You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me. But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today” (Deut. 8:17-18).
God desires to do a new thing within our lives. He wants us to be people with great hope. Not just hope the way the world hopes—a rabbit’s foot or birthday candle wishes—but true hope in the impossible manifesting itself as possible in our lives.
We have the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead living within us—the Holy Spirit—the helper of dreams that are to be fulfilled. This is why we can and must carry great hope within us.
If you observe how God has always worked in the earth, He first inspires hopes and dreams that accomplish a work within the heart of man. Jesus is to be that first work of the heart! He then makes His power available for healing, help and restoration. Upon restoration, He finally establishes good works, blessings and resources that benefit others and furthers His plans and purposes.
God wants hopes and dreams, healing and help, restoration and blessings going in within and about our lives. Then we become equipped to help establish others in His love. Let’s read some verses to begin to establish these truths:
A) As you worship God, He wants good for you
B) He wants your life to experience blessing and success with a focus of using it for His purposes
C) He doesn’t want you to forget where the good came from
We see can easily see these truths and promises the following verses of Deuteronomy. As you worship God, He wants good for you! He’ll even bring blessing to you that comes from His hand, not your own.
Deuteronomy 6:10-13: “When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you – a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant – then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD….”
Deuteronomy 8:6-14: “Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land – a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.”
He doesn’t want you to forget where the good came from. When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.
Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But you’d be wise to remember the LORD your God, for it is HE who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
His covenant of promise is “to all generations—to all who believe.” That’s you and me! God’s prosperity comes in many forms that help rebuild our lives around Him and fulfill our hopes and dreams. His prosperity includes the dreams, the motivation, the inspiration, the direction, the resources and help.
They are all a form of prosperity that comes by His grace. Without faith in that, you’ll not believe it and it will not come. When it does come, it will come because it is He who gives us the ability to produce wealth for the confirmation of His covenant.
When you do believe, then use what He gives you to help people become established in Jesus’ love. As you do, the hope and dreams He has put in your heart will begin to unfold before your eyes!
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Timothy Burt is a pastor, author, and writer. He is best known as the author of Fresh Manna, a daily devotional and online Bible study.
Pastor Tim became a part of the leadership team at Living Word Christian Center in 1984 and was an Associate Pastor from 1989 until May 31st, 2017. He and His wife Renee, also a Pastor at Living Word, resigned after being a part of Living Word for 33 years on May 31, 2017. They felt impressed by God to pursue the tremendous growth of their ministry "Fresh Manna," as well as teaching conferences and seminars and increasing their involvement in the mission field through Tim and Renee Burt Ministries. Tim has a Bachelor of Theology degree and is a Christian blogger who has been writing a daily inspirational and teaching devotion three days a week called "Fresh Manna" for the past 22 years. It has been read in over 227 countries (official countries and territories). Tim was named one of the top 55 blogging Pastors. He is one of the top Social Media influencers in Minnesota with a strong presence on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TimBurt with over 187,000 followers. Between Tim's Fresh Manna Devotional and Twitter influence, he virally averages reaching over 4 million people daily with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of God.
Prior to working at LWCC, he worked at Northwest Airlines for 13 years. In 1985 he founded and was President of American Infant Care Products which marketed his patented invention, the first fold-down commercial infant changing table now used worldwide in public restrooms.
In their tenure at Living Word, Timothy Burt and his wife Renee created a Small Group Ministry when the church was about 800 people in size. Under the leadership of Sr. Pastors Mac and Lynne Hammond, the church grew to over 10,000 people. Pastor Tim and Renee led a diverse Small Group Ministry of over 200 groups. Tim also led weekly men's groups and a monthly Men's Breakfast of 250 plus men called Manhood for 27 years. Tim's responsibilities also included oversight over the Visitor and Member Relations Department, Leadership and Volunteer Development, and the Pastoral Care Department. Pastor Tim was also the Minnesota State Director of Christians United for Israel from 2006 thru 2017.
Tim and Renee are the parents of four children and have seven grandchildren. Tim loves to write, golf, run, and walk, and is a master gardener. He is a five-time marathon finisher. He is also a three-time award-winning gardener winning the Grand Prize in his city for his beautiful home garden and is a Master Gardener for the University of Minnesota's Master Gardener Extension Program.