What if anytime there was a need that came across your path, and your heart was moved to meet that need, you had a stream of income to meet it?
According to 2 Corinthians 9:8 (chapters 8 and 9 are two whole chapters talking about finances and giving), “God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times you would abound in every good work.”
That is a lot of alls.
I just want you to know that anytime something is called “grace” it means it’s paid for on the cross.
If 2 Corinthians 9:8 isn’t true, then John 3:16 is not true.
Prosperity is not selfish because it’s not all about you. Prosperity is primarily defined by how much you give away, not how much you keep for yourself. Prosperity is about blessing not possessing.
Could we just flip this thing on its head? Actually, it’s selfish for you not to desire prosperity. When God only provides for your needs, the world will lack a revelation of an abundant Father. People are never going to know what Dad’s like.
No one needs to feel bad folks, but we need to break off this religious ceiling, these religious blinders that keep us from seeing the goodness of God.
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Prosperity is about blessing not possessing.
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In Psalm 67:1-2, David gives us a verse that straightens this whole thing out. This is actually a prayer: “May God be gracious to us and bless us, and make His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among all nations.”
Guys that sounds like revival to me.
People lack a revelation of the goodness of God. What if this really became our prayer? What if, like David, we prayed, “God put Your hand of blessing on me so people will see what You’re really like?” It’s basically saying, “God they won’t know what You’re really like unless they see Your blessing and Your favor upon me.”
I believe one of the most underrated tools for ministering to this lost world is living a blessed life. Not just material, but in our families and in our souls. And it also includes this material part.
Listen guys, in Romans 11, God provoked the Jews to jealousy through the blessing of the Gentiles. Let me just say that broke Christians are not going to provoke the world into jealousy. Blessings are not just financial, but financial wealth is part of it.
You might be saying, “I don’t know Jim, this just sounds to me like a bless-me-club.” Well, Jesus didn’t die for a curse-me-club. Truthfully, what is the problem with a bless-me-club anyway? As Christians, when we’re blessed do we not become a bigger blessing?
“Well Jim, I just want enough to provide for me and my family.”
Wow, now that is selfish. That’s the spirit of poverty and the spirit of stupid getting married and having a child together.
Let me translate that for you: my needs are met. Who gives a rip about the rest of the world?
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Prosperity is about having more than enough not just for yourself but for other people.
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This kind of thinking, conscious or not, is what cripples us as believers to represent what Dad is really like.
Margaret Thatcher, the former prime minister of England said this, “No one would have remembered the Good Samaritan if he’d only had good intentions. He had money as well.”
Here’s a revelation—you cannot be a big giver if you don’t have a big abundance.
Prosperity is about having more than enough not just for yourself but for other people.
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We need to be shaken out of our poor theology.
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“Well, Jim, money can’t buy happiness.”
I would argue that poverty can’t buy anything.
People who say money can’t buy happiness just simply haven’t given enough of it away.
I hope this challenges you. We need to be shaken out of our poor theology. There is a world that is watching and needing to see the goodness of God. Can you think of a time when your giving purchased someone else’s happiness? Let’s keep this ball rolling. Let our giving be contagious so that we may reflect the heart of our generous Dad.
Contact Wealth With God today to unlock your prosperity today. {eoa}
Jim Baker is the Senior Leader and Pastor at Zion Christian Fellowship in Powell, Ohio. He was led by the Lord to go into finance in 2011 and has helped others utilize biblical principles to experience financial breakthrough in their lives. Baker is now committed to a movement of kingdom wealth-builders who understand that prosperity has a purpose.
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