Biblical prosperity is really not about money. This particular study deals with the financial aspect of prosperity;
however, as you know, true prosperity is the abundant life promised in John 10:10. We will address other aspects
of prosperity in later teachings. Every facet of our lives prospers when we stand in covenant with God and when
we understand the ways of God and adhere to them. We prosper in our relationships, our bodies, our minds, our
emotions, and most of all in our fellowship with God.
The Bible tells us that Isaac prospered during the season of famine. (Genesis 26:12-14) Why did he do well in
such a challenging time when all others around him were in great lack? First of all, Isaac stood in covenant with
God because of his father Abraham. That makes all the difference. His father was present when God and man
initiated the blood covenant that ushered man into fellowship with God, and every generation from that point
forward benefits from this cherished position with the Almighty God. Secondly, Isaac was a man of faith. Faith is
always the “connector” to covenant promises God has made to His family. Covenant and faith are two important
keys to your prosperity.
IN THE COVENANT FAMILY.
The word “covenant” is tad amount to the word “family.” When a covenant is cut the result is a family. And, as
we know, family status carries with it great advantages. We might say it like this: Having the right name means
everything! The born-again Christian has been brought into the covenant of God; therefore, he is in the family
and is therefore privy to all of the promised blessings made by God to His covenant family. Your people must
really know who they are. This knowledge will motivate them to be generous towards God.
FAITH IS THE CONNECTOR.
Faith is “the connector” to the covenant blessings. The story about the woman with the issue of blood who
pressed through the crowd to Jesus illustrates this truth beautifully. (Mark 5) Jesus was standing amidst Jewish
people – the covenant people of God. These are the ones privileged to receive the promises of God. Why was
she the one who was healed? She was healed because of her faith. She “connected” with the anointing of God
within Jesus. First of all, it was important for her to be in the covenant family because this positioned her to
receive from God; however, had she not exercised faith, she would not have been healed. This story deals with
the blessing of healing not the blessing of prosperity but the underlying truth of all blessings is that faith is the
key to receiving any promise from God.
Look again at our text passage above. It is important to see the fact that Isaac’s prosperity operated separate
and apart from his circumstances. His well-being had nothing at all to do with his surroundings or with the
economic condition of his region of the world. This illustrates an important truth for you to know: Biblical
prosperity has no limits. It happens apart from natural conditions
This means that even in the poorest part of the world the child of God has the potential to prosper.
This truth is very important to me in that our ministry spans the globe and many of our churches and ministries
are located in economically depressed regions. If the pastors and Church leaders in these areas look at their
surroundings, they will feel despair. But the truth is this, since they stand in covenant with God and because they
possess the faith of God, they are not limited to any natural factor. They will prosper! That is good news!
The pastor or ministry leader who finds himself in an economically depressed region has the power to rise
above his surroundings and bring his church or ministry up with him. Knowledge from the Word of God is the key
to success in this regard. You should understand that your people will never rise above your level of maturity,
nor will they exceed your level of revelation. You alone have the responsibility to develop financially personally
as well as to sow truth into them so they can fulfill the will of God. Remember: it is the knowledge of truth that
sets men free. (John 8:32)
THE IMPORTANCE OF FINANCIAL PROSPERITY.
I read in a study done by a major secular university on the subject of financial stress and its effects. This is a
prominent destructive force in our society and around the world. It is the leading cause of divorce and it is a
major cause of depression, suicide, and even physical illnesses, to mention only a few of the more severe results
of financial stress. I have also observed that within the Church financial stress is perhaps the leading cause of
Christians falling away from the faith. They become disappointed with God because they do not experience in
their personal lives what they see in the biblical promises made to them by God. Lack and poverty are enemies
that must be destroyed!
Pastor, please do not underestimate the importance of properly grounding your flock in correct doctrine
concerning prosperity. You cannot allow even one of God’s sheep to leave the fold over disappointment with
God or discouragement over money. You cannot allow even one divorce to happen because a family has failed to
see the manifested blessings of God in their lives. The Word of God holds the truths necessary to prevent these
terrible things from happening, and you stand as the one responsible for delivering these truths to the flock
entrusted to you by Jesus.
