1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,440 I want to welcome you to the Quality Christian Living Podcast. 2 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:12,160 I am your host, David Friend. 3 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:17,040 We are in our series dealing with success, prosperity, and abundance. 4 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,440 Today's podcast is entitled How to Live Abundantly. 5 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:22,280 I'm really looking forward to this one. 6 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:27,840 Today we are going to understand, get a better understanding of the word abundance and what 7 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:30,960 it is and what it means to us. 8 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:32,800 What should that word mean to us? 9 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:37,320 We're going to look at why did Jesus say He wanted us to live life more abundantly. 10 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:38,320 What was that all about? 11 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:43,360 We want to understand how Christians can prosper, be successful, and live abundantly. 12 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:47,960 We're going to learn the seven steps to abundant living and let me challenge you. 13 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:49,760 I have a little challenge in today's podcast. 14 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:53,800 Let me challenge you to evaluate your thoughts on abundance. 15 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:57,160 Wish I could talk to you in person, but that's a very important question. 16 00:00:57,160 --> 00:00:58,680 How do you feel about abundance? 17 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:00,280 Before we get into that, let's pray. 18 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:04,760 Heavenly Father, once again, I thank you for the opportunity I have to bring this podcast 19 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:06,280 to those who've listened in today. 20 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:08,600 I pray that you would bless it and that you would anoint it. 21 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:12,800 I invite the Holy Spirit to come in and do what only He can do, and that is to take this 22 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:14,320 to a higher level. 23 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:17,360 Take this to a level I can't even imagine or even think about. 24 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:22,040 I pray, Holy Spirit, that you would guide my thoughts, help us to clarify what your 25 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:25,000 word says about specific things about these issues. 26 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,040 I pray that those who are listening in today, their hearts would be open. 27 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:32,200 I pray that they would yield and submit to the leading and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 28 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:35,840 As we go through this podcast today, they'll receive something very special. 29 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:37,560 I believe that's going to take place. 30 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:39,920 I'll be careful now to give you the praise and glory for it. 31 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:41,600 In Jesus' name, I pray, amen. 32 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:42,600 All right. 33 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:45,840 Now let's get into the topic, how to live abundantly. 34 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:50,960 You know, the greatest abundance we will ever experience on earth is when we are forgiven 35 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,320 of our sins and become follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. 36 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:59,120 When we pray that prayer and we ask Jesus into our life, we become a new creation. 37 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:00,960 We become a totally different person. 38 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:05,400 We are forgiven of the sins we've committed in our life and those sins will never be remembered 39 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:06,400 again. 40 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:08,400 How could we live more abundantly than that? 41 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:13,640 That quite frankly is the beginning of living abundantly when we receive Jesus Christ as 42 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:14,760 our Lord and Savior. 43 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:18,640 If you've not done that, I'd just like you to say, Father, I'm sorry for the sins I've 44 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:19,640 committed. 45 00:02:19,640 --> 00:02:20,640 I repent of my sins. 46 00:02:20,640 --> 00:02:23,280 Ask you to forgive me and cleanse me of all unrighteousness. 47 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:28,000 I receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior and I promise to serve Him all the days of my life. 48 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:32,600 Now if you prayed that prayer and you really meant it, that really is all we need to do 49 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:34,160 to receive Jesus Christ. 50 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:35,760 Now you need to get into a good church. 51 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:40,000 You need to find a church that preaches the truth, which is the entire Word of God so 52 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,040 that you can be blessed by it and grow in your faith. 53 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:47,200 I hadn't planned to do that, but I believe the Holy Spirit intervened and kind of interrupted 54 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,800 this podcast so I could do that at that time. 55 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:54,480 So I pray that someone out there was blessed to understand how to become a follower of Jesus 56 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:56,720 Christ and live the abundant life. 57 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:00,920 So then when we become Christians, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us. 58 00:03:00,920 --> 00:03:04,480 He brings abundance to our thoughts and our actions. 59 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:05,480 Think about that. 60 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:09,760 Just even our thoughts, He brings abundance and the actions that we take, He brings abundance. 61 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:13,280 As believers, we receive the abundant promise. 62 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,680 We find in one of the scriptures, it's becoming one of my all time favorites and that's in 63 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:18,160 Romans chapter 8 and verse 1. 64 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:19,680 I'm going to read that to you. 65 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:24,480 It's in the new international version and it says here, therefore there is no condemnation 66 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:26,800 for those who are in Christ Jesus. 67 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:31,720 I'll define that in just a second, but what does that mean to us relating to abundant 68 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:32,720 living? 69 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:36,360 Some of you might say, well, my understanding of that scripture is that there's no condemnation 70 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:37,920 because we've been forgiven. 71 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:38,920 That's true. 72 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:43,520 And that's really what most people think it is, but there's far more outreaching information. 73 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:48,640 I think far reaching definition and expanded definition of what that really means that 74 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:50,640 there is no condemnation. 