SermonIndex Audio Sermons
SermonIndex - Promoting Revival to this Generation
Give To SermonIndex
Discussion Forum : Articles and Sermons : The True Riches or True Prosperity

Print Thread (PDF)

PosterThread
AbideinHim
Member



Joined: 2006/11/26
Posts: 5185
Louisiana

 The True Riches or True Prosperity


What is true prosperity and what are the true riches that is referred to in the Word of God? With the emphasis in some movements on financial prosperity, many see this as the measuring stick of the blessing of God. In other words, if you are financially prosperous then you are blessed, and if you are not then you don't have the blessing. It is because of this kind of thinking that many in the Body of Christ are missing out on what true prosperity is all about.
I encourage you to look up the word rich and riches in a concordance and read all of the scriptures concerning both of these words. When you do, it becomes clearly evident that the true riches that God is talking about in His Word are the riches that come from knowing Jesus Christ and being filled with His Spirit. Most of the scriptures concerning financial prosperity have a negative connotation to them, and are filled with warnings. The reason for this is because of the natural tendency of man to forget about God in times of financial prosperity and to put his trust and security in his bank account.

God does not have a problem blessing his children with good things, but what He is against is for us to put our love and affection on these things. It is impossible to serve both God and mammon.

For the most part the nation of Israel sought the Lord in times of need and forsook Him in times of great prosperity, and it is no different with us today. President Clinton was elected not because of the values that he stood for, because we know that what he stood for was in opposition to God, but because of his promises of financial prosperity. The Church had a wake up call with the events of 9-11 and many Christians began to seek the Lord and there was a season of repentance where we were getting our priorities back in line.

We are now living in the Laodicean church age. Laodoceia was a prosperous center for commerce, and it appeared that they were truly blessed of the Lord. They could boast that "we are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing." Truly these Christians saw themselves as having the blessing of God upon them, but God saw them in a very different light. This was the Word of the Lord to the Church at Laodicea.


"Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing;
and knowest not that thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind
and naked." (Revelation 3:17).


This is a picture of much of the Church today. We have the finest churches that money can buy. We have got the best choirs, the best preachers, the best programs, we have got it all. Yet, God is saying to us: Don't you know that you are not living in my truth and reality. That the true blessing only come from knowing me, and you will never know me as long as you are putting your trust in all of these other things. God is saying that He wants to gives us the true riches, but the true riches do not come cheap, they are obtained with a price, and we are going to have to dig deep to find them. The price of the true riches is for us to forsake all in order to obtain the Pearl of great price. The true riches are "Christ in us, the hope of glory."

The Lord is our inheritance and every thing that we ever need is in Him. For God has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. God has put His treasure in earthen vessels, and the kingdom of God is not meat nor drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

"Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:3). The true riches of God only come to those who are poor in spirit. It only comes to those who have been delivered from pride and self sufficiency, and see their true condition, that without Him we can do nothing, but in Him and through Him, we can do all things. The poor in spirit see their true need and hunger and thirst for righteousness. How different are the poor in spirit from the proud? The latter believes that they are rich but in God's estimation are spiritually bankrupt, while the former knows and feels deeply their deep need for more of God, and it is to those that have a humble and contrite heart that God will reveal Himself to.

"Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6). Are we truly hungering and thirsting for more of God in our lives? Are we finding it intolerable to go on living a life that is make believe, where we appear before men that we have it all together, but we are miserable and spiritually bankrupt on the inside?

Our God is a God of blessing. He has not withheld any good thing back from His children. He has freely given us all things through His Son, and He is longing to have sole possession of our hearts, so that we will not serve Him only for the things that He can give us, but for who He is. He is God, our Saviour and Lord, who has redeemed us by His blood and made us kings and priests. We have been made heirs of God and joint heirs of Jesus Christ through the riches of His grace.


_________________
Mike

 2017/11/25 8:47Profile





©2002-2024 SermonIndex.net
Promoting Revival to this Generation.
Privacy Policy