Greetings in the Name of Jesus and welcome to the PLN Sunday Night Bible Fellowship:
During the summer months while so many people are on vacation, we'll be repeating some of the earlier articles from this special series on PROSPERITY. Use them to establish a firm foundation for releasing your FAITH for God's abundance in every area of life: spirit, soul and body. These articles are repeated exactly as they were originally published.
Hopefully you've been following along with us in this new series and you're open to some mind renewal concerning the TRUTH about finances in the Kingdom of God. The reality is that some of the things we've learned in the past and repeat among ourselves now in our churches as DOCTRINE are NOT actually in agreement with the Word and we need to go back to school and relearn as many of those things as possible. The basic principle involved here is that the Bible is inerrant and absolute (unvarying) TRUTH and it should be our objective as disciples of Christ to have our lives and beliefs line up with the TRUTH.
Now the subject of finances is one of the areas of Christian life that's gotten the most confused. I've mentioned this before but it's worth repeating that there're more than 2,300 Bible scriptures on this topic which is three times more than number two. And also, about two-thirds of the 38 or so Parables of Christ deal with some aspect of finances, money, property, wealth and their related stewardship. The reason for the emphasis is that money and wealth are of considerable concern to most people and because of that these things have particular power to corrupt and control us if we don't get our priorities right. On the other hand the Body of Christ needs money to carry out our assignment: to go into the ENTIRE world preaching the gospel to EVERY creature (Mark 16:16) and teaching them the commandments of Christ (Matthew 28:19-20). How then do we undo the confusion and achieve a scripturally accurate balance between these two concerns?
A Comparison of Philosophies
Let's understand first what we're dealing with. The Bible talks from the Garden to Revelation about PROSPERITY. In fact, it's mentioned directly in Scripture more than 90 times and a countless number of additional times through other words of like meaning. Indeed, according to Scripture God's people are supposed to be PROSPEROUS and His type of PROSPERITY deals not only with material things but with every area of life: spirit, soul and body leading to the PEACE that passes all understanding. The Kingdom of God type of PROSPERITY is Spirit-led (Romans 8:14) with God and His Kingdom in first place in our lives (Matthew 6:33) and material possessions in a lower place.
But there's another kind of PROSPERITY that the World system offers and as always it's a counterfeit of the real kind that's available only in the Kingdom of God. The World system focuses on what we can call MATERIALISM which says by definition that worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life. One's worth as a person is defined by how many assets can be accumulated and one's accumulation of things and possessions is the highest priority in life and the main thing to be trusted in. MATERIALISM is Flesh-led instead of Spirit-led and causes a connection to the World that's not easily broken. We can't live and operate in the Kingdom of God if we're overly connected to the World so MATERIALISM in the life of a Believer is a serious matter.
Now one of the things that really "bugs" me about this subject is that so many Christian leaders and teachers have a default reaction to the mention of the word PROSPERITY. The default says that by even mentioning PROSPERITY and the Bible together the automatic outcome will be that Christians will get into MATERIALISM. And so it's better not to talk about it at all, and certainly it's wrong to advocate it even though the Bible talks about it extensively. But the TRUTH is we're considering here two distinct conditions: one is found in the Kingdom of God and the other in the World and Believers have to learn the difference. Unfortunately though, the TRUTH is also that most Christians are bound up in MATERIALISM anyway instead of enjoying biblical PROSPERITY because they haven't come into the revelation that there's a difference.
A Comparison of Covenants
Part of the confusion comes from not understanding how the Old and New Covenants fit together. For example, the emphasis in The Mosaic Covenant of the Law is that God has given His people the power or ability to obtain wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18a) and that success and PROSPERITY will come to those who follow Him and meditate on His Word (Joshua 1:8 and many others). The purpose of obtaining that wealth was for God working through His people to establish His COVENANT (Deuteronomy 8:18b) including the eventual coming of Messiah. Keep in mind that to accomplish all this, the LAW required God's people to give back to His work about 30 percent of their INCREASE so there were plenty of funds available. And in that process the SYSTEM in effect forced people to place God ahead of their wealth in the establishing of their priorities which according to Scripture is a basic requirement for SUCCESS in life.
