PROSPERITY AND SUCCESS COME ONLY FROM GOD
Sunday, January 14, 2007
This is the day which the Lord has brought about; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save now, we beseech You, O Lord; send now prosperity, O Lord, we beseech You, and give to us success! Psalms 118:24-25 AMP
No one, in their right mind, deliberately wants to be a failure. Every one wants rather to prosper and be a success. The one thing every one must recognize is that success in only one area is not true success. If you make a lot of money and lose your own integrity, have you truly succeeded? If you reach all your goals and lose your family, what have you truly gained? The first step toward prosperity and success is to recognize that it comes only from God, not us. No one can claim to be "self-made." At the very least, there were other people along the way who helped you achieve your goals. How much more do we not all need the Lord to help us? Really, if it is not God who prospers us, we are not prosperous at all. Everything we have is His and comes from Him!
Ultimate prosperity – true success comes only when every area of your life is well and blessed: your spirit; your soul; your body; your marriage; your family; your relationships; your work; your finances. Ask God for your prosperity – look to the Lord for your success!
Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may deal wisely and prosper in all that you do. Deuteronomy 29:9 AMP
Obedience to God's will and His word are what brings ultimate success and prosperity. God's wisdom is the source of true prosperity.
Be strong (confident) and of good courage, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only you be strong and very courageous, that you may do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success. Joshua 1:6-8 AMP
Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather. 2 But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night. 3 And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity]. Psalms 1:1-3 AMP
Joshua and David both learned the key to prosperity: keeping God's word in their heart and mouth every day. They meditated in the word daily and it began to change them from the inside out. They became strong and bold as they received revelation from God's word. They trusted more and more in God and His word. They did nothing without His help and guidance and God's hand was upon them to succeed and prosper in everything that they did!
For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil. Proverbs 1:32-33 KJV
Prosperity destroys fools! They do not know how to handle it. They use their blessing to destroy themselves. They become arrogant; they become wasteful; they devalue relationships; they love money and use people; they trade in their current spouse for a new one; they believe that they don't need anyone – even God!
In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider that God has made the one side by side with the other, so that man may not find out anything that shall be after him. Ecclesiastes 7:14 AMP
Life is full of ups and downs. When you are walking in prosperity, it is important to remember to be grateful. Never take the blessing for granted. Always appreciate what you have right now – no matter how big or small. Tell God how much He means to you. Show Him how much you appreciate Him and His blessing on your life.
On the first [day] of each week, let each one of you [personally] put aside something and save it up as he has prospered [in proportion to what he is given], so that no collections will need to be taken after I come. 1 Corinthians 16:2 AMP
Give according to the increase. Every week, remember to set aside something, from the blessing and prosperity that has come in to you, to give back to God. As long as you give back to God out of what He has given you, you will remember that it is He who gives you the ability to get wealth and no one else (Deut 8:18) and as long as you continue to obey, serve, and acknowledge Him in your life – He will continue to prosper and increase you.
If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasantness and joy. Job 36:11 AMP
Recent:
Righteous Now
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP
“Therefore if any man be in Christ…” What does it mean to be “in Christ”? Galatians 3:27 says, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” You are baptized into Christ when you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” And Romans 10:13 says, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The moment
Defeating Strife
These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others], a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who breathes out lies [even under oath], and he who sows discord among his brethren. Proverbs 6:16-19 AMP
Faith Facts
Faith is persistent
Luke 11:9-10 AMP
So I say to you, Ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.
John 16:24 AMP
Up to this time you have not asked a [single] thing in My Name [as presenting all that I AM]; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy (gladness, delight) may be full and complete.
Faith is single-minded
James 1:5-8 AMP
If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. 6 Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the