God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servants. To prosper means that God’s hand is upon us, helping us do the things He wants us to do.

In Genesis 24, Abraham chose his most trusted servant, Eliezer, to find a bride for his son. In the same way, God has commissioned the Holy Spirit to call out the Bride of Christ, so that we may prosper.

This passage reveals five principles of prosperity.

First, we must establish our cause. Each of us needs a purpose—something that drives and motivates us. It must be specific, clear, and balanced. A worthy goal is God-given; it creates enough motivation in us to accomplish it and demands our very best. To test the worthiness of our goals, we must ask: If we accomplish our goals, where will we be and what will we have? Are the things we are living for worth Jesus dying for?

Second, we must examine our condition. We need to determine where we are now in order to know where to go and in order to plan for the obstacles in between. But remember, problems do not mean that God is not with us. 1 Corinthians 16:9 says, “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”

Adrian Rogers says, “Opportunity swings on the hinges of opposition.”

We must encourage our confidence by remaining in the Word of God. Scripture reminds us of the reward of our work: our Master will be pleased, there will be a Bride for Jesus and God will be glorified. Then we must pray. Eliezer asked God to prosper him in his purpose: “Then he said, ‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham’” (Genesis 24:12).

We must enforce our character. We will not drift into success; we need to be disciplined in our decisions, appetites, and time. We will pay a price for prosperity, but God gives us everything we need to fulfill our purpose for Him.

Finally, we must enlist our comrades. We cannot accomplish our goals by ourselves; God designed us to depend upon one another.

Apply it to your life
Prosperity is more than wealth or extravagance; it is knowing your God-given purpose and being given the grace to accomplish it.

Adrian Rogers says, “The bottom line is: when we die, we leave behind everything we have and take everything that we are.”

