God wants YOU to prosper

[Totton Linnet]

I know it will offend you, God's word always come with much offence.

When we say to the sinnerman "sinnerman be righteous" he takes great offence at us, so also when we say "sickman arise and be well" it will kindle anger. So also when we find the beggar sat in his stink and say "beggarman gird yourself to sit among princes" great offence is caused.

mericans are offended, who have so much and seems to know so little.

Yes FIRST we must attend to our spiritual condition, "seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness" that's the rule but then "ALL these things shall be added unto YOU"

"Things"

God has sent forth His great Apostle Paul to teach us and lead us into the way of prosperity, he sets forth God's plan in his epistles.

 

[Nick M]

Americans have so much because socialism, regardless of name, was ditched for capitalism which is free exchange. You covetous thief.

 

[nikolai_42]

Yes FIRST we must attend to our spiritual condition, "seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness" that's the rule but then "ALL these things shall be added unto YOU"

"Things"

God has sent forth His great Apostle Paul to teach us and lead us into the way of prosperity, he sets forth God's plan in his epistles.

I don't normally post long parts of scripture with short explanations, but this seems appropriate here :

Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.
The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
Psalm 37:3-20

The whole thing is applicable, but at the heart of it is that the one who delights in the Lord (seeks His Kingdom first) will find himself inheritor of all things (Rev 21:7). Yet the one who delights himself in the Lord has his priorities changed - he no longer prizes the wealth of the world. So those "things" fade into insignificance in the light of Christ. The wicked, on the other hand, seek all those things. That is their Kingdom and so they fight for it.

That said, since the righteous man does not covet another's wealth (and certainly has wealth himself - private ownership is a biblical fundamental), these wars over "things" also cease.

 

[iamaberean]

Generally speaking those that teach 'name it and claim it' are also the ones that teach 'if you don't tithe, you are robbing God'.

 

[Totton Linnet]

I don't normally post long parts of scripture with short explanations, but this seems appropriate here :

Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.
The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
Psalm 37:3-20

The whole thing is applicable, but at the heart of it is that the one who delights in the Lord (seeks His Kingdom first) will find himself inheritor of all things (Rev 21:7). Yet the one who delights himself in the Lord has his priorities changed - he no longer prizes the wealth of the world. So those "things" fade into insignificance in the light of Christ. The wicked, on the other hand, seek all those things. That is their Kingdom and so they fight for it.

That said, since the righteous man does not covet another's wealth (and certainly has wealth himself - private ownership is a biblical fundamental), these wars over "things" also cease.

Thank you....here is the problem Nic of the lai

You know that if the devil cannot get you to sin, he changes tack and instead of tempting you he seeks to push you into overzealousness, if we will not cosset our flesh with luxury he pushes us the other way into extreme harshness and will worship.

We start to forbid ourselves and deny ourself of perfectly legitimate human wants and needs...some people actually begin to flog themselves and lie down upon beds of nails.

They develop doctrines out of this extreme "holiness" lifestyles, they take vows of chastisy and poverty and believe the poorer we are the more holy and humble we shall be.

It is all part of the working for salvation, earning God's favour thing.

Indeed I think the average Christian totally dichotomises their life between that which is spiritual and that which is earthly and carnal, God is to do with the spirit but nothing to do with our humanity.

Not only so but these attitudes have been passed down from generation after generation of Christians and is completely imbedded into our mindset when we come before God.

We forget the words of dear Saviour who warns us about worrying and fretting after things which the heathens worry about...what we shall eat. what we shall wear...Christians do not relate these things to God. Yet Jesus says that our Father in heaven is VERY concerned about these matters on our behalf

How THANKLESS Christians can be, after all they have worked hard and earned the money to buy these things.

It is a POVERTY mindset....I will tell yo something, it is offensive to God's Father heart. The way Christians think about God in this and in other areas cuts God.

Moreover

God's provision, His power to provide and His willingness to provide is part of the gospel. Salvation is FULL salvation, for our souls and for our bodies. We have been redeemed Paul says from the curse of the law

Poverty is a curse

How India has needed to know that God does not impoverish people but He abundantly blesses people.

 

[Totton Linnet]

Generally speaking those that teach 'name it and claim it' are also the ones that teach 'if you don't tithe, you are robbing God'.

