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 including the seasonal context.

Every so often in this series we need to remind ourselves why we're studying the subject of PROSPERITY. And tonight is a good time to do that so folks won't go off from here in the New Year with the wrong idea and be confused about what we're trying to communicate. The basic point to be made is that PROSPERITY is a Bible word that's mentioned in Scripture in one form or another more than 90 times always in a positive context. And that does NOT include the use of similar words such as SUCCESS and ABUNDANCE. The conclusion that should be drawn from an objective study is that under the New Covenant PROSPERITY is something special that God has ALREADY made available by GRACE through FAITH in order to accomplish His specific purposes and that it almost always includes present FINANCIAL sufficiency as a key component.

But there's always a hindrance to the accomplishing of God's purposes and PROSPERITY is one of the enemy's main targets. Traditionally for more than 1500 years now the Church has taught that PROSPERITY for the Christian does NOT include financial abundance for this present time on earth and that we should be happy in our chronic financial INSUFFICIENCY because by our acceptance of it we glorify God. The fact is that point of view is still being taught today in many places around the Body of Christ even though I have yet to find it in my Bible. To make matters worse some teachers a few decades ago came up with a PROSPERITY MESSAGE that focused wrongly on financial enrichment for the Believer with the result that many Christian folks today are afraid to even use the word PROSPERITY. And I should know because over the years I have been bounced off of two Christian radio stations for using that word and sternly coached at a third one not to ever say it or I would get bounced there too.

But friends, the Truth is PROSPERITY is an oft-mentioned BIBLE word. To be sure we need to learn what it actually means so we can use it correctly because according to Scripture God wants us to have it. To be PROSPEROUS in a true bible-based-New-Testament-sense means that God through His GRACE has provided a SURPLUS of financial increase over and above what we require to meet our personal FINANCIAL needs and the needs of our families. In other words He wants each Believer to have ALL sufficiency in everything plus an ABUNDANCE (2 Corinthians 9:8). You connect to His GRACE (undeserved empowering favor) through FAITH which usually requires that you have a good understanding of the principles of biblical STEWARDSHIP. Why do you think two-thirds of the Parables of Christ are about money, property and/or stewardship? We're supposed to be learning this stuff so we'll know what to do with His PROSPERITY! And what we're supposed to do with it in general terms is: 1) participate in establishing His Covenants on the earth (Deuteronomy 8:18), and 2) abound to every good work including a continuous process of blessing other people so they'll come to give God the glory (2 Corinthians 9:8-15).

In sum, God wants to use you NOW for the work of the Kingdom and He's released His GRACE for you to take possession of by FAITH so you can "download" His PROSPERITY and get on with it! GOD'S PROSPERITY IS FOR NOW!

A few weeks ago I wrote about the idea that most Believers have either given up altogether on acquiring bible-based financial PROSPERITY in this lifetime or they're just waiting around passively for God to drop it in their laps one day when they've finally performed enough good works or He feels sorry enough for them to finally make it happen. But that's not the way it works in the Kingdom of God. As noted above the GRACE of God has ALREADY been released and except for Jesus it had nothing to do with anybody's good works. GRACE is undeserved and it's available ALREADY because Jesus ALREADY performed all the work that was necessary. Our works aren't needed and they're not good enough anyway. What is needed is FAITH and anyone can receive or "connect to" GRACE at any time by FAITH.

Now in thinking about this idea recently, a couple of scriptures came to mind that were spoken by Jesus and recorded in Luke 16:16 and Matthew 11:12-13 and they bear on this subject in a special way. By all means read these scriptures for yourself but for purposes of this article following is my summary of them keeping in mind that over the years there have been a number of different interpretations of these particular verses that you may want to consider in your own studies:

My view of it is that before the ministry of John the Baptist began, the coming of the Kingdom of God had been prophesied for some 4000 years by the Prophets of old and by the Law of Moses. Those prophesies were being fulfilled when John announced the Good News that the Kingdom was arriving. And so in these cited scriptures Jesus was simply confirming that it had indeed arrived and that its benefits could now be apprehended by anyone who had strong enough FAITH to take them by the force or VIOLENCE of their will. Another way to say this is that the benefits of God's unmerited favor (GRACE) had become available to anyone who would aggressively pursue and take them by FAITH.

By way of illustration, you didn't get born again by being passive and waiting around for God to come by and pick you up. No, you heard about the Word somehow (1 Peter 1:23), your FAITH became strong enough to make it possible to take action (Romans 12:3) and then one day by the FORCE of your own will, by the very VIOLENCE of it, YOU made the decision to invite Jesus to come in and change your life. In response to that exercise of your FAITH you apprehended the forgiveness of your sins that had ALREADY been made available 2000 years ago, you were reconciled with and reconnected to the Spirit of God (Romans 10:5), you were redeemed from the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13), you were rescued from the domain of sin and translated to the Kingdom of God (Colossians 1:13 and you received eternal life (Romans 10:9) among a whole host of other benefits that came to you just from that first FORCEFUL decision. You were going in one direction in your life and you made a VIOLENT and abrupt 180 degree turn and started going in the opposite direction.

In the same way every essential benefit in the Kingdom of God is received by the FORCE of one's FAITH including God's PROSPERITY. In fact, under the New Covenant it's IMPOSSIBLE to get anything of substance done without FAITH (Hebrews 11:6), the more "forceful and violent" the better. We study the Word to find out what the promised benefits are, then we aggressively pursue them in FAITH confident that if we have seen them in the Word they're available to us by FAITH, and then also by FAITH we RECEIVE (apprehend) them and cause those promises to manifest in our lives.

God has seen to it that opportunities for His kind of real PROSPERITY are all around us. They're a part of His GRACE and what we have to learn to do is become spiritually sensitive enough to PERCEIVE the opportunities that He's provided and reject the counterfeits that came from the World. Then we pursue His opportunities and CONNECT to them by the FORCE of our FAITH. There's no shortage of opportunities. God isn't withholding PROSPERITY from anyone because it was fully released 2000 years ago for the people of FAITH to apprehend whenever they want it. How VIOLENT is your FAITH tonight? If it's a little on the weak side then you need to hear the Word more (Romans 10:17) and get stirred up about it. If you're finally tired of insufficiency the PROSPERITY of God awaits you. Just go ahead and take it!   

Thanks for stopping by tonight. We'll be looking for you again next Sunday night on September 1. In the meantime may the Lord bless you with every spiritual blessing and cause you to PROSPER in every area of life.

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:

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

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