1. PROSPERITY

In the Old Testament three words are used for prosperity in the Hebrew Language.

The first word is tsalech

which means: to push forward, break out, come mightily, go over, be good, be profitable, to prosper
These describe outward sociopolitical and bodily prosperity

The second word is sakel,

which means: expert, deal intelligently, skill, have good success, wise
This describes the prosperity of the soul - of mind, will, emotion and intellect.

The third word is shalah,

which means: to be tranquil, be happy, be in safety, prosperity.
These describe the prosperity of the spirit.

Thus prosperity in the Old Testament was not simply the financial or economic prosperity.
Most modern prosperity teachers make their mistakes here. God’s concern is not limited to man’s basic needs. It encompasses the totality of man. When God prospers it is the balance that is His concern, probably and often at the pain of some other area. It is the man as a whole who prospers, not his wealth. Wealth comes as a part of the package, and if and only if it prospers the total man. It is this that is echoed in 3 Jn 2

3 John 1:2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health(prospers in body --KJV echo)) and that all may go well with you, even as your ( you prosper in soul and spirit-- KJV echo) soul is getting along well.

If on the other hand if the soul does not prosper, then prosperity in wealth will become a curse.

In the New Testament the Greek word ‘yuodoo’

is used in 3 Jn 2 and also in 1 Cor 16:2

1 Cor 16:2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income (as he prospers -- KJV echo) , saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

This word ‘yuodoo’ means to help on the road, to succeed in business affairs, to have a prosperous journey, to meet the desires of the heart The Bible teaches us that we are on a journey on this earth. Our life is a pilgrimage towards a perfect place of eternal abode of New Heavens. All patriarchs lived a life conscious of this fact.

Heb 11:8 -10 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

In reply to the question regarding his age Jacob replies to Pharaoh,

Gen 47:9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers."

 This concept is more pronounced for Christians who are advised by Peter

1 Pet 1:17 Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers (sojourning) here in reverent fear.

While we are on this journey, though we have no permanent interest in the things of this world - which is decaying and dying, we still have to meet our needs, to make our journey successful and comfortable and a pleasure.

We have needs: Spiritual needs, Social needs, Bodily needs.

 We need -- a house, a car, furniture, food, insurance, medical care, clothes, education, marriage, children, job, health, security, safety, protection against enemies, love, order, protection against nature, calmness, rest, friends, and you add more

 But then again we are not just passing. 2 Cor 5:20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors.  We are sent here for a purpose to accomplish something.

 It is a very poor company that sends their agents and partners to an alien country and expect them to live on charity. Most companies spent their money to put their representatives in five star hotels and provide the ultimate credit facility and comfort. Why? Because they have to accomplish a task in the shortest time, in the most efficient way. God is not reluctant to do this. Same argument applies to Ambassadors. All countries make every effort to put their ambassadors at ease, comfort and authority. Apart from efficiency of work it brings, they also create the basic image of their governments. Rich countries have rich embassies. These embassies tell us by their way of living what the ideals of their countries are. Probably Christians present a sad face and a famished God. ‘It is He who gives you power to get wealth.... that He may confirm His covenant’

2. WEALTH AND RICHES

The word for riches is also rendered by three different Hebrew words of slightly different shades of meaning

* Chayil means: a force of men, an army, force, power, wealth, virtuous goods

* Nekec means: accumulation of wealth. This word occurs only once in the Bible where it is promised to Solomon in 1 Ki. 10:23

 * Hone means: enough riches, substance, wealth

3. DANGERS OF PROSPERITY

I have pointed out earlier that prosperity in the Bible is a multidimensional prosperity - well being and development of the total man. An unbalanced development always destroys the person. This is not considered as prosperity in the Bible. It is determined essentially by the needs of the total person. Exercise to burn off fat, starvation and cessation from work etc., are the prosperity at times as against leisure and pleasure and comfort. Bible is not teaching this one sided human urge for wealth and power and ‘prosperity’

Jer. 22:21 I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, "I will not listen". Prosperity blinds people , "by being weary of well being". It is because people lack the realization that "it is the Lord, who gives you power to get wealth." So,

Deu 8:17 -18 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

Another pitfall is that continuous prosperity leads to a trust in the riches.

Prov 11:28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

Job remonstrates:

Job 31:24-28 "If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, 'You are my security,' if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained, if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor, so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage, then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.

Instead of trusting the source and the giver, there will be transference of trust. This is what Bible calls idolatry, which is the greatest abominations to God. That is why covetousness is called idolatry.

Deu 8:12 -19 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.

