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"Owe no man
anything..."
-Romans 13:8
"...the borrower becomes the lender's
slave."
-Proverbs 22:7
"...the
righteous man shall live by faith."
-Romans 1:17
"...without
faith it is impossible to please Him."
-Hebrews 11:6
"No one can
serve two masters..."
-Matthew 6:24
"The Lord
will make you abound in prosperity..."
-Deuteronomy 25:11
"...God
loves a cheerful giver."
-2 Corinthians 9:7
"...the
Lord... is giving you power to make
wealth..."
-Deuteronomy 8:18
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Greetings in the name of Christ Jesus!
Biblical prosperity is the state of total well being where God
is meeting all your needs: spirit, soul and body.
The Bible says in John 10:10 that Jesus came so we could
have life in abundance. Abundance means to have an excess,
a surplus, more than enough. In other words, the Plan of God is
that we're to receive more than what we actually need for
ourselves in every area of life: spirit, soul and body. And He
has a purpose for the excess: we're to use it to bless others and
to build the Kingdom of God. In sum, the Lord wants Believers
through faith in Christ to have an overflowing blessing so
there'll be nothing missing and nothing broken in any area of
life PLUS a surplus to be used to accomplish His plans and
purposes.
Unfortunately though many Believers, probably most, aren't
currently manifesting the fullness of Christ's abundant life and
through this series on biblical prosperity, PLN has been
bringing out for your consideration some of the key reasons we
fall short. In essence we've said that as we see it, there're at
least three main factors that obstruct abundant life in the Body
of Christ:
- Ignorance of the Word
- Failure to apply the principles (or Laws) of life that are
contained there
- Complacency and dullness in spiritual matters
As we compare ourselves to these shortcomings, we need to
consider the fact that Believers are faced with an adversary
who's actively working overtime to make these negative factors
dominate our lives. That adversary is Satan and his agenda is
to have us CUT OURSELVES OFF from the biblical prosperity
God intends for us to have. The truth is the devil by himself no
longer has the power, the authority or the ability to cut
Believers off from our inheritance because of what Jesus
accomplished at the Cross of Calvary. Satan is a defeated
enemy and is unable to successfully obstruct the flow of God's
favor and blessing to Believers UNLESS WE ALLOW HIM TO
DO IT.
But the reality of our times is that these three factors ARE
prevalent, indeed they PREVAIL, throughout the Body of Christ
and severely hinder the flow of God's abundance. How does
this happen? And why do Believers allow it to happen? And
what MUST be done about it so the Blessing and favor of God
can flow through and provide the finances that are needed to
accomplish His purposes?
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A Lightly Regarded Enemy |
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The first condition to be dealt with is that many Christians tend
to ignore that Satan is even a concern. They know that his
name comes up in the Bible and maybe they know he tempted
Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13). But
Satan has convinced a significant portion of the Church today
that he's either not real or that he shouldn't be of any particular
concern. Certainly we would expect folks in the World to think
that way but many Believers have taken up the same thought
structure because they're so closely associated with the World.
So we need to go back and revalidate scripturally that Satan is
still an adversary that Believers need to contend with.
Now hopefully you'll remember from the previous issue of PLN
that biblically speaking THE WORLD is a system of life that
flows out of man's fallen nature and is based on the Flesh
and the five physical senses. It's occupied and loved by
the people
who have chosen to follow a substitute for the Lordship of Jesus
Christ and for the most part it reflects the values and
preferences of non-believers. THE WORLD SYSTEM is based
on self-interest and unrighteousness and manifests principles of
life that are the exact opposites of what we find in the Word of
God. And most importantly, according to the Bible Satan is the
god, the ruler, of this WORLD SYSTEM (2 Corinthians 4:4) and
it's totally under his power and authority (1 John 5:19). For
more information about THE WORLD SYSTEM, please request
a FREE copy of Part 47 of this series, THE REQUIREMENT OF
RESISTING THE WORLD.
The Bible tells us in John 10:10 that "the thief comes ONLY to
steal and kill and destroy." Jesus is quoted in red letters as
having said those exact words and there isn't any place in
scripture where it says that the devil ever decided to stop doing
those things. He's still doing them in his capacity as Ruler of
THE WORLD SYSTEM and he's still affecting the lives of many
precious Believers because they're complacent and passive in
dealing with this REAL adversary. Following are some of the
powers he retains according to scripture:
- He is Prince/Ruler of this World (John 12:31,
14:30, 16:11, 2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 John 5:19).
- He has the ability to tempt us (Matthew 4:3 and 1
Corinthians 7:5).