THE FOUR DYNAMICS OF GIVING.
There are four important basics to teaching biblical economics that have to do with giving. Think of it like this,
it is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with four pieces. It takes all four of these pieces if you want to see the
final result. Pastor, you need to build this puzzle before the eyes of your church family or partners. Here are the
four pieces to this “prosperity puzzle.”
1) Giving is a worship of God. Biblical economics do not revolve around money. Covenant prosperity is a bi-
product of our relationship with God not the goal of it. We all know that prosperity starts with giving to God. Our
giving, however, must start with the proper motive. The proper motive is our love for God and our desire to
worship Him. One of the ways we worship our God is through our giving. Develop in your people the revelation of
worship and establish them in the knowledge that one of the areas of worship is through their giving of tithes and
offerings to God.
2) Giving is obedience to God. Giving is not optional to the covenant people of God. Your people must
understand clearly that the doctrine of giving is God’s idea, not yours. It is one of those things God set in place
that is unchangeable. It is a spiritual law, if you please. Our heavenly Father set this command in place for our
benefit. The concepts of obedience and sacrifice seem to have fallen on hard times in the modern Church; this is
regrettable because these are truly biblical truths. Neither of these is something negative and each must be
welcomed and embraced. The results will be worth it.
3) Giving advances the Kingdom of God. God created His Kingdom with certain dynamics built into it. One of
those is planned growth. His plan was never for the Church to remain small and exclusive; it was designed to be
expanded to every corner of the globe and include every person on the planet. I have observed something over
several decades of ministry: it takes money to advance the Kingdom of God. The anointing is the fuel of the
gospel and money is the lubricant. Just as an engine must be properly lubricated to operate efficiently, so the
church needs money to lubricate its growth. Where does that money come from? It can come from any source
God wills; however, the majority of it flows through the hands of the covenant people in the form of tithes and
offerings. They give and the Church goes forward.
4) Giving benefits the giver. The good news that I have found is that every biblical command directly benefits
us! When God tells us to do something, there is always a wonderful result He has in mind for us. The same is true
of giving. God instructs each of us to give to Him, and when we do, we have His promise to bless us financially.
The truth is a seed produces after its own kind. A seed of wheat produces a shaft of wheat with many kernels. A
tomato seed produces tomatoes. A money-seed produces a money-harvest.
The principle of seedtime and harvest is the most fundamental truth of the Kingdom of God. It is therefore
mandatory that you clearly establish this in your people. This truth will elevate your people above the error that
the devil has sown into the Church that declares that our giving causes us loss. The gift is actually an investment,
not something that is lost.
DEDICATION TO DILIGENCE.
It is an interesting thing to me to see the number of “faith Christians” who try to get wealthy using biblical
principles yet they lack the will to be diligent workers. They know all of the right faith slogans and confessions but
they won’t get off the porch swing to work. In their minds God will supply their needs apart from their
involvement. This is bad doctrine. The promise is that God will bless the work of our hands. (Deuteronomy 28:1-
14) The Apostle Paul understood this concept when he writes this:
Is God limited in His covenant blessings to us to our paychecks? No indeed! God has many ways to get wealth
into your hands, and He will use them to benefit you. However, in a covenant relationship there is parity and
equality. Each partner is required to fully commit himself/herself to the success of the covenant family. That
means being a diligent worker. Pastor, instill a good work ethic into your people along with these spiritual
concepts and you will see your people prosper and glorify God in doing so.
CONTENDING FOR VICTORY.
Prosperity is not unlike every other covenant blessing in that it must be contended for spiritually if it is to be
enjoyed materially. (Matthew 11:12) We have an enemy who is determined to keep the Body of Christ in poverty
and ill-prepared to finance the expansion of the Kingdom of God on the earth. Satan knows that poor believers
are a lesser threat to him than rich ones; the rich ones can not only do the personal things like witness to the lost
and disciple others but they are also able to fuel evangelism and world missions on a grand scale thus making a
greater dent on his evil empire.
