PROSPERITY is a biblical term. The word prosper or prosperity or prosperous is used 109 times in the Bible. Just because someone has misused or abused the biblical teaching of prosperity does not mean that we should ignore it. We are often guilty of "throwing the baby out with the bath water" when in comes to a reaction towards extremes. Just because someone used the message of biblical prosperity to be a "get-rich-quick scheme" or a "fund-raising scam" does not mean that it's not a biblically sound principle which is needed in the Body of Christ.
The truth is that the the church needs this message. Jesus apparently thought so. He spend a great deal of time talking about money and stewardship. Today we see families being ravished by the destructive forces of financial despair. If ever we needed sound doctrine on God's plan to prosper His people, it is now.
<<A Psalm of David.>> Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. (Psalms 103:1-5, KJV).
God is in the business of "redeeming our lives from destruction, crowning us with lovingkindness, satisfying our mouth with good things, so that our youth is renewed like the eagles."
When you can't take care of your children, provide for your household, pay your bills, there is a destruction working that needs to be overcome.
But prosperity is more than money. There are many, many people who have truckloads of money who are extremely poor; and there are many people who don't have a lot of money who are really very rich.
The Greek word translated prosper means literally "to help on one's way" and God wants to help you on your way. And if you are born again, you are literally "on your way" to heaven where the streets are made of gold and God will wipe away every tear. . . but meantime God wants to be directly involved in your life to help you along. He wants to be your senior business partner in life to help you grow in "wisdom and stature and favor with God and man." He will bless you, sir. He will bless you, maam. He will bless you teenager. He will bless you, child. Let God take your hand and be your ever present help in time of need.
Webster's dictionary states that prosper means 1. to succeed in an enterprise or activity, to achieve financial success 2. to become strong and flourishing, to cause to succeed or thrive. Success in life is not measured merely in dollars in cents but in terms of quality of life in every area-spiritual, mental, emotional, physical. . . in your family, on the job, in your business in your ministry. It comes from God's total blessing on your life in every area, beginning with the spiritual. That's why God's Word says:
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. (3 John 1:2, KJV).
So let your soul prosper in the things of God and enjoy His
blessings in your life. Put the Kingdom of God first and "all
these things" (the natural things you need) will be added
unto you.
Today, I want to talk about four enemies of prosperity. They are
laziness, mismanagement, debt and wrong thinking.
God does not bless laziness, whether it is in the spiritual or natural. Concerning spiritual things, God's word says that "he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6, KJV).
Concerning the natural things, he also requires diligence.
For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. (2 Thessalonians 3:10, KJV).
He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. (Proverbs 10:4, KJV).
There's one really good way to come out of a financial hole-work!
Some people have the idea that God's blessings are going to fall from heaven. No. God said he would bless the works of your hands.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Psalms 1:3, KJV).
He said "whatsoever he DOETH" shall prosper. It is necessary that we "doeth" something, so he can have something to prosper. Whether it's ministry, or a job or a business, work, and God will bless your efforts.
Like someone once said, God said he's bless your flocks and herds. . . but if you have no herds, he has nothing to bless. Your "herd" may be a home business or a job or a profession or a ministry, but whatever it is, work it and fully expect the God of heaven to bless you.
Some people give up and quit working because they say it's no use. The need is too great. But I've found that God will bless whatever effort you make. At one time we lived in a house that was heated entirely with wood Once I was nearly out of firewood. I didn't have a truck or a good chain saw, but I made up my mind to do what I could. I went to a friend's farm and began to cut. Pretty soon my friend came out into the woods with another saw and began to cut wood also. Later, his father came out with a huge dump truck. By the end of the day, I had nearly enough wood for the whole winter. God will take your little and make it great.
