What You See Is What You Get
Ge 30:37 Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. (NIV)
Ge 30:38 Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, (NIV)
Ge 30:39 they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. (NIV)
I have never seen this principle mentioned anywhere else. It appears that what you see, that is whatever comes into the eyegate, will work its way out in your life.
These cattle saw speckled sticks and conceived speckled children. What they saw was what they got!
We need to understand that the eye is a gate into the soul. What you put your eyes upon is what you will eventually obtain and what you will eventually become.
Temptation and sin enter through the eyes.
Ge 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (AV)
The lust of the eyes:
1Jo 2:16 For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (AV)
The Psalmist determined to keep his eyes pure:
Ps 101:3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; [it] shall not cleave to me. (AV)
Job even made a covenant concerning his eyes:
Job 31:1 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?
You need to be careful what you feed into your eyes.
Pr 22:9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor. (AV)
The principle here is that the sheep and cattle in our story reproduced what they saw. Their vision determined their fruit. Your vision, your focus, will determine the fruit of your life.
And your focus will determine the direction of your life. If you drive down the interstate reading all the billboards, sooner or later you'll drive right into one of those billboards. You will drive in the direction you are looking.
Prosperity Doctrine
There are teachings in Christian circles about confession and possession, prosperity and blessing, and these teaching contain an element of truth. Your words do have a significant bearing on what you receive and how things turn out. It is important to say the right things and to avoid negative speech and negative attitudes. We do possess the power to speak things into existence, and we need to start taking advantage of this power.
Mr 11:23 For verily I say unto you, 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. (AV)
Mr 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them]. (AV)
Mt 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this [which is done] to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. (AV)
Mt 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. (AV)
Answered prayer has a lot to do with your confession and your belief.
Ro 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (AV)
Salvation is contingent upon the confession of your lips and the belief in your heart.
I want you to begin to pray with the assurance that God cares, He is listening, and He will answer you. God wants you to have good things. He wants your needs to be met. God did not create you for mediocrity or poverty.
Greed
On the other hand, neither God create you for selfishness or greed.
I have this problem with the prosperity doctrine: it produces a lot of self-centered believers who think God owes them good times and good things.
Do you know why many prayers go unanswered?
Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume [it] upon your lusts. (AV)
Sometimes we don't get what we ask for because we ask for the wrong things.
Someone once asked, "If God is so good, how come you're not rich? If He answers prayer, how come you don't have everything you ask for?" My answer is that there are more important things than things.
Lu 12:13 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. (AV)
Lu 12:14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? (AV)
Lu 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. (AV)
This man had let material things come between him and his brother. Please hear me, relationships are more important than things. Don't fight over things. It would be better to lose things and keep relationships.
But, the point here is that the quality of your life is not measured by possessions or wealth. There is a deeper issue here.
I have a problem with the prosperity doctrine because it is too short-sighted. We are praying and believing for cars, money, and prosperity when we could be praying and believing for souls.
I may not be financially wealthy, but most of my family members are saved and serving Jesus.
What do you have in focus? What are you looking at? The principle is that you subconcious mind will aim toward whatever you focus on. It will look for ways to fulfill that vision.
The problem is that our vision is filled with worldly things. But worldly things will rust, inflate, and perish.
I want to challenge you today, to believe God for something worth believing for.
Ps 2:8 Ask of me, and I shall give [thee] the heathen [for] thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth [for] thy possession. (AV)
Let us understand that faith is a powerful tool for the believer. But it is not your personal "shopping spree" at God's expense. Rather, it is a tool for your walk with the Lord.
Use your faith to reach the lost. Use it to heal a hurting world. Use it to win your family and friends.