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Blessing Boundaries Can Increase

revtrev — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:11:30 +0000

There are two ways I see in scripture that blessing boundaries can be increased.

1. God Can Command It

“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, ?do not hold back; ?lengthen your cords, ? strengthen your stakes. ?For you will spread out to the right and to the left; ?your descendants will dispossess nations ?and settle in their desolate cities. Isaiah 54:2-3 (New International Version, ©2010)

2. We Can Request It

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request. 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 (New International Version, ©2010)

Are you living within your boundary blessings?
Are you obeying Biblical commands?
Are you obeying Prophetic commands?
Are you in the right location?
Do you have the right vocation?

Let’s take some time right now and ask God to remind us of any command we may have forgotten.

Invite the Holy Spirit to take you to where you’ve had a safe encounter with God.
Now ask for a memory where I’ve made a promise to God or heard a definite command.

Has God shown you anything? Pray this with me:

Heavenly Father. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for reminding me of a the boundary blessing I’ve been out of. Forgive me for trusting in false security. Help me to take the step of faith to obey.

Do you need your boundary blessings increased?

Now maybe you’re right in the place He wants you but you need your boundary increased. Pray this prayer of Jabez with me…

Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.

Blessing Boundaries Cannot Be Imposed

revtrev — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:05:51 +0000

Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich.? Be wise enough to know when to quit.? In the blink of an eye wealth disappears,? for it will sprout wings? and fly away like an eagle. Proverbs 23:4-5 (New Living Translation)

How many times have you been approached by a well-meaning Christian friend who needs you for their MLM plan? Amway? Melelluca? How often does someone what you to “join their business”?

Listen, I’ve made a similar mistake with friends. One day I met with a pastor and we were catching up with what’s new and I mentioned I accidentally wrote a book. He asked, “How can you accidentally write a book?”

“Oh, it’s simple. Anyone can do it. Research your sermons well and write out full manuscripts. Get at least 10 – 12 pages. Break it up into blog posts and you have a month of posts. Have people comment on them. Answer their comments and include those answers in your manuscript….” and I saw his eyes glaze over and I realized what I was just doing.

There is an ancient curse…

“Cursed is anyone who moves their neighbor’s boundary stone.” ?Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
Deuteronomy 27:17 (New International Version, ©2010)

God has given me writing as a blessing boundary. That’s why I can accidentally write books. It’s easy for me to communicate through the written word. Sure I’ve had to study how to do it and learn the skills I need. But I know a lot of writers who get writers block. My problem is I don’t have time to promote the books I’ve written so I only release them once in a while.

I had no prophetic leading that my friend should be writing books. I have no idea what his blessing boundaries are outside of being a pastor. I shouldn’t be moving his boundary stone to fit what I think is easy for anyone to do. It’s easy for me because that’s part of my boundary blessing.

There are people who do very well on MLM schemes. They know how to sell. They know how to market. It works for them. And it’s often with the best of intentions that they try to move a boundary stone.

It can’t be just about making money. It can’t be about making money at the expense of your neighbour’s territory.

To be living the abundant life you need to be living in your destiny.

Know where the blessing boundaries are for you. They lie in pleasant places.
Don’t let someone else move your boundary stone.
Don’t move someone else’s boundary stone even if you have the best of intentions.

Have you ever had someone try to get you to do something you knew just wasn’t for you? How to stop from being sucked into the pitch? Leave your comments below.

Blessing Boundaries Can Be for a Season

revtrev — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:00:51 +0000

Blessing Boundaries can be for a season. It was that way for Paul.

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. Acts 18:9-11

A blessing boundary season does not apply to a blessing boundary for a Biblical command.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Matthew 24:35 (New International Version, ©2010)

Personally I’ve found God’s call on my life to be irrevocable. My first and main call is to be a pastor. For a season, that was the way I received my living. I tried not being a “pastor”, but I couldn’t stop thinking like one. It made me a lousy sales person because I could not allow people to foolishly spend their money on my services. So, I decided I would be a ‘pastor’ online. On twitter and through this blog I minster as a pastor. I have more people coming to my site every day than I regularly spoke to every week when I was paid to be a pastor.

How has knowing God’s blessings for obeying prophetic commands blessings can be for a season impacted your decisions about life?

Will it start to know? Let’s get a discussion going in the comments.

