Welcome back to our study on prosperity. We saw last week that prosperity is not a dirty word. In that study, we examined how scripture lists prosperity as a covenant blessing based on our relationship with God in Christ, and also that His prosperity has a purpose: to share His generosity and blessing with those around us.
Now today, we are going to discuss how this happens, and how to receive the blessing of prosperity into your life, because just as with every other aspect of grace, people tend to inject a layer of works over what God gives as a gift in Christ
Join me today, as we discover how to prosper in Christ.
Prosperity is quite a word in Christianity. There are Christians on both sides of the isle who will either embrace prosperity wholeheartedly, or denounce it completely. This kind of dichotomy is interesting since prosperity is mentioned and explained in the scriptures. However there is a certain caution that is latent regarding prosperity that the scriptures don’t demonstrate.
Prosperity is not evil. God is truly the most prosperous entity in all of existence! And furthermore, He is the giver of all good gifts, according to James 1:17.; which also includes prosperity.
And Jesus specifically stated that our Father in heaven will never give us dangerous or evil gifts, in Matthew 7:9-11.
Knowing this, we can therefore conclude that prosperity, as a gift and blessing from our divinely perfect and good Father God, cannot be wrong, evil, or bad.
How then does prosperity come to us? By what avenue does it travel? Many people need prosperity today, and because they haven’t been receiving, they erroneously conclude that God isn’t prospering anymore, or that His prosperity is only ethereal.
So we are going to explore this today, and get a better idea of how we prosper in Christ today.
Welcome to the fourth and final part of our series, taking a look at the amazing blessing of communion. Far beyond the ritual, into the reality of our union with Jesus Christ. What a fantastic journey this has been!
We’ve seen how communion is not merely a corporate ritual, but a very personal time. A time not to reflect on your sin, but to reflect Christ’s finished work personally for you. A time to see how His finished work has changed your spiritual identity.
We also saw in last week’s study how the cup of the New Covenant, goes much more in-depth on a personal level, than what we typically hear about in most communion services. The fact that Jesus Christ took your sin upon Himself and paid the penalty in your place should be life-changing, but we often don’t give it the weight or attention that such an accomplishment deserves.
Today we will fit all these puzzle pieces together to see a fantastic picture of Christ’s finished work. Let’s get started!
Welcome back to part three of our series looking at the amazing blessing of communion. In part one, we began by examining the personal aspect of the body and blood of Christ. How communion is not merely a corporate ritual, but a personal gift representing our individual union with Jesus Christ.
We also began to see how the body and blood of Christ each represent a distinct gift which Jesus has made available to us through His sacrifice.
Then in part two, we saw what it means to judge ourselves rightly in Christ as we receive and partake of His sacrifice for us. And how the rightly judging ourselves in Christ is a fantastic blessing in Him.
Now today in part three we are going to be examining the cup, which Jesus says represents the New Covenant in His blood. As we look at the cup of the new covenant today, we will see even more aspects of the amazing blessing of communion.
Welcome back to the second part of our study on the amazing blessing in communion. Last week we saw how Jesus suffered in our place on the cross, and we ended by seeing some of what He accomplished, including the benefits for our physical body.
We’re going to look deeper into this today, because there are many people who still do not understand this. As we read last week, the scriptures make it clear that “many are weak and sick, and have fallen asleep by failing to discern the Lord’s Body”.
So it’s important for us to see what His body truly gives to us. God wants us to see know and receive what He has given to us, and that’s why it’s written in the scriptures. I shared on this about four years ago, but it’s time to share it again because we have some new viewers, and even if you’re a longtime member here, it’s good to be reminded of what Jesus has done. Let’s get started!
One of the biggest areas that I struggled with in the past, was the idea that I was waging a constant battle to “improve myself”.
- Improve my performance – to commit less sinful actions
- To look more like Jesus, meaning basically the same thing, to commit less sinful actions
- To never be comfortable, but always in this constant war to try and become what God wanted me to be.
This feeling was spurned on by the Christians around me who said things like: If you’re comfortable in your Christianity, you’re doing it wrong. A phrase which always struck me as a bit of a dangling-carrot. Did Jesus die to subject us to further futility? Is the work complete or isn’t it? Did Jesus only perform a half-redemption?
I have since come to realize that I am not alone in these questions. And millions of Christians around the globe are on a mental and spiritual treadmill. Constantly running to try and reach an unreachable goal. Never being satisfied, and never feeling any comfort – because if they dared to, they would be a “lukewarm Christian” in their view.
Well, today we are going to examine this, as we have a discussion about being secure in Christ.
The title of today’s study might seem a bit silly at first, but it’s meant to cause us to honestly stop and think. Each of us carries with us a certain perspective of God – a perspective that has been shaped by the events of our life, the doctrines and traditions we have learned, and the general thoughts and feelings that we have on a day-to-day basis.
The question found in the title of today’s study, is one that each of us must ask… Do we actually see Jesus as a provider? – because it is one of the ways which He has clearly revealed Himself. A provider in every single way and sense of the word.
In some cases, there has been push-back against the idea of seeing Jesus as a provider, because they say “it makes God into a genie” – some have felt that it is flat-out wrong to ask God for things, or that it is somehow greedy, selfish or worldly. Others have been taught that God really doesn’t care about provision, because that is too carnal, and God only cares about spiritual things. But again, is that how He has revealed Himself? Is that the picture He has painted Himself as in the scriptures?
Today we will take a look at the picture of Jesus as a provider, as demonstrated in scripture, and see a crucial aspect of Himself, that is sometimes ignored, but one that He wants us to see and receive, as much as any other.
If you have listened to the typical “Christian” messages, you’ve probably heard some form of rebuke against selfish prayers. People will typically say things like “You know, God’s not a genie!” – “God’s not here to satisfy you! – He’s Lord and Master!”
Now immediately, I must say that it is true, that God is indeed Lord and Master of all. However, are we truly so ready to accept the idea that God is not the one who satisfies us (in every sense of the word)?
If God is not the one who satisfies us, then who is? Where should we look? If God is not the one who gives to us our needs, wants and desires, then who or what is left?
Do we believe that He wants us to be left unfulfilled and unsatisfied? Is that how a loving Father would treat His beloved children?
Today we are going to answer these questions in the most simple way possible: by looking at Jesus.