Sunday, January 6, 2013

Spiritual Prosperity

"Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant," penned the Psalmist in the long ago.

Let us, therefore, think about some essentials to spiritual prosperity that we may grow thereby.
A Powerful Faith
To be spiritually prosperous one must have a powerful faith. The faith of the Christian is produced through the Word of God (Rom. 10:17).

Our faith must be in God and in Christ Jesus. Jesus said,
 "Except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."

We must believe that God "is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think" in our lives.

We must believe in "the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power."

Then we must believe that we can accomplish anything we desire for the Lord with his help.

Our Lord said, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."

The first step toward spiritual prosperity is a powerful faith.

A Prevailing Prayer
We appreciate the sentiment that says, "Lord, help me to see that you aren't going to let anything come my way that you and I can't handle together." Someone else has said that we need to work as if everything depended on us and then pray as if everything depended on God!

In other words, spiritual prosperity depends on a prevailing prayer. To emphasize the importance of prayer Paul admonished the Thessalonians to "pray without ceasing." Jesus commended the prayerful disposition when he spoke the parable concerning the unjust judge and said, "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint."

Prayer is man's medium by which he can talk to God.

Prayer gives us assurance and strength. In a world when so many are unconcerned and uncaring about our difficulties we have the promise of the inspired apostle Peter, "casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."

Truly there is power in prayer that can bring prosperity.

A Personal Love
"Let brotherly love continue," penned the Hebrew writer.
"Let love be without hypocrisy," exhorted Paul in the Roman letter.
A popular song says, "what the world needs now is love sweet love . . . ."
The truth that love is one of the basic principles of spiritual prosperity ought to be obvious to anyone. If we could love our brethren, our lost friends and our God with the height, depth and breadth of our soul's being, then it would not be difficult for us to do what is right in every relationship of life.

A Persistent Effort
One of the great principles for success in any endeavor is an old-fashioned stick-to-itiveness-the dogged determination that will not quit, give up or surrender under any circumstances. Such an attitude is necessary for one to be spiritually prosperous.

How many Christians have begun to fight the good fight of faith, only to lose a skirmish with the Devil and quit in discouragement? Because we lose a battle does not mean we have lost the war. Robert Bruce fought the English six times and failed, but won on the seventh try.

History is replete with examples of men in every facet of life who have overcome great obstacles to achieve success in their chosen field. The negative attitude which causes Christians to give up and quit or become lukewarm and indifferent is one of the greatest foes to the Kingdom of God today.

Often because Christians are small in number they think there is nothing they can do. This is not true! Sigmund Romberg said:
"Give me some men who are stout-hearted men who will fight for the right they adore.Start me with ten, who are stout-hearted men and soon I'll give you ten-thousand more.
Oh! Shoulder to shoulder and bolder and bolder they grow as they go to the fore!
Then-there's nothing in the world that can halt or mar a plan,
When stout-hearted men can stick together man to man!

 
John 10:10  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
What does He mean by "life . . . more abundantly"? A problem arises when discussing this concept due to the apparent subjectivity of the term "abundant." What is abundant living for one person may be absolutely unsatisfying for another. A hard-charging, A-type businessman - into exotic vacations, sports cars, and rock climbing - would not consider a rocking chair on the porch, a vegetable garden out back, and a weekly round of golf at the local course to be fulfilling, yet they would probably suit a retired senior citizen just fine. One person's bowl of cherries is another's bowl of cherry pits.

The Greek word Jesus uses in John 10:10 to describe the kind of life He came to teach His disciples is perissón, meaning "superabundant," "superfluous," "overflowing," "over and above a certain quantity," "a quantity so abundant as to be considerably more than what one would expect or anticipate." In short, He promises us a life far better than we could ever envision, reminiscent of I Corinthians 2:9, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him" (see Isaiah 64:4). Paul informs us that God "is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20).

However, before we begin to have visions of palatial homes, classic automobiles, around-the-world trips, and wads of pocket money, we need to step back and consider what God says comprises "life." Once we determine His view of living, we will have a better grasp of what kind of blessings we can expect as Christ's disciples. All we need to do is glance around at our and our brethren's situations to know that wealth, prestige, position, and power in this world are not high-priority items on God's list of blessings (I Corinthians 1:26-29). In terms of economic, academic, and social strata, most of us come from the lower and middle classes, and we tend to remain in a situation similar to the one in which we were called (compare I Corinthians 7:20-24).

Perhaps the most telling biblical definition of life - particularly eternal life - is uttered by Jesus Himself in John 17:3: "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." Note that this definition makes no mention of length of days, health, prosperity, family, occupation - in fact, the only thing it does mention is knowing God!
What can we take from this?
» God is not overly concerned with the physical circumstances of our lives. It is enough that He assures us that we need not worry about what we will eat or wear (Matthew 6:25-32; Philippians 4:19).

