Chapter 16
Your Stone Is Rolled Away
Throughout this book we have been focusing on inner healing from the wounds of the past. These wounds of abuse, rejection, guilt, fear, poor self-esteem, un-forgiveness, all become blockages to the abundant life that the Lord wants for us. For this chapter we will call those blockages "stones." Your stones have been the wounds keeping you in a state of death.
We know the path that Jesus took to His new life. First He was crucified, then he was buried, and then a stone sealed His grave. The Roman government made sure that a very heavy stone was blocking the grave so that no one would steal His body and claim the resurrection. As we know a heavy stone was no match for the resurrection power of God. The world's system also sets heavy stones on our "graves" to keep us in bondage.
If you have heard and applied the truths we have presented in this book, you are a candidate for the resurrection power of God to remove your stone and bring you into God's designed prosperity for you life.
The result is prosperity.
3 John 1:2-4 says, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."
John connected prosperity with three things:
1. The truth being in his disciples.
2. That his disciples also walked, or lived their lives, in the truth.
3. John equated their potential prosperity with the prosperity of their souls. He said "just as," or in the same measure as your soul prospers, so shall your life prosper.
The Greek word for prosper is euodow euodoo {yoo-od-o'-o}:
Prosper, have a prosperous journey; to grant a prosperous and expeditious journey, to lead by a direct and easy way; to grant a successful issue, be successful.
Psalms 35:27 says, "Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, 'Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.'"
The word prosper in Hebrew means:
shalowm {shaw-lome'} or shalom {shaw-lome'} Peace, well, peaceably, welfare, salute, prosperity, safe, health, peaceable, completeness, soundness, welfare, completeness (in number); safety, soundness (in body); welfare, health, quiet, tranquility, contentment; of human relationships; with God especially in covenant relationship
God can trust you with His prosperity when your soul is healed.
When your will, mind and emotions are becoming conformed to the image of Christ, then God can trust you with His prosperity. Why? Because then He knows that you are able to possess the prosperity, instead of the prosperity possessing you. Prosperity from the world's system can easily keep you from an intimate relationship with God, and will hamper your dependence upon Him. When it is no longer you who lives but Christ living through you, God will prosper you.
What is godly prosperity?
God's definition of prosperity is different from the world's definition. God has a funny way of keeping certain secrets to Himself. All I can say is that if you totally give all of your life to Jesus as Lord, with nothing withheld, and live out that life in the best obedience that you are capable of, that He will bring His definition of prosperity to you that will absolutely confound you. Ephesians 3:20 says, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,"
I believe that prosperity has been grossly misunderstood by so many Christians. I believe that there have been radical excesses in two different directions. Some say that God wants us to be healthy, wealthy, and not go through sufferings. When I first met the Lord in 1979 I believed that. They attempt to define God's brand of prosperity by the worldly definition of prosperity. Others say that God wants to keep us humble by keeping us poor. Both excesses are wrong. God desires Kingdom of God prosperity for us. Kingdom prosperity is very different, and sometimes its explanation escapes human reason.
I believe that poverty is not supposed to be our end, rather it is to be our entrance into prosperity, a kind of a door through which we walk. Prosperity without death and resurrection will drive a person from God.
Some aspects of godly prosperity.
Fruit of the Spirit.
I believe that Kingdom prosperity includes first the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."
Provisions.
Next I believe that it includes God's provisions for your earthly life, including, but not limited to, finances, God's choice of a vocation for your life, healthy relationships and other issues dealing with our earthly life. I also believe it includes more than enough for us to survive on so that we may be givers. We are to give to the poor, to ministries and churches that establish God's covenant, and to help Israel in some way.
Deuteronomy 8:18 says, "And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day."
I want to make it clear, that when I refer to finances and provisions, that there is no set standard that I am making. Financial prosperity for people in some nations may simply mean having a small garden with vegetables that they may eat and perhaps use some to sell, and use some to feed the poor. This is prosperity for many. For others it may mean being able to operate a good church with a powerful ministry, where the pastor and his family are cared for. For others, God may wish to funnel large sums of money through them for larger projects for the Kingdom of God. We are not to compare ourselves to others.
