Do You Have a Scarcity or Abundance Mentality?

Well, thank you again, Art, and again, brethren, happy Sabbath to all of you.

Even the sun is coming out, which is always a good thing on God's Sabbath day.

Well, today I'd like to continue our preparation for the Passover and the Spring Holy Days, and I'd like to follow up on a sermon I gave a couple of weeks ago on the law of the harvest.

If you haven't had a chance to listen to that, it ties in directly with my message today, so I encourage you to listen to it when you get an opportunity. It's available, of course, on the UCG site and also on our local YouTube channel as well. The law of the harvest is a very simple spiritual principle, and that is what you think about you eventually become.

What you sow, you will ultimately reap. Now, the harvest of the law of the harvest is the effect of our thinking. What I'd like to do today is I would like to go now backward to explain and discuss the source or the cause of human values, the cause of our thinking. And here's why that's so important. Our values lead us to how we think, and our thinking leads to our behavior, and our behavior leads down the road to a particular harvest that's going to duplicate what we think about and is going to duplicate our behavior. So it's important for us to know the foundation of two diametrically opposed approaches to life. On this Sabbath, I'd like to discuss the difference between having a scarcity mentality versus going through life having an abundance mentality.

Scarcity mentality versus an abundance mentality. The first time I came to understand the profound difference between the two was reading a book many years ago by the late Dr. Stephen Covey.

However, he didn't spend much time on it, and my purpose today is to focus on the spiritual aspect and comparing these two mindsets or mentalities. The best place to begin is in the beginning, because believe it or not, early in the book of Genesis is a metaphor about two different ways of life. These two mentalities, an abundance mentality or a scarcity mentality. So let's go back to the beginning. Genesis chapter 2, we'll pick it up in verse 7, and we'll begin to see this very powerful opposing approach to life and how it's revealed in two different value systems.

And as human beings, we've acquired one of those value systems or another one of those value systems, or maybe a mixture of the two, which is the case for many of us. Genesis chapter 2, beginning in verse 7. Let's read it. It says, in the Lord God formed man of the dust to the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. God is very giving, isn't he? That was free. The gift of life is free. We didn't pay for it. We didn't deserve it.

We just came one day into a sense of consciousness and we're here. That was a free gift from God.

And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden. The garden was given free. Adam and Eve didn't do anything to earn that garden. They didn't work that garden to make it happen. God planted it, and it was already there, and it was a given as a gift from him that was already free. And there he put a man in whom he had formed, and out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. So there were a number of trees, fruit trees, that were all given as pleasant to the sight and good for food. But aside all these other trees, there are two trees that are given special notice, and we read about that in the later part here, verse 9.

The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You see, the tree of life is free. Even eternal life is given by the grace of God.

It's a gift. We call it the gift of eternal life, and it's free, given by a giving God whom we will see has an abundance mentality. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, there's a terrible price to be paid for that. That price is called sin. It's called pain. It's called ouch.

It's called misery, because though there's some good mixed in, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is good and evil mixed in, there's a lot of suffering. There's a lot of pain. There's a price to be paid physically and emotionally when you partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is not free. We pay, and we pay dearly for that knowledge.

The creation of humankind is a historical fact, yet the two literal trees, these trees that we've just discussed, are also metaphors representing two opposing value systems, two different mindsets that would exist. Sometimes in the past, in the church, we've referred this as the way of give and the way of get, and that's very true, but I want to go in more detail today than just something as simple as the way of give and the way of get. The tree of life represented an abundance mindset, whereas the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represented a scarcity mindset. So that's the difference between the two. Adam and Eve chose to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and humanity has also chosen that path. As we'll see in the sermon today, our governments, our organizations, to a large degree, even our families, our churches, even our sports, are a result of partaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Our warped human cultures are a living example of the consequences of living with a scarcity mentality. So let's start to examine these more closely, these two values, and we're going to begin with a scarcity mindset, represented here again by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So what is it? What is a scarcity mindset or a scarcity mentality? In its simplest forms, it is a belief that there will never be enough, whether it's money or food or love or praise or prestige or control or virtually anything else, as a result, there virtually is a lack. And a person who has a scarcity mindset sees lack everywhere. Have you ever seen that old metaphor? And I know it's tired and we use it a lot of a glass half full or half empty. Is the glass half full or half empty? The answer is yes.

