Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

INTRODUCTION

In last week's study we looked at the authority of a believer. We considered the prayers of Paul and learnt that we inherit the Name and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we can use it in prayer against the enemy. We concluded by saying that only a few of us have gotten to the edge of the believer’s authority, but there was hope that before Jesus comes again, a whole company of believers will rise up with the authority that is theirs. In today’s study we will look at what this authority is all about; when Jesus said:

“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” Emphasis mine

SCRIPTURE ANALYSIS
The translators of the King James Version translated many words consistently, but not the Greek words for "power" and "authority". For example, in the King James Version, Jesus says in Luke 10:19,
"Behold, I give unto you POWER to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the POWER of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
Although the word "power" is used twice in this verse, two different words are found in the original Greek. What Jesus actually said was, "I have given you AUTHORITY to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the POWER of the enemy...."

AUTHORITY DEFINED
Authority is defined as delegated power; the power to give orders or make decisions: the power or right to direct or control someone or something.
The value of our authority rests on the power that is behind that authority. God Himself is the power behind our authority!
It means one has the ability to issue decrees as we see in Job 22:28
“Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.”
Also see Matthew 18:18
“Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Policemen who direct traffic during the rush hour just raise their hands and the cars stop. These men don't have the physical power to stop the vehicles if the drivers choose not to stop. But they don't use their own strength to stop traffic; they are strong in the authority that is invested in them by the government they serve. People recognize that authority and stop their cars.

“SERPENTS AND SCORPIONS"
In speaking about "serpents and scorpions," Jesus was talking about the power of the devil—demons, evil spirits, and all his cohorts. We need to realize that we've got authority over them!
The devil and his forces are obliged to recognize our authority because of the power behind our authority!
The believer who thoroughly understands that the power of God is backing him can exercise his authority and face the enemy fearlessly.
Paul told believers to be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might (Eph. 6:10). That means you can like the policeman step out in front of the devil, hold up your hand, and tell him not to come any closer. Use your authority!
Ephesians 6:10 says,
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might."
Many people read that verse and think the Lord is telling them to be strong in themselves. But the Scripture doesn't say a word about being strong in yourself. It says to be strong in the Lord.

CONCLUSION
First John 4:4 says, "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
"He that is in the world" is Satan, the god of this world and the head of principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world. But the power that's in you is greater than the power that's in the world, because the power that backs our authority is greater than that which backs our enemies.

This study was culled from The Believers’ Authority by Kenneth E. Hagin.

Contributor: Alex Alajiki

INTRODUCTION:

The purpose of our studies this year is to build up every believer with the word of God until we are filled with the fullness of God in every area of our lives. We shall accomplish this by focusing on the reality of who we are and what we have in Christ. And how to properly enforce the defeat of the kingdom of darkness so as to advance the kingdom of God on earth.
We shall be using “The Believers' Authority” and “The Triumphant Church”, both books by |Kenneth E. Hagin, among other materials, along with our Bible, to gain knowledge and revelation.

We must deliberately give ourselves to diligent studies if we must gain mastery in things of the Kingdom of God. Ignorance of this subject matter may be very devastating for end time Christians, who are in constant conflict with a defeated, but furious and strategic enemy.
     
1) The Prayers of Paul; Eph.1:16-20; 3:14-19

“do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.”

“ For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

We are encouraged to read, meditatively, the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians, several times, to fully grasp the revelations on the authority of the believer in this book.

• We are encouraged to pray for “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.” And for “the eyes of our understanding being enlightened”.  Just like Jesus told Peter in (Matt.16:17 “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”), we all need supernatural insights.
• We are also encouraged to pray “to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man”. According to 1 Sam.2:9 “He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness. For by strength no man shall prevail.”
• We are also encouraged to pray “that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith; that we, being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. Without being grounded and rooted in the love of God, we can never be filled with all the fullness of God. John 13:32-33

“No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” 1 John.4:12-13

“I spent about six months praying this prayers during the winter of 1947-48. Then the first thing I was praying for started to happen. I had been praying for "the spirit of wisdom and revelation" (Eph. 1:17), and the spirit of revelation began to function! I began to see things in the Bible I had never seen before. It just began to open up to me. I advanced more in spiritual growth and knowledge of the Word in those six months than I had in 14 years as a minister and in more than 16 years as a Christian. That was one of the greatest spiritual discoveries I ever made.” – Kenneth Hagin.

2) Dominion over Principalities, Powers, Rulers of Darkness & Spiritual wickedness in Heavenly Places; Eph.6:12,

“ For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

We need to realize that we have authority through Christ over all levels of the kingdom of darkness. Our combat with the devil always should be with the consciousness that we have authority over him because he is a defeated foe The Lord Jesus Christ defeated him for us according to Col.2:15 “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”

Our wrestling (Struggle), combat or battle is not with human beings, nor against our own corrupt natures, but with evil spiritual forces. We must not shy away from the reality of organised kingdom of darkness that are influencing human affairs on earth. They have strategically corrupted the systems of this world by influencing man against God. They battle to diminish our power and influence on earth and labour to deface the heavenly image in our hearts by making us to focus and be preoccupied with earthly things all day long ( Matt.6:19-21, 25-33). The only opposing forces against them are the true Christians and the forces of the kingdom of God.