If we study the rise and fall of empires of this world, rise and fall of nations and civilizations, we will see this cycle repeated. One generation of people came together in harmony, forming a loving caring, giving community. As a result the community grew in strength and power and richness. Eventually as they grew rich, powerful and strong, they violated others, they became selfish and cared less and less about the community. As a result the nation began to decay and eventually overtook by other civilizations. The peak of civilization is reached when there is a perfect moral and material prosperity. As material prosperity blinds people, moral decadence takes place and this leads to death. It is a vicious circle. If a continuity of existence of a nation is to be expected, they need to be rooted deeply in the values. As long as human race is in the hold of sin this cycle will continue. The release comes only through Jesus. The final redemption is achieved only when Jesus make all things new. Our commission today is to emphasize the interdependence of moral values to the material wealth. This was what the prophets did. This is the function of Christians today too. You are the salt of the earth.

This cycle can be seen in family and in individual prosperity. In India we have a proverb which describes this event. The process is like this. Miser - Gluer - Stickler - Richman - Spendthrift - Pauper

 As material riches comes in, unless the moral capacity of the person, family or community or nation does not grow so that they can cope with the increased prosperity for the purpose it is given, decadence and decay sets in.

 Finally,

 1 Tim 6:9-10 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grief.

So

Heb 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

For

Eccl 5:10 -11 Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?

How beautifully did Solomon describe the consumer based economy and its vanity. Here people keep on accumulating and is never satisfied. The only reason why people buy is to say that "I own it." This very fact makes him incapable of enjoying it, lest it is consumed.

4 ACCUMULATION AND FINANCIAL FREEDOM

Accumulation of money indicates lack of faith.

Heb 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

During the period of the sojourn of the Israel through the wilderness this was the main theme of God’s teaching.

Exo 16:4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.

Those who disobeyed and gathered more and accumulated ‘

Exo 16:18-21 And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed. Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of it until morning." However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them. Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.

Accumulation leads always to this end. If you want your food to breed worms, keep it accumulated. Even in the refrigerator it will breed worms and will smell. If you want the water to be foul, keep it stored for several days. As long as they are distributed, used up and consumed, they are fresh, tasty and useful. This principle is true even to money and wealth. Locked up wealth soon looses its value due to inflation and lack of development. But if they are invested, and in circulation, they retain their value.

Jesus illustrated this in one of his parables of the talents in Mat. 25:14-30 and Luke 19:11-27. James confirms thus:

James 5:2-3 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.

However notice that it is not money that is the root of all evil, but the love of money. Money is simply is medium of transaction. Often it is not always the rich that love money. Lack of money leads to love of money. This we know leads to covetousness, stealing, murder, cheating, receiving bribes etc. Enough money will liberate us from the slavery of financial burden. A constant flow of money and the assurance of God’s provision will release us from even thinking about tomorrow and money. It is this liberation that every Christian is promised. "You cannot serve both God and Mammon" Mt 6:24. If you start accumulating wealth and money, the result will be decadence, decay and death. So we are not talking about avarice and we are not talking to people who want to accumulate money for its pleasure. God’s laws will work in so far as we are in the moral will of God. Once we step out these same principles will lead us to destruction.

5. STORY OF THE RICH YOUNG RULER

In Mathew 19:16-26 and in Mark 10:17-31 we have the story of the Rich Young Ruler who came to Jesus asking "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" The Ruler had scrupulously obeyed all the commandments of Moses . No wonder he was rich. Jesus acknowledges that. Jesus looking upon him loved him, and he points to his bondage to possessions. Jesus was indicating to him the kingdom principle of abundance as we will see in the later studies. The rich ruler loved money so much he missed the blessings.

Now look at the reactions to Jesus’ statement, "how hard it is for those who have riches to enter into the kingdom of Heaven" The disciples were amazed. Why? Because it was contrary to the Jewish concept. According to the word, they believed that prosperity was the sign of God’s blessing. The wealth of the Rich ruler proved it. If those who follow the commandments cannot enter the Kingdom of God, who can? Jesus points out that no one can enter in through the law. Moses could not take the Israel into the promised land. He could take them to the border, but a Joshua was necessary to cross the Jordan, and then only the new generation entered into Canaan. Even then they were to take possession. Even so, Kingdom of God is entered in only through New Birth.

6 DOES SATAN BLESS PEOPLE FINANCIALLY?

The prosperity of the wicked

had always been an enigma throughout generations. How is that those who are evil and those who are ruthless and those who do not know God or acknowledge God flourish? Certainly it is not a blessing from God. Thus certainly material possession of accumulation of wealth in itself is not an indication of God’s blessing. Psalmist says

Psa 37:35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,

Surely the Satanic Kingdom of the present age is built on selfishness, pride and power. And Satan do help accumulate wealth beyond measure. But he cannot give prosperity in the true sense of the word. As a result it is not a blessing and turns out to be a curse.

