ARTICLES ON FINANCE

DATE:  22 June 2003

SPEAKER:  Pastor Tayo Adeyemi

TITLE: Understanding God's Purpose for prosperity.

TEXT: Psalm 35:27, 3 John 2

Last week we learnt that God is not against our having things, what he is opposed to is things having us. We saw that abundance and prosperity was the way God intended life to be -they were not unusual to Adam. In fact, the abnormality came after he fell. Unfortunately, today we have become so used to not having enough that we react when someone introduces the truth about prosperity to us.
We examined some traditions about prosperity that nullify and incapacitate God .............Our lives.
(1) Some people are destined to be poor
(1) Money is evil
(2) Prosperity is not a spiritual matter
(4) There's not enough to go round
We learnt that there is no limitation of God's ability to bless us; the limitation lies with our own ability and willingness to respond and receive the blessing.
Today we want to examine God's purpose for wanting to prosper us. When purpose is misunderstood, abuse is inevitable. People who are hostile to the prosperity message are so because they do not truly understand God's purpose for it.
They believe it is just a greedy attempt to get more for yourself. No one who properly understands God's purpose for prosperity can reject it, if they truly love God and desire to see his will accomplished on earth.
On the other hand there are, of course, those who want to prosper at all cost without first asking and answering the question Why? If you don't have the 'Why' to a thing God will not give you the 'How'. James 4:3.
We must avoid these two extremes:
(1) Wanting to prosper at all cost without understanding God's purpose for it .
Proverbs 1:32- the prosperity of fools shall destroy them Remember that we can only prosper to the degree that our soul prospers Possession and prosperity are not the essence of life Luke 12: 13-21. Verse 15 "One's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses"
(2) Shunning God's provision for your prosperity
Ecclesiastes 5: 18-19 Timothy 6:17 -- God gives all things to enjoy Proverbs 3:9-10 - When you put God at the centre of all that you are and all that you have, he increases his blessing on your life.
Let us look at three key purposes for prosperity.
(1) Prosperity is God's tool for evangelising the world
Zechariah 1:17 - 'My cities shall again spread out through prosperity". In Genesis Chapter12, When God called Abraham, God made it clear to him that he wanted to bless Abraham so that he could in turn be a blessing; and that ultimately, all the families of the earth should be blessed through him.......Genesis 12 1-3
For all the families of the earth to be blessed they must be saved. This is the biggest issue on God's agenda - This is His overwhelming desire. 1 Timothy 2:3-4
For people to be saved, they must have the gospel and believe. For them to have the gospel. Somebody must preach to them........somebody must be sent. Romans 10; 13-15. "SENT' in this passage is the Greek word 'apostello' which means to be set apart and released on a mission, to be equipped with all things required fulfilling the mission.
For the gospel to be preached, money is required. God is looking for people that he can get the money through. If he can get the money through you, he will get it to you. For example, if you were involved in a big business transaction, you would channel the money through a bank, now the money does not belong to the bank, but for helping you to channel the money, the bank enjoys some benefits.
First, you must settle it in your heart that nothing belongs to you. You are not an owner. You are a steward. Psalm 24:1 - "The earth is the Lord's and all its fullness. Haggai 2:8 - "The silver is mine and the gold is mine." 1 Chronicles 29:10-12; 2 Corinthians 29 19-20 - You, yourself belong to God.
The moment you understand this, you will be willing to release anything that God puts in your hand. The world says "get all you can and hold tightly to it, then you will prosper; but God says " Release what is in your hand and I will replace it with something bigger; God wanted to bless the widow of Zarepath, but she had to let go of the little she had first - 1 King 17: 8-16 God does not put wealth in the hands of people who will hold unto it.
Every time God puts money in your hand it is a character test-what you do with it or fail to do with it. And for every pound you abuse, you have just disqualified yourself from getting the next one. Now this brings me to the second purpose for prosperity.
(2) Prosperity is God's tool for training his children
God wants to train us in the way of the kingdom. And until we truly become kingdom minded, he does not put power in our hands. Matthew 6; 33; Galatians 4; 1-2. When God commands you to give, it's not because he needs to raise money, It's because he wants to raise mature Christians.
There was a farmer who kept his two boys busy on the farm long after other kids had quit. While other children were ............around town, he thought them all the course of his trade, of course as a result, he grew more corn than all the other farmers. One day, someone challenged him. "Don't you think you're a bit too greedy, working your boys so hard and growing all that corn? " he replied, " I am not growing corn I am growing boys."
Wealth is power. As a matter of fact in Deuteronomy 8v18, the word "Wealth" there is better translated "Forces". Prosperity is purpose. And God will not trust you with it unless he is sure that it will not destroy you. So God tests your heart by commanding you to give.
Giving is proof that you have conquered greed. Giving is a proof that you carry the nature of God. God is a giver but Satan is a taker.
Your attitude in giving exposes the true nature of your heart. It means you have;
A generous heart - you're willing to share
A believing heart- you're willing to trust
A thankful heart - you're willing to remember
God interprets your offering as a means of publicly honouring him. Proverbs 3; 9-10. It is a public expression of the fact that he is important to you.
(3) Prosperity is God's Tool for containing the devil.
Prosperity is power. The more prospect you are, the greater your options in life, the bigger your bargaining power.
The devil knows this, and that is why he goes the extra mile to help those who worship him to prosper - Luke 4; 5-7.
When the devil's children prosper, his purpose is advanced in the earth. However, when God's people prosper, the devil's purpose in the earth is hindered. The gospel is preached and souls are saved, the devil loses territory and God's purpose is advanced in the earth.
For Every soul that gets saved, the devil loses territory and his time is shortened. Matthew 24: 14
GOD WANTS YOU TO PROSPER, BUT NOT UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND HIS PURPOSE FOR IT.
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