Pastor, you must teach your people the skills of warfare if they are to come into the wealth that is theirs by
covenant rights. Jesus teaches us the spiritual weapons of binding and loosing in Matthew 18:18. The Christian
that understands how to utilize these weapons will succeed in life against the adversary. Binding, as you know, is
the way we stop the enemy. It literally forbids evil spirits from operating against us. The key to remember in this
regard is that when we bind evil spirits we do so in the authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, not in our own
authority. We literally stand in His authority and that means no demonic power can stand against us! (Luke 10:19)
Loosing, on the other hand is the release of angelic forces to do battle with the forces of darkness. It is giving
them the command to fight. Their power is far greater than that of the enemy; that is why we are always led in
triumph in Christ as Paul declares in II Corinthians 2:14.
The Christian walk is a life of warfare. Every step of the way the adversary is trying to stop us. He hinders us in
any way possible from fulfilling the plan of God for our lives. By keeping us in lack and poverty he can perhaps do
more damage to us than in any other aspect of our lives. That is why it is so important for us to know how to fight
– how to win. Prosperity has little to do with how much stuff we own or how large our investment portfolios are, it
has everything to do with our ability to fund the Kingdom of God. (II Corinthians 9:6-11)
THE LOVE FACTOR.
Faith, hope, and love, the greatest of these is love. Love, especially between the brethren is of utmost
importance if financial prosperity is to be enjoyed. God wants His people to be wealthy but even more so does He
want His people to demonstrate His qualities to the world, love being the strongest of them all. Love is not an
optional thing since love is the very fiber of a covenant relationship.
The Christian who fails to walk in love with others literally separates himself from the blessings of his
covenant with God. The absence of love is perhaps the greatest breach of covenant; it is therefore a major
hindrance to experiencing the blessings of God in our lives. Love is a powerful spiritual force that makes all
other truths work well. Emphasize to your people, Pastor, the need for love, the importance of walking in love,
and the means by which they can succeed in this challenging endeavor of walking in love. Then, by all means,
demonstrate to them the love walk in your own life. When they see love demonstrated in their leaders, they will
more readily know how to do it.
Love has a vertical aspect to it as well as a horizontal aspect. What I mean is love is manifested through us to
God which is the vertical aspect, and it is also manifested towards others which is the horizontal aspect. Both of
these are critically important for our success in life. With respects to our vertical love walk it is necessary for us
to fully understand that obedience to God and His Word is how God defines our love for Him.
THE STEWARDSHIP FACTOR.
No teaching on the subject of biblical prosperity is complete without addressing the stewardship factor. By
definition the word stewardship simply means the wise management of assets entrusted to you that belong to
another. It is a spiritual fiduciary capacity as it were. The cashier at the checkout counter is entrusted with the
monies that customers pay her for their purchases. The money does not belong to her; it belongs to the owner of
the store. But she has stewardship over the money until she deposits it with her employer. So it is with whatever
wealth is in our control at any given time. It belongs to God and we have a stewardship over His assets. What we
do with them determines our level of stewardship. Are we using them wisely or are we careless and haphazard?
Do we give generously for the sake of the Gospel? Do we feed the hungry and clothe the poor? Poor stewardship
will hinder our prosperity because we show our heavenly Father we cannot be trusted with His wealth.
PROSPERITY IS A STATE OF MIND.
The evil spirit of poverty has as his mission statement the financial failure of the covenant people of God. If
the evil one can convince the people of God that His promises are not true, then he can keep them in bondage
financially to the system of the world. He knows that God confirms His covenant with us with wealth.
(Deuteronomy 8:18) Of course, this promise was actually made to the nation of Israel under the Old Covenant but
we under the New Covenant enjoy any and all promises God has made to His people throughout the ages.
(Hebrews 8)
The truth is our mentality dictates what we believe, and what we believe dictates what promises from the Word
of God will become effectual in our lives. This is why we must change the way we think. We must think like God
thinks if we are to experience His blessings. Your task, Pastor, is to produce in your flock a covenant mentality.
This mindset will usher in the blessings of God. It will elevate the people of God to higher levels of revelation
which always result in the manifested covenant blessings one of which is financial prosperity. God wants to fill
our houses with wealth and riches (Psalm 112:3) that we might have an abundance for every good work. (II
Corinthians 9:8)
INSTRUCTION METHODOLOGY.
