Prosperity in Christ

Acts 3: 4-6 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."

American Christianity is so easily distracted in these, the last days. Many are falling away or leaving sound doctrine to hear what their itching ears want to hear (2Timothy 4:3). One such distraction which works so well is prosperity. In latter day America we have conflated blessings with financial prosperity. The result is a sense of entitlement amongst Christians as traditional blessings from God are overlooked and we fix our eyes on the things of this world as a marker for our level of blessedness.

So what are our blessings beloved? Do we even acknowledge them in our daily lives? The recently unemployed have a better appreciation for the blessing of a job; especially in this economy. The habitually lonely have a better appreciation for the blessings of companionship that comes from marriage. The blind appreciate the sight we take for granted. Those who cannot walk appreciate the mobility we take overlook. We deem what is a blessing often by what it is that we do not have, as opposed to what we do have and therein lies the mistake.

It is the enemy that wants you focusing on what you do not have. He knows that by keeping your attention on what you do not possess, you cannot appreciate what God has given you. The world espouses the pursuit of financial reward over everything else. The world convinces us that happiness is tied to wealth. It is in all of the advertising; regardless of the product being sold. All you need is a dollar and a dream! That is sorely lacking in understanding, as the Psalmist illustrates:

Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases; for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him. Though while he lived he counted himself blessed-- and men praise you when you prosper- he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of life. A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish. Psalm 49: 16-20

Yet we can be overawed with the acquisition of wealth. We can be enrapt with the lifestyles of the rich and famous. That is a horizontal perspective however. We need to think vertically as Christians. As these verses teach, even though we are praised on earth for our worldly prosperity, it is meaningless without understanding. A renowned prosperity preacher defended being given two luxury automobiles by congregants by quoting Deuteronomy 28:2:

"And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God." - Deuteronomy 28:2 (KJV)

This is a popular verse amongst prosperity preachers but they fail to grasp the context. They do not start with Deuteronomy 28:1:

If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. Deuteronomy 28: 1(NIV)

The word "and" starting verse 2 should give us pause that 28:2 was attached to something else, namely 28:1. The preacher of course wants to make it sound as simple as "hearkening unto the voice of the Lord." After all, you too can have two new cars if you just hearken unto the voice of the Lord! Verse one however provides the context for hearkening. It means a little bit more than "listening." It means fully obeying the Lord and carefully following all His commands. How many commands are we talking about? Well, there were 613 Mosaic laws given throughout the Torah, culminating in Deuteronomy. How well did Israel do in keeping these commands? They couldn't; no one could. That was why God sent Jesus Christ to earth. For our eternal prosperity, not temporal riches, or two new cars in the driveway.

But Deuteronomy 28:1 doesn't preach well for earthly prosperity, so they skip it and go right onto getting "overtaken by blessings." What really doesn't preach are the curses for disobedience found in the same chapter in verses 15-68! Fifty-three verses of context ignored for the sake of prosperity. The Apostle Paul warned about being wooed by such deception:

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2: 8

It is a hollow and deceptive theology that says the blessings of God must be bigger houses and fancier cars. That is the theology of the world. Prosperity preaching takes so many captive with the basic principles of this world. Christ becomes an ATM we can go to for withdrawals of blessings, instead of being THE blessing of our lives. If we go to Christ for blessings instead of realizing He IS the blessing then we have fallen for hollow and deceptive philosophies. He is the blessing because of Deuteronomy 28. Take a moment and read the 53 verses of consequences we avoid because of Jesus Christ! What a blessing!

