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Five Keys to Divine Increase Devotional
Learn the Five Keys to Divine Increase for your life.
Study Guide
FIVE KEYS TO DIVINE INCREASE A 5-Session Small Group Study Guide Based on the sermon series by Pastor Mirek Hufton
SERIES OVERVIEW
CENTRAL THEME AND WHAT PARTICIPANTS WILL GAIN
This series explores five biblical keys that unlock God's supernatural increase in every area of life — spiritually, financially, relationally, and beyond. Rooted in the conviction that God's design has always been abundance and not scarcity, each session builds on the last to form a complete picture of what it looks like to live as a person who is growing, fruitful, and fully aligned with God's purposes.
Participants will gain a deeper understanding of what divine increase actually means, why it starts with the heart, and how practical choices — loving God, loving His Word, seeking His kingdom, obeying His commands, and pursuing purity — open the door to the life God has always intended for His people.
WHO THIS SERIES IS FOR
This series is for anyone who senses there is more — more of God, more fruitfulness, more purpose — than what they are currently experiencing. Whether you are new to faith or have walked with God for decades, whether you are in a season of abundance or pressing through a dry stretch, these five sessions will challenge and encourage you. No prior theological knowledge is required. Just an open heart and a willingness to be honest in community.
SESSION 1: LOVE GOD — THE FOUNDATION OF EVERYTHING (Based on the January 19, 2020 message)
OPENING REFLECTION QUESTION
Think about someone in your life — a parent, mentor, or close friend — whom you would do almost anything for simply because of how much you love them. What is it about that relationship that makes you want to give your best to them?
KEY SCRIPTURES
- Psalm 115:13-14
- Matthew 22:37-38
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
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Pastor Hufton opened the series by declaring that loving God is the first key — the foundation everything else depends on. Why do you think love for God comes before all the other keys? What happens to the other keys if this one is missing?
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Matthew 22:37-38 calls us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. What does it look like practically to love God with each of those four parts of who we are? Which one do you find easiest, and which do you find hardest?
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Pastor Hufton challenged the congregation to measure their love for God not by words but by actions — specifically their giving, worship, and time in prayer. How does that standard feel to you? Is it convicting, encouraging, or both?
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In his childhood story about the sealed tin box found in a mission house wall — containing exactly what was needed to clear a debt — Pastor Hufton illustrated that God can provide for needs before we even know they exist. What does that kind of story stir in you? Has God ever provided for you in a way that felt like it was prepared long in advance?
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The series title is about divine increase. How does loving God with everything we have connect to experiencing increase? Can you have real, lasting increase without this foundation?
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If someone looked at your weekly schedule and financial habits without knowing you, what conclusion might they draw about who or what you love most? How does that reflection sit with you?
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What is one area of your life where you sense God is asking you to love Him more actively and less casually?
PERSONAL APPLICATION CHALLENGE
This week, choose one concrete way to express love for God that goes beyond what you normally do. It might be an extra hour in prayer, an act of generosity, or simply sitting in worship without an agenda. Write down what you chose and how it felt at the end of the week.
CLOSING PRAYER PROMPT
Invite someone to pray, asking God to reveal any areas where love for Him has grown routine or secondhand. Ask for a fresh, genuine, first-commandment kind of love — and for faith to believe that when we get this right, increase follows.
SESSION 2: LOVE GOD'S WORD — THE POWER IN YOUR HANDS (Based on the January 26, 2020 message)
OPENING REFLECTION QUESTION
Is there a book, letter, or piece of writing that has significantly shaped who you are? What made it so powerful to you?
KEY SCRIPTURES
- Psalm 119:97
- 2 Timothy 3:16
- John 1:1, 1:4
- Isaiah 41:10
- Exodus 14:14
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
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Pastor Hufton quoted Psalm 119:97 — "O how I love your law!" — and challenged the group to move beyond religious duty into genuine love for Scripture. What is the difference between reading the Bible out of obligation and reading it out of love? Which one describes your current relationship with God's Word?
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2 Timothy 3:16 tells us all Scripture is God-breathed. If we truly believed every word in the Bible carried the very breath of God, how would that change the way we approach it each day?
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John 1:1 and 1:4 describe Jesus as the Word who was with God in the beginning, and in whom there is life. What does it mean to you that the Bible is not just a historical document but is connected to the living person of Jesus?
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During a seven-year federal investigation, Pastor Hufton anchored himself daily to specific scriptures like Isaiah 41:10 and Exodus 14:14. Have you ever had a season where a particular scripture became a lifeline for you? What was it and what did it do for you?
