Instructions for success and prosperity.

Rev. Peter Tuchyna

Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

Verse 6 : For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

Verse 7 : Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

Verse 8: For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

Verse 9 : The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Verse 10 : I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

In the book of Joshua 1, the Lord confirmed His covenant with Joshua in a very specific way and He gave him assurance of the success, prosperity and the presence of God to protect, to bless and to bring to the fruition all the promises given to His people in the life of this generation.

The promise was not independent of the actions and attitude of Joshua towards God. Rather, there was a direct correlation between Joshua’s obedience, dependency upon God and willingness to actively participate in God’s revealed will in Joshua’s personal application.

Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

It is very interesting to observe the different lifestyle of people according to the response to the Word of God.

1. Like disciples of Jesus Christ.

They did not have a great knowledge of the Scriptures, neither great commitment before they met Jesus. Their spiritual awareness was obscured due to lack of deep knowledge, lack of opportunities, and a heavy burden and care for daily provision to sustain their lives and provide for their families.

Call of Jesus to follow Him, gave them hope for the future change in spite of the lack of knowledge and the consequence of such calling. They had genuine desire for a change and preparedness to be led. They showed willingness to be submitted to Jesus even when Jesus was not known to them at the time of their calling.

Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, Rulers…

Very knowledgeable in the Mosaic law and the principles as revealed in the Old Testament.

They developed their own sophisticated and very intrigued lifestyle based upon their self imposed righteousness by violating the Scriptures, expecting God to honour their ways and to conform to man’s developed theology.

Jesus described the cause of their behaviour when He told them, that their Father is the devil.

Marked with pride and hunger for power and recognition, their eyes were blinded and ears shut so they did not see neither recognised the voice of God.

1. Judas, Demas, Gehazi…

They accepted the invitation of Jesus. Their imagination and expectation from such following and association did not correspondent with the reality.

Both men (and such others) displayed the spirit dwelling in them to the end of their lives. Financial gain was their goal and expectation. All the time they spent with the Prophet, Jesus and apostle Paul was filled with thoughts how their association with them could be turned into financial benefit.

They were full of greed and their eyes were closed to the spiritual beauty, power and authority they could obtain from Jesus.

They spent enough time with the prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ and apostle Paul. They were very exited with the message to start with. But they refused to deny their flesh and to live in the Spirit of God.

It takes longer time for this category of people to show their true intentions, as they are willing to bring their own personal sacrifice to a certain degree and for a certain period of time only.

They were unwilling to die as a corn so the Spirit of God would transform their lives into the image of their Master.

1. Saul of Tarsus …

He was a great enemy and a persecutor of the followers of Jesus to start with. He was persuaded that this is a way of spiritual purity and righteousness to eliminate everything contrary to a learned way of accepted standard of religion.

Totally dissatisfied with emptiness of the religious ceremonies, but persuaded that even a greater fervour and effort to achieve the status of acceptance by God will eventually lead to a desired rest, blessings, favour, acceptance and anointing of God.

He had genuine desire to please God in the way taught by men. But after personal encounter with Jesus, total devotion and commitment to give everything, including his physical life to remain in and to retain the presence of Jesus was inevitable response of a soul hungry and thirsty for righteousness. No sacrifice is too big, no discomfort to great, no price to high to pay for the oneness of life with Jesus.

1. Pilat, king Agrippa …

They are knowledgeable in the law of Moses and other books of Scriptures. They are pragmatics in lifestyle, with intellect able to understand the core principles of the Word of God. Personal ambitions and recognition in the eyes of the superpower of the day and favour received by compliance to popular and accustomed ways of religion by the “mightiest” determined their choice to deny their understanding and to wash their hands from the influence of Jesus upon their lives.

You almost persuaded me declared one, and the washing of hands of the other one in spite of warning by the Lord in a dream speaking to his wife is a reflection of a choice to flow with the popular way for personal gain without self denial and the risk of rejection and accompanying comfort pleasing the self centred ego of the masses.

Not even high intellect and ability to recognize the truth can subsidise the simplicity of mind for the love of truth.

Men’s attitude towards the Word of God and his application in their personal life will determent whether they will be successful and prosperous in the spiritual realm or not.

The choice is yours.