Beyond Prosperity, Part 3

Greetings, friends and new listeners and welcome to this program of the R.G.

Hardy Ministries. I'm Sharon Knotts and I'm so glad you've tuned in today because we know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The message you will hear today is Beyond Prosperity, which the Lord gave to me after telling me to read 1 Kings 17 out loud. I didn't see the need to since the widow of Zarephath is the most preached about widow in Bible history and I knew her story quite well.

But the Lord didn't disappoint me and I hope you will also be blessed by the amazing things I learned in Beyond Prosperity. So what happened after that? We don't know how much time it was but it came to pass at a certain point of time somewhere later on, her son died. Her child became sick even with Elijah living in her house. He was still there. How many noticed? He said, I sojourned with her.

That means I'm living with her. Her son got sick. Now don't you think if Reverend Elijah was sitting, living in your house, eating at your table, that if your son got sick, he ought to be able to pray and get him healed?

Don't you think that? I'm sure Elijah thought that. I have to think that Elijah had to pray for him, for God to heal him, but the child didn't get healed. He got worse.

He got so bad that he died and she came, she said, uh, excuse me, Reverend Elijah, great prophet of the living God of Israel. My son is dead. Thank you for the meal barrel. Thank you very kindly for the oil of Cruz. Thank you very kindly for all those financial blessings. Praise the Lord.

But they don't mean nothing right now. My son is dead. And what are you going to do here? And Elijah grabbed the child out of her bosom, ran up to the place where he slept, put the child down on the bed. And for a moment there, Elijah, how many see for a moment, Elijah, cause he said, Lord God, what are you doing? How come you slayed this woman's son? Now, first of all, let's get our doctrine straight. God doesn't go around killing people. He doesn't kill anybody's son. He doesn't kill anybody's mother, father, husband, wife, relative. God doesn't do that. He's a God of life, but sometimes God does not intervene and he allows the natural course of things to go on. If someone gets sick with an illness and it's a terminal illness, if God does not intervene, the natural course will be they will die. It doesn't mean God killed them. There's a difference between commission and permission. Let me say that again.

There's a difference between commission, you commit the act, and permission, you allow it. God allows this world to do all the crazy things they do. People go around saying, if there was a God, then these people wouldn't be starving. And if there was a God, these people wouldn't be shooting and killing. And if there was a God, this, this, this, this, as though God is doing all these things.

God is just letting the natural course of things go. But we know that we can get a hold of God and he can intervene in our circumstances. I'll stand up here and I'll say that I believe we don't know half the stuff that would have happened to us. We don't know half of the bad things that almost, just almost happened to us that God intervened and they didn't happen.

I believe that. I believe that there's been many times that we, now there's been times we know about that God, we say, wow, God kept me from getting hit by a car, God kept me from this, God kept me from that. And we think, wow, but I believe there is as many of times, if not more, when because the angels of the Lord are in campground about us, that God intervenes, he don't even bother to tell us about, he just intervenes. But there are times that God does not intervene.

And sometimes we don't understand why, but other times we do understand why later. And I'm sure a lot of you couldn't understand why when he was this great prophet of God, why did this child die? And he said as much, Lord, why did you let this child die?

Amen. But what did he do? He decided in his mind that this was not the will of God for this young child to be dead.

He decided that he was going to be persistent. And what did he do? He laid himself down on the child's body and stretched himself out and he prayed. Now this is a prophet of God who stands in God's presence.

This is a man of power. This is the man who called fire down from heaven. I'm sure that when he prayed, God heard, but you know what? Not a blessed thing happened.

That boy didn't even twitch an eyelash. He was just laying there just the same, just as dead as he was. So what did Elijah do? He stretched himself out on the second time and he prayed again. And nothing happened.

Not a thing happened. That child was still dead, but he persisted in prayer. And sometimes when God wants to do a great miracle in your life, you're going to have to persevere and persist. You cannot give up.

How many say amen? You cannot give up. That child may have already been cold and clammy, but he laid down the third time and he prayed again.

And this time when he prayed this third time, the Bible says the Lord heard the voice of Elijah and the soul of that child came back into him and he was revived. So what I want you to see and understand is if you're in a place where you need God to do something that only God can do, only God can do, don't give up. Don't be discouraged. Don't say, well, I've been praying so long. I've been praying and praying.

Don't give up. Let me tell you something. This really was just a rehearsal for Elijah. Not only because he desperately wanted to see this child raised up and restore him to his mother, but when it was going to come time for God to end the famine and end the drought, Elijah had to pray seven times, seven times before a cloud came and it began to rain. This was three times.

How many say amen? This was just exercise in his faith. So when he got to the place where he had to pray seven times later on in the book of Kings and you see, he didn't give up on the third time. He didn't give up on the fourth or the fifth or the sixth time. He said, no, I've learned a persistent prayer.

