WALKING AND PRAYING MY WAY TO ISRAEL

Many of us have been guilty of being critical of the so called “Health and Wealth” message that is being preached by some TV evangelists and others. But maybe we should not be so quick to condemn, but rather do a little re-interpretation.

By The Way I have been asked, “are you a Methodist” and I sometimes reply, “Of course, I believe in godly methods to the way we present our faith and organized our churches.

Some have said, I am Jehovah’s Witness.” And I reply, “Yes, I am too. I try to witness for Jehovah every day. You know Jesus said that He was the “I Am” before Abraham. He is Jehovah or as the Hebrew would put it, Yahweh.”

“Are you a Latter Day Saint?” was a question put to me. I immediately answered in the affirmative. “I believe we are living in the last days. When Christ saved me He made me a saint (see 1 Corinthians)”

“Are you Pentecostal?” was the question. “Of course I am, I believe that the church was baptized with the power of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, and when I was saved I became a part of that church, and now share in that same Pentecostal power. Acts 1:8 says, ‘and you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.’ I have received that Holy Spirit and the Power of God that comes with that experience.”

AND NOW I AM READY TO DECLARE THAT I BELIEVE AND PREACH A HEALTH AND WEALTH GOSPEL.

Now let me explain my position by using the following acrostic. We are dealing with God’s laws or principles of reaping and sowing. Our experience of reality depends upon practicing God’s principles for health and wealth. This works in the physical world as well as the spiritual world. God intends for His children to be healthy and wealthy.

3 John 2 dear friend, I pray that you may prosper in every way and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. (HCSB)

Humility … Humility is a necessary virtue if we are to learn to depend upon our Lord and not ourselves. Humility takes the spotlight off us and puts it on Christ. We need humility in order to be healthy spiritually and physically.

Excitement … It is a thrill to walk with God. One cannot be thrilled with His walk without showing it. Excitement starts from an inner certainty of our security in Christ and is expressed in our actions, reactions, and physical expressions. Excitement cannot live where discouragement and depression reign. Excitement promotes health.

Accountability … One cannot be autonomous, that is, having to answer to no one and be healthy spiritually or physically. All the so called “self-help programs” list accountability as a necessary ingredient to success. We are ultimately accountable to God, but we also need to have accountability to a Christian brother or sister, and to a local church.

Love … Love is not lust. Love is self-giving, lust is all about getting. A person who feels unloved is truly an ill person. But to receive love we must give it away. God’s kind of love is “Agape.” It is a love that requires nothing in return. A person with this kind of love is truly healthy.

Trust … Lack of trust, which is fear and jealousy can make us sick both physically and spiritually. Trust is faith put to action. We must trust our God, and learn to trust our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Hope … Lack of hope leads to worry and worry leads to all kinds of sickness: sickness of the mind, the body and our spiritual nature. Hope in the Scripture means to have confidence in the future as God reveals it as if it had already happened. That leads to rest. And that kind of rest leads to spiritual and physical health.

Wonder … Dr. Vance Havner preached a sermon entitled “Losing the Wonder of it All.” He says that there are many Christians that have lost the Wonder, the glow, euphoria of being a Christian. They have settled for a humdrum boring existence. A person like that is poor, regardless of his bank account or his other material possessions. A Believer who still has the Wonder of his relationship to the Lord is rich indeed.

Experience … The Christian life is not just an exercise in intelligence or how much we know in our head. It is an experience. We are, as Dr. Blackaby puts it, to experience God. And this should be a daily experience and an adventure. A person who experiences God this way is wealthy beyond measure.

Acceptance … To be wealthy spiritually and physically we cannot simply choose those we want to help and those we want to ignore. In accepting others we are really giving ourselves away. It is the truly rich person who can give themselves away.

Leaving … A person who is truly wealthy knows how to leave a Godly legacy. We know that when we die we leave everything that is material behind. All those material things will rust, and rot away. But there are some things that we leave behind that will last. A legacy of a life well lived means your influence keeps multiplying. It is like a savings account that draws interest, except this is something intangible. Only a wealthy person can leave a legacy like that.

Teaching … I am reminded of a credit card commercial… many things have a dollar value, but other things are priceless. A wealthy man or woman may teach some things that have a dollar value. I have taught a college class for years that has to do with business leadership. It is gratifying to know that some of the things I have taught helped some of my students excel in the business world. It meant more money and that is fine. But more importantly I taught Christian values, and Biblical morals, and it is even more a joy to see positive spiritual changes in the lives of some of my students. That is priceless

Helping … I love to watch the celebrated film It’s A Wonderful Life. Marie and I always watch it around Christmas time. At one point in the film George Bailey felt that he had been a failure. But when all the people George had helped came to his rescue after most of their money had been lost, he began to realize that he had not been a failure after all. The last scene in the film a toast was given to George Bailey, the richest man in town. Old man Potter may have had more cash, but it takes more than cash to make us rich. George had friends because he had been a friend. And as a friend he had helped hundreds of people. Look for the one who is always helping others, and there you will see someone who is truly rich.

THOT: GOD WANTS US TO BE HEALTHY AND WEALTHY BUT IT IS A HEALTH THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY ANNOUNCED IN THE DOCTORS OFFICE, AND IT IS NOT A WEALTH THAT CAN NOT BE MEASURED BY MONEY OR EARTHLY POSSESSIONS.