Posts in this series:

How to Move Into the Job God Has Called You To

revtrev — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:55:20 +0000

Now this might take a huge step of faith to move into the job God has called you to. If you’re placing your security in a paycheck or benefits and working for money instead of a calling my advice for you is this:

Hear directly from God. Don’t be afraid to ask. Don’t be afraid to obey. Have it confirmed by others and be in unity with your spouse.
Work as unto the Lord. There is nothing wrong with the protestant work ethic.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17 (New International Version, ©2010)

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” 1 Peter 4:10

Blessings Boundaries Can Be For A Vocation

revtrev — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:31:58 +0000

God has given you gifts, He has given you talents, He has given you passion, He’s given you the aptitude to learn skills. He’s blessed you with the ability to create wealth with who He’s created you to be (Deuteronomy 8:18).

Probably the easiest example to show from Scripture for blessings boundaries on vocations is for pastors. Paul tells the church in Corinth:

Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. 1 Corinthians 9:13-14 (New International Version, ©2010)

Now in much of the North American church, we’ve been taught that Paul’s example should be our example. Paul gave up his right to get material blessing from spiritual seed from the church in Corinth to not “hinder the gospel” (v.12) he wanted to brag about it (v.15).

The Bible Schools in North America know most churches are under 100 people. Most can’t support a full time pastor. So the use what seems like wisdom and they create programs that end up dividing a pastors focus from his or her calling with a job they take primarily to make money.

Does this ever work?

Yes it does.

When someone has a call to both vocations. They’re going to experience the blessing that comes from remaining within their boundary.

However in practice, I see too many pastors and too many ministers worried about money and working for money instead of agreeing that the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

We only see Paul as a tentmaker in Corinth (Acts 18:3). Philippians 4:14-18 tell us Paul was supported by the Philippian church from when he first came to them through his time in Athens and Corinth (Acts 17;18). He was still making use of his rights to receive his living from the gospel, it was only that the Corinthian church wasn’t supporting him when he was there for the first 18 months.

He told the church in Corinth:

I “robbed” other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost. And when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not become a financial burden to anyone. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I never will be. 2 Corinthians 11:8-9 (New Living Translation)

This was an issue in Corinth. Paul did not want to be accused of selling the gospel there. They were in a city of prestige where the elites looked down on the working class. Paul was basically a philosopher. He could have made money by

Charging a fee for his teaching
Working for a patron
Begging
Manual labor

He chose the lowest of the low.

Also Corinth was a wealthy city. Strabo, a Greek historian and geographer that lived in the first century, informs us:

“Corinth is called ‘wealthy’ because of its commerce, since it is situated on the Isthmus and is master of two harbors, of which the one leads straight to Asia, and the other to Italy; and it makes easy the exchange of merchandise from both countries that are so far distant from each other” (Geography, 8.6.20).”

Paul seemed to be using the foolish things to shame the wise and the weak things to shame the strong. (1 Corinthians 1:27) when he chose to work with his hands.

So…

If it was only for 18 months.
If he got support from other churches.
If he did it to stand out in a culture of wealth and prestige.

Why do we assume the majority of ministers in North America should do the same thing he did?

Often being bi-vocational is done out of fear not faith.

Pastors need to be thinking about how they can receive their living from the gospel.

It will make some more evangelistic.
It will make others write books.
It will encourage others to expand their counseling sessions.
Some will start web churches.
Others could serve their communities in practical ways with the skills of value that God has given them.

It starts with agreeing with God. This is something I’m learning. I’ve written out a declaration that I say out loud at least once a day. I use it to change my thinking. I use it to agree with God. If angels are listening in, wondering what to do, I let them hear my agreement with God. I’ll give it to you in another post.

What do you think about bi-vocational ministry? I’d appreciate your comments.

Blessing Boundaries Can Be for a Geographical Location

revtrev — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:25:19 +0000

The most obvious example of blessing boundaries being for a geographical location we can find in Scripture is the promised land. God promised Abraham that the land he walked upon would be for his descendants.

We also see when the children of Israel were in Egypt the area of Goshen where they lived was kept from the plagues that came against the Egyptians.

We also see it in the New Testament.

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Acts 16:6-10 (New International Version, ©2010)

Not all boundaries are geographically based. But when God gives you a prophetic word for a place, you’re not going to have that same authority or blessing in another place. For example Paul told the church in Corinth that his apostolic authority may not with everyone, but it was with them:

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 9:1-2 (New International Version, ©2010)

He was an apostle to Corinth because he started the work there. The church was the result of his work. He didn’t write with the same authority when he wrote to the church in Rome. He had the theological authority because he was an apostle. But he didn’t have the personal authority or influence.

Has God told you where He will bless you? Has he put a location on your heart? Is it where you can be part of ministry or start a business or go to work?

You need to know what God is saying to you. You need to know how to hear His voice. You’re His sheep, you know His voice.

