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Watch 2022-2023 online sermons » Leon Fontaine » Leon Fontaine - Can You Handle The Blessings?

Leon Fontaine - Can You Handle The Blessings?


Leon Fontaine - Can You Handle The Blessings?
TOPICS: Blessing

As a young pastor, when Sal and I first came to Springs Church, Winnipeg and took over the senior pastor. I had been pastoring with my father for about 14 years and my mom and dad. And so Sal and I had a chance to learn so much off them and I valued it. When we came to Springs, the church exploded. And that growth caused nothing but problems. And it doubled every year for I think 4 or 5 years, which put us in emergency mode. And I remember trying to learn and grow and be the kind of leader that could reach out and handle it. And so I just looked at everything I could. I just looked at ability. I looked at what are my gifts. I looked at skills, you know, etcetera. And they helped, absolutely helped.

I mean, I literally read my way through Peter Drucker. If any of you have taken your business degree, or Peter Drucker is the driest reading going. But he's literally the father of management today and administration and things. And so, and I met really smart people. And I looked at the area, this linear area that they were brilliant in and then what a mess their life was in. And I remember just crying out to God and saying, "God, I'm not one of these guys whose going to do something at the cost of something else". Most successful people fail in many other areas. And the more successful they become, the more losses it has in their life. You can be incredibly successful in business and it'll probably take away from your marriage and your kids. You can have an amazing marriage and family and it'll probably take away from your business.

And this list just goes on as I begin to study successful people. I noticed that the people who were leaders, this is everybody, but the people who were leaders that they would resort to dangerous pleasures, just anything that they could to relieve the pressure. And like I said I noticed that brilliant people, the most educated people didn't have increased. What I'm going to call today personal capacity. I'm going to help you today because wherever you are right now. You could be spinning your wheels. You could be sitting at a plateau. You could be putting a principle to work that is the wrong principle. And the key to Holy Spirit in God's Word is the right piece at the right time. And His job is to guide you in what you should do next.

Every person here has a personal capacity. And that capacity is a set point in your life. And nothing in your life will go further than your personal capacity. And if you do, you will always lose it. It's interesting when you study the Word of God, that Jesus is teaching this. And I love parables because parables you can't, don't go too deep because you can just try to figure it. But they can teach you in a ton of areas of your life. And so one of the areas that I love or the parables was Matthew 25:14-30. And it's a parable about the talents.

Now, the word talents doesn't mean, what's your talent? It simply means resources. A talent was a certain amount of gold that would represent so many years of work. Let's dive into this because it's going to help you so much. The kingdom of heaven is like a man, it says, traveling to a far country, who calls his servants and delivers his goods to them. Those goods are resources. He's about to hand out his resources to his servants, or a better word today, his manager's, his stewards. To one he gave five. Then he walks over to the next guy and he gives two. Then he walks over to the third person and he gives one. God is a respect of persons, huh. But this is what it says, in verse 15 it says, he gave them the resource to match their own ability.

This is crucial to this entire teaching. That God wasn't handing out ability here. They had an ability. It is a set ability but God was handing out resource according to their ability. And then the guy with five who had an ability of five was given what he could handle. He went out and used it and he made, how many know the story? Ten. The guy with two had an ability of two. He took the two and he traded with it. He worked with it and he doubled it to four. So he now has an ability of four. Why? Because he can make it to four. If you can do it, you've got an ability to do it. The guy with one had an ability of one. But he buried it. So this story is about your ability. Then this story is parable is about God's resource. But then this story is about your stewardship. Your stewardship. Because the guy with five had an ability of five. God gave him resource to match his ability.

And then his stewardship, his faithfulness to go use this made a massive increase in his personal capacity. If this is my capacity, 12 ounces. And this is God up in heaven. There's my capacity. Here's the favour of God. It's just awesome because my capacity can hold the blessing or can it? Because it just keeps coming and it just keeps coming. Now, once the blessing keeps coming in, it's not helping me one bit. Why? Because I can't hold it. I can't save it. I can't make juice with it. I can do anything with it. It's running into the carpet. It's running on to the wood. They're going to soak it up. The guys are already upset at me because they've got to clean this up for the next service. But God still pouring out His blessing. I just don't have the capacity to handle it.

