Foundational Class on God Wants You to Prosper

Session 1

God Wants You to Prosper Session One

Welcome to God Wants You to Prosper Foundational Class!

Would you like to know what God has to say about Prosperity? 
Well, listen to this…..

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. 
Ephesians 3:20

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
II Corinthians 9:8

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Luke 12:32

But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth…
Deuteronomy 8:18a

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:31  

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Roman 8:32

But my God shall supply all your need according
to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19

And finally,

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
III John 2

This is what God has to say.
Now doesn't that sound like God wants us to prosper?

"God Wants You to Prosper".

And I want to thank you for making the decision to buy this class in order to see what God has to say about prosperity. 

This is a major step in taking responsibility for your own situation and your own life.

The world around us is filled with individuals whose only response to their financial position is to blame the economy, blame the government, blame their employees, friends or family and finally to blame God. 

But you and I have chosen a different path and over the course of the next seven days together, we will be walking on the high road of God's wisdom and understanding.

I have designed this class to be a 7-day program and although you might want to hear it all at once, I want to encourage you to take the time and only play one CD per day.  Then you can review your notes, look up the scriptures, do the exercises and take time to really digest what I am saying.

Please look at what we are doing, as a learning process and a long term investment into your life. 

All too often people buy a course and just sit there listening to the presentations without really thinking about what they are hearing or doing the exercises and then they wonder why they were not miraculously changed.  So they go out a buy a new course only to repeat the process.

This class is a tool and it is a very good tool, but it will only produce the desired results when it is put into application.  So take the time to listen, think, review and allow God's Word to grow in your heart.

Now, after the first week, I challenge you to go back and take an entire week with each CD (7 weeks in total) and listen to that one CD everyday, applying what you are learning to your life.  Take notes, read other scriptures, make it your own in every way.

Now with the first week of listening to all seven and then seven weeks listening to each one, you will have a total of 8 weeks invested.  The number 8 means a new beginning.  I am totally convinced that if you apply all that you learn from God's Word in these 8 weeks, your life will have a new beginning.

Your will be transformed from a poverty mindset to a prosperity mindset and you will never be the same again.

So are you ready to begin?

Well, let's get started.

Day One:  The Starting Point

The Standard of God's Word

Isaiah 33:6:
And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability
of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the
Lord is his treasure.

This class is designed to present the wisdom and knowledge of God's Word concerning prosperity.  It is also designed to help the individual rightly divide the current wisdom and knowledge of the world concerning finances according to the truth of God's Word.

God's Word will always stand the test of time and all information outside of God's Word must meet that standard of truth.

Psalm 1:1-3:
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

My Story
 Over the years, I have counseled with many people about financial matters.  After discussing many of these things, I believed that the most common problem I saw was a lack of understanding and a lack of belief in the prosperity that God has provided for us to enjoy.

Some individuals simply did not believe that they deserved to be prosperous.  While others were only concerned about operating principles in order to get as much as they could.  In all cases it came down to attitudes, beliefs and concepts about prosperity and finances that needed to be addressed.  At some point we all must be ready and willing to ask some serious and confronting questions. 

There have been times in my past when I had doubts and worries about these matters.  No one is immune from the temptation of being concerned about their finances and what the future holds. But it is available to arm ourselves against these temptations, so that when they do come, we are prepared.  With the truth of God's Word, we can build up a fortress to guard our minds.  This fortress can withstand the assaults of the enemy when it is properly built.  Putting all this together, however, is work and it can be hard work. 

After graduating from college I went to work for a Christian Organization.  For the sixteen years that I worked for this organization, I confessed that I was trusting God for my finances, but in practice my trust and confidence financially rested more on my Employer than on my God.  When that relationship ended, I was faced with some serious questions.  I was 39 years old; I had a wife and three children; I had an eight-year-old car with close to 100,000 miles; I had very little furniture, the rent due and I had no job--What was I to do?

I considered my options first and believe me that did not take very long.  Because of my unique past employment, I really did not have many immediate marketable skills.  I could have gone back to school-----not appealing.  I could have gone on unemployment or welfare-----not an option I wanted to consider.  I could have called all my friends and asked for jobs, but I did not know anyone in that position.  I could have been bitter blaming the organization and everyone in it, but I knew that was not profitable.  I could have found any hourly wage job available and starting to rebuild and I did a lot of that.  I could have decided to be self-employed using what skills I did have and this seemed to be the most logical approach.  But before I did anything I felt that I needed to sit down and answer some more serious questions. 
Who really was my sufficiency?  Does God really mean what He says?  Can God provide direction and answers if I look to Him?  Can I stay true to God and His Word, without violating His principles and still prosper?  Is God able to see me through this time in my life and the rest of my life? 

I can tell you that I thought long and hard about these questions and their answers.  It was not so much a question about whether I believed what God said as much as it was about my worthiness to receive and to have what God had promised.  I had years of doubt and confusion that had to be addressed. 

In the past, I had received a mixed message.  A leading author in Christian Financial Matters once wrote, "God may choose to give material blessings to those who truly follow His directions.  'Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness' Proverbs 8:18.  But many times he elects to store those riches for distribution in eternity, in which case the rewards are multiplied a thousand-fold (Matthew 6:20).  But which is it? 

If my rent is due, I sure hope it is the first one.  This is typical of the mystical misdirection preached today.  If you have it then God must really be blessing you, and if you don't have it there is either something really wrong with you or He is saving it for later---but again which is it? 

Some of the confusion in my mind was based on the belief that God's people were suppose to prosper because of God's blessing, but they were also suppose to live according to need (often that need was defined by others). 

