Prosperity In The Bible

As the pastor functions in his office to build up the church, the giver is also called just as a pastor to give for the expansion of the Kingdom of God. Givers are always looking for things they can do to finance the Gospel. God gives them the grace to excel and gather wealth in abundance. The Apostle cannot go around working so that they have money to finance the Gospel. Apostles, pastors etc. don't get the time to do business. Even in Jesus' ministry, He had big time financiers. When Jesus resurrected, Barnabas' name was mentioned a lot. He was a number one financier of the Gospel. He was given the nickname "Son of Consolation." Everyone can give towards the propagation of the Gospel but there are specific people who are called to be financiers of the Gospel; everyone can heal but there's a specific person who has the ministry of healing. It is not everyone called into the office of giving. Those called are not pastors, evangelists etc. they are given the grace to excel in whatever they do.

Find out the office in which you've been called and function in it. The truth is that God can give you an office but you may not be functioning in it as far as you're not devoted to it. When you're called into that ministry, God gives you the idea to make money because money is needed in the body of Christ. There are several TV stations in the world but how many of them air Christian programs? It's only a few. Do you even know how much they do charge for just a 30 minute broadcast of Christian programs? How many Christian schools do we have where children are raised in a Godly way? You see, there's much to be done. I'm sharing these things with you so that you will have bigger aspirations. Do not remain at where you are. Challenge yourself for bigger things. You say, "I'm going to make money to sponsor the Gospel!" He wants us to lend to nations and bigger companies, not just individuals.

It's even possible for you to build television stations that will air only Christian programs and God will surely give you the resources to be able to run it effectively. "For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee" (Deuteronomy 15:6). God wants to take over nations and bigger companies so that we take a hold of them. He wants us to have all the money such that the evil one wouldn't get it for his evil deeds. This scripture reveals to us that it's God's will to bless us such that nations and companies will come to us for loans. When they do what happens? We reign over them because we have the power to the finances. In so doing, we shall win them for the Kingdom of God. You've got to learn to have big goals. What you set your heart to will determine what you will have.

Some people just think about having enough for their families but what about those in the streets? When you think about having to feed your family, you'll truly have only what is enough for your family. Why? Because that's what you set your heart to. This is why Bible said, "Keep thy heart more than anything that is guarded; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). When you set your heart to reach out to people and to support the work of God, He gives you the grace to have them. God is at work in the marketplace, bringing forth an army of business men and women of high moral character and integrity. This new generation of Kingdom business people understand their anointing and are captivated by the call to re-possess the marketplace for the Kingdom of God. The kingdom of God advances through people with finances, the ministry of giving, dominion & authority and ministering to the poor.

Their purpose, their calling is to finance the advancement of the Kingdom of God. If you asked a pastor if he could do more for his city if he had more finances, he would certainly say "yes." Successful pastors always have a greater vision than their current provision. They have plans to do more than their current financial situation will allow. This is a good thing because it compels them to continue to walk in faith, in fact, to grow from faith to faith. This is what faith is for. To believe for the necessary finances to accomplish the vision God has placed in your heart. Unfortunately, many church leaders have failed to recognize the tool God generally uses to bring this to pass. When you make up your mind to finance the work of God, suddenly, financial resources will be released in greater measure. And more importantly, you will prosper in greater measure and function in the ministry God has called you to. In other words, you will be more fruitful.

I believe the major reason most Christian business people are not prospering according to God's standards is because of a lack of understanding in this area of their calling. Most people think about only having enough for their family. Sure, it's to provide for their families and earn a living. But there is a higher purpose, a higher calling. God has shown us in His Word that we are to remember it is He who gives us the power or ability to accumulate wealth. We are to remember it isn't our great wisdom or business skills that make us wealthy. They are important, but ultimately, it is God Himself who does it. Another aspect of Deuteronomy 8:18 is the fact that God works with us in our businesses. As we work, His power or ability to prosper is released in us. If you sit at home and do nothing, there is no power for prosperity in your life. Poverty will be that man's portion. Many business people do not accumulate wealth for the sake of wealth alone.

No, there is a feeling of power that comes with it and it is a perversion of the real purpose of wealth. They actually begin to lust after that feeling of power and their wealth is consumed on material things. It is such a waste. This is what the devil does to many of the wealthy when there is no understanding of their true purpose and calling. Their lives and wealth are wasted and no lasting fruit is produced for God's Kingdom. Pastor Gary Carpenter sent me a letter from which he thought me so much and by His permission, I'm quoting him. He said: "In these last days there are going to be massive revivals to reap untold millions into the Kingdom of God. Even now, the Lord is raising up an army of anointed men and women who are willing to give their lives to preach the Gospel in "demonstration of the Spirit and power." But where are finances going to come from to pay for the expense of holding these mighty campaigns?

The Bible speaks of an anointing that few in the Church today know anything about. It is an anointing where God partners with a man or woman to cause enormous transfers of wealth from the world system (Mammon) into the Kingdom of God for our Lord's use. God has done it before and He is doing it now. He will do it even more as He finds men and women who have been "qualified" by the Spirit to handle the wealth righteously. There is a term I use often in the teachings that most people are not familiar with. It is the term "Gospel Entrepreneur" This is a person with whom the Holy Spirit co-labours through the Gifts of the Holy Spirit to do business in the world system to transfer wealth from Mammon into the Kingdom of God. We see an accurate picture of such a person from the Word in Luke 19:11-27. Gospel Entrepreneurs take a measure of money, increase it by trading [Strong's: "to earn in business"], and bring the total back to the Lord for His use in the Kingdom of God.

