Divine Works E&T

First impressions…

We always remember our firsts…

The first is paramount; the first is a foundation that can be built upon the truth or the first can a foundation that can be built upon a lie.. Who was the master builder who laid the groundwork for your first? You or God?

Who is first?
Who comes first?

Hmm…..

Whatever the case may be, it can quite difficult to unlearn a first..
Our lives are built upon firsts, and these firsts play a leading role in
our perception of people, places and things..

Even when you erase a chalk broad there is always evidence of what was written
first…

The question is, “What first do you recognize as being truth?”

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” (Zechariah 4:10 NLT)

We left off relating our houses to money by stating that, “If money is in your possession and remains IDLE, money will work against you and cause for greater frustration and stress to arise in your midst.  As a parallel to money: If you have four children in your home, and decide not to teach and train them on what needs to be done in the house, what is the outcome of  situation?

 A.  A house out of order

B.  An overworked, frustrated parent

C.  Children who are idle, and prone to get into mischief

D.  All of the above

 Answer:  D.  All of the above

The correct use or ill-use of money is connected to thought. If our thoughts are not trained by the School of the Spirit, then our money may be subject to taking on a life of ITS own.

An “IT” is an object that has no life.  If our thoughts are connected to the wisdom of men (worldly wisdom) the result of the problem is IDOLATRY.

Idolatry promotes a person, place or thing to a higher place of authority that God the Creator. If I love MY money more than I love MY God then MY money has taken the place of MY God.

 Did the chicken come before the egg or did the egg come before the chicken?

Who came first, the Creator or the creation?

 There is no creation without the Creator.

 On the flip side of the coin of money…

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

If you have four children in your home, and decide to teach and train them on what needs to be done in the house, what is the outcome of situation?

A. Multiplication

B. Multiplication

C.  Multiplication

D.  All of the Above

 Answer: D.  All of the Above

Multiplication is compounded interest.

And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein. (Genesis 9:7)

 The Kingdom of God is to be fruitful and MULTIPLY. Not be fruitful and add, not be fruitful and subtract, not be fruitful and divide. We are to be fruitful and MULTIPLY.

The ANSWER to a multiplication problem is a PRODUCT, and fruit is the end product of being fruitful. This is not the means to the end, but the means that leads to the beginning of multiplication.

Part three of Despise not the day of small beginnings will consists of us weaving  all the thoughts from the previous posts to make a tapestry of financial abundance.

 Blessings…

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” (Zechariah 4:10 NLT)

 Money will not and cannot work with you if you do not have anything for money to do. Many of us have an imprint ingrained upon our understanding of money working for us, BUT… Money works WITH us because money takes on
the CHARACTER and PERSONA of the person who it (money) is paired with.

When money is paired with us, money takes on the life we believe to be a reality.

 We challenge you to take a glance of the items you purchased this past week:  Are these items a reflection and extension of who you are, your core values and your personal interests?

Hmm…

 Birds of a feather flock together:  

 A. Are you an eagle soaring into unknown regions, stratospheres and time zones?

B. Are you a turkey wallowing in the dust of the Earth?

RELATIONSHIP

 You are in relationship with money, whether it be a love or hate relationship.

The question is: Do I love the thought of honoring God through the TIMELY payment of my obligations or do I hate the thought of paying bills?

 On a deeper and more intimate degree of understanding, we realize the ORIGINAL INTENT of everything on the planet Earth was to be an expression of Our Lord and Savior.  Our main concern is really not about money…

BUTwhat the Lord desires for us to do with the money He married to us. 

IDOL WORSHIP

Money will notand cannot work with you if you do not have anything for money to do. ~ MarcusCage

 If money is in your possession and remains IDLE,money will work against you and cause for greater frustration and stress to arise in your midst.  As a parallel to money: If you have four children in your home, and decide not to teach and train them on what needs to be done in the house, what is the outcome of  situation?

