 But I'm really excited today to bring a message called Kingdom Prosperity. And I highly recommend that you would go back and listen to Pastor Vlad's messages on the theology of work, I think, two weeks ago, and then his latest one from last week. I highly recommend listening to those as well because they're powerful teachings. But today I want to talk about this because this is actually quite a controversial topic, even just the word prosperity. It gets thrown around in so many ways where it can be... It's just very divisive, it's very controversial, and it's kind of a heated debate. So I want us to understand this topic from a scriptural lens, not just taking one verse and building a sermon off of it, but really looking at the totality of Scripture. What are God's thoughts on prosperity? What is the biblical view of prosperity? So we see four things in Scripture. Number one, each person has a designated purpose and God gives to them according to that purpose. Some people think that if you're a Christian, as a believer, if you just have faith and obey God, you're gonna be wealthy, you're gonna be rich, this is a divine right for every believer. However, we see in the Scripture that this view is not fully accurate. Take for example, John the Apostle, who wrote the book of Revelation. He was exiled to a barren, rocky island called Patmos where criminals were exiled to to serve their sentences. He was exiled to this island and he writes this, I, John, your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, and what you see right in a book and send it to the seven churches. Well, in this revelation, Jesus says this to the church in Smyrna, I know about your suffering and your poverty, but you are rich. I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they're Jews, but they're not because their synagogue belongs to Satan. Don't be afraid of what you're about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You'll suffer for 10 days, but if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life. Jesus' own words. John, not necessarily living in a big mansion there on the Isle of Patmos, but receiving this revelation, the last book of the Bible. Powerful, powerful time there. Paul, as he was in prison for years on end for the word of God, preaching the word of God, he would be singing hymns in prison. He writes to the Corinthians church that he was in labor's more abundant stripes above measure, prisons more frequently, deaths often. From the Jews, five times, I received 40 stripes minus one. Now those are whips, those are lashings. Physical punishment, three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I've been in the deep and journeys often in perils of the waters, perils of robbers, his own countrymen of the Gentiles in the city, in the wilderness in the sea, among false brethren, weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Besides the other things, what comes upon me daily, my deep concern for all the churches. What fueled him through those times of tribulation was his love for God's people. And he even told the church at Philippi, and people love to quote this verse, but here's two verses before it. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I've learned in whatever state I am to be content. I know how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Amen. Moses decided to leave the riches and royalties of Egypt. He was born into the royalty and he had it all, really. He had all the riches. He decided to lead God people out of Egypt into the desert to find and found a nation built on God's principles, on God's law, didn't reach the same level of prosperity and wealth out there in the desert as he did in Egypt, but he was in God's will and that's what matters. Look at the saints even living around the world in different countries where if they're public about their faith, they don't then become, you know, part, oh, their family starts to rejoice because now they're coming back to the Lord, they grew up in a Christian home. No, they come to the faith and they are persecuted severely, even risk being executed, killed, murdered, right now on earth, believers, brothers and sisters in Christ. The writer of Hebrews, he says, think back on the early days when you were first enlightened. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering? Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were burnt, beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever. So don't throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you. Patient endurance is what you need now so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that you have promised. Each of us are called to a specific calling. God gives a corner to that purpose. These men and women of God, they were called to places that meant suffering as good soldiers of Christ for the cause of Christ. But we do see in scripture other people who were literally specifically blessed by God, financially, with prosperity. And we can't let those examples go unnoticed. For example, in Isaac's case, the son of Abraham, the scripture says, the Lord appeared to him and said, don't go down to Egypt. Live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land and I'll be with you and bless you. For to you and your descendants I give all these lands and I will perform the oath which I swore to your father, Abraham. Then Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundred fold. God basically told him, get into Bitcoin early. You're gonna get a hundred X on your investment. In one year, a hundred X of his investment. Straight from God. He reaped in the same year a hundred fold and the Lord blessed him. The man began to prosper, continued prospering until he became very prosperous. For he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. Jacob, he made an