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Words Of Life Ministries, Inc. 24148 Iowa Rd PO Box 652 Lebanon, MO 65536 Located in downtown Sleeper, MO 417-532-8050 |
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BIBLE-BASED FINANCIAL GUIDANCE, Part 6
by Jerry Dewey
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 7
Tithing is only the first step in living a godly lifestyle and being a good and faithful steward of the resources God places in your hands. When you tithe, God promises to remove the obstacles and hindrances that prevent you from becoming financially independent; this gives you access to the full breadth of the blessings God has for you. It is your gifts, in the form of offerings and alms, to those entities doing the work of God that become the catalyst that will eventually lead to your financial independence. They are the seeds that will become your harvest; if you never sow them, you will never reap the blessings God promises in Malachi 3:10, “…and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” These blessings are not limited to the monetary and material harvests you will experience while you’re on the earth; some of the blessings may not materialize or may not fully materialize until you are living with Him, be it on earth during the Millennium or in heaven. To those of you who are saying to yourself, “You’ve got to be kidding…I just barely have enough money to pay my tithes and now, you’re telling me God expects me to give; there’s no way I can give and pay all my bills – God will have to get the money He needs from people who can afford to give.” Just to refresh your memory, Malachi 3:8 states, “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But you say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.” Notice it says tithes AND OFFERINGS; if you are not giving to the work of God, you are robbing from God and you are a thief. As was pointed out in the discussion on tithes, God does not like people stealing from Him; Malachi 3:9 says, “Ye are cursed with a curse…” which probably explains why you think you don’t have enough money – you are living under the shadow of Deuteronomy 28:16-68. God knows how much money you need to pay for the necessities of life – food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and other things (that’s why He gave you certain talents and abilities, so you could earn the money you’re going to need). If God knows when a sparrow hits the ground and the number of hairs on your head, doesn’t it seem logical that He would know this (Matthew 10:29-31, Amplified, “Are not two little sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's leave (consent) and notice. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, then; you are of more value than many sparrows.”)? As a child of God, He will see to it that you have enough to take care of your needs AND, if you prove to be a good steward of the resources He places in your hands, he will provide you with some extra to share with others – people who do not have enough and ministries doing the work of God. That’s what Christianity is all about: showing the love of God by sharing your abundance with others; God blesses people with abundance to find out who is going to share and who isn’t. When He finds someone, be they a believer (Christian) or a non-believer, who derives pleasure in sharing their abundance with those who are less fortunate, He will continue placing an overflowing abundance in their hands. Bill and Melinda Gates donated $16 billion dollars of their own money to create the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the focus of the foundation is to help people in the United States and around the world emerge from extreme hunger and poverty, to work on innovative solutions to prevent and treat diseases, and to provide access to health interventions, especially in developing countries. Since its inception in 2000, it has grown to $29 billion (as of 2006). In 2007, Warren Buffet donated $30 billion dollars to their foundation, because he was impressed with the Gates’ philosophy of dispersing wealth. In 2008, Bill Gates announced that he plans on donating 90 percent of their personal wealth to this foundation. One of the core values of this foundation (and probably the Gates’ as well) is: “To whom much is given, much is expected” (which is biblical; Luke 12:48, Amplified, says, “…For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required; and of him to whom men entrust much, they will require and demand all the more”). Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie donated $8 million dollars to the Jolie Pitt Foundation, which provides grants to various agencies (Doctors Without Borders, the Global AIDS Alliance, the Daniel Pearl Foundation, the Epidermolysis Bulloma Medical Research Foundation, and two orphanages, to name a few). Just in case you are saying to yourself, “well, they’ve got lots of money, so they can afford to give away lots of money.” True, but you are missing the point: they have lots of money because God has seen what they will do with the abundance; they give and they give generously, so He fills their coffers up with more and more. Strange as it may seem, God’s principles work for anybody who properly applies them, believer or non-believer (Acts 10:34, “…Peter…said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons”). It’s not a matter of there not being enough wealth on the earth; God has seen to it that there is more than enough to go around. According to Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, there are 9.5 million Millionaires worldwide (Forbes.com says 1,125 of these are Billionaires). What percentage of these are believers? It’s a shame many believers go through life living paycheck to paycheck. We should be the richest people in the world! Maybe we would hear and read about believers having and giving away large sums of money instead of non-believers, if more Christians lived by the following concepts: It is more blessed to give than receive. In Acts 20:35 (Amplified), Paul wrote, “…we