“AND you shall remember the LORD YOUR GOD, FOR IT IS HE WHO GIVES YOU POWER TO GET WEALTH, that He may establish [confirm] His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day."
Deuteronomy 8:18 (NKJV)
"BUT you shall remember [with profound respect] the Lord your God, FOR IT IS HE WHO IS GIVING YOU POWER TO MAKE WEALTH, that He may CONFIRM HIS COVENANT which He swore (solemnly promised) to your fathers, as it is this day."
Deuteronomy 8:18 (AMP)
• The Purpose of Wealth
- Whatever God does is always with a purpose. He would not do a thing without any reason.
- If you desire abundance of blessings, financial prosperity; therefore, there should be a Purpose, a reason, why you want it.
- If you desired wealth as a Believer, only to build multiple houses, buy large number of cars, and probably become famous, be known by many—God will not give you.
IF the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable!
IF you do not know the purpose of abundance, why God has Blessed you or is blessing you financially and materially, you will definitely abuse it.
(a) Why do you want abundance, financial prosperity?
(b) What Vision have You? - Everyone who desires to have and live in abundance must be able to answer the above two questions.
- You should be able to ask yourself the questions and answer them without stuttering.
- The Answer to the question A is found in the question B
- Why you wanted wealth, financial prosperity, should mainly be for the fulfilment of your God-given Vision or to support a cause.
- If you do not have any genuine or authentic Vision, you do not have any cause to support; it means you are not a candidate for financial abundance.
- There must be a reason why God is blessing you with abundance of money; not for food, clothes, cars, but to affect mankind.
- Your vision must be to affect mankind positively, because every God given vision focuses on impacting, Blessing or developing mankind and the glorification of His name.
NOTE: Building a personal house, buying an expensive car, traveling out of your country seeking a Greener pasture, are NOT A vision. THOSE are for your personal gratifications. - Every God given vision primarily centres on blessing others, not about making yourself more comfortable (Philippians 2:5-11).
- Plans to make yourself more comfortable is not a Vision, although God is not against it.
- If you faithfully embarked on your God-given Vision, or supporting a cause, God will give to you whatever comfort you may be desiring.
- The reason being that, if you made it happen for others, He will make things happen for you also: "REMEMBER THAT THE LORD WILL GIVE EVERYONE A REWARD FOR DOING GOOD. Everyone, slave or free, WILL GET A REWARD FOR THE GOOD THINGS THEY DO" (Ephesians 6:8 Easy to Read Version).
- If you made others comfortable, He will make that happen for you as well.
- Every God-given Vision centres on being a Blessing to others, and NOT about amassing and hoarding the money or whatever God has blessed you with (Luke 12:15-21).
• Examples of God-given Visions:
- Establishment of Churches
- Reaching out for the winning of souls through the Media
- Publishing of books for the edification of the BELIEVERS—the body of Christ.
- Missions—Cultural and Cross cultural missions
- Ministering to the poor, the needy, orphans, widows; And also having a ministry to the Youths and CHILDREN
- And the using of your money to be part of or be in support of a Ministry that is not a church based
- Or supporting the Vision of a specific Person as you are LED by God.
• How to be in financial prosperity
- Wealth is mainly by COVENANT (Deuteronomy 8:18).
- For you to generate ABUNDANCE in God's way, that is, to have financial prosperity in line with the Bible.
(a) You have to be a covenant child of God.
(b) You also have to walk in a covenant relationship with Him. - Covenant is an agreement between two or more people. GOD wants to bless you as a Believer based on the covenant He has established with you.
- You must know that whatever blessing God has channeled through you are meant to be used as He intended.
(a) THE money given to you should not be used for other purposes, apart from what and things intended By God.
(b) IF you do otherwise or contrary to His Will, the flow of the financial blessings would stop. - Nothing happens by chance, God has a purpose why He is multiplying whatever you are doing secularly and spiritually.
