TEEN TREE OF LIFE
THE DOCTRINE OF PROSPERITY
Part 5
December 9, 2018

Before you begin, ask yourself a very important question: Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on The Cross for all of your sins? If you answered yes, you will need to be sure that you are filled with The Holy Spirit. How do you do this? You name your sins to God The Father in His Son’s Name. This is called rebound. As a Christian, you must rebound any time you sin. This is taught in 1JOHN 1:9: If we confess our sins [directly to God], He [God] is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now, if you have never believed that Jesus Christ died on The Cross for all of your sins, all you have to do is say to yourself that you believe in Him and you are saved! The Bible verse which teaches us this is ACTS 16:31: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (HEB 11:6)

The next principle in our study of the Doctrine of Prosperity is seeking God. We can only find God through His Word and then applying it to our lives. It is through positive volition that we seek Him; it is through study under the authority of a pastor-teacher that we come to know Him. The importance of studying under a pastor-teacher should never be underestimated: He [Christ] handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ. (EPH 4:11-13 The Message Bible) If your pastor-teacher goes back to the original text of the bible, look at what HEB 11:6 becomes: “And without what is believed or without Doctrine resident in the soul it is impossible to please Him, For he who is occupied with God must be convinced by resident Doctrine that He is, and that He becomes a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

If you want to seek God, you must make daily decisions to learn and apply His Word. You have to take advantage of every opportunity to advance in your spiritual walk, regardless of life’s distractions and temptations. As a Christian, seeking God, you have to ask yourself these questions: “Are you trying to please others? Are you trying to please yourself? Or are you trying to please God?” Look at 1TH 2:4: …but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men but God, who examines our hearts. So, who are you trying to please – your parents, your friends, your teachers? There’s nothing wrong with trying to please any of them. But God is the One you should ultimately aim for.

God’s Word repeatedly tells us that if we want to lead prosperous, successful, useful lives, it’s necessary to work hard and be disciplined. Many Christians believe that they can have anything they want simply by asking God for it through prayer. They’re wrong! God expects us to do the very best we can with the abilities with which He’s blessed us: Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. (COL 3:23-24)

Whatever you choose to do in life, do it for God. Always remember that as a believer here on earth, you represent The Lord Jesus Christ and He is the One you serve. You should never have the attitude that the world owes you something. Sadly, the majority of teens today have it engrained in them. But it’s quite the opposite! They’re content to put as little effort into their work as they can get away with. They place more and more emphasis on self-gratification, pleasure, and living life with a “me first” attitude. If you want to succeed and live a life blessed by God, this selfish attitude has to be erased with a willingness to work hard! Look at PRO 6:6-11 The Message Bible: You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two. Nobody has to tell it what to do. All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions. So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed? A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next? Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest! To be great at anything in life requires a tremendous amount of time, effort, and dedication.

Many Christians decide they are going to stick with God’s Word, but for some reason or another they just don’t. When they don’t see immediate results, they simply give up on it and move on to something else. Paul, the apostle, wrote: I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. (PHIL 3:12-14 The Message Bible) So keep focused on that goal! Persevere and never give up!

The Lord Jesus Christ taught us that everything in our Christian walk is based on the principle of reaping and sowing. He explained to us the process of a seed falling to the ground and growing into something that bears much fruit. These are natural laws which apply to the believer and unbeliever alike: Then Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain. When the grain is fully formed, he reaps—harvest time! (MAR 4:26-28 The Message Bible)

The following passages take this analogy and apply it to the Christian way of life.
Look at what Paul wrote to the Galatians: Be very sure now, you who have been trained to a self-sufficient maturity, that you enter into a generous common life with those who have trained you, sharing all the good things that you have and experience. Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith. (GAL 6:6-10 The Message Bible) Solomon wrote: Honor the LORD from your wealth, And from the first of all your produce; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. (PRO 3:9-10) Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba. He was the third king of Israel and reigned for forty years. Solomon was also known as Jedidiah which means “beloved of the Lord.” He also wrote: The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered. (PRO 11:25)

The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s Greatest Example of the law of reaping and sowing. When He gave His life on The Cross of Calvary, He planted the most precious seed in the history of mankind. God sowed a seed by giving His Only Uniquely Born Son. They did this in order to reap an ultimate harvest of trillions of people who would believe in The Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (JOH 12:24)

If you’ve finished this entire five-part study of The Doctrine of Prosperity, it’s a sure bet that you’d like to receive prosperity from God. So your next step is to believe all that the Bible has to say about it and to put it into action. Are you going to accept the challenge from God to start living your life according to Divine Viewpoint? It’s entirely up to you. The more you study God’s Word, the more evidence you’ll see of His Plans for you to prosper. God wants us to enjoy riches and a long life, as long as we keep Him first in our lives. Remember the key to prosperity which Paul wrote during his first imprisonment: Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. (PHIL 4:11)