ABUNDANCE, PROSPERITY AND MONEY
The dictionary abundance is deemed to mean – an extremely plentiful or over sufficient quantity or supply; overflowing fullness; affluence; wealth. That being the case, this article pursues two areas of abundance, money and God’s prosperity showered upon the deserving. For that reason it is formatted in two distinct sectors:
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- Money and Giving
- Prosperity and Finance
When it comes to abundance, God has great things in store for you, but you will never go to a new level without opposition. That’s why you must stay committed to what God is calling you to do. Stay in fellowship with your Heavenly Father through prayer, worship, study of His Word, and fellowship with others. Rise up today and take authority over any area of your life that’s keeping you in defeat. Be aggressive and on the offensive.
If you stay focused and determined, God will take you places you’ve never dreamed of and you’ll live that overcoming life of victory that rightfully belongs to you.
Are you spending time with God daily and investing in relationships with family and friends? God wants you to live a focused, disciplined life, full of purpose and hope. Start each day asking the Lord what He would have you to do there is no limit to what you can accomplish. God promises to take you places you’ve never dreamed possible and you will experience a more abundant life than you ever imagined.
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MONEY AND GIVING
Jesus Himself made more references to money throughout His time in ministry than any other subject He taught on. He taught about money openly; He wrapped money up in His parables; He spoke about money and taxes; He talked about it as a vital part of our giving and He chastised the money lenders trading in the temples on the Sabbath day. In fact there are over 2,000 references about money throughout the Old and New Testaments.
Money in essence is what makes the world go around. The Jews (God’s original favourites) to this day embrace money as one of the central ways they are blessed by God. Even the Church is a prime lender to business ventures and private individuals. Yet many within the Christian Church are taught that money is the root of all evil – yet nowhere in the Bible does it say that – for 1 Timothy 6:9-10 says, Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL KINDS OF EVIL. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
There is a need among believers to understand and practice the truth:
Let’s start with tithing.
Tithing is a very clear demand of the Bible. Yet many Christians struggle with the issue of tithing. Many refuse to submit to the biblical need to make offerings to the Lord. Yet, tithing/giving was intended to be a joy and a blessing. Sadly, that is not the case for in the church today.
Tithing is an Old Testament concept and was a was a requirement of the Law in which the Israelites were to give 10 percent of the crops they grew and the livestock they raised to the tabernacle/temple (Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:26; Deuteronomy 14:24; 2 Chronicles 31:5). In fact, some believe the Old Testament Law as a method of taxation to provide for the needs and upkeep of the priests, Levites and the poor. The last of these directional scriptures appear in Malachi 3:10, where after the reader is warned not to rob God, it goes on to say,’ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.’
The more you make, the more you should give.
This may be hard for people caught up in buying bigger and better things, but the bible states numerous references to charitable giving. In fact, it’s right to buy the bigger house, but the more you make and spend on yourself, the more you need to give to others.
Do put money aside for investing.
In the parables is Jesus’ story about a wealthy master who left three servants in charge of his financial affairs when he undertook a long journey, for when he returned, two of the servants had multiplied the coins for which they were responsible, but the third buried his to keep it safe and was thrown out by the master. The lesson here is we must invest our money – and invest wisely.
Debt is not prohibited, but it should be avoided
The Bible clearly warns the borrower will be a servant to the lender, but also instructs us to lend money. We are instructed that there are times when it’s OK to borrow, but it should not become a way of life – and we are also to repay what we’ve borrowed.
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PROSPERITY AND FINANCE
The Bible Tells Us God Gives Us the Power to be Prosperous.
The Bible tells us that any form of prosperity does not come from our own power, but solely the power of God. In fact, God has pleasure in the prosperity of His people. From a Christian perspective, it should be understood that the practice of daily Bible study and prayer is the greatest key to our prosperity. For if we delight in the Lord, God will make us prosper and allow us to fulfill the desires of our heart.
Deuteronomy 8:18, “But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that the may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”
It is only if we believe in God through Jesus Christ that we can prosper in all realms, spiritually and materially. Any other route we take to build prosperity in our lives will invariably result in sin and the ugly consequences that sin brings with it. Deuteronomy 8 compels us to keep God first in our lives as He, and He alone has the power for us to get wealth.
Know and Meditate on the Bible And You Will be Prosperous.
The Bible is God’s guidebook for us to lead prosperous and successful lives. There are numerous promises and lived out examples in the Bible of God promising prosperity through the following God’s word. In the Book of Joshua, God tells Joshua to meditate on the book of the law day and night so that we may prosper.
Joshua 1:8, “This 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.”
God Has Pleasure in His children Being Prosperous.
God has pleasure in the prosperity of His people, if we would have faith and favour a righteous cause God puts on our heart and joyfully go about it. Psalm 35 implores us to continually magnify the Lord who has pleasure in the prosperity of his servants.
Psalm 35:27, “Let 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.”
Accomplishment Through the Word.
