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

As we continue our study of bible-based PROSPERITY, I wanted to start out this evening by briefly revisiting the purpose of this series so we don't lose sight of what we want to accomplish. The main idea is that bible-based PROSPERITY is a God-intended benefit that's been made available to Believers just for becoming a part of His Kingdom. In short, God loves us and wants us to PROSPER so we can live in PEACE and fulfill His purposes in the Kingdom.

But there's a problem: from the Cross of Calvary until now most Christians have not PROSPERED as they could have or as God intended. Yes friends, according to Scripture we really are able to LIMIT God in our lives (Psalm 78:41) even though He's ALL powerful , and that's because He's chosen to give us a FREE will which is where we frequently choose and decide on options that are significantly different than what He would have preferred for us. Therefore the underlying purpose of this series is to help all us Believers correct this problem so that by FAITH we can RECEIVE ALL the PROSPERITY Jesus makes available through His Covenant of GRACE.

In line with this I've previously made the point that the problem starts with our THINKING: who we are is the sum result of our THINKING. In other words, we are who we THINK we are (Proverbs 23:7). If we're not PROSPEROUS in life then in large measure it's because we've THOUGHT that we're not supposed to PROSPER beyond a certain level or that we're unable to PROSPER. Or maybe we haven't given much THOUGHT to it and have fallen into insufficiency and lack by default, passively, THINKING that we have to be like folks in the World, not realizing that God has something better for us that we have to aggressively PURSUE with our UNDERSTANDING AND FAITH. The bottom line is that in order to PROSPER we have to change the way we've been THINKING.

Lord of the Increase

From the very beginning of the Bible, God reveals Himself as the Source of original INCREASE by empowering (blessing) the man and the woman in the Garden to MULTIPLY and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28). The Hebrew word translated MULTIPLY in that verse means to INCREASE. God wants to work through mankind to INCREASE every good thing on the earth. He does not decrease or withdraw or retreat or settle for less or tolerate lack. Meanwhile, the only One in that picture who's supposed to stay the same is God (Hebrews 13:8). All the rest of us, Believers like you and I are supposed to always be involved in INCREASING things, especially Kingdom of God things. There's no provision in Scripture where it's okay for Christians to settle for decrease or even for a plateau where life has leveled off and INCREASE has ceased. Continuous INCREASE on the earth by FAITH is the eternal Plan of God for every person.  

Now building on this basic concept, the word PROSPER means to SUCCEED and for God, SUCCESS is almost always related to INCREASING something. Therefore PROSPERITY is a state of ongoing INCREASE where all our needs are taken care of spirit, soul and body and there's a surplus left over to participate in expanding the Kingdom of God on the earth and for the performance of every good work. There's nothing missing and there's nothing broken. We never decrease into PROSPERITY; we always INCREASE unto it and it's the very nature of God to help us INCREASE. Without Him there would be no real INCREASE nor can there be true PROSPERITY.

Indeed, God has empowered us to INCREASE just as He did Adam in the Garden. We're empowered through FAITH in Jesus which is why the Bible says we can DO all things through Christ BECAUSE He strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). It's still the nature of God that calls us to INCREASE in every good thing. He's the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8) and His call on us to INCREASE is still in force. If you're involved in going into all the world to preach the gospel to all creation (Mark 16:15), then you're involved in INCREASING the Kingdom of God on the earth which is a mandate that's never changed since it was first articulated 6000 years ago in the Garden of Eden.

Understanding the Empowerment

The Truth is also that every Believer in Christ has ALREADY been empowered by GRACE to INCREASE and PROSPER. That's the part we seem to not be able to understand very well. Our THINKING wanders all around on this subject because we're influenced by unscriptural manmade traditions instead of finding out for ourselves what the Word of God actually says about it and coming into AGREEMENT with that THINKING instead of traditional THIINKING. The Bible says you're ALREADY empowered in Christ to do ALL things and that God has surrounded you with His GRACE that you can connect to by FAITH any time you want to. Religious traditions say you can never know whether God wants you to PROSPER or not and that New Testament PROSPERITY is largely for the future and doesn't even necessarily include financial PROSPERITY.

Unfortunately, Gentile Believers have tended to get into the flow of the second point of view. We don't see that we're special and that if God gave Believers under the Old Covenant of the Law the ability to obtain wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18) just because He loved them, how much more has He given the same empowerment to the New Testament Believer whose sins have already been paid for. Yes, PROSPERITY is about more than just financial things but it always has been, and it's unscriptural to try to exclude those financial things now under the Covenant of GRACE which has better promises than those old covenants had and especially since there're no scriptures that say God ever changed His THINKING about INCREASE AND PROSPERITY.

In sum, we need to AGREE with the Word of God and accept His plan for our lives. We need to stop using traditional THINKING as an excuse, a rationalization for why we haven't PROSPERED yet and instead reach out with our FAITH to embrace a better way of THINKING that will change our circumstances so God can use us. PROSPERITY is NOT about accumulating personal wealth and enrichment and I'm not advocating that. Rather, it's about understanding what God's trying to do and then ACCEPTING His plan for PROSPERING us so we can be used for the purpose of INCREASING the Kingdom of God. If you're not in that flow of THINKING tonight, if you're not willing to agree with the Word on this then it's going to prove difficult for God to use you as He would like to. But if you'd rather be useful to God, all you have to do is change directions, make one of those VIOLENT 180 degree turns we talked about last week away from traditional THINKING and toward the THINKING of the Holy Spirit who has ALREADY EMPOWERED you to great SUCCESS AND PROSPERITY in the Kingdom of God.

Thanks for stopping by tonight. We'll be looking for you again NEXT Sunday night February 3, 2013. In the meantime may the Lord bless you with every spiritual blessing causing 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

Donations

If you've been edified by Prosperous Life Newsletter, you may want to consider making a SEED FAITH offering to support the Ministry (Galatians 6:6-7). God has instructed us to simply provide folks with an opportunity to sow seed into good ground so in due season you'll be eligible to reap a harvest and the rest is up to you as the Spirit leads. For your information PLN is a nonprofit gift to the Body of Christ so your financial offerings will usually be tax deductible (consult your tax advisor). Just go to the secure Shopping Cart on the Cornerstone web site by connecting through the following link. We appreciate your support and generosity.

http://www.creditcounseling.net/shop/item.aspx?itemid=1

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