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Pastor Hufton described Mary's choice to sit at Jesus' feet as a model for how we should prioritize the Word. What are the biggest distractions in your life that pull you away from time in Scripture? What would it take to address one of them?
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He taught that your spirit grows only through feeding on God's Word — nothing else substitutes. In what ways have you tried to grow spiritually through other means? What has been missing when the Word is not central?
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What is one specific, practical change you could make to your daily routine that would help you spend more meaningful time in Scripture?
PERSONAL APPLICATION CHALLENGE
Choose one scripture from this session and commit to meditating on it every day this week. Write it somewhere visible — a mirror, a phone screen, a notecard by your coffee maker. At your next group meeting, share what happened when you spent time with that verse.
CLOSING PRAYER PROMPT
Ask someone to close in prayer, thanking God for the gift of His Word and asking the Holy Spirit to make Scripture come alive in a new way for each person in the group. Pray specifically for anyone who has been struggling to connect with the Bible consistently.
SESSION 3: INCREASE GOD'S KINGDOM — STEWARDSHIP CHANGES EVERYTHING (Based on the February 2, 2020 message)
OPENING REFLECTION QUESTION
Have you ever been trusted with something valuable that belonged to someone else — a home, a business, a responsibility? How did knowing it wasn't ultimately yours affect the way you handled it?
KEY SCRIPTURES
- Genesis 1:28
- Genesis 12:1-3
- Matthew 6:33
- Malachi 3:10
- Luke 19:12-26
- 2 Corinthians 8:9
- Galatians 3:13
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
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Pastor Hufton opened with the statement that God's consistent pattern from Adam through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has always been increase — never poverty. Does that match the picture of God you grew up with? How does it challenge or confirm what you believe about God and money?
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Jesus' Parable of the Minas in Luke 19:12-26 shows a master who expects a return on what he entrusts to his servants. What does this parable teach us about how God views the resources He has placed in our hands?
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Matthew 6:33 says to seek first the kingdom and everything else will follow. What does seeking the kingdom first actually look like in financial decisions? Can you give an example from your own life or someone you know?
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Pastor Hufton described the tithe in Malachi 3:10 as God's covenant test — a way of checking who we trust most with our resources. How do you personally think about tithing — as a test, a tax, a gift, or something else? How has your understanding of it changed over time?
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The story of Pastor Randy White — who needed $450,000 in 30 days and told the banker "My Father has it" — is a remarkable example of kingdom-first confidence. What would it take for you to trust God at that level with a financial need?
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Pastor Hufton challenged the congregation to reject a poverty mindset. What is the difference between a poverty mindset and wise, humble stewardship? How do you guard against both extremes?
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The session ended with a call to pursue increase so that others can be blessed. How does this kingdom-first framing change the motivation for wanting more? What does it mean to you that your increase is not just for yourself?
PERSONAL APPLICATION CHALLENGE
This week, review your giving — whether to your church, a ministry, or those in need — and prayerfully ask God if there is a step of faith He is inviting you to take. Write down what you sense Him saying and bring it back to the group next week.
CLOSING PRAYER PROMPT
Close with a prayer of surrender, asking God to help the group hold resources loosely and trust Him as the ultimate provider. Ask for courage to be generous and vision to see how God might use each person's increase to extend His kingdom to others.
SESSION 4: LOVE OBEYING GOD'S WORD — FAITH IN ACTION (Based on the February 9, 2020 message)
OPENING REFLECTION QUESTION
Think of a time when you did something difficult simply because someone you trusted and loved asked you to. What made you willing to do it even if it was hard?
KEY SCRIPTURES
- 1 John 4:10
- 1 John 5:3
- 2 Timothy 3:16
- John 15:10, 14
- John 14:31
- Galatians 6:7
- Isaiah 1:19
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
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Pastor Hufton explained that the Greek word for obedience — hupakouo — means "to listen under," implying willing submission to a higher authority. How does that definition change or deepen your understanding of what biblical obedience actually is?
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1 John 5:3 says that God's commands are not burdensome. Does obedience feel like a burden to you, or does it feel like a natural expression of love? What makes the difference?
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In John 15:10 and 14, Jesus connects staying in His love and being called His friend directly to keeping His commands. What does it tell us about the nature of friendship with God that obedience is part of the definition?
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Pastor Hufton shared the story of a former corporate boss who rejected Christianity because of hypocrisy he saw in believers — but who, after eventually surrendering to Christ, immediately began visiting prisons and serving the marginalized. What does that story reveal about the connection between genuine conversion and genuine obedience?
