The BLESSED Life
A THOUGHT TO CONSIDER:
Are you living a fruitful life? Are you living the blessed life?
Hello and welcome to our Financial Matters weekly notes! I would encourage you to like and subscribe if you find this message helpful in any way, but with that said, let’s get right into it…
PRACTICAL PRINCIPLE:
Today I want to look at how you can live THE BLESSED LIFE.
Look at what Jesus said in Luke 6:38: “…Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap…”
This scripture is an incredible principle that Jesus spoke of, that can lead to The Blessed Life.
I do however need to point something out about this scripture. Many see this as a verse about money. But is it?
Look at how this scripture starts in Luke 6:37: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
It then goes on in Luke 6:38 as says “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap…”
It then ends off in Luke 8:38 with “For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Did you realise that the word “money,” does not appear in those verses? Yet, most of the time, when we hear Luke 6:38, we think of the word money. In fact, even when we hear the word “give” we think of money.
This scripture is talking about the heart, and if you apply this principle to your life, it will lead to The Blessed Life.
Luke 6:37-38… Jesus said … “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
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.
SOWING & REAPING
What are you sowing into your life?
Galatians 6:7 “A man reaps what he sows.”
Sow good seed and you will reap a good harvest. Sow junk and you will reap a rubbish dump.
If you plant an apple seed, what do you get back? An apple?
No, if you plant an apple seed, it will produce not just an apple, but an apple tree, that will produce many apples each season.
It takes little effort to plant a seed. But once the seed is planted, you need to wait patiently. If you plant your seed in the right season, and water and nurture it, it will grow into an apple tree. Once the tree reaches maturity, and provided the tree remains healthy, it will continue to produce an abundant harvest of fruit each season.
God can take the little you have (a few seeds) and multiply it (into trees that produce much fruit). God’s Kingdom does not work in addition, but in multiplication.
Whatever you plant, will come back to you in abundance.
What seeds are you planting? An apple seed will not produce an orange tree. You will always harvest what you plant.
2 Corinthians 9:6 says: “Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.”
If you plant debt, you will harvest stress. If you plant weeds you will reap a harvest of destruction.
But, if you plant good seeds of love and blessing, you will harvest an abundant flourishing crop of blessing.
So, let me encourage you – Sow good seeds!
Isaiah 32:20 … “the LORD will greatly bless his people. Wherever they plant seed, bountiful crops will spring up.”
WHERE IS YOUR TREASURE?
Jesus said… in Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
According to Jesus, your heart is connected to your treasure.
Some people think that God is after your money. No, He doesn’t need your money. He is all powerful and is all sufficient. But I am 100% sure that God is after your heart!
The problem is that often our hearts are connected to our wallets.
Often there is an invisible string that connects your wallet to your heart, because every time people reach for their wallet, it’s like, “aahh! … pain”… It hurts.
If God can get your wallet. He can get your heart. Your heart will follow your treasure.
If your heart is connected to God, your treasure will also be connected to God.
So, look at our scripture again…
In Luke 6:37, Jesus said …“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
Don’t judge, or you will be judged. Don’t condemn, or you will be condemned. Jesus is basically saying – Don’t be giving that kind of stuff out, or it will be given back to you! You’ll get judgement back!
You can however apply this to other areas of your life. There is a law of sowing and reaping. If you give a seed, you don’t just get back one seed, you get a plant, or a tree, with many seeds. And that’s the way it is with The Blessed Life.
Whatever you give, you get more back! It is therefore obvious that it would be better to give good things… rather than bad things… because you are going to get more of whatever you give back!
Where is your treasure?
According to Jesus, your heart is connected to your treasure. If your heart is connected to God, your treasure will also be connected to God.
Give Him your heart.
THE BLESSED LIFE
Luke 6:38, Jesus said … “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.”
You can live The Blessed Life – Be a blessing and you will be abundantly blessed.
Sow good seed and you will reap a good harvest.
God wants your heart. He is our source and He takes care of His children.
In Psalm 37:25 David said … “Once I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”
In Philippians 4:19 Peter said… “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
You may be battling to survive. I want to encourage you get your heart right with God. Where is your heart? Where is your treasure?
Sow good seed. Be generous. This is the pathway to The Blessed Life.
Proverbs 11:24-25 says: “Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”
What an incredible principle from God’s word. Wow!!!
- Do you want to be abundantly blessed?
- Do you want to prosper?
- Are you wanting to be refreshed?
Then …
- GIVE FREELY,
- BE GENEROUS &
- REFRESH OTHERS!
There is a blessing in giving to God.
We are called to put God 1st with our money. When we do, there is a tremendous blessing.
While we don’t give to get, God’s word is filled with scriptures that show his abundant provision and blessing, when you choose to put Him 1st with your money!
So, in conclusion, I want to encourage you to …
- GIVE YOUR HEART TO GOD
- PLANT GOOD SEED & YOU WILL REAP A GOOD HARVEST
- GIVE FREELY, BE GENEROUS & REFRESH OTHERS
WHEN YOU GIVE YOUR HEART AND TREASURE TO GOD, AND WHEN YOU SOW GOOD SEED, YOU CAN LIVE THE BLESSED LIFE!
WHEN YOU GIVE FREELY, ARE GENEROUS AND REFRESH OTHERS, IT WILL RETURN TO YOU… GOOD MEASURE, PRESSED DOWN AND ROLLING OVER.
Put God 1st. Love Him. Don’t serve money. Don’t get into bondage to money. Serve God. LIVE THE BLESSED LIFE!
INTERESTING FACT:
According to Peter Cohan, Harvard Business School researchers studied 4,000 millionaires. They found that if you want you and your heirs to be happier, you should give your money away and let them make it on their own.
POWER QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
“It is God’s will to bless us, but not necessarily on our terms. Sometimes what we think would be a wonderful blessing would not bless us at all.” – Joyce Meyers
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” – Willie Nelson
WHAT DOES GOD HAVE TO SAY:
Proverbs 3:9-10, says: “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”
Honor God with your wealth (MONEY), with the first fruits of all your crops (BEST PART OF EVERYTHING YOU PRODUCE), then GOD will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine. (ABUNDANT PROVISION).
2 Corinthians 9: 6-11 says…
“Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.”
“You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully”.
“And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.”
LET’S PRAY:
Father, I want to put you first. Please help me to live the blessed life. I surrender my financial affairs to you. Help me to make wise choices, to build good financial habits, and to follow through. Lord, I give you my life and my money issues. I ask you to help me. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.
If want to start or restart your walk with God, click here to pray a simple prayer we have set up for you.
CONCLUSION:
Sow good seed. Be generous. This is the pathway to The Blessed Life.
“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.” (Numbers 6:24-25)
God bless you!
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