agreement with his boss, Laban, that if the animals that were born, because he was looking after the flock of Laban and Laban was cheating him, scamming him, deceiving him, not a good boss, changing his wages all the time. And so Jacob says, okay, whatever animals are born, if they have a streak speckled and are spotted, they're gonna be mine. How's that for a wage? And Laban's like, okay, yeah, of course. Who is this idiot? Like no one's ever, no animals are born like that. That's like a rarity, a genetic rarity. But Jacob said, let's do that. And this is what the scripture says. The angel of God spoke to me in a dream saying, Jacob, and I said, here I am. And he said, lift your eyes now and see. All the rams which leap on the flocks are streaks, speckled and gray spotted. For I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous and had large flocks, male and female servants and camels and donkeys. God's supernaturally influenced the biological births of those animals to put them into Jacob's possession to increase his wealth and his prosperity financially. And then after that, a couple of chapters after, he wrestles with the angel and his name is renamed to Israel. The man who gives birth to 12 sons, the 12 tribes of Israel. This is the foundation. These are the roots of our faith of God's building his people. Solomon, he asked the Lord for wisdom to rule God's people when he was reigning. And the scripture says the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him, because you've asked this thing and you've not asked for yourself long life nor riches for yourself, nor the life of your enemies but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice. Behold, I've done according to your words. I've given you a wise and understanding heart so that there has not been anyone like you before you nor shall anyone like you arise after you. And I've also given you what you have not asked both riches and honor so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings of your days. So if you walk in my ways to keep my statutes and my commandments as your father David walked then I will lengthen your days. And Solomon was one of the richest men to ever live who actually helped build God's temple as well. God directly blessed him with riches but that wasn't his heart posture. He wasn't seeking after that. He was dedicated to the Lord wanting to govern his people with righteousness, with justice. He wanted to be holy. He wanted to walk in that and that's what he desired primarily. Joseph of Arimathea, let's go to the New Testament. You're saying, okay, well these are all Old Testament. You got the New Covenant. Well, Joseph of Arimathea is the man who gave the tomb to Jesus and the Bible describes him as a disciple of Jesus, a council member, a good and righteous man but a rich man who is actually waiting patiently for the kingdom of God, the Bible says. That was used to describe him. He was waiting patiently. His gaze was fixated on the eternal kingdom that Christ spoke about. His heart was waiting patiently to inherit all the promises that Jesus was speaking, that this temporary lifetime wasn't it but eternal was all that. But he was considered a disciple of Jesus yet he was rich and good and righteous. Cornelius the Centurion. He was the first Gentile to ever receive the Holy Spirit. And to be a Centurion back in the day, you had a hundred soldiers under you. Said he had servants. You know, he wasn't, you know, some lower class. He was quite a prominent Roman and the Bible says he was also a devout man who feared God with all his household and he gave alms generously to the people and prayed to God always. He was the first Gentile to receive the Holy Spirit. Lydia, the first recorded convert to Christianity in Europe who is a woman. It says this in the scriptures. A woman named Lydia was listening. She was a seller of purple fabrics. Now purple back in the day was associated with royalty and that's for a reason because the dye of purple was extremely rare and it was actually very, very valuable. You had to get it from a specific secretion of snails and these mollusks that would be boiled and then they'd secrete this compound that then could be used as purple dye. So then it became associated with royalty and it was likely that to be a seller of purple, her clientele was part of a very elite status. So, you know, she was doing that as a profession. And it says she was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. Now when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us saying, if you've judged me faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay. And she prevailed upon us. For her to even request Paul and his team to stay at her house means she wasn't living in some studio apartment. You know, she had some resources to be able to house them and they actually judged her faithful to the Lord. They judged her faithful to the Lord. And we see other women who actually financed Jesus's ministry. It says among them were Mary Magdalene who was cast out seven demons. Joanna, the wife of Chusa, who is Herod's business manager. And Susanna and many others who are contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples. So we see Jesus's ministry was fueled financially. And many people think that Jesus was kind of like some a poor vagabond, kind of wandering to and fro, just, you know, disconnected from the normal seas of life. And it's really this kind of Eastern mysticism and gnostic view of Jesus when really majority of his life, he was a carpenter earning a living wage, working for his money. And then when he started his ministry, he was getting donations from these women and he actually had a treasurer. You know, how many of us have a treasurer, you know, looking after our treasure? To have a treasurer, you gotta have