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Galatians 6:7 reminds us that we reap what we sow. How have you experienced this principle in a positive way — where obedience led to unexpected blessing? How have you experienced it in the other direction?
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Isaiah 1:19 says, "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land." What do you think is the relationship between willingness and obedience — are they the same thing, or is one needed before the other?
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Where in your life right now is God asking you to obey something that feels difficult or inconvenient? What is holding you back, and what might help you take that step?
PERSONAL APPLICATION CHALLENGE
Identify one area of your life where you have been aware of what God is asking but have delayed or partially obeyed. This week, take one concrete step of full obedience in that area. Journal what happens — both internally and externally — as a result.
CLOSING PRAYER PROMPT
Invite the group to a moment of quiet before praying, asking each person to identify one thing they feel God is calling them to obey. Then close with a corporate prayer asking God for the love-driven courage to obey fully, and for the trust to believe that His commands are always for our good.
SESSION 5: LOVE PURITY — REMOVING EVERY OBSTACLE TO INCREASE (Based on the February 16, 2020 message)
OPENING REFLECTION QUESTION
Have you ever had an experience where something small contaminated something that had been completely good — a meal, a relationship, a project? What did that moment teach you about how contamination works?
KEY SCRIPTURES
- Matthew 5:8
- Romans 6:14
- Hebrews 12:1
- 2 Thessalonians 2:13
- John 17:17
- 1 Peter 1:2
- 1 John 1:8-9
- James 4:8
- Psalm 24:3
- 1 Timothy 1:5
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
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Matthew 5:8 promises that the pure in heart will see God. Pastor Hufton argued that impurity does not just damage us — it actively blocks the supernatural flow of God's increase in our lives. Do you agree with that connection? Why or why not?
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Pastor Hufton's story about finding half a cockroach in a restaurant breakfast was unforgettable — his point being that one small impurity ruins what was otherwise good. Where in your spiritual life might there be a "half a cockroach" — something small that is contaminating more than you realize?
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Romans 6:14 and Hebrews 12:1 remind us that Christ has already made us righteous, but we must actively walk that out daily. What is the difference between positional purity — what Christ has already done — and practical purity — what we choose each day? Why do both matter?
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Pastor Hufton outlined four scriptural pathways to purity — through the Holy Spirit, the Word, the blood of Jesus, and faith. Which of these four feels most real and active in your life right now? Which one do you need to lean into more?
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1 John 1:9 promises that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us. How does the practice of regular, honest confession change the way you carry yourself before God and others?
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James 4:8 says draw near to God and He will draw near to you. What does drawing near to God look like for you personally — and what specific habits, environments, or relationships help you stay close?
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As the final key in the series, purity is presented as the gateway to seeing God more clearly and experiencing more of His blessing. Looking back over all five keys, how do they connect? What happens to the others if purity is missing?
PERSONAL APPLICATION CHALLENGE
Pastor Hufton offered six practical steps to maintain a clean heart before God. This week, write down one area where you want to invite the Holy Spirit to bring greater purity — whether in your thought life, relationships, habits, or speech. Share it with a trusted person from your group who can pray with you and check in with you.
CLOSING PRAYER PROMPT
Close the session and the series with a prayer of both confession and celebration — confessing anything the Holy Spirit has surfaced during this study, and celebrating that through Christ we have been made holy, blameless, and free. Ask God to seal everything learned in these five sessions into lasting transformation.
SERIES WRAP-UP QUESTIONS
Use these questions in a final gathering, a wrap-up session, or at the close of Session 5 if time allows. They are designed to help the group reflect on the full arc of the series together.
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Looking at all five keys — loving God, loving His Word, seeking to increase His kingdom, obeying His Word, and loving purity — which one had the biggest impact on you personally during this series, and why?
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Pastor Hufton presented these keys as building blocks, with each one depending on the others. In your own life, which key feels most established, and which one feels like it still needs the most intentional development?
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The word increase can mean many different things — financial provision, spiritual depth, relational health, expanded purpose. How has your understanding of what divine increase actually means changed or grown over the course of this series?
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One theme that ran through every session was that the condition of the heart determines the capacity for increase. What is one thing you have learned about your own heart through this study that you did not fully see before?
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As a group, what is one commitment you want to make together going forward — something you will practice, pursue, or pray about collectively because of what you have studied in these five sessions?