75 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:51,840 Let me give you an example. 76 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:56,400 In John chapter 10 and verse 10, Jesus was talking to His disciples and He said that 77 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:00,120 the devil or Satan comes to steal, to kill and destroy. 78 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:04,040 And then Jesus said, but I've come to give life and give it to you more abundantly. 79 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:09,280 Now stealing and killing and destroying people, I would say is definitely condemnation. 80 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:14,720 And so therefore if Jesus said that we can live a righteous life and we can live a godly 81 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:20,440 life and then we can live that life more abundantly and there's no condemnation in us, then why 82 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:25,640 would that not also apply to not only our salvation, but our experiences in life, our 83 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,600 health and our welfare, our finances, our marriage. 84 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:31,000 There's no condemnation in our marriage. 85 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:32,400 There's no condemnation in our health. 86 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:38,200 There's no condemnation in our walk with God because Jesus defeated Satan and his attack 87 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:41,960 upon Christians upon followers of Jesus Christ. 88 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:47,360 Therefore Romans 8, 1, therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ 89 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:48,360 Jesus. 90 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:50,680 I want you to receive that for every aspect of your life. 91 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,480 If you have a physical problem, there's really no condemnation for you. 92 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:55,760 So I pray in Jesus' name that you'll be healed. 93 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:59,480 If you're dealing with a financial challenge, I pray in Jesus' name that you would receive 94 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:03,840 the blessings that you need and that financial need would be solved and taken away in the 95 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:04,840 name of Jesus. 96 00:05:04,840 --> 00:05:08,880 And I can go on and on and list many, many things that no condemnation applies to. 97 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:12,680 So you can't live the abundant life and be walking around in condemnation. 98 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:16,600 And a lot of folks carry condemnation because they struggle with the things that they've 99 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,760 done in the past that maybe God cannot forgive them of that. 100 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:22,560 But remember, there is no condemnation for those past sins. 101 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:26,840 They're removed as far as the east is from the west, never to be remembered again. 102 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:32,280 So when we look upon abundant living, that applies to many things, many, many things 103 00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:33,280 in our life. 104 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:35,920 We're living a quality, full life. 105 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:39,320 It's not just getting by or existing, should I say. 106 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:43,120 It's not trying to make it from day to day and just trying to somehow I'm going to get 107 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:44,620 through this thing. 108 00:05:44,620 --> 00:05:47,520 It's not making a statement like, how are you doing today? 109 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:49,920 And someone responds with, well, I'm still breathing. 110 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:51,320 I'm still standing up. 111 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:53,360 I'm not laying down in the ground. 112 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:57,800 Those types of statements may be kind of cute and whatever, but they really are not helpful 113 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:00,760 in understanding how we can live an abundant life. 114 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:05,080 We don't say when someone tells us how you're doing or how you're feeling today, we need 115 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,480 to come back with them and say things like this. 116 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:11,400 We should respond to a question of how are you today and how are things with you. 117 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:15,960 I think we should respond with something like, I'm blessed and I'm highly favored or I'm 118 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:20,880 a child of God or something that points to God, to points to the abundant living that 119 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:22,240 we have access to. 120 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:26,080 Now whether you're living in that abundant living right now, if you're living in that 121 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:30,720 situation or you're not living into it, that doesn't mean that you cannot speak about 122 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:35,600 living abundantly and claim that promise for your life and see your life change to where 123 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:39,440 comments like, if it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. 124 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:43,720 We need to get rid of that stuff, get it out of our vocabulary and just receive the fact 125 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:45,520 that we are a child of God. 126 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:50,800 We are highly favored and we are a child of the Almighty God, the maker of heaven and 127 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:52,680 earth, the maker of all creation. 128 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:53,960 Okay, let's move on here. 129 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:57,760 I have a couple thoughts I want to talk about just specifically abundant living. 130 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:01,160 As a believer in Jesus, let me tell you what I think abundant living is. 131 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:06,440 It's defined as living according to God's will and according to the purpose He has 132 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:07,600 for us in our life. 133 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:09,240 When we do that, we're going to live abundantly. 134 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:14,240 Now that doesn't mean you're guaranteed a mansion to live in and gorgeous cars to drive 135 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:16,000 and tons of money in the bank. 136 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:17,680 It just simply means this. 137 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:22,680 Abundant living is defined as living according to God's will and fulfilling your purpose 138 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:23,680 in life. 139 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:24,680 Here's another one. 140 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:29,040 It is described by Jesus in Matthew 6, 24 and 25. 141 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:30,040 Let me read that to you. 142 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:31,440 Now Jesus is speaking here. 143 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:33,760 He's talking to His disciples. 144 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:35,840 It's really a teaching about money and possession. 145 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:41,000 It applies very much to what we're talking about here for success, prospering and abundant 146 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:42,000 living. 