3 John 2 – “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.”  NASB

In keeping with what we have been discussing regarding God’s Covenant and “The Blessing of Covenant” the subject of Prosperity and Success naturally surfaces.  It is unavoidable and some have grossly misunderstood prosperity and pushed it beyond what God intended and made it something other than the biblical promise.  Oh, I believe in prosperity and success, but there are some needed truths that must be brought to the table for us to walk in the fullness of God’s Promise and walk pleasing to Him in all things.

I have long believed and taught that the words “Success” and “Prosperity” can only be understood in the context of the entire Bible.  We can never use Webster’s dictionary to define some biblical words and truths.  Likewise, we must never allow our 21^st-century American understanding to define biblical truths regarding Prosperity or Success.  I say that because a large portion of America and the world defines prosperity in terms of dollars and possessions.  That is right and that is wrong!  Maybe I should say, that is incomplete.

The Bible never speaks of Prosperity or Success in that manner.  It says, in essence, “If you have all that money and those possessions, UNLESS you have peace on the inside, then it is a curse, not a blessing.”  The Bible teaches that being Prosperous is first and foremost an Inner Prosperity.

We are at Peace with ourselves, God, and the world.  We live in God’s Inner Blessing.  Our mind is at rest.  Our emotions are under control.  Our Body is healthy.  Additionally, we have the Power to Get Wealth, but it begins deep on the inside and works its way out to the extremities. 

Success, from a biblical view always begins as a Spiritual Success.  It describes the man or woman who has arrived at that place that God intended man to be.  It means you are a person walking with God.  You are a person who knows how to talk with and hear God.  That’s Success in the biblical sense.

The Prosperity and Success of the Covenant Blessing are Powerful.  There is a power upon us which endues us, establishes us to be all that God said we are.  It takes place in the midst of the pressures of life.  I argue that those pressures are there to help bring us into and bring forth these Blessings.  In a sense, it is the negative that brings forth the positive.  The negative enables us to see the positive.  We know sweet because we have tasted bitter.  We know hot because we have experienced cold.  We know light because we have seen darkness.

God has placed us in a world that is full of trouble, difficulty, strife, tribulation, and pressure.  James said, “Count it ALL JOY when you fall into many temptations.”  The Phillips Translation renders it, “Welcome trouble like a brother.”  Why would we do that?  Because it brings forth the positive. 

When we encounter difficulty, we discover God and His Blessings powerfully.  Every miracle that Jesus performed was always an emergency.  Even in the Old Testament, it was always a crisis.  Remember the lady in debt and the prophet had her borrow vessels to fill with oil.  She was in debt, had endured the hassle of creditors, and was desperate and out of that state, that crisis, that emergency God worked a miracle.

I must remind everyone, that as we learn our Promised Blessings and the Principles of God, we are enabled to become the administrators of Blessing rather than the one always needing a miracle.  We are receivers of the Blessing of God.  We can expect His Blessing.  We can and should become channels through which those Blessings flow out to others.  Remember God’s word to Abraham, “In you, all the nations of the earth shall be Blessed.” 

Let me convey it this way and hopefully, it will help bring greater understanding.  The Blessing is designed to become heavy on any person.  It is designed to be so abundant that we cannot contain it.  It is not just for us, but so that we can give out to others without losing any that we have.  It is a river flowing constantly, always giving but never running out of water.

The Bible says that God blessed Potiphar’s house because of Joseph.  Your employer should see such value in you that they would be willing to pay you double just to keep you around because of God’s Blessings.  Why?  Because of the aurora of Blessing that is upon and within you.  It should and can drip from your life.  You have the unusual power given by God to be successful and prosper.

Therefore, in the midst of life’s struggles, we can look at the negative with a Triumphant View.  If we understand this truth, we will live with no sense of Fear or Lack.  The Believer who is resting in the Finished Work of Jesus HAS NO FEAR!  We expect God to cause our enemies to flee before us.  We expect God to supply our needs. We expect the Life of God to be manifest in every situation.  That translates into Prosperity and Success and the total absence of Fear.

We need to become the people that are sought after for us to pray for others.  It should be, “Hey, pray for me because I know God hears you.”  We can ask, No, we must ask.  The Blessings are not automatic, we have to Ask, Knock, and Seek.  Through you and me, can flow all the Blessings of the Fullness of God to our world.

I encourage everyone to begin acting like God is Telling the Truth! Live in the Victory of Jesus’ Victory!