CLOSING PRAYER
Father, we thank You that You are a God of increase — not scarcity, not limitation, and not reluctant blessing. You told us that Your desire is to give increase more and more, and we have seen across five sessions that the pathway to that increase runs directly through our relationship with You.
We ask You now to make what we have learned in this room more than information. Let it become transformation. Let love for You be the unshakeable foundation of every decision we make. Let Your Word be something we run to rather than walk past. Let our finances and our resources be instruments of Your kingdom rather than monuments to our own security. Let obedience feel less like law and more like love. And let purity be something we pursue not out of fear but out of genuine hunger to see You more clearly.
Where we have been inconsistent, give us grace to begin again. Where we have been afraid, give us the courage of people who are fully loved. Where we have been stuck, release us into the increase You have always planned for us.
We trust You with every area of life this series has touched. May our lives — individually and as a community — become evidence that when people seek You first, everything else comes into alignment.
In the name of Jesus, amen.
Devotional Rollup
The Pure Heart God is Looking For
Matthew 5:8 — "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
I want to start this week by asking you something I ask myself regularly — how's your heart? Not your physical heart, but the one God looks at. When Jesus said "blessed are the pure in heart," He wasn't describing perfection. He was describing a direction. A heart that's genuinely turned toward God, cleared of hidden motives, scrubbed of secret compromises. I believe purity is power. The closer you get to God, the more His anointing flows through your life. But sin creates distance. It clouds your vision. It muffles the voice of God. Here's the beautiful truth though — God isn't standing far off, arms crossed, waiting for you to get it perfectly right. He's beckoning you. Draw near to Him and He draws near to you. This week, let's make purity our pursuit, not out of fear, but out of love.
Father, I want a clean heart. Show me anything that's creating distance between us, and give me the courage to deal with it honestly. I want more of You this week.
Sin Shall Not Have Dominion Over You
Romans 6:14 — "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."
I love this verse because it's a declaration, not a suggestion. Sin shall not — not "might not," not "hopefully won't" — shall not have dominion over you. That's God speaking your freedom into existence. But here's what I've learned in years of walking with people and with God: knowing you're free and walking in freedom are two different things. You've been made righteous through Jesus, but God also expects you to walk that righteousness out. There's God's part and there's your part. His part? He washed you clean. Your part? You guard the vessel. You set boundaries. You spit out the thoughts that don't belong. You shut down what shouldn't be open. I'm not preaching condemnation today — I'm preaching liberation. You are not a slave to your flesh. You have authority through Christ. Walk like it today.
Jesus, thank You that sin has no legal right to control me anymore. Help me walk in the freedom You already purchased for me, and remind me today that I have authority through Your name.
Laying Aside the Weight That's Slowing You Down
Hebrews 12:1 — "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."
God put you on this planet with a specific destiny programmed into you. There is a race with your name on it — a calling, a purpose, a finish line with eternal rewards. But you cannot run it carrying extra weight. I've seen people miss their destiny not because they were bad people, but because they never dealt with the stuff they were dragging along behind them. Unforgiveness. Hidden compromises. Patterns they kept making excuses for. The writer of Hebrews doesn't say maybe consider laying aside weight — he says do it. Shake it off. Because your race matters. The world needs what God placed inside you. Your family needs it. This church needs it. Heaven is cheering you on. But you've got to make a decision today to drop what's slowing you down, and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. He's worth it.
Lord, show me what weight I've been carrying that I need to lay down today. I want to run my race well, and I trust You to give me the strength to let go of what's holding me back.
Walking in the Light of God's Word
John 1:5 — "And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."
When I go without reading God's Word, I genuinely feel the difference. It's like wearing yesterday's clothes — something just isn't right. The Word of God isn't just information, it's light. And light does something that nothing else can do — it exposes what was hidden, it cleanses what was murky, it reveals the path forward when everything looks confusing. Jesus prayed for His disciples in John 17, asking the Father to sanctify them through truth — and then He said, "Your Word is truth." So the Word doesn't just teach you, it actually purifies you. It scrubs off wrong thinking. It corrects bent attitudes. It speaks life into dead places. If things feel spiritually foggy for you right now, I want to encourage you — get back into the Word. Not as a religious duty, but as a lifeline. The light is still shining. Step into it.
Father, let Your Word do its deep cleaning work in me today. Open my eyes to see truth I might be avoiding, and give me a hunger for Scripture that goes beyond habit into genuine hunger.