The teaching of the truth of prosperity is not a subject to be attempted casually with a single pulpit session.
My recommendation is to teach the truth of prosperity in a series of teachings. Begin by developing the concept
of the covenant and then build upon this the various other truths found in this teaching. Remember: The success
of any series is to take the time to fully develop the truth regardless of how long it takes. Use the tool of
repetition because repetition is one of the primary teaching techniques educators as well as ministers use to
promote learning.
Some people will need one-on-one guidance with money management. You must be prepared to give this
level of discipleship training. It will include setting up a budget by which they will account for their money. It will
include discussions on self-control and establishing priorities in order to use money wisely and prudently. This
personal counseling continues until you are convinced they understand and accept the responsibilities of their
stewardship over God’s wealth.
Add to these natural techniques the awesome power of the anointing of the Holy Spirit and your people will
elevate into this wonderful revelation - they will experience true prosperity.
PASTORAL UNDERGIRDING.
Pastor, you must be fully convinced of the validity of this truth before you attempt to teach it. Of course, this is
true of any truth. To move into the pulpit before you are developed in this truth will show through in your
presentation. Not only will it undermine the acceptance by your people it will also damage your pastoral
credibility. Never attempt to teach anything that you do not fully believe in or that you are not fully knowledgeable
about.
Faith comes by hearing, as you know, so faith in the truth of prosperity will be developed in you as you
diligently study the verses and passages on this subject. As you always do, ask for help from the Holy Spirit. He is
your Teacher. The Spirit will mesh this powerful truth into your very being and you yourself will begin to prosper
because it truly does work. This practical success in you will help to confirm the validity of what you teach.
CAUTION – STAY BALANCED.
Financial prosperity is one of the subjects in which we must go to great lengths to remain balanced. One of
the reasons the “prosperity teaching” has been opposed is because of doctrinal imbalance. This problem was
made clear to me in a local church my wife and I visited recently. Just before the offering was received a
corporate confession came on the overhead screen and the crowd joyfully recited it together. The declaration
centered on receiving financial blessings and favor. It spoke of getting jobs and better jobs; finding checks in the
mail; getting commissions, royalties, rebates, and other financial windfalls. I had no objections to anything on the
screen; however, what was missing is the real emphasis of any offering and that is the aspect that it is a worship
of God and that we are privileged to stand in covenant with Him and therefore have access to Him. The offering
was out of balance. We do not give to receive. We give because we desire to worship God. We give with the full
knowledge that He gives back, but that is secondary. We do expect divine favor in our jobs and in life in general
because He has promised us favor. (Psalm 5:12) But let us develop corporate declarations that first of all focus on
our love for God, our gratitude to Him for His abundant blessings, and our worship of Him, then let us declare
what He will do for us. Therein is balance.
YOUR CHURCH WILL EXPERIENCE FINANCIAL SUCCESS!
The second level of success in prosperity (after your own) will occur in the individual lives of your people.
They will begin to experience the wonderful power of God in their finances and their lives will be changed
forever. Before this happens, however, teach on the warnings of covetousness, greed, and selfishness. These
evils often accompany prosperity and must therefore be warned about in advance so they do not become
problems.
The final result of your labors in this teaching will be corporate prosperity. This is the third level of success in
prosperity. The sheer volume of money flowing into your church will drastically increase in the form of tithes and
offering because of the individual prosperity of your people. This increase will greatly expand your church’s
Kingdom capabilities and will enable you to complete the work to which God has called you. Start rejoicing ahead
of time because of the faithfulness of your God!
ONE FINAL ADMONITION.
Know with clarity what God’s vision for your church is. My reason for addressing this is because I have
observed that when some churches start to prosper they lose sight of their reason for being. Not every local
church has the same vision, and each must remain true to theirs. An abundance of money can cause pastors and
elders to veer off course; do not allow this to happen in your church. Your corporate prosperity has one purpose
and that purpose is to fulfill the plan of God for your church. Genuinely reaffirm your willingness to follow Jesus
then the wealth you experience will remain sanctified and fully efficacious. I celebrate the blessing of prosperity
that is coming your way.
however, as you know, true prosperity is the abundant life promised in John 10:10. We will address other aspects
of prosperity in later teachings. Every facet of our lives prospers when we stand in covenant with God and when
we understand the ways of God and adhere to them. We prosper in our relationships, our bodies, our minds, our
emotions, and most of all in our fellowship with God.
