God has blessed us to prosper in life because the prosperity of the believer ultimately creates an opportunity for us to represent Him, as we use the blessing to bless others. God, Who is Prosperity Himself, blesses us with prosperity because of how good HE is, not because of how good we are. He blesses us, and thus we bless others. This is the image of God- to abound in all things, with enough, and extra to share.
We are blessed, to be a blessing.
This is how the Kingdom of God works.
What is the difference between being rich, and prospering in the blessing of God? One is this: Prosperity is not a biblical blessing, if it stops at my house. Jesus said it best Himself when Paul spoke of this in the Book of Acts...
"I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the LORD JESUS, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."
Acts 20:35
It is a greater blessing to be in a position to give to others, that to be in a position of needing to receive from others. This is the blessing of God: to be a blessing. This is the call of the Body of Christ: to be conformed into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).
For the ones out there that have been traumatized by preachers that tell you to call forth a lambo in the Name of Jesus, or to give money in order to get one of the promises of God's WORD; just know that that is not what we support at VIA. We are WORD people here. The WORD of God makes it plain that you cannot have faith to receive anything that God's Grace hasn't provided, like a lambo popping out of thin air just to impress your neighbors. And on the other end, you don't need to give to a ministry in order to receive healing, or any of God's promises. The promises are there for you because of everything JESUS has already done for you, and you don't do works to earn them. Rather, it is by grace and through faith, that you must believe and partake of the blessings and promises of God. Passivity will not get you anywhere except defeated. Just as the Israelites actively pursued and possessed the Promised Land, Born-Again believers must actively pursue God through His WORD and grow in knowledge and relationship with Him, in order to truly possess the promises of the New Covenant.
For the Israelites, the land was already there, and already given to them by God, and yet He told them that they must go in and possess it.
Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.
Deuteronomy 1:8 KJV
The Promised land was already set before them. The land was already given. And yet God said, "Go in and possess the land." The same goes for us. This is why so many christians are living defeated lives. The Bible is more available to us than any time in history. We can listen to it while we drive, exercise, even when we bathe. We can read it at all times on our phones and laptops. We can hear sermons without going to church, and get taught the WORD of God 24/7. And yet, we choose otherwise. Social media scrolling, movie streaming, spending years studying things that conform our minds more to this world than to God and His WORD... these are the choices we are making, while the land of New Covenant promises is set right before us. We must be the ones who actively pursue, go in, and possess these promises.
Prosperity is a covenant promise of God. Most know of God's plans to prosper His people through the prophet Jeremiah,
"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 NIV
But God's heart to prosper His people and redeem them from the curse of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, started long before then. It all started with Abram, whom we know in the New Covenant as Abraham.
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Genesis 12:1-3
This is a covenant promise that God made to Abraham, and unto all of His seed. It is the foundation for the biblical concept of blessing and prosperity. I know what some of you are already thinking, that's the Old Testament and it doesn’t apply to New Testament believers. Let's look to scripture because the WORD is the Truth, it is infallible, and it is what we base our faith upon.
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:29 BSB
If we belong to Christ, then we are Abraham's seed and heirs. Well, what promise are we heirs to? The promise and covenant that God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3.
So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
Galatians 3:9 KJV
Those who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. Those who are of faith refers to those who believe in their hearts and confess with their mouths that JESUS is LORD. And these are the ones who have the blessing of God upon their lives, including God's blessing to prosper.
The only qualifiers necessary to be blessed by God, and to in turn be a blessing to others, are:
Be in Christ
Be a blessing
That's it! That is the grace of God. Not of works, but of God Who calls us to receive His blessing! This is why Jesus Christ is the Good News. It's almost too good to be true. But it is true. And He is the Truth. Amen.
Unfortunately, many in the family of God leave gifts unopened beneath Calvary's tree. They never pursue the Giver, they never grow in knowledge of His WORD and relationship with Him, and thus they never receive, never unwrap the revelation of God's blessing.
The promises of God, including His promises to prosper His people, belong to us all, but His promises must be appropriated, pursued, searched out, by faith.
For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks and fountains and springs that flow through the valleys and hills; a land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food without scarcity, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and whose hills are ready to be mined for copper. When you eat and are satisfied, you are to bless the LORD your God for the good land that He has given you.
Deuteronomy 8:7-10
Eating without scarcity and lacking nothing are the blessing of biblical prosperity. No lack, no need. This is written from Old Testament to New, and is a major theme of Christianity. Whether imprisoned for their faith, or in the palace, those who trust in the LORD will lack no good thing. (You see what I did there? The blessing of prosperity does not mean believer's will not be persecuted for their faith or endure trials. Actually, it is because of the WORD prospering believers, that persecutions and afflictions arise. It is because of the believer who desires to prosper to the 100-fold increase with God, that persecution comes.)
Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
Mark 10:28-30 KJV
And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
Mark 4:17 KJV
Regardless of the afflictions and persecutions that come, the people of God never lose His blessing to prosper them in the midst of it. God supplies all of our needs not according to our own abilities and our own riches, but according to HIS riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).
So if we appropriate by faith, what God's grace provides... how do we appropriate wealth in our lives, seeing that God has set the land of His WORD before us to do so?
But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
Deuteronomy 8:18
This is God's promise of grace upon us, that we may generate wealth. The power to get wealth is not merely the ability to earn money, but it is God's grace upon us to create it. It is God who gives innovative ideas for new inventions and systems. It is God who gives us an imagination that can dream up new businesses. It is God who gives wisdom, that we may provide answers to societal and technological issues and needs. It is God who gives us knowledge that we may create the cures to diseases. All of these are examples of God's grace that gives us power to get wealth. And why does He do this? It all goes back to His covenant that He made with Abraham, the Father of Israel's- and our- faith! God gives us power to get wealth because of His goodness, His covenant, and His WORD, not because we earned it. The power to get wealth, the blessing of prosperity, is a testimony of God's beautiful grace. And when we walk in it, we are living testimonies of Him. When God's people live out His blessing of prosperity, it establishes His WORD and His covenant.
Since many of us are not soldiers going into to possess physical land, how do we receive this blessing as New Covenant believers in our every day lives?
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
(As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
2 Corinthians 9:8-11
This is the New Testament definition and purpose of prosperity:
All sufficiency = Never lacking
Abounding to every good work = always having extra for helping others
Ministering seed = providing for the needs of others
Ministering bread = providing for your own needs
Multiplied seed sown = what you give is multiplied
Increased fruits of righteousness = increase in supply towards all your needs to fulfill God's will in your life
Enriched in every thing to all bountifulness = having more than enough in all areas
Thanksgiving = the biblical prosperity of God produces constant gratitude
Biblical prosperity functions so that you may have enough for your needs, and then more than enough to share with others. This is the heart of God. Jesus multiplied the bread and the fish not to just have enough, but to have extra to share.
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. And there were five thousand men who had eaten the loaves.
Mark 6:42-44
All ate. All were satisfied. And there were 12 baskets left over.
God's grace is abounding towards His people to prosper them. Blessing belongs in the house of the Born-Again child of God. And God's first priority with blessing His people, is to meet their needs. He is good, and it is His goodness that draws men to Him. His grace and His heavenly resources never run out. And He desires that all of His people be blessed, to become a blessing; that all would have their own bread, and have seed to give; that all who are His would have enough, and extra!
Most of us don't ask God for more than enough, when praying for our needs. And in a way, we are praying selfishly. Why pray for just enough for ourselves, when we can ask God for enough, and extra for others.
Instead of,
Lord, bless me with money for groceries this week.
Why not,
Lord, bless me with money to buy my groceries for my family, as well as for my neighbor in need.
God, please provide me with work;
can become
God, please provide me with so much work that I am able to give bonuses to my employees and bless their families, too.
Or what about changing,
Jesus, please provide my husband with an income that allows me to stay at home and raise children;
to,
Jesus, provide my husband with an income that allows me to stay at home and raise children, and enough to financially bless single moms who are doing it on their own.
This is the blessing of Kingdom Prosperity. When our desires are focused on ourselves, we are missing out on the true purpose of prosperity. When you develop a heart to give, God will get you both seed and bread! Our giving in the kingdom of God not only meets the needs of other saints, but it also releases thanksgiving and testimony of God's goodness, it models generosity and the heart of God, and it causes others in the Body of Christ to lift up prayers for you. Kingdom Prosperity is a fully functioning system that works... prosperously.
Go to God, ask Him for your needs, and then ask Him for extra to overflow upon others. Ask Him to help you discern what is bread, and what is seed in your life (what God has given for your own needs, and what is for others.) Learn to listen to God, and understand that the purpose and function of prosperity, is not tithing. It is merely the fruits of the covenant blessing of God.
As a blood-bought, Born-Again believer in Jesus Christ, there is nothing you must do to earn this blessing.
Through Jesus and His precious blood, you are in the protection and blessing of God's covenant.
You can start believing and receiving the blessing of God's prosperity today.
Will it come immediately? Most likely, not. God isn't a genie. He makes us conqueror's, overcomer's, and people who create just as He is Creator. When planting a seed, there is a period of time between the sowing and the harvest. Well, the WORD of God is a seed that must take root in your heart, germinate, sprout, and grow before it produces fruit for the harvest. There is a period of time where you will be waiting on the seed of God's WORD regarding the blessing of prosperity to fully produce in your life. Keep letting God's WORD take deep root in you, stay in faith, let the water of His WORD nourish the soil of your heart, and you will see the harvest of biblical prosperity in your life.
The door of Biblical Prosperity is already there. God has set it before you. It's up to you to turn, and walk through it.
Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.’
Deuteronomy 1:21
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