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You may have heard that life is rough, and sure Jesus did say trouble will come. But He also said that when we trust in Him we will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. It is also written in the Word that we glory in tribulations, because they give us patience, experience, and hope (Rom 5:3-5). But what happens when your bills get high…?
Do you throw up your hands and say ‘forget it’?
Kingdom Finances
This week Pastor Cyndi started the new podcast segment on ‘Have You Heard? With Pastor Cyndi’ called Kingdom Finances. In this four-part series she will be discussing what it means to steward the funds God has given you.
Part 1 is called “First Things First” and in it we learn that God really has given us all the money and things we have. The Bible says in Haggai 2:8 ‘The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
So, you may be thinking, what’s the point if all of my money is actually God’s money? Am I supposed to give it all to the Church? What will I live off of?!
It’s tight… but its right
Ambassador Status
Here’s the thing.
If you can remember in 2 Cor 5:20 Paul tells us that we are ambassadors of Christ. We have to remember that we are not of this world (John 17:14). That means that we live by what standards God has set in His country, which is Heaven.
Now some of you might be feeling a little indignant, or a little crestfallen at this.
You may have gotten high up on your self-righteous horse and felt vindicated as you virtue signaled that the love of money is evil! That’s why you aren’t like those rich preachers who only beg for money! You are a good person! You give money to people even when your own family needs it!
Well, let me stop you right there.
Jesus Christ Himself said in Mark 10:18 that no one is good but God.
Let me put it to you this way.
In Heaven, they walk around on streets of gold. They have houses in the city or in the countryside if they like. In Heaven they wear custom robes, their houses are furnished well, there is no poverty in Heaven.
We are from heaven.
‘Well, I’m not in heaven! I’m on earth!’
Yeah, as an ambassador.
That means, we don’t live by the economy of the place we are in. We live on the budget of the One who sent us. And I’m quite sure God’s not going to have to pawn off the pearly gates to make sure your family can eat this week!
Allow God to be God
Kingdom Finances is about setting things straight. In this first episode, Pastor Cyndi detailed the things we must do to be aligned with God’s Word.
Have you ever considered that you may be struggling… of your own accord? Have you ever thought that if you just make Godly decisions with the money God has given you, that maybe you could come out on top for once?
I’m here to tell you, you can.
By putting first things first, you allow God to be, well, God in your life.
‘Well, how do I do that?’ you may be asking.
It’s a simple thing, really. But not one everyone wants to do.
Yes, you are correct.
It starts with paying your tithes.
Malachi 3:10 tells us that we are to bring all the tithes into the storehouse. Now, I know what you’re going to say…
‘That’s in the OLD Testament! Ha’
True, but in the New Testament, Jesus Christ Himself not only pays His taxes, but commands us to do the same. In Matt 22:21 Jesus says to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God, what is Gods.
In plain language, it means to pay your tithes. Realistically, God only asks us for ten percent… but it all belongs to Him.
You might be thinking, ‘I don’t have enough money to pay my tithes! 10%!? I could pay my bills or feed my family with that! God doesn’t need my little 10%! It’s not enough to do anything with anyway!’
Things may seem like you can’t afford the 10%, but you can’t afford not to tithe.
Appealing to the King
When you tithe, you are saying God is my King. It’s similar to a tribute that would be paid to a king in the old days. In the old days, if someone stole from you, you would go to the king to get justice. It would be his job to figure out what happened and recover your goods. If you had a bad harvest or things went wrong some other way, you could appeal to the king to get food for your family.
In the same manner, if something happens to you now, as a tither you have a right to go to God and ask for things to be set right. Your tithe is monetary proof to God that you will trust Him with your livelihood. Because of this monetary statement, God will move on your behalf, to rebuke the devourer (Mal 3:11) and help you, because you are His citizen, even more so, because you are His child.
In our case, we’re showing with our money that God is King over our money, which can be used to purchase whatever we need and want. When God is your King, He is the one protecting you.
Without the tithe, spiritually, what you are saying is that God is not King over your finances, and you can depend on yourself. Without the tithe what you are saying is God has no right to intervene on your behalf if circumstances get tough. So, again, without the tithe, you have no right to go to God and God doesn’t have your express permission to intervene.
Why would a King help someone who absolutely denies they are a citizen?
You may be thinking that that’s not at all what you mean when you don’t pay the tithes, but I don’t make the rules, God does. You’ve made it this far because of God’s grace and mercy, and He rains on the just as well as the unjust (Matt 5:45). Because God is fair and just, he is giving you time to repent (Rom 2:4). It is literally spelled out for you in Mal 3:10-11, if you pay your tithes, God will protect your money and bless you.
