Series: Breakthrough – 2020

Seven Areas of Breakthrough This Year:

1. Faith – your personal walk with God
2. Family – family situations, with children, spouses.
3. Finances – managing our money, etc.
4. Freedom – areas of our lives that we have strongholds
5. Fun – we need to enjoy life
6. Field of Endeavor – your job or vocation
7. Friendships – social relationships outside of family

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Seven Areas of Breakthrough This Year:

1. Faith – your personal walk with God
2. Family – family situations, with children, spouses.
3. Finances – managing our money, etc.
4. Freedom – areas of our lives that we have strongholds
5. Fun – we need to enjoy life
6. Field of Endeavor – your job or vocation
7. Friendships – social relationships outside of family

• You need some good, healthy friendships in your life.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 | NLT (9)  Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. (10)  If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. (11)  Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? (12)  A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

• No one has a lot of friends. You may have a lot of acquaintances.

Someone who is dying never says, “I wish I had spent more time at the office.”  What most people say is, “I wish I had spent more time with my friends and family.” 

Proverbs 18:24 | RSV (24)  There are friends who pretend to be friends, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. 

• Adversity is where you will find who your true friends are.

Luke 15:13-16 | NKJV (13)  And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. (14)  But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. (15)  Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. (16)  And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. 

Luke 15:13 | AMPC (13)  And not many days after that, the younger son gathered up all that he had and journeyed into a distant country, and there he wasted his fortune in reckless and loose [from restraint] living.  

The prodigal found himself in a hard time by himself. Where were all of the people that had helped him live in his reckless and loose living? 

• Friends are the ones that find out you are human and stay with you anyway.

Christians should have the best friendships; better than those that are in the world.  

• Jesus should be our closest friend, but God’s plan is that we should have some close friends, especially through our church relationships.

Acts 2:41-45 | NKJV (41)  Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. (42)  And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. (43)  Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. (44)  Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, (45)  and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

• Do not put rules on your friendships. 

In other words, don’t always look for friends that have your exact likes and dislikes. Learn to be diverse in your relationships. 

Truthfully, the foundation of a good marriage relationship is friendship.

• A true friend will not flatter you at all times.

Proverbs 27:6 | CEV (6)  You can trust a friend who corrects you, but kisses from an enemy are nothing but lies. 

Sometimes as friends, you may wound each other, but our hearts should be to try and help one another. 

• The Lord will use those relationships to minister to you.

Proverbs 27:9 | AMPC (9)  Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; so does the sweetness of a friend’s counsel that comes from the heart.

• True friendship takes work and effort.

Proverbs 27:17 | TPT (17)  It takes a grinding wheel to sharpen a blade, and so one person sharpens the character of another.

• A key to developing those close friendships is to do like Jonathan and love that friend as you love yourself.

Matthew 22:37-39 | TPT (37)  Jesus answered him, “‘Love the Lord your God with every passion of your heart, with all the energy of your being, and with every thought that is within you.’ (38)  This is the great and supreme commandment. (39)  And the second is like it in importance: ‘You must love your friend in the same way you love yourself.’

1 Samuel 18:1-4 | NLT (1)  After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David. (2)  From that day on Saul kept David with him and wouldn’t let him return home. (3)  And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, because he loved him as he loved himself. (4)  Jonathan sealed the pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David, together with his tunic, sword, bow, and belt.  

• You don’t start out being the best of friends; best of friends are developed over years of relationship. 

• Allow your friends to be human and make mistakes. 

• If their weirdness is not sin, then just put up with their weirdness because you are weird too.

• If you go through friends quickly, then you are looking for the perfect friend and that does not exist except in the Lord Jesus.

Proverbs 18:24 | TPT (24)  Some friendships don’t last for long, but there is one loving friend who is joined to your heart closer than any other!  

Seven Areas of Breakthrough This Year:

1. Faith – your personal walk with God
2. Family – family situations, with children, spouses.
3. Finances – managing our money, etc.
4. Freedom – areas of our lives that we have strongholds
5. Fun – we need to enjoy life
6. Field of Endeavor – your job or vocation
7. Friendships – social relationships outside of family

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Proverbs 19:21 | NIV (21)  Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:21 | TPT (21)  A person may have many ideas concerning God’s plan for his life, but only the designs of his purpose will succeed in the end.

We can make all the plans we want in life, but if we don’t make our plans according to the purposes for which God created us, then our plans will be in vain. We won’t live up to our full potential, and we will be unfulfilled.

The only commodity that we have that we cannot produce again is time. 

Once a day is gone, it is gone forever. So the best thing to do with this commodity of time is to use it in a way that will bring the greatest results. 

The best way to use time effectively is to do what you are supposed to do when you are supposed to do it.

Effectiveness does not mean just doing good things, but rather doing the right thing at the right time.

The only way for this to happen is to know your purpose and live it.

Discovering your purpose enables us to stop wasting our lives and start fulfilling our potential.

1. God is a God of purpose.

Psalms 33:11 | NIV (11)  But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

Isaiah 14:24 | NKJV (24)  The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand:

God thinks and designs with end result in mind from the beginning. The Creation story in Genesis is not the beginning of a supernatural experiment with an unknown outcome. Genesis was the beginning of the production of something that was already thought out in the heart and mind of God.

The same is true for God’s plans and purpose for us. You are not a supernatural experiment with an unknown outcome (if you follow after God’s plan – we still have a choice in the matter.)

What God plans is intentional, meaningful and guaranteed to succeed.

2. God created everything with a purpose.

God created everything with a purpose in mind, and He also created it with the ability to fulfill its own purpose.

Because God knows this, He created you with all of the equipment necessary to to fulfill that purpose.

As a believer, you already have on the inside of you everything you need to fulfill God’s purpose and plan for your life.

The purpose of something determines its nature, design and features.

Psalms 139:13-16 | TPT (13)  You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them all together in my mother’s womb. (14)  I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex! Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking. It simply amazes me to think about it! How thoroughly you know me, Lord! (15)  You even formed every bone in my body when you created me in the secret place, carefully, skillfully shaping me from nothing to something. (16)  You saw who you created me to be before I became me! Before I’d ever seen the light of day, the number of days you planned for me were already recorded in your book.

