Bill Winston - Rising To The Top, Part 3
So this blessing is going to take you to the top. I don't care where you start out, this empowerment from God to make you successful. And the lifestyle of a believer should stagger the imagination of the world. Why? You should be operating that far above them. Now as your confidence in this blessing increases, so does the power of the blessing operating in your life. You're going to find that it will do things for you and that's why we read that scripture over in Proverbs chapter 10 and verse 22, "The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich and he addeth no sorrow with it". And we looked at that in the NIV translation, "The blessing of the Lord brings wealth without painful toil". So your days of toiling are over.
Genesis chapter 12, and verse 1, "And the Lord has said to Abram get thee out of that country from thy kindred, from thy father's house into a land that I'm going to show you and I will make of you a great nation, I will bless you, make your name great, you will be a blessing. I will bless them that bless you and I will curse them that curse you and in these shall all families of the earth be blessed. And then Abraham departed". What we said in verse 2, let's look at that in another translation. We said the Amplified translation. And just see what he says. He says, "That I will make of you a great nation, I'll bless you with abundant increase of favors and make your name famous and distinguished and you'll be a blessing dispensing goods to others".
So let's start with this. God never intends for you to be a nobody. Never. He never intended for you not to have wealth. He never intended for you not to have talent. Never intended for you not to have skills. Never intended for you not to have ownership. Never intended for you not to have influence. No, he planned on that. And this is what he's saying right here. And he said it over in this other scriptures. In Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 14 he talks about what your position is going to be. He says "And thou shall be blessed above some people," how many people? "All people". In Deuteronomy 28 he says in verse 1, he said "If you hearken diligently to the voice of the Lord thy God and observe and do all his commandments which I commanded this day that the Lord thy God will set thee high above all nations of the earth all all these blessings shall come on you," come on, "all these blessings shall come on you and overtake you".
So this blessing, on Abraham, was a material blessing. And that's why people start talking about, well wait a second now, God was talking spiritually. He was talking spiritually? Abraham wasn't spiritual. Jesus hadn't come. So God chose this man and he chose him when he was up there worshiping moons and cows. He brought him out of the land of Ur of the Chaldees. And he chose him and said I'm going to bless you. Now what is he saying to him? He's saying I want you to leave all of that, the many gods that you've been worshiping and get one god and have it to be me. And I'm going to take you somewhere.
Now where I'm going to take you I'm going to do everything for you. I'm going to take care of you, I'm going to get you opportunities for you, I'll get your resources to come to you, I'll, whatever you're struggling with I'm going turn it around. The difficulties that are in your life I'm going to turn them around to your favor. I'm going to cause things to manifest for you. I'm going to protect you. I'm going to preserve your life so you're going to live a 175. I'm going to make it so that things you've been struggling with you'll struggle with no more. I'm going to make it so that who ever is trying to hold you back they can't hold you because I'm going to promote you. I'm going to make it so that you have business strategies. I'm going ... Remember, whatever he said to Abraham, he's saying to you.
Don't confuse your condition with your promise or with your portion. Because God has said this is what I want to happen to you. I do not want you to be without wealth. I don't want you to be without talent, without skill, without influence, without ownership. That's what he's saying here. Now our part of that is we've got to live up to it. Now what we said is that you head towards the top you going to be persecuted. And can you stand to be blessed. So everything he promised Abraham is mine. In full. Say "in full". Okay. Like I told you before, don't think that just as the blessing goes on in time, that somehow this blessing loses its strength. You know what I mean? Like Kool-aid, the more water you put in there the weaker it gets. Not with the blessing. It is just as strong on you as it was on Adam. You've got to learn how to use it.
All right look at Genesis chapter 13, 13 and verse 2. "And Abraham was very rich in cattle and silver and gold". Let's look at that in the Amplified translation. "Now Abraham was extremely rich in livestock and in silver and gold". Extremely rich. Let's try the Message translation. We gonna play with this thing. "But Abraham was very rich, loaded". That's what I want right there. See, let me tell you, wait a minute, wait a minute. You better get used to finding different translations because you got to find a translation that pops. You know what I mean? Because when it does, you won't forget it. That a man was loaded. You all know Bill Winston? Loaded. Come one. I'm just saying, see. And when it pops like that to me, I can remember it. That's it right there, praise God. You all with me?