It is clear that Peter understood this in our key verses from the Book of Acts. Chapter three starts with Peter and John going up to the temple to pray. The Bible tells us that there was a man crippled from birth, begging for scraps. This was how we were too in the world before we encountered Christ. Crippled by the world and the lies it sells. Crippled by the pain and shame of sin. Begging for scraps to try and make our earthly existence just a little more bearable. Poverty was not this man's primary problem. Being crippled and bound was. The world convinced him that what he needed was money so he begged for money. In verse four above we see the Bible tells us that Peter and John both looked straight at him. Why would the Word make this point? Because the world never looked straight at this man. The world never considered this man. But God was about to! Peter commanded this beggar to look at them! God will also command our attention. We cannot be distracted. Verse five tells us that the man gave Peter and John his attention because he was expecting to get something from them. Once again, the linear horizontal way of thinking. Verse six completes the scene as the Apostles give the beggar what he desperately needs, not what the world taught him he wanted. Silver and gold they had not, but what they had, they gave freely. The crippled man could now walk, freed from the prison he had been in his entire life. So it is when we come to Christ as well. Whatever the enemy used to bind us is broken in the name of Jesus!

What the man thought was of value to him was money. Just some scraps to get by on for this life. What Peter and John gave him was eternal. What Christ gives is eternal. But first, we need to remember to keep our thinking vertical. We need to remember that blessings are not always material in nature. When discussing material needs Jesus taught:

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6: 33

What are you seeking? What messages are you listening to? I watched a noted preacher last week tell a gathering of 17,000 people that it was "their year for supernatural blessing" and he proceeded to make those blessings be about material possessions. Apart from the absurd notion that all 17,000 people would be supernaturally blessed that year (no one was going to have a valley experience?); Christians are being mis-taught that the blessings they seek are on this earth. Their wants are being purposefully blurred into their needs. What does God promise us?

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Now, you and God may have different opinions of what your needs are! Faith however, is knowing that He has it right. He will meet all of your needs beloved. His riches are not in this world. His riches are not in fancy cars and big homes. His riches are found in Christ Jesus. The Apostles were largely fishermen and from all accounts not too good at it. The Apostle Paul was a tentmaker. It is true that some did prosper but even in their prosperity, it was often where they lost sight of what they should have been valuing. The man Saul, who would be the first King of Israel, started out correctly giving all glory due to God. Once he became the ruler however, the Bible shows how he stared to believe his own press clippings and soon he put himself ahead of God; leading to the downfall of his kingdom. David was a humble man after the very heart of God. It was not until he had successfully ascended to the throne that he coveted what was not his, which led to adultery and murder. Solomon was considered the wisest ruler of them all. He accumulated vast wealth of this world but his eye for foreign women would lead him away from God in his closing days on this earth. Jesus also warned us about this:

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? - Mark 8: 36

And that is often the trade-off beloved. Pursuing the wealth of this world can ultimately pull you away from God. The rich young ruler walked away sad when Jesus told him to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor. Christ saw into his heart and saw that his wealth was more important to him than God. And so it can go today in modern Christianity. We listen to snake-oil salesmen touting Jesus Christ as the next great Ponzi scheme. With an economy in shambles and greed rampant throughout the corridors of business and government, it is easy to become distracted by the temporal benefits of a horizontal perspective.

And please, do not take this to mean that God wants everyone poor. That is equally unscriptural. It is just that our riches are found in Christ Jesus, not in two new cars in the driveway. It is a mindset. It is where our hearts are. For what we value is where our hearts shall be (Matthew 6:21). When we wake up healthy; that is a blessing. When our kids come home with a good report; that is a blessing. When we have a job in a tumultuous economy; that is a blessing. When we have a good church, healthy prayer life, and are growing in our walk with the Lord, we are blessed. These are the blessings we should be counting. Seek Him first and all the other stuff will be added unto us.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke about who was "blessed." The list included the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and those who are persecuted for righteousness. What do they all have in common? They are all broken before God. They all come to God not for any material or self-serving motives. What is equally interesting is what Jesus promised would be the blessing returned unto them. Those blessings include; the kingdom of heaven, to be comforted, to inherit the earth, to be filled, to be shown mercy, to see God, and to be called the sons of God. No cars and houses. No bank accounts and investment portfolios.

In these the last days we need to be on guard to the false teachings of hollow and deceptive theologies. We need to realize that we are blessed according to what we do have, not what we do not have. We need to have a vertical perspective, keeping our eyes fixed on the author and finisher of our faith, Christ Jesus. It is in Him we are blessed. It is through Him we can be a blessing to others. Value the eternal beloved.

Reverend Anthony Wade March 18, 2009