- He can influence our flesh through the World (1
John 2:15-16).
- He can influence our minds through the flesh and
the World (1 Corinthians 7:5).
- He works to separate us from the Word of God
(Mark 4:3-8 and 13-20).
- He can send trials and tribulations to afflict us (2
Corinthians 12:7).
- He can send the World to persecute us
(Revelation 2:9).
- He inflicts disease (Job 2:7).
- He can lie to us and try to deceive us (John 8:44
and Revelation 12:9).
- He can appear to us in disguise as an angel of
light (2 Corinthians 11:14).
- He is the administrator of the Curse and causes it
to manifest in the World System and we know this because
Jesus has redeemed Believers from the Curse (Galatians 3:13-
14).
In sum, no matter how complacent and passive Believers want
to be about it, Satan remains on the earth as a powerful
adversary for the Body of Christ. There is the Kingdom of God
and there is the Kingdom of Darkness and they are both
contending for control of the earth. But if Jesus defeated Satan
when He was raised from the dead 2,000 years ago, how is it
possible that he is regarded by scripture as the god of this
World (2 Corinthians 4:4)? And how does that affect the
Kingdom of God and individual Believers within the Kingdom?
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The God of This World |
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As discussed in recent issues of PLN, after God created the
earth and all its contents and inhabitants, He gave the Man in
the Garden DOMINION over everything on the earth (Genesis
1:28). DOMINION means to rule and reign over something. In
other words God delegated His authority over the earth to
Mankind who He created in His own image (Genesis 1:27). At
that point the Bible says God RESTED from all His work
(Genesis 2:3), indeed He actually CEASED from His own works
(Hebrews 4:4), leaving to the Man the responsibility of carrying
out his assignment to fill the earth and subdue it (Genesis
1:28).
In time the man and woman sinned, they became separated
from the presence of the Lord (Genesis 3:8) and as a result
God's delegated authority was passed to Satan by default.
Thus, the devil REPLACED Adam as ruler of the earth and
became the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4) and
the "prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2). So
because
of sin, control of the earth was lost to Satan and the new ruler
was free to establish his own unrighteous ways of doing things
which we call THE WORLD. For approximately 4,000 years
from the sin and abdication of Adam and Eve until the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, Satan ruled the earth by conquest
through his WORLD SYSTEM with all of the power and
authority that God had originally given to Adam (Genesis 1:28).
Could the Lord God, the One with the real power and
authority, have kicked the devil off the planet at any time if He
had wanted to? Of course but He chose not to dispose of Satan
so He wouldn't violate His own Word that originally delegated
His authority over the earth to mankind. In other words, He
chose to bind Himself to His own COVENANT of delegated
authority until men could LEGALLY reassert their dominion as
the true kings and priests of the earth (Revelations 1:6).
And so at exactly the right moment in history, Jesus came to
earth by being born to a virgin, died on the Cross of Calvary
and rose from the dead on the third day to make it possible for
men to begin the process of regaining their lost property. The
result is that by faith in Christ, mankind has regained dominion
over the earth. In other words, Believers are once again the
legal rulers of the earth even if many of us are too dull
spiritually to be aware of it. Satan is still the "god of this world"
but the World no longer has the title deed for the earth; now it's
the Kingdom of God that has the title deed and exercises
dominion through the Church of Jesus Christ. Yes, the WORLD
is still present on the earth and the devil is also present; but the
Kingdom of God through Christ has established its presence on
the earth and is moving steadily forward toward filling,
subduing and ruling the entire planet in accordance with the
Lord's original instructions (Genesis 1:28).
Many would ask today: why is the devil allowed to stay on the
earth if he's a defeated enemy? The Bible says that Satan
remains on the earth in order to blind the minds of unbelievers
(the lost) so they can't see the light of the gospel of Christ (2
Corinthians 4:4). Secondly, Satan's continued presence
provides the alternative to Christ that prospective new Believers
must consider in exercising their free will to choose between
life and death (Acts 26:18). But thirdly, the truth is that the
Church has been slow to understand and exercise the authority
it's been given to reassert the dominion of Man on the earth.
The combined result of these three factors is that the "god of
this world" doesn't really accept that he's defeated so he
continues to try to obstruct the advancement of the Kingdom of
God.
It's time for Believers and the Church to wake up to the
ongoing confrontation of this adversary and then get serious
about defending ourselves and the Kingdom of God from his
continuous attacks. When we finally do this, when we finally
actually USE the authority we've been given, the Blessing and
favor of God can be released to bring the victory of Christ to
our homes and to our families and to our churches and to our
health and to our finances, all around the entire earth. And in
due season Jesus will return to put the finishing touches on the
job of re-establishing His Kingdom (Revelation 19:15-16 and
20:2-3).