147 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:46,280 Specifically in this podcast, we're dealing with the subject of just abundant living 148 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:49,320 or living the life abundantly. 149 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:50,680 Jesus says these words. 150 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:53,920 It's in Matthew chapter 6 and verse number 24. 151 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:58,800 Jesus says, No one can serve two masters, for you will hate one and love the other. 152 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:01,320 You will be devoted to one and despise the other. 153 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:02,920 You cannot serve both God and money. 154 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:07,840 So right up front, He's dealing with the issue of finances, success, prosperity. 155 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,640 What some people refer to as money being abundance. 156 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:14,640 Well, money can be a part of abundance, but it's not all there is to abundance, not by 157 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:15,640 a long shot. 158 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:17,160 Verse 25, Jesus says this. 159 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:20,400 That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life. 160 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:25,400 Whether you have enough food and drink or enough clothes to wear, isn't life more than 161 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:28,400 food and your body more than clothing? 162 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:29,400 Look at the birds. 163 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:34,120 They don't plant or harvest or store food in the barns, for your heavenly Father feeds 164 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,480 them and aren't you far more valuable to Him than they are? 165 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:41,000 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 166 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:42,000 Think about that. 167 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,960 Here Jesus is talking about something that attacks us and comes up after us and makes 168 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:49,680 us worry and be concerned and be anxious about things and He's telling you don't worry about 169 00:08:49,680 --> 00:08:53,840 that stuff because God's got to take care of He's in control of everything. 170 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:56,320 He wants you to live the abundant life and don't worry. 171 00:08:56,320 --> 00:09:00,440 You see, abundant living is not having worry and anxiety in our life. 172 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:03,680 Oh, things come up and we have challenges and those things, but we've got to push our 173 00:09:03,680 --> 00:09:04,680 trust in God. 174 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:09,040 The Bible tells us to be anxious for nothing, but with everything, with our prayers, petitions 175 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:12,880 and thanksgiving, let our requests be made known to God and the peace of God that best 176 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:16,280 is all understanding will guard our heart and guard our mind in Christ Jesus. 177 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,640 When we get that scripture and we put it inside of us, I believe we're living above. 178 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:23,320 Abundantly, abundant living is what every Christian desires. 179 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:25,440 As a matter of fact, abundant living is peace. 180 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:27,280 It's a great definition of it. 181 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,000 Abundant living is brought on by the Holy Spirit. 182 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:34,160 He provides comfort and joy and happiness and contentment. 183 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:38,600 Abundant living is Psalm 46 and 1 in the New International Version. 184 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:43,280 God is our refuge and strength and ever present help and trouble. 185 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:47,080 When we believe that, when we get that into our heart and our mind and into our soul, 186 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:51,800 we will understand what abundant living is all about and how to live that life. 187 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,760 Abundant living is having our financial needs met. 188 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:59,120 Matter of fact, even more finances than we'll need, more than enough. 189 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:01,000 I'm sure some of you out there are saying, I'll take that. 190 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,080 I'll take a little of that more than enough finances to meet our needs. 191 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:08,480 Well, I believe that God wants us to be able to be blessed financially so that we'll have 192 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:13,280 our needs met and we will have an abundance to help others, to reach out to others. 193 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:14,520 That's how the church should operate. 194 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:18,760 When the church sets up its offering and they take the offering or receive it, however they 195 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:23,040 do, those funds should come in to support what the church is doing and also provide 196 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:24,680 for the needs of their community. 197 00:10:24,680 --> 00:10:28,560 Okay, let me move on now to something I said in my introduction. 198 00:10:28,560 --> 00:10:32,240 That is that I'm going to give you seven steps to obtain abundant living. 199 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:36,840 Now, this is not a guarantee, but it's all for close to that because if we follow what 200 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:40,680 God's Word tells us to do, if we do that, I'm not saying this is going to cover all 201 00:10:40,680 --> 00:10:41,680 of God's Word. 202 00:10:41,680 --> 00:10:46,520 If we learn how to follow the teachings that Lord gives us, I can guarantee you that we 203 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:48,520 will all live the abundant life. 204 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:53,600 If we follow His direction for our finances, His directions for our family, our marriages, 205 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:57,600 parenting, all the things that we're supposed to do and that God gives us instructions on, 206 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:00,480 if we follow that, we would live the abundant life. 207 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:03,840 So since we're not going to get into the entire Word and cover it all, let's just cover a 208 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:04,840 few points. 209 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:08,600 I'll give you seven points I think that may be helpful to keeping it a little bit condensed 210 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:12,760 to help all of us understand that there really are steps to obtain abundance in our life 211 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:16,360 and not just financial but abundance in every area of our life. 212 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:21,640 In 1 John chapter 4 and verse 4 in the new international version, let me read you this 213 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:22,640 scripture. 214 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:26,000 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them. 215 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:29,800 That's the challenges of life because, now listen to this, here's the most important 216 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:31,280 part of this scripture. 217 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:35,360 The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 218 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:36,360 Wow. 219 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:37,360 We should learn to live that every day. 220 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:38,360 We should believe that. 221 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:41,440 Yes, every one of us needs to learn how to believe that statement. 