Those who are called transfer wealth from the world system into the Kingdom of God to fuel the combines of revival in the last days. Even if you do not know for sure you have this specific call, the principle applies to all believers. Most messages on the subject of prosperity deal primarily with the financial well being of believers. Thank God our Father delights in the prosperity of His servants. A new breed of believer is beginning to emerge on the scene, however, whose heart cry goes far beyond personal prosperity. Their burning desire is to become first class financial servants to the Lord Jesus Christ in order to finance the preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom around the world. Their thinking has become so "eternity minded" that, for them, financial abundance and the winning of souls for the Kingdom have become identically the same thing. Jesus made it very clear in His teachings that our Father highly prizes a believer whom He finds faithful to steward wealth for the Kingdom of God.

Most would believe that our Father is well able to cause wealth to come to His children. Directing the flow of wealth on the earth is simply no problem for Him. The question then is: why are there so few stewards in the Kingdom who have been entrusted with such wealth? The reason is because there are so few whose heart motivations and attitudes have been conformed to that of Jesus Christ. Transference of wealth is the easy part. Transformation of the heart is the difficult part. Most of the prosperity messages center on the believer's increase in finances. There is a calling from God on many men and women to go forth in the business arena to harvest finances that will fuel the combines to harvest a vast number of souls in these last days. All believers are God's stewards, but not all are called to be Gospel Entrepreneurs. Years ago the Holy Spirit said to me, "If you don't learn to live by God's manna, you will spend your life in bondage to Mammon."

God's system is by grace. Mammon's system is by works. God's system is based on love. Mammon's system is based on fear. God's system is based on abundance. Mammon's system is based on lack. God's system will never change. Mammon's system is constantly changing. Even the Apostle Paul alluded to the lessons learned from the manna when he gave counsel to the Corinthian church in the New Testament. What was the lesson Go wanted Israel to learn? That God is PROVIDER! The lessons learned in the wilderness were not exclusive to our spiritual life, but to our physical life as well." Listen, your greatest satisfaction will come when you understand why you're in business. Understanding your calling and functioning in it will bring clarity of purpose and fruitfulness to your life. Your business is a ministry, a tool in the Hand of God to finance the advancement of His Kingdom throughout the earth. That is your highest purpose, your highest calling.

Wealth does not make you happy. There is a scripture that reveals the truth about prosperity: "It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it" (Proverbs 10:22). The world can sometimes make you rich, but it will add a whole heap of sorrow with it! The world has an incredible amount of wealthy people in it. But most of them are not happy. Their lives are no different than anyone else; they experience disease, depression, divorce, worry, fear, etc. Their wealth does not exclude them from the ills that plague humanity. In fact, by reading the headlines of the newspapers, we see that most of the wealthy have more problems than the rest of us. Their children, in many cases, are worse off than the rest. Just because a man has wealth is no guarantee of happiness for himself or his family. If their wealth isn't directly connected to the Lord and His blessings, they are going to have sorrow. Understand this; you can have wealth and a great deal of sorrow to go along with it.

But when our heart and purpose is right toward wealth and prosperity, there will be no sorrow to accompany the riches. Avoid the snare of the devil. We are blessed; we prosper in our business ventures for a purpose. That purpose is to be a blessing to others. One of the basic traps to avoid in business is the temptation of greed. In the business world, greed is the unnatural desire to consume our blessings, our prosperity on ourselves. A greedy businessman will be unfair with his employees; he will not pay them fairly. He will be unfair to his customers, he will attempt to extort more money from them than is fair. A greedy businessman will lie and steal from his partners and associates. His greed will cause him to cheat and not pay his proper taxes to the government. The greedy man is driven by the lust to accumulate riches for himself in the same way an adulterer is driven by sexual lust to illicit relationships.

This is not a new problem. God warns the Israelites, "Do not forget the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the power to get wealth..." (Deuteronomy 8:18). As we are being blessed and enjoying prosperity, we must not forget it is God Himself who has given us the power to get wealth. The temptation to forget and fall into the trap of greed is powerful. If it were not so, God would not have put this warning in the Scriptures. But for every temptation, God has a preventative remedy. For greed, God calls us to give, to be a blessing to others. Being a giver puts our purpose in action. Our attitude should be that our business exists to be a blessing for the Kingdom of God, our cities, those whom we do business with and to those who work for us. "When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices....Through the blessing of the upright, a city is exalted" (Proverbs 11:10-11). If you're the owner of a company or any business with employees, be good to them.

Let them be excited and to look forward to coming to work each day. Make the decision that you would be a blessing to them. Certain companies would be so greedy that their main purpose would be to make profit, even at the expense of their employees and customers. They would grudgingly pay their workers and have no concern for them as human beings. They would even put their employees in harms way by ordering them to work in adverse conditions and without concern for their families as they would make them work long hours and often on holidays too. This is not how to do a business and if you're so, I recommend you to change; turn away from such habits towards your employees. Treat your employees with much care and reward them well in return. If they need to leave early for an appointment, allow them to go. You can even bless them by buying their lunch for them. What more?