Now, do not get waysided. There will be requirements for money, material goods, and laborers to fulfill a spiritual purpose; however, all of it is for the Lord’s use in bringing the heavenly Father’s will to pass. Too many churches today operate without any perception of God’s principles concerning money; thus, the supernatural power that is to occur due to ministry is deferred by the ignorance that prevails.
Math 10:8–11 (GW) Cure the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse those with skin diseases, and force demons out of people. Give these things without charging, since you received them without paying. 9 “Don’t take any gold, silver, or even copper coins in your pockets. 10 Don’t take a traveling bag for the trip, a change of clothes, sandals, or a walking stick. After all, the worker deserves to have his needs met. 11 “When you go into a city or village, look for people who will listen to you there. Stay with them until you leave that place.
Those twelve who were sent out were empowered with authority to operate in the same power as Jesus, healing the sick and casting out demons. Other translations read that they were also preaching and teaching the gospel, the good news, as He was doing. He told them you are generously blessed, so go and generously bless others; in other words, you have been endowed with spiritual blessings, so go and bless those who are not.
They did not need to take a whole store of things to accomplish this; they just needed to go and not even try to raise all the funds for it. Just go and only use yourselves. Their instruction was not to have the desire to stay in expensive places but to be one of the people, content with what they have offered you. He did not send them out to do something different but to flow in the same works by the Holy Spirit so that the same spiritual purpose that the Father is working for happens.
Changing Israel’s spiritual condition meant they were being prepared for a supernatural event that was coming: the entrance of the Church into this earth. A principle of ministry seen in scripture is that Jesus, the builder of His Church, went forth in ministering the gospel for the harvest of souls into God’s kingdom as His spiritual body. He makes it clear that one is going forth to do as He was doing only requires faith to trust God to provide whatever is needed to fulfill such an effort since it is for the fulfillment of what is the intent and concern in the heart of God.
Any anointing and power of God required to fulfill such work is provided along with every resource the world’s system may require in provisioning substance to meet the needs of those doing the work. The most important fact here is that no matter how the Holy Spirit leads an individual or church body to fulfill such a task, Jesus never veers away from the spiritual purpose His Father planned for it to accomplish.
While materials or finances may be used to accomplish a work of ministry, those who are spiritually empowered to fulfill its purpose are not to rely on any of it but solely on the Spirit of God’s ability.
We can see a principle revealed regarding spiritual blessings in that Jesus did not rely on the finances of His ministry to fulfill what His Father had asked of Him but acknowledged that such things would be a part of the process He could use to complete the work of it. I honestly believe He did not concern Himself with such things as having enough money to get the job done, and He did not keep turning to the disciples or those who followed Him and asking them to give more or get more money each time He prepared to minister.
He trusted His Father to provide whatever was needed as a provision, whether spiritual or natural. He was content to receive it as provided for those He ministered to. Today’s local churches are seen as cash cows for ministry or anyone to do as they please or, as in most, fulfill worldly economics. However, it is to be a place where tithes and offerings are received for the work of the Lord without needing debt.
Churches should pay for any agreed services rendered; at the beginning of such service, nothing will be carried on account or paid on terms. As illustrated in scripture, economics should be good stewards of money given for the work of ministry, maintaining the body of God’s children, and giving to the poor or needy. Jesus multiplied workers for His Father twelve-fold if we just look at the number of disciples He sent out. However, more revealing is this fact: the spiritual purpose His Father was intent on happening was multiplied by the Holy Spirit through each of them.
Whenever the Lord directs a ministry or local church to expand the borders of its sphere of ministry, the process will be revealed not just to the leaders but to all who participate in it, even if they are not members. Therefore, these leaders must minister to congregations for spiritual transformation and invest in souls rather than property, buildings, or a ministry stronghold.
The work that God expects from His children is to be with authority and power for the spiritual well-being of all. This authority and power operate through those with knowledge and understanding of the intent and concern in the heart of God so that by faith, they trust His ability to do whatever will be needed to accomplish what He reveals and not trust today’s worldly economics.
The Church has become way too reliant upon this world’s economic system to maintain its spiritual well-being, and ministers’ trust in money is founded upon a corrupt system that, at its core, denies God’s ability and His kingdom principles. Jesus purposed to use His church to minister as He did, by faith in the one who provides whatever is required to fulfill His will.
