Practical Prosperity & Christianity

WE ARE SAVED FOR GOOD WORKS, NOT BY GOOD WORKS!

Anyway, what constitutes good? Talk to Muslims & you will get a different perspective on good works. For example, they believe in "good" polygamy.

Faith is the qualifier & works is the quantifier. Indeed, Christ alone determines our eternal destiny based on faith, but works determine the quality of that destiny. Of course, the highest reward is Jesus Himself. The penitent thief, who was crucified beside Jesus, had no works, but he had saving faith. His reward was the promise of his sins forgiven, & eternal life with Jesus Christ. Nothing compares to that prosperity, yet Jesus spoke of heavenly rewards based on our good works.

Mat 19:28,30 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many [that are] first shall be last; and the last [shall be] first.


What is practical prosperity? For a person who needs transportation practical prosperity could mean owning a reliable used car. For an unemployed person it could mean getting a full time job. John 15:7 says, "If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."

WHEN GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF THE BEST

God is concerned about our needs & desires, but if we become preoccupied with them prosperity can become a snare. That's when good is the enemy of the best. Our goal is to be imitators of Jesus.

Jesus had material wealth, but material wealth didn't have Him.

He had disciples to care for, the poor to provide for, & other ministry needs that had to be met. Remember, Judas was His treasurer. I am sure there was abounding & abasing in Jesus' ministry, but God met every need above & beyond. A wedding feast had plenty of wine through a miracle, multitudes were fed by supernatural increase, a temple tax was paid from a fishes mouth, and a woman with no more money to pay the doctors was instantly healed.

JESUS HAD THE BEST RESULTS BECAUSE HE HAD THE BEST INTENTIONS.

1Cr 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Speaking to his son Solomon, David talks about wisdom, "Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor." (Pro 3:16)

LOOK IN HIS EYES NOT AT THE PRIZE!

The idea is to seek God's face not His provision. Look in His eyes not at the prize. Matthew 6:33, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Follow the advice of Proverbs 3 and you will qualify for biblical prosperity:

Pro 3:1,35 My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,
for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.
Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.
She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.
Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.
By wisdom the Lord laid the earth's foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the deeps were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew.
My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.
Do not say to your neighbor, "Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow"-- when you now have it with you.
Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you.
Do not accuse a man for no reason-- when he has done you no harm.
Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his ways, for the Lord detests a perverse man but takes the upright into his confidence.
The Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous.
He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.
The wise inherit honor, but fools he holds up to shame.

Conclusion:

Prosperity is not a dirty word, it's the lust, the greed & the pride of this world that snares people, even Christians if they are ignorant.

2Corinthians 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

WHY FAITH? WHY A FAITH MOVEMENT?

Why Faith?
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Why a Faith Movement?

1. Faith For Salvation:

Romans 10:8,10 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, [even] in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

2. Faith For Evangelism:

Mark 16:15,18 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

3. Faith For A Good Report:

Hebrews 11:1,2 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
For by it the elders obtained a good report.

Hbr 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

Hbr 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast [our] profession.

Hbr 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of [our] faith without wavering; (for he [is] faithful that promised;

4. Faith For Overcoming The World:

1John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith.

Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

5. Faith For A Good Fight:

1Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Eph 6:12,13 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

6. Faith For Understanding:

Col 2:2,3 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Col 2:6,7 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Hbr 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

1Pe 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded.

7. Faith For Praying & Healing The Sick

Mat 19:26 But Jesus beheld [them], and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Mar 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things [are] possible to him that believeth.

Mar 11:23,24 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them].

Jhn 14:13,14 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do [it].

James 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

CONCLUSION:

As long as there is faith there will always be a faith movement. Faith is a way of life, the way of the spirit-filled life in Christ.

Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

Gal 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

Eph 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

As long as there is the unseen there is faith to believe in the unseen.

1Ti 3:16 Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

As long as there is the Word of God there is faith to believe the Word of God.

Mark 13:31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will never pass away.

Hbr 6:17,18 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed [it] by an oath:
That by two immutable things, in which [it was] impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

As long as there are needs there is faith to meet those needs.

Psa 16:1;11 [[Michtam of David.]] Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence [is] fulness of joy; at thy right hand [there are] pleasures for evermore.

Phl 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

2Cr 9:8 And God [is] able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all [things], may abound to every good work.

As long as there is a covenant there is faith to access that covenant.

Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Hbr 10:15, 17 [Whereof] the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
This [is] the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

As long as there are demons there is faith to undo their work.

Col 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

1John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

As long as there is love there is faith to work through love.

Rom 8:35,39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gal 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

Eph 3:14,19 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
May be able to comprehend with all saints what [is] the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Col 2:2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

James 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead

Islam Isnone

Thanks to vitaminatoz1to9 on Youtube for these references

Want to know Islam, here are the websites:


www.muslimhope.com
www.answering-islam.org
www.investigateislam.com
www.gotquestions.org/Muslim-questions.html
www.apostatesofislam.com
answers.yahoo.com/question/index
www.faithfreedom.org/testimonials.htm
www.youtube.com/user/Muslims4Jesus
www.rim.org/muslim/JesusisGod.htm