remember what success is progressive realization of the will of God for your life failure, failure is succeeding at the wrong right. Adrian Rogers had two great passions to introduce people to jesus christ and to encourage believers in their faith this month on love worth finding. Pastor Rogers will be sharing messages designed to help you have a closer walk with God, have your bibles ready and stay with us for today’s message. And if you’re encouraged by today’s message, remember you can stream this message again. Listen to other messages from Adrian Rogers and download Pastor Rogers outline and notes all at L WF dot org. Now let’s join Adrian Rogers, Would you be finding in the word of God? The book of genesis. That’s the first book in the Bible obviously and fast forward over if you would to chapter 24. And then when you get into chapter 24, go down to verse 56 and I’m going to read that verse. Then later on we’ll get into the entire chapter. We’re talking to you About prosperity and five principles of prosperity. Notice in this verse that I’m referencing here and he said unto them, hinder me not sing. The Lord have prospered my way. How would you like for God to uh do that for you? How would you like to be able to say? Listen, God has prospered my way. Now the bible teaches clearly and plainly that God takes pleasure in the prosperity of his servants And the first psalm in the Bible Psalm, one speaks of the man who is like a tree planted by the rivers of water and that psalm ends with a a gigantically glorious promise. Listen to it. Don’t try to water it down, it says this and what. So whoever he do it shall prosper. So don’t tell me that God doesn’t want you to prosper. God takes pleasure in the prosperity of his service. Now in this chapter in Genesis chapter 20 for we’re going to read a a statement often five times the word good speed. If you have the King James I have will appear in this chapter. The word good speed. Other translations give it in a more modern are up to date rendering one translation translates it continually. Success. It may be translated goodspeed success or prosperity whatever you want. But it means that God’s hand is upon you. God is with you, helping you to do those things he wants you to do. Are you ready for these five principles of prosperity? They’re going to come out of this chapter and let me give you the background for the chapter. Abraham is the father of the jewish nation. He has a son of promise. That son’s name is Isaac Isaac in the bible is a type or a figure and illustration of the Lord jesus who is to come because both of these sons were sons of promised sons of miracle birth and sons of sacrifice and so forth. We don’t have time to get into that. But just put it in your mind. That Isaac is a picture of the Lord jesus christ. Now Isaac needs a bride and the desire of the father. Abraham is to get a bride for his son. Isaac do you know what the desire of our heavenly father is a bride for his son jesus and the church is the bride of christ. Now guys I don’t know whether you’ve like the feeling or not but you two are a bride, we are the bride of the Lord jesus christ and what is the desire of the father? Well the father wants a bride for his son. Now this is the background of this and so Abraham chooses his most trusted servant whose name is Elias and he sends him off on a mission to get a bride for his son and he comes back with a beautiful girl named Rebecca. Now Elias abraham typifies and pictures God the father Isaac pictures God the son and Eliezer pictures God the Holy Spirit for what is the uh what is the purpose? What is the office work? What is the motivation and the high privileging and uh responsibility of God the Holy Spirit to seek a bride for Isaac. And so the Holy Spirit is working here today just calling out a bride for the Lord jesus christ. And so Eliezer is going now to seek a bride uh for Isaac. Now that is the background and God prospered Eliot Glazer and God gave Eliezer goodspeed God gave Eliezer prosperity. As he said, the Lord hath prospered me in my way. Now we can look at that and we can find five principles of prosperity. Are you with me so far? Principle number one, establish your cause, put it down in your notes or put it down. Certainly in your mind, establish your cause. Now you’ve got to have something that motivates you, something that drives you. Every person needs a cause, a reason, a God given goal and purpose for his life. Read now the first four verses and Abraham was old and well stricken in age and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things and Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house that ruled over all that he had put, I pray thee thy hand under my thigh and I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of Heaven and the God of Earth, that thou shall not take a wife under my son of the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell. But thou shalt go unto my country into my kindred and take a wife unto my son Isaac. Now clear beyond any stutter stammer or apology. Eliezer had a cause. He had a mandate. Question, do you have a cause, I mean, are you just drawing your breath and drawing your salary, fighting to live and living to fight and and and and you don’t have a cause through life, you’re just enduring life, have a cause in your life. You need goals in your life. And beware of vague goals. Most folks could not write down what they intend to do, what they want to do, What they feel. God has called them to do is your goal your cause specific enough. You could put it on paper this morning. I suppose I would just pass out paper this morning. All right, write it