 A.  A house out of order

B.  An overworked, frustrated parent

C.  Children who are idle, and prone to get into mischief

D.  All of the above

Answer:  D.  Allof the above

The correct use or ill-use of money is connected to thought. If our thoughts are not trained by the School of the Holy Spirit, then our money may be subject to taking on a life of ITS own.  

 An“IT” is an object that has no life.

 If our thoughts are connected to the wisdom of men (worldly wisdom) the result of this problem is IDOLATRY.  Just as our money has the possibility of take on a life of ITS own, our children (in the natural) entertain this same possibility if we choose to not teach and train them on what needs to be done in the house.  Our thoughts must be preoccupied by Our Father’s business; this is what needs to be done in the House of the Lord.

 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

In this present day and age, many find themselves using money as a treatment to heal emotional wounds in attempts to make themselves whole. This is not the reason why God paired money with us.

 This is not the purpose of money.

There is evidence of success and there is success.
Trust, and believe that there is a difference between the two.

Let us visit the courtroom in session:

The defendant, Antoine Edwards was arrested and detained for the possession of Cars, Cribs, Clothing and other items that SOME BELIEVE to be valid evidence of success. All the items above, “Cars, Cribs and Clothing” have been tested and proven as success according the WORLD’S UNDERSTANDING.

Antoine, “How do you plea?”
“NOT GUILTY YOUR HONOR!” Antoine replies.

Huh? The court room is in a total shock of silence. Who would have thought that Antoine would take a plea of “NOT GUILTY” to the accusation of success?
He does have the ideal career, biggest house, nicest car, etc…etc… etc…

Aren’t these things accurate measurements of success?

Remember: When any individual stands before a judge, and is placed on trail there is a test of character that occurs. Before the trail proceedings begin there is something called a, “sworn testimony” that sounds something like this: Do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Antoine replies, “Yes.”

Let the trail proceedings begin…

When we are placed on trail this is a test of character, so essence character will prove if Antoine is “GUILTY” or “NOT GUILTY” of success.
Success is the progressive-realization of your true identity in Jesus Christ. So, success is who you ARE, NOT who you WAS OR USED TO BE.

Success is who you ARE, NOT who you WAS.
Success is being, and then doing.
Success is the person you become, NOT the material things you purchase.

Success’ autograph reads: “I am therefore I do.”
Food for thought: If you do without realizing who you are you will be subject to failure.
Why?

Because you may DOING something God did not predestined you to BECOME. If you choose to DO something without discovering who you ARE then failure is inevitable. Also, the extra incentive and ambition to try harder is inevitable as well… BUT why try harder at something that God has not ordained you to become or do?

Hmm…

You cannot go to a mechanic and get a haircut, just as you cannot go to a florist to get a pedicure. No matter how hard the mechanic or florist try they can only service the needs of customers according to their design.

Eye vs. Eyes

Many have taken their eye off success in character building because their eyes are on externals (Cars, Clothes, and Cribs). Many are consumed with EGO feeding. Their eye has been taken off building the kingdom of character to focus on building the kingdom of SELF.

Back to Anotine…

The judge found him “NOT GUILTY” of success due to the evidence of success that was built upon man’s wisdom.

His freedom was restored!

SELAH!

You don’t get paid for the hour, you get paid for the VALUE you put in the time. We don’t get paid for time. We get paid for VALUE. ~ Jim Rohn

Question: If we don’t get paid by the hour but by value do we need to be physically at the work place eight hours a day?

Hmmm…

All results are measured in VALUE though its takes time for a work (or value) to be produced.

It is not the number of hours we put in at the workplace but the value produce in the number of hours we are physically present. When we say we get PAID PER VALUE, we mean that an individual gets paid per the value she PRODUCES. This same individual can be physically present in the workplace and not produce. After awhile of being unproductive, she will not have a job. What some call “GETTING FIRED” we call a “BREAK-UP.” Break-Ups occur when one individual outgrows another or if the terms of agreement are not being met.

