The title of this morning's message is A Prosperous Soul. A Prosperous Soul coming from Isaiah the 65th chapter, the 17th through the 25th verse, which I'll read that whole verse reading in the living version this morning. And as it comes from there, we look at the tile of this the objective we have to go all the way back to the Genesis to see the objective and the mystery of godliness sooner or later will help us to untangle this to understand it to be able to understand about the prosperity of the soul And what it is that God's doing it because he stated in the book of Genesis, he says, let us make man in our image and our likeness. If we will be made in God's image and God's likeness, that means we will be like God. Character and everything else would be like God. So that making process, I tell you, we have to keep studying the word of God because as we come each day, Each Sabbath day and as we come before in preaching and teaching the Word of God, it places something in us, a greater knowledge of our Lord to save Jesus Christ. And that's being, as he said, take his yoke upon you and learn of him. We're learning of him and getting to know God. Go to the book of John, the 17th chapter, the third verse, that is eternal life. That is what eternal life is, it's knowing God, to know God. So I guess the objective would be to have a prosperous life and an eternal life. God has said eternity in the souls and the hearts of man, and the souls of men are the ones that don't achieve that objective. That soul shall surely die, because it's a sign of a non-prosperous soul, a soul that didn't attain to the objective, a soul that is inferiority that didn't get to know God. And to have life, we have to know God and to understand God, to walk in his word and in his way, and to do that. We have to ask John. I tell you, it's John the 17th chapter and the 3rd verse. It says, Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true supreme and sovereign God, and in the same manner know Jesus Christ in whom He has sent. So we understand what the objective is, what we should be doing, what we should accomplish, and that's the goal. That's the goal. But we have to learn or find out how to achieve that goal. How do we go about achieving the goal that we've inspired to take upon us? learn because I was reading scripture that came from 1st John, I mean from 3rd John, the 3rd verse to the church that he wrote Gaius. He's talking to those in the church and what he says to one he says to all and that was his beloved Gaius that he was writing to a fellow comrade in the church about prospering in the Lord. He says, I pray that in every way you may succeed and prosper and be in good health. Physically, just as I know your soul prospers spiritually. To know one's soul prospers spiritually has to be as Gaius was, and that is obedient soul. The only way we can prosper in the Lord is to learn to follow instructions. doctrine. We achieve that by coming to the house of God, learning of Christ, hearing His Word preached. To get to know Jesus, not just God, but Jesus, it takes faith. And faith cometh by hearing the Word of God. And that Word of God is through His preachers. So the objective and the goal, the tangent would have to follow a certain tangent line to achieve all of those things, and that's coming to the house of God. And we learned that those that are converted and has been converted, that says, let us go up to the house of the Lord and see what it is the Lord has to say. They're continually hungering and seeking for his righteousness to be added unto them because his words are life. That's the bread that we labor for. That's the work that we do. And so the soul that followed after the Lord and obedient to the Lord, that's the soul that is growing and that's prosperous. And he's also concerned, he said, with his physical health. You see, because sometimes we could have afflictions and ailments and all types of things that happen to us in this life, and so physical health and strength is something that's conditional. That's in beside and that's part of what part of God's plan it is, and that's in learning. That's why sometimes we have to just take up our cross and bear that cross and follow after him. Well, whatever handicap or disability that we have, we know that we can walk in God and that God strengthens us to be able to bear whatever he put upon us. But in this way, God making man to prosper and be in health and through his preachers, he gets set forth through faith to the removal of the elimination of the tares. In other words, when he began to make man in his image and his likeness, an enemy came in and sowed tares among that which God was doing. And through that process of making and developing man in his image and likeness, he was dealing with a counterfeiter. That was a counterfeiter that came along and sowed tares, and the tares was kind of identical to the wheat, to the good seed that he sowed. They were kind of identical, and that seed, we sometimes use the Word of God as the seed, but sometimes that enemy twists that seed and gives misinformation or disinformation, or wrong interpretations of the Word of God. That I tell you it was conditional, but there's a process that's going on that We have to pray and that's what we'll talk about next week is prayer We have to pray that we don't be deceived We have to pray that God keeps us that God births us into his family. We have to constantly stay in communication verbally with God And that is asking of God for not to be independent of Him, but to be very dependent upon Him because our life calls for that. And if we want to be all that He had purposed us to be, we have to rely and trust upon Him, trust upon hearing His voice and trusting that He would enable us to be obedient unto Him and pray for the instructions that's needed. that we would be able to hear his word, and that we would hear the correctness of his word, and follow after him, and that way we can prosper and be in health. So, as God's word comes, God's objective as it's being done, there's a test and there's a life to be lived, and we all know that we are sinners and that we will want walking in darkness that we once followed the God of this world, the influences of this world, the influences of this world, the spirit of darkness in this world, and followed a carnal path that was not good. But then in that darkness, we heard God's voice calling us out of the chaos of life, calling us out of the darkness