some treasure. And Jesus had a treasurer for his ministry. What God was doing, what he was doing in his ministry. He traveled with 12 disciples. It's kind of an inexpensive thing to travel with 12 people and potentially more than other disciples. And actually when he was a baby, the wise men, when they bring those gifts, those were extremely expensive gifts. Now scholars debate on the value of them, but they were very, very, very expensive. Gold, frankincense, myrrh. And if he was in need one time, he actually just told Peter, go look in the fish's mouth and you'll see a gold coin. That's what you'll pay our taxes with. So he wasn't just this like poor vagabond figure disconnected from these things. Now he was engaged in this aspect of life. King David, we look back on, he was the son of David. Well, King David actually gave his personal treasure to help build the temple of God. And after he did that, it says the leaders began to give the captains of the army, the administrators, all these other people of the upper class in society began to give to build God's temple where then he dwelled in the holy of holies. So to be rich doesn't mean that you're just completely ungodly or not in God's will. And today's day and age, there's a guy named David Green who's heard of Hobby Lobby. You've probably been there, gotten some stuff. Yeah, Hobby Lobby started out as a $600 idea. He got a loan for 600 bucks to make small miniature picture frames. And now I think they're bringing in $8 billion in revenue per year. But David Green, according to Forbes, Hobby Lobby, half of their total pre-tax earnings are actually given to a portfolio of evangelical ministries. And he actually funded as well the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., one of the greatest museums of the Bible in the world to ever be completed and constructed. And they have some incredible artifacts there. They have the world's largest private collection of Torahs that were actually confiscated by the Nazis from Jewish people. And then they were recovered from concentration camp. The world's largest private collection of that. They have a first edition King James Bible and they have a page from the first edition Gutenberg Bible that was printed by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century. This guy invented the printing press and it revolutionized the way that the word of God was able to get into the hands of civilians of the common folk through the printing because it was more effective. It was more cost-efficient means to reproduce written material. And they have one of those things there. Then they have this papyrus from third and fourth century with the book of Psalms. Just incredible stuff. All money he donated towards what he felt God was calling him to. And he wrote this. He says, I don't care if you're in business or out of business, God owns it. And how do I separate it? Well, it's God's in church and it's mine here. I have purpose in church, but I don't have purpose over here. You can't have a belief system on Sunday. And not live at the other six days. Then he wrote, it's not my money. It's God's money and it's not my business. It's God's business. There's nothing wrong with men possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess men. Now, let me tell you, God doesn't want just George Soros and Bill Gates funding all their dark agendas in the world. He wants his kingdom financiers to be funding kingdom projects, culture, media, the things that actually promote the word of God and holiness. He doesn't want, as the scripture says, the rich rules over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender. He doesn't want just evil people to be rich to rule over the poor. He wants his people to be righteous and to use finances as a tool to expand his kingdom. You look at the TV show, The Chosen, that was donation-based. Look at how successful that has been in giving people a, wow, this is kind of, whoa, this is Jesus? Like, whoa, they don't read the word. Maybe they didn't even grow up with the Bible and they're watching this show and there's like good acting, pretty good production value. Yeah, God wants his content to be able to reach souls for the gospel, that they would be convicted of their sin, realize that their sinners come to know they need a savior and finances can be a tool to do that. And he raises people up to do that. Some of us are literally specifically called to business and wealth and we gotta respect that call. The scripture says that God grants the ability to gain wealth due to Ronomy 818. Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the power to get wealth. And in context, this verse comes when Israel was starting to obey God and they were inheriting all the blessings and the prosperity that he promised them from that obedience that they would not forget about him in their prosperity, that they would not forget about God's goodness and who really gave them that when they start to abound and prosper? He grants this ability in alignment with a pure heart and devotion to him. We also know Satan loves to give wealth though as well. If he knows it can achieve his purposes, he tried to do it to Jesus. He took him up to a high place and said, Jesus, here are all the kingdoms of the world, I can give them to you, just worship me. And Jesus quoted scripture, he said, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only you shall serve. Satan has the ability to grant riches. Someone's heart's not right if he knows it can corrupt him, if he knows it can veer him away from the faith, get him into the things of the world, he has the power to do so. But God does as well, not just Satan. And Satan uses it for his purposes, God uses it for his purposes. So we gotta distinguish the difference. It's interesting, God gives the power