Matt Hagee - Nine Principles of Personal Prosperity

TOPICS: Prospering in Perilous Times, Prosperity

I want you to take out your cell phone, because I've prepared notes for you that will give you the outline of what we're about to cover, because we will not be able to cover it all. So we're going to put a qr code up here on the screen. You take a picture of that, and it'll take you to our website. You'll get the outline. And we'll get to go through these nine principles through the balance of this message. And then you can take it home and continue to study. But just as we begin, you need to understand the first three principles deal with your relationship with the Lord. The second three principles, principles four, five and six, they deal with things that you have to do for yourself. Things that no one else can do for you, that's your responsibility for yourself. Principles seven, eight, and nine are three principles that deal with your relationship with others. Because remember, prosperity is not about you. Prosperity is about what God wants to do through you for others.

So let's begin. Principle one, before you can prosper, you have to maintain a holy fear of God. A holy fear of God. Not a natural fear of God, but a reverent fear of God. According to the Proverbs 9:10, it says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom". Say that with me. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom". You will not know what to do unless you maintain a proper, healthy and holy fear of God. Why? Because the fear of the Lord is what gives you the desire to obey. It's where obedience begins. It's not where obedience remains, but it's where obedience begins. Many Christians don't begin with a holy and healthy fear of God, and therefore they can't get where they need to go.

If there's one message that is not taught often and is not very popular in the American church today, it's the fear of the Lord. If we say we're going to talk about the love of God, the joy of the Lord, the sea-walking, mountain-moving, way-making Jesus, everybody's excited for that series. But talk about the fear of the Lord and they will say, "No, thank you". But you can't read the Bible and not understand that God is not a judge that should be feared. He judged every generation.

If you want to see New Testament judgment, may I remind you of a place called Calvary. Because it was there that we see the judgment of God poured out upon one for the sins of all. If you want to know something powerful about judgment, go to a place called Calvary and recognize that the nails that he drove into the hands of his only begotten were so that you who were captive to sin could be set free. Why? Not just because God loves me, but because God, a righteous judge, paid the penalty of death that was stacked against me. He pardoned me because he sent someone to the execution chamber for me. And now I don't have to die, but I can have a life more abundantly. Because Jesus Christ lives, so shall I live. Give the Lord a handclap of praise.

If there's one thing I don't think we do enough of in our daily lives, it's thank God for Jesus. And what should we be thanking him for? That he judged Jesus on our behalf. New Testament judgment is not only found at the cross. It's found in the 1st century church. Look at Ananias and Sapphira. Ananias and Sapphira were members in good standing. They were considered leaders in the church. But they wanted to be recognized for giving, rather than just give so that the church could be blessed. So they sold a piece of property and they kept a portion of the proceeds for themselves. And then they came and they told the church, "Look at this huge gift we're giving. We want everyone to celebrate with us, because it's all the money we got for the land".

Now, here's the problem. While they thought they were lying in order to make themselves look good in front of men, they weren't lying to Peter and John. They were lying to God Almighty. That land was his. The earth is the Lord's. Those proceeds were nothing they could hide from God. So when Ananias, the husband, showed up, and he said, "Here's all of the money we brought," Peter said, "Is this all of the money"? And Ananias lied to the Lord. He said, "Yes, it is," and he dropped dead right there in the sanctuary. They drug him out. And his wife came by and said, "Did Ananias come in"? They said, "Well, as a matter of fact he just dropped by".

And they asked her the same question. "Is this everything that you received"? She said, "Indeed it is". She took her last breath right there. And the Bible says that two things happened. One, great fear came upon the entire church. Trust me, if God instantaneously judged sin like that here today, great fear would come upon the entire church. And the church grew. Why? Because they knew that there was a God who was serious about keeping his promises.

So that takes us to the second principle. Make the right decision, even when it's hard. Make the right decision even when it's hard. This is the issue of sin, because that's really the answer to righteous versus unrighteous living. Righteous living is making the right decision, even when it's hard, and unrighteous living is just doing what you want, whether it's right or wrong. James said it this way: "To him who knows to do right, and does it not, to him it is sin".