Those who live in Christ have been given every spiritual gift and are made alive and enthroned with Christ in the heavenly reality (Eph.1:3; 2:6). His own enthronement in the heavenly reality includes the subjection of every power (Eph.1:20). The evil forces may rule darkness and evil, but we as Christians no longer live there (Eph 5:8,16). Believers have the task in this unseen reality to make God’s wisdom known to the evil spiritual powers (Eph.3:10) and to stand against them (Eph. 6:10–13). Our enthronement with Christ above the evil powers determines how we live on earth. We must realise that our struggle against these evil forces is a struggle against subjected powers.

3) The Authority of the Believer; Luk.10:19-20
“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

We receive this authority when we are born again. As we are made new creatures in Christ Jesus, we inherit the Name and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we can use it in prayer against the enemy.

Salvation belong to the sinner through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The poor sinner, not knowing this, will have to go to hell even though all of his debts are cancelled according to 2 Cor.5:19.
The sinner doesn't know what belongs to him, so it won't do him any good. By the same token, if Christians don't know the things that belong to them, they won't do them any good. They need to find out about what belongs to them. That's why God put teachers in the Church. That's why God gave us His Word: to tell us what is ours.

We need to know what belongs to us. Jesus said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). In Hosea God says, "My people [not sinners, not the world] are destroyed for lack of knowledge...." (Hosea 4:6). People are actually suffering or destroyed despite the fact that they got everything to prevent them from such fate in life.

Conclusion.
A few of us have barely gotten to the edge of this believer’s authority, but before Jesus comes again, there's going to be a whole company of believers who will rise up with the authority that is theirs. They will know what is theirs, and they will do the work that God intended they should do.

                  Part of this study is from the first chapter of The Believers’ Authority by Kenneth E. Hagin..

Contributor: Alex Alajiki

INTRODUCTION:
This is the last class for this year in our Bible focused studies on kingdom prosperity. We have been able to receive many life changing instructions that can transform our lives, families and Church. But, knowledge is nothing until it is implemented and forced to produce expected results. You never gain mastery in any areas of life without concentrated focus on the subject matter. My advice is for us to go back and find out areas in these studies that we need to know and implement in our lives and families.
 
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”  Matt.7:24-27

Today we are looking at how we can live debt free. One of the reasons why we must not be in debt is because of Prov.22:7 “The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.”

Let us find out the Biblical provisions for us to be able to live debt free.

1) God is our Source and Only Source; Matt.6:31-33, Phil.4:19, 2 Cor.9:8

““Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed? ‘For the Gentiles seek after all these things, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek, aim at and strive after first of all His kingdom and His righteousness, His way of doing and being right, and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.”

When God is our source and only source, then everything else become a resource He uses to bless us.
Whenever there is a need, our first point of help should be getting God involved. He already knows what we need even before we ask Him for help. Ps.23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.”

• How do we seek first the kingdom? We give God’s Word first place and final authority in our lives. We must commit yourself to obey whatever we see in the Word at any cost.
“God is the source of my supply. His riches flow to me freely, copiously, and abundantly. All my financial and other needs are met at every moment of time and point of space; there is always a divine surplus.” By Joseph Murphy

2) We must be deliberate in getting out of debt; Rom.13:8

“Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another.”

Why is it important for us to be totally debt free? Because the wealth of the sinner, which the Bible says "is stored up for the righteous," can never come into the hands of the body of Christ until we're debt-free (see Prov. 13:22). Otherwise, it would pass right through our hands and back into the hands of the banks, mortgage companies and credit card companies and other avenues by which debts are taking money away from us.

God delivered us from the bondage of lack and debt when we received salvation. He delivered us from the "power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love" (Col. 1:13).

"Deliverance is release from the oppressor, but freedom is deliverance from oppression. In essence, it is possible to be delivered and not to be free." It is possible to be delivered from debt and not be free from it. Why?

The Children of Israel were delivered from slavery, but never free from slave mentality until they were self-destroyed. The reason is that the people never learned to think in accordance with the truth. The Word says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2).

What about us? Do we have slave mentality where money is concerned? Are we unable to see our ways past poverty as a result of having grown up with it? Until we change our thinking, we won't change our circumstances.
Debt is the world method of meeting need while faith and supernatural provision is the Kingdom method of meeting every need.

The process whereby we move from deliverance to freedom starts between our ears. The Lord said to Joshua: "This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you" (Josh. 5:9). We know that Egypt is a symbol for bondage or debt. And "reproach," from the Hebrew text, means "shame." We can never be proud of any debt.

3) Steps out of debts; 2 Cor.9:8, Prov.3:5-6

“And God is able to make all grace [every favour and earthly blessing] come in abundance to you, so that you may always [under all circumstances, regardless of the need] have complete sufficiency in everything [being completely self-sufficient in Him], and have an abundance for every good work and act of charity.”

a) Study the Word and see how much God wants us to prosper and be debt free (see Jer. 29:11). We renew our mind by studying scriptures on the subject of financial abundance and freedom from debt. We can write them down on cards or phones and carry them with us. Read them aloud and confess them often as God's promises to us (see Rom.10:17).
b) Listen or read books on financial freedom and how to get out of debt. We can take time to listen to Dave Ramsey on YouTube or Podcast on how to take baby steps out of debt. He is one of the best Christian consultant on finance.
c) Make a Quality Decision to Live Debt Free from now on.
A quality decision forever settles the issue. It is a decision of no retreat and no return. It is a memorial that settles all future decisions.
The very moment we make the quality decision to live debt free, God sees us debt free. We settle it      forever that God is our Source—not people and we are not limited to salaries or our sources of incomes.
d) Take practical action like what the Copeland did several years ago;
“We figured out how much we owed. I got my chequebook and wrote out the checks that would pay these debts. We laid hands on them and prayed according to Romans 13:8. “Father, in the Name of Jesus, I am putting these checks in this desk drawer and am believing You to get us out of this mess. I am looking to You for the money to pay all these debts, in the Name of Jesus.”
“I did not mail those checks until the money was in the bank! We figured to the last penny how much it would take to operate our household abundantly, even allowing for unexpected things. We wrote it down and prayed over it in the Name of Jesus.”
“I made up my mind to be single-minded from that day forward. In less than 12 months from that day, we did not owe anything!”
e) Tithe faithfully. Expect the Lord to meet all your needs while He rebukes the devourer for our sake (see Phil. 4:19; Mal. 3:11).
f) We must begin to see ourselves living in abundance. We can't have it if we can't see it.
g) Deliberately sow faith seeds and praise God for multiplying our seeds back to us. Keep a list of seeds sown into God's kingdom. Constantly water the seeds with praise and thanksgiving.
h) Be profitably engaged and be diligent in your assignments (see Prov.10:4).