Love Purity — The Key That Changes Everything
1 John 3:3 — "And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."
We've walked through a powerful week together, and I want to close it with the heart of everything I've been teaching. You can know about purity, you can understand holiness theologically — but until you love purity, it will always feel like a burden instead of a gift. When you truly love God, you begin to love what He loves. And God loves cleanness. He loves wholeness. He loves a heart that's fully His. The beautiful thing about 1 John 3:3 is that it ties purity directly to hope — to the expectation that one day we'll be fully like Jesus. That hope changes how you live today. I'm not asking you to be perfect. I'm asking you to be hungry. Hungry for more of God. Hungry enough to deal with the things that create distance between you and Him. That hunger — that love for purity — is where divine increase begins.
God, I don't just want to know about purity — I want to love it. Give me a heart that genuinely wants what You want, and help me end this week cleaner and closer to You than I started it.
Love Came First
1 John 4:10 — "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
I want to start this week by reminding you of something that changes everything — God loved you first. Long before you ever thought about Him, before you made a single right choice or said a single right prayer, He was already running toward you with open arms. That's not religion. That's a Father who is crazy about His children.
Here's what I've learned in ministry: you cannot truly obey God until you truly receive His love. Obedience that flows from fear or obligation is exhausting and empty. But obedience that flows from love? That's where the power is. That's where the joy is. This week, we're going to build something together — a foundation of love that makes obeying God feel like the most natural thing in the world. Let's start right here, receiving His love today.
Father, thank You for loving me before I ever loved You. Help me to receive that love deeply today, not just know it in my head, but feel it in my heart. Let that love be the starting point for everything I do this week.
The Living Word in Your Hands
2 Timothy 3:16 — "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."
I'll be honest with you — I've watched people treat this Bible like a lucky charm they keep on the nightstand, and I've watched people treat it like the very breath of God. The difference in their lives is unmistakable. Every word in this book was breathed out by God Himself. That means when you open it, you're not just reading ancient history — you're encountering the living voice of the One who made you.
The word "profitable" jumps out at me every time. God is saying, this is for your benefit. The correction, the instruction, even the reproof — it's all working for you, not against you. I spent two hours a day in this book when I was a young believer, and I'll tell you what, it rewired everything. The more you're in the word, the more you see, and the more you see, the more you're changed.
Lord, forgive me for the times I've treated Your word casually. Reignite a hunger in me today to open this book and find You on every page. Let Your word correct me, instruct me, and lead me into the life You planned for me.
His Commands Are Not a Burden
1 John 5:3 — "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome."
I want to address something I hear a lot, even from sincere believers — "Pastor, following all these commands feels so heavy." I understand that feeling. But here's what I want you to see today: the commands of God are not chains, they are guardrails. They exist because He loves you and He knows the road ahead better than you do.
When I told God I would obey everything in this book — not some of it, all of it — my life didn't become harder. It became cleaner, clearer, more powerful. The burden isn't in the obedience; the burden is in the disobedience. Living outside of what God says is what exhausts you. His commands are actually the path of least resistance when you're walking in love. Let me encourage you today — what feels like restriction is actually protection. What looks like a fence is actually freedom.
Father, help me to see Your commands through the lens of love today, not law. Where I've been carrying the weight of disobedience, I ask for Your forgiveness and Your grace to start fresh. I want to walk in Your ways because I love You, not because I have to.
Obedience Opens the Door to God's Presence
John 14:23 — "Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.'"
This verse stops me every time I read it. Jesus is saying that when you love Him and obey His word, the Father and the Son come and make their home — their dwelling place — inside you. That's not a small thing. That's the presence of God taking up permanent residence in your life.
I've experienced this personally. When I began to walk in obedience — even in the things I didn't want to do, like leaving corporate America for ministry, like saying no when God said no — I found that His presence became more real, more tangible. The blessing was never just financial or circumstantial; it was His nearness. That's the divine increase we're talking about this week. It's not just stuff. It's Him. And when you have Him, everything else gets taken care of. Obedience is the doorway into His presence.
Jesus, I want You to make Your home in me — not just visit me on Sundays. Show me where my disobedience has kept that door closed, and give me the courage to fling it wide open today. I love You, and I want You near.
Get Under the Spout
John 15:10 — "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love."
I love this old Pentecostal song I quote often: "Get under the spout where the glory comes out." It says everything. There is a supply coming from heaven — blessing, favor, increase, peace, power — and you can be a believer and still miss it. You can be this close and just be standing in the wrong spot.