All right so let's look at Genesis chapter 14, all right? Genesis chapter 14, I'll start at verse 14 and this is when, this is when Lot was taken by the enemy. The enemy was Kedorlaomer. He was a king. He was a big bully. Bully. And he bullied everybody. So he went down and took Lot, took Sodom and Gomorrah, all the people, all the goods, everything and he and about four other nations, three other nations, whatever it was, they confederated together and got them and I mean got out of town. They had everything, wiped them out. But Abraham heard about it. His name was Abram at that time. He heard about it. "Abram heard that his nephew was taken captive and he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, 318 and pursued them to Dan".
Now I want you to see this. "And he divided himself against them and he and his servants, by night, and smote them and pursued them to Hobah which is on the left hand of Damascus". Keep going. "And he brought back all the goods and also brought back again his brother Lot and his goods and the women also and the people. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after the return of the slaughter of Kedorlaomer". Now he didn't just get whipped. He got slaughtered. I wanted you to see this because it said, it gave you the tactics that he used. Now this is very important because if you got to Psalms, Psalms chapter 144 and verse 1, "He said blessed be the Lord my strength". This is David talking. "Which teacheth my hands to war". Keep going. "And my fingers to fight".
One of the things that the blessing gives you is business strategies. Say amen to this. Now, what happened with this, you got to understand, that he, meaning David, or meaning Abraham, didn't get his teaching from the same source that the enemy got his teaching. You see here, people go to business schools. Go to MBA, get one at University of Chicago or Harvard or get one from the school in England or whatever have you, you see. But God has a school. Oh, you got to hear me. Look what he says here, and this is found in John chapter 7 verse 14 and 15 and I'd like to read it in the Amplified translation. Now I'm not doing all of this for my health. I'm doing all of this because I'm doing your work for you. After I lay this down, you need to go study it out and you need to go to different translations so you can get something that pops in your spirit.
"When the feast was already half over, Jesus went up into the temple court and began to teach. And the Jews were astonished. They said now how is it that this man has learning, is so versed in sacred scripture and in theology, when he had never studied". Let's try the New Living Bible and see what that says. "Then mid-way through the festival, Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach. And the people were surprised when they heard it. How does he know so much when he hasn't been trained"? Now this is good now. "He hasn't been," what? "Trained". Notice in Genesis chapter 14 and notice what he said in verse 14. "And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his," who? "Trained servants". Now notice what David said in Psalm 144 and verse 1. "That he teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight".
Come on over to Daniel chapter 1. In Daniel chapter, see I'm going to light your fire. In Daniel chapter 1. See all you got to do is believe it. And if you believe it, it will work for you and you won't have to try to struggle to get anything, it will come on you and overtake you and put you on the top. It is designed for that, folks. Look what he said in Daniel chapter 1 and verse 17. "As for these four children, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and Daniel, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning," and what else, "wisdom". See, he went to school, but God added stuff on top of it. Look at verse 20, "And in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them, he found them 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 times better than all the magicians".
Folks, one time can be good enough, but he didn't say one time. He wants there to be a clear difference between you and the rest of the world. Say I receive that. See, God is so gracious until you can't get it while you're awake. Come on, he'll give you answers while you sleep. You won't miss it. Say I won't miss it. You are headed to the top. Say I'm headed to the top. See you can't miss it because it's prophetic. This is our time, saints of God. We can't miss this. God's not going to let us miss it. He going to bring resources to you, you will not miss this, you will not miss this. So back in Genesis again, in Genesis chapter 14, So he had servants trained in his own house so the blessing helped to train them, and you know they didn't use the strategies that were regularly taught in the MBA programs.
