The Source of Prosperity

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>The Source of Prosperity</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id544.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="From A Mess to Mercy"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id548.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gods Faithfulness to Ordinary People"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>“The Source of Prosperity,” </B><B>Genesis 30:25-43</B></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, November 13, 2005</B></div> <bR> <div>      Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ tells this story of a famous oil field called Yates Pool: During the depression this field was a sheep ranch owned by a man named Yates. Mr. Yates wasn't able to make enough on his ranching operation to pay the principal and interest on the mortgage, so he was in danger of losing his ranch. With little money for clothes or food, his family (like many others) had to live on government subsidy. Day after day, as he grazed his sheep over those rolling West Texas hills, he was no doubt greatly troubled about how he would pay his bills. Then a seismographic crew from an oil company came into the area and told him there might be oil on his land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well, and he signed a lease contract. At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large. In fact, 30 years after the discovery, a government test of one of the wells showed it still had the potential flow of 125,000 barrels of oil a day. And Mr. Yates owned it all. The day he purchased the land he had received the oil and mineral rights. Yet, he'd been living on relief. A multimillionaire living in poverty.  (Bill Bright, “How to Be Filled with the Spirit.”)</div> <div>      Sometimes we think it would be nice to go from nothing to having millions. Prosperity is great, and it is common for Americans, but it comes with some unique spiritual challenges. D.L. Moody wrote, “We can stand affliction better than we can prosperity, for in prosperity we forget God.” When we are struggling though life, we are highly motivated to trust in God. Our problem is not so much that we fail to trust God in trials, it is that we tend to forget God in times of blessing and prosperity. And if you have a roof over your head, food on the table, transportation, and other amenties of American life, you are prosperous.</div> <div>       Jacob has been through his times of trials, and now he was about to experience incredible prosperity. Please turn to <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Gen+30:25-43" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Genesis 30:25-43</U></A>.</div> <bR> <div> <B>I. After 14 years of building a family, Jacob prospers in the next 6 years.</B></div> <div>      A. Genesis 30:25-36 – The two deceivers meet to make a deal.</div> <div>               Vss. 25-26 – Jacob fulfilled his part of the deal for his wives and he requested to leave.</div> <div>               Vss. 27-28 – Laban asked him to stay, because having Jacob around helped Laban's portfolio.</div> <div>               Vss. 30:29-33 – Jacob requested a very modest deal.</div> <div>               Vss. 30:34-36 – Laban agreed, and made sure Jacob could not cheat.</div> <div>      B. Genesis 30:37-42 – Jacob used breeding techniques to produce lots of strong, multi-colored sheep and goats, out of a flock of single-colored sheep and goats.</div> <div>      C. Genesis 30:43 – Summary statement (the main point). Jacob became very wealthy over the course of six years. God's promises to him were being fulfilled, not by Jacob's ingenuity or superstition, but by God. The credit is given to God in 31:9 where Jacob said to his wives, “<I>God</I> has taken away your father's livestock and has given them to me.” (Of course, he needed to be rich, since he had gotten 4 wives and 12 children!)</div> <bR> <div> <B>II. God should receive the credit when his people experience prosperity.</B></div> <div>      Jacob did not get rich because of Laban's generosity. He did not get rich because of his scientific ingenuity. He got rich because God kept his promise and prospered him. The point is not, God will prosper you, too. It is, <I>when</I> God prospers you, give him the credit. Don't think it was your ingenuity, good luck, plain old hard work – <I>God</I> is behind it. Who gives you creativity? Who gives you the ability to work hard? Who arranges circumstances to put you in the right place at the right time?</div> <div>      When we remember and acknowledge that the source of our prosperity is God, there are at least 4 benefits:</div> <div>      A. We can experience peace and confidence in the ups and downs of life (instead of fear and worry). Proverbs 18:10-11 says,  “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe. A rich man's wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own imagination.” Our dollars say right on them, “In <I>God </I>we trust.”</div> <div>      1 Timothy 6:17 says, “Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.”</div> <div>      B. We can live with joy, thanksgiving, and contentment (instead of greed and disatisfaction). 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”</div> <div>      C. We can live with proper priorities (instead of seeing money the most important thing). Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” We worship God, not the things he gives; and we value people.</div> <div>      D. We will have motivation to be generous towards God and others (instead of being selfish and cheap). Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full - pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”</div> <bR> <div> <B>III. How do we keep the righ perspective?</B></div> <div>      Here are three lifestyle habits to develop, to remind us who gets the credit for our blessings and prosperity.</div> <div>      A. Give thanks daily for provisions and for prosperity.</div> <div>      B. Make the most of your money (practice good “stewardship”). Live on a plan. Spend less than you make. Get out of debt. Save for the future (for emergencies, for future needs and wants). Invest (for retirement, for kids college, for building wealth). Enjoy. We have the potential to make <I>millions</I> with an average income (Dave Ramsey says, the average car payment in America is $378, about $5000 a year. Invest that from age 25-65 in a good growth stock mutual fund, the result is $4.4 million - “hope you like the car”). If you want to prosper, in most cases, you can – God has already made that possible.</div> <div>      C. Give 10% to God and generously to everyone else. For every $10 you earn, give $1 back to God through the local church. Recall that Jacob had promised he would give a tenth back to God, of all God gave to him (Genesis 28). Why should we be any different?</div> <bR> <div>      “[There was a] dying superachiever who asked to be buried in his solid gold Cadillac, propped up behind the steering wheel, with a five-dollar cigar in his hand. After his last gasp, the funeral director honored his request. As he was lowered, in his car, into his overlarge grave, a bystander was heard to remark, 'Man, that is really living!'”(Calvin Miller, <I>Empowered Leader</I>, p. 30).</div> <div>      Advice columnist Ann Landers printed a supposedly true story of a tightfisted husband who was married to a gracious woman. The wife put up with his tightwad behavior for more than 40 years. At age 60, "Ollie" was stricken with cancer. Toward the end, he made his wife promise, in front of witnesses, that she would place in his coffin all the money he had stashed away so he could buy his way into heaven. She agreed and assured him, as a woman of her word, she would do as he asked. The morning after his death she took the money (about $26,000) and deposited it in the bank. She then wrote a check and put it in the casket four days later. She knew he couldn’t take it with him. (Woodrow Kroll, Lessons on Living email devotional, 1-6-03).</div> <div>      However prosperous you may be in this lifetime, it is no substitute for knowing God.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2005, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>