and thistles shall it bring forth to you; ... in the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, until you return to the ground. Gen.3:17-19
When Rhythm And Harmony Were Lost
That was when material poverty and want became the plight of the human race. Deprivation, destitution, indigence, drought, deficiency and famine have plagued every generation that fol
lowed.
The rhythm and harmony of people and of their environment was disrupted, resulting not only in physical disease, but in distrust, loss of integrity, mismanagement and abuse of principles that caused material poverty and destitution.
Humanity has struggled since the fall of Adam and Eve to recover what was forfeited.
Now you can understand the reason for human destitution and material lack - and why God made a way for you to be reconciled to Him so that you can recover the material blessings He originally planned for you.
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CHAPTER TH i RTy-,StX THE J3EAUTIFUL P€stcN
THE ECONOMIC PROBLEMS which exasperate people are the issue of their deeper problem of estrangement from God
The typical family struggles to meet basic material needs. This is Satan's strategy to break their will and to keep them subjugated.
God never created His children for enslavement and poverty. You and I were not born for material lack and penury.
Material Abundance
The Garden of Eden was a paradise of material abundance. It was the ambiance and lifestyle that 183
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God designed for you and me to live in. It was His dream of contentment, harmony, and blessing for those whom He created in His own image.
But then Satan posed his deadly question. Adam and Eve yielded to his temptation to not
believe what God had said.Gen.3:1 Through their lust of the flesh and pride of life,lbo.2:16 they partook of the forbidden fruit which God warned them not to eat, and thereby forfeited the abundance He created for them. Gen.3:23-24
Estranged from God's presence, the seed of sin which had been planted in their spirits began to produce its foreboding harvest Jam.1:14-15 in human
lives. Rom.1:21-32
Greed and evil, lust and deceit resulted in a depraved human society where the strong dominated the weak and the rich manipulated the poor. Lords ruled over peasants, males over females.
The venom of resentment, envy, hatred, vengeance and murder continued to smolder in the spirits of the depressed, while a ruthless passion for power and dominance gnawed at their oppressors like a cancer.
Pleasure gave way to anguish. Happiness and love turned to discontentment and lust. Physical health became poisoned by disease. Abundance and material blessing degenerated into want and destitution. God's dream for people had to be
184
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suspended until The Way of legal reconciliation with Him could be effected. No Slavery In God's Family
Jesus explained it all when He said: The thief [Satan] comes only to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. Joh.1o:1o But God is not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance.2Pe.3:9
God never intended for any human person, made in His image and likeness, to be a slave. When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Rom.5:6
Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwells on high? He raises up the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the dunghill. Psa.113:5-7
O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the one who trusts in Him.Psa.348 Christ has delivered you out of the power of darkness. '01.1:13 He delivers and res
cues, and He works signs and wonders.Dan.6:27; 2co.1:10; Heb.2:15; 2Ti.4:18
You and I were born to be heirs of God -jointheirs with Jesus Chris t.Rom.8:16-17; Ga1.3:29 185
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN 1'AENTAL
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SINCE ADAM AND EVE yielded to Satan "s temptation, his insidious deception has touched every fiber of human life. He has defrauded humanity of everything that is precious until people have become conditioned to poverty and misery. They have succumbed to insolvency.
Most religious teaching implies that God wills indigence and financial scarcity. Church society has been brainwashed to believe that material abundance breeds pride, that spiritual and humble people must live in material poverty, and that physical suffering refines character.
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MENTAL CONDITIONING Tap In To The Big Source
But God's redemptive plan provides for abundant blessings of material prosperity, success, happiness and achievement.
What is the secret to enjoying these blessings: How can one tap into this source? If it is not it God's plan for us to live in a state of material need and indigence, what can be done about it?
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CHAPTER THIRTY-€.RHT ; F,031 RTH OF
1V1 N E ioKTH
GOD CREATED THE heaven and the earth. Gen.la He created Adam and Eve Gen.1:27 and breathed into them his breath of Life and they became living souls. Gen.2:7
By Him all things were created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible.c°1.1:16 It pleased the Father that in Christ should all full ness dwell.c°1.1:19
The Holy Scriptures assure us that God, the Creator and Author of Life, is our limitless and miraculous source for all that we could ever need
or desire. 188
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God's dream for you and me is that we be full of life, that we enjoy the abundance that He has provided, and that we abound with happiness, health and material blessings.
Sin disrupted God's plan, so that His rich legacy of blessings was forfeited in exchange for a world that would be cursed with disappointment and despair, with depravity and deterioration, with indigence and material insufficiency.
The Price Is Paid
But God's immeasurable love drove Him to make a way for man and woman to regain their lost paradise and, once more, experience the blessings of His abundance, materially as well as spiritually and physically.
