Author: Bob Nichols

Posted on

Giving Beyond The Tithe

(An excerpt from Pastor’s Book, “How to Make Your Life Count for God”)

I am sorry to tell you that I spent too many years in the ministry without understanding what giving to God was all about.  I knew tithing was right; my wife Joy and I both came from tithing families.  We knew that we needed to tithe, but any offerings above the tithe were a big, big deal.  At that time we did not have the full revelation of worshiping God with offerings above our tithe.  There we were, preaching the Gospel and wondering how we were going to pay our utility bills.  We were suffering from what I call financial friction.  Let me tell you Joy and I understand friction very well.  Friction means two back payments rubbing up against each other.  Friction is a symptom of poverty.  Poverty means not having enough.  We have probably all been there.  Your seed will meet your financial need and the harvest will affect your entire life.  Paul said, “…my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory” (Philippians 4:19 emphasis added).  We discovered your seed will meet more than your financial need.

I am not saying that the blessings of God can be bought.  However, I am amazed at the things that I have seen God do for people who give to Jesus.  He meets their need on every level of life.  Joy has said it more than once since our daughter has needed around the clock nursing care.  A gift has been given to us much greater than money could ever buy; in the precious caregivers that have given of their time to come and help.  We could have never orchestrated this on our own.  But God has supplied the need.  We are so grateful for the seed that is being sown by these precious caregivers.

There are people who prospered by giving tithes and offerings, but once their harvest started to come in they decided they stopped giving. They decided they did not need to give those tithes and offerings anymore.  That is a very dangerous position.  Whatever it took to get you blessed is what it is going to take to keep you blessed.  Everyone knows the only way an airliner can stay at thirty-thousand feet is to keep the power on.  If you turn the engines off you will be able to glide for a little but eventually you will crash into the ground.  In the same way if you stop sowing seed you will cut off your harvest.

The harvest that your seed produces is more than money.  You may have a need that cannot be met by money.  You may need a physical healing, help in a marriage relationship, or your children may have needs.  Your giving is not just for you as an individual; you are planting seeds for your children and grandchildren.  Sure, you will get blessed in the process but that is not the end of it.  I am planting seeds for all of my family.  It is not just about Joy and me.  I plant seeds on a regular basis for my grandchildren and great grandchildren.  They will never have to look back and say, “Granddaddy was tight with God.”  I want my family to know that Joy and I were givers to God.  I want them to know that we did not stop giving once our financial situation was better.  Giving and believing God for a harvest is a way of life for us.

Posted on

Passion for Purity

(An excerpt from Pastor’s Book, “How to Make Your Life Count for God”)

It is important to obey God and live a pure life in order to fulfill God’s plan.  Because of this, I want to live clean and pure.  The further I go in the ministry purity becomes more of a passion with me.  I have come too far to throw away my reputation.  I want to do the right thing.  I want to be a pastor that my congregation does not have to be ashamed of.  I want my faith to be an example that others can look to.  Keep the stream of faith pure.  Faith will always require obedience and sometimes the people around you will not understand you.  Sometimes members of your own family will criticize you.  If you are going to make your life count for God you cannot let what other people say deter you from being obedient to the voice of God.

There are some other things that I think God wants us to see.  In Mark’s account Jesus says, “She hath done what she could.” Notice that Jesus did not rebuke her.  Jesus will never ask you to do what you cannot do.  That might have been her only valuable possession.  The ointment was precious to her but she decided to give it.  When you cannot do everything you want to do, doing what you can is a powerful principle.

How do you really make your life count for God?  There are people of great wealth who say, “Well I will build a hospital or a library and they will put my name on it.”  That is admirable.  There is nothing wrong with that, but that is not how you make your life count for God.  People build these monuments to themselves so that they will be remembered.  In the Kingdom of God it is not so much what you get, but what you give that makes your life count for God.

If it had been me I might have looked at the expensive ointment said, “God is not asking you to do that.”  Believe me, you do not know how many times I have said things like that, when people took a step of sacrificial giving.  Many years ago there was a woman who went to our church here in Fort Worth who did a similar thing. Her deceased husband had left her a small pension from his work for the railroad which included a few benefits. She was a dedicated member of the church, a consistent tither, and a generous giver. One day she came in and handed me an offering of several thousand dollars, something that she had never done before. “This is my entire savings account, pastor,” she told me. I had an idea of how much she made with her pension. It would have taken her a couple of years to save up for an offering of this size. I would never encourage anyone to give away their savings, unless they are directed by God.  I would think this type of giving would be foolhardy without God’s direction.

“Now sister, this is just too much! You don’t need to give this.” I told her, but she was not moved. She looked me square in the eye and said, “Bob Nichols, you take this offering. You have been teaching about giving and I want to give this as a seed.” See, this is the attitude of people who are operating by faith in their giving. They are not moved by what anyone says to them. So I took the offering, believing that she would receive a harvest.

A couple of weeks later she testified that someone had asked if she was aware of some unpublicized pension benefits.  He informed her that she would have to sign up for them or they would be lost. This was the first that she had heard of it.  She signed up and received double the amount of money per month than she had been receiving! When you sow a seed in faith the result is a harvest of multiplication!

One day the woman with the alabaster box said, “I do not care what anybody says, it belongs to me and I am going to give it to Jesus.”  She did not bring a sick lamb or a lame donkey, she brought the most expensive thing she had.  She did not ask anybody about it because it would not have been their business anyway. So, she broke that alabaster box and poured the ointment on Jesus.  The moment she did, all monetary value was gone.  It was not coming back and that is why the world said it was a waste.  They said, if you wanted to do something noble, you could have sold that and given the money to the poor.

