Biblical Prosperity

I was surprised by a minister friend of mine when he stated the people who have many stories about how God did financial miracles for them are not the ones that we should pattern our financial lives after. Why did he say this? Because with all the miracles they have seen, they seem to still be in need of another miracle today to financially make it. As I thought about this I realized it was true. In other words, although these people have faith for financial miracles, they have not found faith to receive from God for long term abundant provision.

When the children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness, they received a daily miracle for their food called manna. It was fresh and new every day. It was miraculous provision. However, it could not be kept for the next day because any surplus would spoil. There was a complete dependency on God for provision every day.

Manna was not God’s long-term plan for provision. When God took them into the Promised Land, the daily manna stopped. It was no longer an option. In the Promised Land, the children of Israel were expected to live by the principle of sowing and reaping and seedtime and harvest. Let’s look at the scripture where the transition happened. It is found in Joshua:

The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan (Joshua 5:11-12).

This was a different revelation of God’s provision for the children of Israel. It included faith, but now they were also expected to farm the land, to sow and reap. They were expected to have an abundance because provisions were made to help the non-Israelites in their midst as well as bring the first fruits into the storehouse and make other offerings. There was also a whole group of people, the Levites, who were to be supported out of the abundance of the general population. In the desert, their sandals didn’t wear out for 40 years, but in the Promised Land their sandals wore out and they had the resources for new sandals. This seems to be similar to living by the revelation of El Shaddai that was first introduced to Abraham.

The Promised Land was a concept indicating Israel’s possession of a place with God in the earth where there was security from all external threats and internal calamity. It was a place of rest for the people of God to grow and prosper. If this was true for the children of Israel, then can we boldly ask ourselves what is God’s will for Christians in the area of financial provision today? Is it God’s will for Christians to live in the desert or is it God’s will for Christians to live in the Promised Land?

Around the same time I was discovering the revelation of El Shaddai as the God of more than enough, I had just ordered a new Bible. I received the Bible, but it was not the correct size I had ordered. When I contacted the publisher, they instructed me to just keep it and they would send me another Bible. As it turned out, the publisher sent two additional new Bibles by mistake. Now I had three study Bibles. All of a sudden I had more than enough Bibles!

It seemed like the Holy Spirit was underlining this fresh revelation of God as the provider of more than enough. By the way, I did send the one Bible back but I gave the other to my wife. God blessed me and I was able to be a blessing to my wife. Here is another testimony from Dorothy, who is just one of the many who discovered that God wants to be El Shaddai.

“I already knew how to budget and some Biblical principles about money. Still I constantly needed help (for food or car repairs) from my church. After hearing the teaching of Prosperity with a Purpose, I stopped looking at the checkbook balance. I began instead to look to El Shaddai, “the God of more than enough’ as my supply. Since then I have testified so many times about the many miracles in my finances that my friends got jealous. Now at their request, I am teaching others what the Bible says about money and our God-El Shaddai. And yes, lots of times, as God leads, I too give all that I have in my purse and the amount in there is increasing.

                                                     Dorothy Carlson, Reading, PA, USA

My wife and I have always had a dream to have a large family.  However, many times when we shared our desire with friends, the response was always the same, even from some of our family. How will you be able to afford so many children? We did not really have a good answer at the time, usually we halfheartedly responded about God supplying somehow.

Other people told us and we just assumed it would take all that we have financially to raise our family. It even sounded rather spiritual, saying that we would put all that we had into our children. Sometimes, we continued by saying that we wouldn’t have natural riches, but that our children would be our riches.

As God was teaching us this new revelation of Himself as El Shaddai, one day my wife came to me and said we needed to stop believing and saying that it would take all we had financially to raise our family. She was right. We began to realize this was believing and expecting God to meet our needs, but not believing that He would meet above and beyond our needs. Our faith and our words had to change if we wanted to see financial abundance. We specifically started to believe and say we would have all of our family’s financial needs met and that there would be finances left over for our family to support missionaries, give to others in need or to minister to those in our community.

God showed us we needed to change what we believed, what we said and what we expected. We now have five children, two in college, and are currently experiencing more than enough time and money for our family. We praise God because He is El Shaddai… the God of more than enough.

Have the Europeans lost confidence in their own currency, the Euro? Consider this…in parts of Spain unemployed workers have started to use barter to trade goods and services. In other words people are trading haircuts for rides to town or food for house repairs.

