Chapter 11.3
Prosperity Message
Revisited
Investments – Market Indicators – Global Markets
401k Retirement Fund – Diversifications – Profit
Leaving an Inheritance
First Word
In
1980 I was introduced to the Prosperity Message on giving and tithing
through the TV Ministry of Kenneth &
Gloria Copeland and there was much controversy in the Church claiming that
this was a false teaching; that if it worked, IT
SHOULD WORK FOR EVERY CHRISTIAN.
33 years later I visited a Baptist Church
and heard the prosperity
message “revisited” and thought the Sunday School
Teacher was “tripping
out” on something; then I read the
Setting the Stage
The
Prosperity Message: the
scriptures on giving of your tithe are right out of the mouth of the Lord, He
said to “Test Me
in this”.[1] That
if you gave your whole tithe to the storehouse of God, that he would open a
floodgate of blessings that you would not have enough room to contain it.
It will come back pressed down, shaken
together and running over and poured into your lap.[2] You
will be blessed in the city and in the country, coming in and going out;[3]
your barns will be full[4]
and your enemies will be defeated. The
seed you plant will go further and your harvest will be greater. You will have money to lend to others and not
borrow a penny. You will be the head and
not the tail.[5]
I BELIEVE
Abuse
In my Belief System,
I firmly believe that WHERE the word of God
is preached and established, the standard of living is much higher than where
it is not.
Over the years I saw the Prosperity
Message become diluted and become a tool for Ministries to raise money. Since I was a Christian broadcaster, I begin
to question the books that we were presenting that smacked of just pure FUND RAISING.
What I mean to say is; that every other chapter in the book was
promoting giving to TV ministries; I was then asked this question; is it
wrong to inspire others to give?
The “Prosperity Message” was not only presented on
TV, but also in the LOCAL CHURCH claiming that THEY were
the ONLY storehouse for your gifts
and tithes. The Word
presents it differently; there are many storehouses.[6] This is liberating as you can give to as many
different storehouses as you want, but a word of caution; just don’t give into
a ministry that is a “DEAD WORK”; Check them out. [7]
Casting Bread – Sowing seed
One
of the best scriptures used for prosperity is from Ecclesiastes; “Cast your bread
upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.” [8] While this sounds crazy, the husbandman knows
he will see his seed again with an abundant increase.
The casting of bread upon the waters is an
allusion to the oriental custom of casting rice grains on the fields
where they lie submerged beneath the
annual inundation of water from the Nile River that brought in “alluvial”
top soil covering the seed. While this process is slow; it is sure. When the water recedes the grain springs up.
Message Revisited
Now
we can FINALLY get to what I want to talk about, and I promise
this will be
(However, do
not look to him for good advice on women.)
We are plainly told that if we INVEST time in the WORD
OF GOD; wisdom and knowledge will pour forth and our INVESTMENTS will prosper and be successful. King Solomon said in so many words; “to cast your bread upon the waters and “in due season” it
will come back to you on every wave”.[9]
In my BS, I had always believed that this scripture was TALKING ABOUT CHARITY or giving; but because
Solomon “the international trader” wrote this, now my BS has
embraced that Solomon is really talking about investing
your money for your retirement years… SAY WHAT !
Yes, I’m talking about a 401k retirement fund.
Solomon is
teaching us to INVEST WISELY.
Verse 1 - Ship and expand[10] your
commodity to many cities; if not nations, then like seed; give it a season to
produce a profit.
(Solomon was
involved with a fleet of ships in sea trade that sailed every three years.) [11]
Verse 2 - Diversify[12] into
six or seven investments so that in case of an economic recession or depression
you won’t have “all your eggs in one
basket”. SAY WHAT ! The
expression “seven”
could be taken to mean several or many areas. (Risk reduction.)
