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

 

During the summer months while so many are away on vacation, we're repeating some of the earlier articles from this special series on BIBLE-BASED 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 as they were originally written.

 

December 9, 2012:

 

As most of you know this series is about going back to SCHOOL to get a better understanding of the principal factors that affect the true God-ordained PROSPERITY that's mentioned in a positive context more than 90 times in our Bibles. It takes mind renewal to change the way we think about this word because for the last nineteen hundred years or so we've had it drummed into our heads that poverty is virtuous and/or that the pursuit of PROSPERITY is somehow unrighteous. Let it be clear tonight as more fully covered in our previous nine articles on this topic that we're not advocating here for the Flesh-directed, self-based MATERIALISM of the World but for the true abundant-life, bible-based PROSPERITY that God has ALREADY reserved for Believers and that can only be acquired through GRACE by FAITH.

 

Once our minds have been renewed to the TRUTH about PROSPERITY, we can stop feeling guilty about wanting to pursue it. Just be sure you're in pursuit of the right thing: PROSPERITY puts the Kingdom of God first while MATERIALISM puts SELF first. Once we know the difference, getting the guilt out of the way frees us to pursue a major benefit of the Kingdom of God that Jesus died on a Cross to make available. Then when the guilt's been removed the key question becomes, HOW do we actually pursue this benefit called PROSPERITY so we stay on the right path and avoid the MATERIALISM that lies in the other direction toward the World?

 

The pursuit of PROSPERITY is something that a lot of folks are probably beginning to think about just now as we end the current year and get ready to start a new one. I'm not talking about New Year's Resolutions but about making MAJOR changes in life that are directed toward the pursuit of bible-based, Spirit-led PROSPERITY that you're pursuing on purpose without any guilt because you've become convinced that God LOVES you and wants you to have it in order to accomplish His purposes. A lot of folks try to become PROSPEROUS without making any changes in their lives but you can't do it that way. If you don't change some things, you'll get the same old results you got before. But we need to change the right things in the right way and for the right reasons so we get the right results.

 

Over the years of studying this subject and observing other Christians, I've come to the conclusion that even though the pursuit of PROSPERITY is a relatively challenging trip, it's taking most of us a lot longer than it should to reach the destination. Our progress is WAY too slow and the main reason for that is that we haven't understood that there're two really key BIBLE principles that we have to pay a lot of attention to. The first is that our PROSPERITY has to be built on a solid FOUNDATION that the Holy Spirit has helped us put together; and the second is that we need a God-inspired VISION for what we're trying to accomplish. This week's article deals with the principle of LAYING A PROPER FOUNDATION and then next week we'll take a look at establishing a clear VISION.

 

Understanding the Need for a Rock Solid Foundation

 

Year after year we start out with HOPE for new accomplishments that'll turn into PROSPERITY. Many Believers talk about it but never actually do anything HOPING that God will just drop something in their laps without any preparation or work on their parts. But it doesn't happen that way because under the New Covenant we have to actually DO things by FAITH  in order to connect to God's empowerment. Others of us actually DO try some things but the TRUTH is most of those attempts fall flat on their face and fail or they progress way too slowly.

 

 Either way the results are a source of frustration and after meditating on this for a while, I believe that one of the major reasons the Body of Christ doesn't PROSPER as it should is that we fail to put in place a proper foundation. Bible-based PROSPERITY is something we have to actively pursue over a period of time and we have to BUILD it step-by-step, brick-by-brick, precept-by-precept. Every building needs a strong foundation, the stronger the better if we want it to survive the storms it'll eventually have to face. Indeed, the need for a strong foundation comes right out of our bibles:

 

"...everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does NOT act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell - and great was its fall." (Matthew 7:24-28)  

 

Foundations then are the most important part of what you're trying to build because success depends on them. So they have to be built correctly. The bigger the building you're trying to build the bigger the foundation has to be and it has to be made of something hard and strong like ROCK. It has to go deep vertically and it has to cover a large enough horizontal area to support the structure you're going to build. And uniquely you have to work on enlarging and reinforcing your foundation as you go along pursuing and constructing your PROSPERITY.

 

In sum, MOST of us haven't given enough attention to building our FOUNDATIONS and the result is that we haven't PROSPERED as we could have. And so, in the remainder of this article tonight you'll find some foundation-building ideas to consider as you put together your plans for next year.   

 

Constructing a Rock Solid Foundation

 

True Bible-based PROSPERITY must be built on the ROCK of Christ. Jesus made it clear that apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5) but that with Him we can do ALL things (Philippians 4:13). So I wonder how many of us are trying to PROSPER without spending time with the Lord and finding out what He wants to do. And the Truth is He wants to do most of the heavy lifting anyway:

 

"Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it..." (Psalm 127:1)

 

Getting the Lord involved in your pursuit of PROSPERITY is where this foundation-building starts and following are some related things to consider as you meditate on getting ready for the New Year.

 

1. You must be an avid daily student of the Word. It's the WORD that PROSPERS and you can't succeed without it.

2. You must believe that God wants you to PROSPER.

3. You must be willing to pursue PROSPERITY on God's terms. He's waiting on you.

4. You must avoid complaining and be THANKFUL for each step of progress you make. Keep your focus on Him.

5. You must write down a clear vision of what you're trying to accomplish.

6. You must be willing to be Spirit-led and stop trying to work on your own.

7. You must maintain separation from the World systems and avoid trying to do things their way.

8. You must be determined to overcome adversity instead of letting it defeat you because it WILL show up.

9. You must continuously RESIST the enemy with the Name and authority of Jesus.

10. You must be committed to operate by FAITH which comes from hearing and understanding the Word.

 

All of these things require your attention if you want to have a ROCK SOLID FOUNDATION that will finally produce the PROSPERITY God wants you to have. And there're probably a few other things we could add to the list if we had more space. Commit to work on these ten things next year and your FOUNDATION will start to take shape. As your FOUNDATION develops God will help you find the PROSPERITY you've been looking for.

 

Thanks for stopping by tonight. We'll be looking for you again next Sunday night on August 11. 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 

 

 

© Make A Way Ministries, Inc.

204 Turner Circle

Granbury, Texas 76048