Food for thought: When we were in junior high, we spent at least seven hours in school (which produced a nine to five mindset).If we didn’t PRODUCED anything (exceptional grades) we were held back.

Our personal and professional lives are measured in results (or outcomes), not activity.

WORD!

Every business meeting has an agenda that must be administered and followed to the tee. The agenda of a meeting is very much similar to a grocery list of “to do’s” for a company. Some employees purchase the wrong items because they are either in the wrong aisle of the store. There is even a possibility that they may be in the wrong store.

How do some of us end up in the wrong store?
Why do some of us end up in the wrong aisle?
Why are some of us purchasing the wrong items?

Self is the answer to these questions, but self is NOT THE ANSWER.
When we filter our communications through the lens of self, we cannot follow our company’s agenda to the tee. If we miss the tee, then we miss OUR goal.

YOUR success is dependent on the reception of communications according to your agenda.

OUR success is dependent on the reception of communications according to our agenda.

– Our agenda is set forth by the organization we with work with.
– We must receive information through the filter of US.

UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL.

The “receipt” of the communications for employees are the PERFORMANCE outcomes that are set forth by the organization.

– Customer Acquisition
– Customer Retention
– Product Quality
– Product Quantity
– Revenue

How much do these items cost?
The grocery list of items above has a price tag of SELF.

Hmm…

Communications can also be viewed as a deposit of information released from one individual or group of people to another individual or group of people. At times the deposit can’t be made because one or more of the individuals involved in the exchange (or transaction) is preoccupied with SELF. Our agenda is sometimes louder than the agenda of the organization. This is one of the reasons why we don’t hear our future calling; SELF mutes the incoming call of OUR FUTURE.

We must lay down our agenda to benefit others!
This is effective communications.

Today we needed a flyer to promote our church’s community outreach event. The event was coined with the name “C.O.B.” for Community Outreach Barbecue. This barbecue was to take place this Saturday at high noon so there was no time to spare.

WE NEEDED A FLYER TODAY, NOT TOMORROW.
WE NEEDED A FLYER ASAP! 

THE MONEY WASN’T THE ISSUE, THE TIMING WAS.

CRUNCH TIME!

With humility, I can confidently say that I am an entrepreneur. I AM ENTREPRENEUR with a strong network of skilled specialists. I have been graced with the ability to effectively use my network. My network is my RESOURCE BANK better known as “HUMAN CAPITAL.” I have made countless deposits into my HUMAN RESOURCE BANK which allows me to make a countless number of withdraws.

Remember: A solopreneur is as an ENTREPRENEUR who works alone, “solo,” running their business SINGLE-HANDEDLY. They do the administrative tasks, marketing, customer service and service delivery typically by themselves. ~ Urban Dictionary.com

A Jack or Jane of all trades, and a master of none.

I am an entrepreneur because I work systematically, and I don’t mind staying in my lane. I use every resource available in efforts to accomplish my goal or desired outcome.

The Desire Outcome: A FLYER

So… 

This idea strikes me: One of my students is excellent at doing flyers, powerpoint presentations, and graphic design. She is phenomenal at what she does, and what she does comes naturally.

How can I pay her for her services?

Hmm…

Idea #1: I can offer her community services hours in exchange for her services.

Idea #2: I can also provide her with a recommendation in exchange for her services.

Idea #3: When I share this experience with my network, I can attach the flyer she created and this can be free marketing for her and her business.

All these ideas can result in more opportunities for her to make some money.

Attached is the end result. 

Check it out…

Food for thought: Wherever you are and whatever you do, you are always making a deposit. This is your“EARNEST” money. If you have ever purchased a home you are aware that you have to make a deposit to be considered as a serious buyer. 

When we invest our time, talent, and treasures we make deposits into our future and into the future of others. When I share my experiences with you it is a DEPOSIT. A deposit is made into the Bank of Your Future.