Today in Spain workers age 16 to 24 face an astronomical 53.3% unemployment rate, which forces these young people into barter because of lack of a jobs and cash At first his sounds very resourceful and it is, but it is really a bust to GNP and economic growth since no money changes hands. This pushes more of the economy underground and out of the view of tax collectors and the country back in time developmentally. Unfortunately, barter eliminates borrowing which helps people to start businesses and make large purchases.

In Greece hundreds of people in one town use a currency called the TEM instead of the Euro. It is a local alternative financial currency. Amid flagging faith in efforts to shore up the euro, Spain is witnessing a surge in local currencies as well. “It’s increasingly hard for anyone in my generation to have much confidence in the euro or the authorities controlling it,” says Eduard Folch, 28, a Web page designer in the Catalonia region. A couple of months ago, he and some friends decided to launch their own currency, the eco. Desperate for money of any kind, a score of businesses and two town governments in the area have agreed to accept the eco (Moffit & Brat, 2012).

This gets to the heart of what makes a currency work. What makes a money unit like the euro (and the dollar, for that matter) work is the faith of the people using it. Do I trust that this unit of money will have the buying power when I need it tomorrow? If not, I won’t use it and I certainly won’t save it.

Banks and companies are financing themselves locally and not from borrowing Euros from other European countries whom they don’t trust. The flow of money across borders has dried up because the banks are afraid of suffering losses. If banks and companies are already preparing for the collapse of the Euro, at what point does that become a self fulfilling prophesy.

Healthy banks are moving their money out of the countries that are in crisis. Likewise individual depositors are withdrawing their personal deposits from banks at a rapid rate. For example $75 billion Euros have exited Spanish banks in July alone. Thus banks are unable to finance themselves through usual banking means and so the government loans them money (that they borrowed) to operate.

At the core of the economic stability and recovery of Europe is the Euro as a monetary unit. There is great fear and the assumption that Greece will default on its loans and thus exit the Euro. Many fear this will cause a domino effect leading to other European nations to exit from the Euro which would throw all of Europe into a painful, but maybe healthy economic reset.

Yesterday 1.5 million people from the Spanish region of Catalonia, whose economy is bigger than Portugal’s and accounts for a fifth of the Spanish economy rallied for independence from Spain. The saga continues…as stated previously in my 2012 economic forecast, “There will be economic changes to be sure. However, we must have confidence as Noah did that whatever is coming, God will prosper us on the other side.”

As stated in my Feb. 4 economic forecast “the two biggest visible players on the economic front in 2012 are the teetering European Union and the US elections.” This remains true today. These next few posts will be about Europe and the challenges it faces. Let’s talk about some economics. Why do Spain, Italy and a number of other European countries  have unemployment as high as 25-30% ? Unfortunately there is a reason. Let’s look at Italy.

What if you are a young entrepreneur desiring to start a business? In Italy labor laws written to favor the working class make it difficult to start and sustain new businesses. Before the new business can make a profit it will have to pay at least two-thirds of each employee’s social security costs. Let’s say the business gets off the ground and starts to hire employees. Once the 11^th employee is hired, an annual business self-assessment to the national authorities outlining every possible health and safety hazard is required.

Once the 16^th employee is hired, this triggers provisions making it nearly impossible to dismiss any employee. Also, with the 16^th employee national unions can come in and set up shop. I wonder how many business owners’ stop hiring at fifteen workers and start another company? As the company grows, so does the number of required employee union reps, each of whom is entitled to eight hours of paid leave monthly to fulfill union or works-council duties (WSJ, 2012).

Employee number sixteen also means that your next recruit must qualify as disabled. If the business grows…by the time the 51^st worker is hired, 7% of the workers must be handicapped in some way. Once the 101^st employee is hired, you must submit a report every two years on the gender dynamics within the company. All of these protections and assurances, along with the bureaucracies that oversee them, subtract 47.6% from the average Italian wage. Sadly the employee never even knows how much of his wage is missing.

Many employers give in to the temptation to keep as much of their business as possible off the books. This gray- and black-market accounts for more than a quarter of the Italian economy and compounds national economic problems by contributing to low tax collection and high government budget deficits (WSJ, 2012). Government regulation and labor laws similar to Italy’s are one reason the southern tier of Europe is struggling financially.

The Wall Street Journal, US edition June 26, 2012, Employment, Italian style: the rules and burdens that explain Europe’s economic crisis.