I'm going to pray until the answer comes. And every time he sent his servant out, said, go check again. Go check again. He said, I don't see anything.

I don't see one cloud at all. But on that seventh time, he said, I just about see one the size of a man's hand. Elijah said, that's all I need.

That's all I need. He got up, he went to Ahab, he said, you better get home quick because it's about to rain. So this was just where he was in rehearsal to learn how to persist in prayer. And sometimes God lets little things come in our life, little adversities to teach us how to persist in prayer.

And we're in a school. We're in the school of faith. If we fail that test, we're not going to move on to the bigger things. And if you'll look over your life, God prepares you for things. I don't want to scare anybody, but if you live long enough and you stay saved long enough, you're going to fight some big devils. You're going to fight some big giants. If you learn how to get rid of the bear, then the lion will come. And if you defeat the lion, then God will sing Goliath. There's always going to be more things that you're going to face, but your faith has grown and your trust in God has grown.

And so you're able to face them with persistence. So the sixth thing that I saw here was that he persisted in prayer. And now we're coming down to the final one, the seventh one, and this is the one that blessed me the most.

Okay? So let's look at it. Verse 23, and Elijah took the child and brought him down out of the chamber into the house and delivered him unto his mother. And Elijah said, see, thy son liveth. Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, the devil is a liar. But that's not the seventh thing. Here's the seventh thing. And the woman said to Elijah, now by this I know that thou art a man of God and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.

How many see what she's saying? She says, now, you know, Elijah, when you came, I was in a pitiful state. I was starving and my child was starving and we were ready to die. And you walked on the scene with all the power of God and you had that message and you said, I tell you, thus sayeth the Lord, give me that cake. And I tell you, God will bless you so much financially that you'll have all the bread you can eat.

As long as the famine's going on, you will have bread. She said, when you came, I believe the word of God and I've been blessed. I have sowed into your ministry and I have re-financial blessings and my house is re-financial blessing. And I've just been fat and enjoying all the blessings of God. You've done exceedingly and abundantly above all I can ask or think.

You opened up the windows of heaven and you poured out blessings on me. All of my bills are paid. My rent is paid. My gas and electric bill is paid. My car payment's paid. Everything's paid. I got money in the bank.

I got a 401k to leave my son. But she says, that's not what proved to me that you're a man of God. That's not what proved to me that you're a prophet of God because you came preaching prosperity and I did what you said and I got prospered. That doesn't prove that you're a man of God to me just because I sowed into your ministry and got a blessing. But now I know, now I know that you are a man of God.

Why do I know it now that I didn't know it then? Because anybody, anybody who takes the law of sowing and reaping will be blessed. It's a universal law. It works for everybody. It works for sinners. It works for devils. It works for anybody. It works for farmers.

They get crops. It works for people who invest money in banks and stocks and they get money back. It works for people that invest in real estate. If you sow, you reap. If you give, you'll receive. It's a universal law. That's why there's TV commercials.

Every time you turn around, there's infomercials. How you can get rich, how you can make money, how you can get real estate, how you can go in business, how you can prosper and it works because it's a universal law that God made. So if people get up and preach prosperity and people get up and preach if you give, you shall receive and people do it, they're going to be blessed. Have you ever scratched your head and said, God, I know that that person is a false prophet. Now I'm not saying everybody preaches prosperity is a false prophet, so don't get the wrong idea.

But I know some people that I have cringed when I've seen them on television because I know that I know, I know they're phonies and they preach this and people, they have testimonials. People come on there and say, I gave and now I've gotten, they tell all their things and I don't doubt that it really happened. And if you thought to yourself, well, how does that happen if they're false prophets? Because it's a law of God. Even sinners can pay tithes and get blessed financially.

It happens all the time. It's a law of God that what you sow, you will reap right now. Now I don't believe you're going to reap eternal rewards if you give to a false prophet. You might get a new car here and you might get a new house here and you might get some money in the bank here, but you're not going to get eternal rewards.

Hello? You didn't sow it into the kingdom of God. You sowed it to get rich and you got what you wanted. But if you want eternal rewards, you got to sow into ministries that are preaching the gospel for souls. Have you ever noticed that they usually preach, send this money, send this money so we can preach the gospel, but they don't preach anything but the message, send the money. How are you going to go over there in the Sudan and preach that message? How are you going to go over there to Haiti and preach that message to those people? If you want to preach to them, you got to preach Jesus saves, Jesus delivers, Jesus heals, Jesus sets you free.

