DON'T TALK AGAINST PROSPERITY IN CHRISTENDOM - PART 1

Prayer, prosperity and dominion are triangular strategies of God to advance His Kingdom on earth. They are three dimensions of operation that host a suitable atmosphere for propagating the glorious gospel. They are used to proclaim the integrity of God's Kingdom here on earth. And today, I'm going to emphasize on one of them - Prosperity.

Reference: Zechariah 1:17 New King James Version (NKJV) 'Again proclaim, saying, "Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again spread out through prosperity; The Lord will again comfort Zion, And will again choose Jerusalem."'

Before I go into the above verse properly in the next topic, I stand to assure that prosperity is godly when gained by the right means. No wonder Jesus was never against prosperity. Let's talk about Jesus' life while on earth. First of all, during His baptism, John the Baptist made a remarkable statement. While addressing Jesus in John 1:27 (NLT), he said, 'Though his ministry follows mine, I'm not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.' If you follow his comment accurately, you'll notice that its not just because Jesus is God Himself or because Jesus is spiritual. That statement has both spiritual and natural implications.

From the natural standpoint, Jesus was in human flesh and the sandals He wore was a designer footwear in the standard of those days. So John was in a way, confessing that the sandals were too good for him to untie. Even as His slave, he'd still not be worthy to untie them. The latchet of Jesus' sandals was the string or thong by which they were fastened to His feet. To unloose them was the office of a servant, yet John the Baptist saw something elegant or stylishly luxurious about the sandal, that He deemed himself unfit to untie the latchet.

The person who must have untied Jesus' sandal before washing His feet, spent almost a year's wage worth of fragrance on His feet washing. She honoured the Master greatly. However, criticism surrounded her action. In Mark 14:3-7 and John 12:3-7 (NIV), a great indignation was directed at Mary for using an ounce of pure nard, an expensive perfume which could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. This is because it was worth a year's wage. So to them, it was wasted just to anoint Jesus' feet. However Jesus addressed them in John 12:8 (NIV) saying, 'The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.' This statement clearly shows that Jesus was not poor; He was wealthy and prosperous and the disciples knew.

For the benefit of the doubt, the Roman soldiers, after crucifying Jesus, competed to possess Jesus' garment. One of the reasons being that it was a designer wear. Let's find out what the garment was made of. John 19:23 (NLT) reads, 'When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.' Have you now noticed the way it was well designed? The next verse said, 'Rather than tearing it apart, the soldiers threw dice for it.' They couldn't let go of His designer wears.

Jesus enjoyed the good things of life but for good significant purposes. Before His crucifixion, He mounted on a donkey which no one had ever ridden before. In other words, it was in mint or pristine condition. If it were in our days, it could've been a latest jeep model (tear rubber), covered with tarpaulin. Luke 19:29-30 (NLT) recorded that he sent two of His disciples saying, 'Go into that village over there, As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.' As the Master of the universe, the crowd hailed Him blessed on His way to Jerusalem. Matthew 21:10-11 (NIV) says, 'When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" The crowds answered, "This is Jesus... the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."'

Christianity is not boring or living a miserable life; its the mindset of the just. It is the true emblem of prosperity (3 John 2 KJV) and on our next topic, we shall talk about different kinds of prosperity and the importance in the Kingdom advancement, in order to properly renew our mindset on this topic.

Scripture Reading - Genesis 39:2-6; Deuteronomy 8:18; Psalm 37:4; Psalm 1:1-3; 1 King 2:3.

Guided Prayer: Dear Father, thank you for the true fulfilment I find in your Word concerning my all-round prosperity. Your Spirit is at work in me, guiding me to keep fulfilling your good pleasure and prospering me in the direction of your perfect will. Thus, my promotion, increase, victories, success and satisfaction are continually established in my life as I do your will now and always, in Jesus' Name, Amen!