222 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:44,040 You see, we must live daily with that promise. 223 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:47,320 Let me read the promise again and talk a little bit about it as we go through it. 224 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:49,520 The one who is in you, that's the Holy Spirit. 225 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:50,520 That's the power of God. 226 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:52,280 Living and dwelling in us. 227 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:56,760 Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and 228 00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:57,760 Savior. 229 00:11:57,760 --> 00:11:59,200 The Holy Spirit comes to dwell on us. 230 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:04,000 Now there's the gift of tongues and the gift of the Holy Spirit that come into play but 231 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:05,720 that's not what I'm talking about right now. 232 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:09,960 I'm just saying that the one who is in you, which is the spirit of the living God, comes 233 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:14,520 into us when we become a child of God and receive Jesus our Lord and Savior. 234 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:18,240 We cleanse ourselves all the sins that we've done in our life and we have a new life for 235 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:19,240 a new creation. 236 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:20,240 The Holy Spirit comes in. 237 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:22,560 So the one who is in you is greater. 238 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:26,680 Now that means that the Holy Spirit is greater than anything outside, anything out in the 239 00:12:26,680 --> 00:12:27,680 world. 240 00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:32,760 Any demon in hell, any devil that's out there, any angry people that don't like you, relatives 241 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:36,840 that are opposed to you or against you, friends that have turned against you, a husband that 242 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:41,240 turned on you and left you, or a wife that turned on you and left you, all of those things, 243 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:47,040 the one who is in you, the Holy Spirit is greater than the one who's in the world it 244 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:48,040 says. 245 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:49,040 So that means this. 246 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:52,680 That means there's nothing out there that is more difficult or more challenging for 247 00:12:52,680 --> 00:12:55,320 the Holy Spirit than what he can handle. 248 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:56,720 He can handle anything. 249 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:58,120 Nothing is impossible with him. 250 00:12:58,120 --> 00:12:59,880 There's nothing impossible with God. 251 00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:04,160 And in our life, we've got to remember that the one that's in us, the one who's dwelling 252 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:08,480 and living in us is greater than a diagnosis of cancer because I've had several of those 253 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:12,760 in my life and been told I wasn't going to live, but the one who is in me is greater 254 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:14,400 than a diagnosis of cancer. 255 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:18,440 The one who is in me is greater than any financial failure that I might have. 256 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:23,800 The one who is in us is greater than the child that's turned on us and has become a prodigal 257 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:24,800 child. 258 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:28,080 You see, the reason that I'm spending so much time on this one and I made it the first 259 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:33,040 one in my seven steps to obtain abundant living is because we've got to believe this. 260 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:34,880 Otherwise, we can't live abundantly. 261 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,120 We've got to believe that the one who is in us is greater than those who are against 262 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:39,960 us or those in the world. 263 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:44,240 And we've got to believe in the word of God says, if God is for us, who can be against 264 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:45,240 us? 265 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:46,240 It really doesn't matter who's against us. 266 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:49,720 If God is for us, those scriptures are the things that carry us. 267 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:52,920 Those are the words of God that carry us through the challenges of life. 268 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:54,440 It doesn't matter what we come through. 269 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:55,640 We can live abundantly. 270 00:13:55,640 --> 00:14:00,640 When I was diagnosed with cancer 22 years ago, lost my right kidney, they were concerned 271 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:02,880 about it spreading all over me and all that stuff. 272 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:06,080 I had to rely upon the power of the Holy Spirit to help me through it. 273 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:07,600 I had to rely upon God's word. 274 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:11,720 I had to learn how to trust in the Lord with all my heart, lean not on Him, my own understanding 275 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:15,080 and all my way, acknowledge Him and He would direct my path. 276 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:17,400 That's Proverbs chapter 3 and verse 5. 277 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:20,800 Those are the things we've got to understand in order to live abundantly. 278 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:24,960 And that's why I'm emphasizing this because that needs to be a part of our life. 279 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:27,720 Maybe some of you out there might want to take a little piece of paper and write it 280 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:31,840 on there or put it on your phone or something to keep that in front of you that the one 281 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:34,280 who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 282 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:35,280 Alright, I made my point. 283 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:36,280 I'm going to move on. 284 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:41,880 Step number two, we live abundantly when we never use the word lucky or luck. 285 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:44,000 Now you might say, well, that's not very deep. 286 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:45,760 Well, it really is very deep. 287 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:49,160 You see, the word luck is a word that the world uses. 288 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:50,320 They created that. 289 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:54,640 They created that so that we could take our reliance upon God away, that we would place 290 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,040 our hope and luck rather than in God. 291 00:14:57,040 --> 00:14:59,600 And yet so many people use that word constantly. 292 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:03,040 When I'm around Christians and they say, well, you're lucky or you're lucky about this or 293 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:06,880 I'm lucky about that, I always tell them, no, we really should say that we're blessed. 