Acts 2:38-42 (MSG)Peter said, “Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who are far away—whomever, in fact, our Master God invites.” 40He went on in this vein for a long time, urging them over and over, “Get out while you can; get out of this sick and stupid culture!”
Jesus sent His disciples out without anything planned out or pre-purposed regarding what they would receive because they were ministering to the lost sheep of Israel. This is not some strange principle in the above scripture; it is the same in our faith for our future benefit of salvation.
41 That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. 42They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.
The real thing regarding tithes and offerings is that churches are taking in monies of those fearing being cursed since faith growth today is tied to one’s giving. This ignorance is evil and robs any supernatural multiplication by God by binding it to the demands of a worldly system that interferes with spiritual purposes.
Okay, let me bring you back to earth. Jesus’s ministry was not poor in terms of economics; in fact, it was very profitable by the standards of His time. The gifts received into it were used by His disciples to afford all the needs associated with a large ministry headquartered in Capernaum and traveling from place to place.
This is not vastly different from how most ministries operate today regarding using gifts to support their work. Still, many churches and ministries place increasing demands on the Lord’s gifts that He never proposed. Debt will never come from spiritual blessings; in other words, debt does not have any purpose associated with supernatural works.
So, money is traditionally taken in because of church customs or traditions or for ministerial performance. I know what you are thinking: Isn’t the church supposed to do the work of ministry locally and internationally, and shouldn’t they be able to plan out such works? True, but all of it must be according to the leading of the Spirit of God because when He has spiritually purposed a work of ministry, He provides all things required in the process.
In the interim of revelation of ministry, the Lord may or may not reveal what is at the spiritual root in the works to be done. Still, He is prophetically bound to provide all things required to fulfill His Father’s will through the Church here on earth by a body of believers having knowledge of the truth.
I must emphasize that tithes and offerings today rely on the individual faith of congregational members, seen as a resource for all the church’s ministries rather than God’s resources. While there is nothing wrong with faith at work to bring God’s will as He desires, it is not the church leaders who have the authority to make faith fulfill the indebtedness they create.
However, it is the responsibility of leadership to train God’s children so they are conscious of the truth as revealed or manifested by the Spirit from the word of God. There must be a common unity of faith for works, and the members, by their faith in Christ, for the use of the Lord, not the leadership, for any work.
I know I am cutting directly across church traditions, but if what is currently not producing the true spiritual results that God is expecting, then why keep doing it? I talk to believers all the time, and some have left the church or are disgusted at their local church leaders because they always ask them to give more financially, usually for some new project or special ministry venue they feel led to do.
While things to be done may be of the Lord, the processes are more worldly than faith works. The leaders come to them and ask them to use their faith to get more from God as if they will only grow spiritually by using their faith to get more money. The Holy Spirit must have the liberty to move in each of God’s sons and daughters, revealing what they are to do. Why? Because each is accountable for what they do in the work of the Lord.
Doing whatever the leaders tell you to do, even if it is the wrong thing in God’s sight, is no excuse, as you have access to the truth concerning every aspect of your giving. Each believer’s activity may not be equal in all things, but the result is to be by faith in the one capable of completing it, making one more equipped for the next event.
Leaders request that members use their faith to get more money from God to do whatever they want. Can you see an error in how the request focuses on money? Therefore, laying a guilt trip on God’s children leaves faith in want of spiritual increase, not in God’s ability. One’s financial well-being is important, but when challenged to increase their financial part in a project by faith, many struggle to get more from God because the appeal is to human nature, compelling them to do spiritual work without training them to have faith in the one who can do it.
I have seen believers go into debt because they gave to help the cause and never received any replenishment from God. Now, do not blame God; it is not his fault. He has purposed for His children to be blessed. What has happened is that those members never heard the truth of God’s word regarding blessings and their multiplication because leadership chose to walk in spiritual stupidity about such things.
Prov 12:1 Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates correction is stupid.
The overall goal of ministry is to bring others to God our Father through Christ Jesus our Lord. Yet this is and always will be a spiritual process that, at times, uses natural means to accomplish it, including money. Today, we see more consciousness being placed on money than the spiritual process, making the supernatural aspects of ministry seem unnecessary. Thus, money, money, money is the theme of ministry today.
Ballenblog.com 