• In our text, Deuteronomy 8:18, THE Bible passage says it is God WHO gives power to get wealth and that He may establish HIS COVENANT WHICH HE SWORE to your fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
- In other Words, God wanted to bless the Israelites as a result of the covenant He made with their fathers—Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
(a) The truth is, a Believer's financial prosperity is not gotten by how hard he or she can labour and toil (Matthew 6:31-34).
(b) Financial prosperity is also not by how logically you can think (1 Corinthians 1:19,20 James 4:13-16).
(c) Financial prosperity or abundance is through a covenant relationship with God (1 Kings 3:12-14; Deuteronomy 8:18).
• How to enter into a covenant relationship with God
(a) The foundation of entering into a covenant relationship with God is being born again: "17 Therefore, IF ANYONE IS IN CHRIST, HE [she] IS A NEW CREATION. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, WHO THROUGH CHRIST RECONCILED US TO HIMSELF and gave us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:17,18 ESV).
READ: John 3:5,6;
(b) When you become a believer in Christ Jesus you have an Access to the commonwealth of Israel: "12 REMEMBER that at that time you were separated from Christ [excluded from any relationship with Him], ALIENATED FROM THE COMMONWEALTH OF ISRAEL, AND STRANGERS TO THE COVENANTS OF PROMISE [with no share in the sacred Messianic promise and without knowledge of God’s agreements], having no hope [in His promise] and [living] in the world without God. 13 BUT NOW [at this very moment] IN CHRIST JESUS you who once were [so very] far away [from God] HAVE BEEN BROUGHT NEAR BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST" (Ephesians 2:12,13 Amplified Bible).
(c) Also, being born-again gives you an access to the PROMISE, the COVENANT, Or the AGREEMENT God made with Abraham: "26 FOR YOU ARE ALL SONS OF GOD THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS. 27 FOR AS MANY OF YOU AS WERE BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST HAVE PUT ON CHRIST. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; FOR YOU ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS. 29 AND IF YOU ARE CHRIST'S, THEN YOU ARE ABRAHAM'S SEED, AND HEIRS ACCORDING TO THE PROMISE" (Galatians 3:26-29 NKJV).
(d) If you are now Abraham's child, Then you are part of Abrahamic COVENANT:
"13 CHRIST HAS REDEEMED US FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW, HAVING BECOME A CURSE FOR US (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), 14 THAT THE BLESSING OF ABRAHAM MIGHT COME UPON THE GENTILES IN CHRIST JESUS, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit THROUGH FAITH" (Galatians 3:13,14 NKJV).
• Every covenant has terms and conditions, the ways of servicing the covenant.
- How to service the covenant, that is, effecting the covenant and appropriating the promises attached to it.
(a) You effect the covenant, or make it happen, by fellowshipping, having communion with God.
(b) By practicing the terms of the covenant.
THE Terms:
(i) Tithings
(ii) Offerings: Worship Offering, Project Or mission Offering, Offering to the needy or the poor,
Offering to the Servants of God, and whatever you are instructed By the Holy Spirit to do.
(iii) Using whatever God has blessed you with, for His intended Purpose.
THE Israelites of old did use the blessings God gave to them wrongly, thus, He decided to cut the flow of the Blessings: 8 “For she (Israel) has not noticed nor understood nor realized that IT WAS I [the Lord God] WHO GAVE HER THE GRAIN AND THE NEW WINE AND THE OIL,
And lavished on her SILVER AND GOLD, WHICH THEY USED FOR BAAL AND MADE INTO HIS [Baal's] IMAGE. 9 “Therefore, I WILL RETURN AND TAKE BACK MY GRAIN at harvest time
And MY NEW WINE in its season. I will also TAKE AWAY MY WOOL AND MY FLAX Given to cover her nakedness" (Hosea 2:8,9 Amplified Bible). - If you do not understand or realize that God is the reason behind your financial breakthrough and success, He will stop the flow of it.
• You will not fail in Jesus' name.
Peace!
TO BE CONTINUED