ought to assist the weak, being mindful of the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, It is more blessed (makes one happier and more to be envied) to give than to receive.” (NOTE: to those Bible scholars or “Googlers” who are saying to themselves, “Jesus never said this; I can’t find it anywhere in the Four Gospels.” You are absolutely right, but that does not mean He did not say it; two times, John tells us Jesus did things that were not recorded: John 20:30 (NIV), “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book” and John 21:25 (NIV) “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” Do you think Paul would make something up like this? Could it be, Paul was trying to explain, in simple language, the spirit of Jesus’ teaching in Luke 6:38 (Amplified), “Give, and [gifts] will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will they pour into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the measure you use when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you.”) This is perhaps the hardest concept for people to understand (and accept) because it is 180 degrees opposite to the thinking in today’s world; people are either looking for a handout or they have that “what’s in it for me” mentality. God’s ways are always contrary to the world’s way and this concept is no exception. It’s a paradoxical oxymoron: you can not give unless you receive, but you can not receive unless you give; furthermore, you can not give to others unless you receive from God, but in order to receive from God you must give a portion of the blessings God has bestowed on you. Here are some of the benefits you can look forward to when you give a portion of what God has blessed you with: God will bless everything you do: Deuteronomy 15:7-11, “If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.” God will protect you and give you strength: Psalms 41:1-3, “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The LORD will strengthen him…” God will pay you back (God owes no man): Proverbs 19:17, “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.” Also, Ephesians 6:38, “Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord…” (in the Amplified, this verse reads, “Knowing that for whatever good anyone does, he will receive his reward from the Lord…”). God will direct your path and take care of you: Isaiah 58:10-11, “And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day: And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” You will never lack: Proverbs 22:9, “He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor”; Proverbs 28:27, “He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack…”; and 2 Corinthians 8:14 (NIV), “At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need.” You cannot out give God. Paul commends the saints at Philippi for their generosity in Philippians 4:15-19. In Philippians 4:15-16 (NIV), Paul wrote, “…it was good of you to share in my troubles…not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only…you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.” Your faithful giving encourages those who’ve committed their life to doing the work of God and enables them to do it more effectively. To those saying to themselves, “how effective can my gift be - I’m just one person?” When your gift is combined with the faithful gifts of others, a great deal can be accomplished. There is exponential power in numbers! Leviticus 26:8 (Amplified) says, “Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight…” and Deuteronomy 32:30-31 implies, with God’s help, one shall chase a thousand and two shall chase ten thousand (Amplified, “How could one have chased a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had delivered them up? For their rock is not like our Rock…”). Your offerings are recorded in your heavenly account; in Philippians 4:17 (NIV), Paul wrote, “…I am looking for what may be credited to your account.” In Matthew 6:19-21 (Amplified), we are warned and instructed to, “…not gather and heap up and store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal. But gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal; For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Your eternal reward and future depends on what’s recorded in your heavenly account. How does the balance in your heavenly account compare to the balance in your earthly kingdom account? Since you are not going to take any of the stuff you accumulate here on earth with you when you die, doesn’t it make more sense to build up and increase the size of your heavenly account by foregoing the buildup of what you have in this world? In Philippians 4:18 (NIV), Paul wrote, “They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” When you give with genuine sincerity, your offerings please and bless God; it’s a thanksgiving form of praise and worship. Your giving makes you more god-like and produces a god-like character; it helps you break the power of covetousness and greed. And finally, your giving demonstrates your commitment to, your love for, and your devotion to God; you declare your allegiance to God not to this world. Philippians 4:19 (NIV), Paul wrote, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” God promises to and is committed to meeting ALL your legitimate needs (basic, emotional, and spiritual). In 2 Peter 1:3-4, Peter tells us God has “…given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” To fully understand how committed God is, notice verse 19 of Philippians 4 says “according to” instead of “out of.” Remember, you are a joint heir to all of God’s riches. “According to” implies that God gives you a signed blank check, whereas, “out of” implies that God would give you a signed check for a specified amount. All too often, Christians confuse greed with a legitimate need, so they end up using what God intended to be a seed to meet an illegitimate need; later on, they don’t understand why God doesn’t provide when an unexpected financial crisis arises. Most believers have never experienced God’s exceedingly abundant blessings because they