Biblical Prosperity

Right now, let’s picture money flowing to you from many sources similar to how tributaries feed a river. A lot of people look only to paychecks as their source of income. Your salary is different from your income. Someone else, like your employer, might set your salary; however, you don’t have to be satisfied or limited to that level of income.

Our limited thinking can limit God’s ability to open new sources. He might open up (many) other sources if we let him. Raise your faith and break through that ceiling of your salary level. Begin to pray and expect more income. We must understand that all the money that comes to us comes from God. The following is what I pray on a regular basis for finances to flow to me from multiple sources.

“I am a money magnet. I receive salaries, raises, inheritances, dividends, discounts, bonuses, capital gains, royalties, book sales, honorariums, gifts, tax breaks, interests, rents, refunds, prizes, real estate appreciation, residuals, rebates, scholarships, firstfruits and offerings in Jesus’ name. Money comes to me like water flows downhill.”

A prayer like this might seem a bit audacious however I would point out that to date I have received money from all but one of these sources and I expect that one will eventually open up. There might be some that I am missing that you might want to pray for yourself.

However income does not create wealth. Wealth is created by what you keep, save and invest. Your wealth is determined by measuring your net worth. We will discuss net worth in forthcoming posts. For now let’s focus on income and giving, which is one of the best investments we can make.  However, as you have heard me say before. You can’t give what you don’t have.

One time I was praying in my home, and God showed me a brief picture of myself as a funnel for finances. There were resources coming to me from a wide spectrum of sources and then as they came under the influence of my “kingdom of God” mentality I would redirect them to the place where they were needed to expand the kingdom. This was a very vivid picture that has stayed with me to this day. Picture yourself as a funnel with money coming in from many sources. As the money passes through your hands and comes under your authority, you have the opportunity to channel or direct it to extend the kingdom of God.

Our money literally represents our time and our talents. When we work and receive a paycheck, or invest our time and energy to increase the value of something to sell, it is the product of our efforts. It represents us. So when we give money away it is like giving something of ourselves away. Jesus literally sat by the money box in the Synagogue watching what people gave. I believe he is still watching today to see what people give.

Do you remember the one hundred dollar bill story? I realized that God would take me seriously in expecting to receive one hundred dollar bills from him if I would take him seriously in expecting me to give one hundred dollar bills away. God is not afraid to talk about money in his word and his desire to bless us; however he expects us to uphold our part of the bargain which is central to his economy.  He entrusts to us the opportunity to learn and understand his economy of giving.

Unbelievably, a few years ago, on very short notice, the church we attend lost the lease on the property it was using. With only a few thousand dollars in the building fund, the church was looking at close to $100,000 that was needed to renovate the only property that was available on such short notice. I was an elder in the church at the time and remember distinctly the elders discussing what should be done. One elder, my wife, suggested we treat the few thousand we had as seed money and sow most of it into a mission agency’s building project. The silence was deafening.

After getting over the initial shock of this suggestion, everyone in the room swallowed hard and knew it was the right thing to do, and that was the decision that was made. The little bit of money in the building fund was given away. God honored that seed and a few months later we moved into the newly renovated building with almost all the costs paid for in cash. Giving is central to God’s economy.

Up until now you have heard me teaching about financial inflow because a person cannot give what they do not have. This and the upcoming blogs will focus on giving and the essential part it plays in releasing financial blessing in our lives.

We work so that God can bless the work of our hand. Doing our part is like putting a lighting rod in the ground. When God sends lighting we are going to receive it. However if we never put a lighting rod in the ground, we will never receive the lighting we are looking for. Remember our study of Joseph, he did his part, but the hand of God was on him to promote him. How about Queen Esther interceding for the Children of Israel? Was it only God’s favor that put her in that position? No, her natural beauty and a time of preparation put her in the position to one day intercede and save her people. It was the natural and the supernatural.

If you want to be a deep sea fisherman…you can’t live in Iowa. What? For those of you reading outside of the USA, Iowa is landlocked in the middle of the country. If we want to catch fish we have to at least position ourselves on or around water. To be fair, Iowa does have some lakes and rivers where you can fish, however you get the point…God expects us to do our part. My wife and I own one business and are part owners of another business. God is blessing us financially through these businesses but we had to take the steps to get into them. Believe me they were steps of faith and practical tasks as well. It is faith and works. Here is Dr. Anderson’s view of our responsibility in this divine partnership.

