KEYS FOR KINGDOM PROSPERITY ....Obedence, Hard work and Diligence

KINGDOM PROSPERITY

I wish above all things, that you may prosper...Its not a Promise!


Introduction

Prosperity is not an accident, it's not a function of the economy or circumstances, it is a personal decision to abide in Christ by faith and obey his Word as commanded. If you think you will fast your way to prosperity, you are joking.  If you continue to pray aggressively for prosperity without looking into the Covenants that God has put on the ground for us to prosper through, you will end up wearing yourself and thinking perhaps...this 'Faith' thing is fake.

Beloved, many Christians are wondering why there is so much hardship in their lives, even after praying so much for a financial breakthrough. Many children of God are in financial distress, pain and difficulties.  It is a known fact that even among the Pastors, many are wallowing in abject poverty.  The prosperity from God is not a promise you can claim...NO!  It is by Covenant practice, and until you fulfil your part, God is not committed.

I want to share in this message, three important keys to Kingdom prosperity, which include Obedience, Hard work and Diligence.  There is a mystery behind prosperity itself, and kingdom prosperity in particular.  God told the Israelites that He took them through the wilderness for 40 years to test their heart, to know where their loyalty and joy is from - Man, or Himself.  

If prosperity will come from God, The Lord will also put you to a series of tests, to determine where your heart is.  His prosperity is for kingdom work by a clean and worthy vessel.  When prosperity will come, it will not be with much struggle, neither will it come by any charisma of the flesh. 

Nothing can be done in the house of God without the Spirit of God in control, without purity, and without trusting in God alone to bring the supply.  Those people help themselves by compelling people to give and promising what is not in the bible.  The prosperity of God does not come from telling lies to people, promising them what you know, you do not have control over or deceive people in any form, God is holy.

Know your source
There is no rich man who does not know the source of his money.  Once you know what brought you riches and later wealth, you invest your skill and talent into that business, practice or endeavour, so that you will expand the income base and maintain your riches.  If you prayed your way to a breakthrough, you cannot afford to stop praying when the first millions hit your account.  If you do so, you cannot maintain the inflow.

Many Christians have not spent enough time on the word and practising it to see their prosperity in the Word of God. I have always told brethren that a rich and successful is as aggressive and focused in business as an unbeliever.  Do you know why? they compete with each other in the business arena and preference is not given to you for being a Christian, it is given to the provider with the strongest value proposition to the buyer.  If your product provides multiple services to the buyer, he might prefer your product to the other competitor that offers only a single-purpose product.

There is no Christian business, only Christians in business and the way you know them is in their obedience to the word of God and disciplined lifestyles.  They will not give a bribe, cheat or tell lies to win business. But all the strategic planning, organizing, directing and controlling are the same.

Believe the Word and obey it
When a believer wants to prosper, he makes a personal decision to obey the word of God and practise what the bible says religiously. Believing the word of God is the first point of call for a believer who is looking to the Covenant of Abraham for a blessing.  

God spoke the word to Abraham, promising to make him the father of many nations and asking him to leave his father's house and go to Canaan and to where He will direct him. God also spoke to Joshua and told him what to do, so God has also spoken to you by His son Jesus and all the matters concerning you are written in the bible, go to the bible and acquaint yourself with the word of God and begin to obey it.  When you do so, the covenant blessings of Abraham is your by faith and you can even see it through your eyes of faith.

Many Christians have fasted themselves to injury and others have slept while fasting for a financial breakthrough without receiving or seeing it. I make bold to say that financial breakthrough is not commanded. It's a function of covenant practice and hard work and diligence.    

Financial breakthrough is worked-out
It has a principle and it is backed up by a covenant. Also, financial breakthrough in today's world requires that you apply every known business principle if you want to succeed.  No one will ask whether the inventor of the computer is a Christian or not, however, everyone knows that he has used his God-given talent to solve one or two problems of man.  So, to succeed in business and have financial success, you are expected to exceed your contemporaries in wisdom and be the best in what you do.  

This is why many rich Pastors we have today are businessmen and conduct their activities with a business mindset.  You will notice they spend a lot of money on publicity and adverts, Announcing their church programme, which is termed evangelism, but they are interested in bringing the whole world, if possible to their meetings - that's a business mindset!

To Command Wealth

If you want to command wealth, you must learn to live by the covenant word of God and practise them faithfully. God demanded for the only son of Abraham, Isaac to be sacrificed unto Him, and Abraham gave Isaac to God to be sacrificed.  

We must come to the stage where nothing matters to us, but God and His assignment, a stage where nothing belonging to us can be withheld from God. Many who have passed that 'Giving Test' is stupendously rich and will remain so till they die.

So, if you really desire to prosper in every area of life, look into the many Covenants God has placed on the table for our good and follow the covenant practices for prosperity and you will surely prosper.

God told Dr David Oyedepo saying: “My son, My prosperity plan is not a promise, so it does not answer to prayers. It is not a promise, and so it has no respect for fasting. My prosperity plan is a covenant and until your part is played, I am not committed.” This encounter changed the life of the Bishop forever!

