Apr
28
You are probably familiar with 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Are you in
Christ? If so, then you are committed to Colossians 2:2-3: “That
their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and
unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the
acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of
Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
We read earlier from Proverbs that one hand of wisdom
holds riches and honor and the other hand holds length of
days. These are some of the treasures of wisdom—all of them
are hid in Christ. Wisdom is in Christ. You are in Christ.
Wisdom is in you! It belongs to you! Welcome to where the
riches are!
In financial dealings, the truly wise man, one who is operating
in the covenant of God, will not borrow money. He will not
obligate himself in this way. A man who borrows money is relying
on the world’s system of finance and will never be in absolute
control of his affairs. God has a system of finance which
will provide everything you need. It is not a sin to borrow
money, but there is a better way. Why not use it? There is a
higher life. Reach for it!
This is a very difficult area where businessmen are
concerned, but God can and will provide everything any businessman
can conceive in his heart or mind. God has a way!
This is something you grow into spiritually. If you want to
believe God for thousands of dollars to operate your business,
you will have to start by believing Him for your next shirt and
tie. As you do, you will grow into a position where you can
believe Him to provide large amounts of money. The wisdom of
God will cause these things to happen, and it comes forth only
by spending time in the Word.
Suppose Henry Ford walked up, handed you a book, and
said, “This book contains every secret that I have learned in the
automobile industry, in the manufacturing business, and in the
stock market. It has been tried and proven over a period of years
to produce absolutely if you will read it one hour each day and
meditate in it.” Would you trade an hour’s sleep for the success
Henry Ford enjoyed? This and so much more is available to you
by reading and meditating in the Word of God. Commit yourself
to it. Make up your mind and heart before God.
Apr
21
The established heart comes by meditation in the Word of
God. We have seen from the book of Joshua that if a person
will meditate in the Word day and night and do all that is written
therein, he will prosper and deal wisely in his affairs. It is
through this kind of meditation in the Word that you will discover
what God has to say about finances.
Proverbs 3:13-14 says, “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,
and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise
of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof
than fine gold.” In other words, there is a better market for wisdom
and understanding than for gold and silver. The merchandise
of it is greater; and will provide more. Solomon proved
this. People from faraway countries heard about the wisdom of
Solomon and brought him wealth and riches because of it.
Verses 15-16, “She [wisdom] is more precious than rubies: and
all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and
honour.” Wisdom actually possesses riches and honor. Does wisdom
belong to us? Again, we go to the established covenant for
the answer. Let’s see what the Word has to say about it.
First Corinthians 1:30 states very plainly that Jesus has
been made unto us wisdom. James 1:5-6 says, “If any of you
lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally,
and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in
faith, nothing wavering.” Paul prayed in Colossians 1:9-10 “that
ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and
spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of
the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work.” We
should bear fruit and succeed in every endeavor, and the wisdom
of God enables us to do this.
Now I take for granted that you understand the importance
of prayer in all these areas. Spend time before God and in His
Word. Let Him reveal to you His wisdom and His understanding.
Apr
14
You must realize that prosperity is the will of God for you.
Knowledge of His will brings results. Once you know for sure
that something is God’s will, you should not be without it any
longer. If you do not know that healing belongs to you, you
will hesitate, wondering if it is God’s will and never establish
it in your own life. You will never really believe it for yourself.
Many people have been healed through the prayers of other
believers and still have difficulty with their health even after
God has healed them a dozen times. However, once they see
in the Word that healing belongs to them, that Jesus bought
and paid for it at Calvary, that He bore the stripes, then they
will not accept sickness again. Why? Because the Word
becomes established in their hearts and a force rises up within
them—the force of faith. This is also true in prosperity. Poverty
is under the curse of the law, and Jesus Christ has redeemed
us from the curse and has established us in abundance, not
bare necessity!
Stop and think for a moment. What is your heart established
in? Sin or righteousness? Death or abundant life?
Sickness and disease or healing and divine health? Poverty or
prosperity? Faith or fear?
The only way you will establish your heart so that it is
absolutely fixed—concrete and immovable, trusting in the
Lord—is by the Word of God. Go to the Word and feed on it:
read it, study it, meditate in it. Then your heart will be established,
fixed, trusting in the Lord, and Psalm 112 will be a
description of your life in Christ Jesus.
Apr
07
God has established His covenant in the earth, but it is not
enough just to know this. For the covenant to be of any value,
we must have our hearts established in it. Psalm 112 is a perfect
description of the established heart. It describes the prosperous
man and gives insight into his prosperity. Let’s examine it closely.
“Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord,
that delighteth greatly in his commandments.” What type of man
is blessed of God? The man who fears the Lord and delights
greatly in His commandments, in the established covenant
of God.
“His seed shall be mighty upon the earth: the generation of the
upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house:
and his righteousness endureth forever.” No one can take it
away! When God gives you something, you should have no
fear of losing it. God has given you His Word. You can stand
firmly on it because it belongs to you!
“Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious,
and full of compassion, and righteous. A good man showeth
favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion [or
good judgment]. Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous
shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of
evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. His heart is
established.” God has established His covenant, and this man
has established his heart in the covenant. His heart is fixed,
trusting in the Lord. You can’t scare him with bad tidings about
the fuel shortage, high interest rates or anything else. He trusts
completely and totally in the Lord and gets what he needs by
his covenant with God. When you are established and operating
in the covenant of God, Satan can’t corner you.
Mar
31
Since God’s covenant has been established and prosperity is a
provision of this covenant, you need to realize that prosperity
belongs to you now! Someone might say, “God can see into the
future. He knows that if I had money, I would spend it unwisely
or act ugly with it. That’s why I don’t have any.” Well, you are
probably right! The fact that you have more faith in this than you
have in the Word of God and in your own competence as a
Christian is keeping you robbed. Satan sold you that lie, not
God. You must realize that it is God’s will for you to prosper (see
3 John 2). This is available to you, and frankly, it would be stupid
of you not to partake of it! When a man realizes that prosperity
belongs to him, takes the Word of God, becomes prosperous, and
then gives it away, he is valuable. The Apostle Paul learned
the spiritual law of giving and operated it proficiently. He was
strong enough in the Lord to believe for prosperity, receive
it, then give it away. This is a valuable sacrifice; it really
means something.
The Word of God says, “Give, and it shall be given unto
you again.” As you begin to operate this law, you will see
that you can’t get rid of it! As you give, it will be returned to
you faster than you can keep giving it away! As we read in
Deuteronomy 8:18, God gives us the power to get wealth in
order to establish His covenant. He does it because He said
He would! When you fully realize that you have Him and
He has you, that you can do all things through Christ who
strengthens you (see Philippians 4:13), all the pride in your
heart melts and you know that without Him you can do nothing.
As you begin to understand these things, you won’t be
afraid to give. You won’t be afraid to turn loose of it. When you
give, you will receive and have even more to give, a constant
flowing! Praise the Lord!