The Bible tells us that Isaac prospered during the season of famine. (Genesis 26:12-14) Why did he do well in
such a challenging time when all others around him were in great lack? First of all, Isaac stood in covenant with
God because of his father Abraham. That makes all the difference. His father was present when God and man
initiated the blood covenant that ushered man into fellowship with God, and every generation from that point
forward benefits from this cherished position with the Almighty God. Secondly, Isaac was a man of faith. Faith is
always the “connector” to covenant promises God has made to His family. Covenant and faith are two important
keys to your prosperity.
IN THE COVENANT FAMILY.
The word “covenant” is tad amount to the word “family.” When a covenant is cut the result is a family. And, as
we know, family status carries with it great advantages. We might say it like this: Having the right name means
everything! The born-again Christian has been brought into the covenant of God; therefore, he is in the family
and is therefore privy to all of the promised blessings made by God to His covenant family. Your people must
really know who they are. This knowledge will motivate them to be generous towards God.
FAITH IS THE CONNECTOR.
Faith is “the connector” to the covenant blessings. The story about the woman with the issue of blood who
pressed through the crowd to Jesus illustrates this truth beautifully. (Mark 5) Jesus was standing amidst Jewish
people – the covenant people of God. These are the ones privileged to receive the promises of God. Why was
she the one who was healed? She was healed because of her faith. She “connected” with the anointing of God
within Jesus. First of all, it was important for her to be in the covenant family because this positioned her to
receive from God; however, had she not exercised faith, she would not have been healed. This story deals with
the blessing of healing not the blessing of prosperity but the underlying truth of all blessings is that faith is the
key to receiving any promise from God.
Look again at our text passage above. It is important to see the fact that Isaac’s prosperity operated separate
and apart from his circumstances. His well-being had nothing at all to do with his surroundings or with the
economic condition of his region of the world. This illustrates an important truth for you to know: Biblical
prosperity has no limits. It happens apart from natural conditions
This means that even in the poorest part of the world the child of God has the potential to prosper.
This truth is very important to me in that our ministry spans the globe and many of our churches and ministries
are located in economically depressed regions. If the pastors and Church leaders in these areas look at their
surroundings, they will feel despair. But the truth is this, since they stand in covenant with God and because they
possess the faith of God, they are not limited to any natural factor. They will prosper! That is good news!
The pastor or ministry leader who finds himself in an economically depressed region has the power to rise
above his surroundings and bring his church or ministry up with him. Knowledge from the Word of God is the key
to success in this regard. You should understand that your people will never rise above your level of maturity,
nor will they exceed your level of revelation. You alone have the responsibility to develop financially personally
as well as to sow truth into them so they can fulfill the will of God. Remember: it is the knowledge of truth that
sets men free. (John 8:32)
THE IMPORTANCE OF FINANCIAL PROSPERITY.
I read in a study done by a major secular university on the subject of financial stress and its effects. This is a
prominent destructive force in our society and around the world. It is the leading cause of divorce and it is a
major cause of depression, suicide, and even physical illnesses, to mention only a few of the more severe results
of financial stress. I have also observed that within the Church financial stress is perhaps the leading cause of
Christians falling away from the faith. They become disappointed with God because they do not experience in
their personal lives what they see in the biblical promises made to them by God. Lack and poverty are enemies
that must be destroyed!
Pastor, please do not underestimate the importance of properly grounding your flock in correct doctrine
concerning prosperity. You cannot allow even one of God’s sheep to leave the fold over disappointment with
God or discouragement over money. You cannot allow even one divorce to happen because a family has failed to
see the manifested blessings of God in their lives. The Word of God holds the truths necessary to prevent these
terrible things from happening, and you stand as the one responsible for delivering these truths to the flock
entrusted to you by Jesus.
THE FOUR DYNAMICS OF GIVING.