Here is Frank & Chris Remley’s story from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:

“The teaching on El Shaddai helped us to step out of the daily grind as a means of earning a living and to trust God to supply through a more entrepreneurial route. Prior to this, my income was largely based on the formula: “hours worked” equals “income received.” We knew God had to have another way. As we learned more of God’s heart to bless His people, we grew confident in His leading to step out of our comfort zone and into a new business—house building. We definitely have more financial risk, but also have more opportunity to see God’s hand of blessing.

What can we say? He has been more than faithful! Our income in the first half year in this endeavor was more than double the previous half year’s income. And not only did we experience the God of more than enough, but in our endeavor, we also experienced Jehovah Jireh, the God of miracles. The first two houses we built sold the same day, less than a week before Christmas, after only a couple of weeks on the market. God is good!”

Why does Frank call Jehovah Jireh the God of Miracles? Let me explain. If you have been around Christians for any length of time, you have probably heard someone at a point of financial need boldly declare, “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory.”1 I have prayed this prayer many times for myself.

The phrase “My God shall supply all of your needs” is a direct quote from Paul writing to the Christians in Philippi. The idea was originally introduced in an Old Testament story of Abraham and his son Isaac where God is called Jehovah Jireh. The term Jehovah Jireh is another one of the Hebrew names for God which means, “The Lord will provide.”

If we read the story in Genesis, we find that Abraham was told to offer his son as a sacrifice. In obedience, Abraham took his son along to the place of sacrifice. But at the last moment, it was revealed that this was only a test and Abraham’s son Isaac should not be offered as a sacrifice. The actual offering was provided in the form of a ram caught in a thicket. This miraculous situation was used as an opportunity to introduce the children of Israel to an aspect of God’s nature. He is Jehovah Jireh, the God who makes provision for all of our needs.

Before I understood God as El Shaddai, just getting my needs met was the precise revelation I had of God in the area of finances. I believed, prayed and expected this many times—that God would provide all of my needs. Do you know what I discovered? God met our every need all of those years when we believed for His provision only.

The problem was, there was never anything left over. We had our needs met, but just barely, with 32 cents remaining at the end of the month. So when I learned about El Shaddai, I stopped asking for just enough and started to ask for more than enough.

1.  Philippians 4:19

On a trip to the nation of Israel I found the principle of “more than enough” alive in Jewish culture. Every Friday night the Sabbath celebration in a practicing Jewish home contains the giving of thanks to God for the bread and the wine after the meal. This practice is not what Christians know as the Lord’s Supper. But by giving thanks for the bread, they are expressing appreciation for their basic needs of life being met. By giving thanks for the wine, they are expressing appreciation for the joys of life—the joys are the blessings of God that go beyond the meeting of their basic needs. Jews understand this very important concept about the nature of God.

We already mentioned that Abraham passed on a revelation of El Shaddai to Isaac. Later Isaac personally introduced his son Jacob to El Shaddai in Genesis 28:1-3. Let’s read it.

So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. Go at once to Paddan Aram…Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban…May God Almighty (El Shaddai) bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples.”

Here we see El Shaddai specifically mentioned in the same breath with “fruitfulness and increase” as Isaac seeks to pass on this revelation of God to his son. Later Joseph, one of Jacob’s sons, was next in line to receive the revelation of God Almighty (El Shaddai). The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was passed on to the next generation in Genesis 48:3-4.

Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty (El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and will increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’”

Joseph received the revelation. We find that Joseph had this sense of prosperity in his soul. He had it inside of him. Wherever he was, whatever the situation, no matter how difficult, he eventually would prosper. He seemed to rise to the top like cream rises to the top of milk.

When he was sold into slavery, he prospered there. When he was in Potiphar’s household, he flourished. Even in prison, he thrived. As the one in charge of the Egyptian government’s food supply program, he prospered there. He was the steward of more than enough to help others in their time of need during the seven years of famine. Prosperity was in his soul. He knew God wanted to bless him and prosper him no matter what his present circumstances looked like.

This is what we are looking for…prosperity flowing out of our hearts regardless of where we are and our current situation. If we have prosperity of soul, we will find a way to prosper, no matter what our circumstances or the opposition facing us. It will not matter the condition of our local economy or if we have a savings account or if we are a single parent, because our prosperous souls will cause us to prosper.

NOTE: I have one more post on El Shaddai and then we will be looking at some economics, especially at it applies to the European debt crisis.

