Biblical Prosperity
Let me start with a blanket statement: If you are not a Christian, seeking Gods will daily through Bible study and prayer, abiding in Him, serving Him, and living a righteous life of forgiveness, stop reading now, because that is who this is for, the prerequisite for even understanding this!
Are you financially blessed by God per Dt 8:18, that you can pay all your bills, tithe, give offerings, and bless others? Can you afford to attend all the runs your Christian motorcycle club makes, on your motorcycle, to further the ministry, and minister to the hurting? Are you able to bless another brother so he can too, per the scripture in 1 Tim 6:18? Can you afford to send your pastor to that out of state men’s conference this year, and maybe replace his threadbare shoes, and send him and his wife on a much needed romantic cruise, per the scripture in Phil 4:16 about blessing the man of God? Can you provide a good percentage of the funds for the food bank in your community for the next year, per the text of Prov 28:27? Does your wife have a few properties per Prov 31 that she can make a profit on, and sell them when the church has a need? Are there wealth and riches in your house per Psalms 112, so that you can afford to bless those of the household of God as it says in Gal 6:10?
If not, then you can see, God can enlarge our vision! Churches may serve the kingdom of God, but the light company doesn’t give them power for free! The ministry moves forward when God gives you money, and you direct the flow of money into earthly ministry! When the Bible teaches prosperity doctrine, it isn’t so you can save up for yourself treasures on earth (Matt 6:20) to spend on your lusts (James 4:3)! It is so you can use it to further the kingdom!
You are going to need to ENLARGE YOUR VISION if you are going to make a large impact in the kingdom of God! It’s not about you and your greed; it’s about the Will of God, and His Kingdom!!
People seem to be confused about what the Will of God is, and because they are confused, they stop seeking His will and living in it. It seems people feel the Will of God is something wishy washy and mushy, and that it changes all the time. Somehow, people think the Will of God might be that you are going to be sick, broke, busted and disgusted. However, the Will of God is clearly spelled out in the Bible. God wants you to be Happy, Rich, Healthy and Righteous! Let’s look at some scripture:
3 John 1:2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. That pretty well clears it up in one verse! The definition of prosper is: Succeed in material terms; be financially successful. That some Greek word is used in 1 Cor 16:2 in reference to tithes and offerings to the church, its talking about money in that scripture too! After he makes it clear that God wants you to have material joy, he makes it clear that God wants you to be in Good Health. Finally, he mentions your soul (Greek for the seat of the feelings, desires, affections, and aversions) should prosper as well, that means Happy! Its right there is the Bible! People want to give many churchy spiritual explanations that may sound good, and explain all that away as if the Bible doesn’t say God wants you to be wealthy, healthy and happy, BUT IT DOES! And it says it again, and again and again. Let’s look:
Psalm 112:1 Praise the LORD! How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who greatly delights in His commandments. 3 Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth forever.
Don’t let anyone tell you that it doesn’t mean exactly what it says! You do not need a degree in Bible study to understand God's Word clearly here! These scriptures go on and on. Read Deuteronomy 28 if you want to really understand how God wants to bless people.
Notice that each of these scriptures is very clearly in context of HOW YOU HAVE TO LIVE, and HOW YOU USE THE BLESSINGS. Go back and read the context of the scriptures, and we see that you have to fear God(also means RESPECT), and delight in His commandments, that means love reading and obeying the Word of God. You have these blessings, not for your selfish lusts, but to further the Kingdom of God!
So the question is, why don’t I have these things in my life? The answer is right in the Bible.
Love the Word! Psalm 112: I need to be someone who greatly delights in His commandments: that means read His word, and follow Gods instructions when He gives them to you.
Ask and Serve! James 4:2-3: You do not have because you do not ask, you ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it upon your lusts: We need to be using our blessing to serve God wherever we can! It is easy for God to bless His servant, we are blessed so that we can be a blessing to others! Look at Psalm 35:27, God takes Pleasure in the Prosperity of His servant!