There are four important basics to teaching biblical economics that have to do with giving. Think of it like this,
it is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with four pieces. It takes all four of these pieces if you want to see the
final result. Pastor, you need to build this puzzle before the eyes of your church family or partners. Here are the
four pieces to this “prosperity puzzle.”
1) Giving is a worship of God. Biblical economics do not revolve around money. Covenant prosperity is a bi-
product of our relationship with God not the goal of it. We all know that prosperity starts with giving to God. Our
giving, however, must start with the proper motive. The proper motive is our love for God and our desire to
worship Him. One of the ways we worship our God is through our giving. Develop in your people the revelation of
worship and establish them in the knowledge that one of the areas of worship is through their giving of tithes and
offerings to God.
2) Giving is obedience to God. Giving is not optional to the covenant people of God. Your people must
understand clearly that the doctrine of giving is God’s idea, not yours. It is one of those things God set in place
that is unchangeable. It is a spiritual law, if you please. Our heavenly Father set this command in place for our
benefit. The concepts of obedience and sacrifice seem to have fallen on hard times in the modern Church; this is
regrettable because these are truly biblical truths. Neither of these is something negative and each must be
welcomed and embraced. The results will be worth it.
3) Giving advances the Kingdom of God. God created His Kingdom with certain dynamics built into it. One of
those is planned growth. His plan was never for the Church to remain small and exclusive; it was designed to be
expanded to every corner of the globe and include every person on the planet. I have observed something over
several decades of ministry: it takes money to advance the Kingdom of God. The anointing is the fuel of the
gospel and money is the lubricant. Just as an engine must be properly lubricated to operate efficiently, so the
church needs money to lubricate its growth. Where does that money come from? It can come from any source
God wills; however, the majority of it flows through the hands of the covenant people in the form of tithes and
offerings. They give and the Church goes forward.
4) Giving benefits the giver. The good news that I have found is that every biblical command directly benefits
us! When God tells us to do something, there is always a wonderful result He has in mind for us. The same is true
of giving. God instructs each of us to give to Him, and when we do, we have His promise to bless us financially.
The truth is a seed produces after its own kind. A seed of wheat produces a shaft of wheat with many kernels. A
tomato seed produces tomatoes. A money-seed produces a money-harvest.
The principle of seedtime and harvest is the most fundamental truth of the Kingdom of God. It is therefore
mandatory that you clearly establish this in your people. This truth will elevate your people above the error that
the devil has sown into the Church that declares that our giving causes us loss. The gift is actually an investment,
not something that is lost.
DEDICATION TO DILIGENCE.
It is an interesting thing to me to see the number of “faith Christians” who try to get wealthy using biblical
principles yet they lack the will to be diligent workers. They know all of the right faith slogans and confessions but
they won’t get off the porch swing to work. In their minds God will supply their needs apart from their
involvement. This is bad doctrine. The promise is that God will bless the work of our hands. (Deuteronomy 28:1-
14) The Apostle Paul understood this concept when he writes this:
Is God limited in His covenant blessings to us to our paychecks? No indeed! God has many ways to get wealth
into your hands, and He will use them to benefit you. However, in a covenant relationship there is parity and
equality. Each partner is required to fully commit himself/herself to the success of the covenant family. That
means being a diligent worker. Pastor, instill a good work ethic into your people along with these spiritual
concepts and you will see your people prosper and glorify God in doing so.
CONTENDING FOR VICTORY.
Prosperity is not unlike every other covenant blessing in that it must be contended for spiritually if it is to be
enjoyed materially. (Matthew 11:12) We have an enemy who is determined to keep the Body of Christ in poverty
and ill-prepared to finance the expansion of the Kingdom of God on the earth. Satan knows that poor believers
are a lesser threat to him than rich ones; the rich ones can not only do the personal things like witness to the lost
and disciple others but they are also able to fuel evangelism and world missions on a grand scale thus making a
greater dent on his evil empire.