This whole week we've been talking about loving God, loving His word, and loving to obey Him. Here's what I want you to take into your weekend: obedience is simply positioning yourself under the spout. It's not earning God's love — He already loves you unconditionally. It's aligning your life with the flow of what He's already releasing. The more you obey, the more you experience His love, and the more you experience His love, the more you want to obey. It's a cycle of blessing, and it starts with one decision — to say yes to God today.
Father, I want to be under the spout. I don't want to be close to the blessing and miss it — I want to be right in the middle of everything You're pouring out. Help me to say yes to You quickly, completely, and joyfully this weekend and every day. I love You.
You Serve a God of Increase
Genesis 1:28 — "God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.'"
I want you to hear this from my heart — the very first thing God spoke over humanity was a blessing of increase. From the very beginning, our Father's plan was never poverty, never just getting by, never barely surviving. His first word over you was *multiply*. I grew up watching mangoes fall by the thousands in African forests — more than anyone could ever eat. That's the God we serve. He is lavish. He is abundant. He thinks big. When I came out of corporate life into ministry, I had to shake off a religious mindset that somehow said less equals holiness. That's simply not in scripture. God told Adam to fill the earth — you cannot fill something if you are shrinking. Today, let this truth settle deep in your spirit: your heavenly Father is a God of increase, and He has increase on His mind for you.
Father, I thank You that from the very beginning, increase was Your idea, not mine. Help me today to see myself the way You see me — blessed, fruitful, and multiplying. Shake every poverty mindset off me in Jesus' name.
Seek the Kingdom First
Matthew 6:33 — "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
I love this verse because Jesus is being so honest with us here. He knows we need food on the table, clothes on our backs, a roof over our heads. He is not naive about real life. But He says — put My kingdom first and I will take care of the rest. The nobleman in Luke 19 gave his servants money and said occupy, trade, multiply — until I return. He expected a return. That is kingdom thinking. I want to challenge you today — when you make financial decisions, when you plan your week, when you set your budget — ask yourself honestly, is the kingdom first in this? Not second. Not third when there is something left over. First. When you live with that kind of focus, something supernatural gets released. God begins moving pieces into position that you could never move yourself. I have watched it happen again and again in my own life.
Lord Jesus, I honestly confess that I do not always put Your kingdom first. Rearrange my priorities today. Let kingdom thinking drive every decision I make this week. I trust You to add everything else I need.
You Are Abraham's Heir
Galatians 3:7 — "Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham."
This changes everything when it really lands in your spirit. Abraham was not just a historical figure — he is your faith father. And the Bible says in Genesis 13 verse 2 that Abraham was very rich. That word means wealthy, prosperous, abundant. God told him, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and through you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. That was not just for Abraham. As his children by faith, that covenant flows to you and me today. I am not preaching a name-it-and-claim-it gospel with no roots — I am showing you what the written Word actually says. You are a son or daughter of the most blessed man who ever walked this earth outside of Jesus. Your Father's house is not struggling. Your inheritance is not poverty. Today, receive your identity as an heir of the Abrahamic blessing and walk accordingly.
Father, I receive today that I am Abraham's heir through faith in Jesus Christ. Let that identity replace every lie about lack that I have believed. I am blessed to be a blessing, and I receive that fully today.
The Tithe Is a Test of Trust
Malachi 3:10 — "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."
I love this verse because it is the only place in all of scripture where God actually says — test Me. He is so confident in this principle that He invites your skepticism. The tithe is ten percent — move the decimal point one place to the left and that number is God's. It is not about the money itself. It is about what the money reveals about your heart. When you hold on to that ten percent, you are essentially telling God, I will handle this myself. When you release it, you are declaring, God, I trust You more than I trust my own ability to manage this. I can tell you from my own life — I have never known anything but tithing. Whatever I put my hand to has been blessed. Not because I am special, but because I aligned myself with a covenant God established and He is faithful to honor it every single time.
God, I want to be someone who passes the money test. Help me to trust You with the tithe not out of obligation but out of genuine faith that You are faithful. Open my eyes to see Your blessing as I honor You first.
Blessed to Be a Blessing
Genesis 12:2 — "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing."
Here is what I want to leave with you as we close out this week — God's increase in your life was never meant to stop with you. Every time God told Abraham I will bless you, He finished the sentence with and you will be a blessing. The increase flows through you, not just to you. That is what changes your whole relationship with money. When my wife and I write a check to meet someone's need, there is a joy that money itself cannot buy. I want you to taste that. When you start thinking — how can I increase so I can lift others — poverty becomes your enemy because it limits your ability to serve. The servant who buried his mina had nothing to show Jesus when He returned. Do not be that person. This year, make a vow — I will pursue increase so that through my life, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Jesus, thank You that Your blessing on my life has a purpose beyond me. Let increase flow through me to missionaries, to the hurting, to the lost. Make me a channel of Your abundance, not just a container.
