Prosper (a)
In t 1st part of this V we can see that it is the “The thief that steals, kills, and destroys.” And who is the thief? It’s not God, if it was, that would make God partaker in sin. No, the thief is Satan. But I also think that you can see the contrast between Jesus and Satan in this V. Satan comes to steal, Jesus comes to give, Satan comes to kill, but Jesus comes to give life, Satan comes to destroy, but Jesus comes to build us up and lift us to heavenly places.
I. In this V we see God’s plan for His children.
A. He said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have {it} more abundantly.”
1. This word “Abundantly” means (in the sense of beyond); superabundant (in quantity) or superior (in quality); by implication, preeminence: exceeding abundantly above, more abundantly, advantage, exceedingly, very highly, beyond measure.”
a. Jesus came to bring us this kind of life in all areas of our life.
B. He wants us to have PLENTY.
1. In the book of (DEUT) it says, “And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods.”
a. GEN 27:28
i. The word “fatness” means “richness” in other words it means the “best.”
ii. The Lord will give you the best of the Earth if we will serve Him fully.
2. In (PSA 23:1) David said, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
a. The word “want” means “lack.”
b. What David is trying to say is that because the Lord is his shepherd, he will not lack any good thing.
II. It’s great to know that t Lord wants us to have a full supply, to prosper, but how are we going to get it?
A. PRO 13:22
1. That tells us that t sinners have the wealth and that it’s ours, but how do we get it?
B. Look at DEUT 28:1-2, 13
1. How are we going to prosper?
a. If we, “Harken diligently unto t voice of t Lord. and
b. If we, Observe and do all His commandments.
2. Turn with me to LUKE 6:38
a. That last part is a little hard to understand, “For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
i. What that means is that “With the same measure you give, it will be given back to you.”
ii. If you give little, little will be given to you, but if you give much, much will be given to you.
b. (2 Corinthians 9:6) Says, “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”
i. God says that he is going to multiply our giving.
3. In (GAL 6:7) it says, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
a. That V can apply to many different things, but it also means that if a man sows his money, as seed, into the kingdom of God, that is what he will reap. Finances.
b. ISA 30:23
i. That’s not real clear to us, listen to t NIV. “He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, (that’s your finances that you sow into the kingdom of God), and the food (or fruit), that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows.”
ii. Again that’s prosperity.
III. PRO 3:9-10
A. In the OT a sign of a farmer or a herdsman being prosperous was that their barns were full.
1. But in order for them to prosper, they had to give their tithes to the Lord.
a. The definition of the word “Tithe” is “1/10.” It referring to 1/10 of your income.
2. (HOS 4:6) Says “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
a. If we don’t understand God plan of blessing us then we can lose out because of it.
b. The 1st thing that we should know about our tithe is that it is holy to the Lord.
i. LEV 27:30 (“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD.”)
ii. We should not take the subject of the tithe lightly, or hold it back from the Lord, because it is His and it is Holy.
c. (DEUT 14:22) Says, “Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.”
B. Jesus always seemed to be in agreement with giving the tithe.
1. Look at MAT 23:23
a. He’s telling them that they should have done all these things.
b. He said something very similar in (LUKE 11:42) “But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”
i. Again He saying that they ought to give their tithe, just don’t forget all the other things.
C. In the book of DEUT as well as in other places, God gives us some very specific instruction on where to give our tithe.
1. Turn with me to DEUT 12:5-8
a. Again the KJV is a little blind to us, but listen to it from the NIV, “But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; 6 there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.”
b. The Lord is saying the place that the Lord has called you to go to (We call it the church today) is where you are to give your tithe to.
IV. Now turn with me to MAL 3:8-12
A. In (V 8) it says that it’s possible to rob God.
1. HOW? He says by not giving to Him your tithes and offerings.
a. In (v 9) He tells us the result in not giving to Him your tithe.
i. He says that we are cursed with a curse.
ii. It’s not that God is putting a curse on you, but that you are not in His protection, and there is nothing stopping the curse from coming on you.
b. Well, what is the curse?
i. In (DEUT 28:15-19) it gives us a pretty good idea of the curse.
ii. I’ll read it to you, “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: 16Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. 17Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. 18Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 19Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.”
B. But in the last part of the V we read in MAL 3 in V 9 the Lord says “If we would Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse (That again is a type of the church) I will open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
1. That is talking about Gods blessings above measure.
a. He goes on to say in (V 11), “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.”
2. ISA 1:19
a. God wants us to prosper, but we have to be willing and obedient to His and His Word.
C. There’s 2 main reasons why God wants us to prosper.
1. #1 Because He loves us and want to give us only His best, so that He can establish His Covenant with us.
a. (DEUT 8:18) Says, “But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”
b. And #2 So that through our giving more will hear about the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Money is a tool and an instrument to further the work of God around the world. Here locally and in the utter most parts of the world.
3. God wants you to prosper.
WOLCC 3/3/96 SUN AM