Trust God For Your Finances

Introduction 
(Story of being on the verge of bankruptcy….) My friend told me that I needed to “saturate” myself in the Bible – to study and meditate in it day and night. He told me that every word in the Bible is inspired by God himself. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.”  (2 Timothy 3:16)

God’s laws will always overcome the world’s obstacles to the exact degree that we know these laws, believe them in our hearts, apply them in our lives and stick to them with unwavering faith.

God has no favorites. What he does for one, He will do for others. “God is no respecter of persons.”  (Acts 10:34) However, we must do our part and our part involves a lot of study and meditation and hard work. “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  (2 Timothy 2:15)

Chapter 1 – Should Christians Prosper?
There is another way to prosper, and this is by following God’s laws of prosperity which are outlined in His Word. If we follow these laws exactly, we will prosper exactly the way that God wants us to prosper and there is absolutely nothing wrong with this kind of prosperity.

Many Christians believe that “money is the root of all evil.”  This is incorrect. Money by itself is not evil.

The Bible actually tells us, “For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:10)

Loving money is evil. Putting money first – ahead of God in any way – is evil.

“He that spared not His own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”  (Romans 8:32)

The New Testament clearly teaches that, because of the price paid by Jesus Christ, all Christians are heirs to the same blessings that Abraham received from God.

“And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.”  (Genesis 13:2) 

“That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ.”  (Galatians 3:14)

“And if you be Christ’s, then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”  (Galatians 3:29)

God’s Word clearly tells us that we are heirs to Abraham. This means that the blessings God gave to Abraham are available to us. Our Father wants us to receive the same blessings that He gave to Abraham, and we can receive these blessings if we will follow His laws of prosperity.

If someone says that God doesn’t want us to prosper, how can they possibly explain this verse of Scripture? “You shall remember the Lord thy God, for it is He that gives you the power to get wealth, that he may establish His covenant which he gave to our fathers, as it is this day.” (Deuteronomy 8:18) If it’s wrong to be prosperous, why does God give us the power to become wealthy as part of His covenant?

Many people are destroyed by their wealth because they don’t obtain it through following God’s laws.

“Blessed is the man that fears the Lord, that delights greatly in His commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon the earth, the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in His house.” (Psalm 112:1–3)

There is absolutely nothing wrong with financial prosperity unless this prosperity comes ahead of God. Our Father wants us to have money, but he doesn’t want money to have us!

God gave us His precious promises so we can be like He is if we follow them. “Whereby are given us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4)

Prosperity and abundance are part of God’s nature. He owns the whole world and everything that is in the world. He has given us more than 3000 promises in His Word so that, by these promises, we can partake of His divine nature.

Adam forfeited the abundance and prosperity that God intends for us, His children. Satan took it away from him. This brings us to the reason why God sent His son, Jesus Christ, to earth.

Jesus was sent here for one purpose, to destroy Satan’s work. “For this purpose, the son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8) Jesus succeeded in His mission.  “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.”  (Matthew 25:18)

Jesus won back every bit of power and authority that Satan had taken away from Adam. He restored our abundance. Jesus paid the full price so that all His brothers and sisters can prosper. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor that you through His poverty might be rich.”  (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Chapter 2 – Jesus Christ – Prince or Pauper?
Jesus “became” poor when he made the supreme sacrifice on the cross at Calvary.

You might wonder what the connection is between the miracles performed by Jesus and His financial prosperity. The answer is that Jesus Christ had the purest faith that has ever been seen on this earth. As a result, he was able to turn little into plenty. He had absolutely no need for worldly, material assets because He knew that he could apply His faith to God’s laws of prosperity in order to obtain whatever He needed.

Jesus clearly told us that he couldn’t perform any of His miracles with His own ability:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, the son can do nothing himself.” (John 5:19) 
“I can of my own self do nothing.”  (John 5:30)
“The Father that dwells in me, He does the works.”  (John 14:10)

On many occasions, Jesus humbly told us that he couldn’t do any great miracles by himself. He was able to perform these miracles only because He yielded completely to God’s Holy Spirit who lived inside of Him. You and I can also do great works here on earth, financially and otherwise, because God’s Word clearly tells us that we have this same Holy Spirit living inside of us. “The spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you.”  (Romans 8:11)

Jesus did not rely in the least on His own ability. He relied totally upon God’s Word and upon God’s Holy Spirit living within him.

