Good Afternoon Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
If there is ONE thing that causes more division in churches than anything else, it’s the subject of “prosperity.” This and subsequent emails, all part of the series on prosperity, will deal with the subject of prosperity from God’s perspective. Why? Because ONLY what God has said counts. Man’s opinions or wisdom means absolutely nothing to God. In fact, let’s quickly see what God has to say about man’s wisdom or opinions.
I Corinthians 3:19
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
God is letting us know that our carnal wisdom and our opinions are foolishness unto Him. Why? Because ONLY God’s Word is the Truth; ONLY God’s Word counts. Nothing else matters. And, if we’re foolish enough to depend on our carnal wisdom or another’s carnal wisdom or opinions, then we voluntary expose ourselves to the curse of carnal wisdom and opinions. Remember, the curse comes from Satan, not God. Spiritual Truth takes precedence over physical facts. This is how the Kingdom of God works.
The emails in this series will be short so you can read and absorb them more easily. Prosperity from God means spiritual, material, and physical prosperity.
God first addressed prosperity in the book of Genesis, chapter one.
Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
“And God blessed them.” “Blessed” is the Hebrew word “barak” which means “to kneel, bless.” Further detailed study of the Hebrew shows God is “abundantly benefitting man” or “blessing” him. God’s abundant befitting of man comes through divine fruitfulness, multiplying, replenishing, and subduing which leads to dominion. I’m not going to do it here, but if you as “God’s Warrior of The Word” will study it, you’ll find each of the blessings of The Blessing, in Deuteronomy 28:1-14 (The Blessing given to Abraham in Genesis 12:2), fit into the categories of “fruitful, multiply, replenish, and subdue.” Try it. Write down each of the categories, then list which verse belongs to which category. In addition, list which of the blessings are “spiritual, physical, or material.” It will be a blessing to you to do this. Let me give you one hint: they are all spiritual. Everything in the physical realm originates from the spiritual realm, whether it is good or bad. You just need to figure out which are material and which are physical (health).
God said in Genesis 1:28 man is to have “dominion” “over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” What I’m going to share next is going to really stretch some of you based on what you’ve been taught, or not been taught. I think we can all agree that “every living thing” refers to mammal, birds, reptiles, fish, and men. What if I tell you it also applies to all plant life, to all components of the earth (sea, air, land), and to all spiritual beings. See, I knew you would choke on this last sentence. It’s hard enough to believe we have dominion over animals, birds, fish, and men. Is a spirit a “living thing?” Of course, it is. The spirit never dies. It lives on for all eternity. There are Heavenly Spirits and evil spirits. God has given you dominion over both through the finished works of Jesus Christ, who dwells in you. This is why you can bind Satan and his demonic forces (Matthew 18:18-19) on this earth.
Psalm 115:16
The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath He given to the children of men.
The earth belongs to the Believer. Adam and Eve lost the title deed of the earth to Satan, and Jesus, the Son of man, took it back as the Last Adam and now it belongs to anyone who makes Jesus the Lord of their lives.
Luke 10:19
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
“Serpents” and “scorpions,” in Luke 10:19, are not referring to actual serpents and scorpions, although you do have power over them. Serpents and scorpions are terms used to refer to demonic spirits and fallen angels throughout the Scriptures. The “enemy” is Satan. Jesus is speaking this and tells us NOTHING can hurt us. What is “NOTHING?” It means “anything.” There is NOT ONE THING or there is NOT ANYTHING that can harm you. Can anyone say COVID-19? Is it a “thing?” Well, God’s Word says “NO THING” can hurt you. But you must believe it and confess it.
Isaiah 54:17
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the LORD.
COVID or any other sickness, disease, infirmity, or weakness is from Satan and is a “weapon” of Isaiah 54:17. Please don’t subscribe to Satan’s sermon that God uses sickness or infirmity against you to teach you and to glorify Himself. That’s just ignorance gone to seed – a fool. James 1:17, among many other verses, tells us ONLY GOOD GIFTS AND PERFECT GIFTS can come from God. If God gave anything other than good gifts and perfect gifts, He would be a liar. Sorry, but if I must choose between a man and God as to who the liar is, the man loses out every single time. Paul makes it clear that any man or woman, be they a Pope, preacher, bishop, priest, teacher, angel, etc., that teaches anything other than God’s inerrant Word, they are accursed. This means they receive a double portion of the curse while on earth. It’s clear in Galatians 1:6-8.
Ok, we are laying the foundation for prosperity in the earth. Subsequent emails will delve further into it. But rest assured God takes great joy in His Children’s prosperity.
Psalm 35:27
Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favor my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
The word “prosperity” in this verse is the Hebrew word “Shalem” which means “completeness, soundness, welfare, and peace.” Further detailed study shows God delights in His Children being just as His Son is (I John 4:17). God wants us to be in this world just as His Son is right now at the right hand of God. I’ve shared this many times before, but I will do it again, since we can never hear it enough. How is Jesus right now?
Revelation 5:12
Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.
Yes, you ALREADY have the very same things. Looks like “prosperity” to me. What do you think? More to come with the next email.
For all of you, I pray your families and you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Don’t allow your Thanksgiving to be defined by COVID, the election, the national and world affairs, the economy, etc. Allow your Thanksgiving to be defined by what your precious and Holy Father says about you – the real you. Gives thanks to Him for what He has already blessed you with, which is everything. Now, ask Him to teach you how to manifest these blessings from the spiritual realm into the physical realm and then enjoy the barak and shalem of the Father through Jesus Christ.
Walk with the heart of a lamb and the attitude of a lion.
In Christ,
Larry