(Read Matthew 15)
This morning we continue our series, “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing our mini-series entitled, “Grace Based Success (Prosperity)”. We have been studying the life of the Apostle Peter and our study has brought us to Matthew chapter 15. In this chapter Peter asked Jesus to explain something He said. Jesus explained, “The bad things people say with their mouth come from the way they think. And that’s what can make people wrong. All these bad things begin in the mind: evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual sins, stealing, lying, and insulting people.” You will never change until you thinking changes. Paul said, “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (Rom 12:2).
This series is about learning how to prosper in life God’s way, but His unearned and amazing grace. Jesus’ emphasis on our thoughts led me to focus on the link between our soul prosperity and our life prosperity. Your soul contains your mind (the way you think), emotions (the way you feel) and will (the way you make decisions). You will never truly prosper in God’s sight until you prosper in your soul. John said, John said, “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, even as your soul prospers” (3 John 2). In this scripture the Apostle John is praying for his friend, Gaius, that he would prosper and be in good physical health to the same degree as his soul was prospering.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- If your thinking and God’s thinking about a given topic are not in alignment, then you will never maximize that area of your life until you renew your mind.
- You will never routinely go beyond your level of thinking. You may venture out from time to time, but you will eventually return to your level of thinking.
- To maximize your divine purpose and potential in life, to become the man/woman God has called you to be, you must SEE yourself as that person first. This is why it is important to develop a prosperous soul.
- You will never experience Godly prosperity, which is not limited to finances, until you become prosperous in your soul.
- Right thinking produces right living. Divine success begins on the inside. The measure of success you experience in life will come as a result of the measure of divine success within your soul.
- The prosperous soul believes in God’s limitless dreams and relies on God’s limitless power.
- You should not have a limited view of success (or prosperity). Ultimate success in the kingdom of God covers everything you will ever need to accomplish God’s best for your life.
- The prosperous soul loves God, not money. If you give God first-place in your life, He will see to it that you receive all the resources you need to accomplish His will in the earth. But it is dangerous for a Christian to put material prosperity ahead of his or her spiritual maturity. Paul warned, “But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows” (1 Tim 6:9,10 NLT).
- God wants you to succeed (prosper) in life. You were not born to fail. God wants you to trust in His love, to accept His plan for your life, to pursue it by faith, and to rely on His grace.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith. It is Your will that I prosper in life. I was not born to fail. I was born to succeed. My success can only be found in Your divine purpose. I make a concerted effort to submit to the process of mind-renewal. It is my intention to purposely change the way I think. My thinking shall align with Yours! I see myself the way You see me. I think of my future the way You do. I align my plans with Your purposes. I remove every limit, because You are a limitless God. Once I factor You in, I can factor out every limit, because there is nothing You cannot do. I pursue success in life by pursuing You, and the success I experience is total life prosperity. I don’t pursue money or things, I pursue You, and when I do, You see to it that I receive everything I need to accomplish Your will in the earth. I am confident I will accomplish Your divine purpose for my life, because I am not relying on me, my ability or my strength. My confidence is in You, Your dedication to me, and Your grace. I am excited about my future, because I am totally reliant on You. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