Conclusion.
Philippians 4:19 (AMP/Greek paraphrase): My God will liberally supply, fill to the full, cram, furnish, satisfy, finish and complete all of your needs, employment, requirements, lack and business according to His riches, His wealth, His money and His possessions in glory by Christ Jesus.

Most parts of this outline are culled from the Book “40 DAYS OF PROSPERITY” by Pastor George Pearsons.

Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

INTRODUCTION
Last week we learnt that aggressive faith and total immersion is what it will take to prosper in these times. Because poverty is an aggressive spirit (a curse as a result of disobedience); it will take faith – an aggressive force that aggressively takes what belongs to it to deal with the spirit of poverty.
In today’s study we shall be considering God’s Formula for Success.
Our Text in Joshua 1:8 says:
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

SUCCESS DEFINED
The dictionary defines success as the favourable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavours; the attainment of wealth, position, honours, or the like. Success is often associated with accomplishments or obtaining things such as lots of money, material possessions, or high positions of power. The more you have the more successful you are viewed by the people around you. This definition of success is based on tangible things and what other people think of you.
But that’s not what true success is! True success is how God views it. I believe that true (godly) success can include the above definition and also much more. Because godly success includes eternal blessings! However, the absence of the above does not mean one isn’t successful!
Genesis 39:2 says:
“The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. He worked in the house of his Egyptian master”
To attain success, we need to understand true success. Success for the believer is based on the Word of God and not only attempts at gaining worldly popularity or material gain.
From the above verse of scripture success is tied to God being with us!
God is a just God who operates by principles! He wants us to succeed in life and has provided the formula:

THE WORD
Interestingly there’s only one formula for success; the Word!
Joshua 1:8 (AMP) says:
“This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.”
So what is important is how we interact with the Word. How we believe in the Word; how we obey the Word and if we live by the Word!

APPLYING THE FORMULA
From Joshua 1:8 we see the following steps:
Step No. 1—Speak and Confess God's Word
Keep God's Word in your mouth at all times.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (NIV): “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
The same command is re-echoed in Deuteronomy 11:18-21 with verse 21 emphasizing the result of speaking the Word: “your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon earth.”

The Bible in Proverbs 18:21 says there’s power in the words we speak.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

• There is no lack in this earth so great and so powerful that it cannot be turned around with words of faith.
• The entire course of nature—your future and destiny, success and prosperity—are controlled by the words you speak.
That’s why Hebrews 10:23 admonishes us:
“Let us hold fast the profession [confession] of our faith without wavering….”

Step No. 2—Meditate on God's Word
“Meditation on the Word enlarges our capacity for faith; it transforms and expands our capacity to believe and receive.” —Kenneth Copeland
Meditation on God’s Word is fixing your mind and setting your heart on the desired result.
Psalm 1:1-3:
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
How to meditate God’s Word
a. Apply the Word personally in your life.
b. Allow the Holy Spirit to make the Word a reality in your heart.
c. Carefully ponder how this Word applies to your life.
d. Dwell on how the Word changes your situation.
e. Place yourself in agreement with what the Word says about you.
f. See yourself as God sees you
g. Realize the integrity in God's Word.

Step No. 3—Act on the Word
2. Luke 6:47-49:
“Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like. He is like a man which built an house and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.”
The MSG version of verse 48 says:
“If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock.”
It was the same storm that hit both houses but they experienced different results.
Decide not just to be a hearer of the Word but a doer of the Word. See James 1:22
Acting on the Word:
Matt. 6:33, Luke 6:38, Galatians 6:9, 2 Corinthians 9:6, Malachi 3:10, Proverbs 3:9-10, 2 Peter 1:3

CONCLUSION
God wants us to be successful in life. But He doesn’t want us to clamour for it like the world does. Matt. 6:32. So He put in place principles that will guide us to achieving this. We have seen them in the application of the formula. So let us put the formula together.
First, we find out what God's Word says about our financial situations. Then, we speak that Word in faith, believing for the desired result. And then we meditate upon it until the Word becomes greater on the inside then the lack on the outside. And finally, we fearlessly act on what we see in the Word, knowing that no word from God is void or without power. It is easy to act on God's Word if you have been speaking the Word and meditating on the Word. The result is that you will make your way prosperous, deal wisely in the affairs of life and have good success.

Contributor: Leye Olayiwola

INTRODUCTION

Continuing in our series of the topic on True Prosperity, we considered the topics The Hundredfold Return and Putting Your Prosperity Angels To Work. We learnt that the hundredfold return is not literally a hundred times return on investment but the greatest possible return on seeds sown. We concluded on the four (4) things required to be done in order to receive an hundredfold returns which are;
• Asking God where you need to sow and going ahead in obedience to sow there.
• Keeping your faith active all the time.
• Confessing positively after sowing
• and finally, putting your prosperity angels to work through positive declarations.