Pastor, you must teach your people the skills of warfare if they are to come into the wealth that is theirs by
covenant rights. Jesus teaches us the spiritual weapons of binding and loosing in Matthew 18:18. The Christian
that understands how to utilize these weapons will succeed in life against the adversary. Binding, as you know, is
the way we stop the enemy. It literally forbids evil spirits from operating against us. The key to remember in this
regard is that when we bind evil spirits we do so in the authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, not in our own
authority. We literally stand in His authority and that means no demonic power can stand against us! (Luke 10:19)
Loosing, on the other hand is the release of angelic forces to do battle with the forces of darkness. It is giving
them the command to fight. Their power is far greater than that of the enemy; that is why we are always led in
triumph in Christ as Paul declares in II Corinthians 2:14.
The Christian walk is a life of warfare. Every step of the way the adversary is trying to stop us. He hinders us in
any way possible from fulfilling the plan of God for our lives. By keeping us in lack and poverty he can perhaps do
more damage to us than in any other aspect of our lives. That is why it is so important for us to know how to fight
– how to win. Prosperity has little to do with how much stuff we own or how large our investment portfolios are, it
has everything to do with our ability to fund the Kingdom of God. (II Corinthians 9:6-11)
THE LOVE FACTOR.
Faith, hope, and love, the greatest of these is love. Love, especially between the brethren is of utmost
importance if financial prosperity is to be enjoyed. God wants His people to be wealthy but even more so does He
want His people to demonstrate His qualities to the world, love being the strongest of them all. Love is not an
optional thing since love is the very fiber of a covenant relationship.
The Christian who fails to walk in love with others literally separates himself from the blessings of his
covenant with God. The absence of love is perhaps the greatest breach of covenant; it is therefore a major
hindrance to experiencing the blessings of God in our lives. Love is a powerful spiritual force that makes all
other truths work well. Emphasize to your people, Pastor, the need for love, the importance of walking in love,
and the means by which they can succeed in this challenging endeavor of walking in love. Then, by all means,
demonstrate to them the love walk in your own life. When they see love demonstrated in their leaders, they will
more readily know how to do it.
Love has a vertical aspect to it as well as a horizontal aspect. What I mean is love is manifested through us to
God which is the vertical aspect, and it is also manifested towards others which is the horizontal aspect. Both of
these are critically important for our success in life. With respects to our vertical love walk it is necessary for us
to fully understand that obedience to God and His Word is how God defines our love for Him.
THE STEWARDSHIP FACTOR.
No teaching on the subject of biblical prosperity is complete without addressing the stewardship factor. By
definition the word stewardship simply means the wise management of assets entrusted to you that belong to
another. It is a spiritual fiduciary capacity as it were. The cashier at the checkout counter is entrusted with the
monies that customers pay her for their purchases. The money does not belong to her; it belongs to the owner of
the store. But she has stewardship over the money until she deposits it with her employer. So it is with whatever
wealth is in our control at any given time. It belongs to God and we have a stewardship over His assets. What we
do with them determines our level of stewardship. Are we using them wisely or are we careless and haphazard?
Do we give generously for the sake of the Gospel? Do we feed the hungry and clothe the poor? Poor stewardship
will hinder our prosperity because we show our heavenly Father we cannot be trusted with His wealth.
PROSPERITY IS A STATE OF MIND.
The evil spirit of poverty has as his mission statement the financial failure of the covenant people of God. If
the evil one can convince the people of God that His promises are not true, then he can keep them in bondage
financially to the system of the world. He knows that God confirms His covenant with us with wealth.
(Deuteronomy 8:18) Of course, this promise was actually made to the nation of Israel under the Old Covenant but
we under the New Covenant enjoy any and all promises God has made to His people throughout the ages.
(Hebrews 8)
The truth is our mentality dictates what we believe, and what we believe dictates what promises from the Word
of God will become effectual in our lives. This is why we must change the way we think. We must think like God
thinks if we are to experience His blessings. Your task, Pastor, is to produce in your flock a covenant mentality.
This mindset will usher in the blessings of God. It will elevate the people of God to higher levels of revelation
which always result in the manifested covenant blessings one of which is financial prosperity. God wants to fill
our houses with wealth and riches (Psalm 112:3) that we might have an abundance for every good work. (II
Corinthians 9:8)
INSTRUCTION METHODOLOGY.