God had holy plans for you before you were even born.  Before you came out of your mother, before you saw the light of day, God had all these plans designed for you.  He already had decided what He wanted you to do with your life.

Jeremiah 1:5 | MSG (5)  “Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations— that’s what I had in mind for you.” 

God says before you were even born I had plans for you.  He had stuff in mind.

3. Because of the Fall of Man, not every purpose is known to us.

Rejecting God is equivalent to buying a sophisticated and intricate piece of equipment and then throwing away the user’s manual. (Example: an airplane.)

You probably will never get it to function properly and you will miss out on the many features and functions it has to offer and will never fulfill its purpose.

4. Where purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable.

Did you know that you cannot take an ordinary car and drive it into a lake and then have it function properly? Why? Because that is abuse; all because you did not use it according to its purpose.

That is why marriages fail. We do not know and understand the purposes of the husband and wife and therefore abuse is inevitable and the marriage fails.

5. To discover the purpose of something, never ask the creation; ask the creator.

If you want to know the purpose of something, don’t ask the thing itself. Why? Because it didn’t plan, design, or build itself. Only the manufacturer knows the why and how of his product.

To understand how we are to function as God’s human beings – we need to go to the Manual given to us by the designer and Manufacturer Who created us: the Bible.

If we don’t know the purpose for our lives, we’re just experimenting.

God does not want your life to be an experiment.

6. We find our purpose only in the mind of our Maker.

We need to learn how our Manufacturer thinks. The Word of God shows us how the Manufacturer thinks because He wrote the Manual.

The only way for us to succeed is by discovering and living in the purposes of our Maker, by undergoing a transformation in the way we think about ourselves based on His original intentions for us. 

The transformation comes about by a renewing of our minds.

Romans 12:2 | TPT (2)  Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will (purpose) as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.

7. God’s purpose is the key to our fulfillment.

You can never be totally and completely satisfied until you find your purpose and then live in it.

8. God put your purpose within you. To draw it out, you need to be assisted by His wisdom and revelation by the Holy Spirit.

Proverbs 20:5 | NIV (5)  The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.

The Holy Spirit has the most insight of anyone and He has the ability to draw out those things that God has put in you.

9. When you go to God, He knows how to make up for the time that you lost from not knowing your purpose.

Joel 2:23-27 | NKJV (23)  Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you—The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. (24)  The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. (25)  “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. (26)  You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. (27)  Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.

Seven Areas of Breakthrough This Year:

1. Faith – your personal walk with God
2. Family – family situations, with children, spouses.
3. Finances – managing our money, etc.
4. Freedom – areas of our lives that we have strongholds
5. Fun – we need to enjoy life
6. Field of Endeavor – your job or vocation
7. Friendships – social relationships outside of family

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• God is the One that invented fun. 
• God created fun and Satan perverted it.
• God wants you to have fun. 

The only reason that He created everything in creation was for the enjoyment of mankind. 

One of the primary ways that Satan tries to steal your fun and your joy is through the power of discouragement. 

Dis/courage/ment – courage is the root word for this word. The prefix “dis” means to “take out.” The prefix “en” means to “put in.” 

You cannot be discouraged and be happy and have fun. 

James 5:17-18 | NKJV (17)  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.  (18)  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. 

Elijah was a man with a nature just like ours. He did supernatural things because he had a relationship with a supernatural God but he himself was natural. 

In other words, Elijah did not have some kind advantage that we don’t have. In fact, it was just the opposite. We have the advantage because we have the Holy Spirit living in us. Jesus said that it was more advantageous that He not stay here so He could send the Holy Spirit to live in us. 

Elijah was a natural man just like we are and he got discouraged just like we can. 

We want to look at how Elijah got discouraged and how God Himself dealt with that discouragement. This is how God did it. 

Elijah has just come off a great victory overcoming the prophets of Baal and Asher. 

1 Kings 19:1-4 | NKJV (1)  And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. (2)  Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” (3)  And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. (4)  But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” 

Elijah goes from having one of the best days of his life to having one of the lowest days of his life the very next day.

God was the only One with Him and therefore God had to step in and minister to Elijah to get him back on the road that He wanted him on. You do not have fun when you are down. 

Here is how God deals with discouragement: 

1. God desires to refresh you.

1 Kings 19:5-8 | NKJV (5)  Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” (6)  Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. (7)  And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” (8)  So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. 

Elijah is physically, emotionally, spiritually drained. For three and half years it has been a very intense time of warfare for Elijah because he became the enemy of the entire nation because he said it was not going to rain. 

The enemy attacked him through a person when he was doing the right thing. 

The enemy attacked him when he was worn down and worn out.

Some of us cannot hear from God because we are too tired. Have you ever tried to talk to a tired child? What do you say to them? “Go take a nap.” 

The Bible is telling me that I need to take a nap and eat some cake! 

Examine the word “recreation.” 

Re/create/tion – when you recreate, you recreate yourself. God is a God of recreation. Just think about the New Birth. 

Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap.

God did not even speak to him until he was physically refreshed. 

Luke 5:15-16 | NKJV (15)  However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. (16)  So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. 

If Jesus needed to withdraw because of the success of ministry then how much more do we need to withdraw. The more people He ministered to, the more draining it is. 

2. God desires to listen to you.

1 Kings 19:9-10 | NKJV (9)  And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (10)  So he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” 

Notice how this conversation started. God asked Elijah a question. God was wanting Elijah to talk to Him. 

God asks us questions because He knows that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks and you will talk to Him out of your heart. When you get your heart out in the open, that is when God can begin to minister to you. 

It is OK to gripe to God. It is not OK to gripe about Him or gripe at Him but we can gripe to God. He is so secure that it does not bother Him when we do that. 

You will never get past being discouraged until you are able to talk to God about what is going on in your life. 

3. God desires to talk to you.

1 Kings 19:11-12 | NKJV (11)  Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; (12)  and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 

If you want to hear the still small voice, you are going to have to sit still through the wind, the earthquake and the fire. 

