PROSPERITY AND HEALTH

III John 2 -- Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

I Peter 2: 24 -- Who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

These are two (2) of the main Scriptures that tells us from God's Word that He not only wants us to prosper, but also to be in health.

I would like you to first take a look at III John 2 and the order of the words. It is God's will for us to PROSPER AND BE IN HEALTH "EVEN AS THY SOUL PROSPERETH".

The word 'soul' here means "what makes you you." It relates to your personality.

Proverbs 17: 22 -- A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

You should begin to follow the pattern here. If you are cheerful and happy and express it no matter what the circumstances, it will definitely be a contributing factor to your prosperity AND your health. Many Christians today do not even begin to realize this. Even the medical profession has recognized this to be true. Many times I may tell people to "cheer up" and stop worrying about nothing -- ABOUT THINGS THAT 99.9% OF THE TIME NEVER HAPPEN. Isn't it actually a fact that what you worry about almost never comes to pass? HOWEVER, if you worry about something to the point that it becomes FEAR in your life, this is a different story. Now you could be operating the law of believing on the negative side and you will eventually reap the results of your negative believing. Remember, it is a law -- the immutable law of believing. If you don't understand this, I strongly suggest that you go to our teachings on the Law Of Believing and study them before you go any farther with this teaching.

I Peter 2: 24 clearly states that Jesus Christ paid the full legal price for man's sins and the consequences of sin.

Hebrew 9: 12 -- Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

He descended into hell and some time between the resurrection and his appearance to Mary in His resurrected body, he preached to the imprisoned spirits.

I Peter 3: 19 -- By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

He legally broke the chains of authority and the power of Satan. He bought back what Adam legally transferred to the adversary. Since the time of Jesus Christ's resurrection and the giving of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, Satan's power and dominion over man has been broken. There is absolutely no control whatsoever that the adversary has or legally holds over any saved man. Most Christian believers are not aware of this truth and we are here to make this truth known to you. All that God asks you to do is to believe His Word beyond a shadow of a doubt and all the promises become available to you.

When Jesus Christ ascended to heaven he took with him the tokens of his victory over the devil.

Ephesians 4: 8, 9, 10 -- Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

Jesus Christ paralyzed everything that can captivate you mentally and physically. Do you believe this? [The 'gifts' that are mentioned in verse 8 are the five gift ministries stated in verse 11].

Based on the grounds of the complete victory of Jesus Christ over the adversary, the born again believer has a legal right to prosper and to be in health even as his soul prospers. Of course you should always remember that God is a respecter of CONDITIONS and not of persons. You must keep Him first and foremost in your life which means you must study His Word and apply His principles to the best of your ability. As I said time and time again, just do your best and God will do the rest. And that does not mean just going to church on Sunday mornings or purchasing a Bible and letting it collect dust on a shelf. It also doesn't mean that you continuously live or actually hitchhike off of the teachings only of others. You must make an honest effort to study God's Word on your own. You can ask God to help you to learn great things and make discoveries and find treasures in His Word on your own.

One of the greatest traps that I fell into at one point and time in my spiritual walk and growth with God, was to study only what others were teaching me. Through an unusual set of circumstances, that source that I relied on was all of a sudden no longer available. I had to study and research God's Word on my own or go down with the ship. I decided to do the former and I studied and I learned on my own with the help of God Almighty. Actually, this was a major turning point in my spiritual relationship and my renewed mind walk with God. It was the greatest thing that happened to me with the exception of the new birth. I finally learned to make the Word of God my own. You also should make this effort to study by yourself what you believe you are interested in and would like to learn more about. Do not just depend on the teachings of others alone. Keep it very simple and start off slowly and God will bless you immensely and you will begin to see the true power, magnificent power, of the true God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As the Word of God states in the book of James:

James 4: 7 -- Submit [addict] yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

II Corinthians 5: 21 -- For he [God] hath made him [Jesus Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

God made Jesus Christ to be sin for us who knew no sin. He took sin upon Himself so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. All that Adam lost in the fall Christ regained for us once and for all. It is finished. So we never have to be sick and we should never ever confess to a negative especially in the area of our health. These negatives can be referred to as "crippling" because they glorify the god of this world.

Romans 12: 1, 2 -- I Beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable [rational/ logical] service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye made prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The only way that you are going to prove to yourself that the Word of God is true, and works with a mathematical exactness and a scientific precision every time, is to RENEW YOUR MIND to His word by your own free will. This is the ONLY way.

II Timothy 2: 15 -- Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Either you do what this Scripture says you are to do OR NOTHING HAPPENS. This is the problem with many so-called Christians. They talk and talk, but they never really walk. They DO NOT STUDY. Then people wonder why their prayers are not answered. They then wonder why they are afflicted with illnesses and do not prosper financially. Some people blame God instead of themselves. They become bitter and actually can become a useful tool for the god of this world. They don't like to see others happy because they are miserable and they tend or even try to make others miserable. You have heard it said in a different way: "Misery loves company". This is either done out of envy or jealousy and the Word of God says:

James 3: 16 -- For where envying and strife is, there is confusion [tumult or unquietness] and every evil work.

Do you know some people like this? A person who tries to make a happy, joyous person unhappy should hang their head in shame and let me tell you something: "Woe unto him" that indulges in this behavior.