have never given regularly, consistently, and sufficiently. They may toss in a few bucks, but, because they don’t see a harvest, or they rarely see a harvest, or they only see a small harvest, they may quit giving or only give every-now-and-then. Folks, God doesn’t need your charity or your pity; you are better off keeping the money (go buy yourself a new car or the latest gadget that “everybody has to have”) rather than throwing in that tiny donation trying to look righteous and mollifying your conscience. God calls people like you fence sitters (lukewarm) and He has great contempt for your kind; He says you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Revelation 3:15-17, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked”). On the other hand, you could walk in God’s supernatural abundance by being obedient (which requires an attitudinal adjustment) and getting your heart aligned with God’s heart. “Giving so I can get more” is a tough concept for the carnal mind to grasp and accept, especially when, in the eyes of the world, the thinking is, “it’s all mine; if you need some, go make it yourself.” But this concept is God’s way of rewarding those who joyfully help others; think of giving as a concept like the law of gravity: what goes up must come down; what goes out must come in. Those who truly get it are the ones God blesses with abundance so they can give more while the ones who don’t are open to the “just barely getting by” syndrome or poverty; that is exactly what Proverbs 11:24-25 (Amplified) says, “There are those who [generously] scatter abroad, and yet increase more; there are those who withhold more than is fitting or what is justly due, but it results only in want. The liberal person shall be enriched, and he who waters shall himself be watered.” Furthermore, it is not limited to just “your” money; it could be your talents and abilities, your possessions, your time, and your energy. So, make giving a priority; then, see if you can out give God! But, don’t bet on it. The questions on everybody’s mind are, “How much does God expect me to give and when or how often should I give?” Two very good questions; unfortunately, the Bible doesn’t provide a clear and undeniable answer for either one of these questions (unlike tithes, which is clearly specified as to how much and when). There is one account where God specified the amount to be given by the prince of each tribe (Numbers 7, gifts for the dedication of the Tabernacle). The reason He did so on this occasion was due to a previous gathering where the people, in their exuberance, brought way too much (Exodus 36:5-7, “and they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the Lord commanded to make. And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.”)! Wouldn’t that be something, your pastor tells you to hold onto your offerings to the church for a season because the church has more than enough to take care of their bills and meet needs in the community! Before further discussing the “how much” and “how often” subjects, there are four basic factoids you must understand. First, offerings and alms are what you give towards the work of God from your nine-tenths. Second, they are the seeds for your harvest; your harvest is your blessing. Third, in order for you to have a harvest, you have to sow seeds! And fourth, your harvest is determined by the seed you sow; Galatians 6:7 says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Therefore, if you sow a $20 dollar seed, you are going to get a $20 dollar harvest; if you sow a $50 dollar seed, you are going to get a $50 dollar harvest; however, you are not going to get a $50 dollar harvest if you sow a $20 dollar seed. HOW MUCH: Deuteronomy 16:17 says, “every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.” It all boils down to your attitude and what’s in your heart. When you get your heart and mind aligned with God’s heart and mind, you will instinctively know how much God wants you to give to His work. Your zeal for God will cause you to respond with generosity and joy (2 Corinthians 8:10-12 (NIV), “And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter…finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.”). In 2 Corinthians 9:5-7 (Amplified), Paul writes that you should “…make arrangements in advance for this bountiful, promised gift of yours, so that it may be ready, not as an extortion [wrung out of you] but as a generous and willing gift. [Remember] this: he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgingly, and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to someone] will also reap generously and with blessings. Let each one [give] as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, "prompt to do it") giver [whose heart is in his giving].” If you feel pressured to give a certain amount and you give that amount based on that pressure, the harvest you obtain will be bittersweet. It is very important for you to understand, your harvest begins in your own heart and attitude even before you sow your seed. If you sow it with grumbling reluctance or because of pressures put upon you, your seed was de-germinated before it left your hand; therefore, God will not deposit His riches into your harvest. On the other hand, if you joyfully and willingly give what God has laid on your heart to give, all you have to do is wait on the bountiful harvest God will provide (Galatians 6:9, “and let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”). Since you determine the harvest you reap, the question you have to answer is, “what kind of harvest do you want?” Do you want a $20 harvest or a $50 harvest? Do you want a $50 harvest or a $100 harvest? Do you want a $100 harvest or a $200 harvest? Do you want a $200 harvest or a $500 harvest? Your answer will determine the kind of seed you must sow! HOW OFTEN: the Bible does not give a specific timetable for giving. In Luke 6:38, Jesus simply says “give”; in 1 Corinthians 16:2, Paul suggests weekly; in Mathew 6:11, Jesus says to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (if you are going