Prosperity sermons inescapable (1)

Prosperity messages are fiercely opposed both within the church and without. Prosperity sermons have been attacked in pulpits, books and everywhere. Recently, a very powerful book on the deceit of the prosperity gospel has been published and sold on the streets. Opponents to the gospel of prosperity cite some reasons that sound very powerful and profound like too much emphasis being laid on financial prosperity, the idea of getting prosperous without being involved in honest labour, equating financial and material prosperity with holiness and righteousness.
Granted, prosperity must be taught in its totality, that is, in spirit, soul and body. The Bible in Acts 20:20,27 admonishes us to preach everything that is profitable and to teach the whole counsel of God. Prosperity messages that suggest that we can just claim things belonging to other people without working with our hands are a fraud. And prosperity sermons that equate salvation, holiness and righteousness with material and financial prosperity are scripturally unsupported.
However, the more I research about this subject in the Bible, and the more I observe how poverty negatively impacts on the spreading of the gospel, the more I am convinced that prosperity is God’s will for His children. Furthermore, anyone who completely omits the subject of material and financial prosperity in their prosperity sermons is not preaching the gospel in its fullness.
A lot of Scriptures show clearly that God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servants. The most supporting scripture to this notion of prosperity being part of God’s will to his adherents is Romans 8:32. It reads, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” The context of this verse is mainly spiritual and mental prosperity as a result of the power of God’s love for His children that enables us to go through every storm of life and test of time without being separated from Him. If the worst tragedies of life like death cannot separate us from the love of God then that is eternal spiritual prosperity. If persecution, false charges and any other negativity of life fail to move us away from the love of God then prosperity sermons are inescapable. It is part of being prosperous to be comfortably tough in the rough.
 God’s love is meant to toughen us and harden us against the odds of life. It can be safely concluded that God’s children are designed to thrive on tests and trials. Jesus revealed this truth in John 16:33 when He said, “In the world you shall have tribulation but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Christ was sharing with us the fact that we can prosper in spite of the challenges we face in this world.  He preached what he practiced. He was opposed in all He did and say, yet He accomplished all the will of God for Him. Apostle Paul was also spiritually successful as he fought the good fight, kept the faith and finished the race God set before him.
But a close analysis of the opening scripture, verse 32 of Romans chapter eight, reveals that God gave us total prosperity with Christ Jesus. Christ’s sacrifice addressed our need for prosperity in the three major areas of human life: spirit, soul and body. Spiritual prosperity came through Jesus Christ. Today we sing of His amazing grace that saved us who were once wretches. Through faith in Christ’s death on the cross our spirits have been regenerated and we are back in fellowship and in vital union with God.
Material and financial prosperity are strongly implied in this verse. God valued Christ Jesus above everything else in the whole universe. And if He could give him up to die in our place surely God cannot withhold from us all lesser gifts. None of the authors I have read on this subject brought out this point of total prosperity resulting from the sacrifice of Christ the way Ken Chant did. He wrote, “The giving up of Christ marks for us the extent of God’s willingness to give us ‘all things’ —  all that we need for righteousness, health, prosperity, success, strength — in time and eternity.” 
According to Chant once we receive the best gift, which is Christ Jesus, we are entitled to all the inferior gifts like wealth, good health, riches and so on. This is the true meaning of Romans 8:32. God cannot give us Christ and then fail to bless us materially and financially as well.
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