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Reasserting Our Dominion |
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While we wait for Him to return, it's God's intention that we
participate in recovering what Adam lost by building HIs
Kingdom and by RESISTING the enemy's efforts to draw us
back into the World. Believers may have to live physically IN
close proximity to the World but we're not OF it (John 15:19);
we're no longer subject to the devil's rule unless we allow
ourselves to come under it through sin or by failing to RESIST
him. You need to know today that the devil will aggressively
take over everything you have, he will kill everyone you love
and he will destroy everything else that's important to you
UNLESS YOU RESIST HIM. The tragedy today is that much of
the Body of Christ doesn't have any idea what the Word of God
says about it.
Friend, the Bible says we're supposed to STAND FIRM
AGAINST THE SCHMES OF THE DEVIL. It says further that in
standing against those schemes we'll have to WRESTLE
against the rulers, the powers, the world forces of darkness and
the spiritual forces of wickedness. So it should be obvious that
from a scriptural standpoint complacency and passivity on the
part of Believers is totally inappropriate. Likewise, involvement
in the World, i.e. loving what it does and failing to resist it, is
also totally inappropriate. No, we need to protect what God has
given us to be stewards over by RESISTING the devil.
The principal weapon we have against the enemy is the Word
of God. When the devil came to tempt Jesus in the wilderness
Jesus used the Word to defeat him on the spot in no uncertain
terms (Matthew 4:3-11). It's in the Word that we learn about the
victory of Christ and that the devil is a defeated adversary. It's
in the Word that we learn that we have total authority over that
defeated adversary. And it's in the Word that we learn we can
RESIST him and cause him to flee (James 4:7). He flees
because he fears the name, the authority and the presence of
Jesus and according to the Word every born again Believer has
all three of these weapons at his/her disposal.
The reassertion of our dominion on the earth starts with
understanding and using the Word of God. Satan already
knows the Word and he knows you can defeat him with it. So
he has convinced many Believers, maybe most, that its okay to
watch TV all the time and be involved in the activities of the
World instead of studying and learning the Word of God. But
it's in the Word of God that we find out about our authority over
the enemy and how to go about using it so we change our lives
from defeat to victory and from insufficiency to abundance.
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Understanding Our Authority in Christ |
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Friend, the Bible tells us to take up the armor of God so we can
resist the "spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places"
(Ephesians 6:12-13). If Satan weren't a threat to the Body of
Christ then it wouldn't have been necessary for the Word to
instruct us to arm ourselves, to be watchful (1 Peter 5:8), and to
resist him (James 4:7).
Now, in order to contend successfully with this adversary, we
must separate ourselves from the World, submit ourselves to
God (James 4:7) and continuously use the authority in Christ
we've been given. If we don't know enough to do these things
or if we think we can get by without doing them, or if we're just
sleeping, the result will be that Satan slowly inserts his darkness
into our lives and corrupts the prosperity and success God wants
us to have. Instead of "nothing missing, nothing broken," a lot
of things will become both missing and broken. Successfully
overcoming the devil requires that we make a sincere effort to
understand the following concepts:
1) We must understand that the authority of
Jesus is
total and absolute. The Bible says in Matthew 28:18 with
Jesus
speaking again in red letters that "All authority has been given
to Me in heaven and on earth." Hebrews 2:14-16 says that by
His death, Jesus rendered Satan powerless and set free those
who were previously subject to a fear of death. 1 John 3:8 says
that Jesus destroyed the works of the devil. In fact, the
destruction was so complete He then made a public display of
His defeated foe (Colossians 2:15). In Revelation 1:18 Jesus
told the Apostle John that He had in His possession the keys to
death and Hell. In sum, the defeat of Satan was total and
absolute and it provided for the transfer of authority to Jesus.
Now He is seated in heavenly places at the right hand of the
Father, far above all rule and authority and power and
dominion and every name that is named. And, He has put all
things in subjection under His feet (Ephesians 1:20-22). In
short, Christ has been given total and absolute authority to rule
over all things. Satan, now stripped of power, has been
allowed to remain in the World as a defeated adversary for the
reasons cited previously. The authority Adam lost to Satan has
been totally and completely regained by Jesus.
2) We must know who WE are in Christ. The
Bible
says Believers have been raised up and seated with Christ in
the heavenly places over all things (Ephesians 2:6). Therefore,
we're called to participate in the exercise of His authority over
ALL the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). Thus, the authority
and power of Christ has been delegated to Believers and we're
to use it to bless others and to help establish the Kingdom of
God.