It's a truth anyhow. But this woman says, now I know because when my son was dead, you had the real thing. You had the resurrection power of God on your life and you were able to pray the prayer of faith and you were able to raise my child up out of death. You were able to call those things that are not as though they were and bring life out of death. I see you've got the goods. So preach all the prosperity you want. But do you have the goods that when they bring somebody in that's demon possessed and on drugs and somebody that's full of the devil and somebody who's ready to commit suicide and somebody that's ready to go into hell without God, are you able to set them free? She said, now I know you're a true prophet of God because you got the goods and the scripture is clear. First Timothy 6 5, it says, they're men destitute of the truth, supposing gain as godliness.

Now stop and think about it. They have to be gaining. They have to be gaining. They have to be prospering to think that because I'm prospering, this must be godliness. That's why I say it works. It works because then they only reinforce the idea, give and you'll get blessed and you'll be godly.

How many follow it? You see, it works because they suppose that gain is godliness. The fact that they are gaining, the fact that they are prospering, then that proves to them that I, or should I say it proves to a lot of gullible people that don't know any better, well they must be men and women of God.

Look, it must be true. Look, we're gaining, we're getting prospered. Money cometh, money cometh. I mean there was one person that they said, they walked around and you told everybody to walk around saying money cometh, money cometh.

I'm not kidding you, I had somebody send me a gift, a present, a check. They wrote me a check, a present and down there where it says four, they wrote on there money cometh. And I knew that that was a mantra of one of those ministers. So they're saying money cometh, so when it comes they said see, it came. I said it, I did it, I gave it, I sowed it, I got it, it works, it's real, it must be the real thing.

And Paul said they're destitute of the truth. They suppose that because they did it and it worked, then it's godliness. And so it works because it is a divine law.

When you go back to Genesis, whatever law, it's called the law of the first mentioned, whatever is stated in the book of Genesis, it will follow through all the way, it's a universal law. He said every seed after its own kind, whatever you sow, you're going to reap. It works, that's why companies, big corporations, they'll take their top management people, they'll send on the seminars, do you hear motivational speakers to tell them how they can take the money and get rich and prosper, how many know that's a big thing. Motivational speakers get paid caboodles. They could go and speak at a seminar two hours and get $100,000. It worked for them.

Amen. I mean speak for two hours and they get, and it's nothing for them to get a $100,000 fee for doing that. Nothing for that.

To get up there and tell people how you can get rich. Yes, it worked for them. And so people say it works because it is a divine law.

It will work. But when you want to, let me tell you something, when your child is sick and dying, you ain't worrying about how much money you got in the bank. When something's going wrong in your home. When your family is in a place where you need a miracle.

When someone you love is in trouble. When your marriage is falling apart and it's not because of money, you got plenty of money. A lot of marriages fall apart because of money problems. But there's a lot of people that got money and their marriage is still falling apart. How many say amen and money doesn't fix it. You don't care about money then. You don't care about how big your house is.

You don't care about what kind of car you're driving. All you want is victory. All you want is deliverance. She says now I know because when I was in trouble, when my child was dying, when I needed a miracle that money could not buy, you hung in there. You prayed. You believed. You persisted in prayer and you brought the miracle and you raised my boy up. You put him back in my arms and said, see, I told you God wouldn't fail. See, I told you God would keep his word. Your son liveth.

That was worth more to her than all of the money and all of the riches he could have ever given her to have her child restored. How many say amen? So preach all the prosperity you want. I'm not against prosperity.

How many say amen? Because it takes money to preach the gospel. And then we need people with money. We need people to pay ties. We need people to make good money to pay good ties, to pay for all the things that it takes to preach the gospel.

But I want to know do you have the power of God? How many know when Peter and John, after the Pentecost fell, they were full of the power, full of the anointing. They were going to the upper room. They went from the out to the temple to pray at prayer time. And when they got up to the gate beautiful, there was a man sitting there.

The Bible said he was crippled. And he had been that way a long time sitting there begging for money. They didn't say now, brother, what you need to do is sow those few coins. The next time somebody drops a coin in your pot, in your little tin can there, you need to sow it to us. And if you sow it to us, then you're going to get blessed.

And you won't have to sit out here and beg because God will bless you. He didn't tell him that, did he? No, he didn't. He said look on us. And the Bible says the man looked with expectation. He expected to receive something. But Peter said, silver and gold have I none. But such as I have, such as I have, I give unto you.

How many say amen? Oh, let me tell you, he had the goods that that guy needed. And he took that man by the hand. He said in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he restored that man. He didn't have to go back to begging anymore.

He could go and get a bonafide job. How many say amen? And I bet he was only so glad to do so. He was the happiest employee to show up for work the next Monday morning. Do you have the goods?

That's what I want to know. Do you have the power of God? We want this place to be filled with the power of God that when people come in here, they can know that they can bring people that we don't care how bad off they are. We don't care how hopeless their situation is.