Another time I was down-and-out financially. My ministry was not supporting me. I was trying to get some meetings, but nothing was opening up. I went and got a job at a factory for $7 an hour. I figured I needed about twice that to support my family, since my wife, Susan, was in nursing school at the time. I don't know how we made it, but we did. I was there for three months and then a job opened up for me with a missions organization. Following that, a church opened up for me and I began to pastor again. I pastored that church, which was very small, but paid me quite generously. Then the Lord opened up a second church and I pastored two churches at once. When your down and out, go out and do something. God will bless your something.
One other thought: beware of "get-rich-quick schemes." Over the years, I have heard of far more heartache, pain and sorrow over these "too good to resist" promotions than any good that has come out of them. I've heard of people losing their savings, going into debt, ending up broken hearted because something sounded too good to resist. In reality it's "too good to be true." The fact is someone else is about to take advantage of your need. Like they say, "Make money the old fashioned way, earn it!"
While we are on the subject, many ministers of the Gospel fall prey to money-making schemes and get sidetracked from their callings. This is why I believe ministers should receive a good salary, so they don't have to be pulled into side deals in order to provide for themselves and their families. These "easy money" schemes, whether they work or not, can be a tremendous distraction to the minister with a call on his or her life.
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. (1 Timothy 6:9-11, KJV).
Don't love money, love God. . . and let him provide abundantly for your through the works of your hands in His creation.
The second enemy of prosperity is mismanagement or poor stewardship.
The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious. (Proverbs 12:27, KJV).
Waste not, want not, the old saying goes. Take care of what you have and you will have it to use again. Take care of your automobile, your tools, your clothes, the things that you use in daily life. Today we live in a throw-away society, and it keeps us broke. I have a pair of shoes that I wear all the time that is over ten years old. I've had them half-soled once or twice and repaired, but otherwise they are good as new. Understand me, I'm not saying we need to live with junk, but sometimes things are thrown away too soon.
Someone who does a lot of work with the poor told me of the great need for education. They said that many people think that the time to add oil to their automobile is when the red light goes on. Otherwise, everything is fine. If we don't take care of what we have, we will lose it. And that applies to relationships as well as material things.
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. (Proverbs 27:23, KJV).
Do you know the state of your flocks? Do you have a handle on your checkbook? Do you have a financial plan for your income? Or do you live from hand to mouth.
Many people are broke, not because they do not have enough income, but because they do not manage what they have properly.
Establish a budget. A budget is a plan or a guide for the spending your money. Many times you have to adapt from your budget, but the budget will give you a framework in which you can begin to manage your resources.
Set down and make a list of your bills and debts. Write down the amount that you owe, and how much you must pay each month. Make provision for your tithes and offerings. Put God first and He will open the windows of heaven. Think about how much you will need for the other areas, such as food, gas, entertainment, etc. Write it down. From this you can develop a plan to manage your finances.
If you have a handle on how much you need to "make ends meet," it will keep you from spending foolishly and getting yourself into a position where you cannot meet your obligations. Start thinking about saving money instead of borrowing it.
The advertising looks so good, "no money down, 6 months, no interest, etc." but when you can't pay the bill at the end of six months, it's 25 percent interest, and you go further in the hole.
If you are led by emotions, feelings and fleshly desires, you can end up digging yourself a very deep hole, and "piercing your self through with many sorrows."
Debt
I am convinced that debt is robbing many Christians of their joy, victory and success in life. We live in a society that promotes a borrowing mentality. We need to understand that debt can keep us tied to the world in an ungodly way.
The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7, KJV).
I don't believe that the Word of God prohibits us from borrowing all together. Sometimes, it is more practical to borrow that to completely do without something that you need. We all need a place to live. If a mortgage can make that possible for an amount similar to the cost of renting, we are probably further ahead owning our own home. Likewise, in order to maintain our jobs, most of us need a reliable vehicle. It would be silly to lose your job because you can't get to work in your old jalopy. On the other hand, if the you have an older reliable vehicle that is doing the job, it would be best to save part or all the money for a newer vehicle in the future. That's wisdom. . .and most of us need more of it.
