THE WONDERS OF EXPLOITS
And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. – 2 Chronicles 7:5
To begin this chapter, I just want to ask you a simple question: What exploits will you do if God prospers you? What is your reason for asking God to prosper you? Do you want to prosper to marry seven wives, build a hundred houses, and buy two hundred cars?
Abraham was told by the Almighty God that he was going to be blessed. In Genesis 12:7-8, based on the promise, Abraham built an altar and worshiped God.
And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.– Genesis 12:7-8
Abraham demonstrated his devotion to God by building an altar to worship God based on just promises. By the time we get to Genesis 13:1-4, when the blessings started coming, Abraham went straight to the altar and worshiped God again.
And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD. – Genesis 13:1-4
Proceeding to Genesis 22:1-18, Abraham had become really blessed. He also demonstrated to God that he loved Him more than every other thing, including his very precious son, Isaac.
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto
Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Heream I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. – Genesis 22:1-18
When we get to Genesis 24:34-35, we are not surprised that the testimony of Abraham’s servant is that God has prospered his master greatly.
And he said, I am Abraham’s servant. And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. – Genesis 24:34-35
What will you do if God Prospers you?
David is a great example. The Almighty God picked him from nowhere and gave him a breakthrough. What did he do with the prosperity? He said he wanted to build a temple for God. God refused because his hands were stained with blood. In spite of God’s rejection of his offer, he did something spectacular. He donated all the materials that would be needed to build the temple. Whoever was going to build the temple would not have to spend anything of his own if he wishes. David made sufficient provision available before he died. The Bible records that everything Solomon needed to build God’s temple was provided by David.
Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto. Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work. Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee. – 1 Chronicles 22:14-16
In 2 Samuel 24:22-24, we discover that David never gave God an offering that did not cost him something. He never gave a casual offering. Every time David had an opportunity to give to God, he gave until he felt like he had given something.
And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee. And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver . – 2 Samuel 24:22- 24
Solomon, David’s son, followed in the footsteps of his father. In 2 Chronicles 1, Solomon had his first opportunity to give offering to God. He gave one thousand
bullocks.
And Solomon went up thither to the brasen altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it. In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead. Now, O LORD God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great? And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like. – 2 Chronicles 1:6-12
Everyone, including God, was amazed at Solomon’s offering. No one had seen such an offering before. God blessed him beyond description as a result. However, Solomon was not done. The next time he gave an offering, he moved to twenty two thousand oxen! That was not all. He also offered with it a hundred and twenty thousand sheep!
And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. – 2 Chronicles 7:5
Solomon shows us what it means for God to prosper a righteous man.
What about the Shunammite woman? When God prospered her, how did she spend the money? She started by feeding the man of God, and then built the prophet a house. What will you do if God prospers you?
And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this isan holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. And it fell on a day,
that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people. And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old. And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid. And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life. – 2 Kings 4:8-17
When we read the story of the widow’s mite, what is the implication?
And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. – Mark 12:41-44
What is the significance in what she did? Jesus Christ commended her because she gave everything she had. She was saying to God:“ I don’t have much, but this is all I have. You can have it all!”
God is not just looking at your prayers; He is looking also at your motive. The Bible says that actions are weighed by God.
Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. – 1 Samuel 2:3
You may be praying; “God make me the richest man on earth”; “ O Lord, prosper me; make me rich”. The Lord is saying, “Alright. If I give you the wealth, what will you do with it?”
There was a young man who came to me a long time ago, and asked me to pray for him. He said he wanted to be among one of the three people that will be sponsoring our convention. He was just a salary earner. I prayed for him, the following week, he was sacked from his place of work. He was sad and came to
me. I asked him if he thought he could sponsor the convention from his salary. God simply closed that door so that he could open unto him an effectual door of wealth. The following convention, he came and gave me ten million naira equivalent of today’s currency rate. God took him to the top.
Another young man came to me and asked me to pray for him. He said he was tired of poverty and was ready to do God’s will if he prospers him. We prayed together and after two weeks, he got a great contract. I stopped seeing him for a while. After some time again I met him and he said I should still pray for him to get another contract. I asked hi“mW, hat happened to the other contract?” He replied,“It went well. Glory be to Go” dT! hen I queried, “I thought you said you were ready to do God’s wil”l? H e responded, “That was just the first contract; God should understand. Pray for me to get another one.” Sadly, that was the end of his prosperity.
The question comes to you again: If God prospers you, what exploits will you do for Him?
Action:
Get a piece of paper and write down what you will do for God if He prospers you.
Prayer Points
- Lord, before you is my vow when you prosper me. Grant me the will to fulfil it, in the name of Jesus.
- Father, let every dream of exploits I have for you come to pass, in the name of Jesus.
- Father, use me as your instrument of financial blessing to generations, in the name of Jesus.
- Father, remove greed from my life, in the name of Jesus.
- Father, cure me of every fleshly lust that is hindering me from receiving your financial release, in the name of Jesus.
