Health, and Wealth

Review

Last Week successfully discovered the basic promises of God that contribute to an eternity of peace and joy.

If we had these promises and no others we would be truly blessed, for these are the most basic, and yet the most powerful of God’s promises.

The Basic Promises.

Salvation (eternal life, abundant life)

Receiving the Holy Spirit

The Peace of God

The Knowledge of God

The Joy of God

The Presence of God

This week, we start taking a look at what I like to refer to as the extended promises of the Word.

Why extended? Well because the basic promises represent promises that represent our core needs. As we discussed the previous two week, you can’t have the rest without this foundation. For example we need the promise of salvation to even be qualified for any of the rest of these promises.

The Process

We’ve also been looking at how to understand and receive the promises of God and we boiled it down to the following process.

Read the promise

Think about the faithfulness of the promise giver

Look it over, what are the requirements to receiving

Ask for the fulfilment of the promise in faith.

Keep your end of the promise

Remember, God is faithful, receiving often takes patience.

This Week’s Promises

If the last two weeks promises constituted needs that could be called core needs, or critical needs, then the promises that we will look at today may be considered crucial needs for so many. What’s the difference? Well, we are not always aware of our critical need for salvation, we are not always aware of our critical need for God’s joy or His peace, but without them, no amount of promise or blessing can ever truly satisfy the longing from deep within our spirit. A crucial need, on the other hand, is a need that we feel most acutely. It is a need that goes to the very heart of who we are. Crucial needs are the needs that everyone in 100% aware and united it, because they’re the noes that are most obvious to us, and they are:

1. God’s promise about finances

2. God’s promise about healing

God’s Promises about Finances

Matthew 6:28–31 NKJV

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

What is the promise? God will provide for us!

And the requirement on our end (there are two here)? They are do not worry, and seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness!

Proverbs 11:24–25 NKJV

There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.

The promise? The generous soul will be made rich! The requirement? Be generous, don’t withhold more than what is right!

Malachi 3:10–11 NKJV

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts;

This is a big one, and it’s one that is very hard for preachers to teach about, especially with the scandals of the late eighties and early nineties, when televangelists were found enriching themselves at the expense of gullible people. None of us want to be numbered with them, and so we remain silent. All the while the enemy devours the provision of our congregations, because we are not teaching this godly principle.

What is the promise? God will rebuke the devourer and that the windows of heaven would be opened up toward you.

And saints, know this… God knows how hard it is for us to trust people with our finances. Heck, half the time I don’t even trust the bank, as they’ve proven themselves to be untrustworthy before. And so God says this, test me! Put me to the test! Let me prove to you, that you can absolutely trust me with your wealth. That is astonishing isn’t it?

God’s Promises as They Relate to Healing

Proverbs 4:20–22 NKJV

My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.

What is the promise? God’s words are life and health to those who find them.

What is the requirement? Pay attention to them, listen to them, read them and then store them in you heart!

Exodus 15:26 NKJV

and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”

This one is very similar. He will keep you safe from sicknesses. What is the requirement? Well it actually adds to the one we just read, with that one it was all about pay attention, listen, read and lock them away in your heart, this one goes a step further and says don’t stop there, live by those words! So how do we get and maintain health? By living by the Word of God!

and finally...

Psalm 107:19–20 NKJV

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.

Again, God heals His children. What was the requirement? Call out to God! Now I have a bonus question, how does this relate to the other two passages? HOW? It’s the HOW God goes about healing us, it’s through His word! It’s in obeying His word.

Putting It All Together

The promises of God are precious, but they come with conditions and in the case of these two big crucial needs that we all face, well let’s face it, the requirements are not always easy. They require a great deal of faith and trust. But the good news is that God is trustworthy, and He is faithful. In fact, when it comes to our finances, God actually tells us to test Him! It’s the only time, by the way, that God tells us to test Him!

And we must become lovers and doers of the Word, and that is just a big bit of common sense we need to follow, but the amazing promise is that God will heal our bodies!!!

Homework

Identify the promises that we talked about today

Talk about how they are active and effective in your life.

Talk about disobedience or incomplete obedience may be hindering receiving your total fulfilment of these promises.

Talk about how you plan on taking hold of these promises going forward!