An Eagle Doesn't Roost in a Sparrow's Nest: Trust God's Word

Sermon outline

The second key to success is to develop confidence in God's Word so that He can turn things around for you, and then to back that confidence with an established heart, a big attitude, bold confession and wise, practical living.

1. Have your heart established

   Paul prayed that God would direct his way to the Thessalonians and establish their hearts. Many believers are not established: they run with two visions, skip from church to church and let their feelings dictate whether they give or come to church. Know where you belong and what God has called you to, and fix your heart there.

   “You don't run by your feelings. Because your feelings are subject to change.”

   • 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13
   • Psalm 57:7

2. Key 2: develop confidence in God's Word to turn things around

   As you yield to the Holy Spirit, God, not man, will guide your steps to everything He has for you. When sickness or lack visits, do not invite it in; take the Word as a weapon and turn it around. Obstacles do not mean you are on the wrong path, and you do not need signs, because you are a sign and a wonder. God does not leave you when your boss shouts or you argue with your spouse; He is love and is with you all the time.

   Illustration: A year or two earlier the Lord told him, "I'm with you strong." We wrongly picture God like a parent who sends you to your room when cross.

   “God doesn't go on a vacation.”

   • Isaiah 8:18
   • 1 John 4:8
   • Hebrews 13:5

3. He led them forth by the right way

   Israel wandered hungry in the wilderness until they cried to the Lord, who delivered them and led them by the right way to a city of habitation. Believers are already in the way, because Jesus is the way, and they dwell in Zion. Some Christians pray all day yet stay poor or sick because their belief system repels prosperity and health. He prophesies doubled turnover for business people and a weight of abundance in 2008.

   Illustration: When the prophet threw a stick into the water, the lost iron axe head floated up; wherever your lost thing has been lying, it is floating back to you. You may trust alarms, night watchmen and dogs, but the angels of the Lord encamp around you.

   “We believe more in the invisible than the visible.”

   • Psalm 107:4-7
   • John 14:6
   • 2 Corinthians 1:20
   • John 16:24
   • Hebrews 12:22
   • 2 Kings 6:5-7
   • Psalm 34:7
   • Psalm 121:4

4. An eagle does not roost in a sparrow's nest

   Your attitude is your best friend or your worst enemy. Leave the people who suck on lemons, and make lemonade instead. If you are an eagle, leave sparrow-minded people alone and think bigger: grow your business, double your giving, and delete the files of depression, anger and poverty while loading joy, health and long life. Love for God must turn into action: share the gospel, and do not hide money at home where it does nothing; make it money with a mission.

   Illustration: You cannot want to fly like an eagle and carry a sparrow's purse: eagles fly with big bags.

   “If you're an eagle, leave the sparrows alone.”

   • Philippians 4:8

5. Confession is the profession of a Christian

   He came out of a religious background that taught him to beg God in prayer, but reading the Gospels and Acts convinced him the supernatural is real today, because Acts has no "amen" and we are still writing it. He learned that confession is a believer's priestly offering and that God hears confessions as surely as prayers. At first he could not get the word "millionaire" out of his mouth when confessing wealth alone in his study, because his religious mind told him it sounded arrogant, but after weeks of saying it, it became easy. Dressing well is not arrogance: the soldiers gambled for Jesus' garment, so it must have been fine clothing.

   Illustration: Reading the New Testament for himself, every page showed him a miracle: water into wine, the loaves and fish multiplied, Lazarus raised, the dead girl raised and the centurion's servant healed, and he began to renew his belief system.

   “Confession is the profession of a Christian.”

   • John 2:1-11
   • John 6:11
   • John 11:43-44
   • Mark 5:41-42
   • Matthew 8:13
   • John 14:12
   • Hebrews 3:1
   • 1 John 5:14
   • John 19:23-24

6. Confession needs the other principles: tithe, give and sow

   You can confess wealth until you are blue in the face, but without tithing, cheerful giving and sowing you will not prosper. A business that will not tithe ten percent will stay the same size or shrink. God demands the tithe of everyone, the pastor included.

   Illustration: Asked whether to tithe on net or gross, he replied: when you pray, do you want your answer net or gross?

   “It's not that I want your tithe, God demands your tithe.”

   • Malachi 3:8-10
   • 2 Corinthians 9:7

7. Don't get pseudo-spiritual: serve God with your spouse

   When newly filled with the Spirit some believers want only their Bible and neglect the house, their responsibilities and even their spouse, treating marriage as less spiritual. God ordained marriage and called it very good; loving and spending time with your spouse does not make Him love you less. Husbands should give their wives attention and compliments, and wives should not praise other men to their husbands.

   Illustration: A man who says the anointing leaves him when his wife touches him has forgotten that she held him when he came home covered in grease from the workshop.

   “You serve God with your wife. You serve God with your husband.”

   • Genesis 1:31

8. Adjust your thinking: be vigilant, work hard and live on cash

   Be sober and vigilant, because the devil seeks to devour your relationships and whatever comes into your hands. Do not overeat. Work hard and diligently instead of expecting God to drop a wardrobe or a bank card from heaven. When money comes, tithe, save the bulk of it, cut up store cards, buy clothes for cash, do not buy to keep up with the neighbours, and never let your spending exceed your income.

   Illustration: Many years ago, while he was still working, an elderly multi-millionaire told him, "If God gave you two hands, you're a very wealthy man."

   “Don't let your expenditure exceed your income.”

   • 1 Peter 5:8
   • Proverbs 3:9