to gain wealth. Not only that, he gives the specific knowledge, skills, and understanding necessary to do it. We see in the construction of the Tabernacle, God gave supernatural skills to the people building it. Moses said to the Israelites, see the Lord has chosen Bezalel, son of Uri, and he has filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge, and with all kinds of skills. And then it goes on to mention, another guy was given the ability to teach others, filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers, and blue and scarlet yarn, all of them skilled workers and designers. Well, God can still do the same today. He can do the exact same thing for your business, whether you're in insurance, whether you're in construction, whether you're in investments, whatever you're in, God can give you the supernatural wisdom and understanding to understand your industry better, to understand your company better. How does the company I work for give value? How do they make money? How can I be a bigger part of this? How can I be a more effective employee? Because God wants to raise up honest, hardworking, productive, wise, intelligent, smart people who can earn a higher income to do more for his kingdom, to be a bigger influence for him, and he calls people to that. So don't feel like you're on the sidelines if you're spending a lot of days at work, but you're wanting to serve in a different capacity. God has people in specific callings who are meant to honor what he calls us to do. We look at Joseph and Daniel, these guys, God was with them constantly guiding them through their careers, and Joseph wasn't always rich. He actually got sold into slavery by his brothers, and then he was put into prison for doing something he never actually did. He endured suffering, but the scripture says this, when he was in the house of Potiphar, the Lord was with Joseph. He was a successful man, and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian, and his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did prosper in his hand. So it was from the time that he made him overseer of his house and all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptians house for Joseph's sake, and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. Joseph ends up using his wealth to bless his family, saving them from famine, and saving thousands and thousands of Egyptian people from famine as well, using the wisdom God gave him. He had spiritual gifts. He was able to interpret dreams. He had a very deep relationship with the Lord, but he wasn't only in some sort of spiritual ministry capacity. He was literally governing the land of Egypt, second in command, in politics. People trying to take him down, people trying to get his power. He had massive wealth. God was giving him those wisdom, the knowledge and understanding to do his job effectively. See the exact same thing with Daniel. Daniel, part of a wicked nation. He was a chief ruler in government in Babylon, and actually through three different regimes. And the Bible says there was no fault found in Daniel, and he had a spirit of excellence upon him. And he had a spiritual gift as well. He was able to interpret the dreams of the king, and God would send him dreams as well. A lot of end times prophecies that we have to this day come from the book of Daniel. Yet Daniel was in government. He was administrating and managing a land, yet he was deeply spiritual. And the most powerful thing about Daniel is he was willing to give up everything to continue praying to the Lord. They banned praying to Yahweh, his enemies, because they couldn't find a fault in him. They didn't know how to take this guy down. So they're like, King, you need to ban the prayers to this God. They're, you know, kind of coming against you. And he signs it. And unfortunately he loved Daniel. So when they caught Daniel praying to the Lord, because Daniel's like, I don't care if I lose everything. I don't care if I lose my wealth. God, you gave me everything. You're my everything. I look to you. I'm not gonna stop praying to you. And they literally threw him in a lion's den. But he survived, because his heart posture was right. He had all that, but he loved God. He served God, and he served him well. God's able to give us whatever we need to be productive in the calling he has for us. Be productive in the company, and the job, and the business, and whatever he's called us to do, he can give us that need. And second Corinthians nine, verse nine. God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you always having sufficiency in all things may have an abundance for every good work. Let me say that one more time. God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you always having all sufficiency in all things may have an abundance for every good work. God is capable. God is with you at work. God is with you raising your family, raising your kids. God is with you in the smallest details of your life. Not only when you're praying as you with you, he lives inside of you. The Holy Spirit is inside of you. It's not I who live, but Christ lives in me. We are his church. We are his body. That disconnect is not a real truth that scripture teaches us. He's always with us. Number two, not all who have wealth are less godly. Now you might have seen that by now by all the examples I listed. But in the Old Testament, we see wealth was associated with obedience to God. Proverbs 10, 22, the blessing of the Lord makes one rich and he adds no sorrow with it. Deuteronomy chapter 28, which is the chapter where God says, if you carefully obey and keep all my commands and statutes that I will bless your towns, your fields, your enemies will scatter, you will be on top, not on the bottom, the head, not the tail. You would lend to many nations and not