294 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:13,160 Because of Christians, we should always believe that God wants to bless us. 295 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:16,440 And I suggest we never use the word luck. 296 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:18,800 There's something one of my former pastors used to say. 297 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:21,240 He says, when there's a word that you think is wrong or something you don't want in your 298 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:25,440 house, go to your dictionaries and find that word and scratch it out or cut it out. 299 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:28,160 Get it out of there so that even your kids can't relate to that word. 300 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:30,120 I think that's kind of an interesting point. 301 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:35,440 But in reality, as believers in Jesus Christ, to live the abundant life, it has nothing 302 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:36,440 to do with luck. 303 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:43,720 It has nothing to do with coincidence or circumstances because luck will fail us when we're having 304 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:45,740 problems and trials and challenges. 305 00:15:45,740 --> 00:15:49,640 But our faith in God and being blessed will carry us through that and we can still live 306 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:50,640 that abundant life. 307 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:54,880 Right, number three, to live abundantly, we should share our faith with others. 308 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:58,560 I think that's a very important point because it builds our faith. 309 00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:01,440 When we share our faith with someone else, we're building our faith. 310 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:05,520 When I tell someone that I'm blessed, if they don't ask me why, I'm going to tell 311 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:06,520 them why I am. 312 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:09,680 I'm blessed because I know that God cares for me. 313 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:14,120 And or just something to let them know that I just believe that there's a higher source 314 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:16,720 of blessing than just what's happening around us. 315 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,320 So we've got to understand to live abundantly, we've got to openly share the faith that we 316 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:22,040 have in Jesus Christ with others. 317 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:25,440 I don't mean that you can grab your Bible and go down the road and just start beating 318 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:27,920 on the Bible and yelling at people to get saved. 319 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:28,920 That's not what I'm talking about. 320 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:30,600 But we should share our faith. 321 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:35,120 The fact that the testimony that we have is something that will bless someone else. 322 00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:39,400 Jesus gave his disciples an order and it's called the Great Commission. 323 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:40,400 He told them to do this. 324 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:44,560 He didn't say, I like to think about maybe talking to people about Jesus or if he kind 325 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:48,120 fit it into your schedule somehow or maybe when you're out fishing that maybe you might 326 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:50,760 want to drop a little word like God is good or something. 327 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:54,480 Jesus said very specifically that he told them to go out in the world. 328 00:16:54,480 --> 00:17:00,320 Matthew chapter 22 verses 18 and 19 in the new international version it says this. 329 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:06,160 Then Jesus came to them and said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 330 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:08,480 And then verse 19, listen to this very direct. 331 00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:12,120 He didn't say, I hope you will or maybe you will or if you find time to do this, he says, 332 00:17:12,120 --> 00:17:15,880 therefore go and make disciples of all nations. 333 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:21,120 That means people baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy 334 00:17:21,120 --> 00:17:22,120 Spirit. 335 00:17:22,120 --> 00:17:26,880 The Great Commission was given to us by Jesus, not as a suggestion, but something he tells 336 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:28,200 us that we need to do. 337 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:32,560 And I know for some people it's very difficult for them to share their faith, but we've got 338 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:36,240 to teach ourselves that what we have we need to share with someone else. 339 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:37,600 You can do it in a soft manner. 340 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:41,400 You can just simply say that you go to church and you can start the conversation there. 341 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:44,400 You can say that you were at church the other day and you heard a wonderful message or you 342 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:49,560 met this wonderful person in church or just somehow bring your church relationship into 343 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:51,400 the discussion you're having with people. 344 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:55,680 That opens up the window for you to have a discussion where you can share your faith. 345 00:17:55,680 --> 00:18:00,560 I would also encourage you the way I many times get to share my faith is when I'm saying 346 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:03,920 I'm at a coffee shop or I'm really checking out someplace. 347 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:08,240 I'll just turn to someone and just say, you know, just smile at them or just say something 348 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:11,960 like, you know, it's nice outside, whatever, or it's raining or whatever, just to get the 349 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:15,080 thing rolling and say, you know, I'm just happy to be here. 350 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:16,080 They'll look at me kind of find out. 351 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:20,320 I'll say, you know, because I was diagnosed with incurable cancer several years ago and 352 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:23,360 that was only told I had a short time to live, but now look what's happened. 353 00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:24,880 You might think, well, that's a little heavy. 354 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:25,880 That's not really at all. 355 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:27,480 The people, they're open to that. 356 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:28,480 They enjoy that. 357 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:33,320 I'll say that, you know, I just want to know I believe in prayer and so I know God blesses 358 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:34,320 us and helps us. 359 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:37,080 So matter of fact, is there anything that I could pray with you about? 360 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:38,440 This is a perfect stranger. 361 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:39,640 You might say, well, boy, that's brash. 362 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:40,640 No, it's not at all. 363 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:44,960 You know, in all the people, and there have been a lot of people over the years, I won't 364 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:49,760 boast about it, but just as often as I can possibly do it, I want to ask people, is there 365 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:51,120 anything I can pray with you about? 366 00:18:51,120 --> 00:18:52,120 Let me give you an example. 