There are no shortcuts to great wealth…When you try to find easy money, you actually rob yourself of many of the lessons that you need for success. You must learn discipline, passion, generosity and creativity…The world determines wealth and success by what you have. God determines wealth and success by what you give. Success is about what you become. You must develop the character to own you possessions or they will own you. (1)

God generally does not drop money out of heaven (as he did manna in the wilderness). He is not going to counterfeit it either. No…to enter abundance you have to make changes and take practical steps! We will discuss the practical aspects of this in upcoming blogs.

1  Dr. C. Thomas Anderson, Becoming a Millionaire God’s Way, (New York: New York, Faith Words, Hachette Book Group USA, 2006), p.xvi

We will have to learn to take dominion over our finances and make financial decisions from a place of confidence. A king has dominion over his kingdom, so for us to have dominion over our finances means we have authority and rule over them. At the same time we cannot ignore the natural wisdom and talents that God has given us to use in accumulating data to make a good decision. As I have spent time with prosperous people, I have found they act according to a “gut” feeling they have developed as a result of their life experiences…risks taken and overcome.

We can’t rush financial decisions. Let emotional excitement pass (like after talking to a salesman) and wait until you have a sense of dominion (confidence) within. Wait until the next day. When someone presents me with an opportunity that I have to decide on immediately …the answer is a simple, “no.” I would rather miss an opportunity than be pushed into making a decision I am not comfortable with, especially if there is not time to consult with my discerning wife. God is big enough to provide other opportunities.

Financial dominion means you are not over-extending yourself. Don’t get in over your head. Start small. Jesus came to the earth as baby and it took 33 years to accomplish his purpose. Don’t be anxious. Ask for advice. Don’t make a decision in a vacuum. To do anything beyond what you have confidence to do is risky. Do what you have confidence to do, not in your emotions but in your gut. You might have confidence in your heart to take financial risks that others do not. Others might have confidence to take financial risks that you do not. Go with that confidence in your heart.

This does not mean you will be free of fear when it is time to pull the trigger. Fear is always there. It must be overcome if you are going to accomplish anything in life. Think about it. The vast majority of the things we fear never come to pass.

God helps and rewards those who take initiative. Dr. Anderson gives the example of Solomon and how God gave him wisdom.

Solomon asked God for wisdom but to achieve it, he still had to read and study and learn….Solomon didn’t just sit down one day and start writing Proverbs. Many of the things in that book can be traced to older books of wisdom in other cultures, especially Egypt. Solomon studied them and compiled them adding his own insights as he went. Such study is an integral part of becoming wise. When you attain wisdom, the world will seek you out to ask advice. 1

Our tendency is to just read Proverbs and think that it was a download from God. This is probably not the way it happened. It was from God, but it also involved study, practice and the life experiences of Solomon. Do you think Solomon tried things that didn’t work? Of course he did, he made many mistakes. So, as we read the following proverbs related to this topic we know this was not just theory but the product of study and life experiences.

He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment. The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son (Proverbs 12:11; 13:4; 10:4-5).

It is as simple as this. We will not have a business unless we start one. We will not own stock unless we buy some. We will not own real estate unless we go through the process to purchase some. We will never know if our wild idea for a service or a product is a good one until we try it, first on ourselves and then on others. We can have the best product in the world, but if no one knows about it via our marketing no one can purchase it. We will never write a book unless we get a computer and start typing. Listen to this quote from Author Dennis Peacock:

Laziness is married to poverty. Wealth is produced by work. If people don’t work, they don’t create wealth. Those who don’t create wealth become dependent on others for survival. 2 

Close to the end of Paul’s first letter to the Christians at Thessalonica is this statement, “Warn those who are idle”. Apparently some of the believers there we so sure of the imminent return of Jesus that they gave up their jobs in order to prepare for it. Paul was not impressed with this approach. He felt they should work. To Paul, work was spiritual.

1   Dr. C. Thomas Anderson, Becoming a Millionaire God’s Way, (New York: New York, Faith Words, Hachette Book Group USA, 2006), p. 60

2   Dennis Peacocke, Newsletter 1995

We should do things to put ourselves in a place for God to prosper us. We like to talk about the promised land as place flowing with milk and honey, but really…do we think it came from a faucet in the side of a rock? One faucet for milk and another one for honey?  Dr. Thomas Anderson describes how it worked for the children of Israel as they entered the Promised Land:

But with abundance comes a need to learn how to produce wealth. God blessed their work, but they had to work, and not just hard but also smart. They had to know some things. The Promised Land flowed with milk and honey, but to get milk from a cow, they had to know how to milk a cow and they had to have the self discipline to actually go out and milk it everyday. To get honey they had to learn something about bees. God’s people too often think that all they have to do is confess prosperity and wait for it to come. God said he would teach us how to produce wealth, and that he would bless our efforts, but we still have to do something to produce it (Deuteronomy 29:9; 30:9; James 2:17). ¹

As we have previously examined the children of Israel had manna come from heaven while they were wondering in the wilderness, but later they were expected to work, sow and reap in the Promised Land. Is God going to drop money out of heaven like he did manna in the wilderness? Not usually, this would only cultivate a lazy spirit. God helps and rewards those who take initiative. There are times God tells us to wait, but most of the time he expects us to act.

