What would you think if I told you that every true preacher of the Gospel must be a ‘prosperity preacher’?  And what if I even strengthened that claim by saying that the Lord desires that all believers would be rich, very rich?

I imagine that many of you would be frantically looking up the phone numbers of the members of our Session!  And you’d be assuming, quite understandably, that your pastor has finally lost his mind, or that he has fallen into the devilish oblivion of false doctrine!

Well, while I’m not so certain about my mental status, I am certain that what has been asserted is not false doctrine at all! I know this because of the words that the Apostle Paul set forth before Timothy and his Church in ancient Ephesus:

“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.”

As you know by now, these are the inspired words of 1 Timothy 6:17.  And you can easily see for yourself that the Apostle does, in fact, make the claim that all Christians are rich and prosperous since our God “richly provides” for us!  And not only that, those riches He is so very gracious to grant are to be enjoyed in this life, in this “present age”!

Are you surprised by this?

Well, the Lord willing, we will look at this verse one last time this coming Sunday as we gather together for worship.  And we will learn about the prosperous and rich life that we are meant to live, that our Father guarantees by means of his graciously granted blessings, and that we are designed to enjoy.