All of my life I had been thinking in terms of just getting enough to get by. For example, in the area where we live it is common to cover the flower beds around the houses with bark mulch to keep the weeds from growing. When I purchased bark mulch to put on the flower beds at our house, I would carefully measure out how many square feet of beds we had and figure how deep it should be covered and then order just the right amount. My intention was to purchase just enough. I didn’t want any extra; because I was afraid it would go to waste. I almost always underestimated and many times did not have enough to complete the task and had to make another trip to get more.

When I began to understand that my God was a God of more than enough, I started to order more mulch than I needed, asking God what He wanted me to do with the extra. Hmm…maybe my neighbor needs some? My thinking was changing.

This revelation of El Shaddai would not go away. I felt stirred in my heart to change the focus of my faith and expectation to El Shaddai. So I did. I prayed and asked the Lord for more than enough. The most amazing things began to happen. Literally within months our personal finances began to change. We began to have surpluses. We started to experience more than just having our needs met.

We find that not only was Abraham blessed, but he also passed the revelation of El Shaddai on to his children. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (and Joseph in a future blog).  In Genesis, we read the amazing story of Isaac prospering in Canaan during an extended season of drought and famine.

Now there was a famine in the land—besides the earlier famine of Abraham’s time…Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him (Genesis 26:1, 12-13).

After a year I could not keep this revelation to myself. I felt guilty for not telling people about what I had found in the scriptures and was experiencing in my personal life. I had to reveal God’s truth and revelation of His provision to others. To be very clear, the only thing we changed was our faith and expectation of how God was going to supply. I did not get an extra job. No one took an offering for us. We changed what we were expecting and what we were praying and our finances began to change. It was too good to keep to myself.

Bear with me here while I do a little teaching…Many people are already familiar with the names used to describe God’s attributes in the Bible. We have heard names like Jehovah Rophe (our healer) and Jehovah Nissi (our banner). Another one of the early names for God was El Shaddai. Abraham was the one who was first introduced to El Shaddai. Before we discover how God introduced himself to Abraham as El Shaddai, let’s examine Abraham’s first revelation of God. It is found in Genesis 12:1-3.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Here in Abraham’s original promise of God’s blessing is found what I have come to call prosperity with a purpose. This verse states that God will bless Abraham, and Abraham will be a blessing to others. This is still what He is saying to us today, “I will bless you and make you a blessing.” This general declaration of blessing becomes a whole lot more specific in Genesis 17:1-5 when God introduces himself to Abraham as El Shaddai.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty (El Shaddai); walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.”

This term, “God Almighty” in verse one is the English translation of the term El Shaddai. Wherever we find the term “God Almighty,” it is speaking of the revelation of God using the Hebrew name El Shaddai.

Who is El Shaddai? My favorite definition and the one we will use…El Shaddai is the God of “more than enough.” “Enough” is that which is required to meet our needs. “More than enough” is having extra left over to meet the needs of others. The revelation of El Shaddai brought with it a pronouncement of fruitfulness and prosperity. You are blessed to be a blessing!

Calvin Chiew, from Washington, DC, USA had a desire to do more for God and for others around him. It was after he read my first book on finances that he started a business that has grown to employ others. In a recent conversation he was sharing how blessed he is to provide jobs for others who have lost their jobs because of an economic recession in the USA. He was blessed to be a blessing just like Abraham was. Here are his comments.

For me personally, the book “Prosperity with Purpose” couldn’t come at a better time.  It reclaimed the word “Prosperity” from the lies and misconceptions in me.  I’m a very driven person, probably due to my upbringing and family background.  As a Christian, I always thought there is something wrong with me, that I shouldn’t have this strong desire to succeed in life.  I thought a Christian should be content and stay “low key”.  I have a poverty mindset.

The book showed me that there’s nothing “low-key” about the God we serve.  There is nothing poor about our God.  He is “The Almighty”, “The Magnificent One”, and “The Many-Breasted One”.  I started to think and reflect upon His abundance.  Like a loving parent, He yearns to give good things to his children.  In fact, He is the giver of all good things.  I started to believe He is going to bless me.  And He did.

In the parable of the talents, the first two servants know the master’s heart and they prosper. The simple truth is, prosperity implies responsibilities.  Therefore, there is no shame in seeking and asking God for prosperity or success as long as we are aligned with Him.  Nehemiah prayed to God for success and asked King Artaxerxes for lumber, not only enough for the walls and gates of Jerusalem, but also for his own house.

The revelation of God that is explained in Prosperity With a Purpose is El Shaddai…the God of more than enough.