Just bring them here. We believe the power of God will be in this place is in this place will abide in this place to set them free. So the next time you hear that first Kings, the 17th chapter preached, and they start talking about that little widow woman, you know, the real scoop, you know, the end of the story, she says, Now I know that you're a true man of God. Because those who are true servants of God, they walk in the power of God. And if we're the true servants of God, we have those same signs following those that believe we should never be afraid to pray for the sick, the disease, the bound, the bruise, no matter how they may see, you got to look beyond what you see with your eyes. You can't look at that person and say, Oh, oh, and get yourself No, you have to stand on the Word of God, and obey God's Word. And remember, if God is telling you to do something, obey Him. And if He's closing one door, look for another door. If He's speaking to you about something that that has brings other people into it, God's going to work on their end to remember all these things.

It's wise counsel. And as you go back and read first Kings, the 17th chapter out loud, you can get your own little marker and mark on there those things, and it'll help you how many say amen. And listen, if you need a financial blessing, we're preaching prosperity to to you know, t o o also, in addition to the real message, how many say amen, I don't want people to get the idea that I'm slamming, I'm just letting you to understand the true message. Because some people have gotten what they've gotten out of balance. They've gotten out of balance with their diet. And they've gotten out of balance with their faith.

So they're in trouble physically, and they're in trouble spiritually. And this one chapter will fix you up, get you imbalancing your diet and get you imbalancing your faith. And he said, I would above all that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul does prosper. Father, I ask you to bless all your people tonight. As we dismiss from this service, may the Word of God bless them.

If there's any that has weakness, sickness in their body. Right now you said in your word in Psalm 107 20, I send the word and heal you and deliver you from your destruction. There is healing in the Word of God. And we know that the Word of God right now is touching people, breaking yokes. And if people have been in fear, they've been in dilemmas, or they've been under the influence of lying spirits, if they've been people have been pulling them here, there and everywhere. I believe, Lord, the Word of God has come the night to give them understanding and counsel, wisdom from the Holy Ghost, that you can lead them and guide them and prosper them.

Put them where you want them to put them. Because Lord, we never know what a day may hold. We never ever know. There's not one of us that can guarantee what we'll be doing 24 hours from now. We never know when the phone might ring with with some problem that's happened. We never know when we might be facing trouble when we might be called to the side of a loved one who's sick or in trouble. We never know God, we've got to be ready. We've got to be walking in faith. We've got to be walking in the Word of God. We've got to be ready at all times. Because we know that the Word of God abides in us and we're strong.

And we've overcome the wicked one. Keep your hand upon the people of God, as each one goes their way to their separate homes, whether they're going near or far those that have traveled a good distance to be with us. Bless them and keep them safe. Let the angels of God and camp round about them. Give them Godspeed, I pray in Jesus name, and bring us back into your house tomorrow, Lord. Bring many people into our midst and bless the people of God, we pray. We ask it all in Jesus name, and let the church say, Amen. God bless you.

Amen. I hope you're seeing some of the new facets of this story of the widow of Zarephath. I believe her to be the most preached about widow in human history. It is the centerpiece of most prosperity messages. So when the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart to read 1 Kings 17 out loud, I thought, Why? I know this story very well.

I've heard it preached and dissected hundreds of times. But I obeyed and as I read aloud, I picked up on seven powerful principles that I had never seen or heard in this story before, which take the story to a higher level of blessing that far exceeds just financial prosperity. Some of these are the part that overcoming fear played in her miracle and that sometimes before God opens the door to a miracle, he first closes the door like what occurred when the brook dried up and Elijah had to get up and go to Zarephath.

If the brook had not dried up, he would have never obeyed and had he hesitated, he would have not arrived at the exact time when he came upon the widow. But the crown jewel of this great story came much later when the widow son had died and Elijah persisted in prayer three times to raise him up. Then the mother said, Now I know you are truly a man of God. You see, financial prosperity alone is not proof of God's blessing. Even sinners prosper because of the divine law of sowing and reaping. Anyone can preach prosperity and when people act on it, they will get results because of the universal law of reciprocity. But what Elijah had, money could not buy. Paul says in the last days, a symptom of many Christians is going to be they count gain as godliness.

But only the true power of God can heal the sick, deliver from death as when Peter and John told the cripple at the gate, beautiful silver and gold have I none, but such as I have I give unto thee in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Today's message Beyond Prosperity is available on CD for a love gift of $10 or more for the radio ministry. Request offer SK 116.

That's SK 116. Mail to R.G. Hardy Ministries, PO Box 1744, Baltimore MD 21203 or go online at R.G. Hardy.org. Once again the offer is SK 116 for Beyond Prosperity. For a minimum love gift of $10, mail to PO Box 1744, Baltimore MD 21203. Until next time, this is Sister Sharon Sain, Maranatha.