The principle of seed time and harvest. Many claim this the to be the principle of God’s blessing, prosperity, SUCCESS, multiplication, triumph, love, favour and is the one factor that will generally move the “Hand of God” over our lives faster than any other. It was first mentioned at the time of Noah after the flood, and after he built and altar and sacrificed to the Lord. God was so pleased He made promises to all mankind because of Noah’s faithfulness. God also introduced the “Law of Seedtime and Harvest” as we see in Genesis 8:22 . . . ‘While the earth remains, Seedtime and Harvest, Cold and Heat, Winter and Summer, and Day and Night, Shall not cease.’ Everything that God has created multiplies because of God’s “Seed Principle.” Our lives began because of the “Seed Principle,” as did everything else – either from the good Seeds or the bad Seeds Sown by Seed sowers. To overcome life’s problems and reach our potential in life, Seed sowing is crucial if you want to see your life become fruitful, multiplied and replenished in the areas of health, finance, spiritual renewal, family and relationships. Simply Sow in your Seed in the Soil of Your Need.
If We Delight in God, We Will Be Prosperous.
Delighting in the Lord is having a true love of God. We need to love Him always because he is God, and our prosperity is just a by-product of our relationship with God and not the reason for our loving relationship with God. Jeremiah 17, as does Psalm 1, both tell that those who trust God are like a tree planted by the water and are sustained and remain fruitful even in times of drought.
Jeremiah 17:8, “For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”
Psalm 1:3. And he shall be like a tree planted by the banks of a flowing stream – prepared and nurtured to bring forth fruit in its season. His leaf shall neither wither nor fade, and everything he puts his hand to will rightfully prosper.
Achieve God’s Best in Your Life.
You need to dream big dreams, but have to also put your faith into action. The Bible tells us “faith without works is dead.” Whatever part of life needs an extra input of God’s blessings, continue to sow seeds of encouragement, hope, faithfulness and live a disciplined life. When you are faithful in doing that, God will reward your diligence and you will reap your harvest of Success. Time is the most valuable assets God has given us. There are only 24 hours in a day, and once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. Are you spending time with God daily and investing in relationships with family and friends? God wants you to live a focused, disciplined life, full of purpose and hope. Start each day asking the Lord what He would have you to do there is no limit to what you can accomplish. God promises to take you places you’ve never dreamed possible and you will experience a more abundant life than you ever imagined.
God can show you a way through no matter what you are facing –
No Matter what situation you are confronted by in today’s busy world, the Word of God has either a solution, and uplifting word, the guidance you need or the encouragement to keep going at a time when all around you seems hopeless or inadequate. The fact is, your thoughts determine your destiny. You can’t make the smallest decision without thinking about it and you can’t dwell on negative thoughts and expect a positive result. Proverbs 23:7 says: “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” If you dwell on God’s Word, “You are an overcomer,” because, “You can do all things through Christ.” Once these scriptures get down in your spirit, you can become what the scripture says.
HERE ARE SOME SCRIPTURES TO STUDY
Genesis 26:12
Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him
Genesis 39:3
Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand.
Deuteronomy 8:18
…Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth.
Deuteronomy 15:10
You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings.
Deuteronomy 16:17
Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.
Deuteronomy 24:19
When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Deuteronomy 30:8-10
And you shall again obey the Lord, and observe all His commandments which I command you today. “Then the Lord your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the Lord will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; if you obey the Lord your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.
Joshua 1:8
This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
1 Chronicles 22:12
Only may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. Then you will prosper, if you take care to fulfil the statutes and judgments with which the Lord charged Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed.
1 Chronicles 29:9
Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly.
2 Chronicles 31:20
This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.
Jeremiah 17:8
For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.
Psalm 1: 1-3
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
Psalm 35:27
Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication; and let them say continually, “The Lord be magnified, who delights in the prosperity of His servant.”
Proverbs 3:9-10
Honour the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; So your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.
Proverbs 3:27
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
Proverbs 10:22
The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it
Proverbs 11:24-25
There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered.
Proverbs 21:26
…the righteous gives and does not hold back.
Proverbs 22:9
He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor.
Proverbs 28:27
He who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses.
Malachi 3:10
“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.”
Matthew 6:3-4
But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 19:29
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.
Mark 12:41-44
And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”
Luke 3:11
And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.”
Luke 6:30
Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.
Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.
Acts 20:35
In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Romans 12:8
…Or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.
2 Corinthians 9:10
Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness;
Galatians 6:7
Do not be deceived,God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
Philippians 4:15-17
And you yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you send a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.
James 2:15-16
If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
3 John 1:2
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
This Article is by Peter Collins – In a sales career spanning more than 53 years, Peter Collins has focused on helping and bringing out the best in others – whether it involves training or mentoring salespeople, managers, business consulting to SME’s. Since the 1970’s Peter has built a reputation as a Nationally and Internationally Published author, and of the 133 books he has written over the past 48 years, Peter has 68 Business Books to his credit, (but he is mainly known for one book based on the Audio Tape series of the same name, Over 50 Ways of Closing the Sale). Peter also has written 30 Christian books. One of Peter’s books, sold almost 2 million copies in the late 1970’s and is still selling well through second hand online marketers worldwide. In his personal life, Peter has been sought after as an encourager and motivator that has given of his time and talents freely despite his busy schedule. Subsequently, he has assisted churches, pastors, community and charity groups, as well as individuals through his teaching, training, development and on-going mentoring. © Copyright Peter Collins, Profit Maker Sales, Sydney, Australia, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2017, all rights reserved.
Peter can be contacted through his website – profitmakersales.com
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