Prosperity is a closed book issue. It’s a command from God,
and ways to receive prosperity are all through the Bible. From Genesis
to Revelation, there are stories, teachings and commands from God on
prosperity.
"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken
diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do
all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy
God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: "And all these
blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken
unto the voice of the LORD thy God. "Blessed shalt thou be in the city,
and blessed shalt thou be in the field. "Blessed shall be the fruit
of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle,
the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. "Blessed shall
be thy basket and thy store. "Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest
in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out." Deut 28:1-6
God wants you to prosper
That’s not a suggestion. That’s not a request. It’s a command from God
to observe His commandments so He can set you up and bless you. The
blessings come under a command of God. So, when people say they don’t
believe in prosperity they are disobeying God’s command and they’re
not believing or trusting in His Word. That’s direct disobedience.
Don’t perish for lack of knowledge. Get knowledge and wisdom on the
subject and obey God’s commands. Do you know what happens to those who
don’t obey God’s commands and refuse to walk in His blessings? According
to Deuteronomy 28, they’re cursed. There is no in between. Without
God’s blessing, you revert to the curse of this earth. The reason why
I believe in prosperity is because I’d prefer to just obey God and avoid
the curse. I believe that if you’re living in a run down shack, the
Lord is tired of it. Aren’t you? He’s tired of His kids putting up with
sickness. He’s tired of His kids being depressed and beaten down. He
came to preach the Gospel to the poor – to give them the wisdom, knowledge
and power to get out of poverty. He came to heal those who are brokenhearted.
He came to preach deliverance to those who are bound up in life. Whatever
is holding you back from being the person God created you to be is something
Jesus wants to deliver you from. It may be emotional issues like insecurity
or fear. It may be physical issues like sickness and disease. Healing
is right in there with redemption in Isaiah 51. Jesus Himself said that
He came to give recovering of sight to people – healing was part of
His plan when He walked the earth and it is still His plan today! He
wants to give freedom to those that are beaten and bruised by life.
When is the time for it? Now! Now is the day of salvation from any of
these things. Now is the time God wants you to trust His Word and obey
His commands! Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever – He’s
not changing!
The Blessing or The Blessings?
Some people think that prosperity means that God is going to rain cars
and houses down from the sky. But that’s not the blessing of God – that’s
blessings from God. Proverbs 10:22 says, "The blessing of the LORD,
it maketh rich." Notice it didn’t say the blessings make you rich, it’s
the blessing of God that does the trick! The blessing is what Abraham
got. God didn’t drop a camel from the sky or a son. No, He blessed Him
by empowering Him to prosper. He gave Abraham the ability to father
a son. He gave Sara the ability to carry a child at ninety years old.
He has given you the ability to prosper. He commands you to apply His
Word. He says that it’s going to be your faith that will bring about
results. There is wisdom needed in order to receive prosperity – wisdom
to understand and apply the Word. Wisdom to recognize the power of faith.
Now, there are some Old Testament traditions that I really like – one
is the tradition of blessing the children. I’m not talking about buying
tricycles. I’m talking about laying hands on your children and proclaiming
the blessing of God on them.
God blessed Abraham. Abraham blessed Melchezedech. He blessed Isaac.
Isaac blessed Jacob. Jacob blessed Joseph. Joseph blessed Jesus. Jesus
blessed me and you! Do you understand? He blessed me! He blessed you
too! That’s what salvation is about, getting back in touch with God
so you can be empowered to live a blessed and abundant life! The act
of laying hands on your offspring is a wonderful tradition that simply
proclaims the blessing of God on their lives.
When I Had Nothing But Faith
Prosperity didn’t just drop in my lap. I had to receive it as a command
from God, get indignant at the devil for trying to steal it from me
and start applying the Word – not once, not twice, but I had to make
the Word concerning prosperity part of my lifestyle. Enforcing the Word
through meditation on this principle became a part of my life – it’s
still part of my life!
You see, I wouldn’t be a blessed man today if I hadn’t applied God’s
principles of sowing and reaping during the hard times. There was a
time when I had virtually nothing – nothing but faith. And I went many
years without knowledge or wisdom concerning finances and what the Word
really said about them. I had no problem with action – I would do what
God said. So, once I got knowledge and wisdom together with my faith
and action, I started seeing results. Today, I live in the blessing
of God. I’m empowered to prosper in every way – it’s a closed book issue!
If the economy takes a downturn, so what! I’m empowered to prosper!
If famine comes, who cares? I’m empowered to prosper. God will take
care of me! Stuff is nice, but it’s not about the stuff – it’s about
God honoring the work of your hands.
God doesn’t mind us having nice stuff, but it’s not the whole reason
for prosperity! Some people say, "I don’t give to get. I just love the
Lord and that’s why I give." That may sound good to natural ears, but
it’s not right. God never told us to give in love. He
told us to live in love but to give in faith. He used sowing and reaping
to illustrate giving and receiving. It’s a two- way street.
He also told us what money was there for – to bless your family, give
you enough to bless other families of the earth and to establish His
covenant throughout the earth. A part of our finances are supposed to
be given back to the Lord to continue spreading the news about Jesus
Christ. If a person doesn’t believe in receiving, they’re slowing down
the process of preaching the Gospel to the whole world. They may not
want any more for themselves, but there are many people out there who
could use that harvest! Some people think they can’t receive a harvest
on every seed. It just seems like too much to expect.
You see, if you think you can get a harvest on bad seed, why do you
think you can’t get a harvest on good seed? Think about it! Man, God
wants you blessed! He’s looking for ways to bless you – to help you
out in life and give you good success. Believe it! Because that’s what
it’s going to take to get it. AMEN!
Be Encouraged.
-------------------------Letter # 17 (05.5.2002)------------------------------