1   Dr. C. Thomas Anderson, Becoming a Millionaire God’s Way, (New York: New York, Faith Words, Hachette Book Group USA, 2006), p.xvi

This profound truth from has changed my life. Proverbs states that it is both the fruit of our lips (our prayers and declarations) and the work of our hands that reward us.

From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him (Proverbs 12:14).

Amazing. This scripture alone could revolutionize your life. Pray and do. We will look at this again from another angle in a later blog when we discuss the importance of our words.

In 2 Kings 3, we have the historical account of the kings of Israel and Judah marching out into the desert on the way to fight the King of Moab.  They ran out of water and inquired of Elisha the prophet about what they should do. He told them they should dig ditches and God would fill them with water. Let’s look at the story.

While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha and he said, “This is what the Lord says: Make this valley full of ditches. For this is what the Lord says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also hand Moab over to you…” The next morning, about the time for offering the sacrifice, there it was—water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water (2 Kings 3:15-19, 20).

We see again that the Lord expected some action from the Kings of Israel and Judah to match his efforts. We should do things to put ourselves in a place for God to prosper us.As we have previously examined the children of Israel had manna come from heaven while they were wondering in the wilderness, but later they were expected to work, sow and reap in the Promised Land. Is God going to drop money out of heaven like he did manna in the wilderness? Not usually, this would only cultivate a lazy spirit. God helps and rewards those who take initiative.

There are times God tells us to wait, but most of the time he expects us to act.

Let me ask a question…Would you allow someone to manage your financial accounts and personal savings that is personally in debt, has never themselves saved money, accumulated wealth or managed property? I’m guessing you would not. Why then do we expect the Lord to just dump money in our laps without us ever learning the principles of finance and money management? He expects us to prepare and take action.

When Elisha encountered the widow woman who was in serious financial need he did not just write her a check…to use today’s terminology. She was a godly woman who was in desperate need, but he still asked her to participate with him in the financial blessings he was about to release. This is a picture of how God the Father asks us to participate in receiving from him today. It is interesting to note that Elisha required the widow woman to collect vessels to contain the oil that was to be poured out, and she was rewarded according to her level of participation. If she had gathered more containers she would have gotten more financial reward. Interesting. Can we be motivated to work and prepare for God’s blessing?

The Bible states the most amazing thing about Hezekiah. The simple truth of this Bible passage has revolutionized my life especially in the area of finances.

This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered (2 Chronicles 31:20-21).

Hezekiah sought his God. He worked wholeheartedly and so he prospered. After stating what Hezekiah did was good and right and faithful, we are given his methodology that was so pleasing to God. Can we do the same? First seek the Lord earnestly in prayer, then apply all of our spirit, soul and body to the task at hand…be it financial or otherwise… and then expect God’s prosperity will follow. It is a simple, practical three-step process, and I have found that it works.

In the movie “Facing the Giants” there is a conversation about two farmers who were praying for rain for their crops. Both farmers were asking God for rain but one farmer was out digging irrigation ditches while the other was sitting in his house waiting for the rain to come. The question was asked, “Which farmer has more faith?” Without getting into a huge theological discussion here, I have come to realize that God does expect us to put some action to our faith. This is a change from the way I once thought, and I would now say it is a more prosperous way of thinking.

Many years ago when I first heard the statement, “God helps those who help themselves,” I reacted to it negatively. In my passionate spirituality I said categorically that this was just an excuse to rely on human effort instead of God. I told the individual that nowhere in the Bible does it say that God helps those that help themselves. I have changed my mind and had to eat these words that I thought were so spiritual. I humbly intend to show you in these next few blogs how God does help those who help themselves.

Christians are fond of quoting and praying the scriptures about the wealth of the wicked being stored up for the righteous as stated in Proverbs 13:22. I believe these scriptures are absolutely true; however, I am not sure that God will automatically transfer wealth to his children in the last days. This expectation appears to be based on faith, but it sounds a lot like lottery thinking.  As we will see when we look at Elisha’s interaction with a widow, faith without works is dead. The Lord expects us to be active participants in receiving the wealth of the wicked. It is a joint venture.