17 Apr Puppies, Ice Cream, and Football (Part 3)
A pastor who was going through a pivotal building program in his church received some very bad news. He was told the project had been underestimated and now it would cost $500,000 more than originally planned. On top of that, his regular organ player was out sick. This was doubly bad as the pastor had planned on telling his congregation of the increase in the building estimation. He was very frustrated and while thinking how he was going to break the bad news to his already cash-stripped congregation…in walks a little old lady who was designated as the temporary replacement to play the organ for this all important service.
The frustrated pastor gave the little old lady the order of the service and her song selection. He quickly asked her, “Do you think you can handle this?!” To which the little old lady replied, “Sure, Pastor, I can handle it.” They both went out and began the service. The pastor opened the service and told the congregation the bad news. He also told them that they needed to raise an additional $500,000! He then requested anyone who would give $1000 to please stand up. To his chagrin, no one stood up! Immediately the little old substitute organist saw the awkward spot the pastor was in and began to play the national anthem…to which the entire congregation stood up! That was the day this little old lady became the permanent organist!
Because of some abuse in the arena of finances, this subject matter can be a bit sensitive to some. Therefore I had to distract you a little bit with puppies, ice cream, football and the aforementioned little joke. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there shall your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21). From this verse you can see that money is tied directly to our heart, and therefore it is a good indicator of where our heart actually is. In this recessionary time, it is imperative to deal with this subject so you can overcome your financial crisis!
Over the last two weeks we discussed our key scripture from Ecclesiastes 7:14: “In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.”
Our focus was on the phrase “in the day of adversity consider”. We discussed that adversity is simply a condensed period of personal discovery. We also shared with you how to do adversity correctly:
1) Adversity
2) Insecurity
3) Discovery
4) Opportunity
5) Victory
6) Demise of your enemy
We then began our “Six Opportunities to turn Adversity into Victory”:
1) Prepare for victory (Prov. 21:31).
2) Pray for victory (I Tim. 2:1-4).
3) Produce for Victory (Matt. 28:14-30).
We also began sharing with you “Eight Production Points”:
1) Work for Jesus, not your boss (Col. 3:22-24, Ps. 75:6-7)
2) Leaders are learners (Prov. 9:9)
3) Look to increase your responsibilities before you increase your benefits (Gal. 6:7).
4) Take ownership of your company (Prov. 6:6-8).
5) Anticipate the routine (John 2:7).
6) Have an “I can do it” attitude (Phil. 4:13).
This week let’s continue…
7) Be a problem solver not a problem seer (I Sam. 17).
Anyone can see Goliath! Anyone can see a problem, but it takes courage to solve a problem! I believe if you are anointed to see it, you are anointed to solve it! I have a personal policy with my staff. They can’t approach me with a problem until they have at least two solutions and one of them can’t involve money!
8) Pay attention to the details (Dan. 6:3).
Not only am I a pastor, but I am also an employer. One thing I understand is…in the lack of details money is lost. Lost money comes directly out of profit. Most employees don’t fully understand this. Think about this from a personal standpoint. If you were to forget to do the little details concerning your car engine and it blew. It would cost you $5000 in repair. That $5000 would come from your profits. It would take you months to regain that income. “Well I tried.” Isn’t it funny how the electric company and the mortgage company don’t accept “I tried” when it comes to paying your bill?
Remember this, God rewards production not intention!
4) Plan for victory (Prov. 10:4, 21:5).
These two powerful scriptures tell us, “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth” and “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
Please allow me to give you “Two Power Points to Plan for Prosperity”
1. Don’t belittle the little (Prov. 13:11, Zech. 4:10).
Remember the little boy who gave his little lunch to Jesus in John 6? A little lunch in the hands of a big God can make a big difference! Every great storm always starts with a small cloud! Every great door swings on a small hinge! Remember this… you can get anywhere you want to go in life if you are willing to take enough small steps!
Whether it’s a lad’s little lunch or David’s little stone…God wants to put His super on your natural! In John two when Jesus turned the water into wine, He could have simply created the wine within the pots, but He didn’t. He’s looking for human involvement because He wants our relationship!
In Deuteronomy 25:1-14, the Bible tells us that God will bless our storehouse. This is tantamount to our modern day savings account. In other words, God won’t put money in your account but He will bless what’s in it! Don’t underestimate that $20 your Grandma gives you for your birthday. Don’t buy a pizza with it. Tithe off of it and then put the rest away into your “storehouse”. That’s your “natural” and now God can put His “super” on it. Zero times 100 is still zero, but 18 times 100 will begin to add up over time.
The Bible tells us that prosperity comes here a little, there a little (see Proverbs 13:11 NIV). Therefore, prosperity doesn’t come overnight it comes over time as we are faithful with the little!
Next week we’ll continue our series on “Puppies, Ice Cream and Football.”