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PROSPERITY SCHOOL 101
Part Two - Why God Wants You to Prosper

  Beloved I pray above all things that you might PROSPER - 3 John 2

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 By: Dr. Bill Miller                                                 Volume XV Number 41                                                  October 14, 2012

Greetings in the Name of Jesus and welcome to the PLN Sunday Night Bible Fellowship!

 

Last week we started a new series on the subject of biblical PROSPERITY. We're referring to it as PROSPERITY SCHOOL to emphasize that most of us need to go back to the Word of God and have our minds renewed about what this topic is really all about. Many Christians believe they're not supposed to be PROSPEROUS because they've been taught it's more virtuous to be poor. And then a bunch of other folks believe that indeed they are supposed to be PROSPEROUS so they can accumulate a lot of possessions and enjoy the abundant security of the New Covenant for themselves.

 

Neither point of view is biblical so therefore many of us need to have our minds RENEWED to the Truth. The Truth of course can always be found in the Word of God. It's there in our Bibles but we have to go look for it and study it for ourselves so it can be REVEALED to us individually by the instruction of the Holy Spirit. Truth is eternally absolute but it doesn't set me free until I KNOW (understand) it for myself so I can put my FAITH in it:

 

Jesus said, if you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will KNOW the truth and the truth will make you free (John 8:31-32).

 

What does the Word of God actually say about PROSPERITY? The Truth is it has a lot to say about it because it's mentioned more than 90 times there and that doesn't include hundreds of other references to success, abundance, super-sufficiency, wealth, overflow, surplus and similar words/ideas throughout the Bible. The very nature of God is INCREASE and SURPLUS starting from the first chapter in the first Book of the Bible and then throughout the Word until the end. Poverty didn't come from God; it arrived with the Curse which among other things Jesus came to set straight, but in the process of doing that He warned us not to put our TRUST in riches and material accumulation.

 

How do we reconcile these two viewpoints? We could just be lazy and identify with one or the other of them or believe what other people say about it, OR we could go into the Word of God ourselves and find out what IT says. One thing it says is that the Holy Spirit will teach us ALL things (John 14:26) and that He does that primarily through His Word which means we each have to go into the Word ourselves to receive His best teaching. The job of a human TEACHER is not really to teach but rather to point the STUDENT (disciple) to places in the Word that bear on a particular subject so the Holy Spirit can do the teaching and we can finally come into the knowledge of the Truth that will set us free.  

 

A Practical Exercise       

 

A Believer we know really well suggested recently that if most Christians were suddenly given one million dollars cash we wouldn't know how to confidently use it based on biblical financial principles. Some folks would hoard it, others would feel guilty about it and a bunch of others would frivolously spend it on themselves. Maybe some people would give part of it away but how much should we give and who should we give it to? What would God's plan be for the use of those funds and how would we go about finding out? How would FAITH factor into the picture because Scripture says it's NOT possible to please God without FAITH (Hebrews 11:6) and wouldn't some folks want to please God with how they used all that money?

 

So here's what our Believer friend suggested we do: assume we've just received one million dollars in cash maybe as an inheritance (forget the Lotto) and then write down on paper in detail how we would use the funds being as honest as possible and based on our current knowledge of biblical financial principles. And oh by the way, writing it down is in itself a biblical principle (Habakkuk 2:1-2) so that's a good start. So for now the challenge is to just write down some place how you would use those million dollars and then as we go deeper into this series, see if your priorities change enough to require you to rearrange what you wrote down here at the beginning.

 

God Wants You to Prosper  

 

As I thought about this suggested exercise for a  couple of days it occurred to me that every Christian on the planet should consider doing something similar and let me tell you why. Most of us have never had a million dollars and because of this related lack of experience, we THINK about ourselves that it's unlikely we'll ever actually have that much money. We would like to have a million dollars but we don't see ourselves as actually ever having it. Indeed, the Bible says that we are who we THINK we are (Proverbs 23:7) which says then that we are the ones who're determining where we are in life financially according to what we THINK. I don't find any scriptures where God has placed any limits on anyone and if that's true, what keeps people from PROSPERING if God's plan is that we INCREASE (Genesis 1:28) and if Jesus has connected us to the Blessing of Abraham (Galatians 3:14)?