We do not preach "give, give, give" for the bible does not teach "give, give, give"

The bible teaches "give and it shall be given you again, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over shall MEN give into your bosom"

 

[Totton Linnet]

..."for with the measure you mete shall it be meted to you again"

 

[iamaberean]

We do not preach "give, give, give" for the bible does not teach "give, give, give"

The bible teaches "give and it shall be given you again, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over shall MEN give into your bosom"

Totton,
Jesus was not talking about money, he was talking about giving of yourself to help others. The only part about money came here:
Luk 6:24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.

 

[Totton Linnet]

Totton,
Jesus was not talking about money, he was talking about giving of yourself to help others. The only part about money came here:
Luk 6:24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.

That won't do at all

How can good deeds be pressed down, shaken together and running over. Yes He might well say today "woe to you who are rich"

The wrong people were rich in those days, the Herods, the Caiphas's, the Annas's all Jews who were the toadies of the Romans. They cruelly exacted taxes upon their own people, when the Pharisees demanded tithes to be paid of course they were the recipients of the tithes.

The wrong people are rich today, woe to them.

There are two kinds of prosperity, there is worldly prosperity and there is godly prosperity. The wealth of this planet belongs to God, the gold, the silver, the cattle on a thousand hills. How do YOU want that wealth to be distributed? do you wish to send rockets to the moon? to build enough explosive power to destroy mankind many times over? what?

Now I agree with Nicolai the Christian's business is not to chase after uncertain wealth, we chase after God and God says if we will pursue righteousness He will make wealth to chase after us and to overtake us.

For myself I will love God if I have got nothing and have done, if I have money I want to see where I can use it to prosper God's work, The worldly way to wealth and riches is to GRAB and to horde. The godly way is to GIVE.

Many Christians love their money too much to give too much. They give God the left overs.

But Paul said on the first day of the week set aside what you intend to give, put God FIRST.

The gospel, the good news of the Kingdom of God, that is the next age when God through Christ take back reign of this earth, it is the age of righteousness, peace and prosperity. But for us it is at hand.

 

[Totton Linnet]

Remember this...they called Paul a moneygrubber....oh yes. They accused him when he went a begging for money of behaving in a worldly fashion

 

[Bradley D]

John Wesley taught make all you can and give all you can. He was disappointed when many heeded making all you can, but were not so much into the giving.

 

[marhig]

That won't do at all

How can good deeds be pressed down, shaken together and running over. Yes He might well say today "woe to you who are rich"

The wrong people were rich in those days, the Herods, the Caiphas's, the Annas's all Jews who were the toadies of the Romans. They cruelly exacted taxes upon their own people, when the Pharisees demanded tithes to be paid of course they were the recipients of the tithes.

The wrong people are rich today, woe to them.

There are two kinds of prosperity, there is worldly prosperity and there is godly prosperity. The wealth of this planet belongs to God, the gold, the silver, the cattle on a thousand hills. How do YOU want that wealth to be distributed? do you wish to send rockets to the moon? to build enough explosive power to destroy mankind many times over? what?

Now I agree with Nicolai the Christian's business is not to chase after uncertain wealth, we chase after God and God says if we will pursue righteousness He will make wealth to chase after us and to overtake us.

For myself I will love God if I have got nothing and have done, if I have money I want to see where I can use it to prosper God's work, The worldly way to wealth and riches is to GRAB and to horde. The godly way is to GIVE.

Many Christians love their money too much to give too much. They give God the left overs.

But Paul said on the first day of the week set aside what you intend to give, put God FIRST.

The gospel, the good news of the Kingdom of God, that is the next age when God through Christ take back reign of this earth, it is the age of righteousness, peace and prosperity. But for us it is at hand.

I do believe that it's better not to have excess wealth, I believe excess money takes hold of us. Once people see it building up in the bank they find it hard to let it go, I've seen this many times in people.

Matthew 6

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Material wealth)
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?


When the young rich man asked what he should do to inherit eternal life and then said that he had followed all the commandments from his youth. Jesus said this in Matthew 19

Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.