God expects us to do the right thing in these areas of our life physically. 1 Corinthians 9:27, "I discipline my body into submission lest I preach and end disqualified". Financially, God said, "Bring all of the tithe into the storehouse," Malachi 3:10, "That there may be food in my house". And then God challenges us. He says, "Try me now in this and see if I will not open up the windows of heaven and pour out upon you blessings to where there is not room enough to receive it". That's God's guarantee to those who do the right thing financially. God wants us to do the right thing in our relationships.

And people say, "Well, that's complicated. There's a lot of issues there". No, it's not really complicated when you look at it from heaven's perspective. Ephesians 4:32, here's what it says: "Be kind to one another". Say that to me. "Be kind to one another". And it says, "Tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as Christ forgave you". 99.9% of your relationship issues would disappear overnight if you could be kind, tenderhearted and forgive.

People say, "Well, I don't think you understand what they did to me. I don't think you understand how they treated me. You want me to be kind to them? They were mean to me. You want me to be tenderhearted to them? They didn't show me any mercy. You want me to forgive them? What they did is unforgivable". Well see, that would be a good argument if it said, "Be kind and tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as pastor Matt has forgiven you". But that's not what it says. It says, "If you want to know how you should treat others, you should treat others the way that Jesus Christ has treated you".

When you didn't love Jesus, Jesus still loved you. When you weren't tender towards Jesus, when you didn't thank him for the beautiful day that he created, when you got up complaining instead of praising, God was still tenderhearted towards you. He was compassionate. He understood, "You might not be at your best, but I'm still going to show you what a gracious God I can be". And when you didn't deserve forgiveness, not only did he forgive you, but he didn't hold it against you, which is why you and Jesus can be in relationship today.

You see, you and Jesus aren't in relationship today because you love him. You're in relationship because he loves you. So when you start treating others like Jesus treats you, you're going to find that your relationship issues get cleared up real quick. He wants us to do the right thing, not only in our relationships, but with our service to his kingdom. Every one of us are called to serve somewhere in his kingdom. Jesus told his disciples, "The greatest among you is the servant of all". We are called to serve, not to be served. People say, "Well, I just don't know where to serve"? Romans 11:29 will help you figure it out. It says, "The giftings and calling of God are irrevocable". That means that God has given to each of us something that you cannot give back. It's yours, whether you want it or not.

Now, what's your irrevocable gift? What's the one thing that you can't give back? It doesn't matter whether or not you try to get away from it. You're always thinking about it. For some of you, it's organization. For some of you, it's leadership. For some of you, it's how something can be done better that you see in the church. Some people come up to me, and they're like, "Do you know what's wrong with your parking lot "? I'm like, "It's yours to solve, because that's your irrevocable gift". After we hear that the gifts and the calling are irrevocable, it says, "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, because this is your reasonable service". The point is when you're willing to do the right thing, even when it's hard, you're putting yourself in position to receive. Now, this deals with the sin issue.

Principle three deals with probably the most important issue that has to do with getting you in position to receive from God, and that's the repentance issue. You need to repent on a regular basis. People hear the "R" word and they think it means something's wrong. No. When you repent, everything gets right. Jesus talked about repentance on a daily basis. You find it in the Lord's prayer. He said, "Give us this day our", what? "Daily bread". Now, this is not earthly bread, as much as it is kingdom bread. And he said, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us". The receiving of your daily spiritual bread requires that not only are you forgiven for the things that you didn't do right, but that you forgive others for what they didn't do right. And the fact that we need it on a daily basis proves that we're just natural and carnal men. Don't beat yourself up because you need repentance. Thank God that he's willing to forgive those who will repent.

So what is repentance? "Repentance" is confessing and forsaking what you know to be contrary to God's word, confessing and forsaking. I know a lot of people that will confess a sin, but they won't forsake a sin. Repentance means that not only do you confess it, but you forsake it. What does repentance do? One, repentance brings refreshing. Acts 3:19, Peter, on the day of Pentecost, said, "Repent that your sins may be blotted out so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord". How many of you can look at places in the world that we live and recognize that we desperately need times of refreshing? Times of refreshing come when my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, turn from their wicked ways. Then God will hear from heaven and he will heal their land.

