I have an idea of my own. But first, here's a few Scriptures...
8This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Joshua 1:8
4Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Psalm 37:4
3Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. Proverbs 16:3
18But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 8:18
5And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. Deuteronomy 30:5
9And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers Deuteronomy 30:9
1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalm 1:1-3
10The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. Psalm 34:10
27Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. Psalm 35:27
33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33
It is quite difficult indeed to look at the above Scriptures (and these are only a few -- there are MANY more) and truly not understand that God wants to prosper His kids. So why is it that so many people resist this teaching?
I am interested in hearing others' viewpoints on this, because in all things I want to be thoroughly equipped to minister to others. Studying to show myself approved so to speak.
From my perspective, I can see two issues here. First, I think there are those who simply cannot believe these teachings because of failings in their own lives. They think that since they themselves haven't prospered (for whatever reason), then it must not be sound doctrine.
The second issue (and it can actually be closely linked to the first when one thinks about it) is a good example of "throwing the baby out with the bathwater". What I mean is that there are those who reject prosperity teachings not because they are unbiblical, but because they don't trust other human beings (and themselves really) with doctrine so wonderful. These are the sorts of folks who like to throw around the words "greed", "lust for money", etc. As if teaching prosperity automatically confers these sorts of sinful thoughts on someone. They seem almost afraid of these teachings, for fear of what human beings might twist them (and HAVE done so BTW) into meaning. Like a preacher who might say, "Give to this ministry from all of your life's savings, and all of your lines of credit, and you will be unbelievably rich!!" Sure, there are thieves out there. And there are those people who believe in prosperity without ONE thought for the Kingdom of God, as we are admonished to seek first in Matthew 6:33. And there are those who want nothing more than to be completely filthy rich, but have no spiritual maturity. These souls should be prayed for, that their hearts and minds come into agreement with what SCRIPTURE teaches about prosperity. But the thing is, such distorted views of Scripture, in my humble opinion, should not negate an important teaching. Just because someone abuses a Scriptural principle does not render the teaching itself null and void. That is what I mean by "throwing the baby out with the bathwater".
I would love to hear others' thoughts on this matter.
8This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Joshua 1:8
4Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Psalm 37:4
3Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. Proverbs 16:3
18But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 8:18
5And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. Deuteronomy 30:5
9And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers Deuteronomy 30:9
1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalm 1:1-3
10The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. Psalm 34:10
27Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. Psalm 35:27
33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33
It is quite difficult indeed to look at the above Scriptures (and these are only a few -- there are MANY more) and truly not understand that God wants to prosper His kids. So why is it that so many people resist this teaching?
I am interested in hearing others' viewpoints on this, because in all things I want to be thoroughly equipped to minister to others. Studying to show myself approved so to speak.
From my perspective, I can see two issues here. First, I think there are those who simply cannot believe these teachings because of failings in their own lives. They think that since they themselves haven't prospered (for whatever reason), then it must not be sound doctrine.
The second issue (and it can actually be closely linked to the first when one thinks about it) is a good example of "throwing the baby out with the bathwater". What I mean is that there are those who reject prosperity teachings not because they are unbiblical, but because they don't trust other human beings (and themselves really) with doctrine so wonderful. These are the sorts of folks who like to throw around the words "greed", "lust for money", etc. As if teaching prosperity automatically confers these sorts of sinful thoughts on someone. They seem almost afraid of these teachings, for fear of what human beings might twist them (and HAVE done so BTW) into meaning. Like a preacher who might say, "Give to this ministry from all of your life's savings, and all of your lines of credit, and you will be unbelievably rich!!" Sure, there are thieves out there. And there are those people who believe in prosperity without ONE thought for the Kingdom of God, as we are admonished to seek first in Matthew 6:33. And there are those who want nothing more than to be completely filthy rich, but have no spiritual maturity. These souls should be prayed for, that their hearts and minds come into agreement with what SCRIPTURE teaches about prosperity. But the thing is, such distorted views of Scripture, in my humble opinion, should not negate an important teaching. Just because someone abuses a Scriptural principle does not render the teaching itself null and void. That is what I mean by "throwing the baby out with the bathwater".
I would love to hear others' thoughts on this matter.