You can see that there were many who had a different heart to that young man, seen here in Acts 4

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

We can inherit all the wealth of the world, but it's nothing and material wealth is nothing to God, and when greed gets a hold of us, it's a bad thing, it's better to share what we have, Jesus saw more heart in the woman who gave her 2 mites than the man giving out of his plenty. It's easy to give out of wealth, but it's hard to share all that you have, unless God is in the heart, then we become a giver and it's better not to build our treasure on the earth but to build our treasure in heaven by loving others the way Jesus taught us to and be a giver. And I can't see Jesus having money for long, I think he would have shared everything he had to all who needed it. But he didn't seem to have much at all. At times he didn't even have a place to lay his head.

The love of money, is the root of all evil.

I believe that it's better to give it out before the love of it sets in.

 

[Totton Linnet]

I do believe that it's better not to have excess wealth, I believe excess money takes hold of us. Once people see it building up in the bank they find it hard to let it go, I've seen this many times in people.

Matthew 6

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Material wealth)
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?


When the young rich man asked what he should do to inherit eternal life and then said that he had followed all the commandments from his youth. Jesus said this in Matthew 19

Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.


You can see that there were many who had a different heart to that young man, seen here in Acts 4

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

We can inherit all the wealth of the world, but it's nothing and material wealth is nothing to God, and when greed gets a hold of us, it's a bad thing, it's better to share what we have, Jesus saw more heart in the woman who gave her 2 mites than the man giving out of his plenty. It's easy to give out of wealth, but it's hard to share all that you have, unless God is in the heart, then we become a giver and it's better not to build our treasure on the earth but to build our treasure in heaven by loving others the way Jesus taught us to and be a giver. And I can't see Jesus having money for long, I think he would have shared everything he had to all who needed it. But he didn't seem to have much at all. At times he didn't even have a place to lay his head.

The love of money, is the root of all evil.

I believe that it's better to give it out before the love of it sets in.

I truly do not believe in slangbanging the church, I BELIEVE in the church, if she is not perfect today she will one day be perfect [she actually IS perfect in God's eyes] The church is God's garden, a garden has seasons, seasons of plowing and digging, seeding, weeding and fruitfulness...pruning.

God can at any time suddenly bring His church into the place where she ought to be, the reformation struck like a bombshell. Christians are my brothers and sisters, we have all of us a stake, we have a common heritage.

But we can look objectively, we can tell the truth and the truth is that the western church is horribly backslidden. She is welded still to the world and the world system, and the world's way of doing things.

The reformation was a break from Catholicism but not a break from the world system. Luther and co took us back to the Fathers [so called] but not back to the apostles. There was a reason for that, for they relied upon the civil and government power every bit as much as the 4th century Catholics relied on Rome.

You say we ought not to depend upon our bank balance, we cannot serve 2 masters, that is to say God and Mammon. But the cold hard truth is THAT is exactly what 95 per cent ARE doing.

I agree the way out of it is to get into the lifestyle of giving....prosperity is a mindset, a lifestyle, it's KNOWING that God has our back financially as well as in other areas.

God will never be any man or woman's Debtor, you know that rich young ruler missed it, he heard what Jesus said "sell what you have and give to the poor and come follow Me" and he went away sad for he had much wealth....if he had hung around a bit he would have heard what Jesus said next

"No man has left home or lands or goods for My sake but he shall receive a HUNDREDFOLD in this age and in
the age to come eternal life"

I do not advocate foolishness in giving, we know all about the pitch of certain preachers, I believe in steady organised giving....God will always bless it, He has promised to multiply our resources.

 

[marhig]

I truly do not believe in slangbanging the church, I BELIEVE in the church, if she is not perfect today she will one day be perfect [she actually IS perfect in God's eyes] The church is God's garden, a garden has seasons, seasons of plowing and digging, seeding, weeding and fruitfulness...pruning.

God can at any time suddenly bring His church into the place where she ought to be, the reformation struck like a bombshell. Christians are my brothers and sisters, we have all of us a stake, we have a common heritage.

But we can look objectively, we can tell the truth and the truth is that the western church is horribly backslidden. She is welded still to the world and the world system, and the world's way of doing things.

The reformation was a break from Catholicism but not a break from the world system. Luther and co took us back to the Fathers [so called] but not back to the apostles. There was a reason for that, for they relied upon the civil and government power every bit as much as the 4th century Catholics relied on Rome.

You say we ought not to depend upon our bank balance, we cannot serve 2 masters, that is to say God and Mammon. But the cold hard truth is THAT is exactly what 95 per cent ARE doing.

