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

 

Thanks for joining us tonight as we continue our discussion on the subject of biblical PROSPERITY. Thirty-two weeks is a long time to be talking about a single topic but the Lord keeps showing us things we need to explore so we can expand our understanding of a word that's mentioned in our bibles more than 90 times in a positive context. Despite that positivity, the Body of Christ in many quarters has had a tendency over the years to cast PROSPERITY in a negative light even though the Bible calls it a BLESSING from God (Deuteronomy 28:11).

 

So which is it: some undesirable, worldly thing we should avoid mentioning in polite Christian company or a BLESSING from God? Are we going to continue to allow tradition and bad teaching from the past to cause us to reject the mention of one of God's MAJOR BLESSINGS or will we instead reject the traditions and bad teaching so this good bible-word can be rightly understood (2 Timothy 2:15)? How can we give God the glory and gratitude for our PROSPERITY if we're under pressure not to talk about or desire it or if we feel guilty about wanting to PURSUE it?

 

To be clear, defending the word PROSPERITY is just part of the purpose of this series. The greater purpose is to increase our understanding of it so we can learn HOW TO RECEIVE AND USE IT. Over the centuries the Body of Christ has NOT been all that successful at becoming PROSPEROUS largely because we haven't understood it. People under the Old Covenants DID understand it and certainly never tried to cast it in a bad light. They knew it was God's BLESSING and they expected it to show up. It was a matter of a covenanted agreement with the Father and the truth is it still is a covenanted agreement under the New Testament even though Gentile Believers haven't understood it that way. The resulting challenges then are to straighten out our thinking about it so we come into agreement with the Word and to learn to avoid the things that hinder our ability to connect to this part of God's GRACE.  

 

Accepting that God Really DOES Want Us to Prosper

 

In doing this, one of the key areas to deal with is the difficulty many Christians have accepting that God really does want us to PROSPER financially. Part of the reason is that we've been conditioned for almost 1800 years since Christianity was made an official religion by the Roman Empire that the pursuit of wealth and success is way less virtuous than living under a combination of insufficiency and humility. This viewpoint says in short that the Christian way should be to live frugally and economically, content with one's place in life instead of aspiring to financial increase and success. The less money people spend coupled with the more they can save out of their meager earnings is good financial stewardship. In living this way the Believer can avoid the temptations to fall in love with money and to become dependent on wealth instead of God. Never mind that insufficiency is part of the Curse of the Law (Deuteronomy 28:48) that Jesus redeemed us from (Galatians 3:13) or that the official Church was enriching itself even while it was discouraging Believers from living that same way. And never mind also that there's no DIRECT scriptural support for such a viewpoint.  

 

Out of this unscriptural perspective have come some particular beliefs and customs that are so engrained in us today that it's hard to accept God's real intentions. For example, since many of our churches, both Protestant and Non-Protestant alike have taught these values for centuries, many folks have come to believe that God is the One who doesn't want them to PROSPER and that He even routinely withholds and manipulates their provision to teach them things and keep them in poverty and lack. The result of believing that will always be INSUFFICIENCY which causes Believers to depend on their own strength for their provision instead of relying on God. Some people react by living below their means so they can accumulate a sense of security by hoarding and being stingy while others go into debt in a futile attempt to add on to God's provision. INSUFFICIENCY is after all by definition LESS than we need, LESS than we have potential for. It's NOT enough and we'll always RECEIVE it if that's what we're believing for.

 

Now I am not saying that Believers ought to be spending all their money all over the place on themselves instead of saving it. Or that they should be chasing after money. That's not what this is about. Rather, I AM saying that God wants to redeem our thinking about this subject. And I AM saying that being PROSPEROUS is not about you and me anyway, it's about God and His Kingdom. And I AM saying that God has use for your PROSPERITY and that it's going to be really, really hard for you to get any of it if you don't even believe He wants you to have it. And I AM saying we need to be open to the Holy Spirit so He can teach the correct viewpoint. And I AM saying that we should be studying the Word so we can learn what the Lord actually wants to do with our finances instead of blindly following man made traditions and values and teachings we haven't verified in the Word of God.

 

The bottom line is this: according to Scripture God wants Believers to PROSPER:

 

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"(Jeremiah 29:11).

 

He wants us to PROSPER so we can help and bless other people and ministries (2 Corinthians 9:9-13) and also so we can help Him establish the Kingdom of God (Deuteronomy 8:18). People around the world still need to get saved and discipled and it takes finances to make that happen. Making it happen is what establishing His Kingdom is all about. Where are those finances supposed to come from? They come from Believers who have learned to connect to God's PROSPERITY and download it for righteous use on the earth. They come from Believers who have studied the Word and have flatly REJECTED the idea that PROSPERITY is a bad word. And they come from Believers who are renewing their minds (Romans 12:2) by the Word.

 

Accepting That God Really DOES Love Us

 

In considering the idea that God wants for us to be PROSPEROUS, it helps to also consider that God actually LOVES us. Indeed, God IS LOVE (1 John 4:8, 16) and so everything He does springs from LOVE. A BLESSING is an expression of God's LOVE, a desire to benefit the one who's loved. In fact every GOOD thing that ever comes to us, every perfect gift we ever receive comes from God (James 1:17). ALL good and perfect things come ONLY from God. People aren't able to give such things and neither is the enemy who only gives bad things. In sum, according to Scripture God NEVER gives bad things, only good things and PROSPERITY is a BLESSING (Deuteronomy 28:11) which is a GOOD thing from God.

 

And yet many Christians have this all confused mainly because they haven't quite sorted out yet that they don't live under the Old Covenant and they try to bring it into the New Covenant. They know about Jesus but they believe they still have to perform some special work or good deed in order to attract God's FAVOR. And they also blame God for their problems and for the bad things in life that actually came from the enemy and from their own poor choices. They don't realize that God is no longer holding people accountable for their sins (Romans 5:13, Hebrews 8:12, 10:17) and they can't perceive that they're ALREADY surrounded by the GOOD things of God. So they focus on all their problems and live their lives essentially unaware that God LOVES them with a special unconditional AGAPE LOVE that surpasses human reasoning. That much LOVE can only be accepted by FAITH.

 

PROSPERITY is a key part of God's GRACE and we receive GRACE through FAITH. God's LOVE is the root of all GRACE and all MERCY. If God didn't LOVE us there would have been NO GRACE because there would have been NO MERCY. The availability of His GRACE made possible by the crucifixion of His only begotten Son (John 3:16) is the evidence of His profound LOVE for mankind and especially for the Body of Christ (Romans 5:8). Accepting that God really does LOVE you enough to have rescued you from darkness (Colossians 1:13) when He didn't have to makes it possible to believe that God really wants you to be PROSPEROUS. Why not just accept that and realize that there' nothing you could have done to deserve it and there's still nothing you can do to deserve it except BELIEVE. All you have to do is agree with the Word and receive by FAITH what He has for you. Meanwhile, rest in the awareness of His LOVE and focus on Jesus to make it possible for His PROSPERITY to fully manifest in your life. You must accept His LOVE in order to be able to release your FAITH for His PROSPERITY and until you work on that, PROSPERITY will have a hard time manifesting. Bottom line: focus on Jesus, get in His Word and ACCEPT what it says there by FAITH.

 

Thanks for dropping by tonight. We'll be looking for you again next Sunday evening, May 19 and we hope you'll join us each week as we continue studying the subject of bible-based PROSPERITY. Until then may God bless you and your family with the total PROSPERITY of Christ!

 

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 Savior and Lord. 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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