Two sides to the financial coin
Many years of experience show that if money does not serve the Kingdom, then it perverts, spoils, and destroys its owners. Therefore, your motives should be right. If you feel that you got off track, humble yourself before God or make a covenant with Him. One woman in our church made a covenant to give God all her earnings and leave only five percent for herself, and God blessed her with many deals and wealth. Why? Because she put herself in a position of total reliance on God. She keeps five percent and gives God ninety-five percent. These boundaries protect her from any kind of traps. If our hope is what we have in the physical world, such as our house, car, summer cottage, insurance, etc., then how poor and vain is our faith? This makes us the most pathetic of people! Of course, we need all these things in life, but the point here is that these are just things that make our life easier. Life is more than the things we own. If a man classifies his life by the things he owns, he is a lost soul who does not have hope, and is as any other unbeliever. The Bible teaches us that everyone who has something should behave as if he does not have anything – this should become our life’s creed. Having material things, we need to see ourselves in the right perspective without them, but, if you see yourself thinking and daydreaming about your money, then you have allowed mammon in your heart and you need deliverance.
If money does not serve the Kingdom, then it perverts, spoils, and destroys its owners.
Search your heart. Imagine yourself without your car, without your nice clothes, without your beautiful house, how would you feel? Miserable? Then you have failed the test. If a man depends on his outward visible things – then he is not free but enslaved, and has the love of money, which is the source of all evil. That is why Jesus told the young rich man to go sell all his possessions before he could get to heaven. He failed the test because he was attached to his riches.
Often, we think that people who have money are the ones with the love of money, and since we do not have money, then we are free. We are deceived! Predominantly the rich are free from the love of money; that is why they have it. They usually do not suffer from this disease, but those who dream, think, and worry about money are one hundred percent addicted to it. Now, the problem the rich really have is that they often trust in their riches, making it their fortress instead of God, hence the rich man would not give out to the poor. We are not to be servants of money; that is not our calling. We are called to be masters of money.
We are not to be servants of money; that is not our calling, but rather to rule and manage it.
We are not supposed to try and protect our children with money. What we are learning here is to rule over money. If money means more to you than just a piece of paper, then I am sorry. You must be depending on it one way or another. Money is only a tool, a means by which we meet our ends and accomplish the purposes of God in the earth.
We used to have a currency in Ukraine called “karbovanez” then it was replaced by the present day “grivna”. Why did the “karbovanez” stop having value? Because the government changed the law. For instance, Germany used to have a currency called “marka”, but now “marka” are just pieces of paper with pictures on them. We need to learn to look at our present day currencies the way we would look at past currencies that have no value today, just pieces of paper.
Imagine that in the attic of your grandma’s house you found a big suitcase with money from the past, which has no value today. Then imagine you found the same suitcase but with American dollars inside. How would you feel? If this thought caused you to lose your mind, and you started rushing through everything you wanted to buy in your head, then you are still under the power of money!
What is money anyway? It is just processed wood, and yet people risk their lives for this wood. They serve it instead of serving the Creator. Some people think they have freedom because they have capital. Is capitalism the way out, or an illusion? We should not be living by the laws of capitalism or communism, but according to the laws of freedom, in other words, the laws of the Kingdom; putting the values of God above all earthly things. When our earthly life is over, we will be living in eternity by the laws of the Kingdom, the condition is that we start living by these laws from now.
The true nature of money
What causes people to deceive and do repulsive things? The answer is money! If we are believers, then we need to realize that nothing holds us here on earth. Our life is in Christ Jesus. Then why does a believer need to learn about finances? So that we can be free from it, because only truth makes us free. Then we can sow money to please God, and do His will here on earth. We want to be able to dominate money so much, that we can control any amount without being perverted by it, but use it for God’s purposes.
There are only two options with money: either it serves you or you serve it!
The truth about money and its principles frees people from its bondage. This is especially important for capitalist countries, because the system of those countries has made people work hard at jobs, keeping them on a leash of ignorance. As a result, we don’t know some basic things about money, besides how to spend it. People thus become slaves to their jobs and the desire to make a living. The kingdom of God is the only alternative to the system of this world.
I want to draw your attention to an interesting testimony. Let’s call this lady Nicole, she says:
“One businessman, my husband’s pastor, wrote a very effective program, which consists of forty principles taken from King Solomon’s proverbs. King Solomon was wise, and had a very clear head and was the head, not the tail. As Christians, we also want to be the head, and not the tail; we remind God about it while forgetting to use our own head. I used to be like that, but after going through this program that deals with work ethics, money, character, business, world view etc, everything that has to do with our every day life, I realized that I did not have the right knowledge of money and I needed to study, change, and develop.
When God called me to be a missionary, it never crossed my mind that I would ever need to know anything about finances; but I was so wrong. Ninety percent of the people who came to me for help had financial problems. I did not have answers for them, I could only pray for them. I had faith, but I did not have knowledge, and I realized that as a Christian I had a responsibility to also know about finances. I needed to know more than others did, because I will answer before God about what I had taught them.
I wanted to share my knowledge about this program. I first started working in Columbia ten years ago, and now this course is taken by one hundred and eighteen thousand members of a police department, sixteen thousand prison guards, and even prisoners showed an interest in this program. The government is covering all expenses.
Recently we came back from Kenya, where the mayor of a city asked for seventy copies of this course for all his advisors. In Guatemala, thirty-six thousand students go through this program every year.”
The secret of success
Do not let failure be an option. Do not be afraid of anything including fear itself. Fear of failure is the biggest single obstacle on the path to success in an adult’s life. Note that it is not about failure itself. Failure makes you stronger, more flexible, and decisive, but fear of failure can paralyze your thoughts and actions; hence, keeping you from doing some things that are required on your way to big success.
One young reporter asked Thomas Watson, the founder of IBM, how he became successful. Mr. Watson answered that if you want to attain success faster you need to double your failures. Success is on the other side of failure. Have courage to move forward. Millionaires, who made their money by hard work, do not have a gambling addiction, but are always willing and ready to take a well thought out risk, which leads straight to their set goals and the achievement of a greater reward. Your psychological preparation, in regards to risk, is the biggest indicator of your readiness to become prosperous.
Every time you are faced with a risky situation, ask yourself this question, “What is the worst that can happen if I move forward?” Then, just like Paul J. Getty, the oil billionaire, who made his money himself, make it your assignment to make sure that the worst will never happen.
The fact that everyone is afraid of failure is legitimate. Everyone is afraid of poverty and bankruptcy. Everyone is afraid of making a mistake and being left behind. However, millionaires, who make their own money, are people who intentionally and consciously resisted this fear and took steps accordingly.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “Make it your habit to do things you are afraid of. If you do what you are afraid of, then your fear dies. When you are brave, this invisible power rises up inside of you and your every act of courage leads to increase of your courage, which makes you stronger and braver when you confront fear in the future. Every time you do not have a guarantee of success, take a step and move forward, and your fear will decrease as your courage and confidence increases. Finally, you reach a stage in your life when you are not afraid of anything.”
I guess the best line from the movie, “Apollo13” is when everyone was thinking that they would lose the space ship and the astronaut, Eugene Krantz, the head of Flight Control for NASA, declared in a loud voice, “Failure is not an option!”
Your task is to become a millionaire who makes his own money. Your task is to devote yourself to one goal and work at it every day. When difficulties and fear arise, remember to remind yourself that there is no such option as failure. This mentality, more than anything else, will be your guarantee for success.
Practical Application: Why every Christian can be a millionaire
1) Because God said we should be the head and not the tail; first and not last. “And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.” Deuteronomy 28:13
2) Because the gold and silver belongs to God.
“7 and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts. 8 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts. 9 ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts.”
Haggai 2:7-9
3) We were commanded to possess and dominate the earth.
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all[a] the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:26-28
4) Our eyes make the difference.
“12The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD has made them both. 13 Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.”
Proverbs 20:12-13
“The rich and the poor have this in common, the LORD is the maker of them all.”
Proverbs 22:2
5) We live in a material world and the law requires money.
“A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry; but money answers everything.”
Ecclesiastes 10:19
6) The Great Commission must be carried out.
“18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”
Matthew 28:18-20
7) We were commanded to be fruitful.
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. John 15:1-7
6 He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ 8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that[a] you can cut it down.’”
Luke 13:6-9
8) To clothe, feed and house the needy and the poor.
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy[a] angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Matthew 25:31-46
9) We have to manage the earth for God.
2 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD,
“That I will cause to be heard an alarm of war
In Rabbah of the Ammonites;
It shall be a desolate mound,
And her villages shall be burned with fire.
Then Israel shall take possession of his inheritance,” says the LORD.
3 “Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is plundered!
Cry, you daughters of Rabbah,
Gird yourselves with sackcloth!
Lament and run to and fro by the walls;
For Milcom shall go into captivity
With his priests and his princes together.
Jeremiah 49:2-3
10) It is good stewardship.
14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’
26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:”
Matthew 25:14-34
11) It is shrewd to use the wealth of the world for eternal purposes.
“So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.”
Luke 16:8
12) To be rich towards God, not self.
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Luke 12:16-21
13) To demonstrate how not to trust in riches.
23 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Mark 10:23-25
He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage.
Proverbs 11:28
14) I am a giver and I abide in wealth.
Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6:38
24 There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. 25 The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself. 26 The people will curse him who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.
Proverbs 11:24-26
15) I am in a covenant with God and Heaven is opened on me.
8 “ Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,
‘ In what way have we robbed You?’
In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the LORD of hosts,
“And see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
Says the LORD of hosts;
12 And all nations will call you blessed,
For you will be a delightful land,”
Says the LORD of hosts.
Malachi 3:8-12
16) I am given the power to gain wealth.
“And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Deuteronomy 8:18
17) Because I cultivate my land and keep it.
”Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it.”
Genesis 2:15
18) God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His people.
19) I am meek and I should inherit the earth.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Matthew 5:5
20) As the righteous I leave an inheritance to my children’s children.
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. Proverbs 13:22