In other words, you are going to have to slow down to hear God. 

Sometimes, all of these things happen and then you can hear from God. 

If you are discouraged, you need a word from the Lord.

4. God desires to give you some friends.

Do you remember how Elijah said that he was the only one that was left?

1 Kings 19:18 | NKJV (18)  Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” 

The enemy will get you to think that you are the only one. Remember, if the lion can get you separated from the flock, he has you. If you are a sheep, the best think you can do is get right in the middle of the flock. 

God then gave him someone that was like him that would walk with him for the rest of his life. 

God delights in giving life-long friends. Your spouse is your first life-long friend but God will give you other life-long friends that can help you and support you. 

Mark 6:7 NKJV (7)  And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.

Jesus always sent people out in more than one. You cannot accomplish in life what God has called you to do alone. You need a team. 

If you want to go to a new level in fun you must deal with discouragement. 

This is how God wants to overcome discouragement: 

1. God desires to refresh you.
2. God desires to listen to you.
3. God desires for you to listen to Him.
4. God desires to give you life-long friends.

Seven Areas of Breakthrough This Year:

1. Faith – your personal walk with God
2. Family – family situations, with children, spouses.
3. Finances – managing our money, etc.
4. Freedom – areas of our lives that we have strongholds
5. Fun – we need to enjoy life
6. Field of Endeavor – your job or vocation
7. Friendships – social relationships outside of family

Are You Too Tired to Have Fun?

Exodus 16:23-29 | NKJV  (23) Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’ ”  (24)  So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.  (25)  Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field.  (26)  Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”  (27)  Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none.  (28)  And the LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?  (29)  See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” 

God made a commandment FOR OUR GOOD that we should rest one day a week.

Five things to know about the Sabbath:

1. It is a commandment.

Exodus 20:8-11 | NKJV  (8) “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  (9)  Six days you shall labor and do all your work,  (10)  but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.  (11)  For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. 

This is one of the Ten Commandments. Are we supposed to keep the Ten Commandments? We don’t keep them to get saved because we are saved by grace. 

But because we are saved, does that exempt us from keeping them? Because you are saved, does that mean you can now murder? Because we are believers does that mean we can commit adultery? 

We endeavor to keep all of the commandments but this one. 

1. 1. 1. 1. Have no other gods before Him.
         2. Don’t have any idols.
         3. Don’t take the Lord’s Name in vain.
         4. Honor your Father and Mother.
         5. Don’t commit murder.
         6. Don’t commit adultery.
         7. Don’t steal.
         8. Don’t lie.
         9. Don’t covet. 
         10. Remember the Sabbath, keep it holy.

God commands this for our own good. The Jewish people, according to historians, were the healthiest people because of their diet and they rested. 

2. It is a pattern.

Exodus 31:14-17 | NKJV  (14) You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.  (15)  Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.  (16)  Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.  (17)  It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ “ 

God rested and was refreshed.

If God needed to be refreshed, how much more do we need to be refreshed? 

3. God is serious about this. 

Numbers 15:32-36 | NKJV  (32) Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.  (33)  And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation.  (34)  They put him under guard, because it had not been explained what should be done to him.  (35)  Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.”  (36)  So, as the LORD commanded Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died. 

This is how serious God takes this situation. Aren’t you glad that we are not under the law but under grace? 

Nehemiah 13:19-21 | NKJV  (19) So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then I posted some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day.  (20)  Now the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.  (21)  Then I warned them, and said to them, “Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!” From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath. 

4. Unobserved Sabbaths accumulate.

2 Chronicles 36:20-21 NKJV  (20) And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia,  (21)  to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. 

The Children of Israel did not let the land rest every seven years as they were commanded. They went 490 years without observing the Sabbath. Because it was so long, they thought they had begun to get away with it. 

5. God made the Sabbath for you. He did not make you for the Sabbath.

Mark 2:23-28 | NKJV  (23) Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.  (24)  And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”  (25)  But He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:  (26)  how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?”  (27)  And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  (28)  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.” 

God is saying, “I did not make you to serve the Sabbath. I made the Sabbath to serve you.” 

God did not make the Sabbath to be a burden. He made it as a blessing. Jesus did not mean for this to be legalistic He meant for it to be FUN. 

If you do not schedule a day off, it will not happen. 

The enemy knows that if we do not do this, it will destroy us. 

Like the guy gathering sticks, are you dying slowly, one day at a time, because you are not observing the Sabbath? 

Someone may ask, “Does it have to be Sunday or Saturday?” No, it just has to be one day a week. 

You have four tanks: a physical tank, a mental tank, an emotional tank, and a spiritual tank. 

Every time you give out of one, you are going to have to refill it. 

You must figure out what replenishes you. 

For most of us, hobbies do not replenish you. Those are fun things you do when you are replenished.

So, the question is, Are you too tired to have fun? 

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message? Do you need to begin to observe the Sabbath?

Seven Areas of Breakthrough This Year:

1. Faith – your personal walk with God
2. Family – family situations, with children, spouses.
3. Finances – managing our money, etc.
4. Freedom – areas of our lives that we have strongholds
5. Fun – we need to enjoy life
6. Field of Endeavor – your job or vocation
7. Friendships – social relationships outside of family

Jesus wants us to be free in every area of life!

A Christian cannot be demon possessed, but Satan can still deceive us in areas of our lives and those areas can become areas of bondage.

Deception is the only weapon that Satan has that he can use against a child of God.

He is a liar and a very good liar.

John 8:44 | NKJV  (44) You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

There are three words that we all need to know in studying the Word of God where dealing with the devil is concerned: 

• Wiles
• Devices
• Deception 

Ephesians 6:10-11 | NKJV  (10) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  (11)  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

• The word “wiles” comes from the Greek word “methodos”, and it literally means “with a road” or “on a road.”

What Paul is saying to us is that the enemy travels one road, one lane, or one avenue. In other words, he primarily has only one trick in his bag, but he has learned how to use that one trick very well. The devil is skilled in staying in his lane. 