Colossians 3: 25 -- But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

If you are a miserable person, and you know if your thoughts are godly or evil, you should make every effort to get by yourself, get back in fellowship with God, and then do what you can to undo the hurt that you have caused others. In some cases, this may mean to just leave people alone that you have caused problems to, study and apply Philippians 4: 8 [LOOK IT UP!] and begin walking with God in the love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation. God will always gives you a second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. chance, but oftentimes, people will not.

There have been times in my own life when I would sit down and write a short but meaningful letter of apology to a person that I once hurt in a bad way. You would be surprised at the deliverance that you will receive when you humble yourself in this manner. You need to find out from the Word of God, why you are not blessed. DO NOT GO TO ANY OTHER SOURCE FIRST!

I John 5: 21 -- Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

DO YOU REALLY UNDERSTAND THIS SCRIPTURE? It means that you are not to seek any help, guidance or instruction from any other source other than your Heavenly Father. If you are not listening to God, God may then tell someone else to tell you.

If everyone would turn to God and His Word, it would put the psychiatric community out of business. They mainly treat only the effects of a problem and almost never focus ON THE CAUSE. I worked in a State Hospital at one time. They simply dump medicine, some with very dangerous side effects, down a troubled person's throat. In some cases, the medicine makes the patient more ill than they would be without it. Remember, a doctor can aid the healing process, BUT ONLY GOD ALMIGHTY DOES THE HEALING. There is never a place on earth where more unnecessary suffering takes place than in mental health wards and mental hospitals. I have seen this suffering with my own eyes. I sacrificed my job to see that a person was finally discharged who should never have been hospitalized to begin with. It was worth it, and if God tells me to, I'll do it again!

On a different subject that I would like to touch on, let us turn to Isaiah.

Isaiah 1: 13 -- Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

Concerning these religious rituals and religion in general, the phrase "I cannot away with" means "I CANNOT TOLERATE IT!"

The God and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ CANNOT STAND RELIGION!!! Religion is man's interpretation of what man thinks the Scriptures should say. Then man also adds all the religious nonsense, rituals, etc. that goes with it. There is a book that is no longer in print, but you can find it from a used book source if you try. It's called Babylon Mystery Religion by Ralph Woodrow and it will give you a detailed account of the origin of most religious rituals that are still practiced today. This book will shock some Christians so I give you fair warning ahead of time.

You can light as many candles as you want for your own health and prosperity or for someone else's, but until you BELIEVE, you will never see deliverance. I have found, at times, that there is nothing more obnoxious than a religious person. They ACT like they are God's gift and they know almost NOTHING about God's Word because they never study it. I avoid religious people as much as possible. To me, they are a thorn in my flesh sent by the god of this world to buffet/hinder me. I used to have a whole household of them only a few homes away from me. I saw one once hiding some type of pamphlet under a rock in front of my house. Then they practically ran away. Our lives are supposed to be an example for others to want to imitate. Would you want to be like that religious person who, in a very sneaky manner, hides religious pamphlets under rocks in front of peoples’ homes and then runs away???!!! What a joke! Not to get into details, but I shared God's Word rightly divided with them at one time AND GOT RID OF THEM FOR GOOD. Many religious people are not even born again.

Case in point: You will never prosper and be in health by being religious.

God's Word says we are His masterpiece.

Ephesians 2: 10 -- For we are his workmanship [masterpiece], created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Now if this is true, then we should be able to believe to have prosperity and health. Confess what the Word says, not what your doctor says, or your neighbor, especially not what the newspaper says, or your local news -- confess what the Word of God says, BELIEVE IT AND THEN ACT ON IT. Then and only then will you be delivered in the areas of financial prosperity and good health. [If you want to focus on PROSPERITY alone, study the teaching "TITHING and the Law"]

Ephesians 6: 12 -- For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places [from on high].

You compete against people influenced by devil spirits. IT IS ALWAYS a spiritual competition.

That is what the Word of God says and that is what the Word of God means. The adversary makes people sick and financially distraught. The Word of God is the only thing that DEFEATS THE ADVERSARY. Remember James 4: 7 . . . .

James 4: 7 -- Submit [addict] yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Ephesians 1: 4 -- According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame. [The verse stops here.]

God knew before the world was created that we would believe His Word. He tries to tell us that if we are doing our very best to learn and apply His principles, that we are not to condemn ourselves if something goes wrong. We are not perfect. Just pick yourself up and keep moving.

Romans 8: 1 -- There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. [The verse stops here. The scribe’s eyes mistakenly went to verse four (4)]

Condemnation is sin. Be sure to get right back in fellowship if you do condemn yourself.

Many times, it is fear that stops a person from believing for good health or to prosper. Remember fear is not from God -- it is from the god of this world -- it is a devil spirit. You should know by now that darkness cannot stand light.

II Timothy 1: 7 -- For God hath not given us the spirit of fear [moral cowardice]; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

You should know Matthew 6: 33 by memory by now so you should know that you are to seek God first and then everything is added unto you. Seek anything else first and everything will be subtracted from you.

Philippians 2: 21 -- For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's.

This is where every problem in the world today has its origin. So many people seek only after what they want and will not accept the fact that they must humble themselves to God's Word and God's guidance.

In conclusion, if you want prosperity and good health in this life, don't you think that the Creator of life knows how to live this life to its fullest?

You have only ONE SOURCE OF TRUTH that you can rely on 100% of the time . . . .

AND THAT IS GOD'S WORD.

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