To live according to need meant that everything that came in also went out.  To have any left over would mean that this person was not living according to need.  Thus the habit of spending all that I had was developed so I could justify what I made.  It was like many of our government funded programs ---spend it or lose it.
Needs were also defined as "immediate needs", meaning that the future was suppose to take care of itself and that I should not plan for future events.  If someone did prosper, sometimes they might be questioned about "selling out" to the things of the world. 

Needless to say, it was a confusing collection of thoughts that I was sorting through.  Was everyone supposed to prosper but me?  Was I to teach others to prosper, live abundantly and have something left over to give but live a different standard for myself?  Wasn't I a Child of God just like everyone else?  Were all of God's people supposed to prosper unless they were ministers?  Was the minister supposed to be an example of the Word in all areas except the area of prosperity?  What was the proper balance?  What should my attitude, beliefs and concepts be? 
As I started to go to God's Word to answer some of these questions I had to first address my own bad habits.  Before I could help anyone else, I had to apply what I was learning to my own life and put matters in order. 

At one point, I realized that I owed over $48,000.00 in credit card debt.  I say realize because I was not really taking personal responsibility at the time.  I was not on top of all the details in my situation and even worse, I did not have a plan.  The specifics are irrelevant and even though I was just able to pay the monthly minimums, I was not in control and time was running out.  I had no one to blame but myself.  I could have found the answers in God's Word years ago if I had just looked for myself.  Today, my consumer debt has been taken care of and more importantly, I have a plan for my future. 

Things are much different now.  I own my first home (actually the Bank still owns it, but I do make my payments each month).  I have one son that has graduated from college and I am prepared when my next son gets ready to go. I am the Director of three businesses that I started which allow me to use my skills in the presentation of God's Word.  I am also able to work and serve in the community where I live as a High School football and strength coach.

As I mentioned before, I have not reached a point where I am immune to financial pressures or any of the other myriad of things that come up.  But I am well armed and able to defeat such enemies when they appear. 

It is my desire with this class to review the methods I used to build my wall of defense and provide building blocks for anyone else that would like to start to work on their own fortress.  Although most of the outline for this class is based on my personal situation, the truths from God's Word and the financial information available are applicable to anyone. 

Psalm 100:1-5
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

His truth endures to all generations

Matthew 4:4
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

A verse written over 1000 years before Christ's birth and 3000 years before us, but still true today

All our thoughts, all our actions and ideas must pass the test of God's Word

God's Word is the standard that we use because it is God's heart for mankind.

It is true for every generation
It is true for every culture

We must take all our attitudes, beliefs and concepts to God's Word

Let's Examine Some Miss-beliefs

There are many "Miss-beliefs" that people accept without really questioning them.
Here are a few:

" There is no need to worry about money or plan for the future because God will take care of everything, besides, that wouldn't be trusting God.

" Success and prosperity corrupts those who love God.

" It is wrong to pray for abundance that's greedy and lustful.

" My success means that someone else has less.  The more I make, the less someone else will have and that is not God's way.

" Someday my ship will come in and I will be taken care of, I know this because I am a good person and I need it.  Besides, God loves me and He will bless me, I am just waiting on Him.

" It's not fair that I shouldn't have all I want and need.  I deserve it.

" All successful people must have sold out to something besides God.

" It really doesn't matter if I ever have any money; I just want to be a good person.

For now let me just ask some questions.

For those who say they do not worry because God will take care of everything, let me ask, "What about free will?"  God gave us free will to choose to believe His promises.

He gives the promise, we believe and act on it and then He acts.  If God simply takes care of everything on His own, why didn't He just make Israel believe instead of spending all that time on them?

For those who think that success or money corrupts what about Abraham and Job?  They were two of the richest men in the Old Testament and they were not corrupt.

If you think it is wrong to pray for abundance, what about the farmer?  Is it wrong for him to pray for a big crop after he has planted his seed?

There was a time when God said pray for Babylon a city that represented everything that was not God

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

Interesting isn't it?  
Now back to our Miss-beliefs…
My success does not mean another persons lack because we do not live in a resource-limited environment.  God has provided us with a limitless universe.

For those waiting for their ship to come in, we read in Psalm 1 that whatsoever that individual would do, God would prosper it.  So if God prosper a 100 fold, what is 100 fold times zero?  It is zero, but 100 fold times 100% is abundance-get the picture?

For those who think that it is not fair that others should prosper and not them, they are partially right.  The world is not and never will be fair. 
Life is not fair, equitable, just, forgiving or kind to the weak. 

For those that think you can only prosper if you sell out to something besides God, let me ask you, is the adversary's blessing on people greater than God's blessing?  I read that God's blessing on Solomon made him the richest king ever.

For those who don't think it is necessary to have money, let me ask, "What do you think Joseph and Mary used to escape in the middle of the night and travel to Egypt and live there for a while?"

How was I Trained?

Everyone has to learn from a source outside of his or herself.
As we grow up we are programmed and learn many things by exposure to the world around us.

By the time a child is 8 years old he or she has received 80% of this emotional programming and their understanding of matters like finances.

We overcome any wrong Emotional Programming by putting on God's Word.

II Timothy 3:15
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Well, we have made it through Day One.
Go to the next page for your assignments.

Homework

Now here is what I would like you to do.

1. I would like you to write your own little story of what you have come out of financially.  What is your background?  What problems have you had?  What have your attitudes, beliefs and concepts about money been?  And where do you think they came from?

2. Next I would like you to do a financial review.  What is your income/expense picture like?  Do you have more coming in each month than you have going out?

3. Ask yourself if you have a 1 year, 5 year, 10 year financial plan.  You don't have to do it right now, but take a look and be honest.

4. Look at the list of Miss-beliefs in your workbook and see how many you also thought in the past.

5. Make a list of other attitudes, beliefs and concepts about money and prosperity that you have and write down any related questions.

Well, that's your homework and we will see you tomorrow for Day Two