Our Father wants us to prosper financially. However, this prosperity isn’t “automatic” just because we’re Christians. We have to follow His laws of prosperity which are carefully laid out in this book. If we follow these laws, God won’t withhold any good thing from us.

“No good thing will He withhold from them who walk along His paths.” (Psalm 84:11) Each day he loads us down with benefits. “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits.”  (Psalm 68:19)

Chapter 3 – God’s Prescription for Prosperity
Carnal, worldly people put their selfish desires first. There isn’t anything wrong with owning a nice car and nice home, but possessions must never in any way come ahead of God.

If I had to boil everything that I have learned down to just four words, this four-word prescription for God’s prosperity would be, “always keep God first.”  Jesus told us this when He said, “seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”  (Matthew 6:33)

Whatever any of us need in any area of our lives, God’s laws says that He will provide them to the exact degree that we keep Him first in every area of our lives.

Exactly what does this mean to always keep God first? One example of this is to never start any day without first spending a period of quiet time of prayer and devotion. Another example is to set definite goals of Bible study and meditation and to consistently reach these goals because this is put ahead of family time, watching television and enjoying hobbies.

Many of us have accepted Jesus as Savior, but we have never truly allowed Jesus to be Lord over every area of our lives. In order to put Jesus first, we need to deny ourselves each day and put Him first in every area of our lives. “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up His cross daily, and follow me.”  (Luke 9:23)

The world’s system of prosperity puts other things ahead of God – money, success, possessions, and ego recognition. Every bit of this is in violation of God’s laws of prosperity. Our Father wants us to prosper financially, but only if this financial prosperity and the things it will buy never in any way come ahead of Him.

“True humility and respect for the Lord lead a man to riches, honor and long life.” (Proverbs 22:4) Our Father does want us to enjoy riches, honor and long life as long as we reach these goals as a result of keeping Him first by always humbling ourselves before Him. This is God’s “prescription” for prosperity in every area of our lives.

Our Father wants us to surrender our lives totally to Him – putting Him in complete charge of everything there is. (Hebrews 2:8) He doesn’t want us to put family, money, hobbies or anything else ahead of him. “Thou shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3)

The world system of prosperity puts money and the things it can buy ahead of God.

An all-consuming desire for money is exactly the kind of desire that we should have for God. We should think about Him all the time. He should be at the very center of our existence. Every aspect of our lives should revolve around Him. We shouldn’t ever be able to get enough of Him – the more we learn of God and His ways, the more we should want to learn.

This is the way to prosperity. “As long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.”  (2 Chronicles 26:5)

We will never want for anything as long as we constantly put the Lord first and keep him first. “They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.” (Psalm 34:10)

“I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honor are with me, yes, durable riches and righteousness.”  (Proverbs 8:17 – 18)

We should say, “God, I’m going to put you first and keep you first every hour of every day of my life. I’m going to study and meditate constantly in your Word and do exactly what it tells me to do, trusting completely in you to supply every one of my needs.”

Too many Christians, often without even realizing it, are much more problem centered than they are God centered. We spend too much time focusing on our problems and too little time focusing on Almighty God and His ability to solve every one of our problems to the exact degree that we can let go of these problems and give them to Him and trust Him to solve them.

If God really is first in our lives, why should we ever be worried about any problem? If we are worried about any problem, isn’t it a fact that we are actually allowing that problem to take first place ahead of God? Instead of constantly focusing on the problems, we should focus constantly on the great promises of God’s Word and the great ability of God’s Holy Spirit living inside of us.

All freedom comes from switching our preoccupation from ourselves to God. God’s Word clearly tells us to keep our minds focused on him and to trust completely in him. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts in me.”  (Isaiah 26:3)

A peace is available to us that is “perfect” – a total, complete and absolute peace! Perfect peace certainly includes freedom from financial problems. How can any of us have that peace if we worry about financial problems?