of life. And he births us again when we hear that voice. We hear through the preaching of his word saying, come unto me. Be reconciling to me. Turn around that you're going the wrong way. The way that you go is death and that I don't take pleasure in death. God doesn't take pleasure in any of our death. So as we hear this voice, and this voice that's calling us, and the tares also hear some of the voice, but everyone that's called, everyone that's called may not be chosen. So it takes some doing to be chosen. It takes the grace of God that places us into the body of Christ by faith. But what God's voice is also doing God's working and I tell you through this process there's a lot of work going on God's creating he said I'll create a new heaven and a new earth Listen at this. He says for I am creating new heavens and new earths So wonderful that no one will ever think about the old ones anymore Be glad rejoice forever in my creation Look, I will recreate Jerusalem as a place of happiness, and her people shall be a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem and in my people, and the voice of weeping and crying shall not be heard there anymore. No longer will babies die when only a few days old, and no longer will men be considered old at a hundred years old. Only sinners will die when they're that young. 100 years old, dying if you're 100, that means you're really a young person, that you probably committed some sin if you died at 100. That's when God would send where men live to 1,000. That's when men live at, Adam lived to 900 and some years old. And we know Adam didn't physically die within that day that he ate of the fruit, but he spiritually died. So he was on that journey that God had him on that he shall surely die according to God's word. See, because he had listened that Satan planting the tares, he became the representative man that all men in Adam died. But Jesus Christ came as a Redeemer to call men back and to reconcile men under God, to place man back in right standing with God, to place man back upright. To do that which is right, to love mercy, to follow after his creator and the purpose in which he had purposed him for, and that is to be in strength, to be in health. God didn't visualize, God didn't bring death and disease and famine and handicaps and all kinds of things that happened to the old man. He didn't bring those things. So we have to look at one day, we will overcome death in Jesus Christ. We will come by his stripes, we were healed, but it takes a lot of faith to visualize that healing. It takes faith to visualize the prosperity. It takes faith to do anything without God because without faith, it is impossible to please God. So we must have ever-increasing faith, and I told you, faith comes by hearing the Word of God. So we have to continue to hear what God has said, walk according to His calling, according to His instructions, and be in conversation with God. His presence is life. In His presence is life, and I told you, abundant life. See, God lives an abundant life, and we live in a human dwelling here, in a human earthly body that's passing away. One that's being dissolved away, but we're looking forward to something that's greater. We're looking for prosperity in Jesus Christ. It says, in those days when a man builds a house, he will keep on living in it. It will not be destroyed by invading armies as in the past. My people will plant vineyards and eat the fruit themselves. The enemies will not confiscate it, for my people will live as long as trees, and I will long enjoy their hard-won gains. Their harvest will not be eaten by their enemies, and their children will not be born. Because to be cannon fodder. In other words, people won't be using their children. That if you plant a tree, I remember my brother had a banana tree planted or whatever. He would be able to live to eat many years off of that tree plant. The houses and the homes that we design and build. And he wants us to have many homes because he said, in my father's house are many mattress. I go away to prepare this place for you. So you look at your dwelling place and I think about the home, my father's home that I'm living in. I think about the home that I used to live in. In designing your home, you want to be able to live in it lifelong. In other words, build where you live at. Nobody else gets these things and they pass away or they're destroyed or whatever. You want to live throughout life in that home that you designed and built, not another. Because sometimes you pass it on to your children or somebody, and they'll either destroy it, tear it down, or think of something else, or do something else with it. But what do you have, your hopes and dreams? Where are your hopes and dreams? I'm not talking about your son or your daughter that's in California or someplace awful. I'm talking about you. See, God wants to have that personal relationship to you to where you have a home. I enjoy that my children have nice things or want things or whatever, but I'm talking about me. It says save yourself from this untoward generation. What type vehicles you want? What do you build in life? God wanna see you prosper, and that's prosperity, to be content with such that you have. I'm sure that you're happy, he was happy with his banana trees and having a fruit tree here, pecan tree here, grow a few flowers here, a garden here, whatever. That's contentment. You see, God teaches us contentment with such that you have. Not with that you don't have, because that breeds an influence of the world, because you're always looking at stuff, you know? The lust of the eyes, that came through Satan. The lust of the flesh, all that came through Satan. Those are portals in which the devil came into our lives. In other words, instead of being satisfied with the house you have, with the home you have, with the vehicles you have, the material stuff that God had given to you, your wife or your husband or some of your friends or somebody say, man, look at that car. And I ride or be around people that's always looking at vehicles and everything they see, they want. Man, I want one like that. I want one like that. That's the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the love of the world. Everything they see, they want it. That's covetousness. I want, I want. Well, what do you have or what do you achieve that you're satisfied with? How much is enough? See, covetousness is wanting and grasping, and that's one of the Ten Commandments. Thou shall not covet. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife. That's where adultery and fornication come from. You're not satisfied with the wife God given you. You're not satisfied with the things that God given you. But how could you be content with this one woman all your life? With this one man all your life? With the children God had given you? Are you content with sex that you have? Or do you want to just go buy a roll of lottery tickets and lottery tickets behind one another so that you can get, get? And then after you get all that money, how much is enough? Tell me how much would be enough? As they say, J. Paul Getty or somebody said, just another dollar or whatever. Talking about Elon Musk and the five richest men in the world and Jess Bezos they say would be down at 12. I was reading it being the 1928, I mean in 2028, they say Elon Musk may achieve being a trillionaire. I don't know if life would go that long. Three more years, I mean what is that, four more years? You see, God's going to come back because man has gotten to where nothing is enough. Nothing satisfies. An unsatisfiable lust. And that's signs of Satan when we just want, want, want. And the Bible tells us the eye is never satisfied with seeing. That's because we've gotten a John desire. We've gotten an eye that's after the world. See, God's eyes, when God give us eyes to see, we enjoy nature. We enjoy the things of life. They're building a development of community around a tree that's in California. Didn't read the whole article. I was getting ready for church this morning. But that oak tree is 13,000 years old. It'll be something like the 200-year-old oak in Prairieville or something they cut down this week to make a Chick-fil-A or whatever, somewhere to build chicken sandwiches or something, pieces of chicken, and in a few years, they'll tear that down and build something else or whatever. But have you just enjoyed nature, what God had designed for that tree to do what God had called forth for it to do? See, God said he was gonna plant us like trees. And that tree is doing what it's supposed to do. See, that's our purpose in life is to find out the objective. He says, let us make man in our image and our likeness. But then the objective is to fulfill why God had put you here. What's your purpose? That tree is doing what its purpose to do and that is how much oxygen has that tree made over the years because trees take in carbon monoxide and they give off oxygen. Without trees, we would die. That helps the environment. But see, those are things that you learn of Jesus Christ, that you learn of the world and God's going to destroy those that destroy the earth. He says, our days will be like a tree. Nowadays being like a tree. I wonder what that would be like. To the people that has a false view of heaven and the preachers and things throughout the years, some of them say they're gonna sit around heaven all day and just sing or whatever. Sounds like a lazy, slow for life to me. Someone that doesn't wanna do anything, just sitting around singing all day, just doing, what are you gonna do? What's gonna keep you? Is that what God put in your mind? Or is that what Satan put in your mind? Because God only gave us one day of rest and six days of work. So that six days of work was accomplishing something. How many of us like to work? How many of you like to work and feel a sense of accomplishment when you get your job? When you do your job and a job well done, take a sense of accomplishment in there. See, I'll take the accomplishing in my life. I used to cut yards after I retired or whatever, and I took pride in that. We have to take pride in our work or whatever. Jobs well done. That's why they say if you find what God had purposed you to do, You won't work a day in your life because that's what God had designed you to do just like that tree that he had Purpose to produce leaves to bring forth life And they say we'll eat from the tree of life and those leaves on the tree of life gave us life Those are symbolic of bringing forth life So I could do this all the time. I love preaching and teaching, and I can do this throughout eternity, is tell someone about God and see their lives. I'm like the apostle there that wrote to John. He liked to see his children prosper and be in hell. And that's what I want to hear, that my people that I preach and teach take that instruction, take God's word, and that it would strengthen the marrow of their bone. that they would pull off any things of the flesh and that would make them strong and strong and established and rooted in the faith rooted in Jesus Christ where he would prosper their health just as he was their soul because that's the soul he want that soul to prosper and become like him he wanted to have eternal life you wasn't created with eternal life He had a desire for eternal life. Man always have wanted to live. But see, God had put that little word in there to say, the soul that sinned, it shall die. So that means you have to be purified away from sinning. He says, Jesus Christ came to save us from our sin, so that we wouldn't continue in sin, see, because any man that had the hope of Christ purified himself. as he is pure. We have to walk like Jesus Christ. He was our example. If we walk like him, we'll have the life because he rose up from the grave and says, all life, all power has been given into me. So he'll never die. So if we're buried with Christ in the likeness of his death by baptism, by that burial in the water that we are now risen up to walk in the newness of life, we'll create a new creation into Christ Jesus. Now we have to start visualizing those things that he had said that we have. because he told us he says that you have eternal life he didn't say you will have eternal life those that are born again and unless a man is born again he shall not see the kingdom of god so if he's creating a new heaven and a new earth and he say he has birthed us into that kingdom that we use once to walk in darkness that we won't let nobody pull us in the darkness anymore that we won't walk in darkness, that we walk in light as he's in the light. We don't even have fellowship with those that walk in the darkness. Now we're involved in a battle. We have to keep our clothes clean. We have to keep our garments clean. We have to pull off the old man. We have to put him to death. so that the new man may live, that our children's children will live. And he