Believe and Forgive! Mark 11:24“Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. 25“Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. 26[“But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]
When it comes to experiencing the Will of God, It’s a lot easier to say “It must not be the Lord’s will”, than to admit we are not walking in line with the Biblical context of these verses.
Experiencing the Lord’s will is rooted in seeking His voice and following His commandments.
In closing, God wants to bless you with health, wealth and joy. This is not to say that there may not be seasons of trials in our lives. Overall, it is up to you to get yourself into the spiritual condition that allows these promises of God to be active in your life. If you pursue God, His Will begins to happen to you. Ask, Believe, and Live Righteously: Then you can expect the Will of God in your life!
God Wants You to Prosper
3 John 1:2 That you prosper and be in health as your soul prospers
Heb 11:6: He rewards those who seek Him
Ps 1:1-3 Whatsoever he does will prosper
Ps 23:1 I shall not want
Ps 35:27 Pleasure in the Prosperity of His servant
Ps 73:25-26 the desires of your heart
Psalm 85:12 No good thing shall He withhold
2Chr 31:21 Working for the house of God
Pr28:13 He who covers his sin will not prosper
Deut 8:17-18 God gives us the power to get wealth
Prov 10:27 The blessing of the Lord brings wealth
Pr10:24 What the righteous desire will be granted
Deut 28:1-15
Psalm 112: Wealth and Riches
Prov 15:6 Much treasure in the house of the righteous
Psalm 75: 6 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. 7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
Prov 22: 22 The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
Job 36:7 He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings are they on the throne; yea, he doth establish them forever, and they are exalted. 8 And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction; 9 Then he sheweth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded. 10 He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity. 11 If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. 12 But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.
Psalm 35:27 The prosperity of His servant
Psalm 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
Prov 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
Deut 8: 18 But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, 10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. 11 Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God,
Job: 22:22 Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. 23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up; thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. 24 Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. 25 Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. 26 For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.
God takes care of needs already:
Mt 6:31 Take no thought
Phil 4:19 My God will meet all your needs
Ps 1:1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
Ps 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.
Ps 1:3 He will be like a tree {firmly} planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.
y the way, I am not talking out of theory or opinion here. I have literally received EVERYTHING I prayed for. I asked for a wife with several specific spiritual characteristics and received her. I prayed for a specific type of job, that I am not qualified for, I have no degree etc, I got it. I prayed for financial increase, and followed some biblical principals like tithing, sowing and diligence, and saw over $1k come to me a month almost immediately. Test Him now in this. Literally within a few years doubled my income. I planted a $1k seed at a church who was having a large annual offering, as I laid it down I asked God for a house down south, I was renting at the time and didn’t have the money at all. Three weeks later I was moved by my job to SC and given $7k to move. We received a home with $30k in equity, zero down, bad credit and all, with the 10 specific things we asked for, including a lot of land and a prayer room. I didn’t have a motorcycle for 7 years (study 7 and you will find it as a number of completion and renewal) and God gave both my wife and I nice bikes. I asked for a Christian MC and have one now, and im ministering in it.
Call this coincidence if you like. Ignore the hand of God in this story. But the Bible is true. If you study the poverty doctrine from the monks of the 1200s, you will find that they reacted against the greed of the church. Satan has used this poverty doctrine to great effect.
You see, if it was true that Deut 28 is no lie, it would change how we live. So, how would the devil try to fool you into thinking it was a lie?
Here is an interesting look at the beginning of the Poverty Doctrine, that attempts to take away Gods promise all throughout the scripture of an abundant life, and tell us that we cannot desire THINGS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostolic_poverty
God didn't make STUFF and MONEY for unbelievers! They just happen to be able to get it too, because of the fall of Adam. Stuff and Money are for people who are walking with God! God is not some weird tyrant that created all of this stuff, and then holds it away from us!!
Proverbs 13:22 ‘A sinners wealth is stored up for the righteous’
Proverbs 28:8 ‘He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor
Ecclesiastes 2:26 ‘To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God’