PROSPERITY-- 3 John 2, “ Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth”
1. The following Scriptures tell how Abraham obtained a wife for his son, Isaac. God had promised Abraham to make a great nation of his descendents, yet Isaac was getting old and did not have a wife. Abraham sent his chief servant back to Abraham’s previous homeland to get a wife for Isaac. The servant carried with him much wealth in gold, silver and garments. When the servant arrived at the city, he stopped at the well of water on the edge of town for he knew all of the young women would come there for water in the cool of the evening. Genesis 24:1-51, “And he (the servant) said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. (13) Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: (14) And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.” Rebekah came to the well and when she was asked for water, she answered that she would give him a drink and water the ten thirsty camels too.
(21) And the man (servant) wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the Lord had made his journey “prosperous” or not.” The servant went home with Rebekah to explain what was happening to Laban and Bethuel who were Rebekah’s brother and dad. (40) And he (Abraham) said unto me, ‘The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house.” (49-51) And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.(50) Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. (51) Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken.”
Although the servant had much wealth packed on the camels with him, he considered prosperity to be the successful completion of his journey, by finding God’s Will.
2. The children of Israel were fearful and did not trust God enough the first time to cross over the Jordan River into the giant infested Promised Land. God made them wander in the wilderness for forty years and during this time all of the men who were age 20 and over who had refused to enter the Promised Land died. The remaining Israelites arrived at the Jordan River again and Moses held a camp-meeting or revival at the edge of the Jordan before they were to cross into the Promised Land. The Book of Deuteronomy is a recording of Moses’ message to them. Deuteronomy 29:1-9, “These are the words of the covenant, which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb. (2) And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; (3) The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles: (4) Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. (5) And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. (6) Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the Lord your God. (7) And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them: (8) And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh. (9) Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may ‘prosper’ in all that ye do.” The instructions were simple, accept and obey (faith) the words of the covenant with God. Hebrews 11:6 tells us today that it is impossible to please God without faith and the only way to be prosperous it to walk by faith.
3. God told Joshua how to be prosperous. Joshua 1:1-9, “Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, (2) Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. (3) Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. (4) From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. (5) There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. (6) Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. (7) Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. (8) This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. (9) Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
4. King Asa was a good godly king in his younger years, but during his years that God gave him peace he became prideful and lost his relationship with God. 2 Chronicles 14:1-7, “So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years.(2) And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God: (3) For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves. (4) And commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. (5) Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. (6) And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the Lord had given him rest. (7) Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.” Ch 15:2- Azariah the prophet. “And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.” Ch 16:11-12, “ And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. (12) And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians.”
God sent a prophet to Asa like He sent Nathan to David about David’s sin with Bathsheba and Uriah, but Asa refused to humble himself to God, instead he persecuted the prophet and died of the foot disease too prideful to repent. Prosperity is walking with God so that regardless what circumstance you face, you can turn to God for deliverance, healing, victory, or when there is not a way out, He will make a way!
5. Proverbs 26:3, “As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.” Look in Deuteronomy Chapter 28 at the list of blessings and list of curses. Not one sickness is on the blessing list ---all of the sicknesses are on the curses list.
6. Why are so many Christians sick? Because Christians today have maybe a lot of head knowledge, but very little heart knowledge. Christians are violating so many of Gods’ laws and think because it has become everyday occurrences that it is not really that important today. For example: Holding grudges, unforgiveness, jealousy, envy, greed, gossip, respect of persons (such as illegals and other races), etc. 2 Corinthians 2:10-11, “To whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also: for if I forgave anything, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; (11) Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” We really must learn to love others, all others. Every time you see someone for the next 24 hours, whether they are on TV, on the street, shopping, wherever, look right at them and whisper under your breath, not out loud, “I love you!” See what kind of emotions and reactions form in your heart and mind. It is hard to say, “I love you” to everyone you see. Try it and see what you find out about yourself. Then remember that Jesus says we must love them all.
7. Many times we might not think of someone as being prosperous, but look what the Scriptures say about Joseph. Genesis 39:1-3, “And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. (2) And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. (3) And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.” I wonder if Joseph thought he was prospering as his brothers pulled him out of the well where they had intended to kill him and then they instead sold Joseph to some slave traders. Or did he feel very prosperous as he was being led up to the auction block to be sold as a slave to Potiphar? Joseph was finally put in prison and he was so different than the other slaves that he was put in charge of the prison. Prosperity is having a walk with the Lord that regardless what circumstance you face, God will be with you and deliver you.
8. Deuteronomy 29:9. “Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.”
9. Judges 4:24, “And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.”
10. Judges 18:5, “And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.”
11. 1 Samuel 25:6, “And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.” Peace accompanies prosperity. No peace – no prosperity!
12. 2 Samuel 11:7, “And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.”
13. 1 Kings 2:3, “And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself.”
14. 1 Kings 10:7, “Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.” Queen of Sheba to Soloman.
15. 2 Kings 18:1,7, “…Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. (2) Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; (7) And the Lord was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.”
16. 1 Chronicles 22:11-13, “ Now, my son, the Lord be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the Lord thy God, as he hath said of thee. (12) Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the Lord thy God. (13) Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.”
17. 1 Chronicles 29:23, “Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.”
18. 2 Chronicles 20:20, “And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, ‘Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” Jehoshaphat’s – Pep talk before marching unarmed out before three armies who wanted to kill them.
19. 2 Chronicles 24:20, “And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, ‘Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.”
20. 2 Chronicles 26:5, “And he(Uzziah) sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.” After his prosperity –V(16) “But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the Lord his God, and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense.”
22. 2 Chronicles 31:20-21, “And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God. (21) And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.”
22. 2 Chronicles 32:30, “This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.” 2 Kings 20:1-5, “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. (2) Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, (3) I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. (4) And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, (5) Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. (6) And I will add unto thy days fifteen years… ” Prosperity can also be added life. Don’t believe our modern day preachers – ask God about it.
23. 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.” I’m sure God will treat His children as good as His servants. Ephesians 6:16, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Proverbs 30:5-6; 2 Cor 5:20.
24. Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Prosperous)
25. 1 Corinthians 16:2, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” Money! – Money!, prosperity finally is talked about as money!
26. Romans 1:9-12, “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;(10) Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. (11) For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; (12) That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.”
27. 2 Timothy 1:7-9, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.(8) Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; (9) Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”
If you are seeking the Holy Calling above in verse 9, you will be prosperous in all that you do, receive all your needs through Christ, you will be able to do all things through Christ, and all things will work together for your good, all the fiery darts of the wicked one will be quenched and not reach you, and you will see the victorious outcome of your journey here on earth.
I invite you to view my videos and look at the book summaries. If you see a book that interests you, send me an email (with your address) and I will send the first book free.
Good day and God Bless You!
Richard Hardin-6/18/12
www.rahardin.com
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