The Psalmist continues therefore:

Psa 37:36 but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found.

Selfishness never builds up and is programmed to self-destruction.

There is no joy or happiness in selfish wealth. It simply does not give prosperity. It is simple common experience in every culture that the children of the immoral rich is a spendthrift and is destroyed by the very wealth. The basic character of Satan is to steal, to kill and to destroy.

How do you destroy?

How do you destroy good clean water? Stop all faucets. Keep it still over a week and it will start stinking. How do you kill your body. You keep it from rejuvenating with fresh food and water and close all outlets. (One of the sacrificial means of advanced Hindu sacrifice is by closing all five openings of a cow. Incidentally this is in direct contradiction to Jewish sacrifice of bleeding to death)

How do you kill your money or wealth? Keep it in a safe-deposit vault in your bank. So Proverb says: "Prosperity of the fools shall destroy them" Pro 1:32 RSV

 Now the Laws of Prosperity is a natural law of the universe. There is no monopoly for the Believer. It will work for the unbeliever if he applies it. Is someone use the principle of the airfoil, it will fly whether it is used by a believer or not, So are the laws of Prosperity.

Then what is the difference between ill-gotten wealth and the honest prosperity?

Let the Proverb teach us:

Prov 10:22 The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no trouble.

RSV gives the translation "he adds no sorrow with it" Some translation gives another clause "and toil adds nothing to it". Prosperity is a gift of God. It brings no sorrow or pain or suffering with. When the wicked gathers, it brings sorrow. Satan still gives wealth and power and glory. His Kingdom is based on selfishness and you will have to pay a price for your one sided prosperity. In the South Sudan there is a hill where you can go and make a bargain with Satan. He will give you the desires of your heat. But exacts a price on your life. Whether the story is true or not it brings the message clear and loud. All black magicians have powers. They got in exchange of their life.

Eccl 2:26 To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God.

So when the children of darkness prospers, when the wicked and treacherous and murderer and oppressor proper, it is your turn to praise God. He is simply doing the work of gathering and heaping for you. He takes all the toil, all the pain and all the sorrow that you may enjoy them. All the earth goodness thereof belongs to the child of God and the meek.

Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

7. WAS JESUS A POOR MAN?

The picture that is often presented to us of Jesus is that of a Hindu Yogi going round in rags, wearing a worn out sandals , carrying a begging bowl, sleeping on the footpath. He was probably hungry when he could not find food from his daily rounds and certainly was weather beaten and slept under trees and never in another person’s veranda. The way of self mortification and renunciation were not his cup of tea. Asceticism and monasticism and celibacy became the great ideals of christendom at a later stage when wealth corrupted the heart of soul of christendom. But the ideals of Jesus were far from it.

 In the Jewish community a beggar was an abhorrence. The ideal law abider was the Pharisee who plied a trade, while acting as a scholar of law. The first duty of every law abiding Jew whether Pharisee or Saducee was to provide for his family especially if he was the first born in the family as Jesus was. At least until he was 30 and entered into his public ministry, he was a carpenter.

 Mary and Joseph were poor people as they could offer only two turtle doves instead of a lamb at Mary’s purification rite ceremony. (See Lk. 2:22-24 and compare with Lev. 12:6-8) By the time Jesus was 30, he had a home, a mother and several brothers and at least two sisters younger than him.

The day after the baptism of Jesus, John Baptist points out Jesus as the lamb of God.

John 1:35 -39 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" "Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

In Mat. 12:46-50 we see Jesus’ mother and brothers asking to speak to him. Then Mat. 13:1 starts thus: Mat 13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.

Evidently we have to assume that his family had something serious to discuss and he went home with them. Hence the reference to ‘the home’ without indicating the owner would imply that the house belonged to Jesus himself as the head of the family.

Another important event that took place in ‘the home’ is described in Mark 2: 1-4 where a paralytic was lowered down through the roof before Jesus. This was in Capernaum and he was ‘at home’ This probably was the headquarters of his ministry. Once this is understood most reference to ‘the home’ will fall in place.

Yes in Luke 9: 57-58 in answer to an offer by a man to follow Jesus wherever he goes,

Luke 9:58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

He was evidently talking about his ministry. During the ministry he will be going round. And Jesus was well aware that he was not welcomed everywhere. Son of Man will be rejected. But there were homes where he was lovingly received. And many of them were extremely rich.

We really do not have much to go on the style Jesus lived. But we are assured that he lived in style. He wore the most expensive and most fashionable dress of the day worn only by the rich of the time and by the princes of the tribe. Indeed he was by right the King of the Jews -- heir to the throne of David both through his father Joseph and through his mother Mary.

John 19:23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom..

