In the beginning, God created abundance for man to enjoy. As a matter of fact, God made all things ready before He even made man. There was nothing like lack or poverty in the original agenda of God for man on the face of the earth (Genesis 1:26). Apostle James made us understand in his epistle to the church (1:17). It says every good gift and perfect gift comes from God. From here, it can simply be deduced that poverty and lack are terrible things and God isn’t their author. 1Chronicles 29:12 also says “both riches and honor” come of thee, and thou reigned over all. These are clear pictures of God’s prosperity plans for man. Even 1 Timothy 6:17 says God gives all things richly to enjoy- and not to endure.
There are some things that God will give you, not because you really need them; but because of the Joy that it will give. God gives them to you by Himself, and prosperity is one of them. Even from 1kings 3:13, God added both riches and honor alongside the wisdom that he gave Solomon. Solomon didn’t have to fast and pray for them. So, from the above, one can conclude that God isn’t the author of poverty and lack. God doesn’t have poverty and so, he doesn’t give it. “Nemo dat quod non abiet“- a latin phrase for you cannot give what you don’t have.
It is important to understand that the God-kind of prosperity I am talking about here transcends beyond the realm of enough, just enough. It dwells in the realm of MORE THAN ENOUGH. Let me explain why this is so. The reason is God will prosper you so that you can be a blessing unto others. God-kind of prosperity also means progress on a daily basis, increase beyond measure. It is also a kind of increase that knows no bound- a life of wealth without an hedge or restriction. It is the kind of prosperity that God Himself does in your life, not what you are trying to do. It is the activities of God in your life.
There are practical ways to walking in abundant prosperity. As believers, God has not designed for us these ways if they would not have worked. God knows all things and therefore, He knows the end of a thing even from the beginning. The prosperity plan of God for the believer is first of all, living according to the word of God. James 1:22-25 says material prosperity begins when we start to practice the word of God. Applying the word of God to our lives daily through practicing brings about true prosperity- being doers of the word of God. The blessing is a provision of God through Christ Jesus and the manifestations of it comes through acting and doing the word of God that pertains to prosperity. This of course must not be undermined.
So, there is no such thing as disobeying God’s word and prospering. This wasn’t recorded of Abraham. Genesis 22:12-18 says the conduit through which the blessings of Abraham becomes ours is the conduit of obedience- which is the obedience of faith. Isaiah 1:19 says obedience brings about enjoying the goodness of the land. Job 36:11 says prosperity is always a product of acting on the word of God- which is also the obedience of faith. John 14:21-24 says manifestation happens as a result of acting on the word of God. All these scriptures are clear indications that true prosperity begins from acting on the word of God.
Tithing also is very critical in financial prosperity. The first man that tithe in the bible- Abraham, did it by revelation. He didn’t live under the law. As a matter of fact, Abraham lived almost 430 years before the law was given. A lot of folks nowadays (even the so called christians) have tried to water down the importance of tithing. Some say tithing is an old covenant practice and therefore, it is not relevant in the new testament. Others aregue that tithing was done under the law, and since we no longer live under the law, it is no more relevant. All these arguments are devil’s cunning ways of keeping christians in perpetual bondage of poverty. Tithing is a covenant practice that bring about prosperity in our lives. Jesus receives the tithe- the physical money we bring according to Hebrews 7:5-9. Tithing brings us that dimension of prosperity as described in Malachi 3:7-12. It is also an act of honor that we give to God through our finances.
Another way to unleashing prosperity is through giving of offerings. Giving offerings is part of our worship for God (Psalm 96:8-9). In bringing our offerings to God, we honor him as well. Genesis 22:2-5 says Abraham saw offerings as worship unto God. But the most important thing is that our offerings must be offered in faith. Anytime we are giving our offerings, exercise some faith. This subject of FAITH is the difference between Cain’s offering and Abel’s offerings. Abel gave his offering in faith- in honor of God. Our offerings must not be void of expectations. Hebrews 11:4 says there’s nothing wrong to expect from God when we give to Him in faith. It is also important to know that how you give your offering and where you give also determines your expectation. 2Cor 9:6, Galatians 6:7. These two verses are talking about what you sow, and the magnitude of what you sow. So, there is nothing like ‘ it doesn’t matter what I give to God’, as long as my heart is correct and God sees the heart. This assertion is simply wrong.
You must give in faith and what you give also matters (magnitude) and how you give it matters. There are also times when people exempt themselves from giving simply because they don’t have enough. Never do that because God is no respecter of persons. (The widow woman that gave her all is an example). To her, what she gave was small and her all, but to Jesus, it was the big deal. Jesus didn’t tell her to take it back because it was small- NO. No matter how small it is, give it. Never say I don’t have enough to give and then restrain yourself from giving. If grudge is still in your giving, please don’t give it.
The reason for this is because how you give your offering matters.
As you put these things into practice, you cannot simply afford not to prosper. Your life simplly will move from one realm of prosperity to another. I believe this short piece has blessed you tremendously. Do have a wonderful week ahead and God bless you richly.
