John Hagee - Decisions that Produce Wealth
"Decisions that produce wealth," 1 Chronicles 29:12. Read it with me please. "Both riches and honor come from you. And you reign over all. In your hand is power and might. In your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all". Father God, thank you for your word. Let us hear it and leave here to practice it, in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. Decision number one, you must decide it's God's will for you to prosper. Many, many people have a very negative, shallow outlook about their potential to succeed. They came from a family that didn't have a lot of success, so they think they're going to be cursed with that also. But please understand: the word of God says, Deuteronomy 8:18, "And you shall remember the Lord your God: for it is he who gives you the power to get wealth".
The text of this morning, "Both riches and honor come from you, o Lord: for you reign over all the earth". 3 John 2, "Beloved, I wish you prosper and be in good health above all else". Joshua 1:8, "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth: for then you shall make your way prosperous. And then you will have good success". Deuteronomy 6:10, "It is the Lord that will give you houses you didn't build: that will give you vineyards you didn't plant: that will give you wells you did not dig, because the Lord delights in the prosperity of the righteous".
Those five verses are the magna carta of your personal prosperity, and they're backed up by the kingdom of God and the authority of God's word. Get over the negative point of view that you have of yourself that that's not meant for me. It's meant for every child of God who believes this to be the truth. Give the Lord praise in the house. Now progress to the next kingdom of God principle. Since all of my money is really God's money, every spending decision is a spiritual decision. And your checkbook is a spiritual reflection of who you are as a person.
So let's take a look at your checkbook. Open it up, and there's a trip to Hawaii for $20.000. And the next check is $25 tithes. And then there's a new car, $60.000, and that's a very mediocre truck now. And then there's an offering for a pittance. And then there's the poodle shampoo for $250. You're a steward. God is the owner. And some day you're going to stand in front of him and give an account for what you gave to. What are you going to say on judgment day when you gave more for your poodle shampoo than you did the prince of peace? That's going to be an interesting moment.
The fact number three, whose family are you in? All of God's wealth belongs to his children. Say that with me. All of God's wealth belongs to his children. The question is: are you God's child? You do not qualify for God's abundance until you become God's child. You cannot pray, "Our Father, which art in heaven" until you've received Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "No man comes unto the Father but by my name". So you have no access to God the Father without Jesus Christ. There are two families in the Bible very clearly, "Our Father, which art in heaven," which is how the Lord's prayer begins. And then, Jesus said when he was speaking to his audience of pharisees: he looked at them and said, "You are of your father, the devil".
And he meant that there are two fathers, two families, and two destinations. Our Father, which art in heaven: the prince of darkness. Two families: the one that's going to heaven and the one that's not. So one brings peace and prosperity, and the other brings heartache and destruction. When God is your Father, all of his wealth belongs to you. He has promised to take care of you and all of your children and your children's children. King David said it this way, "I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread," never! Why does America prosper? Because our forefathers, when they when they came to this country, they entered into a covenant with God Almighty. They made a covenant that God would be the focal point of this great country. And we are still one nation under God.
Paul writes, "Therefore, let no man glory in men: for all things are yours..". Say that with me. "For all things are yours," talking about the body of Christ. "...And you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God". Do you see the connection? If you don't have Jesus as the Lord of your life, I don't care how good you are, how moral you are: you haven't made the right connection to plug into the resources of heaven. Romans 8:17, "And if children, then heirs and heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ". Most people do not understand that verse. It does not mean you are equal heirs. Equal heirs means half and half. "Joint heirs" means all that God has is mine, and all I have is his. I got everything: he got nothing. What a deal.
At calvary, you and I went to the cross as gentiles. And he took our poverty and gave us the riches of Abraham. What a trade. And then he took our sickness and gave us health and healing. And then he took our sin and gave us forgiveness and righteousness. 2 Corinthians 8:9, "Yet for your sakes," the Bible said, "He became poor". So the question is: when did he become poor? He became poor when he took your poverty, and your poverty, and your poverty, and my poverty: and he gave us from his rich resources. But I assure you he didn't go broke.
