Balance on Prosperity

Proverbs 3: 9&10 Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns [storage places] be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

We know that obedience to God brings His blessings into our lives. Where prosperity is concerned, being obedient in tithing, or giving a tenth to the Lord, is what will cause His blessings to flow in the financial realm. Not just any tenth is considered to be an honorable tithe. We are instructed to worship the Lord with the "firstfruits" of our substance, not just what is left over. The amazing thing about this promise is that when we give God the first tenth, He multiplies the other 9/10 and we have even more than when we started.

The Israelites were instructed to speak something specific over their tithe when they brought it to the priest. The tithe was what they gave, but the act of tithing was more than just bringing their offering to the priest. It was an act of worship which involved acknowledging what the Lord had done for them.

Deut. 26:10,11 And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which Thou, O Lord, has given me. And thou shall set it before the Lord, thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God

Deut. 26:12 When you have made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase....

It goes on from there to instruct them in what they were to say. Basically, they were acknowledging the covenant between themselves and God.

Deut. 26:3 And thou shall go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and shall say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come into the country which the Lord swore unto our fathers for to give us.

Their instruction continues in verses 4-10 as they are told to acknowledge that the Lord had brought them out of bondage into a land flowing with milk and honey, and then the priest would set their offering before the Lord. Jesus is the high priest that is in our days. It is a good thing to bring our tithe and offerings to Him in worship and acknowledge with our mouth that He has brought us out of darkness into light, out of sickness into health, and out of poverty into wealth. We should then thank Him, that as the High Priest of the New Covenant, He will consecrate our tithe and present it to the Father.

Some may say that tithing was under the law and we are under grace, but tithing began with Abraham before the law and continues to be involved in our covenant with God.

Genesis 14:18-20 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered your enemies into your hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

In the seventh chapter of Hebrews we are given insight into this high priest who is called Melchizedek.

Hebrews 7:3 (Amp.) Without record of father or mother or ancestral line, neither with beginning of days nor ending of life, but, resembling the Son of God, he continues to be a priest without interruption and without successor.

Hebrews 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, who has ascended into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our profession.

Hebrews 7:8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receives them (tithes), of whom it is witnessed that he lives.

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you.

This reminds me again of giving the firstfruits to God. It is one way of seeking first His kingdom. Seeking His righteousness will also keep us from getting a religious attitude about tithing. We cannot buy or earn God's favor and all our attempts to do so will not impress God. If we rather give out of love and in appreciation of God giving His best for us, knowing that it is totally His grace by which we stand, our motive is pure. It is one of the main ways that we honor the New Covenant and the blood of Jesus which was shed for us.

Jesus also said in this passage that the Gentiles (those outside the covenant) seek after the things that will meet their needs in life. They do not consider God as their source. When we do not look to God as our provider, we neglect acknowledging our covenant with Him and we will strive just as the nonbeliever for the things that we need and desire.

Psalms 62:10 If riches increase, set not your heart upon them.

Our heart belongs to God. It is acceptable to enjoy nice things, but it is not acceptable to have an attachment to them. We should be ready to gladly let go of anything that the Lord leads us to give away.

1 Timothy 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, Who gives us richly all things to enjoy.

Proverbs 11:28 He that trusts in his riches shall fall, but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

It is useless to put our trust in temporal things which "moth and rust corrupt" and which "thieves can steal". Investments can be here today and gone tomorrow. Money might be able to buy the best doctors, but people die everyday from diseases for which there are no known cures. Money might also be able to buy an elaborate funeral, but it can't buy eternal life for one who has failed to accept Jesus while they still had breath. On the other hand, when we are in covenant with Almighty God, He is not only our provider, but He has promised to be our healer, and deliverer. There is a gospel song that speaks of Jesus being our doctor and our lawyer. He is our all in all.

As the Lord prospers us, we should above all be people of integrity in all our affairs. We are a reflection of our Father and we should always remember that.

Luke 16:11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the [case of] unrighteous mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions) who will entrust you to the true riches?

We first gather from this verse that we should be faithful stewards but, how can we be faithful in this area if we have not had possessions in the first place? The word "possessions" brings to mind when the Israelites were instructed to "possess" the land that God had given to them.

Deut. 1:21 Behold, (Heb. consider, discern, advise self, make to enjoy, have experience) the Lord your God has set the land before you: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of your fathers has said unto you; fear not, neither be discouraged.

Money is only a temporal commodity and cannot buy eternal things, but it is a necessary tool in furthering the cause of Christ. It supports missionary work, buys church buildings and time on the air waves. Jesus warned us, though, that we cannot serve God and mammon (wealth), but He also told us to make friends of mammon. I was thinking that a friend is someone with whom we are acquainted. We should be acquainted with abundance in our lives. When we first realize that it is God's will for us to prosper, we may be up to our necks in debt. We need to begin to acquaint ourselves with God's promises (our promised land) for abundant provision. We have to then see ourselves prospering by the eye of faith. No matter what our circumstances may be, we can have the blessed hope that as we begin to walk by faith and speak in faith, the circumstances will change. Just as God had set before the Israelites their promised land, so we have set before us in God's Word an inheritance through the promises.

2 Pet. 1:3-5 Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord. According as his divine power has given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

When we obtain the provision for all that we need through the promises of God, His divine nature becomes a part of who we are, and we will escape the corruption that is in the world because of lusting after what we desire to have.

It may not happen overnight. Jesus said that putting God's Word in our heart is like planting seeds in the soil. There is a portion of time that the seed is growing below the soil where we cannot see it, but there comes a day that life springs forth. God's Word produces in a similar way when it is sown in our hearts. It is true and it will prosper the thing into which it is sent.

Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Psalm 35:27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favor my righteous cause: yes, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.

When we give voice to God's Word and speak it over our finances, instead of speaking lack and defeat, we open up the floodgates of blessing.

Malachi 3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house, and prove me now herewith, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there will not be room enough to receive it.

Jesus left all the splendor and glory of Heaven to become the sacrificial lamb and to swallow up the curse that came into the earth because of sin. Poverty is included in the curse of the law.

Deut. 28:48 (Because of disobedience) Therefore will you serve your enemies which the Lord will send against you, in hunger and in thirst, and in nakedness, (what shall we eat, and what shall we drink, and wherewithal shall we be clothed- Matt. 6: 31), and in want of all things...

2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through His poverty might be rich.

Jesus swallowed up the curse of poverty and lack.

Galatians 3: 13&14 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, cursed is every one that hangs on a tree. That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

When we think of Heaven with streets of gold and gates of pearl, it is obvious that our God is an extravagant God. He loves to bless His children. When we understand that, we can enjoy the blessings of God while keeping our eyes and affection upon Jesus, in whose presence all these things pale.