Life Of Prosperity

Key Verses
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.
For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
Psalm 5:11-12

The Message
What is Prosperity?
Having little finance is some times, if not all times, the greatest challenge believers will face.
But poverty and limited finance is truly a blessing in disguise, a form of God's protective strategy from ungodliness.
Impossible and absurd right?
Kindly continue reading.

I say this because over and over again I've seen so many believers who were broke and committed to serving God but the moment God answered their prayer and they got a financial breakthrough, they had little or no time for God again. And this exposed them to all sorts of crises of what life without Christ is.

It is written.
Two things I request of You
(Deprive me not before I die):
Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches—
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.
Proverbs 30:7-9

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 19:23-24

Notice He said hard, not impossible. Hence he continued with this comforting words of assurance.

When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Matthew 19:25-26

I have come to realise that prosperity is not the first and primary thing God wants to give us.
The first and primary thing is our Salvation from Sin and Bondage.
The primary thing is to give us Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding as we grow in Love and Fear(reverence) of God.
To deliver us from all our habits, attitudes, fears, ignorance, limitations, etc
The Gospel is to transform us from who we are into who we are meant to be, to be like Christ.
Christ wants to transform us so that we may bear the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23
This is what produces Christ-likeness. And Christlikeness is what attracts favours and all the goodness of life.
Christ-likeness will not only prosper us, it is our prosperity.

Unfortunately, everyone including believers chase prosperity first.
Worst still, the word, Christlikeness scares people, even believers. This is another veil.
Where as prosperity without the fruit of the Spirit (Christ-likeness) is what is destroying people and the society.
People begin to use their wealth for oppression instead of liberation. People become selfish, vain and self-centered instead of generous, loving and kingdom-oriented.
Truly, as much as prosperity is an important part of our blessing in God, God would rather pend it till we can handle it, than release it when He knows it will destroy us.

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (lust for wealth).
Matthew 6:24

Is Poverty a Blessing?

Certainly No.
Poverty is a curse. But a blessing in disguise, just as every challenge a Christian faces is a blessing in disguise. It is all to build our Faith and Trust in God.
Life outside Christ is a cursed realm. It is the "Valley of the shadow of death."
But in Christ, God's presence is our prosperity. Having the Holy spirit working and producing fruit in us is our wealth.
I do not want you to get me wrong, monetary prosperity is part of the blessing but it is only an aspect of the physical evidence of the inner working of an inner prosperity of our soul. 3 John 1:2

But until we are truly saved and mature some financial breakthroughs would struggle with God in our lives and turn us away from Godliness.
1 Timothy 6:10

Our riches and wealth should be in proportion to our spiritual growth and maturity.
Now there's a level of wealth Bishop Oyedepo and Pastor Adeboye command now that you and I probably can't handle presently, but even they had to grow into the maturity it demands.
That it would not turn us away from God.

May God deliver us all, individually and as the Body of Christ to pursue who and what we ought to pursue, that we should be able to keep our eyes and focus on God.
In Jesus name.
Amen.

Closing Verses:
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
3 John 2
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6:33

Power To Make Wealth
The term prosperity in Christianity has become the proverbial apple of discord.
Some preach the hatred of money.
Some preach the love of money.

Money certainly is not the problem. Our attitude towards money is the bone of contention.
The problem is the love of money.
Our generation has been mistaught that prosperity is money so we focus all our energy into getting money by all means necessary.
But what says the scriptures?

Choose Your Boss
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Matthew 6:24
Mammon is the Love of Money.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Timothy 6:10

Love of money struggles fiercely with God in a believer's life, and if care is not taken, as in most cases, it successfully takes the place of God in such heart.
The lack of it will either make the believer lose faith. Or the pursuit of it will make a fiery believer have little or no more time for God and even commit all kinds of unrighteousness just to amass more money. There has to be balance. That balance is Contentment.

Change Your Focus
To be successful and wealthy, we must first lose our interest in money.
To so many of us, this sounds impossible. "How can I lose interest in money with all my bills, needs and upkeep?"
Losing interest in money does not imply not needing it. It simply means it stops being our primary focus. It stops driving us.
Let your primary focus be God.
Let self development be your focus.
Let solution, service and value be your focus.
Let the interest of others interest you.
At such, be contented with what you have, trusting God's will for your life, even in your finances.

To be truly rich, we must first reach for something deeper.
We must first passionately pursue God and want to make things Right, instead of using our passion to pursue destructive lusts.

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:31-34

Truly, God ways are not our ways. He wants us to be wealthy, but He doesn't want wealth to control and destroy us.
He does not want to bless us only for us to be driven out of His presence by our lusts.
He does not want us to keep struggling like mere labourers. He wants us to come into rest as He supplies our needs and gives us peace of mind.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Life of Favors
Pursuing Christ brings us into the Divine inheritance.
Pursuing Christ connects us with the Eternal Covenant.
Building a Divine Intimacy with God is what produces Extraordinary Exploits for Total and Tactical Turn Around in our lives.
This is what produces favors in the life of a believer. This is how we partake in the heavenly DIET.

For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you.
You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new.
Leviticus 26:9

Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’
“And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day
Deuteronomy 8:16-18

God doesn't want us to make ourselves successful and rich because such doesn't last long. Because we will become proud, we will become oppressive, we will forget Him and hence end up destroying ourselves and others.
He Himself wants to make us successful and rich spiritually, intellectually, maritally, medically, mentally, emotionally, etc. That through us, He may be glorified, His Kingdom will expand, souls will be won and others will be blessed.

The Eternal Wealth
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
Genesis 15:1

God made a covenant with our Father of Faith, Abraham. This covenant was fulfilled in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
The Wealth and Prosperity God wants to give us is incorruptible. It is the one that attracts every other wealth to us. And that wealth is the Holy Spirit.

Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
Lukec24:49

The Holy Spirit is the full package of God's prosperity. With Him comes the power to Know all things, the power to Remember all things, the power to be Excellent in all things.
He equips a believer with the Skills to be the best in any field He finds best for you.
He attracts Favours to you on all sides.

It is a very costly mistake to assume you have the Holy Spirit when you haven't received Him.
The most important thing to ensure this year is that you are Born of the Spirit and Water. (John 3)
It is equally imperative that our mind is constantly being renewed and our souls are prosperous.
The prosperity of our souls is primary to God.

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
3 John 2

The Cost Of True Wealth
God's wealth is received and increased by Faith. It comes with a price. It comes with a catch. It comes with conditions. It comes with obedience. It comes with generosity.
It comes with the salvation of our souls.
God will test you to make sure you can put His wealth to good use.
But truly, the result and reward of the tests are immeasurable.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:6-9

Anybody catching feelings over my prospering, after they've enjoyed what there is to enjoy of (Nigeria's) wealth, I really don't care what you have to say.

The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof.