1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,280 Well, today begins the outdoor worship ministry in the second hour, so pray for God's blessing 2 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:09,880 upon that ministry. 3 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:12,620 Today looks like a beautiful day for it. 4 00:00:12,620 --> 00:00:17,480 Thank you for being here with us as we turn together to Genesis chapter 30. 5 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:23,100 Genesis chapter 30, and think about prosperity theology. 6 00:00:23,100 --> 00:00:29,880 Does God want you to become personally wealthy? 7 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:36,080 Is your prosperity a sign that God is well pleased with your life? 8 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:44,240 Or is your possible lack of affluence an indication of some spiritual failure? 9 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:49,160 You don't have to listen to Christian media very long before you'll hear some preacher 10 00:00:49,160 --> 00:00:53,840 who will tell you that the answer to those three questions is yes. 11 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:59,640 God does want you wealthy, and that if you are wealthy it is a sign of God's blessing 12 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:05,960 and if you are poor it is a sign that you do not have enough faith. 13 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:13,520 When we read about Jacob's experience in Genesis 30, there may seem to be some biblical support 14 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:18,320 for this notion of prosperity theology. 15 00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:21,360 But I want us to take a closer look at it. 16 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:30,920 It's a very human story about two men who were negotiating for their own personal advantage. 17 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:41,040 After the birth of Joseph, when Rachel finally had a child, Jacob was ready to leave Laban 18 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:47,720 and Heron and to return to his home in Canaan. 19 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:56,880 He had spent 14 years with Laban, his father-in-law, working out his dowry, as it were, for the 20 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:59,800 daughters that he married. 21 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:09,080 You remember how Laban had deceptively married off his eldest daughter first, Leah, and then 22 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:17,200 also gave to Jacob the woman that Jacob really loved, who was Rachel. 23 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:23,480 That dowry has been worked out, and Jacob is ready to leave, although he will leave 24 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:26,640 only with his wives and children. 25 00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:33,440 He has nothing else because he has worked for his wives these 14 years. 26 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:37,640 He asked permission to leave, but it's going to be another six years before he will actually 27 00:02:37,640 --> 00:02:42,840 leave, and it's during those six years that what we read about in Genesis 30, beginning 28 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:45,080 in verse 25, takes place. 29 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:50,080 It says it came about when Rachel had born Joseph. 30 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:56,880 That Jacob said to Laban, Send me away that I may go to my own place and to my own country. 31 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:02,440 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me depart. 32 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:07,000 For you yourself know my service, which I have rendered you. 33 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:13,000 But Laban said to him, If now it pleases you, stay with me. 34 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:18,160 I have divined that the Lord has blessed me on your account. 35 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:25,560 There was some omen apparently that Laban used as an indication that God had blessed 36 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:27,880 him because of Jacob's presence. 37 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:32,200 And so he wants Jacob to stay longer, of course. 38 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:37,640 And he continued, Name me your wages, and I will give it. 39 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,640 Now there is an open door. 40 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:44,960 An open door that not even Jacob can walk away from. 41 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:50,480 He said to him, You yourself know how I have served you and how your cattle have fared 42 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:52,080 with me. 43 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:56,920 For you had little before I came, and it has increased to a multitude. 44 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:01,320 And the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. 45 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:07,640 But now when shall I provide for my own household also? 46 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:10,840 And so he said, What shall I give you? 47 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:17,760 Again Laban throws down the contract and he says, Fill in the circles, fill in the lines, 48 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:20,120 tell me what you want. 49 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:23,760 Jacob said, You shall not give me anything. 50 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:28,360 If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock. 51 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:34,920 Let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted 52 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:41,440 sheep and every black one among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, 53 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:44,640 and such shall be my wages. 54 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:48,720 Now apparently the flocks in those days were such that most of them were of some pure color, 55 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:55,680 to the eye at least, and there were some who were speckled, striped, or spotted. 56 00:04:55,680 --> 00:05:00,080 And so Jacob is saying, Let me simply pass through your flocks, pick out those that are 57 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:06,080 not of pure color, they will become mine, and then as long as I serve you, whatever 58 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:13,080 is born with this impure color, this mixed color, will be mine also. 59 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:16,560 That is what the bargain he is striking for. 60 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:23,160 And he says in verse 33, So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come concerning 61 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:25,360 my wages. 62 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:30,000 Everyone that is not speckled in spot of among the goats and black among the lambs, if found 63 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:33,200 with me will be considered stolen. 64 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:40,120 So Jacob says, It will be very easy for you to tell if I'm cheating you. 65 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:46,400 And Laban said, Good, let it be according to your word. 66 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:48,920 So he accepted the bargain. 67 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:57,320 And so he, that is Laban, removed on that day the striped and spotted male goats, and 68 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:03,080 all the speckled and spotted female goats, everyone with white in it, and all the black 69 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:09,040 ones among the sheep, and gave them into the care of his sons. 70 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:10,800 A very shrewd man. 71 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:16,160 He has struck a bargain with Laban, and now he goes out among these animals, and he picks 72 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:24,040 out males that are colored and females that are colored, and before Jacob can get to them, 73 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:28,240 he takes them out of the flocks. 74 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:30,440 And he sends them off to his sons. 75 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:35,160 This is the first time we've known that Laban has sons. 76 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:41,920 But he sends these animals off with his sons, and it's a three day journey between those 77 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,920 flocks and where Jacob is. 78 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:49,440 And Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks. 79 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:53,120 And so you see, he thought he had done a pretty shrewd thing. 80 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:58,840 He had already called out most of these animals that were to belong to Jacob before Jacob 81 00:06:58,840 --> 00:07:02,040 got there. 82 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:08,960 And so Jacob had what was left, which was the pure colored ones, basically. 83 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:16,800 And Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plain trees, and peeled white stripes 84 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:21,600 in them, exposing the white which was in the rods. 85 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:26,640 And he set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the gutters, even in 86 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:30,520 the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. 87 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:32,280 And they mated when they came to drink. 88 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:37,520 And so the flocks mated by the rods, and the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and 89 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:38,520 spotted. 90 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:43,200 And Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face toward the striped, and all the 91 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:45,360 black in the flock of Laban. 92 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:52,120 And he put his own herds apart, and he did not put them with Laban's flock. 93 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:56,520 Moreover it came about whenever the stronger the flock were mating that Jacob would place 94 00:07:56,520 --> 00:08:02,520 the rods in the sight of the flock in the gutters, so that they might meet by the rods. 95 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:06,160 When the flock was feeble, he did not put them in. 96 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:11,640 So the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. 97 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:17,640 So the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male 98 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:22,200 servants and camels and donkeys. 99 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:29,240 It is clear from what we are reading here that God is keeping his word to Jacob. 100 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:36,200 God said to Jacob, I will be with you. 101 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:40,460 God is here prospering Jacob. 102 00:08:40,460 --> 00:08:47,640 It is clear when he prospers Jacob that he does so, however, as an expression of his providence 103 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:50,760 and his grace. 104 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:58,160 It is not because of Jacob's cleverness and his shrewdness which we see exposed here again, 105 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:05,080 but it is because God simply desires to bless Jacob. 106 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,920 And so he gives him much. 107 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:12,160 Now I want us to think through this story together. 108 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:14,440 It divides up easily into three portions. 109 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:20,920 First there is the contract portion of the story in verses 25 to 34. 110 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:28,000 The request to leave by Jacob turns into a bargaining session between him and his father-in-law. 111 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:36,600 What we have here are two Bedouins who are shrewd and who are experienced schemers on 112 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:38,600 the part of both of them. 113 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:41,520 And they know each other. 114 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:43,920 They know each other. 115 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:47,600 And they distrust each other. 116 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:50,360 But a deal is struck nonetheless. 117 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:56,080 And Jacob is allowed to keep these oddly marked animals. 118 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:58,520 They are his. 119 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:03,840 All of those that were in the flock at that time, although Laban went through the flock 120 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:09,320 and gleaned out most of them before Jacob could get there, but then all of those that 121 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:15,480 would be born, you see Laban felt that because he got these animals out of the flock, not 122 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:21,840 many would be born so spotted or speckled or striped. 123 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:29,600 Today we understand from our genetic research in our day that there are recessive genes 124 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:33,560 that are not always apparent on the surface. 125 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:37,200 They did not have that understanding in that day, and he thought that if he got these animals 126 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:41,760 out that were already speckled, spotted, and striped, that would take care of the problem. 127 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:49,680 And Jacob would work basically for nothing again. 128 00:10:49,680 --> 00:10:55,240 In verses 35 to 42 we have the contrivance. 129 00:10:55,240 --> 00:11:03,040 Laban quickly removes these animals to ensure that their inner breeding will not produce, 130 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:09,640 he thinks, these speckled spotted and striped animals. 131 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:15,280 Jacob in response to that does some contriving himself. 132 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:20,520 He falls into his comfortable pattern that had been developed through his life. 133 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:27,440 Remember we're talking about a man here as well, the excess of a hundred years old. 134 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:33,960 Many patterns have been involved in his life, and God is trying to transform and change Jacob 135 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:36,640 in dealing with him, as we saw last week. 136 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:41,440 But here he falls back to this old pattern, and he's trying to work the situation to his 137 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:46,000 own advantage by his cunning devices. 138 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:52,880 So he takes the branches of certain trees and he strips them partially. 139 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:58,240 Some say that he was doing this so that the animals would see the stripes, and thus in 140 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:05,160 their mating they would produce striped or speckled or spotted animals. 141 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:11,360 There are others who see here some method that would stimulate the animals to reproduction, 142 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:15,560 that there was something in the bark or in this wood that would cause the animals to 143 00:12:15,560 --> 00:12:19,240 reproduce more frequently. 144 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:23,640 We don't understand all that is behind what Jacob did, but the Word of God clearly tells 145 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:29,860 us that he did these things, and that his purpose was to gain advantage over his shrewd 146 00:12:29,860 --> 00:12:32,880 father-in-law. 147 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:40,640 Not only did he use that method, but he used selective breeding, so that the stronger animals 148 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:48,320 would fall to him and the weaker animals would belong to his father-in-law. 149 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:59,760 Despite his attempts to produce his own wealth, Jacob does realize ultimately that it is God 150 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:05,880 who prospers him, that it was not his own shrewdness, that it was the Lord who blessed 151 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:08,800 him. 152 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:14,840 We see that in chapter 31 as he reflects with his wives about this experience. 153 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:18,840 That brings us to the last verse in the chapter that is the conclusion. 154 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:24,960 That as a result of what happens in these six or so years, Jacob becomes exceedingly 155 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:27,200 prosperous. 156 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:36,640 The language that is used in verse 43 is comparable to that language used in Genesis chapter 12, 157 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:44,960 where it talks about Abraham gaining riches when he was in Egypt, and he came back from 158 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:50,000 there very, very prosperous. 159 00:13:50,000 --> 00:14:02,960 God prospered Jacob in such a way that it reminded the writer here, Moses, of Abraham, his grandfather. 160 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:08,560 Here I talked about Isaac and what a peculiar situation he was in because he had a great 161 00:14:08,560 --> 00:14:15,720 father and a great son, and he himself was sort of sandwiched in between the two. 162 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:21,040 Here we see again Jacob compared not to his father so much as to his grandfather Abraham, 163 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:26,520 by the language that is used to describe his prosperity. 