Nor are we to become discouraged if we have not yet realized financial prosperity. The major issue is to focus on the prosperity of your soul, by, like John said in 3 John, allowing the truth to be in you, and also walking in the truth. Allow God to heal your will, mind and emotions as we have been discussing in the book. Give Him time. Do not become impatient. Do not focus on financial prosperity, but rather focus on your relationship with Him, and your walk with Him. Remember, I believe that Godly prosperity comes through the doorway of "poverty." When I say poverty, I mean any kind of deprivation, lack or great need.
For those of you in non-Western nations who are experiencing lack of provisions due to a poor economic or political climate I have some advice. Do not look for nor depend upon a Western Christian from a more prosperous nation to support you. That is idolatry. Look upon God for your prosperity: He will provide what you need.
Glorifying God.
And finally, I believe that prosperity includes being used by God to further His Kingdom in our realm of influence. To glorify means to uncover the secret. That could be as a mother raising children, or ministry in our workplaces, and many other types of vocations including church and missionary work.
Prosperity does not mean the absence of suffering or trials and challenges.
There are so many different types of prosperity God has for different people. Believers in the persecuted church have to live with a different definition of prosperity. I have visited with Chinese believers who would tell you that they are prospering in prison camps with little food, because they see the Kingdom of God being expanded through their suffering. The church in many persecuted nations is growing in exponential numbers.
Believers who have believed for a physical healing and have not seen the manifestation of it yet, should continue to seek God, but at the same time should not at all feel condemned or inferior because they do not see their healing. God deals with individuals in many different ways.
The rolling away of the stone relates to resurrection.
Jesus traded places with you on the Cross. You did not have to suffer the penalty for sin. However He identified with and included you in the resurrection. When your stone is rolled away, you participate in the resurrection fruit with the Lord.
Look at these examples written in Isaiah showing how prosperity is the fruit that rises from poverty.
Isaiah 35:1-10
1 The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;
2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, The excellency of our God.
3 Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, "Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you."
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert.
7 The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
8 A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray.
9 No lion shall be there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there,
10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away."
Isaiah 61 was the prophecy of Jesus' mission statement. It begins with dealing with the poor and downtrodden, the opening of prisons and releasing of captives. It goes on to talk of Satan's demise and the spiritual prosperity of God's redeemed. Then it talks of overcoming generational curses. It speaks of financial prosperity and finally about God's redeemed people serving Him as New Testament priests, or ministers.
Isaiah 61:1-11
1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."
4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations.
5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
6 But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, They shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast.
7 Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs.
8 "For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant.
9 Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, That they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed."
10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations."
Joy in the morning speaks of resurrection.
Psalms 30:5 says, "For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning."
Godly prosperity, in my opinion, is what glorifies Jesus, or makes Him known.
John 15:8 says, "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples." Fruit is a product of resurrection, even in the natural sense.
John 12:24 says, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain."
I believe that if we follow the path laid out the by Apostle Paul in Philippians Chapter 3, that we will be on God's course towards the prosperity that He wants for us.
"[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope] That if possible I may attain to the [spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].
Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own (Philippians 3:10-12 Amplified Bible).
Quote from Dr. Kirk Walters – Administrative Pastor Mount Paran North Church of God.
He wants us to finish the journey well.
So many times we focus on the small, minute details for our measurement of prosperity, i.e. the balance in our bank account or the ability to land the big business deal. God is focused on the really big picture of prosperity.
The true indicator of our success in life is the status of our soul. John says he prays that we prosper in all things, including health; but he ties those things to the level of prosperity in our soul.
Our responsibility is to live and trust in such a way that at the end of our journey, we can sing "It is well with my soul!"
God's responsibility, if we have lived and trusted well, is to look upon us in perfect judgment and declare, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter in the joys of the Lord!"
That's true prosperity!"