Once our sins were punished, there was nothing left to stand between us and God. When we believe the Good News of what Jesus did for us at the Cross, then God welcomes us back to Himself.
Material Blessings Included
Jesus said: I have come that you may have Life, and have it more abundantly.J°h.10:10 The French Bible
says that Christ has come that we might have Life, and be in abundance.
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With sin and rebellion out of the way, we can walk together with God again. He wills no poverty, scarcity, lack or penury. His redemptive plan guarantees abundant material blessings.
Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the devil, lJo.3:s which include sin and every evil consequence that weakens and demoralizes humanity,
including material poverty.
Merchandising For Filthy Lucre's Sake
I am including a litany of Bible promises and statements about God's material blessings for your encouragement and faith.
Much abuse has been made of certain verses by people who, with feigned words make merchandise of the public," 23 teaching things ... for filthy lucre's sake. Tit.1:10-11
Because of the proliferation of contemporary "prosperity" pontificates through public media, I must remind the reader that Bible teaching about prosperity never encourages heaping up riches Psa.39:6 or laying up treasure for one's self without being rich toward God. Luk.12:21
190
RE-BIRTH OF DIVINE WORTH Material Prosperity
Without God's Perspective
Before listing Bible statements that encourage material blessing, one must observe that the negative influence of material riches is also biblical when not linked to witnessing for Christ among the un-converted.
Jesus spoke of the deceitfulness of riches, Mat.13:22 and Paul said the love of money is the root of all evil - not money itself, but the love of it - then added, which while some coveted after, have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sor
rows. lTi.6:1o
Another alert from Jesus concerned how the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of things can choke the Word so that it becomes
unfruitful in one's life.Mar.4:19
One day the Lord looked around, and said to His disciples, How hard it is for those who have riches and... for those who trust in riches... to enter the kingdom of God fMar.10:23-24
Jesus warned, Woe unto you that are rich! for you have received your consolation. Luk.6:24 That can hap
pen if one seeks material blessing for prosperity's sake, laying up treasure for one's self, and not being rich toward God.Luk.12:21
The Apostle Paul reminded Timothy and the believers at Ephesus, They that will be rich fall into 191 SECTION V - PROSPERITY REGAINED
temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown people in destruction and
perdition. Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to
enjoy. M.6:9-17 Traditional Teaching A Prosperity-Phobia
Traditional Christian teaching has so emphasized these warnings about material prosperity that believers have associated poverty with spirituality and material wealth with ungodliness. This creates a prosperity phobia which has impeded the promulgation of the Gospel.
Christian believers are members of God's Royal Family. We are commissioned and trusted by our
Lord 1Ti.1:11; lTh.2:4 to give the Gospel to every creature in all the world.Mar.16:15 That requires money. That is why God wills that His children prosper materially in the same way that their souls pros
per spiritually.3J°.2 Abundant Promises
With a balanced and biblical perspective of material blessings, these statements that follow can nourish your faith and courage to expect His material blessings to prosper you as a believer 192
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whose heart is set on propagating the Good News to the un-converted. O fear the Lord, you His saints: for there is no want
to them that fear Him.Psa.34:9
They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Psa.34:10 My God shall supply all your need. Phi.4:19
I wish above all things that you may prosper. 3J°.2 (This word, prosper, implies general prosperity in life, including, but not limited to, material prosperity.)
For the Lord ... has pleasure in the prosperity of His servan tS. Psa.35:27
The Lord will make you plenteous in goods, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground.Deu.28:11
The Lord will open to you His good treasure. Deu.2s:12 The blessing of the Lord brings wealth.Pr°.10:22 NIV The Lord shall command the blessing upon you ... in all that you set your hand to.Deu.28:8
The Only Condition
The condition is to only believe Mar.5:36; Heb.11:6 the Gospel message that Christ redeemed you from your sins and from their effects, Ga1.3:13 part of
which is material poverty. 193
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That is salvation. That is deliverance from the power and influence of Satan over our lives. That is freedom from the death sentence of sin, from the plague of disease, from material lack, and
from all the works of the devil.110.3:8
That is what we have taught multitudes for over half a century, worldwide. That is what Christ confirms.Mar.16.2° That is The MESSAGE That
WORKS. 194
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE BclOD's )'-iATERIAL LESS1NS
GNOW YOU CAN experience Life in fellowship and friendship with God and experience His material blessings for carrying out His plan.
When you understand His ideal for your life, you experience a rebirth of self-worth. You realize that He wills for you to enjoy material as well as spiritual and physical blessings.