The glass is half full. That is reality. It is half full. Yet that glass is half empty.

It's reality. Indeed, that glass is half empty. And it all depends on our perspective and how we view it. So I'd like to talk about this today because as a result of a scarcity mentality, the actions and thoughts of people who have a scarcity mindset place emphasis on lack.

They see life as having only so much as though there's only one pie out there. And if someone gets a big piece of the pie, it means less for someone else, including themselves. Within this mentality is the belief that when others acquire something like material blessings, influence, praise, or success, that they somehow have been denied something. Someone else who gains something, they view it as a personal loss when someone else is rewarded or gains something. Let's take a look here in chapter 3 here in Genesis, verse 4, and see how the serpent played along here.

Adam and Eve were happy up until this point, but now the serpent is going to remind them that things are scarce. God has more than they have. God, he's not really telling you the whole story. God is holding back on you. God has a bigger piece of the pie, and you're being denied.

And this is all part of a scarcity mentality. Then the serpent said to the woman, you will not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God. God has too big of the piece of the pie, and that's being taken away from you. God's not fair. The Creator is limiting your knowledge. He's limiting your opportunities.

He's actually holding you back. People with a scarcity mentality have a very difficult time sharing or giving recognition and credit to others because they look upon it as a personal loss.

There's only so much praise that can be offered in their minds. There's only so much recognition available. There's only so much wealth available, and if someone else gets some of it, then they have been deprived of their share or a greater share. And that's the problem.

The scarcity mindset revolves around the idea that there simply isn't enough to go around.

Everything in that mindset is of short supply. There can only be one leader, only one decision maker, only one successful person, only one group of people with money. There can only be one group or person who gets something. Everyone else can't have it. The scarcity mentality is characterized by anxiety and fear. This mindset is why humans have repeated wars and why we have so much violence in the world. One nation says, you have a piece of land that I don't have. You have mineral rights that I don't have, and I want that. You have waterways, and I'd like to have those waterways.

You have too, being of a piece of the pie, and I'm being denied. So it's that attitude of scarcity that even causes human wars. With this mindset, you question if you have enough, and you're afraid that someone else will take away what you have. If someone else achieves something, you feel that you've been lost, that you've been devalued, that you're underappreciated. Therefore, you have this sense of suspicion and caution, and you're always on your guard. Let's go to Ezekiel chapter 28 if you'll turn there with me. The scarcity mindset always focuses on the extreme short term of every decision. How can I get mine now? How can I get an advantage over others? How can I get for nothing what other people have to work for and struggle to get? So we're going to go right back now and see the prehistory of the serpent in an earlier era, before he was known as the serpent, as explained there in Genesis. He was an archangel. He was an anointed carob who literally was serving God at his throne. And we're going to see what happened to him because his mindset changed from the way that he was created, which was an abundant mindset, because that's what God has, as we'll see clearly in a few minutes, and it changed into a scarcity mindset. So let's read about this. Ezekiel chapter 28 beginning in verse 12. Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre and say to him, thus says the Lord God, and of course this goes beyond just a lamentation for an actual human king. It's talking about an anointed carob, a spiritual being. This is the story of how he began to flip, how he began to change from being an obedient servant of God into something else. You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect and beauty.

You were an Eden, the garden of God, and indeed later on as a serpent, he will be an Eden. Every precious stone was your covering, the sardus, the topaz, the diamond, the bural, the onyx, the jasper, the sapphire, the turquoise, and emerald with gold. So look at all the precious stones he's surrounded with. Does anyone here have all of those precious stones in your home? I've got cubic zirconium and gold spray paint on some of my jewelry, so I'm not quite there yet. I'm still working on gathering these things. Continuing, the workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day that you were created, even very musical, very gifted. You were the anointed carob who covers, I established you. God says everything you had was a gift. I gave it to you. I made you powerful and beautiful and talented, and all of these things I gave you as a gift.

I established you. You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of the fiery stones, the very throne of God, serving God directly one-on-one. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, until aniquity was found in you. We're reading here of a very gifted and powerful being who was created to directly serve God at his very throne. And for a time, he served very well, until his mindset began to change. Something happened to his value system, and he changed from sharing an abundance mindset like God has into having a scarcity mentality. Suddenly, having wisdom and beauty and wealth and power next to God was no longer enough.