If the devil operates on one single avenue, what is the destination that diabolical road is headed toward? 

2 Corinthians 2:11 | NKJV (11) lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices. 

• The word “devices” is the Greek word “noemata” and denotes the insidious plot of the enemy to fill the human mind with confusion.

Confusion – lack of understanding or uncertainty; the state of being bewildered or unclear in one’s mind about something.

Another way of saying this is that it bears the notion of “mind games”. 

“…we are not ignorant of the mind games that Satan tries to pull on us…” 

We must speak to our emotions and senses dictating to them exactly what to believe. 

If we do not renew our minds and yield to the work of the Holy Spirit in our souls, it will be only a matter of time before a solid stronghold of deception begins to dominate and manipulate our self-image, our emotional status, and our overall thinking. 

• Deception occurs when a person believes the lies that the enemy has been telling him. 

Deception – Greek: dolios – Means to bait someone. 

The moment someone begins to accept Satan’s lies as truth is the very moment those wicked thoughts and mind games begin to produce the devil’s reality in his life. 

When you embrace the devil’s mind games and perceive them as truth, you give power to them! 

We begin to put faith in those lies and give them power to create that reality in our lives.

What is a stronghold? 

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 | NKJV (3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. (4) For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 

The word stronghold (Greek: ochuroma) Means a fortress or a prison. 

This tells us that a stronghold is designed to keep outsiders from getting in and insiders from getting out. 

When someone has a stronghold in their mind, he has walls around him that are so thick, others cannot seem to break through to help him. 

Like impregnable, invisible walls, strongholds are rooted in people’s minds and emotions to keep others from getting too close to them. 

This is a trick of the devil to keep people isolated and especially away from those who could help bring freedom. 

These walls are built over time as lies from the enemy go unresisted in one’s mind. Suppose someone permits wrong thinking and wrong believing to go unchallenged hour after hour and day after day. The devil will begin to use those lies, insinuations, and unrealistic fears to build thick, impregnable walls around that person’s life. 

Some examples of how these destructive strongholds can affect your life: 

• Unrealistic fears of rejection will keep you from developing healthy relationships in your life.

• Unrealistic fears about the future of your marriage will hinder you from functioning in your marriage as God intended.

• Unrealistic fears about potential failure will keep you from stepping out to obey God and do something worthwhile with your life.

There are two types of strongholds:

1. Rational
2. Irrational 

• Rational strongholds are the hardest to deal with because they usually make sense.

2 Corinthians 10:5 | KJV  (5) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 

Imaginations: Greek: logismos – where we get the word logic 

The logical mind will begin to dictate your life from a stronghold of natural reason. 

The logical mind, although necessary and wonderful, will work against your spiritual life unless it is submitted to the control of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. 

• Irrational Strongholds primarily have to do with fears and worries that are completely unrealistic and often are not founded in fact. 

Examples: Fear of dying early in life, abnormal fear of rejection, a fear of financial collapse. 

2 Corinthians 10:5 | KJV  (5) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

• The first step to eradicating strongholds in your life is to recognize YOUR responsibility in the matter!

Repentance for allowing the mental and emotional strongholds to develop in your life is absolutely essential – before all else. 

• Secondly, If you don’t take your thoughts captive, your thoughts will take you captive!

We must take those “mind games” (devices) that the enemy uses captive and force them into a subordinate position. 

You must lay hold of your mind and tell it to submit and listen to what the Word of God has to say!

Ephesians 6:17 | NKJV  (17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 

When a strong knowledge of your salvation is wrapped around your mind, you will never again fall prey to the devil’s deceptive tactics. 

2 Timothy 1:7 | NKJV (7) For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 

This means having a saved or delivered mind. This is a mind that has been set free and is thinking correctly! 

This is what someone who has on the helmet will think like:

• When you are walking in the full knowledge of your salvation, you think and talk like a saved man or woman!

• When your mind is renewed with the Word of God concerning all the blessings contained in your salvation, you think and talk like a saved man or woman!

• When your mind is filled with the goodness of God because salvation is tightly wrapped around your mind, you think and talk like a saved man or woman.

When you “walk” in the helmet of your salvation, you think like God thinks, you reason like God reasons, you believe like God believes and you act like God acts.

Seven Areas of Breakthrough This Year:

1. Faith – your personal walk with God
2. Family – family situations, with children, spouses.
3. Finances – managing our money, etc.
4. Freedom – areas of our lives that we have strongholds
5. Fun – we need to enjoy life
6. Field of Endeavor – your job or vocation
7. Friendships – social relationships outside of family

We are going to move to the area of having a breakthrough in the area of freedom. Jesus wants us to be free in every area of life!

Correction of thoughts: As a Born Again child of God, we cannot be possessed by the devil because we are owned or “possessed” by God. 

That being said, as a Christian, Satan can still deceive us in areas of our lives and those areas can become areas of bondage.

Deception is the only weapon that Satan has that he can use against a child of God.

He is a liar and a very good liar.

John 8:44 | NKJV  (44) You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

Satan comes to believers and tells you that if you will part from God (or His Word) in an area of your life you will have something that you already have.

Genesis 3:2-3 | NKJV (2) Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. (3) For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Remember, he told Eve that if she would eat of the fruit then she would become like God. She was already like God and couldn’t be any more like God.

John 8:31-36 | NKJV (31)  Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. (32)  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (33)  They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” (34)  Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. (35)  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. (36)  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

It is possible for a believer to be in bondage.

Bondage  – any compulsive or impulsive behavior that restricts us from walking in freedom and enjoying the blessings that Jesus died to give us.

Do you have chronic behavior in your life that you just can’t seem to break?

John 8:34 | NKJV (34)  Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits (on a continual basis) sin is a slave (in bondage to) of sin.

Bondage is behavior that you want to change and you can’t. The Bible calls it a stronghold. It is compulsive or impulsive behavior.

Compulsive – a strong, usually irresistible impulse to perform an act or behavior.

These bondages come into our lives as we yield to the influence of the enemy and his cohorts and they then begin to control areas of our lives.

Bondage is the inability to change behaviors, habits, and thought patterns.

It’s difficult to admit that you are in bondage.

John 8:33 | NKJV (33)  They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”

These people had been in bondage to everyone. When they made this statement, they were in bondage to the Romans.

Christians say the same thing. We have areas of hatred, bitterness, immorality, yet we don’t see it or want to admit it.

We don’t like for people to point things out in our lives that could be a bondage.

Why is it so hard to admit you’re in bondage? Most of the time, Satan will package that area of bondage in a shroud of fear, shame, guilt and condemnation. 

Remember what Adam said in the garden after he had sinned?

Genesis 3:10 | NKJV (10)  So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

It may be difficult to admit that you are in bondage, but it is easy to get free from bondage.

The reason that it is not difficult to get free from bondage is because freedom does not depend on you; it depends on Jesus.

1 John 3:8 | AMP (8)  [But] he who commits sin [who practices evildoing] is of the devil [takes his character from the evil one], for the devil has sinned (violated the divine law) from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done].

Luke 10:18-20 | NKJV (18)  And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. (19)  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (20)  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Mark 9:17-23 | TPT  (17) A man spoke up out of the crowd. “Teacher,” he said, “I have a son possessed by a demon that makes him mute. I brought him here to you, Jesus.  (18)  Whenever the demon takes control of him, it knocks him down, and he foams at the mouth and gnashes his teeth, and his body becomes stiff as a board. I brought him to your disciples, hoping they could deliver him, but they were not strong enough.”  (19)  Jesus said to the crowd, “Why are you such a faithless people? How much longer must I remain with you and put up with your unbelief? Now, bring the boy to me.”  (20)  So they brought him to Jesus. As soon as the demon saw him, it threw the boy into convulsions. He fell to the ground, rolling around and foaming at the mouth.  (21)  Jesus turned to the father and asked, “How long has your son been tormented like this?” “Since childhood,” he replied.  (22)  “It tries over and over to kill him by throwing him into fire or water. But please, if you’re able to do something, anything—have compassion on us and help us!”  (23)  Jesus said to him, “What do you mean ‘if’? If you are able to believe, all things are possible to the believer.”

What is our point here? Jesus is not impressed with the devil because He knew that He had the authority and the power to cast the spirit out.

The question is not whether Jesus can do it. The question is, “Can you believe that you can be free?”

Bondage is a bully because Satan will try and convince you that you can never be free.

Steps that will lead to freedom:

1. Come in contact with the anointing. (Come to Jesus)

Isaiah 10:27 | NKJV (27)  It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.

2. Confessing that bondage to someone else and letting them pray for you

James 5:16 | NKJV (16)  Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

This is why it is so important that you get around a believer that loves you and can help you. It is easy to get free when you are willing to shine a light on it and believe that you can be free.

3. Develop an intimate relationship with God’s Word and that will lead to freedom.

John 8:31-32 | NKJV  (31) Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  (32)  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

4. Be willing to address the wrong thinking or the deception that opened the door to the bondage.

Ephesians 5:13 | TPT  (13) Whatever the revelation-light exposes, it will also correct, and everything that reveals truth is light to the soul.

5. Renew your mind to the Word of God and what God says about you and that area of your life.

Romans 12:2 | NLT (2) Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

What are you believing for yourself and your family for 2020?

Seven Areas of Breakthrough This Year: 

1. Faith – your personal walk with God
2. Family – marriage, relationships with children
3. Finances – managing our money, etc.
4. Freedom – areas of our lives that we have strongholds
5. Fun – we need to enjoy life (Satan did not create fun, he just perverted it.)
6. Field of endeavor (job or vocation)
7. Friendships (social relationships) 

The key to a financial breakthrough can be summarized in two things: giving/receiving and management.

We are continuing to talk about Ten Financial Commandments:

1. Thou shall honor the Lord first.
2. Thou shalt not try to acquire happiness by material items.
3. Thou shall not be unthankful for whatever standard of living God has provided for you.
4. Thou shalt be a good steward.
5. Thou shalt not teach your family that having and spending money is the answer to your problems. 
6. Thou shalt take time to plan, budget and set goals for your finances.

 

7. Thou shalt live below thy means.

Exodus 20:14 | NKJV (14)  “You shall not commit adultery.” 

A man or woman that is living in adultery is living beyond their means as they have been convinced that the grass is always greener on the other side. They believe the lie that they will be happy if they go beyond the means that God has set up for them. 

• • The first step to living within your means is to learn to be content with what you have.

Philippians 4:11 NKJV (11)  Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 

When you are not content with the provision that God has provided for you, you are boldly saying to the Lord that I am not content with your provision and therefore, I am not content with You. 

1. • You will never live below your means unless you take the time to learn to count.

Luke 14:28-31 | NKJV  (28) For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—  (29)  lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,  (30)  saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’  (31)  Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?

In order to put a budget together, you are going to have to do some math. You must learn math and count. Get help if you need it. 

When you add up your income and then subtract your bills and this equals anything equal to or less than zero, there is a huge problem.  

8. Thou shalt not count on future earnings to pay for present expenses. 

Exodus 20:15 | NKJV (15)  “You shall not steal.” 

To spend money that you do not have is stealing. It is wrong to write a check or put something on a credit card when you do not already have the money to pay it off when the bill comes. 80% of Americans spend their tax refund checks before they get it back. 

This is why God does not want us to live this way: 

Romans 8:24 | TPT  (24) For this is the hope of our salvation. But hope means that we must trust and wait for what is still unseen. For why would we need to hope for something we already have? 

God wired us to operate on hope. God wired us to have something called delayed gratification.  

God wired us so that if we want something, we would hope for it, plan for it, move toward it, and this thing called time would come to pass so that once you got it you would experience joy and satisfaction. 

Debt takes away hope because debt is incurred usually when we don’t want to wait or hope for something. If we want something, we will go out and put it on the credit card and then figure out later how to pay for it. By now, pay later is asking for financial problems. 

God wired you for hope so that you end up with joy but if you are not willing to wait for something; your joy will be diminished. 

