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Rev Sarah Nyathi
Proverbs 10:22
The blessing of the Lord maketh rich and addeth no sorrow to it. (KJV)

Deuteronomy 8:18

But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He sware unto they Fathers, as it is this day.

In the previous article we introduced the subject of blessings and noted that blessings are freely available to all who diligently seek them, especially those who are prepared to take time to understand the conditions that unlock the blessings. Blessings are free though conditional. Ignorance of scripture was cited as one of the greatest blessing robbers. A variety of blessings are available to the believer and these can either be imparted, activated or appropriated by virtue of having Christ in our lives.

Since financial blessing and the quest for wealth are topical issues amongst 21st century Zimbabwean believers, a Chronicle article of December 12, 2014 refers, wherein a Harare man parted with a $300,000 Bentley in exchange for a promised triple fold blessing (or harvest). It is commonplace to hear of believers parting with sacrificial gifts of various natures in their quest for blessings. However, some find themselves in the quandary of the Harare man, as the promised blessing may not materialise as the transaction is not compliant with spiritual and natural principles necessary to unlock the blessing. This sacrificial offering should have met all the principles and conditions of a freewill offering in order for it to be valid. I cannot over emphasize how important it is for believers to have an understanding of the scriptures and principles contained therein concerning blessings.

It is in this light that I further examine a blessing that if understood and applied to one’s life could result in transformation from poverty to blessing. This blessing is commonly referred to as the:-

The blessing of the Lord — “which makes rich and adds no sorrow”.

The Blessing of the Lord — The scripture alludes to blessings that enrich us whilst simultaneously bringing joy and contentment with them. Ill-gotten riches conversely bring sorrow as they are obtained hastily and largely through dubious means. Instead of the recipient enjoying the wealth, fear, anxiety and uncertainty are increased as one is continuously looking over their shoulders lest they get into trouble with the law. The Holy scriptures remind us to “remember the Lord God as it is who He gives us the power to get/create/make wealth”. God blesses, empowers and enables us, but it is up to the individual concerned to make the wealth. The power referred to here is the supernatural enablement to be distinguished in all our endeavours especially business and career. Scriptural precedence of this special empowerment is found in Daniel 1:17,20 “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

“And in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers in all his realm”. Young Daniel and his friends competed in matters of wisdom, understanding, strategy including the Chaldean language and literature. They were found to be head and shoulders above all the people in the vicinity, the scripture states they were ten times better than their compatriots. This same enablement/empowerment is available today for us to make the wealth we all desire. The issue at stake is what the believer does with the enablement and super ability available to them.

This is an element that seems to be overlooked as we steam on ahead in our quest for riches and wealth. The modern gospel has peddled the misconception that a quick offering, laying on of hands, anointing and hastily concocted prophetic word will bring instant wealth. This may sometimes occur, as miracles do happen (God sometimes winks at our ignorance), however this is the exception rather than the rule. A great deal of the time, wealth accumulation is a process rather than a miracle. Daniel and his friends had to apply themselves to all the matters at hand, their success was not a result of “hiding out in prayer mountains and deliverance queues”. Resultantly they acquitted themselves with distinction before the king.

Wealth is the state of being rich or possessing a large amount of money. It has also been referred to as the abundance of valuable possessions or money. This envied state of being wealthy is the cause of the recently observed “church hopping” as different ministries offer a “smorgasbord” of various get rich/blessed schemes.

It must be appreciated that whilst God empowers us, it’s the individuals’ prerogative to use their God-given ability, skills, talents, education, innovation and creativity to create wealth. After studying the scriptures related to wealth creation, prayer, fasting, “self talk” and other spiritual activities that may be deemed necessary, one has to rise up and make/create the wealth.

How do we make/create the wealth? It is advisable to develop a personalised wealth accumulation model. I recently listened to an enlightening sermon (The Financial Prosperity Model) by Reverend Tonderai Mupamhanga wherein he makes the following interesting statement: “Our lives are built around models or philosophies that we believe can work for us, if you wish to prosper financially you’ve to develop a successful financial prosperity model”. He states further “if you don’t experience positive results in your financial position you need to revise the model that you’re using”. If you have used the prayer, fasting and prophet swopping model and it is not producing the desired results, perhaps it is time to go back to the drawing board and revise the model, there might be one or two important elements missing that unlock the “blessing that makes rich”.

Reverend Mupamhanga also points out that successful models can be replicated with success anywhere in the world (including Zimbabwe). Even after suffering great loss, a successful wealth creation model can be used to restore lost riches and wealth. Donald Trump, one of the world’s wealthiest men, claims he has suffered bankruptcy twice in his life, yet he has been able to restore his fortunes. I attribute this success to a sustainable, personalised wealth accumulation model that he has formulated.

Acquiring wealth or riches is not an event rather it’s a process. True wealth is acquired over a period of time. Truly wealthy people will give testimonials of how hard they’ve worked and how long it took them to accumulate the wealth or riches that they possess.

Some of the elements that I find in scripture that can assist to create wealth and have true riches are listed hereunder:-

Pay tithes — 10 percent of your income to the storehouse. The storehouse is the church that you’re committed to and receive your spiritual nourishment. Mal 3:10. Giving your tithes elsewhere is disobedience of this instruction. You may not “receive the blessing that can’t be contained” because you’ve not followed the instruction fully.

Give offerings — over and above your tithe (10 percent) give freewill offerings. These should be given liberally, joyfully and freely. There’s a great harvest of financial blessing promised to those who give freewill offerings. Luke 6:38. What’s given is multiplied and returned to the giver by God through human conduits. Wealth is built as we multiply what we’ve on hand. God is the greatest multiplier of wealth.

Give Alms — giving to the poor should be a top priority to anyone who desires to enjoy the blessing of the Lord that makes one rich. During the harvest the Jewish people were instructed not to harvest the corners of their fields so that the widows, orphans and strangers could benefit from the residual harvest. Their prosperity and blessings were unlocked as they practised social responsibility. James 1:27. Failure to observe this very important principle is very costly. Widows and orphans are the apple of God’s eye and He either smiles or frowns upon us depending on how we treat this very important constituency.

Work Hard — in addition to meeting all the spiritual requirements of giving we’ve to work hard. Giving, fasting and praying is incomplete without the final and all important element of hard work. Practical steps to wealth have to be taken through hard work. Work will bring wealth your way as you’re either employed or run your own business, creating multiple streams of income, investing what you’ve so that it’s multiplied to create even more wealth. Deuteronomy 28:12.

Scripture is clear that hard work is necessary for the accumulation of wealth. Apostle Paul was a tent maker and preached in the synagogue on the Sabbath whilst working with Priscilla and Aquilla in their tent-making business in Athens — Acts 18:1-3. Isaac sowed during a famine — this was not a financial offering in the offering basket but physical seed in the ground. The disciples were fishermen, assisting Christ during the day and fishing at night.

Proverbs 10:4-5

He who deals with a lazy hand becomes poor; but the hand of the hard worker makes rich.

THE WEALTH EQUATION

Tithes + offerings + alms + hard work + wisdom + investment = Riches that add no sorrow.

I deliberately omitted fasting and praying in this equation as there is no scriptural reference that links financial blessing to prayer. However, we must continue to pray and entreat the Lord at all times, as all good things come from Him. Prayer alone without fulfilling the other conditions will not bring the “blessing that makes rich”.

Prayer is very important and the scriptures encourage us to pray without ceasing, however prayer for financial blessing on its own without the observance of these natural and spiritual principles will not produce the desired blessing/harvest. I’ve met many holy, prayer warriors who’ve become very slender through endless fasting yet they’re nowhere near gaining the “riches that add no sorrow”.

This is the way of building true riches – Lk 6:11 — “And if you’ve not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the “true riches.”

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