Since God had these things and more, this anointed carob felt denied. Someone else has too big of a piece of the pie. It's as if glory is limited. It's as if power is limited. It's as if talent is limited. So you've got to be very suspicious. You've got to be very envious of someone who also has some of the things that you have. Again, he felt denied, lacking in power. And this began the work inside his thinking process, and it changed him.

So let's see what happened. We're now going to go to Isaiah 14. Take a look at another scripture here and see what was the result of this thinking that's going on in his mind as he is being transformed in a negative way from an abundance mindset like God has to a scarcity mindset. Isaiah chapter 14 and verse 12, if you will kindly turn there with me.

Here he's actually given a name. Instead of being just referred to as the anointed carob who covers, who was an Eden, now he's being given a name in Hebrew, which was his original title, which he was created. How are you fallen from heaven? O Lucifer. And it's the Hebrew word haleel, and it means morning star, son of the morning.

How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations. Now this is a beautiful scripture because it not only describes what happens to Lucifer as he becomes Satan, but ultimately it's also a prophecy about a time when Jesus Christ is going to return, and this being is going to be put in a spiritual prison and be impotent and weak. And you know what people will say in the kingdom of God when they look and they see this pathetic being trapped in this spiritual prison?

They'll say, this was the god of the world. This was the god that manipulated the nations. This being here was so powerful that people trembled and were used by him. He was the originator of sin and evil. This! This weak, powerless little thing. That's what they'll say. Let's read about it. O Lucifer, son of the morning, how are you cut down to the ground who weakened the nations? For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven.

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I want to be as high as God is. I want to be higher than the other angels. The stars of God refer to the other angels within God's spiritual galaxy. I want to be number one. They have glory. Some are higher than I am, and that's not fair.

They have a bigger piece of the pie than I have. Therefore, I want to exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit on the mount of the congregation. I want to be above everyone else.

I want to be in the mountaintop. On the farthest sides of the north, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High. Why should God have a big piece of the pie? This is the reasoning that this being has, this Lucifer. This Lucifer says, there's only so much glory, and I'm not getting enough of it. There's only so much beauty, so much power, so much influence, so much prestige, and I'm not getting my share. And this begins to work in his mind.

Yet, here, beginning the prophecy about the future of this being in verse 15, yet you shall be brought down to shoal. You're going to be brought down to the earth, just that old ball, cloned as earth, to the lowest depth of the pit. Those who see you will gaze at you and consider you saying, is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook nations? This being, powerless now, useless, a nobody, a nothing.

This is what put terror in the nations of the world for 6,000 years. That's what they'll say. Here's what the Scofield Bible notes say about these verses. Verses 12 through 14 evidently refer to Satan, who as the prince of this world system is the real, though unseen, ruler of successive world powers. Tyre, Babylon, Mediopurgea, Greece, Rome, etc., continuing. They say the morning star can be none other than Satan.

This significant passage points back to the beginning of sin in the universe when Satan said, I will sin began. I'm not getting my fair share. Therefore, I will rise. I'll get what's coming to me. I'm tired of this scarcity. I want abundance. I want it all. I want everyone else's peace of the pie. I want you to notice the changed mindset here of Lucifer, who had been given wisdom and beauty and wealth and power next to God as a gift. He had been given it by a gracious and a loving God, but it was no longer enough for him. If God was higher or more exalted than Lucifer felt denied. He felt appreciated. In his thinking, God and other angelic beings have glory, and the fact that they had glory diminished what he could have. What is that? That's a scarcity mentality. Think of some other scriptures, examples of scriptures, in which it is revealed that people or nations or individuals had a scarcity mentality. I'd be a good Bible study, and I could use the next hour giving you many, many examples, but I don't have time to do that. I'll just mention a few.

For example, in the parable of the talents, did the man who buried his one talent have a scarcity or an abundance mindset? He had a scarcity mindset. He was afraid. Why? This talent, this is precious.

