Stephen K. De Silva - Money and the Prosperous Soul: Tipping the Scales of Favor and Blessing

MONEYAND THE
PROSPEROUS
SOUL

Tipping the Scales of Favor and Blessing

STEPHEN K. DESILVA

2010 by Stephen K. DeSilva

Published by Chosen Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.chosenbooks.com

E-book edition created 2010

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN ***-*-*****-***-*

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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture marked AMP is taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture marked ESV is taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked Message is taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked NKJV is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked NIV is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Contents

by Bill Johnson

When I picked up this manuscript, I was excited for my friend and co-worker Steve DeSilva. He had finished his book, which I knew to be an important goal in his life. Steve has taught this subject faithfully to our church family and managed the economics of the Bethel Church ministry the entire time I have served as its senior leader.

Little did I know, however, that in picking up this manuscript, I would have the sense that I was holding in my hands a tool that could impart wisdom and unveil a purpose to enlist millions of believers into becoming active participants in the great transfer of wealth spoken of in the Bible. My heart leaped as, page after page, Steve took me beyond my high expectations into realms I could only imagine.

Steve DeSilva has a masterpiece with Money and the ProsperousSoul one that could equip a generation to succeed where others have failed.

Books on money are common. Each fills a vital role. But this one prophesies, preparing us for a mission beyond the obvious mandates given in sermon after sermon. On these pages you will commence a journey of divine purpose far greater than most of us have ever imagined. This book is about shaping the course of history by getting healthy on the inside, and then living from the inside out. Once Kingdom health is experienced on the inside of the believer, it is to be exported to shape the world around us thus the phrase prosperous soul.

The common themes of contentment, generosity and living without debt are here, as they should be. Steve gives us tools to live counter to the devastating norms surrounding us. Someone wisely said that vision gives pain a purpose. If there is pain involved in shifting from serving Mammon to being an authentic steward of Kingdom finances, it is far overshadowed by the joyful vision of transformed cities and nations through a people who have discovered what it is to live with a last-days stewardship mandate.

While I have enjoyed almost every book on finances I have ever read, one thing has always been missing for me: the supernatural. When the supernatural is discussed in the context of money, fear often spreads through the camp as we recall story after story of abuse from ministries and individuals who used the God factor as the excuse for financial carelessness, hoping God would bail them out. Yet overreaction to error usually leads to more error.

While we have seen devastation caused to families and churches, history also contains the record of supernatural supply with divine purpose. The Bible is filled with stories of success because of the supernatural without yielding to a lottery mentality. In other words, it can be done right. That is the most unique part of Money and the ProsperousSoul. Steve revels in the role of the supernatural in the believers world of economics without abandoning the wisdom gained on the subject through his years of training and Bible study.

This book is practical yet visionary. It is structured in all the right ways, yet is intensely prophetic. Steve takes a healthy approach to this subject that should excite and ignite almost every reader.

Welcome to the journey of a lifetime!

Bill Johnson
Senior leader, Bethel Church, Redding, California
Author, When Heaven Invades Earth and
Face to Face with God

Introduction
The Voyage

We can find ourselves in a good book. Stories can spark perspective, hope and victory in a persons life. My prayer for you is that the following pages would spark the journey of your own prosperous soul. To that end, imagine you are on a voyage.

You are the captain of a cargo ship, responsible to acquire, protect, manage and deliver merchandise for its rightful owners you are a steward. In spite of your skills as a sailor, you have suffered loss from time to time. Foul weather has required you to jettison cargo, doldrums have threatened, but you have sailed on through tempests and calm. This is your profession; you are a dealer and transporter of goods from port to port.

Then one day you receive a great commission a voyage that will require you to sail far beyond the familiar harbors and stretches of ocean. The risks are great, but the reward is greater. The one who has chartered your ship is the most successful merchant in the world. He is looking for business partners, and this voyage is to be the first stage leading to a permanent partnership. When he approaches, you are skeptical that your small-time cargo ship could be a viable candidate for his fleet. But he quickly explains that your craft will be refitted at many of the ports on the journey in order to accommodate the accumulating goods. Your task is to deliver these goods at a final destination on a faraway shore. It is the opportunity of a lifetime, so you accept.

The next day you weigh anchor and set sail for open seas. You look out and see the jagged contours of the mountainous islands that have long stood tall and menacing at the borders of your usual trade routes. Concealed rocks and shallows around these islands have wrecked many a ship and often damaged your own. Strange currents have swept some vessels in eddying circles for months and years. But though these islands are notorious for their dangers, you and your crew have sailed here for generations. Youve become comfortable in these familiar waters.

You study a map provided by the merchant. It reveals a different perspective on the dangerous chain of islands; they are marked with a simple word: Poverty. The map reveals that these islands obstruct your course. You must first navigate past them and leave them behind for unknown waters. Thus, your first new challenge is simply to abandon routine, which isnt easy. As dangerous as these islands have been, at least they were