164 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:34,440 His prosperity was an expression of God's grace, not because Jacob earned it. 165 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:38,560 We don't really see Jacob walking by faith here, we see him walking again by his own 166 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:40,760 schemes more perhaps. 167 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:45,240 Nonetheless, God chooses to bless this man. 168 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:52,160 I'm glad for that, because that means that God will bless you and me by grace too, not 169 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:55,440 because we deserve it. 170 00:14:55,440 --> 00:15:01,640 If God blessed only the people who deserved it, he wouldn't have many blessings to give, 171 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:03,800 would he? 172 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:15,000 God gives blessing by grace and by providence, the outworking of his sovereign purpose. 173 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:19,400 We need to keep in mind as we look at Jacob's experience that it's not an exact parallel 174 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:22,680 though to what we experience. 175 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:29,480 His blessings were in accordance with the promises that were given to Abraham in his 176 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:32,320 covenant. 177 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:37,480 The promises given to Abraham's descendants as a result of that covenant. 178 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:45,440 The blessings that you and I have today in Jesus Christ come from a greater covenant 179 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:47,760 and greater promises. 180 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:54,080 The promises that we have are not focused upon the physical, but focus rather upon the 181 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:56,640 spiritual. 182 00:15:56,640 --> 00:16:03,080 We should not look for prosperity in the earthly realm so much as to realize that we are made 183 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:07,760 prosperous in the heavenly realm. 184 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:16,840 But still it raises the question, what about our material prosperity? 185 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:22,680 Only when we hear preachers who seem to be preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ tell 186 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:29,360 us that if only we had the faith, we would be prosperous. 187 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:35,360 That if only we would name what we want and claim it, God would give it to us if only 188 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:39,720 our faith is great enough. 189 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:47,440 Some of the largest churches in the Twin Cities preach that message. 190 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:53,120 Most expansive radio and television programs out there that are Christian preach that 191 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:56,200 message. 192 00:16:56,200 --> 00:17:00,760 And we say, well at least they're preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. 193 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:07,000 And that is the case, at least with some of them, that they are preaching Christ crucified, 194 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:12,080 buried and raised from the dead and the faith in Him saves. 195 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:14,760 But there is a false theology that is mixed in with it. 196 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:19,600 And I ask myself, and I don't really have the clear answer to my own satisfaction, but 197 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:27,600 how much untruth can one preach before becoming a heretic? 198 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:34,520 This notion of prosperity theology that God wants all of His children to be wealthy and 199 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:39,920 healthy is a heresy. 200 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:43,880 It is not a biblical teaching. 201 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:48,280 And so this morning as I looked at this text in preparation for this morning, I wanted 202 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:56,680 us to think today about prosperity theology because it trips up so many people who somehow 203 00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:01,800 think that because they aren't making a big time in the stock market or they're not getting 204 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:07,360 the advances in the company or their sales job is not working out with great commissions 205 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:13,160 like they thought it would, that somehow because of that failure they themselves are spiritually 206 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:18,280 failures. 207 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:20,320 So what about prosperity theology? 208 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:25,480 What is the teaching of the Bible regarding prosperity? 209 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:32,960 And so this morning I want to talk to you about three principles of biblical prosperity 210 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:36,360 theology. 211 00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:42,280 Not heretical prosperity theology, but biblical prosperity theology. 212 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:43,680 Three principles. 213 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:47,640 And I see all of them arising out of this experience with Jacob. 214 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:56,000 Number one, prosperity does not signify spirituality. 215 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:58,520 That is biblical. 216 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:01,040 Prosperity does not signify spirituality. 217 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:05,520 I don't believe that we can look at Jacob here and say that he is acting spiritually, 218 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:08,080 that he's acting in faith. 219 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:12,480 God chooses to bless him anyway by grace. 