Joseph Prince - How God Sets You Up For Good Success
This is an excerpt from: The Kairos Year Of Right Time, Right Place - Part 2
Another thing, "qarah," right time, right place, I mean, logically, right time, right place gives you what? Success, right? Right? But then later on when he asked, see what happened after this? Now, real quick, go back to the part, Verse 21, "And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not". The first mention of prosperity, prosper, prosperous, is found here, "tsalach". You know Joshua 1:8, "You make your way tsalach, prosperous," amen.
Psalms 1, the meditator on God's Word, "Whatever He doeth shall prosper, tsalach". But the first mention of "tsalach" is here about Jesus and His church. And notice that "tsalach" is a journey. Success is a journey. By the way, in the Greek version of this verse, Septuagint, it says, instead of "tsalach," the Hebrew, it says, "euodoo". "Euodoo" is used in 3 John 2, "Beloved", Show 3 John 2, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper, euodoo, and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth, euodoo". And "euodoo" is used, go back to that verse again. "Euodoo" is used in this verse in Genesis 24 in the Greek, first mention.
So the first mention is what? What's the meaning of "euodoo"? In the Greek it says, "To grant a prosperous and expeditious journey; to prosper, be successful". Notice the very first mention is a prosperous journey. And go back to the first mention. The word "journey" is there, all right? He was wondering whether the Lord has made his journey prosperous or not. Friend, look up here. Look up here. Don't wait for an event to happen, then you say, "I'm prosperous. Yes, I made it. I achieved my goal. I'm a success". Goals and prosperity is not the destination, it is the journey. To God, if you learn to enjoy where you are, even times are tough, learn to enjoy where you are, while you are going towards your destination, your goal, and all that, that to God is success. And if you live like that, you will see your goals come to pass. You will see that destination because you are already on the right path, the expeditious journey, the prosperous journey, amen.
Like the servant of Abraham says, "My journey, is it prosperous or not"? when he saw what happened to Rebekah. And then the very next thing, it says in verse, in the next verse, Are you enjoying this? I'm going deep, you know? You all can understand, it's amazing. Which church are you from? I must compliment your pastor. Pastor Mark, Pastor Lawrence, Pastor Gabriel, all your pastors. As a guest speaker, I have never spoken to a church where people respond like this, amen. Before I say, you answer already. Before they call, amen. Watch this, right? See what happened? So, "Has the Lord made my way prosperous"?
Drop down, verse 22. All right, "So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel". In those days it's very precious, all right? He gave the girl a nose ring, "And took two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, and said, 'Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father's house for us to lodge?'" Now, these two things, I was meditating on this and God spoke to me about this year. God says we have seen vocal gifts plentiful all over the church, all over the world: Tongues, interpreting of tongues, and prophecy. But what we don't see often is the revelation gifts: words of wisdom, wisdom of knowledge; and the power gifts: healings, miracles, and faith. This year, we'll see more of it. How do I know? Because the Lord planted us all in this chapter and we'll show you where it appears.
"So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel". Half a shekel, half a shekel. What is that? This is the first mention of half a shekel. But later on, during the time of Moses, God told Moses, "Pick from every child of Israel, every one will give a half a shekel coin". All right, that's a picture, that's a picture that, it's atonement money. It's called atonement money. Now, you can't buy salvation with money. Everyone rich or poor must give half a shekel, so it's not the money itself. It is the idea that you are bought.
See, you are lost in the slave market. We are all bought. Never forget you are bought. Don't be, I'm so arrogant to think that you are a self-made man. You were bought out of a slave market of sin, darkness. You were in the doldrums of Satan's grip and He bought you ought. Your body is the temple of God. God bought it. Don't use it for the devil. Don't use it for, you know, just hedonistic pursuits. Your body is the temple of God. You are bought spirit, soul, and body. That's why even sickness don't have a right to touch God's temple. You are bought by the blood of Jesus. So half a shekel first appears with the half a shekel atonement money. It's the idea of redemption. Nose gifts...
Now, real quick I'm gonna tell you, Isaiah 11 talks about the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him. The spirit of wisdom and understanding, that is the revelation gifts; the spirit of council and might, the power gifts; and the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, that's the utterance gift. And the next verse says, "And He will make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord". Stop, what is the quick understanding? Check in the Hebrew. "Quick understand" is "quick smell," scent. Your nose is used for discernment. In the Hebrew mind, nose. "He will be of quick smell in the fear of the Lord and He will not judge after the sight of His eyes, no reproof after the hearing of His ears". Why? He's a man of discernment, the Messiah, our Lord Jesus.
So likewise, nose gift is not something you cultivate. These are gifts, the revelation gifts. People who have problems smelling can't tell good or bad. They can smell a rat, they can't say, "I smell a rat". Hmm? In fact, priests are not supposed to have damaged nose. Actually the Bible says "flat nose," damaged nose. If your nose, they cannot smell, they cannot be priests. In the Old Testament, aren't you glad? All right, now it's not physical today. It's the idea of discernment. As God's people, we must be able to discern what is profane, what is evil, what is good, what is holy, what is whole even, what is precious, what is healthful, health-giving, amen.
So we are beset by all kinds of television shows and social media bombardment into our family, our children, and all that. We need to have discernment, amen. This will come to the church. The nose ring is half shekel. That means what? It's bought by redemption. And then two bracelets for her wrists. Your wrist is used what? She just watered ten camels. Each camel minimum can drink 30 gallons. Imagine that, 30 to 50 gallons in minutes. And she watered, fed them until they drunk, ten camels, with her hands, all right? Power gifts. Ten shekels, ten shekels, sorry, ten shekels both. Five shekels, five shekels, grace, grace. Gifts of healing, gifts of working of miracles, gift of faith. These are the ones that's lacking. The vocal gifts are abundant in the church today, it's this one that's lacking. It's gonna come through Rebekah. It's gonna come through the church this year. That's what the Lord said to me. Are you with me so far?