Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
August 10, 2003 - W0332

We all ask for Godís blessings. However, receiving Godís blessings begins not with asking, but surrendering our hearts and minds to Him. God designed us to need his blessings. Often times the problem is that we tend to use all kinds of ways to ìgetî His blessings ñ lucky charms, fortune cookies, mantras, and even calling a 1-900 number.

Iím finding that we donít need to get Godís attention or gain His favor in order to secure His blessing. God has plans for our future, for our hope. And itís not so much what we do, but rather what we prune out of our lives so that our hearts are ready for Godís blessings.

ìSince The LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy.î (Deut. 23:14)

Notice that the scripture says God will bless what is holy unto Him. That word ìholyî means wholly consecrated or completely given to God. God wants us be completely His, to use for His purposes. Only then will we receive His provision. Thus, in order for God to bless us we must understand thatÖ

BLESSINGS FOLLOW CONSECRATION (to set apart; to devote to one purpose)

ìThen Joshua said to the people, íConsecrate yourselves for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among youî. (Josh. 3:5)

So how do we prepare for God to do great wonders? Well, we must consecrate ourselves to Him.  We must make sure that there is nothing that is an affront to God in our lives. Only then will blessings follow.

What do you consecrate in your life to God?  What do you completely give to God for his purposes?

The Bible says that we are not our own, we have been bought with a price. God is saying that He really created us for His glory so that we will be consecrated for Him. So when we use our lives for something other than what God purposed for us, we experience problems.

We do that with tools sometimes. For instance, I use the kitchen butter knives in place of finding the screwdriver. Hence I have a set of broken tipped butter knives at home. I remember my sister working on building a birdhouse. She was busily pounding nails with a hammer, when a fly began to bother her. That fly eventually landed on the etched glass of the door. It was not just any door, but one my dad was proud of. Quietly, she walked over to the fly and let him have it. You can imagine the rest of the story. 

I wonder how many times we take what God has given to us and use it for our own purpose. Then we are surprised when things start to go wrong. We then plead with God to bless us, but He canít until we completely give our lives to Him. Thatís why if weíre constantly in a tug-of-war with God, He canít do much. And God doesnít require much. Remember the Bible says Jesus provided lunch for hundreds when there were only few fish and loaves of bread. So God can create miracles if we only give our lives wholly unto Him. Keep in mind that Godís goal is to do wonders for us. Therefore, our responsibility is to consecrate our lives, our marriages, and everything we have because God blesses only that which is consecrated for His purposes. 

You know one of the first words children learn is ìMINE.î I remember giving my nephew a birthday present when he was two. I noticed that I had left the price tag on it. So I asked him to give the present back so that I could remove the price tag. He refused adamantly and said, ìMine.î 

I think sometimes we are like my nephew. God asks us to give up or let go of something so that He can bless our lives. Yet our response is often like that of a child. We grasp tightly to things in our lives refusing to let go. And when we do that, God is unable to bless us because we have not fully given or consecrated it unto Him.

What then are some of the areas that are sometimes like stubborn stains in our lives? What things do we have a hard time releasing or consecrating to God? Letís take a look atÖ

THREE AREAS OF LIFE TO CONSECRATE:

1.      My Mind

We believe that our thoughts are ours and think no one will be hurt by it. But our minds have been designed by Godís hand; therefore He knows our every thought. Not only that, but the way we think affects the way we view people, life, and even God. It will determine the very condition of our hearts and whether or not itís calloused or soft. Someone once said, ìSow a thought, reap a desire. Sow a desire; reap an action. Sow an action; reap a habit. Sow a habit; reap a destiny.î  It all begins with a thought. Remember that the devil is a headhunter. He knows that if he can sow a thought in us, heís got us right where he wants us. And that is when weíve been deceived by the enemy.

ìFurthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound, and the winged creature will make the matter known.î  (Eccl. 10:20)

God is saying that if our thoughts are wrong (even in our bedroom), it will affect everything else in our life. Thus, we must consecrate our minds so that our thoughts are guarded. Our thoughts become the barometer of our hearts. It reveals the kind of heart we have. In other words, if our hearts is unbalanced, our thoughts will reveal it. If our hearts start to stray, weíll consider things we shouldnít. If our heart is given to anger, weíll start to grumble all the time. And if our heart is insecure, weíll compare our lives with others. The Bible says to speak truth in your heart. Make sure your thoughts are pleasing to God because He looks upon our hearts. We cannot live dual lives by pretending publicly so our image will look good and secretly thinking something else. Your thoughts betray what your heart really is. 

