The
world’s economy is in shambles, with people complaining everywhere. But listen,
the Word says God’s eyes are on the generous. He cannot do without them, for
they’ve set their heart to prosper His work. God’s economy does not depend on
that of the world; as His child, you’re not supposed to be limited by the
world’s systems. God is able to pour earthly blessings on you so much so that
you will be self-sufficient, possessing enough to help you carry out your godly
responsibility. You will require no aid or support from the government or any
organization. Instead, you will donate; you’ll give out to people even if the
world’s economy is in a mess.
This
reminds me of Jeremiah 17:7-8
(Amplified): “[Most]
blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and
whose hope and confidence the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by
the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and
fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and
full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit.”
So we we’re not bothered where the world’s economy shifts to, for we don’t
function by its system. We bear fruits no matter what; delicious fruits (NLT).
When you look at the people of the world, they are always full of care about where
the economy is going. The Word says we won’t be anxious and full of care like the
rest of the world. We don’t survive in the world, we thrive!
But
there are believers who are always complaining. Well, they have decided to
remain where they are; they don’t know it is the Lord who makes us rich in
order to carry out His plans and purposes in the earth. In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul adds some amazing statements: “As it is
written, He [the benevolent person] scatters abroad; He gives to the poor; His
deeds of justice and goodness and kindness and benevolence will go on and
endure forever! [Ps 112:9.] And [God] Who
provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply
your [resources for] sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness
[which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness, and charity]. [Isa
55:10; Hos 10:12.]
Thus
you will be enriched in all things and in every way, so that you can be
generous, and [your generosity as it is] administered by us will bring forth
thanksgiving to God. For the service that the ministering of this fund renders
does not only fully supply what is lacking to the saints (God's people), but it
also overflows in many [cries of] thanksgiving to God. Because at [your]
standing of the test of this ministry, they will glorify God for your loyalty
and obedience to the Gospel of Christ which you confess, as well as for your
generous-hearted liberality to them and to all [the other needy ones].
And
they yearn for you while they pray for you, because of the surpassing measure
of God's grace (His favor and mercy and spiritual blessing which is shown
forth) in you. Now thanks be to God for His Gift, [precious] beyond telling
[His indescribable, inexpressible, free Gift]!” (verse 9-15). The benevolent person’s
work will go on and endure forever! Hallelujah! His soul business is to find
something to do in order to make wealth for God’s Kingdom. Remember that person
doesn’t function like any other businessman; he has an anointing upon him that
causes everything he does to prosper! He wins where others are failing.
He
may have little or no knowledge about his work but the Lord gives him a special
grace to function. He Nothing
can stop him from being fruitful in the office God has called him to – for the
Lord Himself is his Source! God Himself is the one who provides seed for the
sower and bread for the eater, so what has he got to worry about? Nothing at
all! Scripture says he will be enriched in all things and every way. This is so
that he can continue his generosity, which brings forth thanksgiving to God; oh
my God! He doesn’t supply only what is lacking to God’s people, but it
overflows in many thanksgiving to God. Interestingly, God inhabits in the
praise of His people (Psalm 22:3).
You
know, as saints receive the gifts, they will keep thanksgiving God for providing
what they needed. But then, God used you as a source! That’s what God seeks to
do in the body of Christ, but many people are missing out on it. And do you
know the good part also? They need you so much while they pray for you, all
because of what God provided for them through you. Even though I’m full time in
school, my heart is connected to this. I’m always like: “God, I want to give
billions to prosper your kingdom. Souls have to be won, not just one on one,
but that they will be swept into your kingdom like flood!” But in order to make
that possible, money is needed.
And
you know, even though I’m currently in school, the Lord’s opened certain doors
I never thought of. I’m so grateful God made His Words and purposes plain to me
in this way. What believers are lacking are the mysteries in Christ. There’s so
much in Christ; unless the Holy Ghost helps you, you wouldn’t know much.