Repentance is what brings the refreshing, because repentance is when we return into right relationship with God and give him the ability to pour out his blessings in our life. The third thing you need to know is that God is anxiously awaiting for you to repent. The reason why it's important for you to know that, it was important for me to learn this, is because nobody likes disappointing their father. Nobody likes being the kid that says, "Hey dad, messed up again". I knew that as a child, and I've learned it as a dad. How many of you know that tone of voice when your kids call your name and they need to talk? "Hey, dad". And you're like, "Oh". "Yes"?

And sometimes we take these attributes and we put them on our relationship with God, but God is so much better than any earthly father that you've ever known. No matter how wonderful or how horrible it was. And the Bible says this, in 1 John: it says, "If we will confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse of all unrighteousness". He wants us to call upon him in repentance. Why? Because he knows what repentance qualifies us for. Repentance is what gets us right back into position to receive the blessing that we're looking for. You cannot be in position and be unrepentant.

So when you call upon your Heavenly Father, and you say, "God, I'm here to repent," he goes, "Angels, get ready to open up that window of heaven. Go ahead and start sending exactly what he needs, because he's getting right back into position with me. He's standing where he needs to stand to catch what he needs to catch so that he can receive what he needs to receive". God wants you to repent. Next, repentance is required. Nobody gets to escape it. Acts 17:30: "Truly these times of ignorance God overlooked, but he commands all men everywhere to repent". How many men? All. Where? Everywhere. To do what? Repent. Why do you need to repent? Because repentance is where you get the opportunity to receive. Here's what Revelation 3 says: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten".

If God has not corrected you, God doesn't love you. I don't care how all the kids in the world act. I care how my kids act. Why? Because I love my kids. So the Bible says, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten". In Revelation 3, Jesus said this to John the revelator: he said, "Therefore be zealous and repent". "Be zealous and", what? "Repent". Why? Because I stand at the door and I knock. And anyone who hears and opens the door, I'll come in and I'll dine with him. There's something about repentance that enables you to hear the knock of Jesus Christ on the door of your life.

I believe that in this room today there are people that Jesus Christ is knocking on their door. Knocking constantly, saying, "If you'll let me in, I'll bless your business. If you let me in, I'll resurrect your marriage. If you let me in, I'll touch your physical body. If you let me in, I'll take every burden that's been placed upon your life and I'll remove it. I'll take that yoke and I'll destroy it. I'll make a way where there seems to be no way". But what you've got to do before you can answer the door is you've got to hear him knocking. And until you repent, you cannot hear him knocking. But once you open the door, Jesus not only comes in with what you're looking for, he comes in with more than you can ask, than you can think, than you can imagine, because he is the God who will supply all of your needs according to his riches and glory!

Now, that's just point three. We got six more to go. But I'm going to take you to the closing of this sermon, which is why I gave you the notes. The next three, four, five and six, have to do with your personal relationship. So I'm going to give you those notes that you can take them home, read them and apply them to your life. Because they'll have different applications for every person who hears them. The final three, seven, eight and nine, have to do with your relationships with others. And we're going to cover those quickly in closing.

The first is that you need to intercede for others. If you want to prosper, practice the power of intercession. And intercession is when you start praying for others like you pray for yourself. Intercession is one of the most Christ-like things you can do. Why? Because the Bible tells us that we have an intercessor. He is an advocate. His name is Jesus and he's standing at the right hand of God the Father. And he's talking to God about us. He's interceding on our behalf. Look at what the Psalmists said in Psalm 122:6, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem". He's saying, "Intercede for the peace of Jerusalem". "May they prosper who love you". "May they", what? "Prosper who love you".

