prosperity Archives - Colin Dye

A time like this

Colin Dye — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 09:00:20 +0000

Last year’s keynote post,a good reminder for all of us.

Big Ben, London, with the new year’s fireworks in the background.

Time comes into special focus at the beginning of each New Year. The ten second countdown to midnight launches us instantaneously from the old into the new. Then we have to adjust to the new date writing? ?12 instead of ?11. But after a few days we forget about it being a new year and we get on with business as before.
However, being conscious of chronological time is not our only concern. We must also be sensitive to the season in which we live. There are natural seasons such as summer, autumn, winter and spring. There are seasons of life ? youth, middle age and old age. We recognize all these. But how many of us know what spiritual season we are in?
God is the God of kairos time, that is, the times and seasons of his purposes. As he works out his plan in the world he establishes the seasons, those moments of opportunity, in which heaven?s glory touches the earth and we are faced with the challenge to respond.
What will 2012 bring? That is a good question, but God does not always tell us the answer preferring us to take life one day at a time. We are called to live in the present ? as Jesus said, ?each day has enough trouble of its own? (Matthew 6:34). We are simply not made to live in the past or in the future, but in the present.
In our Vision Week, later this month, we will be looking at what God is saying to us as a church concerning his times and seasons for our lives. It is an exciting prospect to envisage God?s purposes, but in order to lay hold of them we must understand the power of the present. When God?s purposes touch our lives they always manifest in the present. This dynamic concept of the ?now? is so obvious that it is often missed.
Knowing what God wants us to do today in the light of his overall plan for our lives is the key. The legendary men of Issachar were men who understood the times (1 Chronicles 12:32). Yet, it was not an idle, speculative preoccupation with prophetic matters. There was a practical reason behind it all: they understood what Israel should do at a crucial time in the nation?s history. ?It was time to establish the kingdom in the land.
This is our ?now time?. Seize it in earnest – it will not come by again.? Make the most of every opportunity God gives you in 2012 to see his kingdom come in your life.
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A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!

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Skin for Skin

Colin Dye — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:26:09 +0000

Job And His Friends by Ilya Yefimovich-Repin 1869

Satan goaded God with these words believing that he had found the ultimate human weakness: “A man will give everything he has for his life” (See Job 2:4-5).
This accusation certainly exposes a deep fear in the human personality. Our frail humanity makes us vulnerable to the fear of death together with the ageing process and failing health that often come with it.
The strength of the Christian gospel is that it speaks right into the depth of these human needs and offers us eternal life, freedom from sickness and deliverance from death itself through the resurrection power of Christ.
“If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you” (Romans 8:11).
Jesus came proclaiming the good news of the kingdom – that the long-promised age of freedom and deliverance from the powers of sin and death had arrived.?This means we are in “the presence of the future’ and are heirs of unimaginable levels of healing, prosperity and well-being. The kingdom has come!?However, this doesn’t mean we are free from suffering and trials. On the contrary, Jesus made it clear that the troubles of this world would continue as long as this present world was in existence.
“In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33).
Nevertheless, we can live in victory over all these circumstances and enjoy the blessing of God.
“But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
God’s will is for health and prosperity for His people – even if we, like Job, must pass through various trials to serve a higher purpose for the glory of God.
“Skin for skin?” Was Satan right? Will we sell our souls for the sake of our present comforts?
No! We have settled it once and for all. We will serve God with all of our hearts – no matter what our circumstances.
And nothing will shake our confidence in our Heavenly Father’s capacity and willingness to save, heal and deliver us from every sin, every sickness and every bondage.

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Breaking the Chains of Debt

Colin Dye — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:21:50 +0000

Breaking the chains of debt

Have you been overtaken by debt and now find yourself in financial bondage? Whether you are in debt because of your carelessness or due to circumstances that were beyond your control, God is a God of mercy and grace and he will help you because he is in the business of debt destruction.

The bondage of debt

People enter into debt too quickly. It seems that our society is run by debt. For example the majority take out mortgages in order to buy their homes without considering that there might be an alternative. There are stories of 19 years-olds with debts up to three times their annual income. In the last year, debt increased by 75% due to Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA).