Verse 3 – Observe market Signs[13] Act
wisely, don’t sow seed if the wind is blowing; don’t begin to harvest if it is
raining. Some things are predictable,
like storm clouds forecasting the blessing of rain or a dead tree starting to
fall in a certain direction; that’s the direction it will finally fall. Both are beyond man’s control, I might point
out here that a man’s character sets the direction that he will fall at death;
to heaven or to hell. It cannot be changed
once death overtakes him. If a tree
ceases to bear fruit; cut it down and at least let the firewood be a blessing
to someone. You should not invest more
money in a dead project just because it was your idea. I’ll say it another way;
get a clear understanding of the signs of the market before you launch a
venture; once is it launched it will be very difficult to change its direction.
Verse 4 – Take a calculated risk,[14] don’t
spend so much time analyzing that you don’t have time to plant your crop; let
alone harvest it. Don’t lose an opportunity
because of timidity. NOTHING
VENTURED, NOTHING GAINED. The
argument is against over cautiousness; uncertainties and un-controllable
factors; one must act sometime if the tasks of life are to be
accomplished. Don’t let the small things
you
We are to sow; the result rests with
God.
Verse 5 – Commit your ways into God[15] Trust Him. We do not understand the path of the wind (the Holy Spirit) or the forming of a
child (human Spirit), let alone the Ways of God; BUT, we can follow the common sense rules of daily
living and welfare that results in “God’s purpose” being accomplished. Ignorance
and confusion about “how it all works”
is no excuse for standing still.
Commit
your works and Trust in God.
Verse 6 – Have a “Plan A” and a “Plan B” [16] and
spend your whole day working both of them; who knows which will work the best
and maybe both of them will do equally well. Make the most of the time allotted to you; proceed
and persevere in “well doing” all day. In the Morning of your youth give of yourself
to do good; in the Evening of your Old Age, don’t
yield to the temptations of withholding your hand from the needy for you don’t
know what work of charity that you placed forward will do the best; perhaps all
of your efforts will bring forth a harvest.
The
choices you make in your youth will follow you in your old age.
Verse 7-10 – Follow your heart and ENJOY the blessings[17] that
you have while you are still young. There will be some good days and some bad
days, so be happy and don’t stress out; it’s all meaningless anyway. For the Believer; we are
Meditating
on God’s precepts will not only lead us into success and prosperity,[18]
but it will add length of years to our life, filling it with PEACE and
CONTENTMENT.[19]
We are advised
to make wise choices in our comings and goings.
In the end
we are
accountable to God for what we “covet with our eyes” and “lust for in our heart”.
Life is a Gift from God; enjoy it and use it
Profit
Whatever
we do, it should be to the glory of God.[20] It does not glorify God to bury the talents
that He has given each of us; and it’s not
too late to start investing your talents.
It is Biblical to pray for God to “enlarge your borders”; to increase
your holdings.[21]
God wants us to plant our seed; make it
grow and have a harvest. Weather seed or
money or our talents, we are to invest time in them to make
them grow to the glory of God.
The parable of the talents is clear that
we are expected to produce a return on our investments that God has put before
us; A PROFIT is expected
even if it is small.
The person that
is faithful with just a little can be counted on to be faithful in much. [22] Be
found trustworthy in what you have;[23]
don’t worry about what you don’t have.
A talent was
a thousand dollars in the time of
Jesus. Quite a sum in contrast to the widow’s
mite
which was only 1/8th of a cent. A shekel of silver was
64 cents; thirty pieces of silver for Christ’s betrayal or the price of a slave would be about twenty dollars.
OLIVE PRESS
The Take Away
The
Point of Getting is not to have untold riches; because if we did
we would forget about God, and on the other hand, if we didn’t have some
financial success we might be forced to steal and that would grieve God.[24] Investing for the right reasons glorifies God.
The Problem: Without God’s Word to guide us,[25] MONEY becomes the goal in life; we never have
enough of it, we want more. We don’t
think of ourselves as greedy, we only want the land that touches our
land. What we do with our money is a strong “market indicator” of where our heart is.[26] Profits are a blessing from God; profits
should not become our god.