There's something supernatural that when you intercede on earthly places for the city of God, Jerusalem, God sends into your life what you're praying to happen in there. When you intercede for the peace of Jerusalem, God says, "If they want peace in Jerusalem, I'll send peace to them. If they want protection for Jerusalem, I'll send protection to them. If they want prosperity in Jerusalem, I'll send prosperity to them. If they want all of these things to be in my city, I want all of those things to be in their life". I can promise you, there's more than plenty of evidence to prove it, but the reason that God's hand of blessing and favor has been upon this ministry is because if there's one verse in the Bible that we have made it adamant to fulfill, is that's one. "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May they prosper who love you".

The eighth principle has to do with spiritual authority. If you're going to prosper, you have got to be in right relationship with spiritual authority. That spiritual authority is God's design for blessings. And everyone has spiritual authority that they should be connected to and submitted to. No one is separate from it. There are no independent agencies in the Kingdom of God. You do not operate on the cia list for king Jesus. Everyone has spiritual authority. Church leadership has spiritual authority. The Bible says, Jesus Christ is the head of the church. The family has spiritual authority. The Bible says that the father is the priest of the household. That means that the spouse, his wife, should be submitted to his spiritual authority.

One of the reasons why people don't have blessings in their family is because there's a battle for who's in charge. And that doesn't mean that God's listening, waiting to break the tie. It means somebody is not in spiritual authority. Whenever you have chaos in the relationship between mom and dad, guess what happens? The kids don't stand under spiritual authority. And yet, Ephesians very clearly says, "Children o-bey". "Children", what? "Obey". Don't argue with. Don't ask why. Just obey your parents. And then they offer this brilliant explanation. "For this is right". I love it. Not 200 pages of parenting books. Not a six-week seminar. Not seven cassette tapes on how to get it done. It just says, "Children obey". Why? It's right. It's just the way it should be. Why? Because if you're going to be in position to receive the blessing, you've got to be underneath spiritual authority.

The last of these nine principles, and probably the most important of them all is you have to act as if it were so. If you want to prosper, not only do you have to start with a holy and healthy fear of God, but you've got to finish by believing, in faith, that whatever you have asked God for, he will do. Jesus said this: "Whatever things you ask in prayer believing, you will receive". Prayer, believing, you will receive. What Jesus was saying to those who were listening is that whatever you ask for on earth, God will do it in heaven, as long as you begin to behave on earth as if it's done when you ask for it. What Jesus is saying is, "You ask in faith, and then you start behaving like you believe it happened".

You start acting as if it were so. Why? Because it affects your attitude and your mind starts to believe that God is going to do exactly what you've asked him for. It affects your speech. You begin to speak in manners that tell people that God is doing something great in your life. It doesn't make you a double-minded man, where you think one way and you act another. You start acting the same way that you're believing. You start believing the same way that you're behaving. And it puts you in a position where God says, "I can now give him exactly what he's asking for, because he's going to know exactly where it comes from". When you start acting as if it were so, you're going to start thanking God more than you worry about what you need. You're going to start declaring things and you're going to start seeing what you declare happen in your life. You're going to say:

God, I thank you that you have blessed me with this glorious day. I thank you that you have blessed me with health and strength. I thank you that you're blessing my children and my children's children. I thank you, God, that you have made a way for me, even when there seemed to be no way. I thank you that you've been faithful to me in all of my yesterdays. I thank you that you're preparing a way for me in the presence of my enemies, and putting a table before me that when I get to the place where the battle begins, I'm just going to rejoice, because you are the Lord who promised that the battle belongs to the Lord. I don't know, Heavenly Father, how I'm going to get through today, but I know who holds not only today, but all of my tomorrows.

Lord, I praise you, because your loving kindness has been better than life. I praise you, because every need that I've ever had you've answered. I praise you, Heavenly Father, because every mountain I've ever faced you've moved. I praise you because every giant that I've ever stood against you helped me conquer him. Lord, I don't have to beg. I'm your child. Your blessings belong to me. They're going to be poured out upon me, because I'm going to lift my hands, and I'm going to raise my voice, and I'm going to give this God, who has given me so much, praise and glory and honor, because in your presence is the fullness of joy. And at the right hand of God, there's pleasures evermore.

Give the Lord a handclap of praise in this house today!