The Secrets of Increase and Breakthrough (5)
Pastor Bankie
WHAT ARE YOU REALLY ASKING FOR?
Last time I introduced the principles of "double-mindedness" and "what-God-has-joined-together." I explained that increase and prosperity are joined to having the giving heart like that of King Solomon.
Today I want to show more on the subject of double-mindedness and see how we can overcome it into the release of increase and breakthrough.
Let us remind ourselves of the following encounter between the Lord Jesus and two of the disciples.
" "And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?" 37 And they said to Him, "Grant that we may sit in Your glory, one on Your right, and one on Your left." 38 But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" " Mark 10:36-38 NASB
There is this thing about resonance which I learnt as a student of elementary physics. According to the laws of God in physics, every object has a natural frequency of vibration or oscillation. The amplitude produced by an inciting force in the vibration of that object is greatly increased and amplified when the force matches the natural frequency of the object by its own. If it goes above that it produces only a disadvantage and not an advantage.
This is the application:
God has a thought about everything He made and everything conceivable, and ‘ this can be likened to its natural frequency. Great power is made available for the release of every increase in life once we are able to align our thoughts with the purpose of God for those things. It is part of what I described earlier as specific righteousness. When explaining earlier about righteousness I focused more on the procedure, but here I want to focus more on purpose.
At this point I want us to see double-mindedness as a situation in which one is asking God for a thing but has a different thought or concept in mind about its purpose. When we are asking God for something in prayer, He does not see what we see outwardly; what He sees are the spiritual pictures of those things in our hearts. The spiritual pictures are the motives for the petition, our expectations concerning the satisfaction attached to those things and the intended use when finally gotten.
Look back in your mind at the portion of the Bible quoted above. James and John came asking for positions of power, and the Lord told them simply that they had no idea what it was they were asking for. The picture in their minds was so far away from God’s concepts about the position. To them it was a position of power. To the Lord it was not so. For Him that position is a reflection of dedication to the point of death. It is a position of sacrifice in which your life means nothing to you. The boys did not get the point.
Many people are praying and begging the Lord for things, and He is saying to them, if I gave it to you, you will misuse and mishandle it because you don’t understand what the stuff is about.
The illustration I like to use so much to explain this is about the issue of marriage and young women.
Many women are praying for a husband. They have many thoughts in their mind about it. For many, “I want a man who can take care of me.” But God says to them, “you do not know what you are asking for! You are not a project. I did not create you to be a subject of attention.”
“You are to be a help fitting for a man of purpose.
“I will give you a husband when you are ready to marry a man of purpose who together you will take care of the will of God for your lives on this earth.”
Great power for the release of that husband is made available when you resonate with the thoughts of God.
Double-mindedness. It means to be praying for a thing but have a different thought in mind concerning what the thing is really about apart form the thoughts of God.
Many women praying for husbands are still thinking, “I can’t let a man control me o. I am educated and I can make my decisions.” And God says, “maybe I can arrange a boyfriend for you, or a fiancée but, excuse Me, not a husband. You do not know what you are asking for. If you want a husband get ready to loose your independence. You will have a man to be accountable to, 24/7. If you are not ready for that, stop disturbing me!”
In a like manner many Christian men are there who will not agree to marry a woman who they perceive has many responsibilities; they don’t want to carry any load. To them a wife is just to serve them and make them happy. They want a cook who will also bear them children. They do not realize that by that form of thinking they are asking God never to bless them to a point that they will be a blessing. See, it is easy to claim Abraham’s blessings but when we see the purpose of God for those blessings we run. Abraham was blessed to be a blessing.
Listen brothers, a husband is supposed to love a wife like Christ loved the Church. The love of Christ for the Church is described by how He gave himself for her (Eph 5:25). If you are not ready to give yourself emotionally, spiritually and materially so as to help someone, you are double-minded about being a husband; James said you should forget about receiving anything from the hand of God (James 1:7).
Another illustration: I was in a church preaching once, and I asked those who thought the state governor was enjoying life to put up their hands. Many hands, actually most, went up. Then I asked for those who would like to be governors so they too can enjoy. Those hands went back up. So I said to them, “as far as God is concerned, this is the very reason you will never become a governor.”
The surprise on their faces was my own surprise. I did not realize Christians did not know these things.
The purpose of political power is for the promotion of righteousness and for the improvement of the lives of the people. It has absolutely nothing to do with the welfare of the king (remember Solomon). Any Christian who really gets this point will one day get there.
Do you want power for increase and breakthrough? Then ask God to reveal to you by His word what His purpose for the increase is. Once you align yourself with God’s purpose, like Hannah who by so doing gave birth to Samuel, your own breakthrough will commence immediately.
Let me summarize like this: A secret of increase and breakthrough is to resonate with God’s thoughts concerning the purpose of what you are asking for. It is called righteousness.
