“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19 NKJV
“Yet for us there is [only] one God, the Father, Who is the SOURCE of all things and for Whom we [have life], and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through and by Whom are all things and through and by Whom we [ourselves exist].”
I Corinthians 8:6 AMPC
As we walk through the 12 principles which have impacted my views of prosperity, it is important to note that each point became a point of “revelation”. It was more than knowledge or simply a statement of theology, but a living, breathing reality which became and still is a foundational conviction. Principle #2 is one many people agree with, but the challenge is when it is put to the test in the believer’s circumstances. We will say things like, “God is my source”, “God owns everything I have”, and “God will provide” (all true), but the accompanying expectations and obedient actions God will ask will never make sense until this central one is etched deep into our heart and mind.
If God is your source, then your job isn’t.
If God is your source, then your business isn’t.
If God is your source, then your investment isn’t.
And this is the tricky part.
Those things may be conduits through which prosperity flows, but they are not your source.
And if you don’t get this right, those conduits will slowly replace God and become your…IDOLS.
Hear me closely. The Lord and Idols have much in common, but are massively different in purpose and effect. They both desire our focus, our time, our worship, our obedience, our reverence, our faith, our allegiance, and more. The difference is that the Lord prospers us for His purposes, while the idols prosper us for our purposes. The prosperity God sends is life-giving:
“The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.”
Proverbs 10:22 NKJV
The prosperity an idol sends is like a “black-hole” which can never be filled:
“He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.”
Ecclesiastes 5:10 (ESV)
So, people’s prosperity can give the look of originating similarly, but internally if the source is not clearly and unambiguously defined, we are simply speaking with no spiritual substance. Because there always comes a day when our Source asks us to demonstrate our convictions and allegiance. There comes a day where we either obey the true Source or the idol source.
Take the case of the rich, young ruler. Jesus asked him to, “go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Matthew 19:16-22). He couldn’t do it. Why? He refused to change his source. Jesus identified what the young man really believed was his source, and challenged it by a request for obedience. I’ve had people ask on occasion, “Was this an actual request, or was Jesus simply ‘testing’ his response?” Personally, I think it was a real, deal request for two reasons:
- Jesus wasn’t asking the rich, young ruler to do anything more than what the rest of the disciples did when they laid down their nets (businesses) and followed Him. He is just as He deals with His children.
- The promise to the disciples was clear concerning their sacrifice and we don’t know what the end of the story might look like since he walked away from Jesus:
“So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time— houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.”
Mark 10:29-30 (NKJV)
Who will be your source?
One of the many compound name for God is Jehovah-Jireh (The Lord my provider). When Peter didn’t have money to pay his taxes, Jesus told him to go to the lake and catch a fish. The first fish he caught had a gold coin in it, enough to pay his taxes. God was showing us how he can use different resources and that ultimately, He is the provider. As long as you’re keeping him first place, you are connected to a supply line, that will never run dry. You are not at the mercy of the economy, your boss, or who likes you, God has all kinds of resource conduits He can use if you are determined to see Him as your source. The scripture says you will prosper even in the desert. Your leaf will not wither, even in famine you will have more than enough. It’s showing us, that even though the circumstances may change, the Source never changes. Because you’re connected to that Source, you will be blessed in the famine, you will increase when others are decreasing.
I am reminded of the story of Ruth. One day an owner of a field, a man named Boaz noticed Ruth, and for some reason he decided to be good to her. He told his workers to leave handfuls of wheat on purpose for Ruth. Eventually Ruth found out it was him. I can hear her telling her mother-in-law: this man Boaz, this owner he’s being so good to me, he’s leaving me so much wheat. Ruth thought it was Boaz being good to her, the truth is, it was God being good to her. Boaz was the resource, but God was the source. God was the one speaking to Boaz, giving him that desire to be good to her. How many times has God spoken to people to be good to us and we didn’t even know them? For no reason they decided to help us, they opened the door, they gave us a position, they introduced us to a friend. They were a resource that the Source was using. And the longer I live the more I recognize God’s goodness in my life. Things that I thought were a coincidence, I thought were people just wanting to be good to me, I realize now, it was the Source. Doors that opened, that you couldn’t open, somebody decided to give you a good break, you were at the right place at the right time, that wasn’t a coincidence, that was the Source. That person that put in a good word for you and you got the promotion, you weren’t lucky, that was God speaking to them, like he spoke to Boaz.
But it all hinges on your understanding that God is your source.
If you get this…
It will be the door to amazing moments of prosperity.
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