down. What are you all about? What motivates you? I mean, what are you trying to do number one? You must establish your cause. Beware of vague goals and even more. Listen carefully. Beware of unworthy go. I mean what is success? Listen very carefully. one definition of failure is succeeding in the wrong thing. That is faith. If you are succeeding in the wrong thing, A wise man who said whatever a man does without God in that thing, he will do one of two things. Either he will fail miserably or succeed more miserable. Mm Are you listening? Failure is often success at the wrong thing. Now I’ve said that you need to have a specific goal. But do you have a worthy goal? Really? Do you have a worthy go? May I ask you to ask yourself some questions this morning? Is your goal? Is your cause? Is it God given? Yes. I mean, does the thing that moves moves you? Is it God given? Number two. Does it creating you enough motivation necessary for its fulfillment? It’s not a worthy goal. If it doesn’t motivate you enough to fulfill. Number three does the cause that you serve demand of you your very best. Is there anything that demands of you? Every inch? Every nerve, every ounce, every sinew, every corpus cell of your body to say this one thing I do, Number four in the cause that you have. Can you pray and ask God to help you fulfill? I mean the thing that melts your butter, the thing that motivates you, The thing that drives you. Can you honestly get on your knees and say oh mighty God in the name of jesus, in the authority of jesus. Help me to do this thing. Beware friend of vague goals. Beware oven worthy goals. And listen, precious friend, be aware of unbalanced goals. You need to have goals for every area of your life, not just for one area, not just physically, not just financially, not just domestically, not just spiritually, but your entire life needs to be a life of balance. That’s why God gave you two legs. An old story of the school college dean who came to the football coach and said your star athletes, I want to tell you about him. Here’s his report card. He’s got four FS and AD. What do you have to say about that coach said, well looks to me like he’s concentrating too much on one subject. Your goals need to be balanced principle. Number one, therefore is established because number two, principle. Number two, is this, examine your condition. Now, this is what Eleazar had to do. He knew what his cause was. And then he had to see where he was right now. Beginning look, if you will beginning in verse five and the servant said unto him, per adventure, the woman will not be willing to follow me into this land. Must I needs bring thy son unto the land from whence thou camest. In other words, if Rebecca won’t come back with me, will I take Isaac to Rebecca? Ah And Abraham said on him. Beware that thou bring not my son thither again. No, you can’t take Isaac back to where I came from. You’ve got to bring Rebecca here and the Lord God of Heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from that land of my kindred, and which spake unto me. And that swear to me, saying unto thy seed, will I give this land and he shall send his angel before thee. And thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear of this. My oath only bring not my son thither again and so forth. I could read this more. But what what is obvious is this? That Eliot Glazer says, look, this is a problem. You’re asking me to go to a land, meet a girl that I have never met, establish a relationship with her and convince her to come and marry a man she’s never met. And to leave father. Mother houses, Lands, brothers and sisters and come with me. That is my job. That’s what I’ve got to do now. Those were the conditions folks. You have to see where you are this morning, not where you want to be, not where you wish you were. Take an honest inventory and see where you are right now this moment, here was Elias. He had to find the right girl. He had to convince her, he had to convince her parents. He had to take care of all the details. And in your life it’s not just enough to establish your cause. You have to ask yourself what is standing between me and that. Cause what are the obstacles? What are the roadblocks? Now, the roadblocks don’t mean that God is not with you. Ellie Yaser had difficulties. It doesn’t mean that God was not with him, Paul said, there’s an open door set before us and there are many adversaries and the door to the room of opportunity swings on the hinges of opposition. And really, problems are just opportunities in reverse. Did you know that Elias saw his problems and then he got a plan and the servant took 10 camels of the camels of his master and departed for all the goods of his master were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia under the city of Lahore and so forth and so forth. He had a plan. He was going to find the right girl that he’s going to get invited to her home. And then he was going to share the promises of God with her. Then he’s going to pop the question and then he’s going to get he’s gonna ask her parents for permission and then he’s gonna bring her back to Isaac. Now there’s nothing wrong with planning. Planning is not a spiritual planning is very spiritual. God planned my redemption before he made the world. I was in the heart and mind of God. The Lord says which man intending to build a tower? Doesn’t sit down first and count the cost You make plans. I’ve already told you to fail. The plan is to plan to fail. Number three. Number three, encourage your confidence. You know many of us just we we just think we can’t do it. We don’t think that God wants us to prosper, but encourage your