We will continue in this series by considering the importance of Aggressive Faith and Total Immersion in God's word in the realisation of True Prosperity.

AGGRESSIVE FAITH
A. Poverty - An Aggressive Spirit [Deut.28:15-68]
It is important to note that curse is a result of disobedience. Also, poverty is a product of a curse.
1. Poverty is a part of the curse of the law.
2.  Examples of aggressive poverty are;
• You shall plant a vineyard and shall not gather the grapes [vs 30]
• You will carry much seed into the field and shall gather but little in, for the locust shall consume it [vs 38].
• The stranger shall lend to thee and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head and thou shalt be the tail [vs 44].
3. Poverty feeds on hopelessness and fear.
4. Aggressive poverty must be countered with an aggressive faith.
5. It will take a bold, aggressive faith to prosper in these times.

B. Faith Is An Aggressive Force [Heb. 11:32-34]
1. Greek Word for Faith  is PISTIS - which is An aggressive, forward-directed force. Never      
    passive, retreating, backward or shy.
2. The aggressive force of faith in action [vs 32-24]
3. David ran toward the army to meet the Philistine [1 Samuel 17:48]
4. Faith is determined, persistent and stubborn. It refuses to give up and quit—it won’t let go
     and it will not take no for an answer.

C.  Faith Aggressively Takes What Belongs to It [Mark 11:22-24]
1. Greek Translation of Verse 24 - "Believe that you receive them."
• Take with much force
•  Seize with a grip that cannot be shaken off
2. What God has so wonderfully provided through His grace, we must lay hold of, possess
    and take with our faith.
3. How long are you slack to go to possess the land which the Lord God of you fathers has
    given you? [Joshua 18:3]
• Hebrew word for Possess means to take; to claim a territory by attacking it, seizing it,
driving out the inhabitants and occupying it
• NLT: How long are you going to wait before taking possession of the remaining land that God has given you?
• MSG: How long are you going to sit around on your hands and put off  taking possession of the land that God gave you?
4. Aggressive faith makes a demand on God’s Word and takes hold on the desired
     result. Aggressive faith speaks!
a. “Spirit of poverty, get out of my way!”
b. “I will either go past you or I am going to go right through you.”
c. “Either way, I am going to aggressively take the prosperity that rightfully
     belongs to me in Christ Jesus!”

TOTAL IMMERSION

A. Do Not Be Conformed To The World [Romans 12:1-2]
1. The attack on the mind in this modern day is immense. The daily challenges and circumstances being experienced very often make people ask, “How are we going to make it during these times?”
2. To Conformed means to shape like another.
• MSG: Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it
            without even thinking.
• PHI: Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.
3. To be Transformed means to undergo a complete change.
• AMP: Be transformed—changed by the entire renewal of your mind by its
             new ideals and its new attitude.
• GW: Change the way you think.
• PHI: Let God remold your mind from within.
4. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee:
because he trusteth in thee.” [Isaiah 26:3]
• NLT: “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose
            thoughts are fixed on you!”
• Stayed means established, focused, totally immersed.

B. The Principle of Total Immersion [Psalm 1:1-3]
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth hisfruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shallprosper.”

1.  “Day and night” is total immersion in God’s Word.
2. Total transformation in your thinking comes from total immersion in God’s Word [e.g    
     Professional Qualification].
3. By constantly immersing yourself in God’s Word, you will flush out all fear of
    failure and become rooted in the truth of your prosperity.
4. This is what it will take to break the lack mentality and establish a new way of
    thinking.

C. Pastor George's Personal Total Immersion Program
Pastor George and his wife Terri prayed and believed the Lord wanted them to sow their house debt free.  The pressure of what to do next began to consume his mind, thereby finding himself living by fear instead of faith. Thereafter, the Lord led him to do three things to totally immerse his thinking and get him back over into faith for prosperity. Pastor George had to totally immersed himself in scriptures that took his limitations off God. The following scriptures were of great benefit to him;

• Is anything too hard for the Lord? NO! [Genesis 18:14]
• Has the Lord’s hand, ability and power become short, thwarted and inadequate? NO! [Numbers 11:23 (AMP)]
• With men, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible. YES! [Matthew 19:26].

In addition to this, He totally immersed himself in Dr. Leroy Thompson’s audio series Money Cometh,and Brother Copeland’s audio series titled The Laws of Prosperity. He listened to them all the time, at home, in the car, on the plane—everywhere! He totally immersed himself in God’s Word by locating and meditating on 21 major ways that God provides along with the total of 191scripture references. As a result of these life transforming exercise,

• His spirit was strengthened.
• His faith was fed.
• His mind was renewed.
• His life was completely transformed.
This is what it will take to prosper in these times.

Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

INTRODUCTION

In last week’s study we considered the topic “Our source of supply” we learnt that the problem today was that we were looking in the wrong places as our source of supply; we learnt how to unlock the channels to our source of supply and that selfishness and our motives are the reasons we don’t enjoy the benefits of God as our source. In today’s study we will consider an interesting topic: The Hundredfold Return.
Mark 10:28-30:
“Peter said to him, See, we have given up everything, and come after you. Jesus said, Truly I say to you, There is no man who has given up house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or land, because of me and the good news, who will not get a hundred times as much now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and land—though with great troubles; and, in the world to come, eternal life.”
The whole kingdom of God operates according to the principles of planting, seedtime and harvest. The hundredfold return is God’s principle of return on your giving. What are you planting into the kingdom of God? Expect a hundredfold return on whatever you give, whether it is words, faith, money or any other seed you plant.

