DIG for Friday the 11th of August…..it is not greedy to want to be rich…..2 Corinthians 9 v 8

I’ve just finished watching a corny and cheesy video on Facebook about what it means to be rich (I don’t know why I watch these things really).

The punch line was, “Being rich is not about what you have, it is about what you give”.

Now this is actually true!

The Bible is quite clear that prosperity and abundance is part of the ‘sozo package’ and is for every believer.

My experience is that most people in the church do not like that truth and want to believe the opposite.

But it is a Biblical truth, however there is a reason for a believer being rich, being prosperous and abundant.

It is not for you to spend on your own lusts, it is for you to give into need and to sow into the Kingdom.

Yes, you can use it to live in comfort and not live in lack, but it is not for your own greed.

We are provided with ‘bread’ for our own provision and ‘seed’ to give to others and to give into need (2 Corinthians 9 v 10).

We are really stewards of what God has given us and need to act in a Biblical manner with His riches.

As givers we become receivers and are able to give more into good works (2 Corinthians 9 v 8).

Never be afraid to be rich or want to be rich, just as long as your attitude is Biblical and your actions are Biblical.

Speak this out today….”Thank you Lord that you provided for my prosperity and abundance through the finished work of Jesus”.

2 Corinthians 9 v 8…..And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work

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DIG for Saturday the 5th of August…..good things to eat, yum, yum…..Psalm 103 v 5

While reading Psalm 103 last night I was reminded that prosperity (yes, prosperity) is include along with forgiveness and healing as one of the benefits we receive from the Lord.

In my experience I would suggest that all Christians know they have been forgiven, some believe they have been healed but very few believe in prosperity.

For whatever reason as a church we seem to embrace poverty as a good thing.

This is not true, above all things God the Father wants us to live in health and prosperity (3 John v 2).

David, in Psalm 103, is prophesying about a time to come, a time that we now live in.

He reminds us not to forget all the benefits provided by God (Psalm 103 v 2).

First He tells us that we have been forgiven (Psalm 103 v 3).

Then he reminds us that we have been healed of all our diseases (Psalm 103 v 3).

He also talks of our prosperity, saying our mouths will be satisfied with good things (Psalm 103 v 5).

Now David is not saying we will have good things to eat, although this could be part of this.

He is giving us a picture of our prosperity, which is part of the ‘benefits package’ from the Lord.

There is no satisfaction in poverty, poverty is a curse, poverty is designed to steal, kill and destroy and it is not part of an abundant life (John 10 v 10).

Please do not let anyone persuade you that prosperity is not one of His benefits; prosperity is part of the sozo package that Jesus died to deliver to you.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you have provided for my prosperity as one of your benefits towards me”.

Psalm 103 v 5…..Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s

DIG for Saturday the 22nd of July…..do you want all what Jesus has provided for you…..John 5 v 6

Jesus provided so much more for us through His finished work than just a ticket into Heaven.

But for so many people that is all their salvation is, an assurance of life after death.

Well, Jesus came to provide life, and abundant life, for us before death.

Jesus has provided healing, wholeness, acceptance and prosperity among other things.

When Jesus met the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda He asked him what I used to think was a silly question; He asked him if he wanted to be healed (John 5 v 6).

But this was of course a valid question, either the man did not want to be healed or did not know healing was available.

Jesus of course had the power to heal but the man had to want it for himself.

There is a similar issue in the church today.

People either do not want to be healed (I have seen this!) or do not know that healing is available, that healing has been provided.

Jesus is still asking today, through His Holy Spirit and through His disciples (those who do believe in healing), do you want to be healed?

Do you want to be healed today?

He is asking you now if you want all those things that He provided at the cross; He is offering them to you right now.

All you need to do is believe and accept; and of course then thank Him!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the finished work of Jesus and thank you for the healing that this has provided for me”.

John 5 v 6…..When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

DIG for Monday the 17th of July…..healing equals salvation…..Matthew 9 v 21 and 22

I read a wonderful piece last night about healing, reinforcing a truth that I already knew.

Do you know that what you think about salvation can be superimposed upon healing?

For example we know that it is God’s will for all men to be saved.

We know that men can do nothing to earn their salvation; there are no good works or religious observance required that a man could do to be saved.

We know that salvation comes as a gift of grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus.

