TURNING WISDOM TO WEALTH

Divine overflow encompa.s.ses all dimensions of blessing; G.o.d wants you to encounter favour in a unique way. He has reserved the best wine for the end. As believers, we cannot push G.o.d to do anything until he is ready. This we can see when G.o.d sent Moses to Pharaoh; he knew that Pharaoh would not agree to release the children of Israel. G.o.d made the Egyptians poor for the sake of the Israelites. He waited for the last time. Beloved, G.o.d knows what he is doing that is why you must trust him.

Malachi. 3:10-12

Bring ye all the t.i.thes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

In this scripture, we see G.o.d declaring himself as the Lord of hosts. Anytime G.o.d does this, it is because he wants to fight our battles. The Lord of hosts, means Jehovah Saboath, the commander of the army of Israel; the one behind their success; the one that made ten thousand of the enemies to flee at the sight of two.

Deut. 32:30

How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?

He is the same G.o.d that made the jawbone of an a.s.s in Samson"s hand to kill a thousand. Beloved, this kingdom overflow is for the doers, so to enjoy divine overflow we must be doers of the word. When you do the word of G.o.d, then you will see the Lord, confirming His word as he brings you into blessings that will flow onto others. You are destined to be a blessing.

Lev. 26:1-11

Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your G.o.d.

Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.

If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;

Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.

And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.

And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.

And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.

For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.

And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new.

And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.

G.o.d said in the above scriptures that if Israel would keep his statues, they will walk in the overflow. But we find times when G.o.d bypa.s.ses his people to bless the unlikely even strangers to his covenant. We see this in the life of the widow of Zarephath in the days of Elijah the prophet, when great famine broke out in the nation. G.o.d sent the prophet to an unlikely woman who had only the last meal for her and her child to eat.

1 Kings 17:9-16

Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

And she said, As the LORD thy G.o.d liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

For thus saith the LORD G.o.d of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

How could G.o.d bypa.s.s others to bless this woman? Many did not have food in Israel yet this woman had sufficient to last the period of the gross famine. Every normal parent wants to feed his children first before feeding others and even though G.o.d is good to all, he could not have ignored his own. G.o.d knew this woman would do all he commanded. She had respect for his prophet. Many of G.o.d"s people resist changes. You can never learn from anybody you hate. Many times we don"t catch on the opportunities that G.o.d is providing. How can G.o.d do the impossible when you are not ready to do the possible? Can you imagine the pressure this woman was in when Elijah appeared to make an odd request. When Jesus told this story of the widow woman of Zarephath, the people were so angry, that they wanted to push him down a cliff.

By the story he was reminding them of the fact that despite their boast in Abraham being their father, G.o.d had left them in unbelief to bless the so called uncirc.u.mcised dog so to say.

Lk. 4:24-26 24

And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.

25But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;

26But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.

Jesus reminded them of how G.o.d left them to meet the need of the unlikely. There was great famine that time and G.o.d wanted to give a prophetic word to deliver somebody. But he did not give it to his people but to a stranger. Jesus became the most unpopular man in his own country because he said the truth. Anointing works on the basis of honor.

Beloved, you will never improve in the area of your life that you are not ready to confront and change. The mark of living is growth. Anything that is not growing should be a concern to normal people. When you are ready to change, G.o.d will help you no matter the troubles.

Matt. 3:4-8

And the same John had his raiment of camel"s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,

And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Bring forth, therefore, fruits meet for repentance:

John was sent to be the fore-runner of our Lord. The Pharisees did not come to his baptism on time until they saw the crowd. Many will not come to you until they see success. They took pride in their relationship to Abraham. They were not ready to repent with all the miracles that Jesus did.

Jn. 1:11

He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

But G.o.d a.s.sured them that he would abandon them if they would continue in rebellion and idolatry. You can never learn from whomsoever you envy and a time will come that G.o.d will give up on somebody not willing to move. There is no need for envy for he is the same Lord of all.

