CHANGE YOUR IMAGE YOU CHANGE YOUR LIFE: Sadly, many are not living an abundant life—the kind of prosperous lifestyle God has planned. Why? Because of vision. They don’t see themselves as anything other than poor and in lack, or “just getting by.” God wants all His children to live in abundance. hat sounds harsh, I know, but it is reality. Most Christians today are living beneath their privileges, and not up to what God has promised and expects of them. They know they are saved, and they understand they have an inheritance that includes eternal life when they leave this earth. But when it comes to manifesting what we have been given here on the earth, the vast majority has missed it. Why? Because they have a poor self-image—a distorted mental picture of themselves. Meanwhile, the ungodly are increasing: “Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches” (Psalm 73:12). Look around and take note of what’s going on in industries such as entertainment, gambling, real estate, oil and in business, and who has most of the wealth in the world. I heard 33 billionaires in Russia alone, and I would dare say most of them are not Christian. In the book of Jeremiah the prophet asked, “Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?” (Jeremiah12:1). I’ll tell you how they are prospering— by understanding and working the corrupt and failing world system. Jesus said, “For the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of [God]” (Luke 16:8). They are using their system and working their way to the top, while at the same time gaining respect from the world. What I’m saying is that the devil has a system for getting his people ahead and keeping them there. A Prosperous Image Well, God has a system, too. But His system doesn’t involve deception nor is it corrupt or dishonest in any way. It involves you seeing yourself as God sees you and recognizing that your inheritance of the abundant life is here and now. Working God’s system begins with you developing a prosperous image inside yourself, according to His Word. In Matthew 12:34, Jesus said, talking to the religious leaders, “You offspring of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil (wicked)? For out of the fullness (the overflow,the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks”(AMP Bible). That’s where your prosperous image begins—in your heart or spirit. As I studied carefully God’s ways and the kingdom-of-God system, I saw that Jesus didn’t spend time trying to get men out of poverty. He got the poverty out of them and they did the rest. If Christ were here today, He wouldn’t move people out of the slums...He’d simply get the slums out of them. Their new inner image would eventually change their surroundings to match the new prosperous image on the inside. God’s way of changing your world is by first changing your self-image through His Word and the work of His Spirit on the inside of you. Jesus teaches, “The sower soweth the word” (Mark 4:14). When you acknowledge or confess God’s promises, you are sowing the seed of His Word into the soil of your heart (spirit) where it begins to develop and bring to pass what you have spoken. Out of that seed good things will grow. Jesus goes on to say, “A good man out of the good [deposit] of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil [deposit] bringeth forth evil things” (Matthew 12:35). The abundant life is already yours right now. Jesus saw to that a long time ago. He was rich in all things, but became poor so that you could live an abundant, prosperous, rich life (2 Corinthians 8:9). Abundance, or prosperity, is so much more than money. God’s idea of being rich is having more than enough in every area of your life— so much you can be a blessing and give generously to others. Where Is Your Wealth? The question still arises for the Body of Christ, If God wants His people to abound in every area of life, and He has already made provision, why are so many believers not walking in that prosperity? When the 12 spies came back from spying out the land of Canaan, 10 of them had what the Bible calls an “evil report.” What they all observed was a pretty impossible situation in the natural. Joshua and Caleb, however, had a “good report.” “Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers13:30). Joshua and Caleb’s report was different not because of what they observed with their natural eyes, but because of how they saw themselves on the inside. They saw themselves and their situation in the light of God’s Word and not according to what had been programmed into them during their years of bondage in Egypt. The Word, “the good deposit” in their hearts, was coming out of their mouths and God was bound to honor it. God said, “For I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it” (Jeremiah 1:12,AMP Bible). Do you see how bold Joshua and Caleb were? Proverbs 28:1 says, “The righteous are bold as a lion.” It was illogical to believe they could fight a nation of giants, win the battle and take their land. But the image the two spies had of themselves and their confidence that God was on their side caused them to declare the impossible: “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30). This is where most Christians fear to tread. It’s where we must walk by faith and not by sight. INTIMATE ONE DAILY DEVOTIONAL JULY 18TH, 2013.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 06:51:03 +0000
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