY MEMBERS. If you're reading this and aren't yet on our growing email list, please let us know and we'll be so very happy to add you to the list.

 

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