 

Now some folks are going to say that God decides which of us are going to have INCREASE and which of us will be poor. But I can't find that concept in Scripture either even though it has been prevalent theology for centuries. What I DO find is that God has given us ALL the ability to obtain wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18) and then by FAITH we apply that ability to the opportunities we find in front of us. The wealth is not going to just fall on us; we have to do something. Poverty is from the Curse, accordingly poverty is bad and God doesn't use the Curse on people especially under the New Covenant. The devil is the one who uses the Curse on people and Jesus came to DESTROY the works of the devil (1 john 3:8). Why would God send Jesus to destroy something and then continue to use it on His own children AFTER Jesus got the victory (1 John 5:4-5)? Why would the Word of God specifically say that Jesus became poor so you and I would no longer have to be poor (1 Corinthians 8:9)? And please don't tell me these scriptures aren't talking about money because you would be wrong. Study it out for yourself so you can discover the Truth.

 

In sum, God wants us to PROSPER so that we can finance the establishing of the New Covenant on the earth (see the rest of Deuteronomy 8:18). It's purely selfish to continue to THINK of yourself as poor or financially limited when the Word of God says we've been given the ability to generate wealth, that Jesus died to release that PROSPERITY by GRACE through FAITH and that you are limited only by your own thinking. Friend, it's not about us anyway; it's about the Kingdom of God. And the reason most of us aren't PROSPEROUS is because we don't BELIEVE God wants it for us despite what the Word says. Consequently we can't see ourselves PROSPERING.

 

So what we need to do is start agreeing with the Word. Is the Word of God literally true or not? If you think it is Truth then see yourself as coming into a million dollars in the near future and by FAITH write down on paper what you're going to do with it when you receive it. You are who you THINK you are so if you're NOT planning by FAITH on how you're going to use your million dollars, how are you ever going to receive it? FAITH changes circumstances: first you BELIEVE, then you AGREE and finally you RECEIVE.

 

I believe that God wants and needs for Believers to PROSPER so we can work together to finance the end-time HARVEST. I believe it because the revelation I have from my own study of the Word has led me to this conclusion. How do we pay for getting the Gospel to ALL creation (Mark 16:16) if most Believers have given up on PROSPERING? Instead of giving up on it, INSIST on agreeing with the Word of God and RECEIVING all that God has for you. Stop limiting yourself by disagreeing with what the Lord is trying to do in your life. And then release your FAITH on it by writing down some place how you're going to use it once it manifests. In fact, I challenge you tonight to change your THINKING by writing down your personal budget for spending one million dollars. And then make it a point while you're waiting to study the Word until you are convinced that God really DOES want you to PROSPER.   

 

Thanks for stopping by tonight. We'll be looking for you again next Sunday night on October 21. In the meantime may the Lord bless you with every spiritual blessing and cause you to PROSPER in every area of life.

 

Sinners' Prayer

 

If you've never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, you need to and you can do it today just by saying out loud the following simple prayer:

 

Jesus I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and that God raised you from the dead. I acknowledge that my sins have been forgiven and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.

 

If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.

 

And, when you get a chance have someone help you look up the following scriptures because they confirm what you've done by saying this prayer today and believing what you said:

 

Romans 10:9

2 Corinthians 5:17

Ephesians 2:8

 

Prayer Requests

 

If you have a Prayer Request, please connect to the Link below and follow the promptings. The PLN staff members pray over Prayer Requests every Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM eastern time. Agree with us for God to answer your petition.

 

http://www.creditcounseling.net/prayer-request.aspx

 

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