Further, Jesus has been given to the Church and made the
Head of it; and we are His Body, the Body of Christ (Ephesians
1:23). Thus, we're closely joined together. He's the Head and
we're His Body; He does the leading but WE ARE CALLED TO
EXERCISE HIS AUTHORITY! Now it's Believers who're to cast
out demons and lay hands on the sick so they can recover
(Mark 16:17-18) as Christ once did in His earthly ministry. And,
thanks to Jesus we've been redeemed from the Curse and
restored to the Blessing of Abraham (Galatians 3:13-14) so
we're no longer subject to the works of the devil. We're children
of God, joint-heirs with Christ for the glory that is to come
(Romans 8:17). Indeed, we ARE a new creation!
3) We must learn to USE the authority we've
been
given. Friend, Believers have been called to rule and
reign
WITH Christ. Our present assignments through the Church are
to build/expand the Kingdom of God on the earth and by faith
to keep Satan from interfering in that process. In order to rule,
we have to exercise our authority. Another word for authority
is "power" so we're to exercise our power over the adversary.
We're to confront Satan boldly and without fear and
continually resist him in the name of Jesus (James 4:7) not
only so he can't interfere in our lives but for the good of the
entire Kingdom of God that's in the process of being re-
established. No one who rules successfully allows opposing and
rebellious viewpoints to invade their kingdom at will because
the objective of any invading enemy is to take over the ruler's
domain just as once happened in the Garden of Eden. We
must guard against and then repel the invasions of the
adversary with the weapons we've been given. And when we
stand against him, he will/he must flee.
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Some Final Thoughts |
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A lot of great things happened at Calvary. Yes, Jesus shed His
blood on the Cross and one of the results was that you can
have eternal life by believing and trusting in Him. But the
other part of the story is that Jesus was raised from the dead
and in the resurrection we have the possibility of a victorious
life in this present age characterized by prosperity, success and
abundance in every area of life. But victorious living requires
that we resist our enemy and contain him inside the World
separated from the part of God's Kingdom each of us has been
assigned to guard.
Therefore, if you want the fullness of biblical prosperity
manifesting in your life, you must continuously resist
the devil
and cast him out of your affairs. You have the authority and the
power to make him flee from you so confront him boldly
always
in the name of Jesus and with the assurance that His name will
protect you and provide victory.
But, some Christians are concerned that if they confront Satan
and actively resist him, he'll react and cause them to
experience trials in their lives. The truth is when you begin to
exert your authority you can count on facing a time of testing
so be ready for it. The enemy's objective is to make you lack
confidence in your authority and to get you to back off. But
don't give in; God will see you through the test and you'll come
out of it with stronger confidence and at a higher spiritual level
than where you were before. If you desire God's best in your
life, if you really want to experience the fullness of biblical
prosperity, then you must confront, resist and overcome the
enemy. According to the Word of God, there is NO other way.
May God bless you and bring you into remembrance each day
to resist your enemy the devil. Thanks for reading Prosperous
Life Newsletter. We'll be looking for you again in three weeks
on October 17.
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Sinners' Prayer |
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If you have never invited Jesus to become the Lord of your life,
you can do so today by saying the following simple prayer:
Jesus I believe in you and I receive You as my Lord and
Savior. I believe You are the Son of God and that He raised
You from the dead. Thank you that my sins are forgiven and
that I am reborn, a new creature in You.
If you were sincere as you prayed, God has already come into
your life and you are a new creation. Now ask the Lord to lead
you to a good faith based bible teaching church where you can
be developed to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God. If
you're unable to find a church, give us a call and we'll help
you find a good one.
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Prayer Requests |
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Please e-mail your prayer requests to: [email protected].
We'll be honored to bring them before the Lord each Tuesday
morning at 10:00 AM, Eastern Time.
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Donations |
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If you have been blessed and edified by Prosperous Life
Newsletter, please pray about making a Spirit-led love offering
to support the work of the Ministry (Galatians 6:6-7). PLN is a
non profit [501(c) (3)] gift to the Body of Christ so your financial
gifts should be tax deductible (please consult your tax advisor).
May God bless you with His abundant harvest in return for
sowing your precious seed into this Ministry.
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Questions and Suggestions |
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It would bless us to have an opportunity to answer your
questions concerning any of the areas covered by the ministry
of PLN. We would also be happy to consider your comments
and suggestions. Please feel free to e-mail them to us or give
us a call anytime during normal business hours at our toll free
number 1-800-357-4223.
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