[Music] this is really good for our church I want you to this year shift from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset from scarcity to abundance scarcity mindset is a very very scary thing and I oftentimes uh I see it not just in the world I see a lot of times even uh Brothers and Sisters in Christ operating this way and it is so detrimental because a scarcity mindset ultimately comes down to this just concept that I I'll never have enough that could be resources that could be emotions uh that could be relationships and so
we live our life just full of fear we live our life holding back and we don't step out in faith to receive what God could do instead we just try to hoard what we already have and and there's a massive difference between a scarcity mindset and abundance mindset let me just kind of just break some of this stuff down uh scarcity thinking uh over and over again in our life says this idea that there will never be enough but an abundance mindset an abundance thinking is there will always be more there there will always be
more scarcity uh competes to stay on top but abundance collaps elaborates to stay on top we work together scarcity is stingy but I you know abundance is is generous generosity by the way just by definition is not about giving what's required it's about always giving more than what's required what are the requirements I want to go above and beyond that that's what a generous person does that's a person with an abundance mindset uh scarcity holds knowledge but abundance shares knowledge you ever meet people it's like they got the answers but they won't give you the
answers cuz they just want to keep it for themselves that's not who you are as a Believer you're somebody who shares the wisdom that God's given you because it was given to you and so you freely I've received so freely I give scarcity is selfish towards others but abundance watch this serves others people who serve have an abundance mindset watch this scarcity is suspicious I wonder what they're here for I wonder what they're doing what's what's going on oh I didn't where where have they been okay all right what is I wonder what they're saying
I O okay just checking things out but abundance believes the best about people how many know when the younger brother comes back in Luke 15 the older brother he's like he don't even he hadn't even talked to his brother yet go back and read the text and he's like Dad how come you're giving him the fat and calf and throw a party he was out with with prostitutes he was out wild living and I'm like where in the text does it say that he had ever been with prostitutes the older brother is just assuming that
that's what the younger brother was doing in fact maybe he was projecting about some things he were struggling with but that's another story um that's not who we are in the body of Christ we have an abundance mindset that we are going to assume the best about people we're going to speak to people's potential scarcity fears being replaced but abundance strives to grow scarcity believes the pie is shrinking and abundance believes the pie is always growing what I want you to see the best illustration I can give you for a scarcity mindset is a closed
fist some of us even in this room today I can preach you about renewing your mind but maybe this is the picture that you're looking for a lot of us are living life like this we're going through life and we're hoarding and we're hanging on to what we got because we're so afraid of losing what we got this could apply to so many areas this could apply to really good things that God's blessed you with your family you're hoarding you're hoarding it and hanging on to it like this your finances your resources your ideas your
strategies your skills your personality your Treasures just go through the list but this is the picture I got to cling to it I got to keep it I got to keep it I got to keep it I got to keep it but abundance mindset is not a closed F it's an open hand because look at this with an open hand yes I risk things falling away I risk things leaving but I also open myself up to receiving more that God has for me come on God wants to bless you with more but your hand hand
is closed this is all I need all right that's all you're going to get but what tends to happen is any area of our life that we cling to it and try to hoard it it doesn't grow it doesn't flourish it has to be released it has to be sewn it has to be given it has to go from scarcity to abundance and here's what I know about a scarcity mindset it will always keep you poor you'll never have enough you you you'll never ever be in a place that you can put your shoulders back
and you can breathe because you will be walking around clinging and striving and hoarding look at what King David said in Psalm 23 he said the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want another translation says the Lord is my shepherd I lack nothing W I like that I lack nothing got everything I need in Jesus Eugene Peterson says you got everything that you need the Lord is my shepherd I lack nothing if I have Jesus I have everything this is a mindset that you have to take on but if this is not your mindset
you walk around with a closed Fist and you hoard all that God's given you and you miss out on the new blessings he wants to do in your life and all throughout the scripture we see this over and over again that our God is not the god of scarcity our God is the god of abundance our God is not the god of enough come on somebody he's the god of more than enough what happens when he takes Five Loaves and two fish he feeds thousands of people but then if you read the story there's 12
baskets left over your mom at Thanksgiving did not create leftovers Jesus invented that as well he's the god of leftovers he he's trying to show you like if you'll trust me I will always have more than enough for you but if you just try to cling you miss it is he your Shepherd or is he not in the old God was constantly getting on to the Israelites because they were wandering and they were trusting themselves instead of trusting him they had a scarcity mindset that's why when he led them out of Egypt and they found
themselves in the wilderness wandering He Sent From Heaven this bread called Mana very very cool thing every morning they'd wake up and there would be Mana all over the ground and he had one command the command was take just enough for that day but what happened the Israelites like you and me had a scarcity mindset they didn't just take enough for the day they took more than enough for the day they tried to put it in their tents and they tried to keep it for the week because they're wondering will God show up again tomorrow
can I trust this God to be faithful again the next day you know what I know he's good but let me just keep more than enough and let me just hoard enough for my I got to feed my kids I got to feed my spouse I got to feed my family but what happens the next morning they wake up and God sees it and he rebukes them and not only that all of that which they took was spoiled I wonder for some of us in all of our striving I wonder if our scarcity mindset is
spoiling The Leftovers it the story in the Bible is not about hey don't save and the story in the Bible is not you know coming against stewardship the story in the Bible is about total dependence upon God it's about a mindset that if God told me something will I obey him and will I trust him he's the god of more than enough therefore I want to have an abundance mindset that there will be more Mana tomorrow can I just speak that to you right now if God was faithful before the pandemic he's going to be
faithful again after the pandemic if God blessed your marriage before the Pand he's going to bless you after you can trust this God he's good he has it all more than enough he holds the Whole World in His Hands he hadn't forgotten about you and he is your Shepherd if he's your shepher you can boldly say I lack nothing I lack nothing I have everything I need in Jesus [Music]