America is the leading country in the world in personal debt AND the leading country in the world in depression. A psychologist will tell you that someone who is diagnosed clinically depressed is someone that has lost hope. Do you think there is a connection? It is because we are violating one of God’s principles.  

9. Thou shalt not try and keep up with the Jones. 

Exodus 20:17 | NKJV (17)  “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” 

God does not want us comparing ourselves to our neighbors financially. This will open the door to covetousness. 

Luke 12:15 | NKJV (15)  And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” 

That person begins to spend your money and you are giving them permission to do it. If they buy a new car, you have to buy a new car. If they live in a certain neighborhood, now you have to live in a certain neighborhood. If they wear certain clothes, then you have to have those clothes.

Colossians 3:5 NKJV (5)  Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 

How does this become idolatry? When you covet what someone else has, that thing that you covet becomes an idol to you, and the person becomes a god to you. You now want what that person has instead of what God has for you. 

You set your principles based on that person’s principles rather than the principles of God’s Word.  

10. Thou shalt use your finances to be a true witness about God and use your finances to bless others. 

Exodus 20:16 NKJV (16)  “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 

• • • You shall bear a good, true witness.

The way we handle our finances is either a good witness or a bad witness about our relationship with God. 

We are either saying to them that God is a good, faithful God in the good times and in the bad times or we are diminishing our witness because we cannot pay our bills. People then ask, “Why would I want to be a Christian, because their finances are the most messed up of anyone in our neighborhood.” 

• • • You should use your finances to bless others.

Acts 20:35 AMPC  In everything I have pointed out to you [by example] that, by working diligently in this manner, we ought to assist the weak, being mindful of the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, It is more blessed (makes one happier and more to be envied) to give than to receive. 

Ephesians 4:28 | NKJV  (28) Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.

Hebrews 13:5 | NKJV (5)  Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU.” 

Here is what God is saying, “Why would you ever covet what someone else has when you have Me.”  

Matthew 27:46 | NKJV (46)  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” 

This literally happened. God actually forsook Jesus while He was on the cross. To forsake means to abandon completely and remove one’s presence from. 

Why did God forsake Jesus? So that He would never forsake you. He will never abandon you; He will never take His presence from you. 

• If your finances are out of order, God is never going to abandon you. 
• If you have messed up your life, God is not going to leave you. 
• If you have left God, God is not going to leave you.

He already left His Son Jesus so that He would never abandon you. 

It does not matter how messed up your life might be, He wants you to know that He still loves you and will not leave you and He will help you get over into victory where your finances are concerned. 

What are you believing for yourself and your family for 2020?

Don’t tolerate the remainder of this year looking forward to 2021! God can still do a lot in the remaining three months of 2020. In fact, you can still experience a breakthrough this year.

Seven Areas of Breakthrough This Year: 

1. Faith – your personal walk with God
2. Family – marriage, relationships with children
3. Finances – managing our money, etc.
4. Freedom – areas of our lives that we have strongholds
5. Fun – we need to enjoy life 
6. Field of endeavor (job or vocation)
7. Friendships (social relationships) 

The key to a financial breakthrough can be summarized in two things: giving/receiving and management.

We are talking about Ten Financial Commandments:

1. Thou shall honor the Lord first.
2. Thou shalt not try to acquire happiness by material items.
3. Thou shall not be unthankful for whatever standard of living God has provided for you.

---

4. Thou shalt be a good steward. 

Exodus 20:8 NKJV (8)  “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 

The reason that you remember the Sabbath Day is so that you will be a good steward of your time and so that you remember to keep it holy. There are three areas that we have to be good stewards: 

• • • Time
    • Treasure
    • Talent

Parable of the Talents taught by Jesus in Matthew 25:14-30 

Matthew 25:14-28 NKJV  “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.  (15)  And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.  (16)  Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.  (17)  And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.  (18)  But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.  (19)  After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.  (20)  “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’  (21)  His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’  (22)  He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’  (23)  His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’  (24)  “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  (25)  And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’  (26)  “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.  (27)  So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.  (28)  So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

As a unit of currency, a talent was worth about 6,000 denarii. A denarius was the usual payment for a day’s labor.

One guy given 5 talents increases them. Another received 2 talents and increased them. And the last guy receives one, maintains and the Lord scolds him. 

The Lord does not call maintaining faithfulness. 

Taking what God has given you and increasing and going farther is what God considers to be faithfulness. 

He then takes the talent from him and gives it to him who has ten talents. 

Why would He give influence, favor, and increase to someone who is not going to be a good steward over it? God will not do that.

Luke 16:10-12 TPT  “The one who manages the little he has been given with faithfulness and integrity will be promoted and trusted with greater responsibilities. But those who cheat with the little they have been given will not be considered trustworthy to receive more.  (11)  If you have not handled the riches of this world with integrity, why should you be trusted with the eternal treasures of the spiritual world?  (12)  And if you’ve not been proven faithful with what belongs to another, why should you be given wealth of your own?

• • • If God cannot trust you with a little, He cannot trust you with much.
    • If God cannot trust you with money, He cannot trust you with ministry (souls are the true riches).
    • If you are not faithful with what is someone else’s, you will never get your own (employee to employer). 

All good stewards do three things:

• • • Spend wisely
    • Save
    • Give

Five areas that you should save in:

• • • Savings for things you want
    • Savings for things you need
    • Savings for emergencies (which we all have)
    • Savings for the future (retirement)
    • Savings for giving

5. Thou shalt not teach your family that having and spending money is the answer to your problems. 

Exodus 20:12 | NKJV (12)  “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 

He wants children to honor and respect their parents because in an atmosphere of honor and respect you learn, and He wants children to learn their values from their parents. 

Your children will learn their values from you. They will learn how to relate to money by the way you relate to money and by the way that you talk about money. 

You should not teach your children that having and spending money is the answer to their problems. That is never the answer; God is always the answer to your problems. 

Don’t tell your children, “If we had more money, we would be happier…” 

Money is never the answer; God is the answer. 

Ecclesiastes 10:19 NKJV (19)  A feast is made for laughter, And wine makes merry; But money answers everything. 