220 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:21,680 But you and I need to disconnect in our minds the two notions of being a spiritual man or 221 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:30,480 woman of God and being prosperous. 222 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:35,520 The typical thinking of the Jews in Jesus' day was just this, that if one had great wealth 223 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:38,160 then that meant that God had blessed him. 224 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:43,800 And if one did not have much it meant that God was not pleased with that person. 225 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:51,320 Our Lord Jesus repudiated that teaching and that idea. 226 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:58,760 He repudiated it by the people whom he chose to minister to, first of all. 227 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:04,840 Because he chose primarily to minister to the outcast and to the poor and showed to 228 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:08,720 them the favor of God. 229 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:17,360 Secondly, he repudiated it by his own lifestyle. 230 00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:28,120 If one who is spiritual is necessarily prosperous then how do you explain the Lord Jesus Christ 231 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:36,560 who lived his life in poverty? 232 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:43,040 To me the life of the Lord Jesus Christ is a contradiction to what we hear today in television 233 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:48,160 preachers about prosperity theology. 234 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:54,440 Jesus in his teaching likewise repudiated this idea that prosperity and spirituality 235 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:56,520 go together. 236 00:20:56,520 --> 00:21:02,080 For example Jesus told the story of the rich man in Lazarus. 237 00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:06,800 If there had been a Jewish rabbi in that day, a typical rabbi teaching that lesson it would 238 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:11,840 have been the rich man who would have ended up in Abraham's bosom and it would have been 239 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:15,920 the poor man who ended up in hell. 240 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:23,240 But Jesus shocked everybody by reversing that and saying that it was the rich man who went 241 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,320 to hell. 242 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:33,040 And it was the poor man who went to Abraham's bosom. 243 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:38,200 Another occasion Jesus told the parable of a farmer who was very wealthy, so wealthy 244 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:42,200 that he needed to construct new barns to contain everything. 245 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:48,080 And he went about his planning independent of God. 246 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:52,480 And that day God said to him, your soul is to be required of you. 247 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:56,240 You fool. 248 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:59,600 God called a rich man a fool? 249 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:03,840 That's right, in Jesus' parable. 250 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:10,600 You see Jesus, by the people whom he chose, by his own lifestyle and by his teaching, 251 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:18,000 repudiated the ideas taught in prosperity theology. 252 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:22,120 Prosperity does not signify spirituality. 253 00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:30,240 One can be spiritual and be prosperous, and one can be spiritual and be poor. 254 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:32,680 God provides or God limits wealth. 255 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:36,640 It's up to him. 256 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:45,080 However God chooses to provide or to withhold does not necessarily comment about that person's 257 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:50,920 righteous life or about his walk in the Spirit. 258 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:57,800 As a matter of fact, by and large the Church of Jesus Christ has been a body of people 259 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:03,960 who have been called from every social class and standing, and especially from among the 260 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:07,440 poor. 261 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:11,360 That has been the history of the Church. 262 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:17,480 Indeed I think we might be able to say that only in a place like America in the 1990s 263 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:23,880 and prosperity, the prosperity gospel succeed. 264 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:30,640 Most other places in the world it is laughed at, but in this materialistic culture in which 265 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:40,840 we live with this heretical blending of the gospel with the idea of wealth, only in this 266 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:46,120 kind of a culture can that succeed. 267 00:23:46,120 --> 00:23:54,520 So vitality has nothing to do with one's bank account or one stock portfolio. 268 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:59,920 That's the first principle of biblical prosperity theology I want you to write in your heart 269 00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:02,400 this morning. 270 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:06,720 If you're here today and your bank account is full, give thanks to God for that. 271 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:10,360 It is his blessing. 272 00:24:10,360 --> 00:24:21,360 But realize that it does not necessarily mean that you are a spiritual person. 273 00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:25,200 If you're here today and you are poor and you wonder where the next dime is going to 274 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:32,880 come from to pay your bills, trust God for his provision. 