The difference between living a life of prosperity and a life of poverty is a matter of choice. Your decisions shape your destiny, not chance, choice and decision. The person you marry is a choice. But let me tell you young people: that's one you really need to take your time making. You choose where you work. Some of you need to choose to go to work, but where you work, you choose where you live. You choose between right and wrong every day. You choose to be a giver or a taker. And the world is divided into those groups of people. Tithing is not a debt we owe: it's a seed you sow. If you choose not to tithe, God says you live under a financial curse. He shuts prosperity off as an option for you. I didn't say that: the Bible says that.
If you choose to tithe, God said, "I will rebuke the devourer (that's satan) for your sake". That means he will put the devil on a leash and hold him from touching what belongs to you. He will not allow him to touch your children. He will not allow him to touch your business. He will not allow him to control your health. He will not allow him to torment your mind. He will not allow you to rule you with depression. You are a child of God! Decision number four: proverbs 13:4 says, "The soul of the lazy plan desires and has nothing. But the diligent shall be made rich". What's God's message? Go to work! God worked. It's Godlike to work. All work is righteous, holy work. I don't care what you do: it is godly and it's honorable. Giving money to a man who can work but won't work is economic insanity.
And our country is headed for a crisis, because there is a generation on the street that believes they must be given everything by somebody, because those somebodies are working! One of these days, this gray-haired legion that made this country great are going to quit working. And then all of you, who are looking for someone to pay, are not going to have anyone to go to. When it comes to a matter of the principles of prosperity, God will never give you advance instruction beyond your last act of obedience. When God tells you to do something, God's word tells you to do something, and you refuse to do it, God no longer speaks to you until you do that.
Why take you to the third grade when you don't pass the first grade? If you can't get two and two together, he's not going to teach you calculus. You've got to get the basics down. The rich young ruler came to Christ. The point here is obeying. The rich young ruler came to Christ. He wanted to be a disciple. He believed that had Jesus was the Messiah. And Jesus said to him, "Go sell all you have and give it to the poor". And the Bible says, "He went away exceedingly sorrowful because he was very rich". Now he believed, but he just could not and would not obey. You never read in the Bible where he became a follower of Christ, because what he had was more important to him than who Jesus was. He believed but he didn't obey.
The Bible says, "Demons tremble at the mention of the name of Jesus". They believe in Jesus: they just don't obey Jesus. Your finance prosperity tomorrow will be determined by your obedience to God's word today. God's children have historically, from the book of Genesis until late last night, been prosperous. "Abraham was very rich in cattle, silver and gold". You'll notice that that is a physical prosperity. As soon as you start talking about this, people say, "Well, it means spiritual". Gold, silver and cattle are still three very good things to have in your portfolio. Abraham tithed to Melchizedek 400 years before the law of God was given to Moses.
Many of you say, "It's the law of Moses". Please understand God gave the law to Moses. Moses wrote it down. It wasn't Moses' law: it was God's law written by Moses. Proverbs 10:22, "The blessings (prosperity) of the Lord, maketh rich and addeth no sorrow". Listen very closely. Wealth without God produces torment. It produces family divisions, hatred, divorce, anger, misery. But the blessing of the Lord maketh rich and addeth no sorrow. There's a world of difference in those two statements. Solomon was wealthy. Some historians call Solomon a trillionaire, because he hired 180.000 men to build the temple. King David said, "The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want". That was a confession of prosperity. David gave a hundred million dollars — well, it would be a hundred million in today's money — for the building of the temple. That's not bad for a guy that started out with five rocks and a slingshot.
Great things have small beginnings. Think about that. I don't care if you're running a hot dog stand downtown on main street. Don't sell yourself short. You put your hand in the hand of God, and a few years from now, you'll own that main street. You say, "That's overstated". No, it's not. This church started out in a living room not two miles from where we are with 12 people. If you would have said on that first Sunday, "This church is going to have a conGregation of 22.000 people that will reach the world by television," we would have found you a psychiatrist in a minute. But here it is, because we have never put a limit on God.
Jesus proclaimed his personal wealth. He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden into a field". Treasure excites people. He talked about "The pearl of great price". Matthew and I went to the coast with his two sons, j.W. And Joel. Joel is the youngest one. And while they were on the beach, I left and went to a store and bought a little chest, treasure chest. And I filled it full of trinkets and flashy things, and put a few dollars in there, and came back to the beach, and buried it, and covered it up, and walked over to where they were. And I said, "Joel, did you know that paw paw has the ability to smell treasure"?
