Prosperity is guaranteed by God Himself revealed through His Word. Most Christians believe that God wants them to prosper, and rightly so. This is because in the Bible God tells us He not only wants us to prosper but also that He plans for us to prosper. Yet prosperity has eluded so many, not because of lack of desire but because of lack of understanding. In search of this dilemma, they look for Scriptures to guide them. They find that the answer is not found in one topic or one scripture but scattered throughout the Bible in over 1,500 Scriptures dealing directly with the subject. There are approximately 1,000 more dealing indirectly with prosperity in some form. My research has taken me through all of those Scriptures and put together an understanding that is easy to follow from one chapter to another, revealing in Scripture in such a way that answers any question you may be facing in your own life that may be preventing you from achieving true prosperity. There are many misconceptions and teachings on the prosperity doctrine that miss the mark and turn off many believers and nonbelievers alike. This book reveals the false teachings of prosperity and how to detect the difference at a glance. No matter where you are in your Christian walk there is something here for you. Remember, it is what you learn after you know it all that makes the biggest difference in your life. If you do not consider yourself a Christian, don't let that deter you from reading this book. After reading this book, you may just want to become one. Don't waste another minute. We know that God never lies, God never fails, and God truly wants you to prosper. Suggested Reading Trust God for Your Finances by Jack Hartman The Generosity Factor by Ken J. Blanchard and S. Truett Cathy The Blessed Life by Robert Morris

SHOULD CHRISTIANS PROSPER?

Teacher/Student Study BookBy James H. Hooks

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 James H. Hooks
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4772-8401-8

Contents

Preface...........................................................7Introduction......................................................13Chapter 1: Who's in Control?......................................19Chapter 2: To Whom Does the Earth Belong?.........................45Chapter 3: How to Be Successful Where You Are.....................67Chapter 4: Instructions from God's Word...........................101Chapter 5: Needs and Greeds.......................................121Chapter 6: Rules of Engagement....................................139Chapter 7: Take Action............................................155Chapter 8: Tithe..................................................171Chapter 9: Gifts and Offerings....................................189Chapter 10: Sowing and Reaping....................................211Chapter 11: Biblical Value of Our Gifts...........................229Chapter 12: God's Bank............................................245Appendix..........................................................265References and Suggested Reading..................................273About the Author..................................................275

Chapter One

Who's in Control?

We are living in a blame-game age. When something goes wrong, we want to blame it on someone or something—our past, the way we were brought up, our employers—anything but ourselves. We are even so bold as to blame God. We want to pass the blame in some other direction rather than accept it as ours. Blaming someone or something removes guilt from us. As long as we can pass the blame, we never have to deal with the problem, so things will never change. Problems do not mysteriously go away. If not dealt with, they will be there waiting for us when we get out of bed the next day. Our daily activities then revolve around our problems in life. It is not that we love the problem so much that we want to keep it around; we just never learned how to deal with it. In order to deal with it, we need to know our part in the blame game.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

You may not feel that you are on an equal playing field with the rest of the world. You may not have a natural talent or a brilliantly creative mind. You may not feel that you have a chance at a prosperous life when there are so many others more qualified. There was a program on TV many years ago titled The Equalizer. This was a mystery about a man who was dedicated to law and order. He was of average size and not the strongest person in the world, but he knew how to handle his gun and was very good at it. They called him "the Equalizer" because no matter the size or shape of the enemy, his gun and his knowledge of self-defense made him equal. Not only equal, it gave him the advantage.

Within every child is a potential for greatness.

We have an equalizer that places us on a level playing field with everyone else in the world. That equalizer is God. We are all created equal in His sight. It is up to us to develop our knowledge, talent, and skills to use these gifts effectively. Being that God is our equalizer and the Holy Spirit is our trainer, we need to look to Him as our source of authority. To obtain the promised results, obedience is required in developing those skills. We need to follow His instructions, which are outlined in His Word, in that development. As we read His instructions and practice His Word, we not only become equal to the rest of the world but we are also given an advantage by access to God Himself. "If God is for us, who can be against us" (Rom. 8:31B)? What we have or what we become in life depends upon how well we develop our skills in using the Equalizer to combat the enemies of our souls. So if you have ever felt inferior to others, remember this: within you is a potential for greatness.

This first chapter will really get you thinking. It will give you answers to some questions you may have been asking. It will also let you see things in a light in which perhaps you haven't seen it before. It will create some questions. As you move through each chapter, the total picture will become clearer. The answers may not be what you expect, but they will be directly from God's Word.

God Speaks

"The words of the LORD are pure words ... Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times. You shall keep them, O Lord, You shall preserve them from this generation forever" (Ps. 12:6–7).

If God

• is the creator of all that we can see and what we cannot see,

• is sinless and pure,

• formed man from the dust of the ground,

• set the sun and the moon in the heavens,

• created all that is living upon the earth,

• truly spoke all into existence in six days and rested on the seventh day, and

• is the author of truth,

we can then conclude that there is nothing God cannot do. However, God cannot go against His own Word and still be God. If He went against His own Word in just one area, He would be a lie, and the Bible would be like any other book—unreliable as the ultimate authority.

We should be able to go to God's Word and use it as the ultimate authority for settling any dispute of man and soul. Men have tried for centuries to challenge the Word of God and disprove its contents by proving discrepancies. In so doing, they have added more proof that the Bible, which was written by forty different authors over a period of 1,400 years, had to be inspired by one mind, a mind that has never been proven wrong—the mind of God.

Over the centuries, there has been significant proof that this Book is the infallible Word of God. Being that man could not prove the Word wrong and his intentions are vile, he has tried to change the words to mean something different than what God originally intended. Good translations change the words without changing the spiritual meaning. Whatever translation you use, make sure you do your research. Compare Scripture with Scripture by using Strong's Concordance to compare specific verses in the translation you want to use. The translation should withstand the test of truth of God's Word to be God's Word.

Remember, there is a way that seems right unto man, but the end is destruction (Prov. 14:12). Make sure the translation is the inspired Word of God. Accurate translations are simpler to read but don't water down the Word. Translations exist, however, that watered down the Word, changing the spiritual meaning to cause people to think they can serve God and go to heaven without changing their ways of life.

It is natural for man to think highly of himself, looking for a God that conforms to his lifestyle instead of man having to conform to the Word of God. Man often looks for a god to serve him instead of looking to serve God. If you are looking for a god to conform to your lifestyle, you are in the wrong book. On the other hand, if you are truly looking for the truth in biblical prosperity, read on. As we move farther into this first chapter, we need to know beyond a doubt that there is nothing man can do to change God's Word. Attempting to do so is like trying to mop up the ocean with a sponge. It cannot be done. Words themselves may be changed, but the Word of God itself will never change. The problem...