367 00:18:52,120 --> 00:18:55,240 And please don't, please forgive me for the personal reference, but I wound up in the 368 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:56,240 hospital. 369 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:57,640 I went for 72 days every day. 370 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:02,560 I had to get antibiotic treatments to take away an infection that was in my back. 371 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:04,120 So 72 straight days. 372 00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:07,200 Every day for three hours, I had to go through this process. 373 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:10,720 And I didn't think much about it because all of a sudden I found there was an opportunity. 374 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:14,160 I was going to the hospital and I was going to be meeting with a nurse and whether that 375 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:17,520 nurse is a man or a woman, they would have to work with me for a period of about three 376 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:18,520 hours. 377 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:21,560 And I would go in there and I got to talking to them and I would tell them, by the way, 378 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:25,840 I'm making a list of all the nurses here and I'm making a list of their first names 379 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:27,400 so my wife and I can pray for them. 380 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:28,400 And you're one of them. 381 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:30,080 So I put your name on my list. 382 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:34,640 And I'm telling you, every single time I mentioned that, someone would say, oh, that's really 383 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:35,640 sweet. 384 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:36,640 Oh, that's so nice. 385 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:40,080 And I would say something like, is there anything in particular I can pray with you about? 386 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:44,640 Now here I'm there to get treatment of medication and they're there to help me, but it's an 387 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:45,640 opportunity. 388 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:46,640 It's a wonderful opportunity. 389 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:49,320 I'm not suggesting you go to the hospital to do this. 390 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:50,320 Stay away from the hospital. 391 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:53,600 I want you to stay away from all hospitals because, quite frankly, people die there. 392 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:56,520 I know that's a weak joke, but nonetheless, I had to put that in there. 393 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,600 We've got to understand that people need help. 394 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:00,600 People need Jesus. 395 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:01,600 We need to share our faith. 396 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:05,320 And any opportunity we have, ask someone if you can pray for them or tell them you're 397 00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:06,400 praying for them. 398 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:08,320 When you do, you make a connection. 399 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:11,680 And many times, it opens up to an opportunity to share your faith. 400 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,880 Okay, step number four to live life abundantly. 401 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:20,400 Remember, our past mistakes must not be repeated. 402 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:21,400 That's an interesting point. 403 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:26,200 It's very short and sweet, but quite frankly, past experiences can really hurt us. 404 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:27,360 They can bring us down. 405 00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:33,800 But past experiences can also bring forth current bondage and not abundance. 406 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:37,720 We should grow from our past mistakes and move into abundant living. 407 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:42,600 We should not allow our past issues and mistakes and sins and the things that have been in 408 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:45,520 our life to rob us of living that abundant life. 409 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:48,520 Number five, seek knowledge to have abundance. 410 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:51,800 In Matthew chapter 13 and verse 12, Jesus said this, 411 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:58,200 Those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance 412 00:20:58,200 --> 00:20:59,200 of knowledge. 413 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:03,840 But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be 414 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:05,280 taken away from them. 415 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:08,680 The part I want you to remember more than anything else in that particular scripture 416 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:14,040 when it first starts out, it says, Those who listen to my teaching, more understanding 417 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:18,920 will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. 418 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:23,360 You see, knowledge is one of the key steps to living the abundant life. 419 00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:25,280 And the knowledge that we need is the word of God. 420 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:26,840 We need to get wisdom from God. 421 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:32,000 We need to have the word of God in our life daily so that we receive guidance and direction 422 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:33,720 from him and from his word. 423 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:39,120 All right, step number six, for abundance in our finances, put God first in our giving. 424 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:40,600 I'm going to give you a little suggestion here. 425 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:44,320 I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this because I preached an awful lot over in prior 426 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:48,440 podcasts and did a whole series on finances recently. 427 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:50,800 And I just want to make a statement about that. 428 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:55,480 For abundance living, living that abundant life in our finances, we need to put God first 429 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:58,000 in our giving and in all of our decisions that we make. 430 00:21:58,000 --> 00:21:59,920 We should pray and ask God, should we do that or not? 431 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:01,960 Ask the Holy Spirit to help us with it. 432 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:05,280 If you get confused about something you're praying about, then I believe you got your 433 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:10,080 answer because when we're confused, I believe it's not of God because God is not the author 434 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:13,120 of confusion, but he's the author of peace. 435 00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:15,480 So there, if I, we need to put God first in our giving. 436 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:17,800 Let me give an example, just a short one here. 437 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:22,440 I suggest in your finances, give 10% of what you make to the Lord. 438 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:23,760 That means to your local church. 439 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:28,200 Give 10% to yourself to save and put a savings account and live on the other 80%. 440 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:29,800 Now you can't do that overnight. 