275 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:37,640 But realize that does not necessarily mean that God is somehow angry with you or that 276 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:41,160 you are unspiritual because you happen to be in that condition. 277 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:48,160 Now there's a second principle I want us to see and that is the prosperity is best defined 278 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:51,160 as contentment. 279 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:56,720 The greatest wealth is contentment with little. 280 00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:02,840 In England there is a gravestone in a cemetery with these inscriptions over the husband and 281 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:04,720 the wife. 282 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:10,720 He died for want of things over the husband's grave. 283 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:17,960 It says, he died trying to give them to her. 284 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,040 The greatest wealth is contentment with little. 285 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:28,240 Now that doesn't mean, that does not mean that we should be passive about our situation, 286 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:31,040 that we should be complacent with poverty. 287 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:39,080 G.K. Chesterton said, being contented ought to mean in English as it does in French, being 288 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:41,400 pleased. 289 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:47,200 Being content with an attic ought not mean being unable to move from it and resign to 290 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:49,560 living in it. 291 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:55,560 It ought to mean appreciating all there is in such a position. 292 00:25:55,560 --> 00:26:01,200 He goes on to say, true contentment is the power of getting out of any situation all 293 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:04,080 there is in it. 294 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:06,280 That's contentment. 295 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:10,240 Prosperity is best defined as contentment. 296 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:18,280 The Apostle Paul said, I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 297 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:26,200 I know how to get along with humble means and I also know how to live in prosperity. 298 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:33,200 In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, 299 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:37,640 both of having abundance and suffering need. 300 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:43,040 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 301 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:44,040 Boy he had it right. 302 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:46,200 He nailed it, didn't he? 303 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:53,720 He said, whether I have prosperity or I have poverty, it is Christ who is the center of 304 00:26:53,720 --> 00:27:00,800 my life and who strengthens me to live according to His pleasure. 305 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:04,080 I've learned to be content. 306 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:08,240 Contentment has been praised more, however, and practiced less than any other condition 307 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:09,240 of life. 308 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,440 I want to ask you a question this morning. 309 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:18,600 Where do you need to practice contentment? 310 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:24,320 When you have become content, what will that look like in your life? 311 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:29,080 I think it was Henry Ford who was asked how much is enough and he said just a little bit 312 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:32,040 more. 313 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:34,880 What does contentment look like in your life? 314 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:40,400 What will it look like when you get there? 315 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:45,760 There's a third principle that I close with that we see here regarding biblical prosperity 316 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:46,760 theology. 317 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:50,680 First, prosperity does not signify spirituality. 318 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:54,520 Secondly, prosperity is best defined as contentment. 319 00:27:54,520 --> 00:28:00,640 And third, prosperity is always given for a purpose. 320 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:07,400 You see, God wants us to use the prosperity He brings for the good of others, for the good 321 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:14,320 of those in need and for the sake of the kingdom of God. 322 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:20,800 Proverbs 3.9 says, honor the Lord with your wealth. 323 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:23,480 Prosperity is given as a purpose for purpose. 324 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:28,760 It is a gift to be used, not a God to be worshiped. 325 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:34,560 James Moffat said, a man's treatment of money is the most decisive test of his character, 326 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:41,720 how he makes it and how he spends it. 327 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:47,720 When God gives us what we have, it is so that we might use that for His glory and for the 328 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:49,280 good of others. 329 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:57,560 I came across a story some time ago that kind of puts this message today in a context. 330 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:05,080 It is a story written by Edie Ogden from her own life. 331 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:09,000 She says, I'll never forget Easter 1946. 332 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:15,760 I was 14, my little sister, Aussie, was 12, and my older sister, Darlene, 16. 333 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:19,360 We lived at home with our mother, and the four of us knew what it was to do without 334 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:21,160 many things. 335 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:28,000 My dad had died five years before leaving mom with seven school kids to raise and no money. 336 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:34,480 By 1946, my older sisters were married and my brothers had left home. 337 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:38,920 A month before Easter, the pastor of our church announced that a special Easter offering would 338 00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:41,920 be taken to help a poor family. 339 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:44,680 He asked everyone to save and to give sacrificially. 340 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:48,840 When we got home, we talked about what we would do. 341 00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:55,520 We decided to buy 50 pounds of potatoes and live on them for a month. 342 00:29:55,520 --> 00:30:01,920 This would allow us to save $20 of our grocery money for the offering. 343 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:05,800 Then we thought if we would just keep our electric lights turned out as much as possible 344 00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:11,680 and we didn't listen to the radio, we'd save on that month's electric bill, too. 345 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:16,480 Darlene got as many house and yard cleaning jobs as possible and both of us babysat for 346 00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:18,880 everyone that we could think of. 347 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:25,720 For 15 cents, we could buy enough cotton loops to make three pot holders to sell for a dollar. 348 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:29,800 We made $20 on pot holders. 349 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:32,600 That month was one of the best of our lives. 350 00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:35,680 Every day we counted the money to see how much we'd saved. 351 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:40,560 At night we'd sit in the dark and talk about how the poor family was going to enjoy having 352 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:44,620 the family the money the church would give to them. 353 00:30:44,620 --> 00:30:48,920 We had about 80 people in our church, so we figured that whatever amount of money we had 354 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:53,640 to give, the offering would be surely 20 times that much. 355 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:58,840 After all, every Sunday the pastor had reminded everyone to save for the sacrificial offering. 356 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:02,440 The day before Easter, Ossie and I walked to the grocery store and got the manager to 357 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:08,680 give us three crisp $20 bills and one $10 bill for our change. 358 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:11,200 We ran all the way home to show mom and Darlene. 359 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:13,920 We had never seen so much money before. 360 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:16,680 That night we were so excited we could hardly sleep. 361 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:20,320 We didn't care that we wouldn't have new clothes for Easter. 362 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:23,520 We had $70 for the sacrificial offering. 363 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:26,200 We could hardly wait to get to church. 364 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:29,660 On Sunday morning rain was pouring. 365 00:31:29,660 --> 00:31:34,960 We didn't own an umbrella and the church was over a mile from our home, but it didn't 366 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:38,400 seem to matter how wet we got. 367 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:41,840 Darlene had cardboard in her shoes to fill the holes. 368 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:48,000 The cardboard came apart and her feet got wet, but we sat in church proudly. 369 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:53,240 When the sacrificial offering was taken, we were sitting on the second row from the front. 370 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:59,880 Mom put in the $10 bill and each of us girls put in a $20 bill. 371 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:03,600 As we walked home after church, we sang all the way. 372 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:06,620 At lunch mom had a surprise for us. 373 00:32:06,620 --> 00:32:15,880 She had bought a dozen eggs and we ate boiled Easter eggs with our fried potatoes. 374 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:20,000 Late that afternoon the minister drove up in his car. 375 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:24,040 Mom went to the door, talked with him for a moment, and then came back with an envelope 376 00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:25,840 in her hand. 377 00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:27,840 We asked what it was. 378 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:30,440 She didn't say a word. 379 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:35,360 She opened the envelope and now it fell a bunch of money. 380 00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:47,440 Here were three crisp $20 bills, one $10 bill, and 17 $1 bills. 381 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:50,120 Mom put the money back in the envelope. 382 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:51,320 We didn't talk. 383 00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:54,160 We just sat and stared at the floor. 384 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:59,640 We had gone from feeling like millionaires to feeling like poor white trash. 385 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:05,000 We kids had such a happy life that we felt sorry for anyone who didn't have our mom and 386 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:12,160 dad for parents and a house full of brothers and sisters and other kids visiting constantly. 387 00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:17,200 We thought it was fun to share silverware and whether we got the fork or the spoon that 388 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:18,600 night. 