» Eternal life, the kind of life in which a Christian is truly interested, is not determined by duration but by a relationship with God. This is why, once we are converted and impregnated with the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are said to have eternal life already (I John 5:11-13), though not, of course, in its fullness.

» Eternal life - the life God offers us through Jesus Christ and His teaching - is thus about quality, not quantity. Put another way, the abundant life is life as God lives it (Ezekiel 33:10-11; I Peter 2:21; I John 2:6), for once we truly come to know God, we will desire to emulate Him.

» Physical blessings, then, may or may not be byproducts of God's way of life; neither our wealth nor our poverty is a sure indication of our standing with God. Certainly, God desires that we "prosper in all things and be in health" (III John 2), but the bottom line is "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth" (verse 4), not that we live like royalty.

» Finally, a Christian's life revolves around, as Peter puts it, "grow[ing] in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (II Peter 3:18). This suggests that the abundant life is a process of learning, practicing, and maturing, as well as failing, recovering, adjusting, enduring, and overcoming because, in our present state, "we see in a mirror, dimly" (I Corinthians 13:12).
As humans, we are naturally oriented toward material things, but as Christians, our perspective must change. Paul admonishes, "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died [in baptism], and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:2-3). To us, life - and our perception of abundant life - is a whole new ballgame!
Richard T. Ritenbaugh

James 3:17-18  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
These two verses give direct and specific reasons why peace is such a great benefit toward spiritual prosperity.

"Wisdom" indicates influence of heavenly origin, that is, from God. Its effect on the mind is to make it pure and chaste, not more imaginative or intelligent. Its purpose is to make the person upright, inoffensive, and good, then peaceable, etc. It disposes a person to live at peace with others. By itself, it corroborates Jesus' statement that He is willing and able to give a peace unlike the world's, a state of being not native to man.

If a person is of a pure spirit, then peace tends to follow.

First, this occurs because a pure-hearted person is at peace within himself. He is therefore not self-righteously, self-centeredly, and discontentedly seeking to impose his will and way on others to control their lives. Such a person will not induce conflict.

Second, they will follow Paul's advice, which he gave in two places. Romans 14:19 says, "Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another." Hebrews 12:14 adds, "Pursue peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord." It is very difficult for people to have conflict with others who will not fight! This does not mean that we should make peace at any cost by denying truth. We can remain faithful to truth without going to war, though it might appear costly at the moment. Jesus—and many others—did it.

James goes on to say that this approach to life's relationships produces the fruit of righteousness. This phrase could mean that what is produced as a fruit is righteousness, but it can also mean the fruit that righteousness produces. The latter is preferable. The fruit of the Spirit is the fruit the Spirit produces. The fruit of repentance is the change repentance produces in one's manner of living and attitude. Some of the fruit of righteousness are the qualities James mentions in James 3:17. Righteousness is therefore the seed from which these things grow.

But a seed needs the proper conditions to germinate, grow, and produce fruit. Regardless of how good a seed is, if the conditions are not right, this process will be hindered, and it will bear poorly. The Parable of the Sower and Seed in Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 shows this clearly. Peace is the proper condition for the fruit of righteousness, and peacemakers are the green-thumbed gardeners. Growing a good crop demands the right conditions for good seed.


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The Spiritual Prosperous, is a person that is alive unto God through their faith in Jesus Christ and is spiritually growing and producing change in their life.

May grace (God’s favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you in [the full, personal, precise, and correct] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Peter 1:2 AMP)

How to Achieve Spiritual Prosperity?

By receiving the forgiveness of sin through faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. When you accept His blood shed sacrifice for you, your human spirit is made connected to the Spirit of God; no longer dead because of sin, your spirit is able to live and flourish. Just simply confess you are a sinner, acknowledge and thank God for sending His son to pay for your sin, and invite Jesus into your heart.

Renewing your old way of thinking with Gods way of thinking by reading, meditating, confessing, and doing His Word ( The Bible)

Living daily by the leading of Gods Spirit/Word in your spirit, and not by what you see, hear, feel, or your human understanding.

When we become Spiritually Prosperous it is seen in your attitudes toward life and the way we respond to other people, life circumstances and situations. Spiritual Prosperity manifests into Godly character,LOVE; peace, joy, long-suffering, goodness, kindness, faith, meekness and self control. Then we experience a life like this……

Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied! (Matthew 5:6 AMP)

That’s the Manifestation of Spiritual Prosperity!