So the soldiers who had the right to the dress of the crucified wanted it whole.

He enjoyed good food to the extent that his opponents could say (Mat 11:19) 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." He went to elaborate parties of marriages (Jn 2:8-9) and to banquets in his honor (Lk. 5:29; Lk. 7:36; Lk. 14:1; Lk. 11:37) These banquets were apparently very common. In the marriage of Canaa he even changed water into wine for that party. Jesus clearly taught that .

Mark 7:15 Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.'"

Jesus had rich and powerful friends like Nicodemus (Jn 19:39 and &:50), and Joseph of Arimathea (Mat. 27:57-59). No doubt his healing ministry often endeared him even with the rich. Most of the money for his ministry came from rich women. (Lk. 8:2,3)

 Look at his disciples. They were not poor ignorant fisherfolks as some would have us believe. Peter, the great fisherman owned at least one fishing boat. The original word in Jn. 21:3 is ship actually. He with the sons of Zebedee owned and operated a fishing fleet - a partnership business firm with several fishing trawlers. When Jesus called them they just left their boats and followed them. What happened to their boats? We see them back into business when they were disillusioned with Jesus (Jn. 21:2,3) Mathew (Levi) was a tax collector (Mat 9:9-10) They were looked down upon by the Jews, but they were ‘filthy’ rich. His scholarship in Jewish law can be seen in his gospel. Nathaniel was a prince of Judah ( Jn 1:45; 25:2) Paul was a rich roman citizen, rich enough that even Felix, the governor expected a bribe from him for releasing him. (Acts 24:24-27)

Now look at the magnitude of the undertaking of Jesus. He had a constant staff of hierarchy with the close 3, the 12 disciples, then 70 men, then 120 (probably the 70 men and 50 women) They traveled with him most often. Judas was the treasurer. There was no need of a treasurer if there were no money to treasure. We are told that he stole from the treasury (Jn. 12:6) Unless Judas was clumsy idiot who stole from the little beggars bowl, we should expect a tidy good sum from which a clever manipulation was possible.

The crusades of Jesus were of mammoth proportions. We have the record of two such meetings. One had 5000 men and another 400 men, ‘besides women and children’. With a moderate estimate of 3 per family (which is very conservative) we come by numbers like 15000 and 12000. When was the last time you have seen a meeting of 12000 people? Jesus’ crusades were in a much wider scale than we could imagine. Probably of the same magnitude as present day Billy Graham crusades. Today we can do it with ease with modern advertising media, communication, transport and with months of preparation. Imagine that on both these occasions he actually fed them!! I don’t think Billy Graham could offer Pepsicola for every one present -- leave alone a full meal. The problem that the disciples presented when Jesus asked them to provide food was not that of money, but of unavailability of food in that wilderness. "Where are we going to get that much food?" Even if there were hotels around were could one order meals for 12000 people without sufficient notice? (Mat. 15:33; Mark. 8:4)

What am I driving at? Simply that Jesus never courted poverty nor eulogized it. He was no ascetic. He lived normal life of a Pharisee. A life of abundance with hard labor. He liked luxurious wine and good food.

Luke 5:33 They said to him, "John's disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking."

But then he was not hooked on to it. He lived in contact with the people, especially the poor and the needy. But he lived in contact with the rich as well. He was no respecter of persons. This is no surprise. Every Jew considered poverty as a curse. If Jesus was poor that was reason enough for them to assume that he was not a law abider and God was not pleased with him. Even his enemies could not say that.

But You might ask , Does every one who obey the law get rich? Not at all. Riches are not a measure of your fidelity. God gives the riches to those whom he considers will contribute to his purposes on earth if they are rich. If it retards his purposes he will withold it.

This is not only true of money, it is true of every gift. Spiritual gifts especially.

1 Cor 12:29-30 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues ? Do all interpret?

When we think of prosperity, we immediately consider that we are talking about money or wealth. Prosperity is an all encompassing concept. We have to realise that the relation between a believer and God is not one of a bussiness deal. It is a Father to son relationship. Will you give money to a child who you believe will spend it to indulge in evil ways? No. You give money to the son who shows responsibility and whom you know that money will benefit him. Otherwise you will withhold it until the child is old enough. But that whitholding is actually God’s mercy and love. That is exactly the way God dealt with Adam, and is the way he will do to all men, because they are his children. Satan’s way is to provide where there is no responsibility because he comes to steal, to kill and to destroy.

God understands your finacial responsibility in the way you deal with the finances that he has been given to you. This is what is illustrated in the parable of the talents by Jesus.

Mat 25:21 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

If you are faithful to the little things that are entrusted with you, you will be given greater things. If we cannot deal with material powers, how can God give us the Spiritual powers?