What? Aren't there lots of other talents out there? Sure there were, but in his mindset, it was scarcity, and he was afraid, and he buried that one talent. How about the young man who turned down a discipleship? Because Jesus stated in Matthew 19, he said, if you want to be perfect, go and sell what you have and give to the poor, and you'll have treasure in heaven. Did this young man have a scarcity or an abundance mindset? He had a scarcity mindset. Why? I'd have to give up some wealth. There's only so much wealth in the world. I'm a wealthy young man. I'm being asked to go and give my wealth to the poor. Scarcity. Limited thinking. How about the nine out of ten lepers whom Jesus healed in Luke chapter 17, and nine out of the ten whom he healed did not return to thank him for healing them? Only one leper out of the ten came back after he was healed and thanked Jesus Christ. So the nine out of ten, did they have a scarcity or an abundance mindset? In a nutshell, this is the foundation of what our world and its cultures are built upon today. Our governments, our human organizations are founded upon the values and the principles of a scarcity mentality, all reflected by that beautiful metaphor of that literal tree in the Garden of Eden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of which Adam and Eve partook of, and their children and their descendants and all. Humanity has been living by and reflecting since that time. Because everything in our world is perceived through lack and scarcity, you see things like autocratic command and control structures in families, in businesses, in governments, in churches, in community groups, even many of our sports. Whenever you have a mindset of scarcity, you will always find a few who desire to control everything because they believe that talent is scarce. Therefore, I have to control it. Money is scarce. I have to hold it. Prestige is scarce. I have to grab onto that and cling to it because the pie isn't big enough in their minds. They become an elite who believe that power and money and talent and prestige naturally belong to them because there are not enough of these qualities to share with others. And if they are shared with others, then they feel robbed. They feel diminished. Let's take a look at an example where Jesus, in the same scriptures, Jesus demonstrates an abundance mindset, and at the same time, same event, one of his disciples demonstrates a scarcity mindset. Let's take a look at that. If you'll turn with me, we will go to John chapter 12 and begin in verse 1. John chapter 12, and we're going to begin in verse 1.

Two diametrically opposed values in the same story.

John chapter 12, beginning in verse 1. And six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus, who had been dead, whom he had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenerd, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Everyone can smell this beautiful aroma of this oil through this symbolic funeral ritual that she just did for Jesus Christ.

Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, and of course we know where he's leading to, we know what he's going to do, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray him, said, why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? This he said not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and he had the money box and he used to take what was put in it, but Jesus said, let her alone. She has kept this for my day of burial. For the poor you have with you always, but me you do not have always. So here in the same scripture, Jesus praises the action of Mary. You know something? There's plenty of fragrant oil in the world, isn't there?

This was a very special occasion. She was honoring the Christ and Jesus is saying, you know what?

You can help the poor out tomorrow and you should, and next week and you should, and next year you should, because in a world of scarcity and a world of scarcity mentality, you will always have poor people. As a result of that, he says, but the Savior you only have with you for a short period of time. It wouldn't be long before he was martyred. Now, on the other hand, Judas has an envy problem.

He's envious of others. He's a selfish thief. He wants to control the money. He's a hypocrite. He pretends to care about the poor, but he just really wants to get his hands on more money.

If he had convinced them to give him that money, I can guarantee you it would have gone in the money box and the poor would have never seen it, but I'll bet he would have seen it. That's a scarcity mentality. Many of the works of the flesh mentioned in Galatians 5 generate from a scarcity mentality, including contentions and jealousies and outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy. These are all qualities mentioned in the works of the flesh.

An attitude of scarcity is selfish. It says to itself, it thinks, what can I do to get an advantage? What can I do to get it for free when other people have to work hard and pay the price?

How can I get more of everything and give little back in return? But there's a problem with that thinking. Here's the problem. When you sow scarcity, you know what you reap back? More scarcity.

When you think about that, when that is your mindset, when you behave in that way, the law of the harvest says you will reap what you sow. Now let's talk about the abundance mindset.