Money only answers those things related to money. 

Luke 16:13 NKJV (13)  “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” 

(“Mammon” is the Aramaic word for the Syrian god of riches.) 

• • Mammon will try and take the place of God. 

• • Mammon promises us everything that only God can give us.

Mammon says:

• • • “If you had more money, people would listen to you…”
    • “If you had more money, you would have significance in the world…”
    • “If you had more money, you could live a happier life…”
    • “If you had more money you would have peace and security…”

Jesus said that you cannot serve God and Mammon. Understand that Mammon is looking for servants. 

If you teach children that money is the answer to their problems, then according to Jesus, they will grow up and serve something else other than God because He said you cannot serve both. 

6. Thou shalt take time to plan, budget and set goals for your finances. 

Exodus 20:13 NKJV (13)  “You shall not murder. 

How does this relate? If you do not have a budget, you are killing yourself and it will be a slow, painful death. It is an agonizing death to never have enough, to be short and to be struggling financially all your life. 

• • • You have to have a goal (get out of debt).
    • You have to have a plan (how am I going to get there).
    • You have to have a budget (the guidelines that keep me in my plan while on the way to my goal).

A budget allows you to make non-emotional decisions about emotional things. (Mr. Budget says, “No.”) 

A budget is simply a road-map. You’ve heard of this place called financial freedom but you have never been there and you don’t know how to get there so you need a map that will get you there. 

What is the reason that most people do not ask for help in getting their finances in order? Somewhere along the line we have had someone who embarrassed us because of our finances and the last thing that we want to do is let someone see into that area of our lives again. 

None of us are born good stewards. Understand this, if someone is a good steward it is because someone helped them learn and become a good steward.

If you are physically sick, you would seek help. If you are financially sick, you should seek help. 

God wants to help you get this area of your life in order.

What are you believing for yourself and your family for 2020?

Seven Areas of Breakthrough This Year: 

1. Faith – your personal walk with God
2. Family – marriage, relationships with children
3. Finances – managing our money, etc.
4. Freedom – areas of our lives that we have habits or strongholds
5. Fun – we need to enjoy life 
6. Field of endeavor (job or vocation)
7. Friendships (social relationships) 

Finances is an area that a lot of Christians need help. 

We must understand that there is more to going to another level in your finances than just giving. 

This is not a sermon about tithing and giving only because tithing and giving are not the only financial principles that you need in order to get your finances in order and prosper.

Mismanagement of finances opens the door to many things: marital problems, emotional problems, physical problems, spiritual problems. 

You did not get into the situation that you are in overnight, and you are not going to come out overnight. 

What WILL happen overnight is peace and joy can come into your lives because you are doing what is right where money management is concerned.

We are going to talk about the Ten Financial Commandments: 

1. Thou shall honor the Lord first. 

Exodus 20:3 NKJV (3)  “You shall have no other gods before Me.

You have to put God first. 

You have to give to God first. The tithe has to be first.

Why would God who owns everything, ask you for 10% of your income? It is not for His benefit. It is to benefit you. 

When we put God first in this area, it opens the door for God to be first in other areas of our life. 

Proverbs 3:9 NKJV (9)  Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; 

1 Kings 17:8-16 | NKJV  (8) Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,  (9)  “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”  (10)  So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.”  (11)  And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”  (12)  So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”  (13)  And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.  (14)  For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’ ”  (15)  So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.  (16)  The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah. 

The widow woman must have thought that Elijah was crazy but she did it anyway. 

There are people that people probably hear me teach and exhort on tithing but think I am crazy because they cannot afford to do it because of their bills. 

Did you ever wonder why God did not send Elijah to a rich man’s house to sustain him during the famine? 

God did not send Elijah to the widow to provide for Elijah. God sent Elijah to the widow to provide for the widow. 

God could have done any number of things to meet Elijah’s needs and did as recorded in the Bible. 

But there was a woman and her son that were going to die if they did not grab hold of giving to God the first part. 

God sent Elijah to the widow because He cared about the widow.

Do you think God knew what would happen later? Later on, the woman’s son ends up dying and getting raised from the dead. Could it be that because she honored God first, God was able to move in her son’s life? 

Tithing is not for God’s benefit but for your benefit. 

If God personally showed up to you and said if you would tithe that He would stand at the door and keep the devil out of your house and that He would bless you and make sure that you always had more than what you tithed, would you tithe?

This is what Malachi says God will do when you honor Him with the first. 

2. Thou shalt not try to acquire happiness by material items.

Exodus 20:4 NKJV (4)  “You shall not make for yourself a carved image–any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 

God is saying do not put anything before Him in your life and look to anything on this earth for happiness. 

Material things cannot bring happiness into our lives. 

Material things may bring a temporary satisfaction but the only thing that can make you happy is a vital ongoing relationship with Jesus. 

Nothing new can give you peace and joy except for an ongoing vital relationship with Jesus. 

Proverbs 27:20 NKJV (20)  Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied. 

You will never get your finances in order until you get your eyes under control. “You cannot buy everything your little ole beady eyes see.” 

Myth: “If I can buy this, I will never want anything else.” 

3. Thou shall not be unthankful for whatever standard of living God has provided for you. 

Exodus 20:7 NKJV (7)  “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. (use, misuse, or repeat frivolously) 

Vain – excessively proud of or concerned about one’s own appearance, qualities, achievements, etc. proceeding from showing pride.

To take the Lord’s Name in vain is really about selfishness and not being grateful. There is nothing wrong with believing God for things as long as you are not ungrateful for what you already have.

Look at what being unthankful will open the door to in your life: 

Romans 1:21 NKJV (21)  because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (deceived) 

2 Timothy 3:1-5 NKJV (1)  But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: (2)  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (3)  unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, (4)  traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (5)  having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 

The quickest way to drive depression and discouragement out of your life is to be thankful for what you already have in your life and what you believe Jesus has already provided for you. 

When you get serious about getting your finances in order, God gets serious about blessing you.

It takes two things to have a breakthrough in any area of your life: faith and corresponding actions.

What are you believing for yourself and your family for 2020?