The Word Is Alive — And It's Yours
John 1:4 — "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men."
I want you to understand something that changed my life: when you hold your Bible, you are holding Him. Not a collection of ancient advice. Not a religious rulebook. You are holding the living Word of God. Jesus Himself is called the Word — "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." That means every time you open this book, you are opening a direct line to the source of all life. I think about Mary sitting at Jesus' feet while Martha rushed around. Mary made a choice. She recognized that something greater than daily demands was right in front of her. That same life — that same Jesus — is available to you every single morning before the noise begins. You don't have to earn it. You just have to choose it, like Mary did. Choose life today.
Lord, open my eyes to see that Your Word is not just ink on a page — it is You. Give me the hunger today to sit at Your feet like Mary. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Your Spirit Needs This Food
2 Timothy 3:16 — "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."
I tell people this all the time — you can come to church for twenty years and still be a spiritual midget if you're not in the Word. That sounds blunt, but I say it because I love you. Here's the truth: your spirit man feeds and develops only through the Word of God. Not through movies. Not through a walk in the park. Not even through a good conversation with a wise friend. Only through the Word. Every single word in this book is God-breathed — inspired by the Holy Ghost. That means it carries His life in it. When you take it in consistently, something shifts. Your thinking gets washed. Your faith gets fed. Your spirit gets strong. I remember standing on Isaiah 41:10 through years of trial, and those words became steel fortifications on the inside of me. That's what the Word does. It builds you from the inside out.
Father, I confess I haven't always treated Your Word as the food my spirit desperately needs. Today I choose to feed my spirit first. Make every word come alive in me. Amen.
The Word Washes You Clean
Ephesians 5:26 — "That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word."
I love this picture the Holy Ghost gives us in Ephesians — the Word as water, washing you clean. Think about what water does. It removes the grime you didn't even notice was building up. That's exactly what the Word does for your mind. Every week the world piles things onto you — doubt, fear, wrong thinking, other people's opinions, bad news, pressure. If you go two or three weeks without the Word, you get barnacled up. I've seen it happen, and honestly, I've felt it myself. But here's the good news: God doesn't condemn you for the grime. He just wants you to step into the wash. Let the Word rinse off the stinky thinking, the unclean thinking, the fearful thinking. He can clean your mind, and when He cleans your mind, He cleans your life. Come to the washing today. The water is warm and the Word is waiting.
Jesus, wash my mind today with Your Word. Wherever fear or wrong thinking has crept in, let Your truth rinse it clean. I trust the washing. Amen.
Choose the Better Part
Luke 10:42 — "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."
I can see Martha in so many of us — checklists running, always planning, always producing, always doing. And there's nothing wrong with being productive. But Jesus was in the house, and Martha missed Him. She was too busy serving the moment to sit with the Master. I'm not pointing a finger — I'm pointing a mirror. How many of us rush past the Word every morning because there's too much to do? I want to be honest with you: if you're too busy to read the Word, you're too busy. That's a pride issue dressed up as a schedule issue. Mary made a deliberate choice. She could have helped Martha. She chose differently. And Jesus said that choice — sitting at His feet, receiving His Word — would never be taken from her. I challenge you today to make Mary's choice. Let the dishes wait five minutes. Let the emails wait. Sit at His feet first.
Lord, forgive me for the days I've run past You to get things done. Help me to choose the better part — to sit at Your feet before I step into my day. Amen.
Set Your Heart on These Words — They Are Your Life
Deuteronomy 32:46-47 — "Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today… for it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life."
Moses wrote an entire song about God's faithfulness, and at the very end he looked at the people and said: set your hearts on these words. Not your schedules. Not your ambitions. Not your fears. These words. Because this is not idle talk — this is your life. I prophesy over you today that 2020 — or whatever year you're reading this — can be your year of increase through the Word. Not because of how smart you are or how hard you work, but because you made a decision: I am going to be a person of the Word. I am going to read it, study it, speak it, and let it build a life nothing can shake. I've stood on this Word through trials, through sickness, through impossibilities. It has never failed me. It won't fail you either. Set your heart on it. These words are your life.
Father, I set my heart on Your Word today. I declare that it is not background noise in my life — it is my life. Give me passion, give me hunger, give me revelation. In Jesus' mighty name, Amen.