There’s a big difference between being passionate about making wealth for the Kingdom
of God and loving wealth itself. Never put your trust in wealth – learn to
share what you have: “Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly
flourish like leaves in spring” (Proverbs 11:28). Wealth promises power and control, but often it
cannot deliver. Great fortunes can be made and lost-overnight and no amount of
money can provide health, happiness, or eternal life. How much better it is to
let God be your Master. His servants have peace of mind and security, both now
and forever.
Don’t
be trapped into making money by wrong means: “Don’t try to get rich by extortion or
robbery. And if your wealth increases, don’t make it the center of your life”
(Psalm 62:10). The Psalmist
understand what he’s saying, for he also shared his experience: “I myself have
seen it happen-proud and evil people thriving like mighty trees. But when I
looked again, they were gone! Though I searched for them, I could not find
them!” (Psalm 37:35-36).
How said would it be to make billions of investments here on earth and not have
a cent in heaven! Time spent on this earth is but a small dot on line that
never ends. What really counts is the heavenly treasure we lay up while we are
here on earth.
Let’s
make wise use of our finances, spending our money to help those in need and to
spread the gospel. In this way, our earthly investment will bring eternal
benefit. We have a glorious inheritance (Ephesians
1:18). God’s glorious riches are available to all those who believe in
Christ Jesus. But we must think of them as coming from Him, and not of our own
doing or fully in our own possession. Learn also not to be envious of the gifts
others have. Instead, look for the gifts God has given you, and resolve to do
the tasks he has uniquely qualified you to do. Learn to manage money; otherwise
it will manage you. God lovingly and generously provides for our needs. God’s
desire is for us to trust in him as the living provider – not to trust in the
provision itself or the pursuit thereof.
Those
who choose to trust in anything or anyone other than God will be judged by God.
Be careful about the way you handle things: “Thus says the Lord: Let not the wise and skillful person
glory and boast in his wisdom and skill; let not the mighty and powerful person
glory and boast in his strength and power; let not the person who is rich [in
physical gratification and earthly wealth] glory and boast in his [temporal
satisfactions and earthly] riches; But let him who glories glory in this: that
he understands and knows Me [personally and practically, directly discerning
and recognizing My character], that I am the Lord, Who practices
loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things
I delight, says the Lord” (Jeremiah
9:23-24, AMP. See also 1 Corinthians
1:31; 2 Corinthians 10:17).
God
wants us to know Him directly and personally; practically, which means by
experience. Most at times people describe God in ways that seem questionable.
You see, there’s knowledge about God that goes beyond the letters in scriptures.
That’s a knowledge that comes by revelation. Such is an example of knowledge
Paul desired for the believers in Ephesus: “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge
of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what
is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the saints” (Ephesians
1:17-18).
The
Apostle Peter tells us: “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the
knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2). The Greek word for “knowledge” here is “epignosis.” It means full knowledge that transcends mere awareness; an esoteric knowledge – discernment or full understanding of God and our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. So there's Bible alright, but you don't get “epignosis” from it; you get it by revelation from the Holy Spirit. We're not to trust and boast in our abilities; we're to boast in God, for we know Him by revelation. This is the best man can ever get in his life. It is written: “How much better is it to get wisdom
than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!” (Proverbs
16:16).
No
wonder Paul declared: “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the
priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything
else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ” (Philippians 3:8, NLT). The reason why a
lot of Christians are failing and experiencing difficulties almost throughout
their lives is because of their ignorance. These are the same people who
wouldn’t accept what you teach. No wonder they are crushed, bruised and suffer
for rejecting knowledge (Hosea 4:6).
You can imagine the number of people who are also misusing their wealth for
lack of knowledge. For them, they think they are making investments. But
investment without considering the Kingdom of God is worthless!
No
wonder they love and care for the things of the world so much. Jesus didn’t
make a mistake by saying a man’s heart is where his treasure is. His heart is
connected to the world because he has no investment in heaven. In the end, he’d
only realize he’s been a fool! Why should I only think about hoarding and not
giving out, just because I want to become “the richest man in the world?” I
have great investment in heaven, and the good part is that it’s very safe. And
for sure, I’ll receive an eternal reward for it; not that of the world that
perishes!