The abundance mentality, on the other hand, flows from a deep inner sense of personal worth and security that's given by God. There is no feeling of lack or entitlement when you have an abundance mindset. It's a perception that there's plenty of everything available and there's enough despair for everyone. A person with this mindset sees life as having abundance. And if there is a pie out there, if you want to use that analogy, they believe it's a huge pie, but maybe it's two pies. Maybe there's enough ingredients to make a hundred pies. That's how they view life. It results in the sharing of prestige, of recognition, of honor, of profits, of decision-making. But as valuable as that, it opens up possibilities. It opens up options, alternatives, creativity, that you will never experience, that you will never ever discover if you have a scarcity mindset.

Let's take a look at an example here and begin to see what kind of mindset Jesus Christ himself had. He's our role model. Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. Let's see what kind of mind was in Christ Jesus. John chapter 6 and verse 35. John chapter 6 and verse 35.

And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life, and he who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. What do you have to do? You only have to come to him. You have to repent of your sins. You only have to accept his shed blood and repent of your sins and receive God's Spirit. It doesn't matter what color you are. It doesn't matter what past religion you had.

It doesn't matter what language you speak. What matters is he who comes to me. That's what matters.

Verse 36. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me. And the one who comes to me I will by no means cast out, for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. Verse 39. This is the will of the Father who sent me that all he has given me I should lose nothing. That's abundance. Everyone, here's my goal, everyone whom the Father calls makes it in God's family, makes it into the kingdom of God. All that he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.

And this is the will of him who sent me that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day. Everyone! Doesn't matter who you are, what your background is, what part of earth you dwell on. Ultimately, whether you're called now or in the kingdom of God after the thousand years, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him should have everlasting life. Is that scarcity? Or is that abundance?

Brethren, that's an abundance mindset. So is Jesus reflecting on an abundance mindset here?

Of course he is. Obviously, his values and approach are abundant. What are some other things that he did or said that demonstrated an abundance attitude? Well, let's take a look at just a few things quickly. When Jesus fed thousands with just a few fish and a few loaves of bread, for example, in Luke 9, was that a scarcity or an abundance mindset? To take a few of something and multiply it so that thousands could be fed. Is that scarcity or is that abundance? When Christ told Peter to catch the first fish he could and pull a coin out of its mouth to pay the temple tax in Matthew chapter 17, was that scarcity? Or is that an example of an abundance mindset? When Jesus came to the synagogue ruler's house when every wooden was mourning the death of the little girl, the synagogue ruler's little girl, and Jesus said to those who were weeping, do not weep, she's not dead, but she's only sleeping. That's in Luke 8. Was that a scarcity mindset that Jesus Christ had or an abundant mindset that Jesus Christ had? Again, we could go on and on with examples of this throughout the New Testament where Jesus reflects oftentimes contrary to the culture, contrary to everyone else's expectations because they live with a scarcity mindset. He reflects an abundance mentality in everything that he does. This wasn't new for the being that became known as Jesus Christ because we'll read about what Paul says he did earlier in Philippians chapter 2 and verse 5. Turn there with me Philippians chapter 2 and verse 5. He says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation. There's no scarcity here. He doesn't say, wait a minute, for me to empty myself of glory of being with the Father to walk on earth as a human. I'm being robbed!

That's what a scarcity mindset, how immediately it would react. It's not fair! I'm giving up a piece of the pie! That's not what Jesus Christ is like. Did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond servant and coming in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man. He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. I'm going to read this from the New Century version, which I think adds a little bit more pizzazz to the original Greek. It says, in your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus. Christ himself was like God in everything, but he did not think that being equal with God was something to be used for his own benefit. Why? Because he thinks in abundance. He doesn't think short-term. He doesn't think about things being limited, that he's somehow taking a loss. He's volunteering for this position. Verse 7, continuing here, but he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born to be a man and became like a servant, and when he was living as a man, he humbled himself and was fully obedient to God, even when that caused his death. Death on a cross. So let me ask just a couple of questions here. Giving up equality with God, being willing to do that, does that show a scarcity or an abundance thinking? Obviously, it shows an abundance thinking, being willing to take a loss like that.

How about accepting a loss so that others can be forgiven and given an opportunity?