SO, HOW MUCH IS A HUNDREDFOLD EXACTLY?
We often think of it as 100 times the original seed sown, but in reality it can be much greater than that. More accurately, the hundredfold return is simply the greatest possible return on any particular seed sown. For example, a hundredfold return on an apple seed would be a strong, healthy tree that produces an abundance of high quality apples every year. When we believe God for the hundredfold return in our lives, we believe for the greatest possible return on every seed we sow!
We can discover what the greatest possible return on our seeds sown by spending time with God in worship and prayer. After we tithe and sow seed, our role is to let Him reveal to us what we should believe for in regard to our harvest.
The Kingdom is the greatest place of investment. Because there’s nowhere in the natural world one can be offered the return of 100 times their investment? At best they can double your money. If for some reason you receive 10 times your investment, it will be classed as a marvellous deal! But no one ever talks in terms of receiving 100 times your investment; only in the Kingdom!

RECEIVING A HUNDREDFOLD
1. Ask God where you need to sow then go ahead and sow!
Genesis 26:12 says: “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.” Emphasis mine
Isaac sowed in a particular land; the bible says he sowed in “that land”. We should ask God where we need to sow; not only to make it through this tough financial time the world is facing, but to increase in it! There can never be a recession in Heaven, and God is not a respecter of persons. What He did for Isaac, He will do for you! The world tells us that can't happen! But, we, as Christians, should be rising above all of this mess in the world! Like the children of Israel when they were held captive by the Egyptians, we can boldly tell the world the answer, and show them that while it may be dark in Egypt, there is light in Goshen! We have the answer out of this mess! It’s giving! Sowing and reaping!
So let’s obediently go out like the farmer and sow our seeds on good soils and trust God for them to yield a hundredfold!

2.  Keep Your Faith Active All the Time
To receive our hundredfold return we need to keep our faith active all the time; not just some of the time. None of the blessings of God work automatically, even though they belong to us. They become manifested in our lives as we exercise our faith to receive them.” For instance, healing belongs to every believer, but that great blessing is enjoyed only by those who exercise their faith to receive it. In the same way, the hundredfold return is a powerful force in the believer’s financial blessing, but you have to release your faith to receive all that the Word offers you. The force of faith for the hundredfold return must be applied by the Word of God in your heart and by the confession of your mouth.”

3. After Sowing, Confess Positively
Make this confession: “Thank you, Father, for the hundredfold return offered in Your Word. It is such a generous return and it belongs to me.”
Thanking God keeps our faith active and operative to receive.

4. Put Your Prosperity Angels to Work
Hebrews 1:14 [AMP] says: “Are not the angels all ministering spirits (servants) sent out in the service [of God for the assistance] of those who are to inherit salvation?”
Galatians 3:29 says: “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.”
We are heirs of salvation—deliverance, preservation, soundness and prosperity. The angels of God have been sent to perform whatever is necessary to establish God’s covenant in the earth.
1 Kings 19:5-6: “As [Elijah] lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baked on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink….”

CONCLUSION
The Hundred Fold return is still working today if we believe. We should not be afraid to sow in difficult times when the Lord asks us to. Isaac sowed in a time of famine, and received the same year a hundredfold! We must act in faith because it is the currency of heaven, speak and stay positive and put your prosperity angels to work. The God we serve can do exceedingly abundantly beyond what we can ask or imagine!
 

Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

INTRODUCTION: In our last study in the series of True Prosperity we looked at how we can be Free from Financial Fear and Making Our Faith for Provision Work every time. We looked at the contrast between faith and fear and concluded that God was our source of provision. In today’s study we shall continue from there as we look at the topic “Our source of Supply”
Genesis 22:14: “Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh, the LORD is my provider. As it is said to this day, “In the LORD’s mountain it will be provided.”
Philippians 4:19: “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

THE PROBLEM TODAY - LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACES AS OUR SOURCE OF SUPPLY
There are a number of places we tend to look to for our supply
1. The Government
2. People (family, friends, pastors, congregants, etc.)
3. Our jobs, businesses, salaries, savings, etc.

GOD IS OUR SOURCE!
1. Source—Point of origin. It is a place, person, or thing from which something originates or can be obtained. The beginning place; where something can be traced back to
2. Supply—Provision, inventory, stock
3. Our source of supply is the point of origin for the fulfilment of all our needs. That is why Philippians 4:19 says: “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
4. James 1:17 – “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow.”
5. 2 Peter 1:2, 3 – “Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, seeing that his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…”
The truth that God is our source must be ingrained in our thinking. Especially during economic times like these

UNLOCKING THE CHANNELS TO OUR SOURCE OF SUPPLY
a) Obedience to the Word of God
Psalms 1:1-3: “Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers; But his delight is in the law of the LORD; On his law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper.”
b) Confession and Submission
Psalms 23:1 – “The Lord is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.” This implies that we are sheep; a sheep is completely submissive to the will of the Shepherd.
c) Reverent Fear
Psalms 34:9, 10 – “Oh fear the LORD, you his saints, for there is no lack with those who fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.”
d) Waiting on Him
 Psalms 104:27, 28 – “These all wait for you, that you may give them their food in due season. You give to them; they gather. You open your hand; they are satisfied with good.”
Psalms 107:9 – “For he satisfies the longing soul. He fills the hungry soul with good.”
e) Seeking the Kingdom of God
Matthew 6:31-33 "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
f) Trusting in God
Jeremiah 17:7-8:  “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose trust the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, who spreads out its roots by the river, and shall not fear when heat comes, but its leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”
g) Giving
Philippians 4:14-16: “Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction. You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.”
h) Abiding
John 15:5-7: “I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.”

