3 John 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

In order to receive anything in life from God, the first thing we need to know is what is available. In 3 John 1:2, we find two of the promises in God’s Word concerning health and prosperity.  A computer with a good Bible program such as e-Sword and a cup of coffee can reveal many more promises on the same subjects.

So, for your study, is prosperity available from God?  Is it only for certain people or is it available to all who ask?

Once we understand prosperity is available to all God’s children regardless of who they are or where they are from, the next thing we need to find out is how to receive that abundance into our lives.

First, it would be good to confess Jesus Christ as lord and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead.

(Thus, eternal life … the greatest prosperous move you can make!)

Second, we would learn from studying God’s Word that all His promises are available by “believing”; that what God promises is true and available to all. But His promises are not automatic.  In other words, we should “expect” to see God bring His Word to pass in our lives. Like your children expect you to do what you have promised. Have you ever heard, “Daddy you promised!”

(Chapter 6 of Poverty vs Wealth covers this subject of believing in more detail.)

Third, we need to know what to do with the things of God once we receive them.  In our study here, what are we to do with the prosperity once we receive it from God?

1.    God asks us to give 10% back to Him. In other words, tithe 10% to the church or fellowship we attend.
2.    We are to be savers of part of that abundance.  If our goal is to give 10%, we could have a goal to save 10% in an account where it is invested for the long term. You are the one that did the work, you deserve to get paid, too.

Fourth, our needs, wants and desires should be parallel with God’s Word.  In any area where we have need, our desire should be on the same level as the promises God has given in His Word. If we have great need, we should have great desire to see and expect God to bring His promises to pass in our lives.

As humans, we are very adaptable.  Many times, it is easier to adapt than to rise up in our believing. We become comfortable in our needs, our poverty or our ill health. Our situation becomes our comfort zone. Then our desires are not on par with what God has promised. In other words, we don’t have much expectation of seeing God bring His Word to pass in our lives.

To see the promises come to pass, we may need to reframe our thinking, our expectations, and the words that come out of our mouths. Since believing comes from the heart, it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. If you want your life to change, you have to change!

Are you one that says, “I am no good at handling money?” Read some good books, listen to some audio, make a study of how other prosperous, righteous people handle their money and copy them. Expect God to teach you and prosper you as you set out to see His Word come to pass in your life. If need be, find a good Christian financial advisor/mentor.

Are you one that says, “I never feel well, I get sick every winter?”  Read some good books, listen to some audio, make a study of how others have overcome what is bothering you.  Expect God to teach you and deliver you as you set out to see His Word come to pass in your life.  Find a believer to minister healing to you. If need be, see a doctor. Just get delivered. It is God’s wish above all that you be in health even as your soul prospers.

In so many words, the greater your need is, the greater your desire should be to see yourself delivered and prosperous.  Your desire should be parallel with what God promises in His Word.

Many times, the answers to our problems will come as we are attempting to move in the direction of deliverance.

Jesus never said poverty was a virtue, and God said, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”

So, get out of your comfort zone, rise up in your believing and move into the arena of The Prosperous Life.

Have you ever received some nice amount of money as a gift or a bonus, put it in your bank account, forgot about it, and a couple of weeks later, you looked at your balance, and it was all gone?  Where did it all go?

Money, by its nature, flows like water.  It flows through our economy and through our hands and lives.

Have you ever noticed how much we talk about money as if it were water? Think about it: we say things like “cash flow,” “liquid assets” and “frozen accounts.”

In many ways, money is like water.  It flows in and out of our hands.  

Some say that if you worked at minimum wages from 18 to 65, 2 Million dollars would have flowed through your hands.  WOW!!  How much do we capture?

It comes in from our paychecks and out to pay bills and buy the things we think we need.  Cash in and Cash out.

If you tried to drink by using your hand as a catch for the water coming from the tap some will slip through your fingers. Someone invented the cup to be more efficient in catching more of the available water.

We need to set up systems to catch more of the money that flows through our lives.  This is a Godly thing to do.