441 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:34,800 I realize that, but we should reevaluate our finances so that we can live on 80% of what 442 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:38,400 we make and save 10% and give 10% to the work of the Lord. 443 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:40,680 By doing that, you're preparing for your future. 444 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:42,160 You're blessing the work of God. 445 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:45,600 You're thankful to God for what he's done for you and you're meeting your needs. 446 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:49,720 Matter of fact, you might want to have an ultimate goal of giving the Lord or the church 447 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:55,520 that you go to 20% of what you make, save 20% and live on 60% of what you make. 448 00:22:55,520 --> 00:23:00,760 That means really working out an understanding of what you really need in your daily life. 449 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:04,480 Because I can tell you right now, if you give 20% or 10% to the work of the Lord, it's going 450 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:07,080 to make you a better steward of the money that you have. 451 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:10,080 What you have left over, you're going to be better at managing it if you've given some 452 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:11,080 of it away. 453 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:14,600 And if you save 10 or 20% of the money that you have now, whether you're a young person 454 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:19,040 or middle-aged person or even older person, if we can learn to save, then we will not 455 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:24,040 lack, quite frankly, in the area of our finances and we will have an abundance in our finances. 456 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:25,240 Move on to number seven. 457 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:30,400 Step number seven when it comes to understanding the way to obtain abundant living. 458 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:37,400 Don't listen to those who believe that Christians cannot be successful or prosper or live abundantly. 459 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:40,520 Their argument, and I've had them right on my face and telling me, you can't talk about 460 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:41,520 that. 461 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:42,520 You can't talk about success. 462 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:43,520 You can't talk about finances. 463 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:44,520 You can't talk about those things. 464 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:48,160 Their argument to me has always been that these things are showing your self-centeredness 465 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:49,760 and you're being selfish. 466 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:55,400 Our response to that should be, in God's word, it encourages us to be successful. 467 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:57,160 It encourages us to prosper. 468 00:23:57,160 --> 00:23:59,120 It encourages us to live the abundant life. 469 00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:03,720 So that pretty much dismisses the argument that people have that say, it's self-centeredness 470 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:05,600 and all that to talk about these things. 471 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:07,960 And I even had a guy recently make a statement. 472 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:11,440 He said, I can't believe you want to talk on success because to know where in the Word 473 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:13,680 of God does it talk about success. 474 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:17,640 So I immediately went to the Word of God and started looking, whatever, some translations 475 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:19,960 use the word success multiple times. 476 00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:22,240 In the Old Testament, it's used quite frequently. 477 00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:25,280 In the book of Proverbs and Psalms, it's used quite frequently. 478 00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:26,480 And also in the New Testament. 479 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:28,600 So you know so much for that argument. 480 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:31,600 But we just know that God wants to bless us. 481 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:36,960 Once again, why would God put over 2,000 references in his word? 482 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:42,680 Old and New Testament talking about finances, prosperity, success, living abundantly and 483 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:43,680 all those things. 484 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:45,440 Why would he spend so much time on that? 485 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:50,320 Now he talks about how to get it and how good it should be and why it can bless us and how 486 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:51,840 we can make that happen in our life. 487 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:56,120 But he also warns us many times in the Word of God to avoid those things and don't let 488 00:24:56,120 --> 00:24:58,920 those things rob us of a blessing with God. 489 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:03,440 Don't let success, don't let prosperity, do not let abundant living that's seeking 490 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:06,040 for it rob you of the fullness of God. 491 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:09,680 I made a statement in a prayer podcast and I said, whatever you do, I think it was on 492 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:12,000 prosperity, whatever you do, don't seek prosperity. 493 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:13,960 Well that applies to abundance. 494 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:15,800 You should not seek success. 495 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:17,280 We should not seek prosperity. 496 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:22,280 We should not seek abundant living because only thing we should do is first seek the 497 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:25,960 kingdom of God and His righteousness and then all these things will be added unto us. 498 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:27,400 So seek God first. 499 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:32,440 But if we seek God and we get into His Word, we will find and God will bring to us through 500 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:37,720 His teaching in His words these issues of success, prosperity and living abundantly. 501 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:38,920 It's all in the Word of God. 502 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:41,280 You'll find it there but just don't seek it. 503 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:42,280 Seek God. 504 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:45,760 I'm going to close out this podcast now because I'm kind of running out of time and I want 505 00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:50,240 to spend a moment very quickly to tell you about what's coming up in my next podcast. 506 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:55,080 As a matter of fact, I've been talking about spiritual prosperity and financial prosperity. 507 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:58,280 I've been talking about abundant living and all those types of things. 508 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:02,800 Well, I'm going to talk about how we can have it all, how we can have spiritual growth and 509 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:04,600 these other blessings in our life. 510 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:09,320 So my next podcast coming up is entitled How to Have It All. 511 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:12,400 People come to me sometimes and say, Pastor, I appreciate you talking about giving to the 512 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:14,640 church or that you do this or you do that. 513 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:15,640 But I just can't do that. 514 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:18,680 I can't afford to give to the church and still pay my bills. 