I have a question for you. If someone approached you in a mall and said, “I’d like to become a Christian. Can you please tell me how to do that?”, how would you respond? Would you say, “Oh, well you have to start coming to church for a while first. Do you walk in love towards your family? How often do you pray? We gotta get you tithing and fasting also. Do you have any sin in your life?” If the person didn’t immediately walk away the next logical question is, “OK, how long do I have to do all that stuff before God saves me?” Then you might say, “Oh it depends on the Lord. At some point in all your activity, He’ll look down and see your sincere heart and save you in his time in his own way. You just get busy being faithful. And after some careful evaluation, He’ll decide when and if to save you.” Now, I hope NO ONE would actually say that. The bible tells us that it is by grace that we are saved through faith and not works (Eph. 2:8-9). That means you cannot save yourself through good works. You have to receive it as a gift.
Let me ask a different question. If someone asked you, “How do I walk in God’s prosperity and abundance for my life”, how would you respond? Let me tell you some of the responses I’ve gotten in the past before I learned the truth. “Are you a tither, Erna? You have to sow your seed too. Are you being diligent on your job, because you know the diligent hand shall bear rule. God can’t bless unfaithfulness. Do you serve at your church? How are your finances now? Are you a good steward over what God has already given you? How often do you eat out? Is there any rebellion in your life?” The list goes on and on. The bible says that we are to walk this Christian life in the same way we received Jesus (Col. 2:6). And we received Jesus by believing in our hearts and confessing with our mouths (Rom. 10:10) The word “saved” in Ephesians 2:8-9 means deliverance from whatever you need delivering from. It includes being born-again, healing, protection, prosperity, wisdom, and much more. So you could say that by grace are you prospered through faith and not of works lest any man should boast. What happens to a person who tries to receive salvation by works? Not only do they not receive it but they ware themselves out trying to get it. The same is true of financial prosperity, healing, etc. That is profound.
Grace is something that God does for you independent of you prior to you. It cannot be earned or “sinned away”. Prosperity is apart of every Christian’s inheritance. Well, what does an heir have to do to have an inheritance? Be born. That’s it. After that, they just have to find out about the inheritance and their right to partake of it. Then, they just somehow communicate what they want and it’s done.
There is a lot of worldly thinking in the body of Christ as it pertains to finances. With the exception of tithing, our system of increase looks just like the world. That ought not be. If an unbeliever can work two jobs for ten years, squeeze every penny to pay off their debt, and climb the ladder to succeed, there ought to be a much better and quicker plan for the believer. We’ve watered down God’s abundance with ideas like “intelligent debt” and “you have to give God something to bless”. If we will simply humble ourselves and admit that after years of tithing and sowing we still have plenty of room left to receive, God will gently teach us and escort us into the land of milk and honey. The blessing makes rich, beloved (Prov. 10:22). It’s God’s power that increases you, and not your own (Deut. 8:17-18). The idea that your provision comes from the work of your own hand originated in the curse of Adam after the fall.
It’s taken me two very long and painful years to learn these things. God had to separate me from everything I know and had been taught so I could focus on scriptures only. And the reason it took that long is because I was ignoring what I thought was a very foolish instruction from God. Now, I know He was just breaking my dependency on self. He was helping me trade my abundance for His. One day God asked me a random question (not audibly). He said, “What would happen if Christians really believed that I was their Source?” I said, “Well Lord, there would probably be a mass exodus from the job market. There would be some people who would slack off. But mostly we’d either start working the job we really wanted or we’d go to school to prepare for our dream job.” Silence. I was too dense to realize He was talking to me about my situation.
Later, He started revealing His idea of work. Our work is our purpose, our assignment, the reason we were created, and the thing we’ll be judged for. Unfortunately, the concept of purpose has been reduced to a nice-to-do instead of a need-to-do. Our prosperity comes from our covenant. Our work is the impact God wants to make on the world around us through our gifts, talents, and desires. There is no cause and effect relationship between work and your personal provison as seen in the garden of Eden. Both are fruit on the same tree rooted in the gospl of grace. That still amazes me given what I’ve always thought. If satan can keep us in the work-to-eat mentality we won’t ever obey what God has put on our hearts and step out to do what we were created to do.
What if you found out today that you were the illegitimate child of Bill Gates. How would that change your day? Weren’t you his child yesterday? What changed? You found out about it. Beloved, your Father is much richer than Bill Gates. But it’s only the truth you know that makes you free (John 8:32). All lack is just a knowledge problem. The first part of the truth we need is a revelation of the gospel of grace. I could go on for pages on that subject and how it’s transformed my life, but I’ll end with some tips to renew our minds. Grace is a subject that most people think they understand, but most don’t. It’s not like mercy. It’s the stuff that actually produces blessing in our lives (Rom 1:16-17). The best resources that I know of are listed below. I’ll tell you that an understanding of grace has to come by revelation from the Holy Spirit. I’ve noticed that it is hidden from those who already think they’re doing a good enough job. Those folks will wait until they get defeated enough to give anything a try. (Ask me how I know) We attach so many rules to receiving prosperity which is why we don’t see it very much. Again, what happens when we attach rules to being born-again? We frustrate the grace of God and don’t receive. Dependence on our labor will cut us off from grace. There will be no profit from being a Christian (Gal 5:2-4) God never intended for abundance to be such a struggle. We weren’t built to provide for ourselves. I hope God uses these thoughts to awaken in you a hunger for more. Be blessed!Some good grace resources:
http://www.dynamicministries.com/archiveseries1.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Destined-Reign-Effortless-Wholeness-Victorious/dp/1577949323/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229030356&sr=8-1
http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1014
http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1022
(And, yes, I realize that prosperity is more than finances but that is the focus of this note.)