God’s two requirements for perfect peace are very clear. First, we must keep Him first at all times. We must keep our minds focused on Him at all times – and not on our problems. Second, we must trust Him completely. We must pay the price to find out what His Word says He will do and then believe that He will do what He says He will do.

God’s laws of prosperity will work only to the degree that we keep Him first in our lives – totally, completely and absolutely ahead of everything else. They are based on total dedication of our lives to Him. The blessings that we receive from our Father will be in direct proportion to the degree of our true, deep and lasting commitment in Him.

Chapter 4 – God’s Way or the World’s Way?
God’s laws of prosperity are founded upon the basic fact that He owns everything and that we own nothing. “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”  (1 Timothy 6:7)

Most people who have become wealthy following the world system of prosperity don’t understand this concept. This is why God’s Word says that it is so difficult for most wealthy people to enter into God’s kingdom.

“How hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”  (Mark 10:24 – 25)

The key words here are the words “trust in riches.”  This is the world’s way. God’s laws of prosperity require us to trust in Him instead of trusting in riches. The world’s way is to trust in material assets and to continually try to accumulate more of them.

The world’s system of prosperity is a full 180° from this. In the world, millions of people think everything would be just great if they could only have unlimited funds. However, close observation of people who have more money than they can spend shows that they don’t find any lasting satisfaction from their wealth.

“He that loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loves abundance with increase, this is also vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10)

Everyone who prospers by methods other than God’s laws of prosperity sooner or later will find that this prosperity will become a curse. “The prosperity of fools shall destroy them.”  (Proverbs 1:32)

What is a fool? God’s Word gives this definition of a fool: “the fool has said in His heart, there is no God.” (Psalm 53:1)

God’s laws of prosperity will show us exactly how to “profit” during down economic times.  “I am the Lord your God which teaches you to profit, which leads you by the way that you should go.”  (Isaiah 48:17)

No matter how bad our economy might get, God’s laws of prosperity, if followed exactly will provide us with financial substance that we need.

Chapter 6 – How Do We Renew Our Minds?
We renew our minds through constant study and meditation in God’s Word. Everyone wants to prosper, but few people are willing to pay the necessary price of study and meditation in God’s Word which is necessary in order for His laws of prosperity to be manifested.

Here is how we win our Father’s approval. “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.”  (2 Timothy 2:15)

None of us should expect our Father to prosper us unless we are 
willing to pay the price of working hard at studying His Word.

Everything that any of us will ever need to know is contained in God’s Word. If we have problems in one particular area of our lives, we need to do a thorough job of “rightly dividing” God’s Word in order to find every possible verse of scripture that covers this particular area.

Because of the difficult economic times that many economists are predicting, all of us should study what God’s Word has to say about prosperity. We need to devour it. We need to learn everything that we possibly can about how to avoid or solve the financial problems that soon will come upon this world.

Millions of Christians are living far beneath their rights and privileges as children of God because they fail to pay the price of constantly studying God’s Word in order to find out exactly what these rights and privileges are and how to attain them in their lives.

Let’s examine what it means to “meditate” on the Word. Let’s start by looking at two verses of Scripture that tied the words meditate and prosper together. The first one says:

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”  (Joshua 1:8)

This is one of the most important verses of Scripture in the entire Bible for anyone who is interested in prosperity and success. In fact, it is the only verse of Scripture in the entire Bible which contains the words “prosperous” and “success.” This verse of Scripture shows us the three things that our Father tells us to do if we intend to be prosperous and successful:

• We must speak His Word constantly – His Scriptures should constantly come out of our mouths.
• We should constantly study His Word and meditate “day and night” on what it says.
• We should live our lives exactly as His Word tells us to live them. We should know His Word so well that we conduct our lives “according to all that is written therein.”

The second place that we find Scripture that ties meditation and prosperity together is at the very start of the book of Psalms.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”   (Psalm 1:1–3)

First, God tells us that, if we want to prosper in everything we do, he will bless “the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.”  God will bless us if we will follow His laws of prosperity instead of following the world’s methods of prosperity. God doesn’t want us living the way the sinful world lives. He doesn’t want us looking at things the way worldly people do. We have already seen in Romans 12:2 that He tells us not to conform to the world’s way of doing things, but, instead, to transform our lives by following His laws.

Continued – Click on Link Below