Prosperous Mindset #8 - Radically Obedient

Deuteronomy 28:1 - "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth."

Instinctively Obedient

Prosperous people are radically devoted to God and to what He says in His word.
Tithing? They have no problem with that!
Living debt-free? They just say, "Yessir, whatever You say!"
Generosity? "Just show me who to give to!"
Church attendance? "Any time the doors are open!"

These kinds of people don't try to find excuses for ignoring what God said. They know that the only way to success is wholehearted obedience.

Do you remember back at the very beginning of this series, where we laid out our first three points?
1 - God wants His people to prosper.
2 - Prosperity will destroy a fool.
3 - If you want to prosper, don't be a fool!
If the Bible calls something foolish - you can't habitually do that foolish thing and then expect to prosper!

Keeping that in mind, lets look at Psalm 53:1 - "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'"
Since God's Word is more important than mine, pause this reading for a minute, break out your own KJV or NKJV Bible, and read this verse. 

Did you do it? 

What did you notice?

Did you see the words "There is" in italicized print? This means that these two words were added by the translators to clarify what this verse is trying to say. I would never discount the value of those words...and denying the existence of God is certainly a foolish thing to do! But if we take them back out, what do we see from the original text? Fools are people who tell God "no"!

A fool hears God give instruction, such as "It's Sunday, go to church"...and they say "Nah, I don't feel like it."
A fool hears God say "Stop drinking, that isn't right for a Christian" ...and they say "There's nothing wrong with a sip every once in a while!"
A fool hears God tell them to treat their spouse better...and they say "What? THEY need to treat ME better!"

Fools instinctively filter God's commands through what they'd rather do. (Notice where the fool says "no"; it's from the heart!) But a wise person...this is a someone who hears and instinctively obeys God immediately. 

This is the wise man in Matthew 7, who built his house on the rock. It's not someone who hears God's Word, and it's not someone who knows what God said. A wise person habitually hears and obeys his Lord!

Some Examples Of Instinctive Obedience

People often point out the radical obedience of the widow 1 Kings 17; the woman who gave to Elijah during a time of drought. She was at the point of starvation, about to cook her last meal, when a well-fed prophet walked up and asked for some food. (Remember, Elijah hadn't gone hungry up to this point - God had a flock of birds dropping groceries to him!) In spite of what "made sense", she obeyed...and God abundantly blessed her with all the food she would ever need!

What few people talk about, though, was the radical obedience of Elijah in this story. Like I said, this man was divinely provided for. He was eating two solid meals a day while everyone else was starving. So showing up to a town of starving people, and asking for dinner from one of the poorest women there would've been very bad optics for his ministry. Imagine the headlines if a preacher did that today! And even when the woman told Elijah about her plans for a last meal and that she expected to starve to death, God didn't let the prophet off the hook. Elijah submitted to God, told her to make him something first, and then received the same miraculous supply that she did!

Radical obedience brings abundant provision!
There are modern examples today:

Bill Winston pastors a church in Chicago, but he was once working a lucrative career in IBM. When God called him, Pastor Winston left his job, his salary and his hometown of Minneapolis. He and his family arrived in Chicago with only $200 to his name. 

Since then, God has blessed Pastor Winston. The church that he founded now owns a multi-million dollar shopping center, and use it to preach the Kingdom!

Radical obedience brings abundant provision!

For all that you may have heard about Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, I'd be willing to bet you haven't heard about what they sacrificed for the kingdom of God. Early in their Christian walk, the two of them decided they would obey anything the Bible said no matter what. So when they came across Romans 13:8 - "owe no man anything..." - they immediately resolved to live debt-free. Later, Gloria said that, since they were living in an old, outdated apartment, that decision felt as if she were giving up her dream house.

But over time - and over many other decisions to radically obey God's call - the Copelands have prospered and have been enabled to give generously. One preacher close to them described the Copelands as "heroic givers". For example, this ministry has given away more than 25 airplanes to help other ministries travel and spread God's Word!

Radical obedience brings abundant provision!

Obedience, Even In The Small Things

Some believers seem to think along these lines, "I'll obey God in the BIG things; but this minor thing? That's MY decision to make."

That mentality will not prosper, though. Jesus makes it clear in Luke 16:10 - "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much." You prove how you'd handle God's big commands by how you follow His minor directions.

Daniel started obeying God in his diet, he continued obeying God in his private prayer times, and he was eventually promoted to second in command of the kingdom!

Joseph obeyed his dad first, and then his master Potiphar, and then the jailer in the prison...before he ended up ruling Egypt alongside the Pharaoh. There was no area of life, no matter how insignificant or meaningless, where Joseph stopped obeying God.

Even Jesus Himself submitted to the direction of His earthly parents. Imagine that! The King of Heaven became obedient to His adopted father, and took out the garbage! But that's exactly what happened, Jesus was submitted to Mary and Joseph.

If you want to prosper, this mindset is key! You must become radically, instinctively, and totally obedient to what God says to do. Take these words from John 2:5 to heart: "Whatever He says to you, do it."