Don?t Come Empty Handed 2/1/09 Our society is a mess. We are seeing preliminary signs of a future event. Proverbs 8:17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart. Pastor King heard the Lord say ?I want you to pastor the church. This is the year to strengthen this flock dispel fear and He will get us to the other side. We have to stay in the boat. Psalm 66:12 (Amplified Bible) You caused men to ride over our heads [when we were prostrate]; we went through fire and through water but You brought us out into a broad moist place [to abundance and refreshment and the open air. ? God has a covenant of increase. Poorly planned government decisions do not affect this covenant. Trust God not the government. ? Faith in the Government = 0 faith in God How to Get to the Other Side Exodus 23:15 - None shall appear before Me empty-handed. ? Don?t come before the Lord without and offering to make a deal. He wants us to contribute to the process by being givers not just takers. ? The Lord said ?Don?t come to me empty-handed?. ?Don?t come to Me unless you are ready to bring Me something?. We have a tendency to misplace trust when we find something that has supplied us. If rely on depend on something too much you will lose it. Your job is not your supply God is. ? Supply is not competitive ie if you get it then I can?t have it. ? Wealth is not based on what exists. it is based on perception. it is not based on actual numbers. What one person is willing to pay for something is not necessarily what another person is willing to pay for it. ? Basic law of supply and demand: If we withhold the supply then the demand will go up and then we can charge more for it and line our pockets. This creates the concept that there is actually a shortage. If we live with this concept long enough we begin to believe it. o The world works on a withholding principle. o God works on a ?let it go? principle. o When you give protect the other person?s dignity and never assume that you are superior. Never let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. There is pride involved in giving and receiving. ?I supplied your need now I am superior to you? _ wrong mindset. o People that have been taught to take will stand in line to get. They have no concept of giving. They think that if they don?t get this hand out they will not be able to eat Ephesians 4:28 NAS He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor performing with his own hands what is good so that he will have something to share with one who has need. ? Work for giving not for living. ? Believe God is your source not the job. ? Galatians 3:11 - The just shall live by faith. o Work for giving faith for living. Ecclesiastes 11:2-6 Give a portion to seven and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south or toward the north in the place where the tree falleth there it shall be. He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper either this or that or whether they both shall be alike good. ? Everybody can give something to somebody. ? Keep seed in the ground because you don?t know everything that is going on in all the areas that may affect you. ? You don?t know how it will all come He wants to surprise you. Don?t wonder where it?s coming from. ? A taker is offensive to the Lord. He wants you to be a giver not a taker. ? What you