confidence. Now, how do you encourage your confidence? Number one, there’s the promise factor. Get a promise from the word of God. Look, if you will in the beginning about verse five and the servant said unto him per adventure. The woman will not be willing to follow me into this land. Must I need to bring thy son again into the land from whence thou camest. Now notice this and Abraham said unto him, beware that thou bring not my son thither again, the Lord God of Heaven, which took me from my father’s house and from the land of my Kindred. And which spake unto me. And swear unto me, saying unto thy seed, will I give this land? He shall send his angel before thee. And thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. Do you know what he’s saying? Hey, this is based on the Word of God. We have got a promise from the Word of God. You want to encourage your confidence. Get in the Word of God, Joshua, Chapter one verse eight. This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth. But thou shalt meditate there in day and night, and that thou mayst observe to do according to all that is written for. Then shalt thou shalt thou make thy way prosperous, and then shalt thou have good success What we see right here is a is an illustration of that wonderful promise in Joshua. One verse eight. And so we’re talking about encouraging your confidence. And there’s the promise fact. Wait before God until you get a promise and let that promise somehow come out of the word of God. And then not only is there the promise factor, but here’s another way to encourage your confidence. There is the profit factor. And I said that some people have tuned the radio station wi uh f m what’s in it for me? But there is a sense in which you need to ask, what’s in it for me? In the right sense, you need to ask yourself this question, Where’s the payoff? What is the bottom line? Why am I doing this? And real motivation comes from proper motives. And when your motives are right, then it’s an amazing thing. You see what was Eliezer’s motive? Well, he said, what what was his reward? What what was the profit factor? Well, number one, his master Abraham would be pleased. Number two, there would be a bride for Isaac. Number three, God would be glorified. And therefore Eleazar could have the joy. You see, we all serve for rewards. It’s not wrong to serve a reward. If your reward is to hear, jesus say, well done, good and faithful servant. If your reward is for the glory of God. Uh Listen, once you see what the profit is, what the payoff is, what the bottom line is, what really counts of a worthy goal. Once you get that established, you determine the why? And God will show you the how I believe that with all of my heart, you determine the why? Why am I doing this? What is the promise factor? Do I have a basis in the word of God? What is the profit factor? Am I doing this for the glory of God? Bottom line is my whole life. Built around bringing a bride to jesus. I mean, is that why I’m doing this is everything else contributing to this? This one thing as the profit factor. And and then last of all, we’re just talking about encouraging your confidence. There’s the prayer factor when you pray over what you want to do, then you’re going to find out that that you encouraged as you pray notice, go down to verse 12 and he said, here’s this is Elias and he’s praying, oh Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed, translate that, send me prosperity, send me oh my God! Success. That’s the reason that you’ve got to have worthy goals, a goal that you can pray over. And when you pray, the spirit of God comes into you to encourage you to motivate you to drive you and you’re not doing it alone and you and God are doing it together. And you can say with the Apostle paul, I can do all things through God who strengthens me, get those things together. Now we were talking about encouraging your confidence, There’s the promise factor. There’s the profit factor, There is the prayer factor. And by the way, if you’re not praying about your cause, you know what he shows me either that you you know that your cause is not God given or that you’re not really depending upon God for the fulfillment of it. You’ve got to have a desire when you pray Mark 11: verse 24, Jesus said, and I say unto you what things so ever you desire when you pray believe that she received them and you shall have them. You will encourage your confidence through prayer. Now, number four, you must enforce your character. You’re not going to drift into success. I can tell you that much. You read this story, it’s very, very obvious that this man was a man who enforced his character. What I mean is he disciplined his life. He disciplined his decisions. Look, in verse 21 and the man wondering at her held his peace to it. Whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not, he’s looking at, he’s looking at Rebecca and I wish I could tell you the background for this, but this versus sufficient right now. He’s looking at her and he’s saying, is I wonder is she the 1? He’s not making a snap judgment. He’s wanting God to affirm this. Here’s a man that’s that’s discipline. He’s not just getting on a horse and riding off in all directions. He disciplined his appetite. Look, if you will, in verse 33, in the midst of all of this, they’re trying to get this servant to eat and there was set meat food before him to eat. But he said, I will not eat until I’ve told mine errand. There are times when we have to set aside food, television. Ballgame vacation, whatever. There’s no cheap way, there’s no easy way, there’s no lazy way, discipline is appetite. He disciplined his time. Look, if you