You will have to remember the Lord to serve Him - for it is He alone that giveth the wisdom to prosper. You will have to acquaint yourself with God and His word.

You will have to be persuaded that all the forces of breakthrough, including financial breakthrough, reside in the Word. We also understand from scriptures that among our inheritances in Christ is supernatural wealth. This is because Christ died to destroy the hold of poverty on our lives, among others, and unleash supernatural wealth on us. As it is written.

As you go on acquainting yourself with Him to know His covenants and keep those practices, be encouraged by the fact that God loves us to seek Him and discover.  He says those that seek me early will find Him.  He says draw near to me and I will draw near to you.

PROSPERITY IN THE KINGDOM:

Obedience to His Word and Instructions

Obedience is simply an expression of faith in the instruction and the giver of instruction. You believe He would do what He has promised, so you take steps to obey His instructions.  God delights in our obedience and relates to us based on our level of obedience.  

Obedience determines what we receive from God.  You are to obey His words written in the bible as well as His instructions to you from time to time.  God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac to Him and without questioning, he took the boy on a three days journey the next day to comply with God's instruction.

God never told him what He would do, or that there is a cow caught in the forest as a replacement...NO.  God gives us instruction, which is to be obeyed.  Abraham believed in God so much, that he valued the instructions from God more than the life of his son.

Obedience itself is a sacrifice when it is not convenient and obedience is superior to prayer.  The Bible says to obey is better than sacrifice.  It will cost you less to obey God than to raise a sacrifice. Disobedience is related to rebellion, and man has the tendency to be stubborn and to revolt.  Many people reject instructions from their superiors, not minding the consequences and thereafter, when they are punished, they start binding demons.

Obedience pleases God because it's a sign that you believe in Him.  Its a sign that you consider Him faithful that made the promise.  When you obey His word and instruction, you are simply expressing confidence and trust in Him.  Obedience comes easy when the Word of God has dominated your heart to become the final authority in your life.

Obedience to God's word and instruction is FAITH.  Obedience is also proof that you love the Lord and fear Him.  No one can claim to love the Lord or says he feared the Lord, who continually disobeys Him.

Though you are created for dominion, that dominion will not happen until the Word of God dominates your life.  When you are under the dominion of His word, and fully submitted to Him, everything answers to you. Beloved, it is obedience to God's word and instructions that establishes your dominion on earth.  Until the word of God dominates your life, you cannot dominate your world. 

Hard work

When I think of hard work, I remember that whenever progress is desired, there is a need for change.  Where ever growth is expected, there will be a need for change.  It could be your attitude, beliefs or method of doing things that has to change.  How do you upgrade yourself, without doing some changes in the way things are done?.

Hard work, I’ve come to believe through experience and research, is both physical and mental. Hard work is the right action towards a goal.  it is working intelligently and vigorously at a given task to complete it with maximum efficiency.   Think about it — unless you’re under duress or strict direction, why would you work hard? Well, you’d work hard for something you believe in. You’d work hard for something you’ve thought and planned for, that will lead you to happiness, success or well-being.  

The Lord reward hard work in different circumstances, so when you are given a responsibility, make sure you do it with all your heart and excellence, and if hard work means that you have to spend more time, money etc.  God will do a new thing in your life.  God is able to reward you for every good deed.  This is why many people will labour and suffer from a particular company for years without recognition.  At the fullness of time, the Lord takes the person to another company, who will recognize his skill and pay him better pay with other benefits, five-time the salary of the previous company.

Diligence and why it is Important

The Bible has a lot to say about diligence. What is it? What should we be diligent about? And what does God promise for those who are diligent?  According to the Oxford Universal Dictionary, diligence is “careful attention, industry, assiduity; unremitting application, persistent endeavour.” A diligent person is described as “assiduous, industrious, conscientious, and thorough.

A diligent man or woman will eat and dine with Kings, that is the promise from the Lord.  When you are diligent to ensure that whatever you do, is done well, you are sowing a spiritual which people will notice with time.  When they notice it, it will commend you to men and women of authority, and from there to the next level and so on.  Stories abound of how people who are skilful in what they do, are connected to men in authority and power.  It is expected that a diligent person will live and practice diligence.  You should be diligent and faithful until death.  We should strive now to be diligent in everything we do and remain diligent as a lifestyle.

Work-out your Breakthrough

You are ultimately responsible for working out your finances, but if you believe in the Lord and walk in obedience, you will receive the wisdom to get wealth.  The Bible did not say God will give you wealth but He said He will give you "the ability" to make wealth. Don't be deceived or misled that the Lord gives wealth because if you still have that mindset you might end up being impoverished.  

The Lord gives us the ability or power to make wealth and not wealth itself. So this is the secret of the power to make wealth ..."remember your GOD..." in all that you do and commit your ways into His hands.  There are two powers that God give His children in order to prosper them.  The first power is given to you when you receive Christ as Lord and Saviour.  The Bible says to them that believing in His name, to them, gave He the power to become sons of God.

FIRE...