In previous posts I posted Cris Putnam's Testing the Spirits. Is there anything wrong with having wealth, being prosperous? NO! John 10:10 the words of Christ "The
thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have
come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." What is that? He wants us to have life abundantly!
Matthew 7:7-11 "“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If
you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how
much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those
who ask Him!"
If we are prosperous, and blessed to overflowing then we are able to bless others. To care for them, help supply their needs when they are in need of money, food, clothing, cars whatever it is. John in his 3rd epistle John 3:2 "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." He prays for them to increase in all things, but what is the balance, AS THE SOUL PROSPERS!
Where can we find God's promises of increase? Luke 6:38 "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and
shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For
with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you
again." Sowing into others lives is a wonderful way to increase. Because it is more than just money, it is the submission of flesh to Spirit. When the Spirit calls us to give money to help, support whatever it is not always easy, the flesh does not want to give what in our mind is ours. But, did God not bless us with our prosperity and increase in the first place? So truly to whom does it belong?
Did you know you can test God. There is one place, and only one where he specifically says to test Him. In Malachi 3: “Will a man rob God?Yet you have robbed Me! But you say,
‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts; “And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the Lord of hosts." So by being obedient to God with our money, bringing in the full tithe, the 10% of the gross, the devourer is rebuked for our sake. And we will receive blessings beyond what we can even contain. That is powerful when we think about it. This isn't just in finances. Maybe your car drives longer than it should, your water heater doesn't go out, etc.
What is the balance of all this though. There is nothing wrong with increase, wealth and prosperity, unless that is what drives you. Where is your heart in this issue. It is the question we must all ask in this area. James 3:1-4 "Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
So how are we seeking, asking, sowing? With what motives? If we are seeking these things rather than the King, have we not made wealth and riches our god and befriended the world? Because the world says to attain such things is happiness. And it very clearly states there is a enmity with God if we are friends of the world. It is not saying you cannot be friends with the unsaved, but being a friend as taking on the same views and life. Here is the definition of Enmity:
What does it profit me to gain riches if I forget my first love? He that willingly died for me so that I may have life, and abundantly and dwell in the house of the Lord forever. He at all times must be our focus. The increases we receive in the physical should not be the pursuit, but the seeking of the will of our King. We should want to increase, and be prosperous, but with the understanding that by my increase I can do more for the Kingdom, I can do more to bless others in their lack or need. James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."
Every increase, all the prosperity, and gain is from God, but we must keep the balance. Let our Spirit be filled, and the pursuit of our relationship with Christ, and His commission be the forerunner of our lives.
‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts; “And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the Lord of hosts." So by being obedient to God with our money, bringing in the full tithe, the 10% of the gross, the devourer is rebuked for our sake. And we will receive blessings beyond what we can even contain. That is powerful when we think about it. This isn't just in finances. Maybe your car drives longer than it should, your water heater doesn't go out, etc.
What is the balance of all this though. There is nothing wrong with increase, wealth and prosperity, unless that is what drives you. Where is your heart in this issue. It is the question we must all ask in this area. James 3:1-4 "Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
So how are we seeking, asking, sowing? With what motives? If we are seeking these things rather than the King, have we not made wealth and riches our god and befriended the world? Because the world says to attain such things is happiness. And it very clearly states there is a enmity with God if we are friends of the world. It is not saying you cannot be friends with the unsaved, but being a friend as taking on the same views and life. Here is the definition of Enmity:
"a feeling or condition of hostility; hatred; ill will; animosity; antagonism." so put those words in the verse above.
1 timothy 6:10 " For
the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted
after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through
with many sorrows."What does it profit me to gain riches if I forget my first love? He that willingly died for me so that I may have life, and abundantly and dwell in the house of the Lord forever. He at all times must be our focus. The increases we receive in the physical should not be the pursuit, but the seeking of the will of our King. We should want to increase, and be prosperous, but with the understanding that by my increase I can do more for the Kingdom, I can do more to bless others in their lack or need. James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."
Every increase, all the prosperity, and gain is from God, but we must keep the balance. Let our Spirit be filled, and the pursuit of our relationship with Christ, and His commission be the forerunner of our lives.
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