Ask For Fruit
Just in case you need another "ask me for anything verse",
here’s another one. John 15:7 says, "ask for whatever you wish and
it will be given you". Maybe I should pull out my wish list again.
My wife suggested that I ask for underwear without holes in them, but I
figure I can take care of that myself. I’m interested in bigger things,
like things in the "Sears Wish Book" (Christmas catalogue). The
Wish Book gets me in the wishing and asking mood as North Americans have
learned from an early age. That’s part of our problem
All foolishness aside, look at what Jesus is saying in John 15. He says
that if we don’t remain connected to Him we’ll die, get cut off from Him
and will be burned. If we do remain in Him we can ask for whatever we wish
so we can "bear much fruit". That’s the key. Our wish list is
in reference to bearing fruit, not getting rich.
Just to let you know, if you’re wondering what "remaining in
Jesus" means. He tells us in verse 9. He says, "if you obey me,
you remain in me".
I believe the prosperity teaching has more to do with covetous
accumulation of wealth than bearing fruit.
Importance Of Humility
There is not a selfish bone in Jesus’ body. Jesus could not care less
about His personal prosperity. When on earth He only cared about doing
what His Father wished Him to do. The only "wish list" that
Jesus had belonged to His Father.
Jesus made it clear that He did everything in His Father’s name.
(John 5:43) He did not name, claim, or demand anything from His Father,
but only received what was necessary to perform His Father’s wishes.
This is true humility.
Expecting material prosperity in my thinking is arrogance and covetous,
not humility. God doesn’t respond positively to demanding arrogance.
Jesus was humble. We should be too.
A Lean Soul
In Psalm 116:14 and 15 we see that Israel gave into their own selfish
desires instead of obeying God. As a result verse 15 says that "God
gave them their requests, but sent leanness to their souls". (KJV)
The NIV says that God "gave them what they asked for but sent a
wasting disease upon them". No matter the version you read, God gave
Israel their wish list, but it came with a price – a lean soul.
Jesus said that it is hard for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of
Heaven. Riches can easily turn us away from Jesus, giving us a lean soul.
What will it profit us if we gain the world in covetous living, but lose
our souls. I know we’re all looking to have a lean body, but a lean soul
– I don‘t think so.
Be careful. God has at times given people their wish list but the
results aren’t very nice.
Jesus Was Poor So We Can Be Rich
Paul tells us in 2 Cor. 8:9 that "though Jesus was rich, yet for
your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become
rich". So there you go. This verse totally wipes out everything I’ve
just said, or does it?
Before His incarnation Jesus was very rich in every aspect. When He
came to earth He was materially poor, not spiritually poor.
Paul said Jesus became poor so we could be rich. If Jesus’ poverty
was material poverty, then our riches must be taken as material riches. So
should we expect material riches from Jesus?
The context of 2 Cor. 8:9 explains what Paul is saying here. Christian
Jews in Judea were extremely poor due to persecution. It is interesting to
me that these people were poor in the first place. Did they not believe in
the prosperity message?
Paul was concerned for these poor saints so he traveled far and wide
raising money for them. In 2 Cor. 8:2 Paul says that the Macedonians gave
to this cause "beyond their ability to give", despite their
"extreme poverty". Why were these people poor in the first
place? Did Paul forgot to preach the prosperity message to them?
Maybe these Macedonians were following in Jesus’ footsteps. They were
poor, but their poverty did not prevent them from giving generously. That
sounds just like Jesus. Maybe they were foregoing their riches for the
next life, as Jesus did.
Paul wanted the Corinthians to be generous too. This is the context of
verse 9. According to Paul, poverty was no excuse not to give. It is clear
then that giving is better than getting, and if giving is better than
getting, then asking Jesus for material abundance is not all that
important in doing His will.
In verse 9 Paul says we’d be rich. So why were the Christian Jews, the
Macedonians, and Paul himself poor for the most part. Did they not name
and claim a life of prosperity? I believe they chose to follow Jesus’
example. They lived generous lives of service, deferring material
blessings to Heaven.
Material prosperity was not the issue with Paul, therefore he had no
problem with covetousness. He chose to give, not to get. He chose to be
rich in spirit, deferring material riches to the next life which is the
explanation of verse 9. If this is not the explanation, why were the
Christian Jews, the Macedonians, and Paul poor most of the time?
Part 3