Too often we allow fear to keep us from obeying. Sometimes it’s just such a crazy thought it’s easy for us to come up with excuses why we can’t obey. Abraham’s father left Ur to go to Canaan, but he settled in Haran and never made it there (Genesis 11:31).

I don’t want us to assume that just because we haven’t had a dream in the night with someone calling us to come to a region that God doesn’t have a geographical location for us for us to be blessed in. We do.

We should know we’re called to the church we’re in.

Have you asked Him? When He tells you it’s “right where you are”, then you have the sticktoitiveness to stay on in the hard times and not grow weary in your doing good.

Blessing Boundaries Are On The Good God Has For Us

revtrev — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:54:14 +0000

Let’s take a look at the promises we have for God to be good…

O fear the LORD, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no want.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.
Psalm 34:9-10 (New American Standard Bible)

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Psalm 84:11 (New American Standard Bible)

Now from these verses we see that there are conditions for the good things of God.

I’m not telling you to be religious.
I’m not saying we need to follow rules.
I’m not agreeing with a mindset that says, “You’re not good enough to receive the good things of God.”

The conditions are for those who
Fear the Lord
Seek the Lord
Walk uprightly (do what’s right)

What do you think about having conditions on God’s promises for good? How do you balance that with not earning your salvation? Leave your comments below.

Others posts in this series:

An Introduction to Blessing Boundaries
Blessing Boundaries Can Be for a Biblical Command
The Key For Getting the Good God Has For Us
Blessing Boundaries Can Be for a Prophetic Command
Blessing Boundaries Can Be for a Geographical Location
Blessing Boundaries Can Be for a Vocation
Blessing Boundaries Can Be for a Season
Blessing Boundaries Cannot Be Imposed
Blessing Boundaries Can Increase

Blessing Boundaries Can Be For A Biblical Command

revtrev — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:49:20 +0000

Scripture is that God won’t honor sin.

David said about God:

When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin, ? you consume their wealth like a moth— ? surely everyone is but a breath.
Psalm 39:11 (New International Version, ©2010)

Could your lack be because of sin in your life? The Good News is with God there is forgiveness and grace. There are all kinds of excuses Christians use to sin. Stop using those excuses and decide to do right.

Now we all know examples of people living in sin and looking like they have it all together. What do you do when you fall into that trap? I’d appreciate your comments.

An Introduction to Blessing Boundaries

revtrev — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:46:50 +0000

I’ve got some questions for you to consider: Have you planted much but harvested little? Do you eat but never have enough? Do you drink but not to your fill? Do you put on clothes but are not warm? Do you earn wages but put them into a purse with holes? Have you expected much but have seen it turn out to little?

If you are it could be because you’re not understanding the Key of Blessing Boundaries.

When we understand the boundaries God has placed on our lives we live securely. We have an automatic grid to make decisions. It’s easier to say “no” to good things that aren’t God’s best things. We start to live in “the zone” where blessings overtake us.

Blessings Boundaries are one of the hardest steps of faith to get into if you’re not already there.

Our stove had a broken hinge that costs more to fix than getting a new stove. We were putting up with it until we could buy a new one without credit. We could use the lock to keep the door up and the stove worked alright. One day I was using it in the morning and couldn’t get it to lock up after I was done. I’m not mechanically minded. I looked it over and tried to do everything I could to make it work. I was only getting frustrated. My wife called and I told her I was out the door to buy a new stove. God was going to have to help us pay off the credit card. After the call I went to put the tools away and said one last prayer. A thought came to me I decided I’d better try. When I did, the lock worked again.

To me that’s God’s grace. He could have had an unexpected job come in that would have covered the costs. He could have used the skills I have to generate the wealth I needed. Instead He gave me insight into an area I have no talent for.

I find many of us are living by the grace of God and mistaking it for blessing boundaries.

Maybe I better remind you what a blessing boundary is.

A Blessing Boundary is a Biblical or Prophetic limit to God’s blessing.

I’ll cover each of these in future posts.

The Key of Blessing Boundaries

revtrev — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:37:37 +0000

I’m going to be starting a new series called the Key of Blessing Boundaries. I’ve done the research in Scripture and seen the examples in life.

A blessing boundary can be defined as “a biblical or prophetic limit to God’s blessing.” Yes I agree God’s blessings are destined to overtake us, but in order for that to happen we need to position ourself to receive them. It’s not about works. It’s not about earning. It’s about obeying what God has told us to do.

Here are the topics I’m going to cover in this series. I’d appreciate having your input and comments on each one.