389 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:22,440 We had two knives which we passed around to whomever needed them. 390 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:26,000 I knew we didn't have a lot of things that other people had, but I never thought we were 391 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:27,880 poor. 392 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:34,240 That Easter day I found out we were. 393 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:38,120 The minister had brought us the money for the poor family. 394 00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:40,560 So we must be poor. 395 00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:42,760 I didn't like being poor. 396 00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:46,520 I looked at my dress and worn out shoes and felt so ashamed that I didn't want to go back 397 00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:49,000 to church. 398 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:53,440 Everyone there probably already knew we were poor. 399 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:55,160 I thought about school. 400 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:58,600 I was in the ninth grade at the top of my class over 100 students. 401 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:02,920 I wondered if the kids at school knew we were poor. 402 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:07,560 I decided I could quit school since I had finished the eighth grade. 403 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:10,680 That was all the law required at the time. 404 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:15,360 We sat in silence for a long time. 405 00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:18,720 Then it got dark and we all went to bed. 406 00:34:18,720 --> 00:34:24,080 All that week we girls went to school and came home and no one talked much. 407 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:31,280 Finally on Saturday mom asked us what we wanted to do with the money. 408 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:33,520 What did poor people do with money? 409 00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:34,520 We didn't know. 410 00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:37,440 We had never known we were poor. 411 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:41,880 We didn't want to go to church on Sunday, but mom said we had to. 412 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:46,680 Although it was a sunny day we didn't talk on the way. 413 00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:52,680 Mom started to sing but no one joined in and she only sang one verse. 414 00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:55,760 At church we had a missionary speaker. 415 00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:59,400 He talked about churches in Africa. 416 00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:05,520 They had buildings made out of sun-dried bricks and they needed money to buy roofs. 417 00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:09,160 He said $100 would put a roof on a church. 418 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:15,040 The minister said can we all sacrifice to help these poor people? 419 00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:20,600 We looked at each other and smiled for the first time in a week. 420 00:35:20,600 --> 00:35:24,000 Mom reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope. 421 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:25,240 She passed it to Darlene. 422 00:35:25,240 --> 00:35:27,720 Darlene gave it to me and I handed it to Aussie. 423 00:35:27,720 --> 00:35:29,600 He put in the offering. 424 00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:34,640 When the offering was counted the minister announced it was over $100. 425 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:36,000 The missionary was excited. 426 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:40,080 He hadn't expected such a large offering from our small church. 427 00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:44,600 He said you must have some rich people in this church. 428 00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:46,200 Suddenly it struck me. 429 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:49,720 We had given 87 of that over $100. 430 00:35:49,720 --> 00:35:53,120 We were the rich family in the church. 431 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:55,680 Hadn't the missionary said so? 432 00:35:55,680 --> 00:36:01,760 From that day on I have never been poor again. 433 00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:07,040 You see prosperity isn't measured by the amount that we have. 434 00:36:07,040 --> 00:36:11,280 It's measured by the attitude that we have. 435 00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:14,200 Let's pray. 436 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:25,240 Father, in our midst this morning like in all churches there are some of us who might be 437 00:36:25,240 --> 00:36:32,920 counted prosperous according to the world's standard and others of us who have very little. 438 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:40,720 However you and your grace and providence have chosen to provide for us, we thank you. 439 00:36:40,720 --> 00:36:44,240 Give us appreciative hearts. 440 00:36:44,240 --> 00:36:54,680 Help us to put into practice biblical prosperity theology. 441 00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:57,680 Sing with me this little chorus. 442 00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:38,000 Let's stand together. 443 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:46,080 Lord may we learn to walk with you and be spiritual men and women and not measure your 444 00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:54,960 pleasure in our lives by the things that we possess. 445 00:37:54,960 --> 00:38:01,360 Lord I pray that you will enable us to have contented hearts in the midst of a materialistic 446 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:07,440 world and no true prosperity. 447 00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:13,520 And I pray that what you put into our hands you will show us how to use for your glory 448 00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:17,200 in the advance of your kingdom. 449 00:38:17,200 --> 00:38:21,160 Help us to live for what counts forever. 450 00:38:21,160 --> 00:38:45,520 In Jesus' name, amen.