The teaching of the truth of prosperity is not a subject to be attempted casually with a single pulpit session.
My recommendation is to teach the truth of prosperity in a series of teachings. Begin by developing the concept
of the covenant and then build upon this the various other truths found in this teaching. Remember: The success
of any series is to take the time to fully develop the truth regardless of how long it takes. Use the tool of
repetition because repetition is one of the primary teaching techniques educators as well as ministers use to
promote learning.
Some people will need one-on-one guidance with money management. You must be prepared to give this
level of discipleship training. It will include setting up a budget by which they will account for their money. It will
include discussions on self-control and establishing priorities in order to use money wisely and prudently. This
personal counseling continues until you are convinced they understand and accept the responsibilities of their
stewardship over God’s wealth.
Add to these natural techniques the awesome power of the anointing of the Holy Spirit and your people will
elevate into this wonderful revelation - they will experience true prosperity.
PASTORAL UNDERGIRDING.
Pastor, you must be fully convinced of the validity of this truth before you attempt to teach it. Of course, this is
true of any truth. To move into the pulpit before you are developed in this truth will show through in your
presentation. Not only will it undermine the acceptance by your people it will also damage your pastoral
credibility. Never attempt to teach anything that you do not fully believe in or that you are not fully knowledgeable
about.
Faith comes by hearing, as you know, so faith in the truth of prosperity will be developed in you as you
diligently study the verses and passages on this subject. As you always do, ask for help from the Holy Spirit. He is
your Teacher. The Spirit will mesh this powerful truth into your very being and you yourself will begin to prosper
because it truly does work. This practical success in you will help to confirm the validity of what you teach.
CAUTION – STAY BALANCED.
Financial prosperity is one of the subjects in which we must go to great lengths to remain balanced. One of
the reasons the “prosperity teaching” has been opposed is because of doctrinal imbalance. This problem was
made clear to me in a local church my wife and I visited recently. Just before the offering was received a
corporate confession came on the overhead screen and the crowd joyfully recited it together. The declaration
centered on receiving financial blessings and favor. It spoke of getting jobs and better jobs; finding checks in the
mail; getting commissions, royalties, rebates, and other financial windfalls. I had no objections to anything on the
screen; however, what was missing is the real emphasis of any offering and that is the aspect that it is a worship
of God and that we are privileged to stand in covenant with Him and therefore have access to Him. The offering
was out of balance. We do not give to receive. We give because we desire to worship God. We give with the full
knowledge that He gives back, but that is secondary. We do expect divine favor in our jobs and in life in general
because He has promised us favor. (Psalm 5:12) But let us develop corporate declarations that first of all focus on
our love for God, our gratitude to Him for His abundant blessings, and our worship of Him, then let us declare
what He will do for us. Therein is balance.
YOUR CHURCH WILL EXPERIENCE FINANCIAL SUCCESS!
The second level of success in prosperity (after your own) will occur in the individual lives of your people.
They will begin to experience the wonderful power of God in their finances and their lives will be changed
forever. Before this happens, however, teach on the warnings of covetousness, greed, and selfishness. These
evils often accompany prosperity and must therefore be warned about in advance so they do not become
problems.
The final result of your labors in this teaching will be corporate prosperity. This is the third level of success in
prosperity. The sheer volume of money flowing into your church will drastically increase in the form of tithes and
offering because of the individual prosperity of your people. This increase will greatly expand your church’s
Kingdom capabilities and will enable you to complete the work to which God has called you. Start rejoicing ahead
of time because of the faithfulness of your God!
ONE FINAL ADMONITION.
Know with clarity what God’s vision for your church is. My reason for addressing this is because I have
observed that when some churches start to prosper they lose sight of their reason for being. Not every local
church has the same vision, and each must remain true to theirs. An abundance of money can cause pastors and
elders to veer off course; do not allow this to happen in your church. Your corporate prosperity has one purpose
and that purpose is to fulfill the plan of God for your church. Genuinely reaffirm your willingness to follow Jesus
then the wealth you experience will remain sanctified and fully efficacious. I celebrate the blessing of prosperity
that is coming your way.
| Biblical Prosperity Has No Limits! By Bishop Randy Barnett |