Bible Verses That Build Faith
Here are more verses from the Bible for your encouragement: 195
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fHonor the Lord with your substance, and with the irstfruits of all your increase: so shall your barns be filled with plenty." 3:9-10
He challenges you to bring of your money to Him [your tithes], and prove Him with it now ... and see if He will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough
to receive.Ma1.3:10
For the Lord God says ... the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail.11c1.17:14
For the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. 1Co.10:26 Riches and wealth are the gift of God.Ecc.5:19
You shall make your way prosperous, and you shall have good success. Jos.1:8 Seek first the expansion of God's Kingdom world
wide, and all these things shall be added unto you. Mat.6:33 RV The Lord is your Shepherd, you shall not want. Psa.23:1
No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.Psa.84:11
Blessed is anyone who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments ... wealth and riches shall be in his or her house. P,,,.112:1, 3
You shall remember the Lord your God: for it is He who gives you power to get wealth.Deu.8:18 196
GOD'S MATERIAL BLESSINGS
The silver is mine, and the gold is mine.Hag.2:8 All the earth is mine.E"°.19:5 The land is mine.Lev.25:23 Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.Psa.5o:1o How excellent is Your loving kindness, 0
God! Therefore ... people put their trust under ... Your wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied... for with You is the fountain (source) of Life.Psa.36:7-9
The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.Pro.10:22
0 Lord, how manifold are Your works.... the earth is full of Your riches;... You open Your hands, they are filled with good.Psa.104:24, 28
Those who seek me early shall find me. Riches and honor are with me; yes, durable riches and righteousness ... that I may cause those who love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. Pro.8:17-18,21
Blessed are You, Lord God,...for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Yours ... both riches and honor come from You." 29:10-12
Walk in God's ways... that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn yourself lxi.2:3 Blessed is the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits. Psa.68:19
I am come that you may have Life, and that you may have it more abundantly. Jon.10:10 197 SECTION V - PROSPERITY REGAINED
The Abounding Evidence
The world of material wealth that God has created around you is proof that He wills material as well as spiritual and physical blessings for His children.
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, but she or he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and loved ones and lands,...and in the world to come eter
nal Life.Mar.1o:29-30 198
CHAPTER FORTY GOD'S
FOR
SINCE OUR SINS were put away by Christ, He offers us His Life. By a miracle of His grace, we have been redeemed out of the jurisdiction of Satan and we are now restored to the family of
God who says, I will receive you, and will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters. 2co.6:1718
Jesus said: If you then ... know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them who ask
Him.Mat.7:11
No good thing will He withhold from them who walk uprightly.Psas4:11
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The Bible says: Like a parent pities [Hebrew meaning, "loves or shows compassion for"] its chil dren, so the Lord pities them who fear Him. Psa.1o3:13
God's Family Blessings
Can you imagine a parent who does not desire material blessings for his or her children? Or what parents would desire that their children live in poverty and destitution?
God, your heavenly Father, desires that you enjoy His best in this life, materially as well as physically and spiritually.
Poverty And Sickness Eulogized As Blessings
If people had not been brain-washed to believe that prosperity produces pride and that poverty fosters humility, then this information would make good sense. God is good and rich and abundant. He created all of earth's riches. He loves His children. And He desires that they be blessed materially.
But poverty is like sickness. Tradition has erroneously eulogized both of these plagues as instruments of God's mysterious blessing which, many say, will produce humility, patience, submission and obedience to Him. 200
GOD'S BEST FOR YOU
Many people have made a religion of both their suffering and their poverty. I learned long ago that people will fight to defend their religion, so I know to be careful about what I say or write about these two issues.
I also learned that if people relate their poverty to piety in any way, then before they can experience God's material blessings, they need a new perspective of material wealth.
ated and placed on our planet Gen.2:9-14 are not for
the unbelieving world to monopolize, but they are created to facilitate His people who carry out His commission as Christ's witnesses in this world.
I've included this section in this book to project God's attitude about His material provisions, so that Christian believers will have faith 1) to appropriate the wealth God has placed here, 2) to enjoy the lifestyle that He wills for His children, and 3) to use His material wealth to fulfill His plan for humanity.
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CHAPTER FORTY-ONE FAITH FO R
XBUNDANCE
HERE IS A PREVAILING Bible principle: To receive any blessing that Christ died to provide, you must believe that He wills that you receive it. We call this faith.
All of His blessings come to us through faith. Without faith it is impossible to please Him: for whoever comes to God must believe that He is, and that He
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.xeb.11:6
That is why Jesus said, Only believe, Mar.5:36 and Whatever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive it, and you shall have it.Mar.11:24
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FAITH FOR ABUNDANCE Our Part Is To Only Believe
Even though Christ died to open The Way to His blessings, in order to receive them we must believe His Word. To do that, we must be convinced that the blessings that Christ died to provide are available to all persons for whom He died. There are no exceptions. Redemption is for all.
Convinced that Jesus Christ died on our behalf, we express that faith by receiving Him, by con