The statistic says one –fifth of church members bring t.i.the to G.o.d almost in all nations and 20% of people in every organization carry the weight of that organization. If one-fifth carries the burden of the fourth-fifth, how come the 80% have enough nerve to still complain of G.o.d not blessing them as he should. Benefits are reward of service and if we plant nothing we are expected to reap nothing.

Heb. 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to G.o.d must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

G.o.d will not allow anyone to frustrate his counsel. Our Lord faced rejection. His own people rejected him and killed him eventually but the Lord will not strive always with man. He used the unlikely non-Jewish nations to provoke them to jealousy. The widow woman was feeding fat in the time of famine when the children of the kingdom were hungry.

Jn. 15:16

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

We did not choose G.o.d. HE chose us. And the fact that he has chosen us makes him responsible for the outcome of our lives. When a woman marries, no matter the liability she has, the wealth of her husband becomes hers also. This is our lot in Christ.

I Pet. 2:9

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

G.o.d has destined us for overflow. We must submit to him. He has called us to show forth his praises. To do this, we must go beyond being blessed to being a blessing.

G.o.d wants to do more than enough for us.

Is. 51:2

2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.

The blessing of Abraham is extending to us. Blessing and Increase are different. The same G.o.d that called Abraham connected you to his blessing. What did G.o.d see in the widow of Zarephath that made him to bypa.s.s others to bless her.

1 Kings 17:1

And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD G.o.d of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

In the scripture above, we see G.o.d bringing judgment on a nation because of bad leadership. The issue of life is about who is leading you. A leader must be in front not behind. A hundred of sheep led by a lion will defeat a hundred of lion led by a sheep, any day, anytime.

Here, Ahab and Jezebel misled a whole nation. G.o.d hates anybody being promoted above him. Jezebel provoked Ahab to do evil.

1 Kings 21:25

But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.

The judgment did not fall on the leader alone but it fell on the whole nation. There was famine in the land. But G.o.d still preserved his own prophet in the time of famine. A ravenous bird is a scavenger, when it eats it doesn"t care about its young. G.o.d used the unlikely to feed his prophet. G.o.d told him to go and hide by the brook of Cherith.

1 Kings 17:2-4

And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying

3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

Whatever is precious, you hide. G.o.d led Elijah to the brook. Beloved, G.o.d created location before he created people. That is why, you must have direction. When you are facing things you are not ready to face, you will be in trouble.

Acts 16:6-9

Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,

After they were come to Mysia, they a.s.sayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. And they pa.s.sing by Mysia came down to Troas.

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

Although G.o.d told Paul to go and preach as an apostle, yet he did not allow him to go to everywhere. It is not everything working for others that will work for you. So who told you that everywhere is conquerable? It is only where G.o.d wants you to go that is conquerable by you.

G.o.d knows your address. G.o.d that directed Elijah to Zarephath, brought the woman to met Elijah right on time. This is divine connection. We serve a G.o.d that cannot be stranded.

Gen 26:1-6

And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

Isaac wanted to go the same road that Abraham, his father, went but G.o.d forbade him. If he had gone to Egypt, he would have lost out. Many are losers today because of lack of direction. Elijah was sent to a brook and he stayed there. G.o.d used an unlikely bird to give him food twice a day. He did not even send one raven, but many ravens. Lessons to learn from this wisdom are

1. Obtain G.o.d"s favour into your life.

Ps. 5:11-12

11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compa.s.s him as with a shield.

2. Get a prophetic word. This does not come by bowing your head to a so called prophet. You must know that your head is the seat of wisdom. You must not allow just anybody to lay hands on your head. G.o.d uses prophetic word to change your life.

3. When you can love G.o.d more than your own child, G.o.d will bless you beyond your imagination. The widow woman had only one meal remaining yet she did not become offensive. She did not complain when Elijah asked her for water.

In these last days, there will be creative miracles but you must put G.o.d first. If she didn"t give Elijah the meal, she would have eaten it and still died. But in giving Elijah the meal meant for her child, because every woman serves her child first before herself, she qualified for G.o.d"s blessing. Her whole household had food to eat throughout the time of famine. Favour means endors.e.m.e.nt and may you obtain divine endors.e.m.e.nt from G.o.d in JESUS NAME

PS. 103:20

Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.

