Genorosity Leads to Prosperity

Positioned to Prosper – Part 5

What Does It Mean to Prosper?

The word "prosper" in the Greek literally means "to help on the road" or "succeed in reaching." It means to advance, make progress, succeed, or be profitable.

It is very clear from this definition that prosperity is more than money and the accumulation of wealth, but rather an ongoing state of success that touches every area of our lives. It means to have nothing missing and nothing lacking. You can have wealth with no health and you are not prosperous.

If you can make what's important to God important to you, God will make what's important to you important to Him.

3 John 2 (AMP)

Beloved, I pray that in every way you may succeed and prosper and be in good health [physically], just as [I know] your soul prospers [spiritually].

To handle more, I have to build my ability to carry more weight.

God Delights in Your Prosperity

Psalm 35:27 (AMP)

Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication and want what is right for me; Let them say continually, "Let the Lord be magnified, who delights and takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant."

Why would God delight in the prosperity of His people?

Genesis 12:2 (AMP)

And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you [abundantly], and make your name great (exalted, distinguished); and you shall be a blessing [a source of great good to others].

Genesis 12:2 (NLT)

I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.

The Paradox of Generosity

Proverbs 11:24-25 (AMP)

There is the one who [generously] scatters [abroad], and yet increases all the more; and there is the one who withholds what is justly due, but it results only in want and poverty. The generous man [is a source of blessing and] shall be prosperous and enriched, and he who waters will himself be watered [reaping the generosity he has sown].

These verses present a paradox: we become richer by being generous.

The world says to hold on to as much as possible, but God blesses those who give freely of their possessions, time, and energy. This verse emphasizes the paradox that you must sometimes lose to gain. It is drawn from the business world.

In addition, giving helps us gain a right perspective on our possessions. We realize they were never really ours to begin with, but they were given to us by God to be used to help others. When we give, God supplies us with more so that we can give more.

What you give, you gain. What you keep, you lose.

Have you become the source of blessings?

The Foundation: Sowing and Reaping

Galatians 6:7-9 (AMP)

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked [He will not allow Himself to be ridiculed, nor treated with contempt nor allow His precepts to be scornfully set aside]; for whatever a man sows, this and this only is what he will reap. For the one who sows to his flesh [his sinful capacity, his worldliness, his disgraceful impulses] will reap from the flesh ruin and destruction, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in.

The Seven Laws of the Harvest

Whatever you want to receive, you must be willing to release. You will never receive what you cannot release.

Law 1: We Reap Only What Has Been Sown

If you sow nothing, you will reap nothing. You can't multiply nothing. You must give God something to work with.

Law 2: We Reap the Same in Kind as We Sow

Apple seeds reap apples. Orange seeds reap oranges.

Law 3: We Reap in a Different Season than We Sow

Genesis 8:22 (AMP)

While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.

James 5:7-8 (AMP)

So wait patiently, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits [expectantly] for the precious harvest from the land, being patient about it, until it receives the early and late rains. You too, be patient; strengthen your hearts [keep them energized and firmly committed to God], because the coming of the Lord is near.

Law 4: We Reap More Than We Sow

Genesis 26:12 (AMP)

Then Isaac planted [seed] in that land [as a farmer] and reaped in the same year a hundred times [as much as he had planted], and the LORD blessed and favored him.

Mark 4:20 (AMP)

And those [in the last group] are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word [of God, the good news regarding the way of salvation] and accept it and bear fruit—thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much [as was sown].

Law 5: We Reap in Proportion to What We Sow

We have control over this one. The last two laws both deal with the fact we reap more than we sow. Both deal with quantity and amount, but the previous law where the seed sown is multiplied many fold has to do with God's part, but this one with ours—with human responsibility. It has to do with living by faith, with being faithful, bold, courageous, venturesome.

There is a sign along the Alaskan Highway that reads: "Choose your rut carefully, you'll be in it for the next 200 miles."

Luke 6:38 (NLT)

Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.

Acts 20:35 (AMP)

In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

Law 6: We Reap the Full Harvest of the Good Only if We Persevere

Galatians 6:9 (NLT)

So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.

James 5:7-8 (AMP)

So wait patiently, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits [expectantly] for the precious harvest from the land, being patient about it, until it receives the early and late rains. You too, be patient; strengthen your hearts [keep them energized and firmly committed to God], because the coming of the Lord is near.

Discussion Questions

1. The Paradox of Generosity: Proverbs 11:24 teaches that "there is one who scatters abroad, and yet increases all the more." This directly contradicts the world's wisdom to accumulate and protect what you have. What specific area of your life—whether finances, time, talents, or possessions—is God calling you to scatter more generously? What fear is holding you back from releasing it?
2. Source of Blessing: The sermon asks, "Have you become the source of blessings?" Think about the past month—have you positioned yourself as someone who waters others, knowing you'll be watered in return? Who has God placed in your life that you could intentionally bless this week through your resources or time?
3. The Harvest Timeline: Law #3 teaches that we reap in a different season than we sow, and Law #6 emphasizes perseverance until harvest. What seed have you sown—through giving, service, or faithfulness—that hasn't yet produced a visible harvest? How can you remain patient and not grow weary while waiting for God's timing?
4. Proportional Reaping: Luke 6:38 promises that "the amount you give will determine the amount you get back." If your current level of generosity were to be multiplied back to you "pressed down, shaken together, and running over," would you be satisfied with that return? What does your giving pattern reveal about your trust in God's multiplication principle?
5. What You Keep, You Lose: The sermon declares that "what you give, you gain; what you keep, you lose." This challenges our natural instinct to hoard for security. What are you currently holding onto tightly that God might be asking you to release? How might releasing that very thing position you for the greater prosperity God wants to bring into your life?