Jesus went on to say something else.  “Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her”(Matthew 26:13). This woman’s gift became international.  Her worship and giving were actually recorded in God’s Word.  When Jesus said, “Verily” he meant that you can count on it.  Even today the story of this gift is preached all over the world.

Posted on

Winning with God

“If you can win in the wilderness, you can win anywhere.”

1Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. 3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Matthew 4:1-11

The wilderness can be a scary place. The literal wilderness can mean darkness, danger and possible death if you are lost. Unless you have had special training, the wilderness can be a place where there aren’t a lot of resources for you to help yourself. You need outside help to find your way home. God has a history of delivering people from both the literal and spiritual wildness. His power is great no matter the circumstances. God has given us His Word as a sword – a weapon of warfare and deliverance. Jesus, our example, overcame temptation by using the scriptures. We should do the same!

Victory Action

Following Jesus’ example, I will use The Word and win over all, even in the wilderness.

Posted on

Taking Your Temperature

“The tongue is the thermometer of your spirit.”

  26If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.  

James 1:26

 35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.  36But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  37For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.  

Matthew 12:35-37

39 I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.

Psalm 39:1

172 My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.

Psalm 119:172

Whatever people talk about the most is what they are focused on most of the time. What we read, watch or listen to will eventually show up in our conversation. You don’t have to talk to someone too long before you start to understand where they are spiritually. Our words betray us. Especially when we are under pressure from circumstances. If your meditation is on God’s Word then that is what will come out of you when you speak. The Bible says, life and death are in the power of the tongue. So it is very important to your life the words you say. Speak life!

Victory Action

I will fill my spirit with the things of God, so when under pressure, my words will be God’s words.

Posted on

Lips of the Righteous

“You are snared by the words of your mouth, so say words that you want to get snared with you.”

 2Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.  Proverbs 6:2

 20The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.  21The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.  

Proverbs 10:20-21

35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

Matthew 12:35

Snared means to be trapped. Your words can trip you, what you say can cause you to stumble, and it can keep you from your potential. Don’t set the limits for your life with your words. Fill your heart and your mouth with scripture and release the unlimited power of God in your life.

 Victory Action

I will allow the Holy Spirit to convict me of my negative words. I will listen and change what I say so that it lines up with Scripture. I will walk in the victory that God has for me!

Posted on

Abundance of the Heart

“What you really believe in your heart will eventually come out of your mouth.”

34O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.  35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 

Matthew 12:34-35

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;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.10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:8-10

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm, impenetrable] Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19:14 AMPC

 Victory Action

I will store the good treasure of God’s Word in my heart and speak it forth from my mouth.

Posted on

Bible Faith

“Victorious Bible faith sees and speaks before it actually receives the manifestation of the thing desired.”

22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.  23For 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.  24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 

Mark 11:22-24

11 Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, [a]the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

Hebrews 11:1 AMPC

13-15 We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, “I believed it, so I said it,” we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!

2 Corinthians 4:13-15 MSG

25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Romans 8:25

At creation God used faith filled words to create everything we see today. He said, “light be”, and light was. If God had looked out and said, “Wow, it is dark in here”, it would still be dark in here! But His words were faith words that had the power of creation in them. Our words, when based on scripture, have that same power in them. He gave us this is the pattern so we could use our faith and our words to bring His will to pass in our lives.

 Victory Action

I will see and say what God has for me, then wait patiently for it to manifest.

Posted on

Prayer and Confession

“You have to pray it before you say it!”

14And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:  15And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

I John 5:14-15

 23For 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.  24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 

Mark 11:23-24

If you are wondering why your prayers aren’t answered – then you need to examine what you are praying and what you are saying. God is faithful and He does answer prayer but He also gave His Word so we would know what to pray for. God’s Word is our standard for life and it outlines God’s will for our lives. The Bible tells us what God has provided for us. It tells us what Jesus won for us when He died on the cross. It should be the foundation of what we are praying and what we are saying. When you find a promise in the Bible, apply that to your life through prayer. Then no matter the circumstance stick to it! Keep saying what God says about your life. Not what you see now. God confirms His Word with signs following. (Mark 16:20)

Victory Action

I will go to God for the keys before I put my mouth in gear.

Posted on

A Way of Escape

“Your shout is your way out.”

Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. 

Psalm 32:11

 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.  

Joshua 6:20

I will be glad and shout in triumph. I will sing praise to your exalted name, O Most High.

Psalm 9:2 TPT

Have you ever felt trapped by your circumstances and couldn’t see any way out? You need a new perspective. God’s perspective to be exact! God has provided a way of escape. But as long as you sit there and complain about those circumstances you are going to stay right there. Instead it is time to stand up spiritually and shout in triumph. It is time to release your faith and proclaim you are the victor over the circumstance, not the victim of it. Use your voice to declare for a decree what God’s Word says about your life. Things will not change until you change. Change what you say and watch the circumstances around you begin to move.

Victory Action

I will praise God for His power to deliver me from any negative situation.

Posted on

Jesus has the Answers

“Keep your eyes on Jesus, not people, for answered prayers.”

25And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,  26And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,  27When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.  28For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.  29And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

Mark 5:25-29

2 We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation[a] onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection.[b] His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his,[c] he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation,[d] and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!

Hebrews 12:2 TPT

Victory Action

God may choose to answer my prayer through people, but I will always look to Him as my source.