The 5-Star EntrepreneurSample

There are principles that are proven to work if we’re willing to apply them on our journey to become financially prosperous. And we know this is God’s desire for us. 3 John 2 (AMP) says, “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].” God wants us to prosper, but the church, in some ways, has taken this idea of prosperity too far. I want to look at this theme to see what real prosperity is—the kind talked about in the Word of God. 

Proverbs 8:20-21 (ESV) says, “I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice, granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.” We know that God wants us to inherit wealth. We know that God intends for us not to be worrying about finances.

A lot of people say, “If we’re Christians, we should suffer with Christ.” But if you take a look at how Jesus lived, we know that He had a profession. He was a carpenter. We see that He had a job, but that He also went out into full-time ministry and traveled the countryside. His work—His livelihood—actually funded his ministry. Jesus was not poor. He had a source of income and; therefore, we know that He always had His needs met—and some of them, of course, by faith, as well.

Faith will open up more wealth for each one of us individually. The tendency is to think, it’s my money. I earned it. Even as Christians, we often think that only a tithe, or 10 percent, belongs to God, but we have to realize that He is our means of resource. God is the source of everything that we have. He provides us with the ability to gain wealth, and He’s the one who gives us the mindset to work a job, have a career, or get an education. God is the one who gives us a right mind. We are only the stewards of what He owns and entrusts us with. So we must operate in faith with our money in order to move God’s hand on our situation to multiply our funds. 

The Bible commands us to give. Luke 6:38 (NLT) says, “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.” It’s a command from God, and whenever God gives a command, there’s a blessing attached to it. 

It doesn’t make sense how we can live better on 90 percent than we do on one hundred percent, but it’s a proven fact. For anybody who has given 10 percent away, that 90 percent always goes a longer distance. Anne Frank made this statement: “No one has ever become poor by giving.” There’s something about sowing seed—we realize that there’s a multiplicity that comes back to us in life. Proverbs 3:9-10 (NASB) says, “Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.”