says, their harvest will not be eaten by others, for they are the children of the Lord that the Lord has blessed, and he shall bless them. I will answer them before they call me. That's going into next week's sermon about prayer. Because before you even ask God, he's gonna give you the answer. He's gonna answer you because he know what you have need of. He knows what you have need of before you even ask Him. You know, if your children are being right, you will give them the things that they need to prosper. And that's why Jesus Christ pointed us to the way. He says, anything that you have need of, ask the Father and He'll do it. But you don't give that to disobedient children. You don't give that to children that would waste it or cause others to fall by the wayside or be unprofitable in it, because you would be a part of that. So as we go about in God's remaking the earth, he's recreating the heavens and the earth, but he's removing the wheat, I mean the tares and the wheat, he's separating them. He's calling us out of the world, so we are in a real world, but the world is passing away. He's shaking everything that's not solid. The foundations of this world is being shaken. Every tree, talking about trees now, every tree that the Father hadn't planted shall be hewn down at the roots. So your daughters, sons, or whoever it is that's not in Christ, they gotta go. because it would contaminate the new earth and the new heavens. There's gonna be no sin in there because as we pray, we say, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and ain't no sin in heaven. So in this new heaven and earth, you're not gonna bring your sin in there. You're not gonna bring self in there. You're not gonna bring self-sinnedness in there. You're not gonna smuggle covetousness in there. You're not gonna, no liars, no cowards, none of that's coming in. So God's purging, He's purifying the earth. He says, He's not gonna be water. See, you wash with the water of the word. That's how He washes you, but you purify it by fire. The fiery judgment of God, that's the elements melting with fervent heat. God's gonna send the trials. If you wanna send trials in somebody's life, you turn up the heat. You turn the heat up on them, that's gonna purify. That's gonna melt it down. The wolf will lay down with the lambs. In other words, he's gonna remove that old nature. He's gonna remove everything that's ferocious. If the wolf laying down with the lamb, it's not even gonna come in the wolf's mind to devour the lamb. They're not gonna hurt in all of God's holy mountain. And we know that the earth and the fullness there, that's the mountain of the Lord. That's the earthly mountain. So all of these dispositions, all of these vices has to go. And if that vice is the largest part of you, that soul, that part of you has to die. And that's why we judge within ourselves. We put that part to death. He says, if you would judge yourself, you would not be judged. So we have to start seeing ourselves in the mirror of God's word. We have to walk in God's word. Now, there was a rich young ruler in the parable on the wealthy fool. And we may need to walk a little bit through the sea here about this prosperity. And sometimes prosperity comes in different ways. So we have to define prosperity by God's word. Not what the world's definition of prosperity is. Not what the world's definition of success. If you love the world and the things of the world, the language of the world, anything that's of the world is an enemy of God. Proverbs says, be not wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord, and turn entirely away from evil. It will be health to your bones, to your body, your nerves, your marrow, your sinews and muscles and your inner parts, and a refreshment that is physical well-being to your bones. It's gonna bring restoration. Do you believe that? We need to get a mindset. It says Christ has let that same mind be in you that it was in Christ Jesus. Let that mind starts to think today. It starts to transform. the outer man to what that inner man is, that new man. See, that's a new man, and you're trying to get out of there. But we have to kill the old man. We have to put him to death. We have to mortify the deeds of the body, and that's in his thinking. That's in his thought life. You can't want money to consume it upon your own lust. Now, if you was wanting money to help and do other things for other people and to please God, to help the church, but that God can see whether you have arterial motives or not. So why do you desire? See, you have to be godly desires. He says, honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruit of all your income. Then your bonds will be abundantly filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine. My son, do not reject or take lightly the discipline of the Lord. Learn from your mistakes and the testing that comes from His correction through discipline. Nor despise the rebuke for those whom the Lord loves He corrects, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. Happy and blessed of fortune is the man who finds skillful and godly wisdom, and the man who gains understanding and insight, learning from God's words and life's experiences. She's as precious as a ruby, as gold, and her gain is better than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and nothing you can wish for compares with her in value. Long life is in her left hand of riches and honor. Can you visualize that? In God's word, that's wisdom. That's the Sophia of God. That's the instruction of God. That's like Solomon. He said, Lord, teach me how to come in and go out among these people, how to lead these great people of yours. And since he asked for that instead of wealth, instead of the death of his enemy, God instructed him in that, plus he gave him the wealth. Plus he gave him everything. Now we see why it says, seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you. We see that stuff doesn't satisfy, stuff doesn't fill you. We have to seek ye first the kingdom of God. Seek God. And as you're seeking God, he's going to add all these things to you. That's why we understand that Job was a man of God. And that's why he was so wealthy and so prosperous, but he still didn't know God intimately enough to not question God on some things. And Job was wondering, Why do the wicked live such long lives? Why do the wickedest children prosper? Why do the wicked grow up this way? See, but if you knew all of that, Job, you