HIGHER-FIRE digest 382

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Pastor J.D. wrote:

  But the fact remains that not all Christians are rich or even healthy.
Why? Is it due to lack of faith? Did Paul have a lack of faith when he
besought God thrice to remove a  thorn from his life?  I think not! What
about Job?
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. However,  to merely suggest that a lack of outward prosperity necessarily
denotes a lack of  faith just does not cut it. 

Thank you for your inquiry. Questions such as these need answers and I
believe that the Word provides sufficient answers to these concerns.

First of all, Prosperity in the Biblical point of view, does not necessarily
mean "finances". We can be prosperous in our marriage, social life, homes,
employment, and well as our Spiritual Life. However, let us not fail to
recognize the many scriptural references I cited on a previous discussion
detailing that God desires to bless His people with finances. Remember Abraham? 

Is it due to a "lack of faith" that Christians are poor or having financial
struggle? What about those who are sick? And are Christians promised to
experience a life without problems? The answers to these are simple: No, it
isn't due to a "lack of faith." Rather, many Christians do not know how to
receive the Promises of God. In my dealings with people, the reason why some
Christians struggle financially is because they fail to see that God wants
to bless them in such a manner. The many scriptural references would be good
for them to stand on. The old hymn "Standing On The Promises Of God" is sung
throughout Pentecostal circles. Instead of "standing on the promises" many
people are "sitting on the premises" complaining of how bad life is, or how
hard life is, etc.

2 Corinthians 1:20 states "All the promises of God in Him are "yes" and
"Amen"..." So when one is struggling financially, the thing to do is start
speaking the promises of God instead of talking about the problem. Speak the
answer and it shall come to pass because God is not a man that He should
lie. He will help those who struggle financially if they can believe His
Word and receive by faith and call those things that be not as though they
were. However, I've never said to anyone that God is going to make people
rich (in the sense of becoming millionaires). I just state that it is
unnecessary for God's people to struggle and be in debt to the world. God
does want to supply and meet our needs.

On the subject of sickness. What about Job? Well, Job is the oldest book of
the Old Testament. Please remember that Job did not have the full
understanding of faith that we have today. He knew God and loved God. When
the trials came upon him, he thought God was causing all the turmoil around
him, thus the saying "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away..." God gave,
but God didn't take away. It was satan who took away and caused all the
turmoil. God allowed it. But God certainly didn't take away nor make Job
sick. You find many examples in the Book of Job where Job blamed God. This
is what Christians do today, blame God for the circumstances they encounter
when in actuality, the trials of life that we face are to purge us and bring
us forth like pure gold. In New Covenant, Jesus took upon His body all
sickness, diseases, infirmities, as well as our sins. Yes, God wants His
people to live in Health. When we are attacked with sickness, we have the
right to speak healing, "By His stripes, I am healed." Again, receive this
by faith. Although your body may say that it hurts and you still feel the
symptoms of sickness, that doesn't change the Word. Remember Abraham
regarding his situation with Sarah? In Romans 4, it states that Abraham
"considered not his body..." We are to consider what the Word says and not
what someone else says or their failure to receive from God. This is the
problem with many Christians. They look at others and make the excuse for
their failure to receive from God.

Paul's thorn in the flesh was not sickness. It was the persecution he was
receiving from individuals. Certainly not sickness. God doesn't put sickness
on us. He takes it off of us. This is part of the Atonement. I hope that I
have answered your questions. Certainly this is an interesting topic since
many of us are confronted with these situations. It's good to know that the
Word has the answers to these problems and that we can experience total
Victory in all areas of our life.

Dave-

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