will in verse 56, that’s what we read to begin with. They’re trying to slow him down a little bit and he said unto them, hinder me not seeing the Lord Hath prospered my way. Don’t waste your time. Well, I get under conviction about this one. I preach there’s enough time in every day and every day to do gracefully. Everything God wants us to do. Don’t you dare insult God by saying you don’t have enough time. Do you think God would tell you to do something and then I’ll give you enough time to do it? There’s enough time and every day to do gracefully everything that God wants you to do and here’s this man says, look, no, I’m not going to turn to the right hand, I’m not going to turn the left, hinder me not the Lord hath prospered me in my way. Don’t waste, don’t squander your time. Now, all of this, I’m just simply saying is that you have to enforce your character. There’s no cheap way. No easy way, no laser way and and so where do you need to grow? Where do I need to grow personally remember we said examine your condition and and look at those obstacles. Part of that may be something in your character, some lack of discipline, ask yourself, where do I need to grow? Wiseman has said, when your professional life outpaces your personal life, you will have stress and you will bring stress to other people, enforce your character. Last of all, enlist your comrades. Enlist your comrades Eliezer when he went to get a bride and I don’t have time to even open the scripture. I just want you to suggest that you read about verse 49 and and go on, read the whole chapter when you get home. He knew that this was not a one man show. He knew that in order to get this done, he had to get her father, her mother, her brothers to cooperate. He knew that he needed to get helpers to get the thing done. You can’t do it by yourself when people are prosperous doing the things of God, do you know what God does? God makes us dependent one on another. That’s the reason that we have a church. The I can’t say to the hand, I have no need of thee, dear, can’t say to the foot, I have no need of thee. God puts us together. You find people who think they don’t need one another. And I’m telling you they will not succeed. Ask yourself this question, Am I a cooperative person? Have I learned to enlist others? Have I learned to depend upon others? Have I learned to delegate? Have I learned to cooperate a single snowflake isn’t much, but you get enough of them together and stop traffic. I mean, that’s together. God brings us together Now. That’s the end of the message. Those are five principles of prosperity, they’re found right from the word of God. Just make certain that it’s not fool’s gold. Just make certain that is real prosperity that you get soon and very soon. Soon and very soon. I mean soon and very soon sooner than you think we’re going to stand before God and when you die, you’re going to leave behind everything you have and you’re going to take with you everything that you are and then you’ll find out whether or not give them prosper. Well thank God for the message from God’s word and thank God for the power of the Holy Spirit that has been here and I believe that God is touching your heart many of you. I was saying I need jesus, I need to be saved. I want to know that my sin is forgiven. I want to know that christ is in my life to give peace power and comfort and I want to know Yes, I do that when I die or when jesus comes again, I’m going to happen. May I invite you to pray a prayer like this? Lord jesus. I believe you’re the son of God. I believe you paid my sin debt with your shed blood on the cross. I believe that God raised you from the dead. I believe that you promised to save me and will save me if I trust you and Lord jesus, I do, I don’t offer you any good works. I just come to you and say, Lord, I’m a poor lost sinner. Come into my heart into my life, forgive my sin, cleanse me. Save me, jesus, save me, jesus pray it in me. And I promise you he will for the bible says for whosoever shall call upon, the name of the Lord shall be saved, hallelujah for that. And if you do that, would you write us and let us know? We’ll rejoice. We really will and we’ll send you some literature to help you get started in your christian life and also we’ll pray for you. We hope that today’s message has been an encouragement to you. You can stream this message again. Listen to other messages from Adrian Rogers download pastor Rogers outlining notes or purchase bible studies on this and other topics, all at L WF dot org at L WF dot org. You can also sign up to receive our daily heartbeat email. Each heartbeat includes a scripture and devotional thought and inspirational, 90 seconds of profound truth, as well as our daily radio program, all in one place delivered directly to your computer or mobile device each day. And if you’re looking for some inspiration or encouragement to get you through the week. Check us out on social media at L WF ministries and don’t forget you can catch up on our program each week on our facebook page or Youtube channel or the my L WF app. Thanks for joining us today. We’ll see you next time. The book of proverbs is filled with principles that are meant to be God’s guide for living. Using these scriptures. Adrian Rogers share solid biblical insights into God’s way to health, wealth and wisdom in this new book, God’s Wisdom is better than gold for your gift. This month, we’d love to send you a copy of this powerful book, request. Your copy of God’s Wisdom is better than gold. When you call with a gift at 1 806 47 94 100 or give online at L WF dot org. Learn God’s definition of prosperity call or go online today.”}],”