would be like the angels of God that he sent in the last days to root up the tares and the wheat. You would be able to distinguish counterfeit. You see, that's why he told the servants not to go out and root up the tares from the wheat because you couldn't distinguish among them. See, sometime in life, you have to go through these things with a fine-tooth comb. See, not man's justice, because man has corrupted justice in this nation. That's why this nation has to fall. Man is just as blind as Netanyahu over there, destroying and killing and murdering, and people following behind him, thinking he's doing God something. He's not helping God. He's showing what is man without Jesus Christ. You might have known God, but you don't know Jesus. Jesus says you have to know him. Jesus will show you the Father. See, that's the problem. We got counterfeits in church talking about God this and God that, but you don't know Jesus, do you? Jesus is the one who died for you. Jesus is the one who sent the Holy Spirit to come in and lead and guide you. He says, if you don't have the Son, you won't have the Father. Verse 1. We have, he said, I am the way, I'm the truth, I'm the life. It was his blood that was shed for us. And it is Jesus that God had given a name above every other name. So we will have to get into Jesus, in him. But see, that's how you realize what God is and who God, because he says, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. Turn that heat, that air up a little bit. I said I wasn't hot, but just moving around getting me hot in here. Can you visualize this, that if you follow the instructions of God, if you walk by faith in what God's word says, and see, don't walk according to religion because of what man says. You walk by God leading and prompting you. Those that are led by the spirit of God are the sons of God. By the spirit of truth, those that worship him in spirit and in truth. See, when the Spirit get into you, when God's Word is leading you, it's different from man leading you. Now you're walking by faith. You want to visualize Jesus Christ. You have to strain to get this vision, because this old world is passing away. 2 Corinthians 4, 16-8, it says, Therefore we do not become discouraged, depressed, afraid, though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being progressively renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction, a light distress, and that trouble is producing for us an eternal weight of glory. Beyond all measure, surpassing all comparison, and transcending splendor. So we look not at the things which are seen. We're not looking at the world and the fact, that's not faith. We don't take faith to look and see a car. It don't take faith to see money. It don't take faith to see clothes and houses and things, but that's not what we're laboring for. He says, so we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen. For the things which are visible or temporal, that's just brief and fleeting. This world is passing away. He's creating a new world. He says, but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable. Can you visualize that? See, because the Corinthian church, that church would not exist. That church was a church that Paul had all kinds of problems with that church because the Spirit had worked in that church or whatever. They were like the Laodiceans. God was outside of the church. There's a lot of churches that kind of put God outside. It's like the Pharisees. He says, by your tradition, you've made void the commandments of God. You start following me, and you start following what other people say instead of following God. He says, take up your cross and follow after me. Paul said, the only way you follow a preacher is you follow him as he followed Christ. See, when he deviates, when he leave off the road, that's when you stop following him. God could give you the truth that his word is truth. But the Corinthians, Paul was talking sarcastically to them because they had all of the spiritual gifts within that church. So possessing spiritual gifts is not necessarily a sign of prosperity or a sign of God's blessing or success on you. because they had every spiritual gift. Paul said that these people had things and they wasn't giving, they was coming to the love feast, they were drinking and everything, and they wasn't treating one another right. They had divisions, they had respect of preachers among them. Some say I'm a Paul, some say I'm a Peter, some say I'm a Cephas, and some say I'm a Paulus, and some say I follow Jesus. It was so messed up, Paul said this word of criticism here. This is sarcasm he uses in 1 Corinthians 5 here. 1 Corinthians 4 and 8, it says, you behave as if you've already filled with spiritual wisdom and in need of nothing. Already you have become rich in spiritual gifts. and you are conceited and have ascended your thrones and become kings without us. And how I wish that it were true that you did reign as kings so that we might reign with you. They've left the apostolic teaching and now they are above everybody else. And that's what the churches has become. We read that earlier, it says, that I'm holier than thou, don't come near me. Some of the churches, we have Christian nationalism. They don't even like people now. The people on its peers do. Other Christians aren't like them. So sometimes we can get so lofty, so holy that we forget where we come from. We forget who we are and whose we are. We've thrown everything out, and now we are self-centered. We're prideful. We eat egotistical. And God has no way in us. And they've become rich. The Laodicean Church in Revelation 3.17 was a very wealthy church. They said, we have need of nothing. And that's what has happened with America. The church is enjoying abundant prosperity. but it's prosperity according to the world's definition. Because we notice that the spirit said under the church, you said that you're rich and wealthy and have need of nothing, but you poor, wretched and naked. So spiritually they hadn't prospered. And I told you earlier in John the third, John the third verse and he says, I wish that you prosper and be in health as your soul prosper. So you can't get that backwards because if you're not spiritually rich, don't let it manifest in the physical because you can die and go to hell with money. You can dine money, the love of money is the root of all sin. Notice I said the love of money. I didn't say money because God wants you to prosper. God's