borrow. He guaranteed them prosperity for obedience. So that was kind of the Old Testament view, the Jewish view, and that's why Jesus had a lot to say about riches as well. Because Jesus came in and clarified the real heart of the law, the spirit of the law, the real heart behind it. That's why he had such things to say. We see Job, who's actually one of the greatest examples because Job went through immense suffering and confusion. Why am I suffering? Why is this happening to me? His friends, when he was going through it, they said it must be a punishment for sin. There must be something there that's hiding. There must be a legal right or something that is allowing this to happen to you. But really, that wasn't the case at all. Satan came to God and he said, Job, if you take his money, he's not going to serve you. He's going to curse you. He only loves you because you give him all this prosperity and all this blessing. And God's like, that's not true. I'll give you all the power towards him to harm him, but you can't take his life. So Satan wrecks havoc on his life. Throughout this time, Job is writing because he's going through a lot of what is going on. God have served you faithfully. And we see in the scriptures, man, Job was a righteous, just man. The Bible says he was blameless and upright. One who feared God, shunned evil. He was actually called the richest man in the East. And he lived sometime between Noah and Abraham. Scholars believe. He said this in the book of Job. He said, have I lied to anyone or deceived anyone? Let God weigh me on the scales of justice for he knows my integrity. If I've strayed from his pathway or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen or if I'm guilty of any other sin, have I refused to help the poor or crushed the hopes of widows? Have I been stingy with my food and refused to share it with orphans? No, from childhood I've cared for orphans like a father and all my life I've cared for widows. Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes and the needy with nothing to wear, did they not praise me for providing wool clothing to keep them warm? Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold? Have I gloated about my wealth and all that I owned? My servants have never said he let others go hungry. I've never turned away a stranger but have opened my doors to everyone. Have I tried to hide my sins like other people do, concealing my guilt in my heart? Have I feared the crowd or the contempt of the masses so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors? If only someone would listen to me, look, I will sign my name to my defense, let the Almighty answer me, let the accuser write out the charges against me, I would face the accusation proudly, I would wear it like a crown for I'd tell him exactly what I've done. He was innocent, he was righteous. He literally embodied the principles that Christ taught to give to the poor, to help the widows, to help those who are in need. He was the good Samaritan. And to be a good Samaritan requires having more than enough. The parable of the good Samaritan when he helps the person on the road, he gets him lodging and he says, hey, anything on the bill, I've got it. Anything you need to help this guy, I've got it. That requires having more than enough finances to do so, to literally fulfill one of the parables of righteousness that Christ taught that's in the scriptures that instructs us in righteousness. That parable teaches us something about what it means to be a good person, a holy and righteous person, to be a good Samaritan requires having more than enough. Job was that good Samaritan. And it didn't corrupt him, the wealth didn't corrupt him. Even through all that time, and guess what happened afterwards? God gave him double what he had before. Everything he had lost, God gave him double, all that he had lost. We also see not just being wealthy doesn't make you less godly, but even according to the scripture, the enjoyment of wealth to a certain degree is not considered inherently sinful. Ecclesiastes 519, when God gives someone wealth and possessions and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil, this is a gift of God. Proverbs 21-20, the wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get. Proverbs 24-3-4, through wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established, by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. First Timothy 6, a very important passage on the topic of money. Command those who are rich in this present age not to be arrogant nor put their hope and wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God. Who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share. In this way, they will lay up for themselves treasures as a firm foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. At a minimum, we must remember one thing. The satisfaction we get from the enjoyment of our wealth should never exceed the satisfaction we get from the employment of our wealth for God's purposes. Money's a tool, we can use it to do much good. And having wealth doesn't make us somehow less godly, but when we let wealth have us, it does. And this brings us to the third point. Money can be dangerous and we must guard our hearts. This is clearly what Jesus taught about money, that it can be dangerous and we must guard our hearts. So here's how we can find a healthy balance when we talk about prosperity. Don't love it. 1 Timothy 6, those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. We're to love and desire God. The second, don't trust it. 1 Timothy 6, 17, command those who are rich in the present age not to be haughty nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God. The young ruler, the parable, not even a parable is the actual account of the young ruler he trusted in his riches. And