James 1: 5-8 - 5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, 8 being double-minded and unstable in all his ways. (CSB)
Mark 11:24 - For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you. (AMP)
It takes faith to get wisdom and every other thing from God.
Proverbs 28:25 - Greed causes fighting; trusting the Lord leads to prosperity. (NLT)
Jeremiah 17:7-8 - 7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. 8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. (NLT)
Being stable helps us to stay...
Psalm 92:12-15 -12 Yes! Look how
you’ve made all your lovers to flourish like
palm trees, each one growing in victory,
standing with strength!
13 You’ve transplanted them into
your heavenly courtyard, where they are
thriving before you. 14 For in your
presence they will still overflow and be anointed. Even in their
old age they will stay fresh, bearing luscious
fruit and abiding faithfully. 15 Listen to them!
With pleasure they still proclaim: “You’re so good! You’re my beautiful
strength! You’ve never made a mistake with
me.” (TPT)
Being
planted is not enough, we must be productive – that is a sign of
prosperity. We must never be a “waste of space”.
Luke 13: 6-9 - 6 Then
Jesus told this story: “A
man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there
was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed.7 Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and
there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the
garden.’ 8 “The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it
another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. 9 If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it
down.’” (NLT)
Matthew 20:18-20 - 18 In the early dawn the next morning, as He was coming back to the
city, He was hungry. 19 And
as He saw one single leafy fig tree above the roadside, He went to it
but He found nothing but leaves on it [seeing that in the fig tree the fruit
appears at the same time as the leaves]. And He said to it, Never again shall
fruit grow on you! And the fig tree withered up at once. 20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled greatly and asked, How is
it that the fig tree has withered away all at once? (AMPC)
Isaiah 61:3 - Then they
will be called Trees of Goodness [or Oaks of
Righteousness], trees planted by the Lord to show his greatness
[glory; manifest presence] (EXB)
Ezekiel
47:12 - “But the river itself, on both banks, will grow
fruit trees of all kinds. Their leaves won’t wither, the fruit won’t fail.
Every month they’ll bear fresh fruit because the river from the Sanctuary flows
to them. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.” (MSG)
Beyond being planted, God expects us to be an...
God’s purpose for prospering Abraham was clearly set out in this “Terms of Reference” in case he ever forgot why God was blessing and prospering Him. Likewise, as Abraham’s descendants, God expects us to extend His prosperity to others
Genesis 12:2-3 - 2 And
I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase
of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you
will be a blessing [dispensing good to others]. 3 And
I will bless those who bless you [who confer prosperity or happiness upon you]
and curse him who curses or uses insolent language toward you;
in you will all the families and kindred of the earth be blessed
[and by you they will bless themselves]. (AMPC)
Deuteronomy 28:11 - And the Lord shall make you have a surplus of prosperity, through the fruit of your body, of your livestock, and of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. (AMPC)
God doesn’t give us surplus for it to rot in the barn…that was where this "Rich Fool" missed it
Luke 12:13-21 - 13 Someone from the
crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance
with me.” 14 But He said to
him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or an arbitrator over [the
two of] you?”15 Then
He said to them, “Watch out and guard yourselves against
every form of greed; for not even when one has an overflowing abundance does
his life consist of nor is it derived from his possessions.” 16 Then
He told them a parable, saying, “There was a rich man
whose land was very fertile and productive. 17 And
he began thinking to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place[large
enough in which] to store my crops?’ 18 Then
he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my storehouses and build
larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. 19 And I
will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many good things stored up, [enough] for
many years; rest and relax, eat, drink and be merry (celebrate
continually).”’ 20 But
God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required
of you; and now who will own all the things you have
prepared?’ 21 So it
is for the one who continues to store up and hoard possessions
for himself, and is not rich [in his
relationship] toward God.” (AMP)
Proverbs 11:24-25 is one of the many passages that has guided and continues to guide me in life
24 Generosity brings prosperity, but withholding from charity brings poverty. 25 Those who live to bless others will have blessings heaped upon them, and the one who pours out his life to pour out blessings will be saturated with favor. (TPT)
2 Corinthians 9: 8-11 - 8 And
God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything
you need and plenty left over to share with others. 9 As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to
the poor. Their good deeds will
be remembered forever.” 10 For
God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the
same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great
harvest of generosity in you. 11 Yes,
you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when
we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. (NLT)
Being miserly leads to misery...generosity leads to greatness.
Being miserly leads to misery...generosity leads to greatness.
Proverbs 3:27-28 - 27 Whenever you are able, do [do not withhold] good to people who need help [or deserve it]. 28 If you have what your neighbor asks
for, don’t say, “Come back later. I will give it to you tomorrow.” (EXB)
Galatians 6:10 - Take
advantage of every opportunity to be a blessing to others, especially to
our brothers and sisters in the family of faith! (TPT)
Acts 20:35 - In everything I showed you [by example] that by working hard in this way you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed [and brings greater joy] to give than to receive.’ (AMP)
To truly be an example, expression and extension of God's prosperity, we need to seek out opportunities to help and be a source of blessing to others.
We talked about
being stable* earlier in the week and that doesn’t mean that you will never face situations that (could) make you fall,
falter or fail. The question is what happens when you are faced with a
difficult circumstance? When there is an
“upset”, we need to remember that it’s God’s setup for us to step up.
Proverbs
24:10 - If you
give up [show yourself weak] when trouble comes [on the day of distress/trouble],
it shows that you are weak [your strength is small]. (EXB)
Proverbs 24:16 - For the lovers of God may suffer adversity and stumble seven times, but they will continue to rise over and over again. But the unrighteous are brought down by just one calamity and will never be able to rise again. (TPT)
Psalm 37: 23-26 - 23 The steps of the God-pursuing ones follow firmly in the footsteps of the Lord, and God delights in every step they take to
follow him. 24 If they stumble badly they will still survive, for the Lord lifts them up with his hands. 25 I was once young, but now I’m old. Not once have I found a lover of God forsaken by
him, nor have any of their children gone hungry. 26 Instead, I’ve found the godly ones to be the
generous ones who give freely to others. Their children are blessed and become
a blessing. (TPT)
In fact, you don't just survive - you thrive because rising from a difficult situation leads us to the next level of
prosperity.
In being resilient we must
also be resistant to the devil whose purpose to kill, steal and destroy every
opportunity for us to prosper. "Resist" means “withstand the action or effect of.”
John
10:10 - The
thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may
have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to
the full, till it overflows] (AMP)
James
4:7 – So submit to [the authority of]
God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you. (AMP)
Ephesians
6:13 - Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that
you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in
the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands],
to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious]. (AMP)
These quotes also stress the importance of being resilient
Quitters never win, and winners never quit. - Vince Lombard
Success is not final, failure is not
fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
~ Winston Churchill
Failure will never overtake me if my
determination to succeed is strong enough. ~ Og Mandino
Every successful person is someone who
failed, yet never regarded himself as a failure.
~ John C. Maxwell, Failing Forward: How to Make the Most of Your Mistakes
Falling or even failing
doesn’t make you a failure…staying in that fallen state makes one a failure.
To be continued...
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