Our investments are blessed so that not
only can we be generous,[27]
but we can have a good retirement, and leave an inheritance for our kids that
too is to the glory of God.[28] When we take inventory of our lives and our
preparations for eternity, making money and everything else becomes
meaningless.[29]
Even if we have NOT received the
Read
His Word; Keep His commandments: This is
the whole duty of human mankind; to obey
and reach our greatest potential as part of His creation.[31]
Live in relationship with God regardless of
your circumstances.[32]
[1] Malachi 3:10 – Test me in this; bring
your whole tithe
[2] Luke 6:38 – What you give
will come back pressed down, shaken together, poured out and running over in
your lap
[3] Deuteronomy 28:3-8 – You
will have blessings coming and going
[4] 2 Corenthians 9:10-11 –
There will be an increase of your seed and harvest
[5] Deuteronomy 28:12-13 –
You will be the head and not the tail, you will lend to many and not borrow
[6] Genesis 41:56 – THERE ARE MANY
STOREHOUSES
-- Nehemiah 12:44 – MANY STOREHOUSES for the first fruits, contributions, and the tithe
[7] Acts 17:11 – The Bereans CHECKED OUT THE
SCRIPTURES every
day to see if what was said was true
[8] Ecclesiastes 11:1 - Cast
your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.
[9] Ecclesiastes 11:1-5 – Cast your bread and it will return
[10] Ecclesiastes 11:1 - Cast your bread on the surface of
the waters, for you will find it after many days. -- Ecclesiastes 11:5 - Just as you do not know the
path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant
woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.
[11] 1 Kings 10:22 – Solomon
traded on the seas every three years
[12] Ecclesiastes 11:2 - Divide your portion to seven, or
even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth
[13] Ecclesiastes 11:3 - If the clouds are full, they pour
out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree
falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it
lies.
[14] Ecclesiastes 11:4 - He who watches the wind will not
sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.
[15] Ecclesiastes 11:5 - Just
as you do not know the path of the wind and how
bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you
do not know the activity of God who makes all things. -- Psalm 37:5 – Commit your way unto the Lord; he will bring it to pass
[16] Ecclesiastes 11:6 – Have two plans; Work Plan A and Plan B at the same time
[17] Ecclesiastes 11:7-10 - The light is pleasant, and it is
good for the eyes to see the sun. Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all,
and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything
that is to come will be futility. Rejoice, young man, during your
childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And
follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that
God will bring you to judgment for all these things. So, remove grief and anger
from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the
prime of life are fleeting.
[18] Job 36:11 – Follow these
precepts and retirement will be well taken care of -- Proverbs 3:1-2 – Don’t
forget to KEEP
my laws and commandments
[19] Josh 1:8 – Invest in the BOOK OF THE
LAW
and you will
prosper.
[20] 1 Corenthians 10:31 – Whatever you do, Do to the
glory of God
[21] Deuteronomy 12:20 –
Enlarge my borders Lord as You have promised me
[22] Luke 16:10-12 – If you
are Faithful in little, you will be faithful in much
[23] Matthew 25:14-30 – You
are responsible to invest the talents that you have
[25] Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust
the Lord, Acknowledge Him, He will direct your paths
[26] Matthew 6:21 – How you
invest is where your heart is.
[27] 2 Corenthians 9:11 – You
are blessed to receive so you can be generous.
[28] Proverbs 13:22 – Leave an inheritance for your kids
[29] Ecclesiastes 12:6-8 –
Remember God; everything else is meaningless, meaningless
[30] Romans 2:13-15 – You will
be judged by the light you have
[31] Ecclesiastes 12:13 – Fear
God and keep His commandments for this is the whole [duty] of man
[32] Ecclesiastes 12:1 –
Remember God while you are still young.
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