Summary:

In every challenge we face, we have an enemy—Satan—and he doesn’t fight fair. He identifies our weaknesses and attacks us in those areas.
However, we can easily win when we use the weapons with which God has
equipped us. The mind is the arena of faith; it is where we lose or win
the battles in our lives

A. To contain us Satan uses 3 strategies:

1. Ignorance. The people of God are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6, 7).

a. In Hebrew, destroy means “cut off”; therefore, we are cut off when we do not know God and His Word.

b. Satan wants to keep us ignorant of God’s provision and His blessings so we come up short in certain areas.

c. In addition, the enemy has blinded the eyes of the unbeliever (2 Corinthians 4:4).

2. Deception. We must know the truth and continue in it for it to make us free. (John 8:31, 32).

a. We must not deceive ourselves; whatever we sow, we are going to reap (Galatians 6:7).

3. Distraction. A distraction is an intrusion of the mind that causes confusion. We must keep our minds focused on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2-4).

a. We must know the Word so that when distractions come, we can recognize them.

b. In the story about Mary and Martha, Martha was distracted. Unlike Mary, who sat at the feet of Jesus, Martha was consumed with serving to the
point where she neglected the most important duty, which was to sit at
the Lord’s feet (Luke 10:38-40, AMP).

c. The enemy uses subtle tactics to distract us. He will even use our service to God, and our noble works.

d. He tries to get us to become worried, frantic, overly anxious, and overwhelmed with too many tasks.

B. God told Abraham to get away from those who were framing his thinking in a negative way (Genesis 12:1-3).

1. God wanted Abraham to gain the attitude of being a blessing instead of just being blessed.

a. His intent was to bless Abraham so that he could be a blessing.

2. Likewise, God has blessed us to be a blessing to others. He has given us the power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18).

a. The good life (enjoying our lives, work, success, and wealth) is a gift from God (Ecclesiastes 5:18, 19, AMP).

b. However, if we do not know the purpose for money, we will abuse it. We must be willing to be a blessing, and sensitive to God’s direction (1 Timothy
6:17, 18).

C. Here are three fundamental points we need to keep in mind concerning our giving:

1. Giving without affection for the Kingdom of God has no future.

2. We must be sure we do not fall in love with material possessions.

a. We cannot serve both God and money.

3. Love is the anointing to prosper.

D. A breakdown of the “power” mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:18 is as follows:

1. There are two gifts God gave all mankind (Genesis 1:26-29).

a. The first gift is dominion (and authority, which is the right to command).

b. The second gift is “seed.”

2. The Word of God is seed that is incorruptible; it will never fail (1 Peter 1:23).

a. The Word of our God will stand forever (Isaiah 40:6-8).

3. The heart, or spirit of a man, is the ground where Word seeds are planted.

a. Whatever is in your heart will bring forth a harvest; for out of it (the heart) flows the issues of life (Proverbs 4:20-23).

b. Seeds are planted through the “gates” of our hearts: our eyes, ears, and mouths.

c. We must watch over our gates and not allow bad seeds to come into our hearts.

d. In addition, we must be sure we are consistently putting the seed of God’s Word within us.

e. We must take care of the Word seed planted in our hearts by nourishing and protecting it, and keeping out all intruders.

4. Honor and success are connected.

a. When we honor God, we allow His Word to determine our decisions.

b. When we honor Him with our money, we have abundance.

Scripture References:

• Hosea 4:6, 7
• 2 Corinthians 4:4
• John 8:31, 32
• Galatians 6:7
• Hebrews 12:2-4
• Luke 10:38-40, AMP
• Genesis 12:1-3
• Deuteronomy 8:18
• Ecclesiastes 5:18, 19, AMP
• 1 Timothy 6:17, 18
• Genesis 1:26-29
• 1 Peter 1:23
• Isaiah 40:6-8
• Proverbs 4:20-23