But THE LAW was NEVER God's ultimate plan for the REDEMPTION of fallen mankind and it was replaced with a New Covenant, a BETTER Covenant (Hebrews 7:18-22, 8:6) that allows people to fully exercise their free will to choose among life's alternatives. As part of that free will we're free to establish our own priorities and so the emphasis in the New Testament is to caution us to be careful about how we establish those priorities where money and wealth are concerned because the SYSTEM is no longer forcing us to put God and His Kingdom first. Yes, the Holy Spirit is TEACHING us about how to establish our priorities and yes, our redeemed spirits will ALWAYS establish the right priorities but our decisions are made in the SOUL part of us which hasn't been redeemed yet. If we insist on operating by the Flesh we'll quickly find ourselves gravitating toward MATERIALISM but we can choose not to and seek first the Kingdom of God where we'll ALWAYS find His PROSPERITY.
I once heard a famous now deceased radio preacher say that financial PROSPERITY was for the Jewish folks who lived under THE LAW but that it was no longer available to Gentile Believers under the New Covenant. I'm sure he was a really nice, well-meaning man-of-God but I have no clue where he got that idea because it's not in my Bible. What is in my Bible is that the Covenant I live under has BETTER promises than the previous one had and that the Holy Spirit lives within me now conjoined to my redeemed spirit so He can teach me ALL things including how to live with God's PROSPERITY. And what I can also find in my Bible's NEW Testament are the following key excerpted scriptures:
1 John 3:2 = I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health.
2 Corinthians 8:9 = By GRACE for your sake Jesus who was rich became poor so that you might be rich.
2 Corinthians 9:8 = God is WILLING to make all GRACE abound to you so you'll have all sufficiency plus abundance.
John 10:10 = Jesus came so that we can have life in more abundance.
Philippians 4:12 = I know how to live in PROSPERITY (the Apostle Paul wrote this).
1 Timothy 6:6 = Godliness is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.
Luke 4:18 = Jesus came with good news for poor people.
1 Timothy 6:17 = Instruct those who are rich not to be conceited or to fix their hope on riches (he did NOT say to tell them to give up their riches because they're not supposed to be rich under the New Covenant).
Another thing I know about my Bible is that unless the New Testament has specifically canceled or replaced principles of life that were established in the various old covenants, I can continue to rely on those older principles to guide my life and help me achieve my potential in the Kingdom of God. Indeed, they all fit together in one continuous revelation of who God is and how He operates. Accordingly, if the Bible says PROSPERITY is available to me in a prior covenant, which is what it says repeatedly, then it's still available to me under the New Covenant because there's no scripture that ever cancelled it. And now by FAITH I claim my PROSPERITY through the GRACE that has been made available to me in Christ.
Some Concluding Thoughts
In sum, not only can I find support for PROSPERITY in the New Testament, there are NO scriptures that say the financial promises in any of those previous covenants have been cancelled. If the Kingdom of God needed funds to establish the old covenants how much more does it need funds now to establish the New Covenant in the ENTIRE world. And as far as there being some distinction in the area of finances between those Jewish folks under THE LAW and us Gentile Believers under the New Covenant, let me point you to Galatians 3:14-29 which says that the Blessing of Abraham has come to the Gentiles through the blood of Christ and that the covenant God made with Abraham has NOT ever been replaced. No, it was the LAW that was replaced with the Covenant of GRACE, praise the Lord!
But I DO need to understand that there's a difference, a BIG difference between biblical PROSPERITY and worldly MATERIALISM. And I need to learn how to pursue the former and avoid the latter. The only way I can do that is by opening myself up to the leading and revelation of the Holy Spirit through the study of His Word and by developing a close relationship with Him. We can have biblical PROSPERITY by GRACE through FAITH but we have a responsibility to use it correctly for the Kingdom of God. Biblical PROSPERITY is not to be consumed on our own wants and desires; rather, it's to be used to establish the Kingdom and in that process we'll enjoy an abundance from which we can bless others and receive the rewards that come with good stewardship. As far as I can tell that's what the Bible actually says about it and if you find something different please let me know.
Thanks for stopping by tonight. We'll be looking for you again next Sunday night on June 30. 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
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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