servants could become rich. I was telling you the difference between Warren Buffett and most of the billionaires today. That Warren Buffett is more or less has a little bit of Godly character about himself because of his compassion and empathy for others and those in the lower classes or the middle classes below him. And the world has become as this fool, the world of fools. That's why he called him in Corinthian, fools, because they know not God. The fool has set in his heart. Luke the twelfth chapter. It says, Then he told them a parable, saying, There was a rich man whose land was very fertile and productive, and he began producing crops. So he says, What shall I do, since I have no place large enough to store my crops? Then he said, This is what I will do. I will tear down my storehouses and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. I will say to my soul, Soul, You have many good things stored up here, enough to last for many years. And rest and relax, eat, drink, and be merry, celebrate continually. But God said unto him, you fool, this very night your soul is required of you. And now who will own all the things that you have prepared? So it is for the one who continues to stow up and hoard possessions for himself and is not rich in his relationship with God. He's a fool. You have to prepare your spiritual existence with God, your relationship with God. We'll talk about that rich young ruler. See, because what it is to gain all of the wealth and prosperity in this world and die and leave it to another, to not be able to enjoy it. And Solomon found this out. You remember I told you about Solomon, the richest natural man that ever lived. And he says, there's nothing better that God desires than a man, that a man work, eat, enjoy the fruit of his labor. Why labor and not enjoy it? You should eat and be able to enjoy the fruit of your labor. I'm not against people going to the game, enjoying the game, tailgating and enjoying life. God created alcohol and different things. See, but watch religion take that out of sight and give you a cover for becoming a drunk, not becoming an alcoholic. There are conditions here. That's just like with food. Don't become a glutton that you live for the weekend, live to party, live to eat. Some people eat to live and others live to eat. That's the difference in living to eat and eating to live. You become gluttonous, you have to get out of sync and everything. That's why it says wise toward God, moderation. See, we have to understand these things. So some people work and send their money to church, but it's imperative that you go to church and then send your money. God wants your heart right first. You build that way, unless God built the house, you labor in vain. Jesus said to his disciples, for this reason I tell you, do not worry about your life as to what you will eat, about your body as to what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens for they neither sow nor reap, but they have no storehouses or barn, and yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than the birds, and which of you, by worrying, can add one hour or span to his life?" You're more important than the birds of the air and the sparrow and all those things. But do you see the birds doing what God had purposed them to do? that they go around, but they do get out and search for food. God's not bringing it and handing it to them while they're sitting on the limb and say, oh, your mouth is dropping in there. The bird has to work for his food, plus it's a very dangerous place out there for the birds. It may be a cat out there to eat him soon as he get on the ground. It may be some other animal. Soon as he looking for that worm or searching for something, he have to be circumspective. He can't live a carefree life. God protected the book. He's not worrying because why? We cast all our cares upon the Lord. We can't live in fear. We can't live in cowardice. We can't get anything done. But we must labor to enter into God's kingdom. A faith without works is a dead faith. So we must learn that God has created, and that's what he's pulling back from this new heaven and the new earth. He's pulling us back from toil. We'll have rest in Christ Jesus. He says, come unto me and rest all ye that labor. So work is no longer toil, that you enjoy the job that you're doing. I used to work as a medical supply salesman, and I loved it, that job. I loved it, going to that job. But once that job begun to be toiled, become a burden, I'm glad God pulled me away from there because it was causing me to be somebody or something that I wasn't. And you see, God doesn't want you there. He has another lesson for you to learn. So God takes you from different places, but you must be like Moses going along looking for those burning bushes. Looking for God. Seek ye the Lord. Keep seeking God and hearing God's voice and walking in God's way. God's going to make it easy for you. God's going to give you a long life. He's going to give you a prosperous soul. One that can lay down and sleep at night and not worry about this and worry about that. It says it's a san... People tell you it's a sanuary. God pulls you back from the distress of wondering how I'm going to make ends meet, how I'm going to do all these things. It says, cast your care upon him. The prosperous soul is a soul that's trusting in God. A soul that's depending upon God and instructions from God. A soul that's been totally converted by God. A soul that the objective is you live day by day. That's why he created that prayer. He says, this day, give us our daily bread. Well, you see, James says that you go around and says, we'll build and do. If you're always planning on a way to get rich, a way to make more or whatever, You might need to examine what's at your forefront. Is God at your forefront? What's at the cortex of your mind? Is God sitting at the seat of your mind and you trying to please God? Are you being led by the Spirit of God or are you being led by covetousness? Wanting more because that's an itch that you'll never be able to scratch. You'll never be able to satisfy that because once you win that big one, you're going to want to win the next one. Life, you get addicted to life. And then the addiction is that you can't make or create life, only God can give life. And when you achieve eternal life in Him, it makes no difference whether you live or die because you will be with Christ. So you're no longer afraid of death. You don't