WHY WE DON’T ENJOY THIS PROMISE MORE
In general, we don’t enjoy the benefits of God as our source because we don’t completely follow the principles of unlocking the channels to our source of supply listed above. Here are two other reasons:
1. Our motives. James 4: 3: “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
2. Selfishness. Proverbs 11:24: “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.”

CONCLUSION
Our source of supply is unlimited. It is from the Almighty God. His word says in Psalms 50:12b says: “the world is mine, and the fullness thereof.” He challenged us to prove Him to see if He will not open the windows of heaven, and pour us out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it! To enjoy this great promise we need to be completely obedient to Him.

Contributor: Leye Olayiwola

INTRODUCTION:

“Giving is at the very heart of prosperity". Last week, we were reminded of the very purpose God has placed us here on the earth. We are stewards of God's treasures and have the responsibility of distributing His wealth to the needy. We were also reminded that our motive for wealth accumulation should be for the sole purpose of distribution. Like Abraham, we are not only blessed, we are also a BLESSING! We will continue in our series of True Prosperity this week by looking at how we can be Free from Financial Fear and Making Our Faith for Provision Work everytime.

A. Freedom from Financial Fear
"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control]." [2Tim.1:7 AMP Emphasis Mine]
"I sought the LORD [on the authority of His word], and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears." [Psalm 34:4]

1. Faith and Fear are expectation. 
• Faith expects the best.
• Fear expects the worst.

2. Faith and Fear are magnets.
• Faith is a magnet that draws provisions.
• Fear is a magnet that draws lack - Proverbs 29:25: "The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in and puts his confidence in the Lord will be exalted and safe."; Job 3:25: “For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me, And that of which I am afraid has come upon me".

3. Faith and Fear are both spirits.
• 2 Cor.4:13: " Yet we have the same spirit of faith as he had, who wrote in Scripture, “I  BELIEVED, THEREFORE I SPOKE.” We also believe, therefore we also speak". Also see 2Tim.1:7 above. 

4. The contrast between faith and fear.
• Romans 10:17: Faith for finances comes by hearing the Word of God
 about prosperity and fear of lack comes by hearing the lies of the devil about poverty.[paraphrased]
• Hebrews 11:1: Faith is the substance of prosperity hoped for, the evidence
 of prosperity not seen. Fear is the substance of poverty dreaded, the evidence of  poverty not seen. .[paraphrased]
• 1 John 5:4: This is the victory that overcomes lack—even our faith. This is the defeat that overcomes us—even our fear.[paraphrased]

5. We must adopt a "zero-tolerance policy" towards any form of fear. This can be done  by feeding on God's words (promises), which will eventually influence faith-provoking thought patterns and believes which will develop a positively-aggressive faith in us.

6. A Christian, by the name Kellie declared, "I refuse to fear!" when her daughter Lyndsey was given a terrible report about spinal meningitis. As a result;
• The whole situation changed from that moment on.
• Fear left and faith came on the scene.
• You must use your faith in the same way over your finances.

I Refuse to Fear Over Finances.
1.  2 Timothy 1:7: I have not been given the spirit of fear over my finances—but of
 power and love and of a sound mind. .[paraphrased]
2.  Isaiah 41:10: God said, “Fear not,” for He is with me. I am not dismayed over my
 financial condition; He is my God—my Provider and my Supplier. Everything is
 going to be all right! [paraphrased]
3.  Psalm 27:3: Though a host of bills should encamp against me, my heart shall not
 fear. [paraphrased]
4.  Psalm 112:7: I shall not be afraid of economic conditions; my heart is fixed,
 trusting in the Lord. My heart is established. I shall not be afraid. [paraphrased]
5.  James 4:7: I resist the fear of lack and the fear of lack must flee! [paraphrased]

B. My Faith for Provision Works All the Time.
 Galatians 6:9 AMP - "Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in."
• A note to Pastor George: “Thank you, Pastor George, for teaching us about reaping. We have been going back over your first ‘10 Days of Prosperity’ on the Internet. It is really blessing us. We had been asking the same question over and over again—‘We tithe and give, but we are not seeing results. Why isn’t it working for us?’ After reviewing your series, we are very encouraged! Our faith is back on track and is now working again!”

• Many ask the same question: “Why isn’t it working for me?”
• When they tithe and sow and don’t see results, they get discouraged, and wonder why it doesn’t work.
• They don’t realize that their harvest is right around the faith corner.

Hebrews 10:23, 35-36 AMP - "Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful [to His word]; Do not, therefore, fling away your [fearless] confidence, for it has a glorious and great reward. For you have need of patient endurance [to bear up under difficult circumstances without compromising], so that when you have carried out the will of God, you may receive and enjoy to the full what is promised."
• We must stay encouraged and continue to use our faith.
• Do not cast away your boldness of speech and confession.

Hebrews 6:12 - " that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.". Patience here is synonymous to;
• Maintaining your stand in spite of the circumstances/
• Being constant all the time.
• The ability to see the results before you have them.

Proverbs 18:21 - " Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.."
•  Encourage your faith by speaking life over your tithing and giving.
• Tithe—Declare that the windows of heaven are opened over your life.
• Seed—Declare that your giving is producing an extreme, maximum, overflowing harvest.