So my friend, we can remove the word salvation from these statements and replace it with healing.

The base Greek word associated with salvation is sozo, and this Greek word (among other things) also means to be healed, and it is this base Greek word that is sometimes used for healing (14 times).

So healing is associated with salvation, indeed they are linked together; if you have been saved you have had healing provided.

Salvation and healing are both provided through the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

You do not have to work for healing, do good works to be healed and you do not need to ask, beg or plead with God to heal you.

As you trusted in Jesus for salvation you can trust in Jesus for healing.

The lady with the issue of blood trusted in Jesus and was healed, or made whole (Matthew 9 v 21 and 22).

This was obviously a physical healing and the Greek word used was based on sozo.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you that that through the finished work of Jesus you provided healing as well as salvation”.

Matthew 9 v 21 and 22…..For she said within herself, If I may but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; they faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour

DIG for Wednesday the 17th of May…..put on that healing and put on that prosperity…..Ephesians 4 v 24

At the bible school last night I had a really encouraging picture as I was listening to the teaching.

The lecturer was speaking about Ephesians 4 v 22 to 24, and was focussing on the fact that we have to renew our minds to see the provision that the Lord has already given us in the spiritual be made manifest in our flesh.

For example we have already been healed, but we will see our bodies healed after we renew our mind to this truth.

I saw a wardrobe with various jackets hanging up in there.

There was a jacket of healing, a jacket of prosperity, a jacket of peace; in fact there was a jacket for every aspect of our salvation or ‘sozo package’.

I saw someone looking into this wardrobe and taking out jackets and putting them on.

As they put on each jacket it dissolved into their bodies and became part of them.

This spoke to me of us renewing our minds and then “putting on” the different aspects of our salvation.

As we understand more and more about the finished work of Jesus (as we renew our minds to the truth) we will see more and more ‘aspects’ of salvation becoming manifest in our lives.

As we learn and understand about prosperity for example, we can “put on” the jacket of prosperity and see it come to pass in our lives.

I encourage you this afternoon to start renew your minds to the truths in God’s Word about healing and prosperity, indeed about all the truths held within the ‘sozo package’ that Jesus provided for you at the cross.

Get yourself prepared to put on that jacket of healing and put on that jacket of prosperity some time soon!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you have already provided me with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus”.

Ephesians 4 v 24…..And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness

DIG for Saturday the 13th of May…..as you began so you must carry on…..Colossians 2 v 6

We all know that we came to salvation as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus.

We know that there was nothing we could do in our own strength to be saved.

Yet, many in the church now think that in order to move in other parts of salvation (such as healing and prosperity) we have to work for it.

All parts of salvation (our ticket into Heaven and our peace, joy, acceptance, healing and prosperity for example) are gifts and are never rewards.

We did not work for our initial salvation so we do not nee to work for our on-going salvation.

As you first received, so walk ye in Him is what the Bible says (Colossians 2 v 6).

This means that if you require healing you receive it by faith.

This means that if you require prosperity you receive it by faith.

You do not need to fast, pray and ask for healing and prosperity, just as you did not need to fast, pray and ask for your initial salvation.

Healing and prosperity (among other things) are part of what I call the ‘sozo package’.

If you are saved (got your ticket into heaven) then you are also healed and prosperous; you just may not see this manifest in your life at the moment.

Faith is what is required to walk into your on-going salvation, into what Jesus died to bring you.

Faith, not works, is the key to moving into the abundant life that Jesus promised (John 10 v 10).

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I can move into my healing and my prosperity through faith in the finished work of Jesus”.

Colossians 2 v 6…..As ye therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him

DIG for Thursday the 27th of October…..God wants you to have all He has provided…..Ephesians 6 v 11

I was reading this verse recently and a rather surprising word ‘jumped out’ at me.

The word ‘whole’ seemed to have an importance to it, and the Lord showed me the reason why.

The Lord has provided all that we need for life and godliness; He has provided all we need for life in abundance (2 Peter 1 v 3 and John 10 v 10).

Yet many believers do not make use of all that He has provided.

Many believers no longer believe for example that healing is for today, yet the Scriptures are clear that by His stripes we were healed (1 Peter 2 v 24).

Many think that we should live a life of poverty, yet prosperity is clearly part of the ‘sozo package’ (2 Corinthians 8 v 9).