I want to tell you, as thick and black as his hair is, it stood up. "Really"? I said, "Yes". I said, "As a matter of fact, there's some right over here". And I started walking down to the beach. I had a Marker where... And was telling about the pirate ships that were crashed out there and how the treasure chest washed ashore. They're up here all under this sand. And I stopped and dug it up. And he opened that, and he said, "Paw paw, we're rich! We're rich"! And in 30 seconds, he said, "Let's go find another treasure". I overshot the runway.
Truth is a painful thing. John the revelator described his eternal home. This is what John puts in the book of revelation. There are 12 layers of precious stone in the temple that God is going to build. The first layer is diamonds, the second is rubies, sapphires, emeralds, all of that. And then the 12 gates of the city are going to be one solid pearl. The streets are of gold. You're going to have a mansion that's been designed by the architect of the ages, which is Jesus Christ. If that's poverty, bring it on. Bring it on! If wealth is a negative thing, why would God give it to his son, Jesus Christ?
Revelation 5:12 says, "Worthy is the lamb to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing". If God gave that to his son, his son has guaranteed that for you. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad! Lift your head and get happy about what God has stored up for you! The Bible clearly says God wants you to invest in yourself. It says, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven". Where moths, thieves, rust" (and the IRS) "Can't take it away". The day is going to come when all you will have is what you've given to God. That's in this book. Because everything that's in this earth is going to be burned up.
Two words that Christians confuse, "Self-interest," which is good: and "Selfishness," which is a spiritual cancer. It's in my self-interest to be saved. The options are heaven and hell. I choose heaven. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that's the best choice. It's in my self-interest to be happy. Why? The Bible says, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine". So if you go home and the dog hides behind the door, you need to get happy. "The joy of the Lord is my strength". Say that with me. "The joy of the Lord is my strength". That word "Strength" means health.
Happy people are healthy people. If you're a sourpuss, no one wants to be around you! How do you know? Does your face look like a reprint of the book of lamentations? Do you feel the only way that you could wake up with a smile on your face in the morning is to put a coat hanger in your mouth at night? It was Jesus who gave three cheers. "Be of good cheer: thy sins be forgiven thee". "Be of good cheer. It is i: be not afraid". "Be of good cheer: I have overcome the world". There's plenty to be happy about when you're a child of God. Give him praise in the house of God. It's in your self-interest to invest in the kingdom of God. Why? Because God controls the economy on both sides of the Jordan river.
Matthew 19:29, "And everyone that forsakes houses, brethren, sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, for my sake shall receive a hundredfold in this life and in eternal life in the world to come". Jesus taught us to invest wisely by investing in things that were permanent. Dew drops are as pretty as diamonds in the glowing morning sun. But by noon, they're gone. They're not permanent. Jesus said it's not in your self-interest to invest in something that moths can eat, rust can decay, thieves can carry off. The Bible teaches, "Heaven and earth shall pass away". This earth is not permanent.
One man said to me: he said, "Well I've invested in Disneyland". I said, "Disney is a monument to a dead mouse"! But when you invest in the kingdom of God, it's a value that never, ever wears out. The Bible says, "He that winneth souls is wise" when you invest in evangelism, when you invest in our school, when you invest in the sanctuary of hope, the highest level of faith, according to James, is the care of widows and orphans. When God gives you the opportunity to help another person, you take that step because God will give you treasure that you would never think possible. Exactly what you do to bless other people will come back to you. And blessing another person is a decision that you make.
When God sends you a suffering human being, don't look at it like a problem. It's a gift from God, a ticket to unlimited blessing if you will treat that human being with kindness and with love. Today I want you to make a decision to obey God's economic laws, and it will bring to you the power to get wealth. I have practiced it for 60 years. And I assure you, on the authority of God's word, you're not living until you're living on the kingdom economy. Can we stand together and let us pray? Give the Lord praise in the house. How many of you here say, pastor, today is the day that I want to make up my mind once and for all that it's God's will for me to prosper. If that describes you, can I see your hand? Most of this conGregation. Pray this prayer with me.
Heavenly Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, from this day forward, I am going to believe the word of God, and receive the blessings promised in the word of God. I will be a follower of Jesus Christ. I will read the word of God, and let it be a light to my path, and receive the blessings of the Lord in abundance. From this day forward, I will receive the mindset that it's God's will for me to prosper, in Jesus' name. Amen.