labor on those things. You have a whole different perspective on life. You're able to look for God and strain to walk in His way and in His Word. He says, now if you're not able to do that, he says, so if you are not able to do a very little thing, why are you worried about the rest? He says, consider the lilies of the field and wildflowers, how they grow in the open field. They neither labor nor spin, yet I tell you, not even Solomon, all his glory and splendor, dressed himself like one of these. But if this is how God clothes the grass which is in the field today, and tomorrow is thorn into the furnish, how much more will he clothe you? Oh, you of little faith. So as for you, do not seek that you what will you eat and what you will drink, nor have an anxious or unself mind. That's Jesus telling you not to pursue those avenues. Now, don't get into some argument with a fool. Now, Proverbs tell you, answer now a fool according to his father. Someone that's not been in the church and not understanding what I'm saying, they'll make an argument over what I just said. You have to redeem the time because the days of evil. So you don't go back explaining everything to everybody. It do like the old people sometimes, just walk away and say live and you'll learn. As you digest that, you'll understand what I said, but I don't have time to explain it to you, son. See, sometimes you don't have to go around explaining everything to everybody. That's their problem. You have to buy that experience. You see, through the years, I got a lot of bold experience in my life. That's very precious, that experience that you buy, that you spend your life blood for, that you make mistakes. Your children have to make mistakes. We have to make mistakes. But you need to be able to learn from those mistakes. Ask Jesus to help you learn from those mistakes. He says, for all the nations of the world greedily seek these things, and your heavenly father already knows that you have need of them. He says, but strive and seek ye the kingdom of God, and these things will be added unto you. Do not be afraid or anxious, little flock. He calls them a little flock. For it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide money belts for yourselves that do not wear out and unfailing inexhaustible treasures in heaven. So he's telling them this. Somebody is just like I was saying, might not got the understanding of what he was saying. Because it was money and laboring for money, but they hadn't been cleansed. So here come someone that understood religion. They understood some of the things of God they know, but that was the law. They hadn't been converted because he come up to Jesus and he says, teacher, what good thing shall I do to obtain eternal life, eternal salvation in the kingdom? Jesus answered, he says, why are you asking me about what is essentially good? There's only one who is good. But if you wish to enter into eternal life, Keep the commandments. And he said to Jesus, which commandments? And Jesus answered, he said, you should not commit murder. You should not commit adultery. You should not steal. You should not give false testimony. Honor your father and mother and your neighbor as yourself. That is unselfishly deceit. the best of the higher good for others. And the young man said, I've kept all these from my youth. What do I still lack? And Jesus answered, if you wish to be perfect, that is, have the spiritual maturity that accompanies godly character with no moral or ethical deficiencies, go and sell what you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Come and follow me that is become my disciple. But when the rich young man heard this he left grieving and distress For young much property and had many possessions Jesus says I assure you most solemnly it is very difficult for a rich man to enter in the kingdom of heaven What happened here? Notice that Jesus in his commandments, he listed about six or seven of the commandments, but he didn't go over covetousness. He didn't say thou should not covet. And see, that was at the nucleus of his problem. Jesus didn't argue whether he was keeping those other commandments or not. But he did see to the point of telling him to go sell what you have. Your possessions have you. You don't have your possessions. See, you're not like Job. Job lost everything that he had, and Job says, the Lord give it, the Lord take it away. You could destroy even though the earth, the skin worms destroy my flesh, yet in my body will I see God. He had confidence and faith in God in the resurrection. You see, so he wasn't worried about the children that he lost, the cattle that he lost, the herds of goods and all of the treasures that he lost. But this rich young ruler, he had so much wealth and he couldn't do this. And Jesus had told him to give these things up. and come and follow me. Now, that was his way into the kingdom. Then he actually, you know, that's like the people asked Jeremiah to go and inquire of the Lord, what shall they do? And Jeremiah went and inquired of the Lord and God told him what to tell the people. And when he came back, when the preacher came back and told him what's thus said the Lord, and he said, we won't do it. We're not gonna do it. You see, man constantly wants to have this thing his way. He doesn't want to give up that which is pleasurable unto him, that which he likes. You see, you're forgetting the objective is eternal life. His objective was eternal life, so it shouldn't have made him any difference whether he had stuff or didn't have stuff. He says, take up your cross and follow after me. In other words, if you want to be my disciple, you have to follow my instruction. That's what a disciple is. He crucifies everything that is to him. That's why I say, to be his disciples, we must continue in his word and deny ourselves. And then we shall have treasure in heaven. You see, so we have to come to Jesus Christ. We have to come to enter in life because whoever wishes to save his life shall lose his life because you're trying to hold on to the world and the things of the world. You hadn't got the proper perspective on what prosper is. See, you think prosperity is in this world, and if it come that time to die, you won't be like those apostles. You won't become a mar for the Lord. You won't die knowing that I'm just going to be sleep. See, Stephen died for the Lord. They stoned Stephen to death because he stood up on the truth. You have to have a prayer life to get to the point where you're strong enough to start visualizing and bringing into this world eternal life. And as you seek God, those material things will be added unto you in this life. You'll have homes, you'll have prosperity, but it's the soul, it's the inner man that Jesus is worried about. So as your soul prospers, that's why God's people are solid. Warren Buffett is 94, 96 years old. They're talking about how Elon Musk look at this point in time or whatever, because he's not a role model. See, but there are some men in this life that set both character and what a man should be. I was thinking about Liz Cheney the other day. She stood up, and among Republican women, among women, she has strong character. She has strong values. She won't buck a father stood behind and look like that's where she get a lot of her character from. We're talking about she's a conservative. I myself was a conservative. I'm really not a liberal. If you ask my children and everyone that know me, I'm more or less conservative myself. Some would say I'm an ultra-conservative. So that's not how you measure, because in the book of Proverbs, we see that Proverbs tell you about those that's not given the change. And I'm looking back, I like the old ways. I'm looking for the old paths. And that's what's prosperity to men. God told Jeconiah, Jehoiakim, that his father had prospered. His father had what he had because he knew what was life. You know, life is sitting on my front porch. A couple of years back, one of my grandchildren was small and we were sitting there eating watermelon. I had a bowl of watermelon. Used to be out in the yard making homemade ice cream and things. All of those are prosperity to me. Enjoying my children, enjoying my grandchildren, enjoying home. See, you could have a home, but to make it a home, you have to have a family, you have to live by God's rules, or you just have a house. Because in that house, you taking care of your grandkids and everything else because your kids don't have time to raise them because they're chasing after material prosperity. So it engulfs your life. See, if your life is so engulfed, and I tell you, my wife was staying with my daughter last night to keep the children for whatever because On Friday nights, I don't really want to keep the children or be tied up with my grandchildren. I'm trying to get ready for services Saturday morning. I like for my grandkids to visit me, but visit me an hour to a couple hours and go. I'm not for re-raising my grandchildren. That's my children's responsibility is to raise their children. I want my grandchildren to visit me and I want to spoil my grandchildren. I want to give them stuff. I want to do for them. I want to see them grow. But I don't want them hollering and frustrating me and running all over me while I'm trying to watch TV or sit there and be quiet or whatever. I don't want to raise them as little old children or something because children has to be children. There's a time and a season for all things in a place. Prosperity of the soul that you can teach and instruct. And that's why we need the older people to be able to teach. You see, but the older people are too, Tied up with their children, trying to do for their children through guilt. In other words, they hadn't found Christ, so they can't bear down on their children. And now they have 30 and 40 year old children that's acting like children instead of acting like men and women. You don't supposed to have to raise them after they're 30 or 40. You're supposed to keep taking care of them and have to provide. It's time they stand up on their own two feet. So prosperity of the soul is to be able to continually instruct in the Lord and teach the younger people what thus saith the Lord. To carry that word out in instructions and see we cast aside the older people and some of these old fools is so old they want to be young or whatever and saying all these things. and they're not enjoying their older life. You see, if you're in your 70s and 80s, you should be enjoying that what a 70, 80-year-old should enjoy. Now, who looks bad? Does Trump look worse now since he's competing against a younger woman? He used to criticize and talk about Biden. Now, Biden is enjoying life and serving as president the rest of his term out and going home and rest. But now who looks bad since he's against the younger? Of course all the persons can't stand up for youth and age, but each one of them has a place in life. There's a place for the older person, there's a place for the younger person. But there's still a place for that child under his parents. You see, that's why it says a child being a younger age would be an indicted young. Because I wouldn't be hollering at the children the way I see my children and other parents hollering at the children. You didn't fail, and that's why I say you have to look back and tell God. My soul right here, this is vexing my soul. You can't be stirred within your soul. You have to have inner peace and God gives you inner peace. So if you don't have that inner peace and that inner joy, something is wrong because his word says he'll give you peace and joy and you no longer cry, you no longer worry. All of these things are gone because that crying and worrying and stress, it makes you physically, it works on your body physically. It's a cancer to you. So, I want to be able to stand stronger, that's why I be having a lot of surgeons, because God can heal you through the doctors. That's why He gave doctors knowledge, because my hand is getting much better, it's getting sore, but I'm going to have the other one done. I'm going to have them working, because however God does it, I want to be here a hundred years from now. I want to be here 200 years from now. And I believe through God's word, he says, you have life. He says, if you be patient and wait upon the Lord, those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They'll walk and not be weary. They'll run and not faint. That's the same as the man that said he's in the village and he's healing and he's giving sight to the blind. When his word says by his strife, we will heal. We're looking for the healing, the promises of God. Now he's making good on those promises. And that's the prosperous soul that knows that God's no shorter than his word. If we can see in the God's word, heavenly fathers, we come before you this day, Lord God, help us to lay hold to your word and your promises, Lord God. to grow integration.