When I was in Hilo, things were not going well at the beginning. There was a man who talked incessantly. If I saw him coming, I ducked into the bathroom to avoid him. Once he called me on the telephone, talking for approximately 50 minutes. Of course I was polite and gracious, but when I hung up I called him a ìbonehead.î God convicted me right there and held me accountable. God said I was thinking that all along. There were some people there who I felt didnít fit my expectation and the Lord said my heart wasnít consecrated enough to be given to these people. And the reason why He couldnít bless what was going on was because I hadnít consecrated my heart.  My thoughts betrayed me. I remember that night just repenting before the Lord and learned a prayer Iíd like you to learn too:  ìHeavenly Father, may my thoughts please you todayî.

ìFor not let man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-mined man, unstable in all his waysî. (James 1:8)

ìÖ for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heartî. (1Sam. 16:17) (Luke 11:17)

We cannot live a duplicitous life with a good public image, yet our thoughts are not pleasing to Him. For as the Bible says, how can we expect to receive His blessings if our thought life is not consecrated to God? So be aware that your actions follow your thoughts. Thus, the first area we must consecrate to God is our mind. The next area we must be mindful of isÖ

2.  My Money

ì..You may say in your heart, ëMy power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.í But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealthî. (Deut. 8:17-18)

The love of money is the root of all evil. And it dupes us into creating a false sense of control. It deceives us and steals the fruitfulness of our life. Now there is nothing wrong with money, but we must steward it well. Remember that God gives us the power to make wealth. Remember that money by itself is not a worthy enough investment of our life. However, what we do with it is. So use money wisely; donít let it use you. 

Still, how do we keep free of this deception? The Bible calls it tithe or tenth. In the past, the first fruit of the harvest was offered to God. Thatís what a tithe is. The first tithe was trading things. Fisherman offered farmers fish in exchange for crops. In the Industrial Age, people worked for coupons (money) because the product belonged to the company. So tithing simply means to dedicate our first ten percent to God.

ì..The purpose of the tithe is to teach you always to put God first in your livesî. (Deut. 14:23 TLB)

You may ask: Do I have to tithe?  No, itís not mandatory. Rather it is a wise choice of consecration. Tithing is really to teach us to put God first. Therefore, if you want God to bless an area of your life, put Him first. If you want God to bless your fruitfulness, give your first fruits.

Whatever area you want Him to bless, put God first. Our marriages should be consecrated to God. A marriage that is consecrated by God wonít get stuck on whoís right, but rather will focus on whatís right. Make your relationship more important than an issue. Make this true not only in marriages, but also in dating, in business, and finances. Blessings come from putting God first.

And donít worry about what you get back. You cannot out give the Lord. About 6 months ago, John who went to pioneer a church in Sacramento gave me $250. He told me to take Anna to dinner.  Instead the Lord said to invest it in him. I turned around and gave it to someone in need.  Later I received a check for $500 and gave that away. I then received a check for $1000 for speaking at a function. I took it and gave it away. I kept giving it away. In the end, I was able to give John a check for $2500. See what God can do when you consecrate your lives to Him.

So tithe is really about receiving and giving back. Itís about remembering to place God first.  If we are good stewards of what God has given us, then God can trust us with more in order to do His purpose. Keep in mind that if we begin to consecrate our mind and our money to God, He will be able to bless us. And in addition to that, the final area that we must fully devote to the Lord isÖ

3.       My Time

ìMy times are in Thy handÖî (Ps. 31:51)

ìSo teach us to number our days, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdomî.  (Ps. 90:12)

?        Fill in the blank:  I donít have time forÖ. 

This is probably the most convicting sentence in the whole message: You only have time for the things you want to do. Sometimes we say we donít have time to spend with the kids. Then God says, ìIf you wanted to spend time with them, you wouldî. Often we also say that we donít have time for devotions. Actually itís because we donít want to do devotions in the first place. Itís really a matter of the heart, isnít it! God doesnít need to give us more time; we need to change your wants. Remember this, you will always have time for your wants.

So hereís your homework. What assignment does God want you to do this season? Write it down. And make this your prayer: Change my heart so I want to do these more daily. Ask God to balance your life out so that youíre doing the things He wants you to do. Then do them well.

Solomon teaches us this final point in todayís lesson.  And that isÖ

DONíT END, BUT BEGIN BY FOLLOWING GOD!

ìThe conclusion is this: fear God, and keep His commandments, because this applies to every personî. (Eccl. 12:13)

Solomon learned AT THE END OF HIS LIFE that he should fear God and obey him. If we can take that conclusion and use it at the beginning of our life, we will be given a whole lifetime back. Time, money, and our thoughts must be for Godís purpose. Only then will God give you back blessings. 

Discussion Questions:

1.      God is looking for people to bless. What do we gain by making ourselves totally available to his purpose? What might be the next step I need to take in order to serve his purpose?

2.      Do you find yourself torn between what you want to do and what God wants you to do? How do you determine what God wants from and for you? How will you respond? 

3.      How has God demonstrated his love for you with his blessings? Does this make you want to do for others? What are some ways that you can begin starting today?

Much mahalo to first time volunteer writer Phyllis Unebasami, a woman using her talents for God's purposes.  Great job!