What is Money? How Useful is Money in Establishing and Expanding the Kingdom of God?

Global School of Ministry Course 125

Finance and Stewardship in the Household of God

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Having laid the foundation, let us now break down this life application course. The Global School of Ministry Course 125 will cover some core issues. The course examines the place of money in God’s house. Avoiding the outlandish claims of the prosperity gospel, this course presents a biblical perspective of the role of money in the church and how God finances His own assignments as a matter of obligation, choosing whom it pleases Him to use as vessel.

 

Critical Questions

 

We will thus answer these critical questions:

• What is money?
• How useful is money in establishing and expanding the Kingdom?
• How are finances of the Kingdom generated?
• What are tithes, offerings, covenant seed?
• Can some offerings and fund raisings honour and dishonour God?
• Who should handle finances in the household of faith?
• When mammon seats on the High Altar: signs that something has gone wrong.
• Should you continue to "sow" into a ministry whose practices and lifestyle dishonour the name and integrity of our Lord Jesus Christ?

What is Money?

 

Simply put, money is a means of exchange. By this we mean the way the world is organized, monetary value is put on many of the things that are done to sustain life on earth. When somebody goes to work, value is placed on the education, experience, skills and time the individual expends in the work place. That value translates into wages or salary paid at the end of the week, fortnight or month.

 

In the same vein, an individual may have a creative idea and translates it into a work of art. When people who need that product place a particular value thereon, it translates into how much they are willing to pay to possess it.

 

Using the same analogy, when a person has a business idea to meet a particular need or add value to what people receive from other businesses, the price tag that is placed on what they have done becomes their compensation. When the sum total of their gross sales exceeds the investments they made to develop and market the product or service, the difference is called return on investment, or profit.

 

Money, therefore, is the modern way to pay for a skill, business idea, service or product. From a Kingdom perspective, this is where the problem lies. Many people, including well meaning saints, tend to focus their attention on the particular channel or activity through which money comes into their hand as the source of the money. Once this notion takes root in the mind, corruption occurs immediately; and in the eyes of God, the person is engaged in idolatry.

 

The activity through which money comes is not the source of the money. It is a mere channel! There could be various channels through which money comes into the hand of a child of God. However, there should be no doubt or equivocation as to the source of money. Money is a gift from God. Jehovah Jireh is the One who alone provides all things, including money, for His saints to meet their needs and those of others!

 

Deuteronomy chapters 8 and 28:1-4 are beautiful scriptures which reveal the covenant commitment of God to provide for His own. In Deuteronomy 8:18, we learn that it is God who gives His people power to get wealth, which is used to establish His covenant with His people.

 

How useful is money in establishing and expanding the Kingdom of God?

 

The Kingdom of God is the realm of life which is subject to His authority. It is the totality of saints who have not only accepted Jesus as Saviour, but have wholly submitted to Him as Lord in spirit and in truth.

 

The word Kingdom is a combination of two concepts. In a Kingdom, there is a king or supreme ruler who exercises authority over a group of people and territory known as His dominion or domain. The Kingdom is ruled or governed by a constitution of written rules or unwritten conventions. Every Kingdom relates with other kingdoms through ambassadors who are personal envoys or representatives of the king.

 

Translated to the present phase of the Kingdom of God, Jesus is the King of the Kingdom, a role that was sealed by His incarnation, passion, death, resurrection and ascension to heaven. Right now, the Kingdom of God is lodged in the hearts of saints who have received Jesus both as Saviour and as Lord. Luke 17:21

 

These saints live an "other worldly" life because, though they are physically citizens of nations where they were born or live, in reality, the Supreme King they know is none other than Jesus. His opinion determines all they do: from the lifestyle He prescribes to the spouse they marry; how many children to bear; course to study in school; business to engage in or job to do. His opinion affects their tastes, what they purchase and how they spend the money He gives them through the channel He chooses to use to make the provision. John 17:6, 9-11, 14-16, 20; 2 Corinthians 6:14-16; 1 John 2:15-17.

 

At this present life, the Kingdom of God is manifested in our lifestyles, attitudes and commitment to its expansion to enfold more of our natural brothers and sisters, relatives, friends, colleagues, neighbours, and others whose path cross with us, but have not yet known Jesus as Saviour and Lord; and who essentially are lying under the influence of the Prince of the Power of the air. They may be very powerful politicians, affluent, well educated and even famous sports people, actors, actresses and icons of society. By the influence of Satan who blinds hearts, they are unable to see the Kingdom of God and therefore cannot enter into it. 1 John 5:19,20; 2 Corinthians 5:9-21.

 

It will take our total yieldedness and determined release of our entire beings to He who is the ruling King of our hearts before He can use us to bring His glorious light to shine into the hearts of such people. To reach them will therefore will take all resources which money can acquire. The word says by prosperity is the Kingdom of God spread abroad. It must be noted that when tax collectors asked Jesus to pay up, He who is Lord of all did not remonstrate with them. He did not call forth money from heaven. What He did was to direct Peter to go fishing, catch a particular fish which had the exact amount of money needed to solve the present problem. Matthew 17: 24 - 27. This offers real food for thought that needs to be mulled over.

 

Jesus was showing a core principle of the Kingdom in this present life: money will be needed to solve problems. Just as Peter did not do anything until Jesus gave specific directions, we also learn that there is a divine allocation for every assignment. Furthermore, we understand that the direction of God will lead us to discover His allocation that is needed to solve any problem we meet in life and ministry. May we learn and practice this principle, always! Even as you study, pause for a moment and let the Holy Spirit reveal to you the particular fish which has the particular sum of money you need to meet the need that is before you. Only believe!

 

When God showed the pattern of the Tabernacle and its divine furniture to His servant Moses, He also elected other vessels, namely Bezalel and Aholiab to be the recipients of the gifting and skills required to construct the structures. Exodus 31: 1-11. The professional skills and capacity to build the sensitive furniture without charging fees became their own contribution towards the most significant project of their time.

 

God does not want any of His children to covet the prosperity of the unrighteous! This principle was established in Deuteronomy 23:6 and has been a consistent pattern for His saints who are called out of the world. Woe, says the Holy Writ, to those who go to Egypt for help. As Amos 5: 4-6, says,

“Seek me and live: But do not seek Bethel, nor enter Gilgal, nor pass over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nothing.”

Jesus will come back at the exact hour, minute and second which is sealed in the mind of the Father to put down all rebellion and establish the practical governmental and territorial phase of the Kingdom when He will rule and reign with saints triumphant who will have specific responsibilities as Councillors, Mayors of Cities, and Presidents of Nations reporting to Him who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Matthew 24:36, 44 – 51; Revelation 1: 5-7; Revelation 5:9,10.

 

 

To be continued...

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Pray for us to receive all that God has for His saints and to faithfully share same, without interference from the soulish realm or Satan. Bind all distractions of all sorts, amen! Matthew 18:19; Ephesians 6:18,19; 2 Thessalonians 3: 1-3.