As
a Christian, don’t be so concerned about your physical needs. The Lord began to
speak to me when I was very young. As boy, I had several needs to be met.
Whenever He spoke, He’d call me by name and say, “Be anxious for nothing!” This
actually made Philippians 4:6 one of
my favourite verses. Be like David who said, “The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything
I need” (Psalm 23:1, TLB).
Jesus makes a law: “…don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing.
Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your
heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need
from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary
concern” (Matthew 6:31-33,
NLT).
If
you’re an employer, try as much as you can to live in peace with your
employees. Pay them well, do not cheat. One of the reasons why people cheat is
because they think their source of wealth comes from their work. This is also
one of the reasons why people in government steal from the nation’s resources.
They think they’re in power so if they don’t quickly do something, they will
have difficulties when there’s a change in government. My Bible tells me that, “It is the
Lord's blessing that makes a person rich, and hard work adds nothing to it”
(Proverbs 10:22, GW). The Living
Bible says “All our work adds nothing to
it!” If you let this gain mastery over you, I don’t think you’ll consider
cheating.
God’s
blessing does not depend on the work you do. Do Christians really understand
the favour of God? That’s why the Bible admonishes us to grow in grace (2 Peter 3:18). No condition is too poor
that God cannot change to His glory. He turned a slave boy to a Prime Minister
of a foreign country (Genesis 41:37-44);
not even his home country. Or is it not written, that “He picks up the poor from out of the dirt,
rescues the wretched who've been thrown out with the trash, seats them among
the honored guests, a place of honor among the brightest and best”?
(Psalm 113:7-8, MSG). There are
Christians who live on terms with God as though they are workers for Him.
Listen, the way an employer acts towards his employee is different from his
relationship with his son. The employee works hard to receive something from
the master, but the son doesn’t. We don’t struggle for anything!
The
son is an heir to the father’s property; he’s legally entitled to it. If so,
then why do most believers go before God slouching like mere beggars! We are
even not employees, how much more beggars? Or is it not written that we are
sons of God? (1 John 3:2). Oh boy! We
are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-17). You see, as I mediate on these things, tears begin
to roll down my cheek. I’m not sad; but I’m grateful to God for giving man such
an honour. Why would we struggle if we become fully aware of our rights and
privileges in Christ? Like Paul, I pray that believers all around the world would
come to the true knowledge of their identity in Christ; that they be filled
with the “epignosis” of God.
The
rich rules over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender (Proverbs 22:7). Although borrowing
money is not, in itself, sinful, we are to be careful and wise in our borrowing
so we don’t become slaves to debt. If you co-sign a loan for a friend or
guarantee the debt of someone you hardly know, get out of it if you possibly
can (Proverbs 6:1-5). Debt is not a
sin, but it is a dangerous thing. We are to avoid it whenever possible. Do well
to pay all your debts (Romans 13:8).
Although incurring debt may not be sinful, the failure to repay is serious
problem. As a child of God, desire to be a lender, never a borrower. God wants
us to be givers. If you apply what we’ve learnt so far, you will always be a
giver and not a borrower!
It’s
my prayer that what I’ve shared with you will have a great impact in your life.
God will give you everything you need when you make His Kingdom your primary
concern, by seeking to prosper it. In that way, He’s ready to channel His
resources through you and be a blessing to many. He’ll make you a steward of
His unlimited resources; what an honour! Take note that He takes care of you
before it overflows to others; He’s a just God. That’s Jehovah-Jireh – the Lord
our Provider!
Finally
brethren, I want you to know that “…God has reserved a priceless inheritance for his
children. It is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of
change and decay” (1 Peter
1:4, TLB). Keep storing your treasures in heaven.
I
love you,
God
bless you!Labels: PROSPERITY AND SUCCESS