IN CONCLUSION
My Confession of Faith
I refuse to fear. I am not moved by what I see. I am not fearful over my financial future.
God is my source of provision. He provides cars to drive, food to eat, clothes to wear, places to live and everything else I need in liberal supply. I am not subject to the times. I live in the household of faith, not the dungeon of fear. My household is thriving, and not just surviving.
My household is flourishing and not failing. Every bill is paid, every need is met and every debt is wiped out. I walk by faith and not by fear. My faith is alive, activated and energized. My faith for provision is working for me all the time. I give and it is given to me (Luke 6:38). I reap what I sow (Galatians 6:7). My seed is mighty upon the earth (Psalm 112:2), in Jesus’ Name! Amen.

Culled from the Book: 40 Days of Prosperity by Pastor George Pearsons

Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

Introduction
Last week we considered two important assurances God gave us in relation to our wealth. It was that our wealth was hinged on our covenant with Him and His favour to us! We learnt that our God is the One who promised to make us not only rich but extremely rich as we see in Ezekiel 16:7 “I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments.” Our wealth is a confirmation of the covenant God made with our ancestors and He is a God who honours His covenants. (Psalm 89:34). We also learnt what the Bible teaches about handling wealth and the terms and conditions for the biblical rich. In today’s study we will be considering the topic: “The Heart of Prosperity”.

A. Biblical Definitions of True Prosperity.
The most common Hebrew word for "prosper" is tsalach (tsaw-lakh') it means "to advance, make progress, succeed, be profitable. To bring to successful issue; to experience prosperity."

Prosperity is a blessing from the Lord when people follow his ways.
• Psalm 1:3[KJV] “and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
• Joshua 1:8 [KJV] “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”
• Prov.10:22 [KJV] “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.” 
• Prov. 8:21[KJV] “Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures
• 3 John 2-3 [KJV]. “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.
The Greek word "prosper" in 3 John 1:3 is euodoo (yoo-od-o'-o) which means "to have a successful journey through life.” The Hebrew word shalom (shaw-lome') can be translated "prosperous" also (as we see in Zech. 8:12); which means "completeness, safety, health, soundness, and contentment."]
Another Hebrew word for "prosper" is sakal (saw-kal') [same word for "success"] which means "to be prudent, to consider, be circumspect.” See 1 Kings 2:3. In other words, to be cautious and good stewards of what God gives us. (1 Timothy 6:17-18)

B. True Prosperity as defined by Kenneth Copeland
1. True prosperity is the ability to use the power of God to meet the needs of mankind in every realm of life—spirit, soul, body, financially, socially.
2. True prosperity is when you make it your need to get salvation into the hands of people and when you make it your purpose to feed the gospel to the unsaved.
3. True prosperity is the ability to look a man in the eye in his moment of impossibility and take his needs on as your own.
4. True prosperity is walking with God to be able and equipped to do for others whatever He needs done, whenever He needs it done and with whatever He requires.
5. True prosperity is not for keeping your bills paid and your body well just so you can lie around and watch TV in comfort. God is not prospering us to get us out of debt so we can get into bigger debt. He is not prospering us so we can buy and buy and buy. He is prospering us so we can give and give and give.
Having defined prosperity, we will look at the “heart” of prosperity. “Heart” referred to here, implies the core - the part of something that is central to or the reason of its existence.

C. Giving Is at the Very Heart of Prosperity
Our Motivation (reason) for accumulation of wealth should be for distribution. It’s not for our selfish purposes. 1 Timothy 6:17-18 (LB) confirms this: “Tell those who are rich not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone, but their pride and trust should be in the living God who always richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them.” Emphasis mine
Proverbs 11:24 says: “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

We are God’s stewards on earth with the responsibility to distribute His wealth.
a) Genesis 12:2 (AMP): “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favours] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others].”
b) Zechariah 8:13 (NLT): “…I will rescue you and will make you both a symbol and a source of blessing.”
c) Galatians 6:10: “Let us practice generosity to all while the opportunity is ours, and above all, to those who are one family with us in the household of faith.”
d) 1 Corinthians 10:24: “Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth.”
e) Philippians 2:4: “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”
f) 2 Corinthians 9:6 - 11 (NIV): Emphasis on verse 11: “[As a result of your giving] you will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” Emphasis added.

Conclusion
We are a source of God’s blessings to the world. The prosperity He sends our way is not for us only but for others as well. Zechariah 8:13 (NLT) says: “…I will rescue you and will make you both a symbol and a source of blessing.” We have been prospered to be a source of blessing to others. We are God’s stewards on earth with the responsibility to distribute His wealth so we should seek ways to empower others to be rich as well and not be selfish. The very heart of prosperity is giving! So let’s give happily to those in need, and be always ready to share with others whatever God has given us!
 

Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

INTRODUCTION

Last week we considered Supernatural Provision, Increase and Multiplication. We learnt that this unlimited, overwhelming supply, increase or multiplication comes from above as we see in James 1:17. We also learnt that God has unusual ways and unlimited avenues of provision that supersede all natural limitations and that it is faith that gives access to the supernatural.
Today we will be looking at two important assurances God has given us in relation to our wealth: Our Covenant of Wealth & God’s Favour and Wealth. God has made a covenant with us to be wealthy and it is by His favour!