Now, God doesn't stop pouring out His resource, His blessing, it says in Ephesians chapter 3. It toast in Ephesians chapter 1. Malachi 3:10, for those who are tithers. He's going to open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that you can't contain. So it's fantastic. No, He wants you to start containing more. He wants you to start rising up in your personal capacity. And so we've got to understand these principles are brilliant. The Christians today have an ability, a potential personal capacity so far beyond the world that they wouldn't have a clue how we did it. Why? Because when you look at that Old Testament, and when God would put His presence on kings and prophets and high priest.

That mean Solomon, the then known world was in awe. And he was, isn't the wisest man in the world, Jesus was. And every born again believer has an ability for wisdom beyond Solomon because he wasn't a born again person. So what are you going to do with your career? What you're going to do with your health? What are going to do? Whatever you don't manage properly. You lose. And you slides, you know, scraping your way down to the last. I mean, if you don't manage your marriage, you're going to go back to being single. And you're going to go back to advertising on eharmony. If you don't manage your health, your health is going to manage you. If you don't manage your money, your money is going to dictate what you can and can't do. If you don't manage your friends, you'll have friends that'll take your life out through gossip and stupid advice and wrong culture and wrong attitude. Like, this is crucial in the Christian life. That we understand what he's saying here. The resources of God are not determined by the resources. They're determined by your personal capacity, your ability. And so we must increase this personal capacity.

Now, let me go through this again. Just a little bit so you understand. God is pouring out resource. And it looks as though He has got favourites. But I've got news for you. It's not your color of your skin that determines the blessing and the favour of God. It's not where you were born that determines the blessing and the favour of God. It's your capacity. I could teach this in any conference in the world to CEOs in Fortune 500, and they would absolutely understand and agree with me because these things they've had to learn to deal with. As it goes on, the guy with one, he had an ability to use the one but he wouldn't steward it. Therefore, when God gives you with resource, because everybody here's got resource. Everybody here's got ability.

Now, you're not going to like this, but none of us know anything. So just smile look forward. No one will know anything is wrong. But wherever you are today, that's your personal capacity. Well, don't tell me that. I've got. Prove it. The Bible says by their track record, you'll know them, by their fruits, you'll know them. What's growing in your life? What is your life producing? Whatever is producing is your personal capacity. It is your ability and your stewardship taking whatever resources you've got. And if your stewardship and your ability will take those resources, they will always increase. What God gives you increases. But it's up to you to take that ability. He goes on and he starts talking about finances. And it's funny how, he says, "Take the talent from the one guy that buried it". He said, "I knew God was a hard taskmaster and I wasn't even going to try. I'm going to just bury that thing and give it back to him when he comes".

God never gives you... If God gives you a bag of seeds. He doesn't want a bag of seeds back. He wants an orchard. And that orchard can produce seed until you've got sections of orchards. And if you'll handle that properly, there's nothing stopping you and I. The guy who had one talent and buried it and wouldn't use the ability he had and steward it was taken away. And it was given to the guy with ten. Why would he give it to the guy with ten? Well, the presiding principle is here. He had the ability to handle the extra talent or not. Take the word talent out. We don't use that word. The extra resource. And so when you begin to understand, that what God has ahead of you is stunning and amazing and phenomenal. Then you begin to realize your marriage, your sex life, your family, your kids, how happy you are. All of this, it's all your personal capacity.

And now, I want, I want to drive this home for you. One of the, one of the areas that is crucial for you are the strengths that are taught in Galatians 5. Because we use the word fruits. The fruit of the Spirit. I never took this verse seriously. Like, the fruit of the Spirit. I always talk the gifts of the Spirit. Come on! But then it's a fruit. The word fruit here simply means what your life is growing, what your life is giving, what your life is doing. And as you recognize this, that the love, joy, peace, patience. When you when you see a leader, government, a Premier, a Prime Minister, CEO, parent. It doesn't matter. We're all in leadership. Okay, in some way. When you see a leader who begins to get angry and manipulative, you've met a leader who's reached a set point. He doesn't know what to do. So what do you do? Get mad and control them. What do you do? Manipulate.