The Grace or Blessing of God?

revtrev — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:30:16 +0000

Do we mistake the grace of God for the blessing of God?

Download audio file (BlessingBoundaries1.mp3)

Download the Entire Message at Expectancy Press

The Grace of Blessing of God?

Too many of us excuse sin in our lives by seeing the grace of God as the Blessing of God. The two are very different things. Listen to learn the difference.

This is a message “The Key of Blessing Boundaries“ by Trevor Lund of revtrev.com

Subscribe via iTunes

Thank you for all the birthday wishes.

revtrev — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 22:36:51 +0000

Thank you for all the birthday wishes, prayers, and blessings. I’ve been really blessed by all of you.

Understanding the Principle of the Storehouse

revtrev — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:51:28 +0000

If God commands a blessing on something, don’t you want to be there?

Download audio file (understanding_storehouse.mp3)

Download the Entire Message at Expectancy Press

Understanding the Principle of the Storehouse

Do Christians need to worry about tomorrow? Is it easier not to worry when you have nothing or when you have something? If God commands a blessing on something, don’t you want to be there? Today we try to understand the principle of the storehouse.

This is from a message by Trevor Lund called “Keys of the Economy of Heaven”.
Earlier podcasts were “What Are Kingdom Principles“, “Understanding the Principle of Abundance” and “Understanding the Principle of Firstfruits”

Subscribe via iTunes

The Key of Blessing Boundaries

revtrev — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:58:32 +0000

Listen to an excerpt:

Download audio file (Blessing_Boundaries_Excerpt.mp3)

Learn More at Expectancy Press

There are many keys to the economy of heaven. The keys are principles for us to live by. What does the Bible say about blessing boundaries and what does that mean for your life and ministry? Discover encouragement and tools to live the destiny God has created you for. This is a message by Trevor Lund of revtrev.com

This complete message is available for Immediate Download at ExpectancyPress.com

What Does God Promise When I Obey?

revtrev — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:05:19 +0000

What are the promises when I obey God? I’ve never preached on this portion of Scripture except when I’ve shared this message. It’s a powerful one to consider.

Deuteronomy 28:1-13 (NLT)

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:

Your towns and your fields
will be blessed.
Your children and your crops
will be blessed.
The offspring of your herds and flocks
will be blessed.
Your fruit baskets and breadboards
will be blessed.
Wherever you go and whatever you do,
you will be blessed.

“The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!

“The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

“If you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways, the Lord will establish you as his holy people as he swore he would do. Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the Lord, and they will stand in awe of you.

“The Lord will give you prosperity in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom.

Let’s not forget two things.

All God’s promises are “yes” in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20). If it was good in the Old Testament, it’s good for us as well.
This is an inferior covenant than the one we’re under with the shed blood of Jesus (Hebrews 12:24), so

2 Corinthians 3:8 (New Living Translation)

Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory [than Moses when His face shone bright], now that the Holy Spirit is giving life?

If under the old covenant wealth and power came from God (1 Chronicles 29:12)…

If confirmation of the old covenant was the sign of wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18)…

If the blessing of the old covenant was to be blessed wherever you go and whatever you do (Deuteronomy 28:6)…

Then you and I better be serious about hearing the voice of the Father and obeying what He says. We’d better get serious about fearing the Lord, Seeking the Lord and Doing What’s right.

That’s the good news. God trusts you with power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise.

But there’s more that some of us may not consider “good”. We’ll discuss that in the next post.

I know this is a controversial subject, I value your feedback and wisdom.

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RevTrev.com» blessing

Blessing Boundaries Can Increase

Other posts in this series…

Blessing Boundaries Cannot Be Imposed

Other posts in this series…

Blessing Boundaries Can Be for a Season

Posts in this series:

How to Move Into the Job God Has Called You To

Other Posts in this series:

Blessings Boundaries Can Be For A Vocation

Other Posts in this series…

Blessing Boundaries Can Be for a Geographical Location

Other posts in this series…

Blessing Boundaries Are On The Good God Has For Us

Others posts in this series:

Blessing Boundaries Can Be For A Biblical Command

Other Posts in the Series…

An Introduction to Blessing Boundaries

The Key of Blessing Boundaries

The Grace or Blessing of God?

Download the Entire Message at Expectancy Press

The Grace of Blessing of God?

Thank you for all the birthday wishes.

Understanding the Principle of the Storehouse

Download the Entire Message at Expectancy Press

Understanding the Principle of the Storehouse

The Key of Blessing Boundaries

This complete message is available for Immediate Download at ExpectancyPress.com

What Does God Promise When I Obey?