No More Missing Out on All God Has for You
Gary Keesee • March 5, 2020
“Why aren’t you up there?” I (Gary) heard the Lord ask me as I sat in the audience watching the top 10 business owners get recognized onstage.
“What, Lord?” I thought. “I didn’t think I’d need to explain it to You! You know how busy I am with the ministry and pastoring now. You’re the One that called us to this! The business had to take a back seat.”
But before I had a chance to argue with Him, He said, “I want you up there. I want My name known.”
What?! It was already late February! Getting on that stage next year would mean doing $10 million in business, more than DOUBLE what we had done the last few years.
I had sat in that audience FOR 18 YEARS, perfectly content with just being on the trip. After all, I was already at capacity.
I had no idea how in the world we would get on that stage the next year. It looked impossible.
But God knew.
You might already know that long before Drenda and I started ministering and pastoring a church, we had started a financial services company. We’ve had that company now for about 37 years.
Through that company, we have a lot of different vendors we work with, and many of those companies offer reward programs for doing business with them.
Before we pastored, our business was a top producer for a lot of those vendors. In fact, for years, we were ranked number one out of the 5,000+ offices that offered the same types of services worldwide.
But then we started the church, and the business went on the back burner. Of course, we were perfectly fine with that. We were being obedient to God, launching a church, and homeschooling our five kids. I loved the new call of God on my life, and I had accepted the fact that our business wasn’t ranked number one anymore.
Over the years, there has been one vendor in particular that we worked with that had these conventions in great locations every year, and they would offer an expenses paid trip to the convention as a reward each year.
During those conventions, the company would always recognize the top 10 producing business owners from the previous year on stage. Those business owners would get a chance to share their stories, and they would each receive a $100,000 bonus check.
FOR 18 YEARS, I sat in the audience at those conventions just thankful to make the trip, because we were busy pastoring our church.
And then God asked me why I wasn’t up there on the stage.
You can be sure that His question rattled me. Sure, God wanted me on that stage, but I had no clue how it would happen. I was already at max capacity! I didn’t have the time or the energy to work toward that goal.
But God had bigger plans.
Because Drenda and I know anything is possible with God, we sowed a seed and believed God would show us exactly what to do to make it happen.
And He did.
It all started with a UNIQUE STRATEGY.
God gave me a dream in the night that showed me one small tweak to make in how we had been running our company.
But that small tweak—that UNIQUE STRATEGY—made a tremendous difference that year, and our company made the $10 million we needed to be in the top 10.
We got up on that stage and gave God all the glory.
GOD HAS A UNIQUE STRATEGY FOR YOU, TOO, FRIEND.
He wants to help you.
In Matthew 13:11, Jesus said the knowledge of the secrets, or mysteries, of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to US but not to them.
You aren’t supposed to just stumble through life hoping things will work out or sit in the audience watching everyone else get recognized when you could be making His name known.
God wants to show YOU the secrets, or mysteries, of the Kingdom so you can advance and win in life!
One of those secrets—a KEY secret, or mystery—is the POWER OF STRATEGY.
See, too often, we forget we’re in a spiritual battle, and we don’t take the spiritual adversary we have seriously. We’ve seen too many TV shows and cartoons that downplay the enemy to just some creepy guy with horns and a red cape. In fact, you wouldn’t believe the number of Christians who don’t believe Satan is real.
But he is. And so are his demons, and they don’t want to see you prosper and live the incredible life God has for you. This is the reason the Bible says Jesus spoke in parables—it was God’s unique strategy to keep things from the enemy.
Think about it. You have an enemy that wants to stop you dead in your tracks; that would love to keep YOU sitting in the audience of life (like me for 18 YEARS!) instead of making God’s name known and telling the world that He is the reason for your incredible success.
That’s why God uses UNIQUE STRATEGIES.
UNIQUE STRATEGIES from God are YOUR SECRET WEAPONS.
Friend, God has the answers you need. He wants to give you direction for your life. He wants to help you have the incredible life He’s designed for you. He wants to get you out of the audience!
YOU must step out in faith and trust Him to show you exactly what to do.
Let Him help you.
Ask Him to tell you what you need to do and where you need to go.
Ask Him what you need to tweak, or change, or adjust so YOU can go where He is calling YOU.
And just so you know in advance—a God-inspired strategy might seem foolish to your way of thinking. Just like I never would’ve thought that making one small tweak to a business process would help make a $6 million difference. Or how Peter probably never would’ve thought that he could get a coin out of the mouth of a fish…
“…go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”
—Matthew 17:27b (NLT)
How’s that for a UNIQUE STRATEGY? Have you ever heard of anyone else anywhere in the world catching a fish with money in its mouth?
That story shows us more than just how amazing Jesus is; it teaches us a critical lesson:
We have to be willing to listen and obey
when we get unusual instructions from God.
Granted, Jesus still had Peter catch a fish, which he clearly knew how to do as a professional fisherman. The enemy knew that. It wasn’t a big deal for Peter to be fishing. As far as the enemy was concerned, Peter was just going about his normal day.
But God was using a UNIQUE STRATEGY to meet their need.
God will do the same things for you that He did for Peter and for me!
YOU can get the exact answer you need exactly when you need it.
God knows where your provision is, and He wants you to have the answers you need!
He has hidden the secrets of His Kingdom FOR you, not FROM you.
Psalm 23 says God delights in preparing a table for you in the presence of your enemy. God uses UNIQUE STRATEGIES to advance His cause right under the enemy's nose. He loves that. (We do too. It makes for the best stories!)
And that’s how God wants to use YOU.
That’s how He used Drenda and me.
The devil never had a clue that I would someday be out of debt, let alone declaring the good news of the Kingdom in the area of money, or standing on a stage giving God the glory for our incredible, impossible-without-God success! Neither did I. But as we followed God and asked God to show us how to do things, everything changed!
YOU need YOUR UNIQUE STRATEGY from God.
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THERE IS SO MUCH MORE YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE POWER OF STRATEGY!
Understanding how God works undercover using THE POWER OF STRATEGY is one of the single GREATEST keys to your success and victory in life.
It’s critical that you understand this if you want to capture the opportunities God has for you.
That’s why we’ve created not just one, but TWO incredible Power of Strategy package options for you this month!
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God has your plan, friend! He wants you to have incredible stories of UNUSUAL STRATEGIES to share too!
Don’t wait another day. Get the Power of Strategy mentorship package that is right for YOU TODAY and see how the power of strategy can change your life!
Reading Time 4 mins 58 secs – Friend, I’ve been thinking a lot about identity lately. So many people are walking around without a clue about who they really are. They’re trying to find their identity in the world’s system, in what other people think, in how they look, in what they own—and they’re completely missing the revelation of who God created them to be. You Were Created with Intent Let me tell you something powerful: you are not here by accident! Before you were created in your mother’s womb, God knew you. He created you with intent, just like he did with Jeremiah. The word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” —Jeremiah 1:4–5 (NIV) Now, I believe this isn’t just about Jeremiah. I believe every single person was created with intent by God. He designed you specifically with your uniqueness in mind. If you have more than three or four kids, you know they’re all completely different even in the same household! As they get older, you begin to see their unique bends and talents that you had nothing to do with. That’s because God made them for certain things and put His design in them. It’s sad that most people never discover this because their life of survival holds them in places they were never intended to be. Your Uniqueness Defines Your Value Anyone who collects something knows that the uniqueness of an item dictates its value. But here’s the thing. It’s YOUR uniqueness that God put there to be seen. People want to fit in because they don’t know who they really are. Getting Back to Basics When we look at 1 Corinthians 3, we see Paul dealing with this exact topic. This new church in Corinth was worldly; they had no concept yet of who they were. They were baby Christians, still in spiritual diapers, yet they wanted to be grown up. They wanted to drive the tractor, be seen, and have identity. They were jostling for position, all fighting over spiritual gifts, all trying to judge who was more spiritual. Paul had to write this letter to give them wisdom. He said: Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. —1 Corinthians 3:1–3a (NIV) Friend, we have to go back to the basics. We've got to get this thing fixed. Finding Your Place in the Body In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul explains how the body of Christ works. The foot can’t say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body.” It would still be a foot no matter how much it decided it wanted to be a hand. Why? Because God made it a foot. The ear can’t say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body.” It was created as an ear with a very distinct purpose. Psalm 139 tells us: You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. ... My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place... Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. —Psalm 139:13–16 (NIV) Wow! The place where you’re going to end up has already been decided. All your days have already been ordained by God for your life. What you’re going to end up doing was written in His book before you were ever created. Discovering the Mystery of You It’s sad that so many people never discover themselves. You’ll hear me say many times that God will help you unravel the mystery of you to you. The world has raised us to bounce off the mirror: “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” And besides you in the mirror, there are a ton of comparisons. In Ephesians 4:11–13, we learn that Jesus gave the church five ministry offices: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers. Their purpose is “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith.” Here’s what’s important. These offices are not something you pick like a job opportunity. Jesus calls people to these offices. I know when I was called. I remember that day when I had the open vision and God spoke to me saying, “I’m calling you to preach My Word” three times. Standing in Your Place For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. —Romans 12:4–8 (NIV) I was obedient to what God called me to do. I am no better than you. I am just standing in the place God told me to stand. You need to stand in the place God told you to stand. If all of us stand in the right place, the body will function, and great things will happen. That’s only going to happen when you understand that your function is needed. It’s not a popularity contest. It’s by revelation, and you’re doing it as unto the Lord. Friend, it’s a great journey discovering who God created you to be. Don’t try to be someone else. Be exactly who God made you to be.
Reading Time 6 mins 30 secs – I’m constantly asked the same question as I travel around the country speaking to people: “Gary, what am I supposed to do with my life? What’s my purpose?” But I’m going to tell you something right now. That’s actually the wrong question to start with. See, before we can talk about what you’re supposed to do, we need to establish who you are . We live in a world that evaluates people by what they do, not who they are. That’s completely backward from God’s perspective! This broken thinking started back in the Garden when Adam lost his identity and purpose and became a survivalist. The Earth Curse System We Grew Up In God told Adam, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground.” —Genesis 3:17b–19a (NIV) I call this the “painful toil and sweat earth curse system.” That’s the system you and I grew up in. It creates a survivalist mentality instead of an assignment mentality. What’s the first question people ask in this system? “Where’s the money? Where’s the provision?” Adam had an original assignment—to represent God’s Kingdom on Earth and take care of God’s stuff. But he abandoned that created purpose and became a survivalist. And friend, we’ve all inherited that perverted view of life. We Need to Fix Your Identity First Now, here’s the thing. We have no business talking about your assignment or purpose until we get your identity fixed. Why? Because anything God has for you to do will be bigger than you! It’ll take more money than you have and more people than you know. It’ll take faith in God’s grace. As Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) says, “For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Our identity has been warped. Just like Adam covered himself with fig leaves, we try to cover ourselves with wealth, position, and the pride of life. We don’t want people to know the real us because we fear shame. The Prodigal Son’s Identity Crisis In Luke 15:11–24, Jesus told the story of the Prodigal Son. This is really a picture of what happened to Adam—leaving Father’s house full of provision and going to a place he thought was better, only to find it bankrupt. For the first time, this son had to be “hired.” Previously, he worked with his father in the family business. But then he had to take on an assignment that was disgusting to Jews—feeding pigs. He was totally out of position. When he finally came to his senses and returned home, what did he say? Luke 15:21 (NIV) tells us: “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’” He wanted to be made like one of his father’s hired servants. He didn’t understand who he really was! And even though the father restored him as a son, he carried this “I am not worthy” concept with him. Friend, this is what happens to us! When you feel unworthy, what do you want to do? Perform! You want to earn respect. You want people to acknowledge you’re worthy. And you perform for God. Even though we’re born again, even though we’re in Father’s house, we carry this survival mindset into our new life. And unless that is fixed, you’ll never be able to receive freely from God. Your Real Identity in Christ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. —Romans 8:28–29a (NIV) You’re a coheir with Christ—part of the family! What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? —Romans 8:31 (NIV) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. —Romans 8:37 (NIV) Those are powerful statements, but it’s problematic because most people aren’t confident that God is actually for them. Religion has taught you that you’re nothing but a worm crawling in the dust. But that’s not what the Bible says! Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” —2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. —Romans 6:6–7 (NIV) You’re not a measly sinner who can’t stop sinning. You’re free from sin! Created with Divine Intent The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” —Jeremiah 1:4–5 (NIV) I believe this applies to every person. Before you were created in your mother’s womb, God created you with intent. You’re not here by accident! If you have multiple children, you know they’re all different, even in the same household. Why? Because God made them for certain things and put His design in them. Unfortunately, most people never discover that because their life of survival holds them in places they were never intended to be at. You are extremely unique! So why is everyone trying to be like everyone else? Because no one knows who they really are. Your Unique Function in the Body For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. —Romans 12:4–5 (NIV) I’m not a pastor because I chose to be. I was obedient to what God said. And I’m no better than you are. I’m just standing in the place God told me to stand. You need to stand in the place God told you to stand. If all of us stand in the right place, the body will function and great things will happen! But that’s only going to happen when you understand that your function is needed. Ready for Your Mission? So, friend, before you ask what you’re supposed to do, make sure you know who you are in Christ. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. —1 Peter 2:9 (NIV) Until you’re absolutely convinced of your identity, we don’t need to be talking about facing your Goliath. Your Goliath knows who he is. You have to know who you are! Your purpose isn’t a career choice. It comes by revelation. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. —Proverbs 19:21 (NIV) Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. —Psalm 139:16 (NIV) Only the Creator knows why something was built. Only God knows exactly why He created you and what He designed you to accomplish. Are you ready to discover your true mission? It starts with understanding your real identity in Christ. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. —Philippians 3:14 (NIV) When you do, you’ll stop trying to survive and start thriving in your God-given purpose! Remember John 10:10b (NIV) where Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Reading Time 3 mins 8 secs – Let me ask you something. Are you truly concerned about God’s business? Or are you more focused on your own? That might be a tough question, but it’s one we all have to answer at some point. The truth is, when we align our lives with God’s agenda, everything else begins to fall into place. Jesus made it clear in Luke 2:49 (NKJV) when He said, “Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” He was focused. He understood that His life was about fulfilling a divine purpose, not just going through the motions of everyday existence. And guess what? The same applies to you and me. God’s Business First A lot of people are trying to build their own lives, solve their own problems, and make their own way—only to end up frustrated, tired, and lacking. But Matthew 6:33 (NIV) gives us a powerful principle: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” That means if we take care of God’s business, He’ll take care of ours. I’ve seen this firsthand in my own life and in the lives of countless others. When we align our time, energy, and resources with what God is doing, He ensures that we never lack what we need. Provision follows purpose. Philippians 4:19 (NIV) reminds us, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” When we prioritize His business, He supplies all we need. What Does It Mean to Be About God’s Business? Being about God’s business isn’t just about working in ministry. It means bringing Kingdom principles into everything we do—our careers, our families, our finances, and even our daily conversations. It means: Using your talents and skills to make an impact for God’s Kingdom : “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Colossians 3:23, NIV). Handling your finances according to His Word, not just worldly wisdom : “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9–10, NIV). Being led by the Holy Spirit in decision-making, rather than reacting to circumstances : “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (Romans 8:14, NIV). Viewing your work as a mission field, wherever you are. Stepping into Your Kingdom Assignment Too often, people are waiting for God to bless them before they take action. But that’s backward! When you step into your Kingdom assignment—when you take that step of faith and prioritize what God is doing—then provision, opportunities, and success start flowing your way. That’s how the Kingdom works. James 2:17b (NIV) tells us, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” God has called you to make a difference, to live with purpose, and to operate in the blessings of the Kingdom. But it starts with a choice: Will you focus on His business, or will you continue trying to figure things out on your own? Make the Shift Today If you’ve been struggling, feeling stuck, or wondering why things aren’t working, take a moment to check your focus. Are you aligned with God’s business? Are you seeking His Kingdom first? Proverbs 16:3 (NIV) encourages us, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” When you trust Him and put Him first, He will lead you to success. I challenge you today: Make the shift. Start putting God’s agenda before your own, and watch how He transforms every area of your life. His business is the best business to be in! Let’s go after it together! Watch the full message here: Are You Concerned About God's Business?