Come on now, they used strategies above the strategies of the world. So the blessing gives you business strategies. Say I believe that. All right, so go on over and let's just see how Abraham did. And in Genesis chapter 24 and verse 35, "And the Lord had blessed my master, has blessed my master greatly and he has become great. And he hath given him," what? "Flocks and herds, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, camels and donkeys". So this is Abraham, now. He can't, you got to understand whatever's on Abraham is coming on you. Because it wasn't Abraham that was doing this, it was the blessing. So now we got Genesis chapter 26 starting at verse 12, because this is Isaac and let's just look at that, if you would, in the New Living Translation. It says "When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a 100 times more grain than he planted for the Lord blessed him".
Now, I know that's pretty easy for you to believe. But what till I add the fact that there was no rain. Come on somebody. I said supernatural financial increase. Now put it down. Supernatural financial increase is coming on you starting now. Boy I'm decreeing some stuff up here. See here's the deal, think about it like this and this will help you. God gave me this revelation and he wouldn't have given it to me if it weren't for you. Now hear what I'm saying here. I'm saying if he didn't want me to give it to you, he wouldn't have given it to me. Here's what he said, what I show you in the dark, shout from the housetops. So he wouldn't have given this to me to give to you if the time for you was not right to walk in what I'm giving you, man. God is not wasteful. Everything I'm giving you you ought to shout because this is your time, man. This is your stuff.
Genesis chapter 32 and let's look at that in verse 10. I want to look at it in New Living Bible, please. He said, "I am not worth of all of the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan river, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps". You can't hide this. You can't hide this. You just walk and the blessing going overtake you. Say amen to this. Now not only that, "And Jacob was left alone and there wrestled a man with him until the break of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint and he wrestled with him. And he said let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said I will not let you go except you bless me. And he said unto him, what is your name? He said my name is Jacob. He said thy name shall be called no longer, no more Jacob, but Israel. For as a prince has thou power with God and with men and has prevailed".
Now what am I saying here? I'm saying that when he left his father, he left with a walking stick and left broke. But now he's about to return. Not only very wealthy, but he's not longer a deceiver, but now he's a prince with God. And I'm telling you, you might have come into this thing one way, you might have come into this thing lying, cheating, and signifying, but God's going to straighten you out and make it so you've got integrity in your life because the blessing is going to be working on you from now on. Say amen to that. One more. Look at Genesis chapter 45. You know what happened, Joseph went down to Egypt, his brothers sold him. Next thing you know, Potiphar got him in the house, he got him in the house and because the blessing was on Joseph, the blessing was now manifesting in the house of Potiphar.
Now Potiphar's wife started making eyes at him and next thing you know, Joseph gets falsely accused, put in prison, but they can't hold you when the blessing is on you. I said they can't hold you when the blessing is on you. See. Because the justice system of God kicks in. Now look what it says here, now his brothers come down and the reunite and he loves his brothers and notice he didn't have any hate. Now they had hate on him at first but he didn't have any hate for them and now they came back and reunited. Now he's about to send them back up to the father. Go get your father and tell him to leave that old furniture that he's got. You know how people try to drag old furniture into a new house and, I ain't talking about you, now don't get mad, don't get no hate. So anyway, new house, new furniture. Say new house, new furniture. I said new house, new furniture.
Now how do I know that? Because it's in the book. I said it's your portion, he said over here in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 10 "And it shall be when the Lord thy God shall have brought you into the new house that he sweared unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, goodly cities which you build not and houses filled with good things". Praise God. And over in the book of Revelation it said "And God makes all things new". Praise God. Put it together. That's your portion. Right now you ought to go home and all that old stuff you can't hardly sit on it, you have covered that thing with plastic so many times that under the plastic has worn out. Folks, I'm not telling you want to do, but I'd do something. I'd take a step of faith. All right, are you with me?
Last place, Genesis 45 and look here because he's sending the brothers now on back up to get their father. In verse 25, I want to start at verse 25. "Joseph's brother's left Egypt and when they arrived in Canaan, where his father was, they told their father, said Joseph was still alive and was the ruler of Egypt. But their father was so surprised that he could not believe them. Then they told him everything that Joseph had said and when he saw the wagons Joseph had sent, he felt much better". I'm talking about when people see something on your life, they going to feel much better about the story you telling.