Righteousness - The Right To Prosper

As we continue through our "Bill of Rights" as righteous people, let's look back on what we've seen so far. If you missed any of these, I'd suggest going back and discovering your rights as a believer. Up to this point, we've discovered:
   - Righteousness gives us the right to be delivered from trouble, as well as our family.
   - Righteousness gives us the right to have our prayers heard and answered.
   - Righteousness gives us the right to health in our physical bodies.
   - Righteousness gives us the right to favor (or grace) with other people.

All of these benefits are promised to righteous people. And since you've been made righteous by faith in Jesus, why would you back off from them? This is especially important as we move on to the next right we have by faith. Today, let's discover your right to prosperity.

A Needlessly-Controversial Promise

I'm not sure why some Christians have a problem with the so-called "prosperity message". Critics often accuse preachers of teaching this truth as the only part of the Gospel that mattered to us. Many well-known preachers are taken out of context to appear materialistic. All too often, their giving is overlooked, their conversions of sinners are ignored, and 95% of their message is omitted. Instead, they're accused of serving mammon, and considered to be greedy wolves in sheep's clothing.

Despite these attacks, no minister that I've heard libeled as a "prosperity preacher" has ever taught that the promise of financial prosperity superseded the promise of everlasting life. No true minister of biblical prosperity would ever substitute money for what really mattered. No...the truth about prosperity is only this: Finances are included as part of our covenant with God!

There's no doubt about this. There's ample scriptural support for God's people prospering financially. Both the Old and New Testament show that prosperity is just one of many promises to those who put their trust in the God of Israel. If this is actually a promise that God has made available to us, then why would some believers get upset when their brothers and sisters start to reach out by faith and claim this promise?

Maybe you've had this mindset. Maybe you've thought that Christians praying for finances were just being greedy. Maybe you've thought it was materialism to believe that God wants His people to prosper. But nothing could be further from the truth! There's nothing materialistic about trusting God to prosper us. Actually, materialism could be defined as trying to get these things on our own - apart from God.

Think about this - who is being more materialistic?
The person who has read a promise in the Word and is daring to put their faith in what God said...
   OR
The person who sees something that they want, borrows money for it, and is now working like a dog to make the payments...

No, if it's promised in God's Word, I refuse to back of from receiving it by faith! And no one with a poverty-stricken, lack-bound, or fearful mindset will ever convince me that it's wrong to believe that God wants us to be financially free to serve Him!

An Obvious Promise To The Righteous

I've said that God's Word is full of His promises for Financial Prosperity. Let me list just a few of these promises that are specifically addressed to those who are righteous: (isn't that you?)

"Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, 'Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant." - Psalm 35:27

"His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever." - Psalm 112:2-3

"A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous." - Proverbs 13:22

"In the house of the righteous there is much treasure...." - Proverbs 15:6

God is clear about this: Righteous people are promised wealth now - in this lifetime. In fact, this is God's desire for His people. He doesn't hide the fact that He wants them to prosper!

"Beloved, I desire above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers." - 3 John 2

If this is God's desire for us, why would we ever allow ourselves to settle for less?

If you're paying attention, this verse also holds the main key to prosperity. This verse actually explains why some believers prosper, and others are constantly suffering lack. Here is the deciding factor: We prosper to the same extent that our soul prospers.

As your mind, will, and emotions (your soul) prospers, you will also see a corresponding prosperity in your health and your wealth. 

Why is your prosperity connected to the state of your soul? Because you can only handle financial prosperity when your soul is under control. We see this concept stated in Proverbs 1:32, "...the prosperity of fools will destroy them." God loves you, and He'll never bless you with something that will destroy you. So if you want to prosper financially, you have prosper in your soul first.

God's Warning About Wealth

This may surprise a lot of believers, but God never condemned people for having riches and wealth. He never claimed that His people needed to be poor. (Actually, poverty would be a terrible idea for His people, considering how often He commanded us to give!) God told us to care for the poor, not to be the poor!

God has never told His people not to be rich. 

He commanded us not to love money (1 Timothy 6:10)

He commanded us not to trust in money (1 Timothy 6:17)

He commanded us not to show partiality to Christians with money (James 2:1-4)

And He commands us to be rich in good works by giving freely (1 Timothy 1:18)

But I want you to notice something about all these commands:

They all assume that believers will have money! If that weren't the case, then why would God give these kinds of instructions?

All of God's warnings aren't directed toward wealth, but towards covetousness.

"And He said to them, 'Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.'" - Luke 12:15

This is Jesus' warning against riches...and it's a warning that He repeats over and over again. Don't allow covetousness any place in your heart. Notice how He described what coveting is in this phrase: "....one's life doesn't consist in the abundance of things he possesses."

Covetousness is defining your life by what you have (or don't have). This is what Jesus called the "deceitfulness of riches". Beware of being deceived to think that life gets better or worse based on what you possess.

"My life is better now that I have this."

"My life would be better if I had that."

"I have a terrible life right now because I lack that."

All of these statements reveal covetousness - and that is what Jesus commanded us to be on guard against. By the way, you do not have to be wealthy to fall into this trap. Some of the most covetous and greedy people are not rich people, but are actually poor people who desperately crave to be rich.

Once you get that ungodly covetousness under control - once you realize that your life isn't made better or worse based on the amount of stuff you have - then your soul is on it's way to prospering. And once your soul prospers, then you'll find yourself free to begin to prosper financially. 

Prosperity is a covenant right for those who are righteous - don't live below that right!