515 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:23,400 And I think when we feel that way, we're robbing God or the opportunity to teach us how to 516 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:24,600 get these things in order. 517 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:29,760 And we're refusing to discipline ourselves and to allow ourselves to lean upon the Holy 518 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:33,560 Spirit and lean upon the Word of God and trust God to take care of these things in our life. 519 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:36,520 So I believe that we can have it all. 520 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:41,600 But having it all means to me is that we can grow spiritually and grow financially, that 521 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:46,360 we can grow in our walk with God and operate with the Holy Spirit in us and help people 522 00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:50,600 and witness people and share our faith and be successful in business, that we can do 523 00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:51,600 all those things. 524 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:53,880 There are no limitations on God. 525 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:58,480 God wants to bless us in every area of our life, whether it be our home, our family, whether 526 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:03,000 it be our job, the career that we have, the work that we do, the possessions that we own, 527 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,680 the money that we give to the church, all those things he wants to bless us in those 528 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:07,680 areas. 529 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:09,160 And so let's not limit God. 530 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:10,160 Let God be God. 531 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:13,040 That means let him do what he is going to do. 532 00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:17,840 So let me just give you a couple little lines that will be included in this next podcast, 533 00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:18,840 how to have it all. 534 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:21,680 Let me show you what having it all means. 535 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:27,040 We're going to discover how God's Word can show us we can have more than we think we 536 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:28,040 can. 537 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:31,760 That doesn't mean we're greedy because he wants to bless us with more than we think we 538 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:33,100 can be blessed with. 539 00:27:33,100 --> 00:27:34,280 That's in every area of our life. 540 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:37,480 How much is enough for you is something we'll talk about. 541 00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:43,920 And we will look into the good and bad sides of being successful and prospering and seeking 542 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:46,680 the abundant light because we should never seek any of these. 543 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:52,840 And how does a Christian keep in balance the blessings of God, his walk with God and his 544 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:54,800 work, his home and his family? 545 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:55,800 It's going to be fun. 546 00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:56,800 I'm looking forward to it. 547 00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:58,520 So with that, let me just close this in prayer. 548 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:00,880 Father, thank you for blessing this podcast. 549 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:05,000 I pray those that listened in, received it with a positive open of heart and under the 550 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:07,000 anointing and the power of the Holy Spirit. 551 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:08,000 Bless them and keep them. 552 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:10,720 I pray and I'll thank you for it now and give you the glory in Jesus' name. 553 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:11,720 I pray, amen. 554 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:16,040 If you'd like to know more about quality Christian living, you can do that by going to my webpage 555 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:18,360 at davidcfriendauthor.com. 556 00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:21,640 And when you go there, the front page has a link to these podcasts. 557 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:25,520 This is podcast number 249. 558 00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:29,320 And that means we've done a lot of podcasts and there are series on business, there's 559 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:33,720 series on finances, there's series on the gifts of the Spirit, the manifestations of 560 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:36,000 the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit. 561 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:42,360 There's a series of messages on faith for miracles and one dealing with how we can increase 562 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:44,920 our faith and be blessed of the Lord to do that. 563 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:46,760 So I hope that you'll enjoy that. 564 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:50,400 In addition to that, if you would like to know more about my writings, you can just scroll 565 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:54,000 down on that front page and you'll see a reference to some books that I've written. 566 00:28:54,000 --> 00:29:00,640 If you would like to subscribe to my podcast, you can do that by going to cpnshows.com or 567 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:02,720 wherever you listen to your podcast. 568 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:06,200 So I'm wrapping this up, but so thankful that you listened in today. 569 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:10,440 I want to close this with just a few words that I'd like to share at the end of each 570 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:11,440 podcast. 571 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:13,440 May the Lord bless you and keep you. 572 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:15,200 May his face shine upon you. 573 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:17,520 May he be gracious to you and give you peace. 574 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:21,160 May you prosper and be in good health, even as your soul prospers. 575 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:26,440 So until next time, I pray that God will richly bless you and I pray that you'll walk in the 576 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:31,520 fullness of God and you'll live that life abundant living that Jesus said. 577 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:35,120 He wants us to live life and live it more abundantly. 578 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:36,120 That's what this is about. 579 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:37,240 It's not getting rich. 580 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:39,360 It's not about having more money than the next guy. 581 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:41,000 It's living that abundant life. 582 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:43,720 It's having the power of God in our life. 583 00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:45,720 It's being led by the Spirit of God. 584 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,240 It's being instructed by his word and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. 585 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:53,200 So thank you once again for listening into the Quality Christian Living podcast and I 586 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,000 am your host, David Fren. 587 00:29:55,000 --> 00:30:19,760 Once again, may God richly bless you.