Borrowing brings a bondage. Most of us would be shocked if we realized how much we spend per year on interest. If we did not have that debt, we would have thousands of dollars each year to help our children, buy things for our home and support the Gospel in the earth.
Not only that, but we usually spend more money when we use credit. If we were buying cash, we would use more restraint and probably buy less things that we didn't need in the first place. "Plastic" makes is seem sooo easy. But in the end we pay the price. Debt, bondage, stress in home, lack, it's all Satan's trap to keep us from the victory that God has for us.
I was talking to a salesman recently at a furniture store. I said, "Is this your bottom price, or can you negotiate." He said, "I can negotiate if you are paying cash, but if your buying on credit I can't go any lower." If we are in a position to pay cash, we can buy some things for a lower price.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. (Matthew 6:12, KJV).
Many people in the church need to be delivered from debt. And most of the time that deliverance is going to come through prayer, diligence, hard work, good stewardship, and resisting the temptation to borrow more. A lot of debt problems are "lust-driven" and we need to find some self restraint by the Spirit of God and put away or cut up our credit cards. Develop a plan to get out of debt. Start with those high-interest credit cards and "revolving credit." (It's "revolving" all right. Around and round we go, and where we stop nobody knows.)
The final enemy of prosperity that we are going to talk about is "wrong thinking." The scripture says:
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. . . (Proverbs 23:7a, KJV).
How to you think about finances? Prosperity? God's love? His plan to bless you? Do you see God as a miser, or a blesser? All of this enters into whether you will succeed in this life or not.
As someone said, "Many people are guilty of stinkin' thinkin' and hardening of the attitudes." We need to be stirred up to think positive thought about our future and God's plan to bless us.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11, NKJV).
God is not confused about how He thinks about you. He's for you and not against you. You may say, "I've missed it. I've sinned. I've got myself in debt. I've not served God as I should."
Did you know that the above scripture was written to a people who had disobeyed and rebelled against God? In fact, they were suffering a terrible judgment because of it. But in the midst of all that, God gave them a promise. "I've got a future for you. I've not given up on you. I love you and want to bless you."
Listen to what he says:
Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. (Jeremiah 29:12-14, KJV).
So I encourage you seek God with all your heart. Put Him first on your list of priorities. No matter what your financial situation or whatever problem you have, make time for the Lord. Let Him have first place in your life. Seek him first and expect him to provide abundantly for your needs.
Jesus said, ". . . according to your faith, so be it unto you." What are you believing God for. . .poverty or prosperity. The answer determines your future.
Renew your mind to God's attitude. Cast down negative imaginations. If you really get down to it, many Christians have false beliefs when it comes to prosperity.
Many believe that God wants them poor, but God says he wants you to prosper and be in health.
Many believe that poverty is spiritual, but God's word says that godliness in profitable.
Many believe that they can't give to God because they are too poor, but God's Word says "Give and it shall be given. . ."
Many believe that money is evil, but the Bible says that "the LOVE of money" (or covetousness) is the root of all evil.
If we want to partake of God's prosperity, it is absolutely essential that we get into God's word and find out what He said. We need to meditate on the truth of the scripture and get it deep in our heart, because ". . .faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17, KJV).
As God told Joshua:
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. (Joshua 1:8, KJV).
Today, I want to encourage you to get a vision for prosperity in your life. See yourself prospering with God's blessings. See yourself creating new businesses, climbing greater heights with the Lord's guidance. Commit yourself totally to the Lord and His Kingdom. Understand that if you have received Jesus as Lord and Savior, God in His mercy has forgiven your sin through Jesus Christ. Begin to understand that His salvation extends to every area of your life, and that He will give you the strength, the wisdom, the favor, and the blessings of God will flow in your life, in Jesus name. Amen.
For more information write: Tom Shanklin Ministries, PO Box 4144, Mankato, MN 56002.