7 T RANSFORMATIVE P RINCIPLES F OR 2013 I Must Be Proactive I Must Begin With The End In Mind I Must Put First Things First I Must Go For The Win-Win I Must Seek To Understand, Then To Be Understood I Must Synergize With Others I Must Continue To Sharpen My Saw

2 K INGS 6: Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria. 25 There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels.

26 Then, as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!”27 And he said, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?” 28 Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 29 So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.”

II K INGS 7: Elisha said, “Listen! God’s word! The famine’s over. This time tomorrow food will be plentiful—a handful of meal for a shekel; two handfuls of grain for a shekel. The market at the city gate will be buzzing.

2 So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” And he said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”

I C OULD HAVE HAD A V8

2 K INGS 6: :1-16 Main Characters & Times Around 856 BC God Elisha (God’s Prophet) King Jehoram (Joram) of the Northern Kingdom of Israel King Ben-Hadad (King of the Syrians) Four Lepers…..

H OW MUCH WOULD YOU PAY FOR A Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich…? What if I could convince you that it was the last one on the face of the earth, and that there was no other food around… How much is it worth to you …. Now? Worth is in the “mindset” of the beholder….

S CARCITY VS. A BUNDANCE M INDSET Scarcity mindset people see life with “limited” lenses. They believe that there is “only so much” to life to enjoy (one pie) and when they see someone else taking what they perceive as a large slice of it, they are convinced that that means less for them… (Zero- Sum Paradigm of Life)… How happy are you with other peoples’ success while you are still waiting? Do you find yourself pulling away when others have good news or demeaning the validity of others…? Do you get threaten, and find it difficult to share credit, recognition, power or profit with others…? (What about me?)

W AS THERE A REAL FAMINE ? 2 Kings 6:25 There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels. The head on most animals were/are not usually eaten and in the Israelites case, it was unclean to do so, but because of the “famine”, what was usually discarded now was regarded and sold at a premium… $80 and a handful of seeds for more than $5.

H OW L OW W ILL W E G O ? 28 And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 29 So we boiled my son, and ate him. What has had happened in a mother’s mind when she has been convinced that she must sacrifice her child’s welfare for her own survival…?

T HIS FAMINE IS NOT “ REAL ” T HERE IS P LENTY OF G OOD F OOD ….. A famine is considered a condition where there is a scarcity of a necessity….. Vs… 23 Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. 2 Kings 7:8.. 8 And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also,

I D O N OT L IVE U NDER “F AMINE ” R ULES Psalms 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; 2 for he founded it upon the seasand established it upon the waters. 3 Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? ( Who get’s what they need/desires from this earth) 4He who has clean hands and a pure heart,who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. 5He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior. (It’s a condition of the mind not of circumstances or luck, or compromising)

A BUNDANCE MENTALITY – B Y T HIS T IME T OMORROW … This person believes that there is “plenty” out there for everybody, and pride themselves in finding Win/Win 7 Elisha said, “Listen! God’s word! The famine’s over. This time tomorrow food will be plentiful—a handful of meal for a shekel; two handfuls of grain for a shekel. The market at the city gate will be buzzing. The prophecy was not spooky or mystical, but practical because a plan was already in place to bring abundance immediately in the hands of those who were lacking… It’s not going to take long..

B Y T HIS T IME N EXT YEAR Success will be a common theme in your household… Abundance Will No Longer Surprise You You Will Be Looking For Opportunities To Bless Others.. You Will Look Forward To Challenges That Currently Frighten You…