Now, influence is far better. In fact, the only difference between influence and manipulation is just your heart. It's just, you know, your purpose with it. But I've watched leaders and I love studying leadership. And leaders get to a certain place where they've hit their set point. They've hit their pain threshold. This is where you can't continue to grow your company because your wife, your marriage is falling apart, or you're growing, or your company's falling apart because your marriage is falling apart. And you don't have the joy, the peace to go into your company and do it, or your kids are going... the things are going crazy and you're so stressed out by raising your children that it's affecting your marriage or it's affecting your career. It's affecting your health, or it's affecting your mental status.

Personal capacity is not one thing. Personal capacity can't be, "Well, if I just go get a degree. I'm going to know what to do". I've got news for you. I think it's brilliant to get its best education. You just need to know. That's only a part of it. Now, I'm talking right now about this emotional side of personal capacity. I made a decision years ago and Sal and I talked this through. That whatever we did for God, we're going to laugh and enjoy it and do it in the way that makes our life exciting. I want joy to remain in my life. Why? Because the joy of the Lord is my strength. I want joy. I don't want to come home and, "Hey, I've had a rough day. So I'm going to take it out on you, honey".

When I was a paramedic, can't even tell some of the stories I had to deal with, with death and children and babies and moms and rapes and murders and death and body parts. And then I'm going to come home and, "Oh, yeah, sure Sally. You just expect me to be lit up. Do you know what I saw"? God dealt with me and He said, "Don't you ever talk about that again. You leave it with Me at the door. You cast all your care upon Me, and you walk in as a husband and you walk in as a father. It's not their problem. And you learn to handle it. Develop your personal capacity. So you don't walk in there and lack". And I'm telling you that helped me so much, when I realized that as life, as the increase and the favour and the blessing of God increases in your life. It turns up the pressure, unless you learn to grow in your personal capacity.

For those who've driven a four-speed. You know, you got the clutch and you're in first gear, and that thing is just 10.000 RPM. You know, it's about to blow a piston, man. What do you do? You push in the clutch and you pull it into second gear and it goes twice as fast at 2.000 RPM because first gear did a 10.000 RPM's. And you think this old clunker can't go anywhere. But it's just 'cause you're in first gear. And when second gear's goes, and you think, "Oh, it's going to blow". You shift it in to third. What is the clutch? What is third gear? I don't know. But Holy Spirit will guide you in your life. Is it some more education? Is it you learning to deal with Holy Spirit and let Him build within you joy and peace and patience and longsuffering. We need to grow in these things.

When you look at Jesus saying that My peace I leave with you, not as the world does peace. But I'm leaving you My peace. There's a personal capacity. And this personal capacity, you can increase. You can grow. It's knowing this. Today just hearing this message is going to bring hope to someone who doesn't know how they can increase in their career without destroying their marriage anymore. There are lots of ways. They don't know how in the world they're going to find time. Oh, I can't handle any more pressure and if... Of course, you can. Very easily.

There are not people out there more gifted than you. They're not smarter than you. You know, I'll just pick on. I got lots of friends who are doctors. Doctors are not smarter than you. Listen to me. They just have one daily habit they did. You didn't. They went to med school, and they study medicine. They're not smarter than you. They just have a daily habit. The best trumpet player in the world is not smarter than you. He have some daily habit that you don't have. We're supposed to be the head and not the tail, above and not beneath. We're to be leading in politics, leading in business, leading an education. We're to be leading in every area of life.

