The Secrets of Increase and Breakthrough (3)
Pastor Bankie
WHO DO YOU BLAME?
In the last sermon I described the power of the personal aura in one’s experiences. In this sermon I wish to say more on that.
Please read this following portion of the Bible, the words of Elihu from the book of Job, carefully.
"Because of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; They cry for help because of the arm of the mighty.
"But no one says, “Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night,
Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?”
"There they cry out, but He does not answer, Because of the pride of evil men.
"Surely God will not listen to an empty cry,
Nor will the Almighty regard it.” Job 35:9-13 NASB
Here we see the scenario described of people crying because of oppression. They are crying because things are not going the way of prosperity, the way of increase or breakthrough. It is obvious that there are certain human and physical elements to blame for the crisis.
There are leaders to blame.
There are government policies to blame.
There are relatives who refuse to show favour to blame.
There are many things to blame which we can call “the multitude of oppressions” and “the hand of the mighty,” borrowing from the words of Elihu in the verses above.
The point is that when we complain about situations in life, we tend to focus more on what people and external forces have done to us so as to make life uncomfortable. We blame government for the fact that there are no jobs. We blame relatives who did not rise to help. We blame friends for not giving us money for that project. We blame the banks for making small business loans difficult to obtain and for making the interest rates so high. We blame our lack of progress on everybody and everything else apart from ourselves.
Please note that these external factors are physically real. The oppressors and the mighty being blamed are not imaginary beings. However when we desire increase and breakthrough from God, those excuses do not fly.
See, there is no real substance to darkness; it is just the absence of light. In the same manner, as far as God is concerned, there is no real substance to your problems; they are just the reflections of the fact that divine help is lacking. So Elihu lamented,
“But no one says, Where is God my Maker”
No matter what the apparent problems are, the person with the help of God will triumph over them.
As long as you focus on the problems and what you believe are the causes, you will not experience increase. You eyes must first turn away from outside and around to God, and to you. You must accept that the problem is first personal, rather than environmental.
Problems do not worry our God because every problem has a solution, and He has that solution.
The man or woman who desires increase and breakthrough does not focus on the apparent cause of the problems but he or she looks inwards, and asks why God’s power has not been available for him.
You must know that only you can hinder the power of progress that the Lord desires so much to send into your life. In your heart you hold the key to releasing the power of God into your situation so that the presence of the multitude of oppressions becomes an unimportant matter.
Like I said in the last sermon, the secret of Increase and Breakthrough is transformation, but I must emphasize that the person who really needs the transformation is not the society and the people around but the person who desires the increase.
The position you are in right now is a reflection of the place your heart is in, and before you can go to another level, you heart and soul must first advance into that level before your outward life can come up.
A change of government is not what you need.
A visa is not what you need.
Connections and networks are not what you need.
You need to ask in prayer that God will teach your heart that which you do not yet know so that by the new knowledge you will advance spiritually. God’s power increases in our lives as we know Him and His ways better (2 Pet 1:3). As our hearts are so transformed, our lives outwardly are also transformed.
My emphasis in this sermon is that it is you desiring increase that have been hindering your own increase, and until you accept this fact and turn in prayer to God for the necessary spiritual and moral changes, increase and breakthrough will not come.
The heart of a man is powerful; it is the seat of knowledge and faith and the launch pad of the decisions we make. Based upon a person’s character, faith and knowledge of God, it radiates spiritual forces to cause good to come to him or away from him.
When the people in a nation are transformed into the right heart of righteousness, their very presence expels wicked leaders and cause even an unwilling government to do things that will bring them good.
So it is time to stop blaming other people. In this our Africa, people even love to blame spiritual forces and enemies. They love witches because these represent a good scapegoat for their failures. The truth is that nobody can hold you down when you are ready for increase after you might have repaired your heart with God.
No matter who is jealous of you, they can’t stop you unless God is not with you. I have heard people say you must specially handle your enemies as if Israel knew anything that Balaam was planning against them when he said,
No curse can touch Jacob; no sorcery has any power against Israel.
For now it will be said of Jacob, "What wonders God has done for Israel!"
Num 23:23 NLT
Forget those enemies and witches which praying against them has been the pre-occupation taking away your needed night rest. Work on yourself and in due season it will be said of you, ‘what wonders God has done.’
Again, we have seen that a secret of increase and breakthrough is transformation—transformation ignited by the knowledge that the problem is not other people but the person who needs the increase. Today let me add another line thus:
A secret of Increase and Breakthrough is to stop blaming others and to accept the spiritual and moral responsibility.