1. OUR COVENANT OF WEALTH
The wealth we have is the fulfilment of a covenant God confirmed to our ancestors by oath! This means it is bilateral – both parties must be active. That is why Deuteronomy 8:18 (NLT) says: “Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfil the covenant He confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.”
(a) Prosperity is a sign of our covenant with God. Deuteronomy 8:18
(b) Zechariah 8:13 (NLT): “…I will rescue you and will make you both a symbol and a source of blessing.”
(c) Genesis 17:1-8: God covenanted with Abraham to make him rich.
(d) Galatians 3:13-14, 29 “. . . we are heirs of the covenant . . . And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

2 Chronicles 16:9 says: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.”
What can we learn from this verse of scripture?
(a) The phrase “Show Himself strong” (HEB) means the following: to bestow, to grant, to extend His covenant wealth
(b) Our covenant with God is His total commitment to support, defend, protect and provide.
(c) God’s consuming passion and determination is to locate His covenant people and bless them.
(d) It is an undying covenant devotion that propels Him to extend Himself to us with everything He is and with everything He has.
(e) It is a covenant love that won’t give up or quit until the extension of that love is satisfied. In 2 Samuel 9:1-3: David was consumed with locating an heir of Jonathan to bestow covenant wealth upon. The eyes of David ran to and fro throughout the whole earth searching for an heir of his covenant brother to lavish covenant wealth upon. How much more is God searching for us!

(a) “Covenant of Wealth” Scriptures
1. Deuteronomy 28:2: “And all these [covenant] blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee….”
2. Deuteronomy 28:11: “And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods….”
3. Ecclesiastes 5:19 (NLT): “And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it.”
4. Genesis 15:1: “Fear not Abram: I am your shield and your exceeding great reward.”
5. Hebrews 10:35: “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.”
6. Psalm 68:19: “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits.”
7. Psalm 103:2 (AMP): “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not one of all His (covenant) benefits.”

(b) The Windows or Floodgates of Heaven
Malachi 3:10 says: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
Let’s picture the impact of opening the windows of heaven (or the floodgates of heaven). Read Genesis 7:11-12, 17-20 and replace the word waters with The Blessing (abundant, liberal, excessive prosperity)
We can believe for a constant, steady, nonstop outpouring of God’s abundant, liberal, and excessive prosperity.

(c) Showers of Blessing
Ezekiel 34:25-27 says: “I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord.”
We have mostly limited our definition of the word shower to a brief and usually light fall of rain, hail, sleet, or snow but there’s another definition of the word shower that this verse of scripture refers to:
“To give someone a great number of (things).”
Here are a few synonyms of this “shower”: deluge, flood, inundate, swamp, submerge, engulf, bury; overwhelm, saturate, overload. So when God says He will cause the shower to come down  . . . and that there shall be showers of blessing our expectations should be that of a deluge of, a flood of, inundated with, swamped by, submerged in, engulfed by, buried in; overwhelmed with, saturated with, and overloaded with blessings!

(d) Covenant Tokens
Every covenant usually has a token. Tithing is one of the covenant tokens of wealth. So, when we tithe, we should be expecting a non-stop downpour and torrent of abundant, liberal, excessive prosperity and provision coming down violently in thick succession from the floodgates of heaven! Just like “Noah’s flood”!
The Effects of Tithing
• The tithe protects our money.
• Tithing places us under warranty.
• Tithing extends our warranty.
• Tithing places us in “flood stage.” “Not a trickle, not a stream, not a river but a flood.” —Oral Roberts

2. GOD’S FAVOUR AND WEALTH
Favour is a word that holds very similar meaning to grace—God’s kindness and help extended toward us. This includes promotion, restoration, honour, victory, recognition, preferential treatment and supernatural increase in assets and real estate.
• It is God personally acting on your behalf doing for you whatever it takes for you to prosper, thrive, flourish and be the success you were created to be. (Psalm 84:11, Psalm 44:3)
• It will cause people to go out of their way to bless you, provide for you, help you, assist you and make special concessions just for you. (Exodus 3:21)
• It will make a way where there is no way, open doors where there are no doors, provide where there is no provision and do the impossible in the midst of the most impossible situations. (Genesis 39:1-6)
• The favour of God surrounds us. (Psalm 5:12)
• The favour of God is among us. (Proverbs 14:9)
• The favour of God rests upon us. (Luke 2:14)
• God blesses us with an abundant increase of His favours. (Genesis 12:2)

The Blessing of the Lord Makes Rich
It is God’s blessings that makes one rich as we see in Proverbs 10:22—“The Blessing of the Lord, It Makes Rich, and He Adds No Sorrow with It”
We find this confirmation in Psalm 112:1; which says the man that fears God is blessed; in verse 3: “Wealth and riches shall be in his house”. And in vs 7: “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.”

Handling Riches
2 Corinthians 8:9 (NLT): “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.”
1 Timothy 6:17-18 spells out the terms and conditions for the biblical rich.
(a) Don’t be high-minded.
(b) Don’t trust in riches, but in the living God.
(c) Do good and be rich in good works.
(d) Be ready to distribute, willing to give.

CONCLUSION
Our God is the One who promised to make us not only rich but extremely rich! Ezekiel 16:7 says: “I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments….” Proverbs 8:18 (AMP) says: “Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness (right standing with God). His promise is enduring wealth – not the one that takes up wings and fly! (Proverbs 23:5). And Proverbs 8:21 says: “That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth and true riches, and that I may fill their treasuries.”
Finally, Deuteronomy 8:18 (NLT) admonishes us to: “Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed with your ancestors with an oath.” Our wealth is a confirmation of the covenant God made with our ancestors and He is a God who honours His covenants. (Psalm 89:34)