Is that scarcity or abundance thinking? How about living in humility rather than an attitude of entitlement, as is so common with human beings? Is that scarcity thinking? Or is that abundant thinking? You see, typically, the abundance mentality focuses on the long term. It involves a deep understanding that just because you don't get everything or something right now, it doesn't mean you won't have it later in even greater abundance. It looks at things long term, where a scarcity mindset looks everything from the short term. This mindset also tends to create positive feelings towards others. If you feel as though someone else's blessing is not taking away from anything that you have in your life or anything that you may receive, it becomes much, much easier to feel happy about that person's success. To give them praise, to be happy about them getting a new job or a home or a new car or a great relationship with another human being. You don't feel a sense of envy. You feel genuinely happy for them because you know that another person's blessing does not take away anything from you. Romans chapter 8 and verse 14. Let's continue in our quest here to see if Jesus Christ and God the Father have an abundance mindset or a scarcity mindset.

Romans chapter 8 and verse 14. Paul wrote, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you did not receive the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father, very dear, endearing Aramaic term, we cry out, Daddy, Papa, that's very close and intimate. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and if children then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, if we indeed suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together.

Brethren, God is expanding his family. He intends on sharing much of what he has with his adopted children. He's taking carnal human beings, he's forgiving them through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, he's transforming them from merely fleshly thinking into spirit, and he's giving away to them everything that he has, free.

So tell me, is that an abundance mindset, or is that a scarcity mindset?

Revelation chapter 21, let's turn there. Revelation 21 will begin in verse one, though this verse I want to focus on is verse seven when we get to it. Revelation chapter 21, verse one. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no more sea. He's talking about a time in the future after the thousand years are concluded. And then I, John, saw a new city, or the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, and I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. And, brethren, this is one reason why we continue to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. It's not done away as some silly ancient Hebrew festival. It pictures a time that this verse focuses on when God the Father himself will come to this earth and make it the capital of the universe and will tabernacle with men.

That's why we continue to observe and rejoice and celebrate in the Feast of Tabernacles.

And he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them, and be their God, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.

Then he who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. Then he said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. And he said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirst. And now, verse 7, He who overcome shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son or my child. What is God's desire? What's his plan? It is to have his spiritual children inherit all things. The Father and Jesus Christ are giving away the power and glory that they have to the children of God. Because they dwell in complete abundance and majesty, they don't feel like it will diminish their superiority or glory at all. They have an abundance mentality.

They're giving away what they have to you and to me, because they love us so much, because their value system is based on abundance, not on scarcity. So the last few minutes of the sermon today in closing, I'd like to contrast these two opposing views in modern terms. You could easily see the difference. Scripturally, if you'll go to Galatians 5 and contrast the works of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit, you'll see the difference between an abundance mindset and a scarcity mindset. But I'd like to put everything together. I'd like to pull it all together today, and in modern human terms in English, contrast the two to make sure that we fully comprehend and get the difference. Beginning with a scarcity mentality. A scarcity mentality is selfish. It's greedy. It perceives the world as everything is lacking. It's resentful of others. It's controlling.

It's competitive. It's suspicious. It is representative of carnal human thinking that was portrayed by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And most of humanity, our human cultures, have all been designed and constructed and operate under a scarcity mindset. An abundance mindset is service-oriented. It's generous. It's abundant. It sees opportunities everywhere.

It encourages other people. It's sharing, cooperative. It's trusting rather than suspicious. And it's composed of spiritual thinking. It's a transformation that is represented by that tree known in the book of Genesis as the tree of life. So in conclusion, I'd like to quickly give seven major contrasts between an abundant mentality and a scarcity mentality. And I hope this just kind of pulls together some of the things that I said today so that within our minds we can clearly see the difference. Number one, it's the difference between plenty and lack. Plenty and lack. Those with an abundant mentality believe there's plenty of everything in the world from material resources to love, to relationships, to personal growth, to opportunities. They believe that with God's help they can virtually do anything in time. They agree with the Apostle Paul who said in Philippians chapter 4 and verse 13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

That statement of Paul, is that a scarcity mindset or is that an abundance mindset?

Those with a lack mentality or have a mentality in which they see a lack everywhere prefer to believe that virtually everything is limited and is beyond their control. That gives us a reason to make lots of personal excuses why we can't do things, all as a reflection of a scarcity mindset.

So that number one, plenty versus lack. Number two, thinking big versus thinking small. Those with an abundant mindset are known for thinking big. A scarcity mindset creates limitations in the mind which prevents the creation of large, audacious goals, which even changes whether we think big or think small. Number three, being proactive or reactive because of a positive can-do attitude of those with an abundant mindset. They take a proactive approach to life.