this is when Jesus was teaching and a rich young ruler came to him and he said, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? So Jesus tells him the commands of the law, don't steal, don't lie, honor your parents, don't commit adultery, don't commit murder. And he said, I've done this since my youth. And then Jesus said this, looking at him, loved him, said to him, one thing you lack, go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come, take up the cross and follow me. But he was sad at this word and went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, how hard is it for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God? And the disciples were astonished at his words, but Jesus answered again and said to them, children, how hard is it for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God? It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, who then can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said, with men it is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible. The rich young ruler, Jesus knew that the wealth had his heart, not God. It was that one last thing that he was attached to. Now we like to really throw stones at the rich young ruler, but just think for a second what that moment could have been processing in his mind. A rich young ruler, he probably inherited that wealth, he's probably part of a very upper class community, family, all of his friends, his kind of network of people. We're all probably very wealthy. Is he just gonna go home and is he supposed to say, hey, I know, dad, you made all this money, I inherited most of it, I'm this young ruler, I'm just gonna sell everything. I'm gonna give away everything, I'm gonna go follow this guy. And they're like, who, what guy? Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus of Nazareth, the blasphemer who comes against the traditions of Moses. You know, not everybody thought Jesus was a great guy. A lot of people hated Jesus. The rich young ruler, this is probably, a lot of this is going through his mind, but Jesus still asked him to do that. Because to follow Jesus, even amidst a society and a culture that may not like Jesus, that is what's required. And that's really the faith that can endure the persecution, the faith that it can endure all these different things. But we see in this passage that the rich young ruler did not obey Christ. Because we see Joseph of Arimathea, he was considered a disciple, a follower of Jesus, waiting patiently for the kingdom of God, and he was rich. Some people think, oh, just because the young ruler was asked to sell everything and give to the poor means every single disciple of all the time that they came to Christ had to sell everything, we don't fully see that. We see this as a specific case to the rich young ruler. We see it to Peter when he gave up his profession of fishing and left all and followed him, the tax collector as well. That was actually a pretty immoral profession. We don't see that in every single case. So just because the rich young ruler, Jesus commanded him to sell everything, doesn't mean he commanded every single person that came to him to sell everything. And that's a very important distinction. The next is we're not to obtain it immorally. Now James chapter five, there is an extremely vicious attack against rich people it seemingly sounds like. It says, look here you rich people, we've been grown with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. Your wealth is rotting away and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you've hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment for listen, hear the cries of the field workers whom you've cheated of their pay, the cries of the who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven's armies. You've spent your years on earth and luxury satisfying your every desire. You've fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. You have condemned and killed innocent people who do not resist you. Might sound like wealth is being condemned, but really it's the obtainment of it immorally that's being condemned. And last we see don't be deceived by it. Jesus said to the church in Laodicea, which is the lukewarm church. That's where the phrase lukewarm comes from. It's from the book of Revelation to the church of Laodicea. He said, you say I'm rich and have acquired wealth and do not need a thing, but you don't realize that you're wretched, poor, pitiful, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so you can become rich and white clothes to wear so you can cover your shameful nakedness and salve to put on your eyes so you can see. The gold there is symbolic of good works, the works that survive the judgment and not get burnt up like wood, hay and straw. And then the white clothes are symbolic of one's righteousness of being unspotted from the world. And Jesus said in the parable of the sower that the deceitfulness of riches is what chokes out the word from bearing fruit in a believer's life. And then he said in Luke 12, take heed and beware of covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses. Notice how he didn't say beware of money. He said beware of covetousness, greed. Take heed and beware. That's what corrupts money because it's a tool. We can use it for good and evil. This brings us to our last point. Financial prosperity is an opportunity to build our heavenly prosperity which lasts forever. That's what's truly eternal. That's what the Bible teaches. That's what Jesus was getting at. He said, sell what you have, give alms, provide for yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, your heart will be also. Paul spoke about this as well to the Philippians. He said, now you Philippians, know also in the beginning of the gospel when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving, but