to get daily, you have to give daily). Since there doesn’t seem to be any consensus, how does continuously sound? Those of you who have planted a garden may have noticed that not all the seeds came up at the same time; therefore, when some plants have quit providing a harvest, you’ve still got plants that are providing or about to provide a harvest. In financial speak, this is called “dollar-cost-averaging” and “laddering.” Since you don’t know which seed is going to provide the harvest and when that harvest is going to come, you continuously sow seeds; then, when a seed or a group of seeds provides a harvest, you’ve still got other seeds “in the ground” that will provide a harvest someday; AND, you are constantly replacing the seeds that have already provided a harvest, ensuring that you will have a harvest further down the road. Why do so few Christians give generously? Satan is after the glory that belongs to God and the money/wealth that belongs to His children, so he uses his most effective device, the sin of covetousness, to deceive many believers. Covetousness is an unhealthy desire to obtain material possessions (all to often, it’s something someone else owns or it’s because someone else owns it, but you don’t); all you can think about is acquiring more and more stuff. Covetousness grows into greed and selfishness, driving you further and further away from God; you can only envision the things you could buy. Your love of money becomes so overwhelming that you will not part with any of “your” money to support the work of God. Now, you are an idolater, as well. Emotionally, you are miserable, frustrated, and discontented; you are very uncomfortable when you get around happy, obedient people. Your emotions are controlled by the very powerful spirit of fear, which brings on new levels of demonic attacks and intensifies the temptations to go further down the spiraling path of self-destruction. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful…and desperately wicked.” 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear…” while 1 Timothy 6:9-10 says, “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil…for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” Believers who are not deeply rooted in the Word of God will not have the spiritual depth necessary to resist the many temptations that come from increased wealth. Instead of seeing God’s economic prosperity for its intended purpose, they will think God gave them more money so they can get a bigger house, buy bigger and better cars, and have more comfort and time to play. When you refuse to give to the work of God, in spite of all the negative consequences associated with that refusal, it means you are following an ungodly spirit and you’ve made an alliance with the greedy souls in this world and you will be held accountable. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (Amplified) says, “As for the rich in this world, charge them not to be proud and arrogant and contemptuous of others, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches, but on God, Who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for [our] enjoyment. [Charge them] to do good, to be rich in good works, to be liberal and generous of heart, ready to share [with others], In this way laying up for themselves [the riches that endure forever as] a good foundation for the future, so that they may grasp that which is life indeed.” God is looking for partners to be a “source of supply” for His supernatural abundance. To be one of those partners, you have to be spiritually obedient to God’s will and desire. Then, when you dip your hand down into your bag of seeds, grab generous handfuls, and enthusiastically sow them in a spirit of trust. The harvest will be amazing. It is God’s promise, as long as His people are obedient, they will be blessed and happy; God always keeps His promises. In 2 Chronicles 20, Israel is about to be attacked by the children of Moab, Ammon, and the mount Seir; they were vastly outnumbered and did not stand a chance. After king Jehoshaphat cried out to God for help, a word from God came through Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah; they wouldn’t have to fight but victory over this vast army was assured because God would be with them. In verse 20 (Amplified), king Jehoshaphat tells the people to “Believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established…remain steadfast…and you shall prosper.” The Israelites did exactly what they were told to do while singing, “Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever” (see verse 21, KJV; they sang this phrase because they knew God inhabits the praises of His people, as it says in Psalms 22:3, “…O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”). They did not lift a finger; the armies of Moab, Ammon, and Seir were utterly destroyed. And just as they were told in verse 20, they prospered; verse 25 (KJV) says, “And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil…they found among them in abundance both riches…and precious jewels…more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much” (in the Amplified, this verse reads, “When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil, they found among them much cattle, goods, garments, and precious things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry away, so much they were three days in gathering the spoil”). Do you want to receive God’s abundance so you can have a greater impact in the advancement and enhancement of His kingdom? If you do, then tell God that you wholly submit your stewardship of His resources to His will and desire. Come on, what are you waiting for? You’ve been doing it your way all this time and look where it’s gotten you. Just keep in mind, it’s not going to happen over night (the harvest), but it’s going to happen! If you would like more information, click on the Contact link and send us an email; someone will contact you shortly thereafter. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 7
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