And so I'm excited about telling you that if you're in business, you're in a career, that God wants to bless you and take you to places that makes your head just go, "Whoa"! Why doesn't He do it? Oh, He is. He's pouring it out. You just don't have the personal capacity to contain it and take it and do something with it. So just grow your personal capacity. Your personal capacity is a million a year, grow to 10 million a year. If you're already at 10 million a year, grow to a billion a year. Oh, that's not possible. Really? I hold ton of people, who don't know Jesus, are doing it. And they're pumping their money into stuff that attacks the church of Jesus Christ. They're pumping their money into stuff that is shutting us down and it's hurting us. Where's the believers that are called to business? Where's the believers that are called to education? Where's the believers that are called to be the professors in these schools who are teaching our kids ridiculous things, etcetera.

Well, you know, we're just the church. Yeah, you know, we just love Jesus and we're going to pray. And Jesus coming back, maybe tomorrow. So I don't have time to go to college. To recognize that you have a personal capacity. And that that personal capacity is controlling everything in your life. And I could go from leader to leader to leader in the Old Testament and the New, and I could show you the development that God had to take them through. Yes, king David killed lion, and then he killed the bear, and then he killed Goliath. All of those were destiny, okay? And he's developing his personal capacity. Then he was anointed to be king. He had the anointing of the king but not the personal capacity. That took 17 years. We could talk about Gideon. We could talk about Moses. We could talk about Paul. We could talk about the apostles. We could talk about the things in God's Word and it will continually show you that God prepared leaders for their job. And He's wants to prepare you. And for every mile of truth is two miles of ditch. So we've got the super spiritual people in one ditch, who think everything is about prayer. Lazy people like to pray.

Now, let me clarify. Because it's so easy to pray for the lost and to get on the streets and share the gospel with. It's so easy to pray for the poor and to start giving to them. It's so easy to pray for the church. That woman writing a check that is just almost everything that she has extra, she's going to the church of Jesus Christ. Prayer which I love and I pray has become the excuse for everything the church refuses to do. How are you doing sister? It's been a really rough week. I'm on my last nerve. High five. High five. I'll be praying for you, as you quickly walk away before you have to engage her in anymore conversation, or take her out for coffee, or help her through this. I'll pray for you.

Praying has become the biggest excuse for the church of Jesus Christ who does nothing. And I'm simply telling you. Your personal capacity can change. But it's going to require you to recognize, stop blaming God that He's not giving you enough resource. Stop thinking, "Well, I just don't have the education, or you know, you know, people don't like women work". I get it. I know and I'm not saying that there's not a whole bunch of prejudice people against women out there, or prejudice people against your color out there. I get it. But that does not stop millions of people. They just went, "God bless your crazy heart. About me and God are going to go do something great for God". And it was the personal capacity.

And as you develop your personal capacity, mental illness is handled much easier. Emotional disorders you don't see as much. We see a host of things that developing the fruit of the Spirit helps. In 2 Corinthians 12:20, it talks about how as we follow God and His personal capacity increases. Discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance. They all begin to fall away from your life. The joy of the Lord becomes your strength. The peace of God flows. You've got patience which is longsuffering. And everybody else is freaking and you're going, "Ain't it going nowhere bad". Everything's going to work out because my God is... There's just...

So, some of you think you can define personal capacity. You'd be careful. Just know there is one. And let Holy Spirit guide you. The Holy Spirit bring to you, it might be education. It might be understanding how to delegate it. It might be you dealing with your lousy attitude. It might be you've got a whole bunch of misbelief you grew up with that you just spout all the time. Listen to the story that comes out of your mouth as to where you are when you talk to people. Your story is telling you your issues. Yeah, you know, we, I mean, we will be further. Just listen to people's, listen to your own story. What do you tell people about yourself? And stop making excuses and get up and go have the life that God intended for you.

Father, I pray You touch every person here. I pray You touch me. I pray that Father, we would look out at You and Your Word, and know that You're not done with us. And nothing's going to stop us. We're going to get up and change our nation. Change nations, increase the kingdom of God. We're going to reach out and help people. Father, I just pray that every person here right now, just bring hope through the teaching of Your Word. And let them get up and stopped just praying about it and start doing something about it. I thank You. In Jesus' name, amen. Praise the Lord.

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