In the same way as we are being told to use the whole armour of God, we also need to make use of the whole ‘sozo package’.

A soldier would not be able to fight at his best if he did not use all the armour that had been provided.

In the same we cannot life a full abundant life if we do not utilise all that God has provided for us.

Jesus did so much more for us on the cross than provide a ticket to heaven; He provided acceptance, healing and prosperity for example.

God wants you to grab with both hands all He has provided through the finished work of Jesus; don’t miss anything He has for you!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the finished work of Jesus and thank you for all that this provided for me”.

Ephesians 6 v 11…..Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil

DIG for Tuesday the 20th of September…..healing is part of the sozo package…..Matthew 9 v 21

The Greek word used to describe salvation is the word sozo.

It literally means to deliver or protect, and we all know that this means to protect from death and deliver into eternal life.

We know that salvation is our ticket into Heaven.

But salvation means so much more.

Take the woman with the issue of blood for example; we can read that she was healed from this physical ailment by having the faith to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment (Matthew 9 v 20 to 22).

From this passage it is clear that the woman was healed or made whole.

The word used here for made whose is exactly the same word used for salvation or to be saved; yes, it is the word sozo.

So we can see that salvation (or sozo) includes healing as well as a ticket into Heaven.

Healing was part of the package purchased for us by Jesus on the cross.

As I said yesterday, do not let anyone steal healing from you.

Healing is part of the abundant life that Jesus wants you to have, and your health is one of the things that the enemy wants to steak from you.

Remember that someone can only steal what you already have, you already have been provided with healing through the finished work of Jesus.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the healing tat you have already provided for me through the finished work of Jesus Christ”.

Matthew 9 v 21…..For she said within herself, If I may touch his garment, I shall be whole

DIG for Sunday the 18th of September…..He took our poverty and gave us something in return…..2 Corinthians 8 v 9

As a teacher of the ‘grace message’ I constantly hear brothers and sisters complaining about the ‘prosperity gospel’.

I think there is a real misunderstanding about this in the church as prosperity (and abundance) is a provision made through the finished work of Jesus.

Prosperity, life in abundance, is part of the Gospel.

We read that God the Father, above all things, wants us to live in health and prosperity (3 John 2).

Jesus came that we might live in abundance (John 10 v 10), and this abundance and provision was provided through the cross.

Through faith in Jesus we are saved and saved (the Greek word sozo) means healed and prosperous as well as a ‘ticket into heaven’.

Prosperity for the believer is part of the sozo package, along with healing.

Faith in Jesus provides us with our initial salvation and faith in Jesus provides our continued salvation, with regards to health and prosperity.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be prosperous, just think of all the things you could do or the Kingdom with more resources.

Not wanting to be prosperous is actually a form of selfishness.

We are made prosperous for a reason and that is to further the Kingdom, that is what being prosperous is all about.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you for the finished work of Jesus and thank you for the abundance and prosperity that this provides.”

2 Corinthians 8 v 9…..For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that thou he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor that ye through his poverty might be rich

 

 

DIG for Monday the 30th of May…..your ‘ticket into heaven’ also includes healing and prosperity…..Romans 1 v 16

Far too many Christians live in this world waiting for Heaven; this is due to them not known the true definition of salvation.

For most, salvation means a ‘ticket into heaven’, a ticket that you redeem after you die.

This of course is true, however salvation means so much more.

The word salvation in Romans 1 v 16 comes from the root Greek word ‘sozo’, and has multiple meanings.

It can mean welfare, prosperity, deliverance, preservation, salvation and safety.

Yes it means you have been saved and are heading for an eternity with the Lord, but it means something here on earth right now.

Salvation has a meaning of moving from illness into health and poverty into prosperity.

So Paul is telling us that prosperity is nothing to be ashamed of.

Paul is also telling us that healing is nothing to be ashamed of.

Healing and prosperity is meant to be normal living for the born again believer; in fact this is what God wants for you above all things (3 John 2).

Your salvation in terms of healing and prosperity started the second you were born again, and it continues as we live on this earth.

You are continually being saved, in terms of health and prosperity chasing after you every day of your life.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for my salvation, thank you for my health and my prosperity”.

Romans 1 v 16…..For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek