It's In The Bag

A Message By Arthur Ward

I woke up Monday morning singing a song and I’ve been singing it all week. It just simply says,

The bible declares in 2 Corinthians 6:16, for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God and they shall be my people.

Some may not know it but if you want to know where God is, He lives in you and me and He is always at home!

He not only lives in us, but, He said He would never leave us.

And if that’s not enough, Ephesians 3:20 says, Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

He is working in me right now, and He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.

So, with this understanding, I believe we can truthfully say that we are a product of our thinking! And the only limitation is in “as we think!”

Whether we can believe or cannot believe, is based upon the condition of the heart!

What we believe and what we do not believe is determined by how our heart has been conditioned with thoughts.

What you think about someone determines your ability to believe in them or not.

The bibles says in the last days,,

If we are constantly thinking fearful thoughts then we are conditioning our hearts to be fearful or full of fear.

If we are continually thinking faithful thoughts and ideas then we are conditioning our hearts to be faithful or full of Faith.

When we think on fear, doubt, and unbelief, we are conditioning the heart.

Oh, but when we think faith, believing and trusting in God’s Word, we are also conditioning the heart!

Thoughts massage the heart. What we think on and subject our mind to, conditions our heart for success or failure, prosperity or poverty, health or sickness.

You see the Bible says in Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. But if your heart is conditioned not to believe, you can’t be saved!

If your heart is conditioned not to believe in healing you won’t be healed.

If your heart is conditioned not to believe in prosperity and that God has given you power to get wealth, you will never be wealthy!

Jesus said in Mark 11:23,,, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

What causes us to think the way we think?

I’m telling you, your environment influences you and how you think!

Don’t partner up with negative and fear filled people. Don’t pull them into a close relationship if you want to keep your heart in good condition.

Your heart has been and is being conditioned. Your heart is central to everything you are.

So, if we have been conditioned to think everything is going to be wonderful in the sweet by and by, but conditioned to believe that here in this life we have no power over sin, sickness and poverty, then we go looking for something to support our belief or support our condition, the way we think!

Most of us do that. We look for something that says, “The way I think is right!”

And if we get enough information, we can convince ourselves that the world is flat. You can convince yourself that abortion is OK.

If you go looking for information that supports your negative thinking you will find it. You can make yourself believe you are sicker today than you were yesterday. You can talk yourself into a better or worse condition.

Jesus said the reason men’s hearts will fail them in the last days is because they are looking after those things which are coming on the earth. It hasn’t even happened yet and they are already having heart failure.

Remember now, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. It’s not always what he thinks, but as he thinks!

I could ask how many rich people do we have here this morning. Most of you would raise your hand. Because you want to be rich, not because you think your rich, but because you want to be.

I have heard some talking and when they talk about rich people it is always “Them People.”

I’ve heard them say in casual talk, “Well you know rich people do thus and so.” Insinuating, there are “THE RICH” and then there are “THE POOR,” and by their conversation they indicate they think they are somewhere in between.

See, I’m talking about not so much what you think, but the way you think. Some people think if they talk positive on Sunday and around religious people that’s all that matters.

When Jesus said in Matthew 12:34 for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

See, it is how your heart has been conditioned, that determines how you really are going to speak. Because that’s the real you.

God said Solomon could not compare to the lilies.

Do you know why so many of us eat at fast food places? Not because it’s fast, but because it’s cheap! It doesn’t matter if it’s not healthy. It’s cheap!!

We will watch someone with tattoos all over their body, dirt under their finger nails, hair hanging down in their face, picking their nose, fixing our food.

In St. Matthew chapter 19, Jesus told the rich young ruler, in verse 21,

When Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell what he had and give to the poor, He didn’t say sell it and give it all to the poor. He merely said give to the poor.

Had he given it all to someone that was poor, no doubt that someone would have had the same problem he had.

The rich young ruler had many possessions, and it was his possessions that constrained him at the same level.

This young man ask Jesus, “How can I go to the next level.” And Jesus said, “If thou wilt be perfect, (complete if you want to go to the next level) go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”

We get attached to things and things cause us to think a certain way. Some folks will never change. Never go to the next level. Some folks never sell anything until it is useless and worn out or because it came from my past!

Don’t get mad, get glad, because I’m sharing this with you.

Some folks display their past in every room of the house. In their wallet. On the dash of their car, out in the yard. It may have been wonderful and it is great that God has blessed you with those memories.

But, the undeniable truth is, if we position our past continually in our view that’s what we will think about. Hey, if you live in the trophy room forever you never win anymore trophies.

You know very well if you were to sell that couch you would get a better one because that’s the kind of person you are.

If your car totally quit, hopefully you wouldn’t go buy another that had totally quit. You would get one that was better than what you had.

Release the Next level thinking!

I believe this is what Jesus was saying to the rich young ruler. I believe Jesus recognized he was married to his possessions and his possessions only held him back from the life of more than he could ask or think.

The key word today in going to the next level is sell! These are the words of Jesus.

The only things Jesus said provide were bags! The correct interpretation for bags is money pouches! Sell what you have put it in the pouch! He said, bags which wax not old.

Then He continued by saying, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

Somebody said, “That treasure is in the heavens.”

Jesus said, It makes Him happy, it pleases Him, He gets pleasure out of giving you and me the treasure of the Kingdom. He longs to make a deposit in my account or in my bags.

The bag is for the here and now. Not for the sweet by and by.

We didn’t bring the bag in this world and we won't carry it out of this world!

It’s a NOW BAG!! God desires to make A supernatural deposit of money in your bag now.

What did Jesus call the rich man who thought he would build more barns for his fruit and stuff. Thou fool!!

We have surrounded ourselves with so much stuff, when the truth is, we’ve been deceived into thinking that life consists of having stuff! The more stuff I have the happier I’ll be. Not so!!

If that was true Sam Walton would have been the happiest man in the world and may have been very happy. Because He discovered the secret of the bag. Sell what you have!!

I’m planning a trip to the Holy Lands. How many would like to go with me? How about a ocean cruise? What about a trip to Hawaii? Would that make you happy?

Sure it would. But, the truth is once we get there all of our stuff is back here. Can we still be happy?

Why? Because life, happiness, joy and peace does not consist of having the abundance of stuff!

You can’t do what He did if you only have the time to keep on doing what you do. (taking care of your stuff.)

Remember condition your heart with good thoughts.

Don’t allow what you have to keep you from moving to the next level.

Put the rest in your bags to finance your future move into the next level of blessing.