Favour makes you a candidate for divine a.s.sistance. It makes things easier for you. To favour means to show special privilege. You don"t beg for things. G.o.d opens doors for you. It is the way to the top.

Gen 6:5-8

And G.o.d saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Favour spares you when others perish. You must use your faith to activate G.o.d"s favour. G.o.d plants you deliberately among the wicked like Daniel and yet you still get to the top. Three unlikely men, brought gifts for the child Jesus, so as to be sustained when they took him to Egypt. Jesus is our example, he had favour, Joseph had favour. Favour opens you to opportunities- HE became the prime minister in a strange land. G.o.d in his plan, can send you to high places but you must maintain your integrity.

Psalm 30:5

For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

You must confess favour. Put value on it, don"t just depend alone on the work of your hand.

1 Cor. 15:10

But by the grace of G.o.d, I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of G.o.d which was with me.

For 38 years of ministry, Paul achieved more than his contemporary apostles, because of unmerited favour. He hated and wasted the church at one time because according to him he did it in ignorance. But once he had a divine encounter with resurrected Jesus, he never went back on his divine purpose.

Ps. 67:1-7

G.o.d be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.

That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.

Let the people praise thee, O G.o.d; let all the people praise thee.

O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.

Let the people praise thee, O G.o.d; let all the people praise thee.

Then shall the earth yield her increase; and G.o.d, even our own G.o.d, shall bless us.

G.o.d shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

This is a prayer; you must confess that abundant favour is your portion.

Ps. 119:58

I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.

You must entreat G.o.d"s favour

Heb. 4:16

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

You must come to G.o.d for favour. Esther became queen by favour.

Esther 5:1-2

Now it came to pa.s.s on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king"s house, over against the king"s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.

And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.

The compet.i.tion looked natural. Mordecai knew that a wicked man was about to be elevated so he encouraged Esther, who he had raised up in G.o.dly fear, to join the compet.i.tion.

Esther had never been independent. So she asked those closer to the king the cloth to wear to please the king. She was not chosen because she was the most beautiful but because she was the most teachable. But G.o.d placed her ahead of the devil to preserve G.o.d"s people. Favour gives you prominence. You receive preferential treatment. Regulations and laws change in the presence of favour. Favour may not be fair for nothing is fair on earth but G.o.d is just to promote his own people.

Ps. 44:1-3

We have heard with our ears, O G.o.d, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.

How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.

For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.

Ruth married into the family line of Boaz by favour. She was living on left over to sustain her mother in law (Naomi) and herself but G.o.d who always honours commitment made her eventually to marry Boaz the owner of the farmland. She owned the garden with her husband. Naomi initiated the connection for Ruth by G.o.d"s wisdom. She became part of the lineage of great kings. G.o.d honoured her commitment.

Luke 1:48

For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

Mary also was highly favoured and she received by faith what was beyond her brain to comprehend.

Ex. 12:35-36

And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:

And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.

G.o.d gave the Israelites favour; the Egyptians were compelled to enrich them. One encounter of favour is more than a thousand years of labour. One act of favour restored 430 years of labour. G.o.d transfered great wealth to house born slaves in fulfillment of his promise to Abraham.

Genesis 15:13-14

And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

Jesus, our model had favour with G.o.d and man. Like him you are connected into favour.

Luke. 2:52

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with G.o.d and man.

For the continuous flow of favour to be experienced in your path-way in life.

1. Be willing to obey G.o.d"s word.

Is. 1:19 19

If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

Job 36:11

11 If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.

Sow seed for the harvest you desire to reap

2. Give something that is valuable to G.o.d. Don"t come empty handed anytime you come before his presence.

3. Keep your success by growing exceedingly in faith. Many people after being blessed disappear from the church. They become too busy until they have breakdown. Beloved, the world that you hear gives you faith to counteract the enemy and there are blessings in coming together to serve G.o.d as a church.

4. Give G.o.d glory and praise at all time.