I agree the way out of it is to get into the lifestyle of giving....prosperity is a mindset, a lifestyle, it's KNOWING that God has our back financially as well as in other areas.

God will never be any man or woman's Debtor, you know that rich young ruler missed it, he heard what Jesus said "sell what you have and give to the poor and come follow Me" and he went away sad for he had much wealth....if he had hung around a bit he would have heard what Jesus said next

"No man has left home or lands or goods for My sake but he shall receive a HUNDREDFOLD in this age and in
the age to come eternal life"

I do not advocate foolishness in giving, we know all about the pitch of certain preachers, I believe in steady organised giving....God will always bless it, He has promised to multiply our resources.

The true church are those who do the will of the father and not the will of the flesh.

 

[Totton Linnet]

John Wesley taught make all you can and give all you can. He was disappointed when many heeded making all you can, but were not so much into the giving.

Ah Brad this is exactly the case, dear Spurgeon used to complain along the same lines....but with respect to these MIGHTY men of God...they were very much in the "give, give, give" mould, give your money and don't spect anything back....what farmer would sow his seed and never expect a harvest? Paul says our righteous sowing WILL produce a harvest of blessing....as a man sows so also will he reap, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. he who sows abundantly will also reap abundantly.

Friends Mammon is about to fail, but God will never fail, this secret is with those who fear Him.

 

[Totton Linnet]

The true church are those who do the will of the father and not the will of the flesh.

The Father has revealed His will

Give and it shall be given unto you again, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over shall men give into your bosom for with the measure you mete shall it be meted unto you again"

"I willest above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth"

 

[marhig]

The Father has revealed His will

Give and it shall be given unto you again, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over shall men give into your bosom for with the measure you mete shall it be meted unto you again"

"I willest above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth"

In the first verse he's talking about having a good heart and being a giver in every way, helping those around us, and we will always be taken care of. Hes not talking about wealth.

The second verse is about growing in the spirit, prosper doesn't just mean in wealth, prosper also means to flourish, progress and grow strong, as you can see Paul is talking about our soul prospering, and our soul can only prosper by the spirit not wealth.

I believe it's better not to build up and not to live in excess. How can we keep money when we see people in need? What would Jesus's do? I believe that he'd would have shared whatever he had.

 

[iamaberean]

Giving to the poor is more important than giving to anyone else. Notice that Jesus or his disciples ever said give to the church. It makes good sense to help pay expenses for upkeep, but the pastor should find a job just as you and I do. The Lord will provide.

Mar 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

1Co 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Eph 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

 

[Totton Linnet]

It won't do

We should have a good heart and be kind and do good, but you cain't put these things in a sack and press them down shake them together, they will not run over....neither will men put them into our bosom.

If you translated the whole bible the way you are translating this verse nothing would mean anything, He is speaking about giving and receiving.

The second could not be a clearer expression of God's will, we know it is John greeting a church leader but if it were Paul everyone would say it is God's word...and it is.

Moreover the apostle who leaned upon the Master's breast knew what God's will is for His people...he would not wish upon them something opposed to God's will.

He might have said Shalom for that is what the familiar Jewish greeting means.

Explain why it is hard for you to accept that God wills for YOU to be in health and prosper. Are you afraid tat your character may fail? it is like someone who said to me I would not want the gifts of the Holy Spirit for it might make me proud.

But it seems proud to me to attempt to serve the Lord without the enablement of the Holy Spirit, for if we are not giving of the Holy Spirit what are we giving?

Again I asked him if he felt a little pride when he prayed well publicly? if he had preached a good sermon?
did he feel a certain satisfaction at singing well in church? if the pride is there it will manifest itself.

If greed is in our heart it will manifest itself just as well with a few bob as with a grand....Poor people are just as likely to be tightwads as billionaires.

The key is to have FAITH, if you are poor it takes FAITH to obey the Lord in this matter of giving, if you are desperately poor you will have less to lose, after all you cain't give what you ain't got...God does not ask us to impoverish ourselves and our families.

He has promised to MULTIPLY our resources. Do you rely on your job? or a government cheque, these are your resources. Don't try to understand how but God can open up new resources for you

 

[Lon]

Matthew 6:19-21;25-33
Romans 8:5-7