Because of foresight, because they have a personal vision, they see problems early on and they make course corrections immediately. In contrast, those with a scarcity mindset wait for problems to happen and then they wait for them to fester a little bit and then they react to the problem instead of proactively dealing with the problem early on. Being proactive or reactive. The fourth contrast is learning versus being a know-it-all. An abundance mentality is passionate about lifelong learning and growth. They possess a never-ending thirst for knowledge and development of new skills and their own growth and development through the power of the Holy Spirit. In contrast, those with a scarcity mindset believe they know everything. Just ask them. No, don't. You don't even have to wait to ask them. They're just about to tell you. They'll have an opinion on everything, especially things that do not require an opinion. Number five, happiness versus resentment. Number five, happiness versus resentment. An individual with an abundance mentality is an optimist and they are genuinely happy with others when other people achieve success. Conversely, those with a scarcity mindset are competitive and they resent other people getting praise or material wealth or blessings of any kind because they look at life as some kind of competition. And even when they achieve something themselves, they're not satisfied very long because it's never ever really enough.

Number six, what is working and what is not working with an abundance mindset?

People are visionaries and they see the limitless possibilities in the world. Their focus in their daily lives is what is working. That's the difference. A person with a scarcity mindset thinks about negative things all day long and that develops within them a victim mentality and their daily focus is on what is not working. Rather than what is working, their focus is on what is not working and you know what? That negativity becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy in their lives because the law of the harvest says what you think about you eventually become. And then the seventh major contrast between an abundant mentality and a scarcity mentality, the number seven is embracing change versus fear of change. A person with an abundant mindset understands that change is necessary, that it is a natural part of life. It's baked in the human life constant change. If you don't believe me, just take a look at a picture of yourself seven years ago and you'll go, ahh! A person with an abundant mindset understands that change is necessary, it's a natural part of life, it's baked in. It's the way things are supposed to be. They embrace and they accept change. They know that change often leads to more positive outcomes, even if that change sometimes is challenging and difficult to endure, even if it's a trial. They know long term that they'll be better off for it. In contrast, those with a scarcity mindset are plagued by fear and suspicion. They'll spend time constantly complaining about change. Ah, another new rule, another new thought, another new idea. And they take a longer period of time to finally accept change, which is inevitable and baked into our lives. One final scripture today, Psalm chapter 36 and verse 7, if you'll turn there with me, our final scripture, Psalm chapter 36 and verse 7. I want to encourage all of us as we begin to think about the Passover this year and the days of Unleavened Bread, what can I do with the power of God's Holy Spirit to develop more of that mind of Christ and have an abundant mentality rather than a scarcity mentality? It's hard. The world is against us. The media pounds us all day scarcity, scarcity, scarcity. The business world scarcity, scarcity, scarcity. Our culture, every part of it, scarcity, scarcity. That's all it whines about.

That's all it thinks about. That's all that it emphasizes. So I'm telling you that it's an uphill battle, but if we want to develop the mind of Christ, we have to think differently. We have to understand that the positive seeds that we sow this coming year will come back to us as a harvest of goodness and righteousness the following year or the year after that because that's the way the law of the harvest works. Psalm chapter 36 and verse 7, how precious is your loving kindness, O God. Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of your house. Does the house of God lack anything? No.

It says that God's house is full. Do those who follow God in his loving kindness feel a lack in their lives? No. It says they are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of your house.

You give them drink from the rivers of your pleasures. God wants to give us the universe as a gift because he loves us, because he has an abundant mindset. Verse 9, for with you is the fountain of life. In your light we see light. You see, God's going to share his glory, his awesomeness, his majesty with us, and the greatness of his light will be reflected off of us as we are members of his family. Your light, in your light we see light. O continue your loving kindness to those who know you and your righteousness to the upright in heart. So in conclusion, I encourage you to think about the dramatic difference between these two opposing value systems that are reflected all the way back to the book of Genesis by the metaphor of those two trees. Choose life. Choose the tree of life.

Choose to live with an abundance mindset and mentality. Have a wonderful and fulfilling Sabbath day.