Seven Areas of Breakthrough This Year: 

1. Faith – your personal walk with God
2. Family – marriage, relationships with children
3. Finances – managing our money, etc.
4. Freedom – areas of our lives that we have strongholds
5. Fun – we need to enjoy life (Satan did not create fun, he just perverted it.)
6. Field of endeavor (job or vocation)
7. Friendships (social relationships) 

If you are married and listening to this message, do not listen for your spouse; listen for you. 

If you are not married, please don’t feel like these messages don’t apply to you because the Holy Spirit will make it relevant to you too. 

Last week: Marriage is not a contract, marriage is a covenant. 

Contract Defined: A contract is designed to protect your rights and to limit your responsibilities. 

That is the reason that we enter into a contract. 

In a covenant, we give up all of our rights and we pick up all of our responsibilities. 

Here are the three rights that we have to lay down if you want a Godly marriage: 

1. The right of priority. 

“I give you the right to be the first priority in my life and to protect that place against anything that YOU perceive as competition.” 

2. The right of ownership or possession. 

“I give you the right to co-own and administrate everything I own in my life.” 

3. The right to privacy. 

“I give you free and unhindered access to every part of my life. I give you the right to complain and to confront me in any issue without fear of retaliation.”

(Do not listen to these scriptures and apply them to your spouse. Look for your responsibilities. )

Ephesians 5:21-33 | NIV  (21) Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.  (22)  Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.  (23)  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.  (24)  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.  (25)  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her  (26)  to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,  (27)  and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  (28)  In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.  (29)  After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—  (30)  for we are members of his body.  (31)  “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”  (32)  This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.  (33)  However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. 

Three responsibilities that you must take up in marriage:

1. Submission. 

Ephesians 5:21-22 | NIV  Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.  (22)  Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.

“I assume the responsibility to serve you by first submitting my life to the Lordship Jesus Christ and by surrendering to His Word as the standard for my life and our marriage and family.” 

Submission: yielding control to a more powerful or authoritative entity.

In the home, there is an authority structure ordained by God. 

The wife is called to submit to the authority of her husband if there is disagreement on leadership. It does not mean she becomes subservient to her husband as a slave or robot.

Submission does not happen until there is disagreement.

The Word must be the standard as the absolute in our lives and we will use it to address any issues in our marriage. The authority in your household is Jesus. 

It cannot be a matter of whoever has the strongest will wins.  

2. Love. 

“I assume the responsibility to love you according to the standard of Christ’s love and to never justify any action or word that falls below that standard.” 

God’s love is unconditional and ours must be unconditional as well. Marriage works only if you are willing to say, “Whatever you do, I am going to love you.” 

I am going to do my responsibility no matter what you do. 

A covenant is unconditional, irrevocable and unbreakable. 

In a contract, if you don’t fulfill your responsibility then I don’t have to fulfill mine. 

In a covenant, you still meet your spouse’s needs even if they are not meeting your needs. 

Don’t ever say, “If my spouse ever did this, that is the one thing that I could not get over and forgive.” When you say things like this, the devil simply says, “thank you” because you gave him the key to destroying your marriage and allowed him to narrow his focus to that one area. Say, “There is nothing that my spouse could do that would ever end my marriage. Divorce is not an option!” 

We are not saying that we will not fall below the standard of Christ’s love, but we are saying that we will not try and justify it.

We are responsible for our actions and reactions not our spouse’s actions and reactions.

We make the decision to walk in love or not. 

3. Honor (and Serve)

Ephesians 5:25-27 | NIV  (25) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her  (26)  to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,  (27)  and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

“I assume the responsibility to honor you and to do everything possible to help you achieve your highest potential and God’s perfect will for your life.” 

God designed for a man to reach his highest potential with a woman helping him and for a woman to reach her highest potential with a man helping her. 

Note that God did not create two men to help each other to reach their highest potential, nor did He create two women to help each other reach their highest potential. 

He created a man and a woman and gave them to each other as a perfect gift. 

The only way that a man or woman can reach their highest potential without the help of a man or a woman is if they are called to a life of celibacy. 

Men, you will never reach your full potential until your goal is to help your wife reach her full potential. 

Men will never reach their full potential without a woman honoring him.

Ephesians 5:33 | TLB  (33) So again I say, a man must love his wife as a part of himself; and the wife must see to it that she deeply respects her husband—obeying, praising, and honoring him.  

You can praise your husband into success or nag him into failure. 

This could be why your husband would rather be hanging out with his buddies because they will honor him on the basketball court or on the golf course. 

That is what Ephesians 5:33 says that we are supposed to love our wives and wives are to respect or honor their husbands. 

Nothing justifies an unloving husband and a dishonoring wife. 

If you have a bad marriage, put medicine on the wound and not salt. In other words if you have a husband that won’t love you, honor him and that will bring him to a place of loving you. If you have a dishonoring wife, love her unconditionally and she will begin to honor you. 

Medicine for a less than perfect marriage: A loving husband can heal a dishonoring wife and an honoring wife can heal an unloving husband. 

You do the right thing and let God do His part. 

Important truth to understand: When you enter into a marriage, for the first few years of that marriage you are eating a crop you did not plant, both positive and negative. Years into your marriage, you are eating a crop you did plant, both positive and negative. 

The key is what seeds are you planting in your spouse that you will reap later?

We must accept these things by faith whether we understand them or not.  

When you and I decide that we are going to base our lives on covenant and not on contract, God can do more in our relationships than we can possibly imagine. 

When we give up the right to priority, ownership, and privacy and pick up the responsibility to love, honor and submit your marriage can be heaven on earth.

Covenant means to cut. In a covenant relationship, you must be willing to be the redeemer. In other words, you must be willing to be cut first.  

Jesus was cut, sacrificed and died so that He could enter into a relationship with you. 

If you are going to get married, you must be willing to get cut, sacrificed and die for that marriage to work. 

Every marriage problem could be solved if both people would die. We are talking about your flesh dying to the will of God. Marriage is not that hard if you will just give up and die. All you have to do is give up your will and your way.