One of the great things you can do is keep a notebook for a month and write down every cent you spend.  This will tell you where the money is going.  You might be amazed at how much you spend on certain things in a month, like coffee on the way to work or buying your lunch out every day. What did those expenses cost you in a month? In a year?  Over 20 years? Compounded by interest.  Probably enough to retire on!!
When you add that extra money up, like say $4.00 for coffee, and times it times 5 and then times 52 that is about $20,000.00 in 20 years.  What if you had captured that amount in a “cup” and put it to work at 8% each year? That is just one example of capture.

As we have cut down on needless expenses, we have had the additional amount deducted from our checking account automatically each month or week and deposited into a savings account.  This was added to what we were already saving.  

It does not do much good to save $4.00 each day if the money stays in your account and just gets spent on something else.  Capture it.  You won’t miss the money; you have been spending it anyway.

So, how do we keep our money from slipping through our fingers? With the proper systems and strategies in place, we can make our money go where we want it to.

Ben Franklin said, “Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.”

Pro 21:20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.

Once you have tithed, you need to save some of what you have worked so hard for.  Save some money. This, too, is part of The Prosperous Life.

There is a difference between paying off debt and saving money. With debt you are paying off a purchase you could not afford to pay for with cash.  Plus, you are paying even more than the purchase price because of the interest added on top.  This is what good consumers do.

With saving you are getting paid interest on your own money.  This is what producers do. Your money is producing income for you in the form of interest or dividends.

It seems like you are getting ahead in both cases, but technically, one (paying off debt) is actually buying something with an interest premium added on top, and the other is saving.  It is not the same thing.  

It may make more sense to pay off the debt before you save because of the interest you are paying on the debt.

BUT once the debt is paid off, you’re still broke.  You still have not followed the biblical admonition to save part of your income.

Proverbs 21:17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.

However, if you save money, you have something to invest, you have something for your labor, you are following the sound wisdom of Proverbs.

Proverbs 21:20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.

Saving part of your income is a great habit, and it does something for your self-image to have money that you have saved in the bank. Believing God at His Word brings joy to the heart. Try it.  Pay off the debt, but save at the same time, so that by the time the debt is paid off you are well into the habit of saving.

When it comes to prosperity, this is another small piece of The Prosperous Life.

Some people have a long-term perspective on life. They give stock certificates as gifts to their children and grandchildren rather than trinkets that soon break.

The perspective some have on life is from one paycheck to the next.

The perspective some have on life is to live from year to year.

The perspective some have on life is for years down the road till the return of Christ.

Giving stock is a great way to open the doors to teach your children and grandchildren about finances.  You can help them see their lives down the road further than just the next shiny thing that comes along.

You can teach them that money is for saving not spending.

You can teach them that our family is a producer of wealth not a consumer of wealth.

You can teach them that our affluence comes from our balance sheets, not our stuff.

There are many things to teach our offspring and this is just a piece of biblical financial literacy.

Even if all you gave them was $100.00 per year in stock you are already fulfilling the verse:

Pro 13:22  A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

And you will start them on the road to The Prosperous Life.

Some bills come in with all types of charges enumerated on the bill.  You may or may not need to pay all of these charges. You may be paying for things you are not even using.

This is a good time of the year, over the holidays, to take a good look at the small charges you are paying for.  It seems like everyone wants five dollars for access to their content, etc.   Are you actually using what you are paying for?  If not cancel it.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.”

In some cases, you may be erroneously charged for things you don’t owe.  Many years ago a utility company where I live consistently overcharged people three or four dollars every month for some “line” item.  Eventually, they got sued and had to pay back millions of dollars to their clients.  An honest mistake on their part?  I don’t know, but what may be five dollars to you, multiplied by hundreds of thousands of people over the years, can make some companies a lot of money.  If you don’t understand the charge, call them up and ask them what it’s for or why you have to pay it.  It’s called being diligent or good stewardship. This is all part of learning how to live The Prosperous Life.

Our prayer for you is to have a happy and prosperous year in the coming months.

The Prosperous Life Staff