you only. For even in Thessalonica, you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed, I have all in a bound, I'm full having received from a pathoditis, the things sent from you, a sweet smelling aroma and acceptable sacrifice while pleasing to God. My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. He directly mentioned, I don't seek the gift you're bringing me, the temporary aspect of it. I'm seeking the eternal increase to your account, the fruit that abounds to your account. Speaking of the heavenly account that their temporary action was actually changing and manipulating, you can invest in the heavenly account on earth right now using the possessions that God has given you. And not only that, because some people are not called to a vocation that makes a lot of money. Some people are give up a vocation of making a lot of money because they feel God is calling them one way. And what matters is you're in God's will. You're gonna have great rewards in heaven. The person who's called into business and wealth, you don't need to feel like less godly for doing so because if you're in God's will, that's all that matters. You will have eternal, you have eternal treasures in heaven. That's what truly matters. And even the Bible says, you might feel like, man, I just feel like I'm not serving in the way I should. I don't have the time. I feel like, well, there's actually different gifts of service that God has given us. Romans chapter 12, in his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God's given you the ability to prophesy, speak out as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you're a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. All of our rewards in heaven ultimately depend on one question. Did we do God's will? We're meant to be seeking the eternal treasures, the true kingdom prosperity. It might involve an earthly prosperity. And that can be fine and dandy. If you're in God's will, that's all that matters. If your heart is captured by the Lord, if your heart is waiting patiently for the kingdom of God, that's all that matters. And let me tell you, God is involved in your calling, whatever it might be. Not just in people who are in ministry. You see, most of the people I just mentioned weren't in some like ministry capacity. They were in everyday life. Jesus was a carpenter for a reason. He was teaching us something, associating with the majority of people, the majority of people like you and I. And God is involved in that. Our faith is more precious than gold. And our possessions won't live on, but our good works will. True kingdom prosperity is eternal. I want us to rise and I want us to pray that God would imbue you with his grace, with his power to fulfill the call that he has on your life, whatever it might be. Doesn't need to be business. It could be something completely different that God has called you to be, a teacher. But God can give you the skills and the wisdom and understanding to prosper in the plans that he has for you. And I want us to pray as well for those who have been called into business, into wealth, into attaining these things. You've just been given a gift or that's your calling or that's the job that you're in. I want us to pray that God would just like the men of God, the women of God that have mentioned that he would imbue you with wisdom, that he would give you spiritual understanding, that supernaturally he would impart in you now supernatural skills that would increase what you're doing because your heart is pure, your devotion is to him and he can do it. The Lord, I thank you for your faithfulness, for your goodness. God, I pray that there would be a revelation deeper than it was before, that you are involved in every moment of our lives. You are involved at work. You are involved in our career. You are involved not just on Sunday or at small group or when I'm praying in the morning or getting into your word. You are involved at every decision I make. And Lord, I pray that you would give supernatural understanding on your people right now. I pray that you would give spiritual gifts of insight, of wisdom to bring more value to the organization they work for, to help the people that they're called to serve more, that you would give wisdom and understanding to know the will that you have for them, God. I pray that the grace that gives sufficiency in all things causing them to abound would be imparted now, Lord. Holy Spirit, empower us. Empower us to do what you've called us to do. Empower us to be excellent at what we do. The spirit of excellence would come upon us. That a laziness and sloth would be cast out of our lives. That a foggy mind, an unclear mind, a bitter mind would be cast out of our lives. That we would be strong, righteous and intelligent workers for your kingdom. Workers in our jobs, in our company, on the, in construction, Lord, that you would give us supernatural skills to teach others, to be able to manage, to lead, to rise in our career, to rise to earn a higher kingdom, to be that good Samaritan, to be that blessing for others, Lord. That we can do more to advance your kingdom, God. That we wouldn't see money as evil, but we would see it as a tool that we need to use wisely. And that we would always seek your word for wisdom to use this tool. That we would not allow the deceitfulness of Satan and of the world to choke out what you're doing in our lives, but we would allow it to bear fruit, but be will be a blessing to everyone we can be. And we thank you, God. We thank you, Lord. Watching this sermon, if this was a blessing to you, would you let me know in the comments below what stood out to you from this message? What are you taking home with you from this message? 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