The national debt is a staggering ?456 billion, equivalent to a debt of ?9,500 for every adult in the population. Personal debts amounts to ?1.2trillion and one fifth of this is unsecured borrowing. That is ?24,000 for every adult on top of the ?9,500 owed from the national debt. Babies are born into the world owing ?19,000. Add to all this the fact that many people are living below the poverty line, struggling to make ends meet by visiting loan sharks, yet still sinking deeper and deeper into debt. Debt is bondage.

Bad borrowing is a tool that the devil uses to spring poverty traps on people. Many borrow and pay for goods and services on credit without adequate thought of how to repay. Another snare is overspending. What drives us to overspend? Sometimes it’s the lure of the good life. We strive for a lifestyle that promises us health, wealth and happiness.

A lesson from Scripture

In 2 Kings 4, the widow of a member of a group of prophets came to Elisha for help. “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.” The widow’s debt had led to bondage. Her debt was a “no-fault’ debt. She and her family were doing everything right. However, her husband died and she found herself in a poverty trap.

What did the prophet’s wife do?

The prophet’s widow took the matter to God. She was not just being spiritual or religious. Rather, she understood the difference that God could make. Lining up with God is the very thing that will stop us from getting into financial trouble in the first place. When we walk with God, financially, we are better off. In crying out to Elisha, the widow was seeking a word from the Lord and the results that would come from the word. This woman also had something with which she could back up her appeal and that was the fact that she and her family served, honoured and feared the Lord. This was a powerful argument that he brought to Elisha. She could have pleaded for God’s mercy and that would have been enough. However, it matters to God that we serve him.When we take care of his house or family, he will take care of ours.

A supernatural solution

There were two principles at work here. First, you must be prepared to do what you can do. Secondly, you must believe that God will do what only he can do. The prophet asked the widow what she had in her house. She said all she has was a small quantity of oil. He asked her to bring it and put it in the house of God. When you yield the little that you have to the Lord, in obedience, and do what he asks you to do, then the principle of multiplication will kick in.

The widow, willingly, yielded the little she had and put it into the hands of God. The prophet then told her to bring as many empty jars as she could find. She took the oil and poured it out till the jars were full and there were no empty ones left. Then Elisha told the widow to sell the oil and use the proceeds to settle her debts. This was supernatural provision for debt payment. In the end the widow not only had her debts paid, but she also had her on-going need for income taken care of. “Sell the oil, pay the debt and live on the rest.” God will take care of you for the rest of your life if you are willing believe in him and act on what he says.

You can also experience God’s provision through giving in tithes and offering and forgiving. Luke 6:37-38 shows the principles involved. “…Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” This is how giving is the basis of receiving.

You can activate God’s principles of kingdom economics so that you can live a supernatural lifestyle of divine supply. God will break into your debts, destroy or reduce them and pour the blessings that you need into your life.

Walking with God and better off

On 4th January 2006, the Times ran a headline: Evangelicals demonstrate faith with a cheque book. This is what the report said, “They (Evangelicals) give nine times more money to charity than the average person in Great Britain. They give 12% of their net income; even more generous than the Americans who give 10%.” The survey also found that Evangelicals, in Britain, have times that average level of household savings and a tiny three fraction of the debt and many had no debts at all.

The reporters went on to say that it shows that the Evangelicals took the words of Billy Graham seriously, “A chequebook is a theological document. It shows how and what you worship”. Evangelical churches are also the fastest growing segment of the church in Britain. The report also said other churches have wondered how the evangelical churches generated such large cash flows. The answer it suggested was that the evangelical pastors teach the biblical injunction to tithe. Also mentioned was that the protestant work ethics embraced by Evangelicals means that they are often high earners earning 17.5% more than the national average.

God will bless you and prosper and keep you if you walk with him. We have a winning formula!

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The Grace of giving

Colin Dye — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 09:10:58 +0000

All resources of Grace are available to us by simple faith. We do not deserve them, there is nothing we can do to earn them. We can certainly not buy the blessing of God. So what is the grace of giving? I hope you will enjoy this short excerpt. God bless you.

To watch the full sermon for free click here

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