The First and Greatest Thing
Matthew 22:37-38 — "Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.'"
I want to start this week by asking you a simple but searching question — is God truly first in your life? Not just in your words, but in your actual daily choices? Jesus didn't call loving God one good option among many. He called it the *first* and *greatest* commandment. Those two words carry enormous weight. First means before everything else. Greatest means nothing else comes close. I believe this is the foundational key to divine increase in your life this year. When everything you do flows out of a genuine, passionate love for God — your giving, your serving, your working, your worshipping — everything else begins to align. God isn't asking for your performance. He's asking for your heart. Let's begin this week by simply saying, "God, I want to love You more than anything else."
Father, I want You to be first — not just in theory but in every real decision I make today. Forgive me for the times I've pushed You to the edges of my life. Ignite in me a fresh, consuming love for You this week, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Set Your Mind Above
Colossians 3:2 — "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."
I love how direct this verse is — *set your mind*. That's a deliberate, intentional act. It means you have a choice in what you think about. Your thoughts don't just happen to you; you can take them captive and direct them toward God. I've said it before — wherever your mind goes, that's where you eventually end up. Dark thoughts lead you into dark places. Heavenly thoughts lift you into a heavenly perspective. When you love God with all your mind, you're actively choosing to focus on His goodness, His promises, and His presence rather than your problems and pressures. This isn't denial — it's faith. I'm not telling you your challenges aren't real. I'm telling you your God is bigger than all of them. Start choosing intentionally what you dwell on, and watch how your whole outlook begins to shift toward increase and breakthrough.
Lord, I choose today to set my mind on You and on the realities of heaven. When distracting or fearful thoughts try to take over, remind me that I have the authority to redirect my thinking toward You. Help me love You with every thought today, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Draw Near and He Will Draw Near
James 4:8 — "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."
This verse is one of the most encouraging promises in all of Scripture, and I want you to really take it in today. God isn't distant. He isn't hard to find. He is actually moving *toward* you right now. But He responds to your movement in His direction. When you make the choice to draw near — through prayer, through worship, through reading His Word, through simply acknowledging His presence in your day — He closes the gap. He meets you where you are. Loving God isn't just a feeling you wait for; it's a pursuit you choose. And here's the beautiful thing: the more you pursue Him, the more you discover just how wonderful, how kind, how faithful He really is. That discovery deepens your love, and deeper love leads to greater increase in every area of your life. So take one step toward Him today.
Father, I'm drawing near to You right now, even in the middle of an ordinary day. I don't need a perfect moment or the right words — I just want more of You. Thank You for the promise that when I move toward You, You move toward me. Amen.
Because He's Good
Psalm 118:29 — "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."
Why should we love God? I asked myself that question while preparing this message, and the answer kept coming back to the same place — because He is *good*. Not occasionally good. Not good when things go your way. Enduringly, unchangingly, relentlessly good. Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights, Scripture says. No sickness comes from heaven. No poverty comes from heaven. No depression comes from heaven. That's not His nature. His nature is goodness, mercy, and overwhelming love toward you. And I want to remind you today that the same God who holds the mountains in a scale and measures the heavens with the span of His hand — that God knows your name, knows your need, and is actively working on your behalf. When you truly grasp the goodness of God, loving Him doesn't become an obligation anymore. It becomes the most natural response in the world.
Lord, I thank You today because You are simply, undeniably good. Help me to see Your goodness clearly — in the big miracles and in the quiet, ordinary moments of my day. Let gratitude and love for You rise up in me afresh. Amen.
Pedal to the Metal Love
Mark 12:30 — "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength."
I told my congregation about riding in a Viper with 800 horsepower — and when that thing launched, it was pedal to the metal. Nothing held back. That's exactly the picture God paints when He describes the love He's looking for from us. All your heart. All your soul. All your mind. All your strength. When you put those four words together — *all, all, all, all* — there's nothing left over. That's a consuming, wholehearted, radical love. And I believe this is the first key that unlocks everything God has for you in this season. Not a polite, distant respect for God, but an all-in, passionate pursuit of Him. As we close out this week, I want to challenge you to reflect on which of these four areas — heart, soul, mind, or strength — needs the most surrender right now. Bring that area to God today. He's not looking for perfection. He's looking for passion.
Father, I want to love You with everything — not halfway, not when it's convenient, but with every part of who I am. Show me where I've been holding back, and by Your grace, help me go all in this year. I love You, Lord. Amen.