A Twist on Prosperity Teaching

[jackie d]

Eccl 11:6 In the morning sow your seed. And in the evening do not withold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that. Or whether both alike will be good.

Prosper-chasar(kah-shar) Strong's 3787 to be right, successful, proper, correct; to be correctly aligned with certain requirements. Chasar occurs 3 times in the OT; in the above reference, in Ecc 10:10, "bring success"; and in Esth 8:5, where the queen presents her request on condition that it "seem right' to the king. Chasar thus describes whatever is right, fitting, and proper; futhermore, something will prosper and be successful simply because of its "rightness". Its post-biblical derivative Kosher means that food is properly prepared according to Jewish dietary laws derived from scripture and rabbinic specifications.(NKJV)

The information above can mean only one thing for us as Christians, PROSPERITY! But I fear prosperity according to the word of God is far from the usage of the word in many of today's churches. As we see with our wealthy evangelists their notion of prosperity has everything to do with the love of money and it doesn't necessarily come about by being "right" with God.

Solomon was a prosperous man-whose notoriety was proclaimed in every corner of the known world. Solomon was given wisdom upon request and being right with God everything he touched multiplied with prosperity. The Queen of Sheba spoke to Solomon about all that was in her heart. And he amazed her with his wisdom-nothing was to difficult for the king that he could not answer her (1 King 10:3). The queen after talking with Solomon was given a tour of his kingdom and found herself weakened in her spirit with the amazement of the bounty of it.

10:6 Then she said to the king: "It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom.

10:7 However, I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed half was not told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard."

I find her last statement to be very profound having known the history of Solomon to that point. Remember again Solomon's requested did not contain prosperity. I believe that Solomon had no ulterior motives for asking of wisdom instead of wealth. No Solomon's request was pure and unadulterated with no hidden motives, no intent of pulling the wool over the eyes of God by asking for something when he had hidden desire in his heart for something else. Wisdom WAS his heart's desire. Venturing a quess I would have to assume that Solomon was already content in the wealth of King David's estate and that Solomon in his austere upbringing was plenty satisfied with what he already had. Perhaps even a bit bored with the normalcy of it. But he was NOT full of greed. He did not desire to oppress the oppressed in order to gain more than he already had. No he wanted something that no amount of money could purchase. WISDOM!! Sheba rightly said in proper order wisdom and prosperity....for in the God given wisdom of asking for wisdom Solomon also prospered by God's desire to give to him those things he had no greedy desire for. I believe God was blessed and glorified by Solomon's request. As He told Solomon that He would give him his hearts desire and He would also prosper Solomon's hand in that everything he touched would turn to "gold".

Now before anyone presumes that I am suggesting seeking wisdom will grant us wealth, just know that these are not the motives in my heart and very far from the truth. No what I am actually attempting here is to break the bonds of lies woven by those who teach that God wants to make everyone rich. We hear wealth, we think money and possessions...big ol' dollar signs pop into our cloud of imaginative thinking...that is exactly what they want us to think. They want our donations so they can pray for blessings of wealth upon our lives. Divining and fortune telling us right out of our last dollar in order to line their own pockets. These men and women teaching that God's goal is to make us all wealthy beyond imagination are teaching hell and damnation to those who believe them. NOWHERE in scripture have I read that God wishes to give these things to us all, NOWHERE!!

The prosperity teachers of today have set their hearts and sights on treasures of this world. But we are not of this world. Why would we want something that will fade, breakdown and return to the soil? And why do people fall for the lies? What happened to the eye of the needle and the camel, compared to the rich man entering the kingdom of Heaven?

Pay attention to the fear the world has about the prosperous effects the gospel has on the Kingdom of God.

Act 19:20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

Act 19:21 When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome."

Act 19:22 So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.

Act 19:23 And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way.

Act 19:24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana,[fn4] brought no small profit to the craftsmen.

Act 19:25 He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: "Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade.

Act 19:26 "Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands.

Act 19:27 "So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed,[fn5] whom all Asia and the world worship."

Act 19:28 Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!"

Act 19:29 So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's travel companions.

These people of the world feared the word of God for it took away from their worldly gain. And we can bet that it is no different today than it was then, I can nearly see God's name being passed around like fine chocolate as an aphrodisiac of temptation for people to follow down this path of destruction to perish.

This is what I believe: the word of God has become such a threat to the prince of the air that he has launched an attack against the power of God's word through the very people who proclaim to be children of God. Satan and man's desire for fame and fortune have invaded the hearts, minds and souls of millions of people all over the world. It has become such a powerful weapon that many of our most famous and "renowned" ministers have become sickeningly wealthy because they have and are sleeping with the harlot. The very harlot of Rev 17 who sits on many waters. And the kings of this earth have committed fornication with her. This harlot arrayed in purple and scarlet, adorned with precious stones and pearls. Her hand holding a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornications. All of them who have committed adultery with her drunk with the wine of her sorcery!

This is what prosperity teaching is! I kid you not, those who have slept with the harlot have sold their souls for a moment of riches and comfort. Whose names will not be written in the book of life should they continue on their paths.

Folks Solomon's wisdom was not an accident, the Proverbs and Psalms of wisdom and prosperity are not empty words. They weren't then and they are not now.

Psalm 36:27 and 28

Let them shout for joy and be glad

who favor my righteous cause.

And let them say continually,

let the Lord be magnified

Who has pleasure in the prosperity

of His servant

Any my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness

And of Your praise all day long.

God does desire to prosper us. He does desire to give us riches beyond compare. He does desire us to walk on streets of gold and drink from silver cups. He does desire to feed us delicacies and clothe us in velvet. He does desire to place a jeweled crown upon our heads and seat us at His banquet table. IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN!!!!

Again, God promises to prosper His children should they be "right" with Him and in Him. We need to check our motive and if need be, rid ourselves of thinking that prosperity is about monetary wealth and worldly possessions. Rather let us desire to prosper in the building of God's Holy Temple that exists inside man's heart.

Blessings

[jackie d]

I brought this back to the top because I would really like to hear what others believe about prosperity and what it means personally in your lives

blessings