Focus: Material Success (Pt.1)

Text: Gen.26:12-14

"Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became great: For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him."

Let me make it clear from the onset that God wants His people to succeed physically and materially. God delights in the prosperity of His servants. 

The Queen of Sheba said to Solomon, "Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: THY WISDOM AND PROSPERITY exceedeth the fame which I heard" (1Kgs.10:7). In Job 36:11, it is written, "If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures." The psalmist declares, "Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant" (Ps.35:27). 

God does not take pleasure in the poverty of His own children.

The psalmist even prays for prosperity. He says, "Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces" (Ps.118:25; 122:7). Peace and prosperity are portions of the saints. In Jeremiah, God speaks with pomp and pageantry, "And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it" (Jer.33:9). In Zechariah, God says, "My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem" (Zech.1:17). In 1Cor.16:2, Paul says, "Let every one of you lay by him in store, AS GOD HATH PROSPERED HIM…" Did you see that - "as God hath prospered him," not as God has impoverished him. 

From all these Scriptures we can see that God wants us to do well in life. Poverty is not a sign of spirituality. God wants His people to be in a position where they can meet their needs, pay their bills, help those in need, and advance the kingdom of God on earth. 

Paul wrote, "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, THAT HE MAY HAVE TO GIVE TO HIM THAT NEEDETH" (Eph.4:28). 

The reason for working and making money is to enable us to be a blessing to others in need and to commit resources for the winning of souls and the spreading of the gospel around the world.

What God hates is turning prosperity into an idol and abusing the blessings of God in your life. The blessings of God are meant to be enjoyed, not to be idolized or worshipped. God means that we use His goods in our lives to doing good for God's glory. Let it become a settled truth in our hearts that it is the will of God for believers in Christ to prosper materially and physically.

There is no poverty in heaven, no virtue in being poor, and serving God is certainly not the same thing as being impoverished in this life.

The last time I checked; poverty is not one of the spiritual graces or virtues.

How sweet it would be for it to be said of us what was said of Solomon! "Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, HE PROSPEROUSLY EFFECTED" (2Chron.7:11). May it also be said of us what was said of Joseph, that "the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a PROSPEROUS man…" (Gen.39:2). I believe it was Samuel Johnson who once said, "Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty and it makes some virtues impracticable and others extremely difficult."

Sir Joshua Reynolds said, "The value of life lies not in the length of years, but in the use we make of them. If you have great talents, industry will improve them; if you have but moderate abilities, industry will supply their deficiency." I pray God to grant His people the mentality for prosperity and the acumen for industry.

We'll continue from our text tomorrow.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter