A Kingdom Perspective on Wealth, Poverty and Riches

Open with “Possessions” video

LET ME REMIND EVERYONE OF THE BINGO NIGHT THIS FRIDAY NIGHT, FOR SOME TIME OF FELLOWSHIP AND FUN!

This morning, as I am outside in the backyard with my dog, waiting on him to relieve himself, I found myself doing something very familiar, as we were walking around. I noticed that when he starts to chase after something, like a bird, or rabbit or squirrel, or even a leaf, I tend to pull back on the leash and say things to him.

The peculiar thing about this, and what i mulled over in my mind this morning, is that when I stop him from running and begin to correct him, or tell him why he is wasting his time, he just stares at me and then goes on with his business.

In other words, he hears me talking, but doesn’t have a clue as to what I am saying. It is about like the sound of the school teacher on the old Charlie Brown TV shows and how you could hear her saying something, but it was completely unintelligible! (IMITATE SOUND OF THE TEACHER!)

Now, if I say something to him like, “Need to go potty”, or “Want a TREAT”, or “Sit/lay down/speak”, he knows these words and commands and responds instantly to them.

In other words, because he has been taught, programmed to respond to these words by learned behavior, he reacts accordingly.

If I make the sound of disapproval to him, when he does something, (MAKE SOUND FOR EVERYONE), then he knows that he is to stop whatever it is that he is doing. And he will sometimes tuck his tail and lower his ears, because he realizes that I disapprove of his behavior.

The thing is though, I could reprogram him, if I worked at it long enough, to respond in a positive way to the same sound that was once used to signify disapproval.

In other words, he could be taught that a word or sound that was associated with something bad before, could be associated with something good and desirable for the present and the future!

The same thing applies with us and in our lives within the Kingdom.

If you or I had an abusive earthly father, or a derelict father growing up, then hearing someone say something about a “father’s touch”, or the love of the “father”, could have very negative thoughts and emotions.

However, once you have been brought into the Kingdom of God and you now know YAHWEH as your heavenly Father, these same words or phrases take on a completely different meaning and elicit a different and powerful and positive response! AMEN?!

In the natural, secular world, the word “slave”, has a very negative connotation to it. However, within the Kingdom, we embrace and even call ourselves slaves, or servants of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

And with this same mindset and logic, I am going to mention a few words tonight, that depending upon how you were raised and what you have been taught about the Bible, will determine your mindset and thoughts about these words.

In fact, tonight is really just an introduction to a 6 week series that we are getting ready to begin, which will kick off next Wednesday evening!

IN FACT, WHILE I AM MENTIONING TO YOU ABOUT STARTING SOMETHING NEW IN THE COMING DAYS, LET ME GO AHEAD AND MENTION TO YOU SOMETHING THAT I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR SOMETIME NOW. I met again yesterday with the group of ministers that I have mentioned to you before, that I am blessed to meet with periodically and as we talked yesterday, I re-shared with them my unction and desire to being praying and fasting on behalf of our city and county against the stronghold that the enemy has had in place for some time here. The majority this time, was more in line with doing so. So, that being said, I am going to ask, this Sunday, for those who can and who are willing, to enter into a time of praying and fasting over the next 2 weeks, for our city and county.

Praying and fasting about the issues of drug and alcohol addictions, sexual addictions, broken marriages and broken families, religious and prideful mindsets that prevent the body of Christ from uniting, the spirit of poverty and illiteracy and entitlement that plagues this area.

After the 2 week period is over, we (all that will do so), will assemble together on an evening and pray together and seal this time as a unified Body in the mighty name of Jesus the Christ!

Now, back to the series that we are starting next week, let give you some info about this and why I feel led to do so.

While Dee and I were at the conference last week, in Redding, I noticed a fairly new book that was written by Kris Vallotton from Bethel, and I glanced at it and then went on by. I later told Dee that it was stuck in my head for some reason and she said that maybe I should get it and read it.

Now, I am not the aficionado of reading like she is and I scoffed at it at first and then found myself going right back to it and purchasing the book.

The book title and the title of the series that we are getting ready to start next week, is: Poverty, Riches and Wealth (Moving From a Life of Lack into True Kingdom Abundance).

Now most of you know that I take a fairly firm stance when it comes to what I call, PROSPERITY PREACHING, and using the office of the preacher/pastor as a medium for soliciting monies and telling everyone that God wants us all rich and driving BMW's and the like!

And so, right after I got the book, I am looking at it and the title and thinking to myself, “what in this world are you even looking at this for. You don’t get into all of the hype of the money and wealth stuff!”

And of course, as I have mentioned before and as Kris, himself, actually mentions in this book, it seems outlandish to me, that God would want me to prosper, when other nations in the world are struggling to even have food!

At that moment that I thought this, I felt a check in my spirit, as the Lord said to me, “It is true that there are other nations that do not have the financial means that your nation does. However, I did NOT place you within one of those nations, but rather, I placed you within a nation of abundance and of where money is accessible an easy to obtain, if you know how to handle it! By placing you in this nation, you have been given the right and the responsibility to use these resources to bless the rest of the kingdom and help provide for them!”

And so, I started reading the book and looking into the differences between wealth and riches and poverty and taking a more objective look at the Biblical perspective on what God wants for us and from us as His children and as His kingdom Ambassadors here on earth!

I have begun to see things differently and view my role somewhat differently as I look at at it through the lens of the Word and not through the things that I have taught by men for most of my life.

Much like the example of my dog this morning, I had been programmed to respond in certain ways to certain situations, even when something could be made logical and clear to me, I would still say “NO” to it.

And although I acknowledged that there are many people whom God has blessed with financial gains, I stood firm on my thoughts of that being the minority and it wasn’t to be sought after.

Now, that being said, it is true to say and feel that way in one sense and yet in another, it is wrong, completely wrong to deny, TRUE KINGDOM WEALTH!

That very discussion will hopefully be covered in more detail within the teachings over the next several weeks.

I have only read through the book and have not personally watched any of the video teachings yet. But it is Kris who wrote this and it is Kris who is teaching it, so I am assuming that the teachings follow the book!

THAT BEING SAID, you don’t have to have the book to be able to watch and get a lot out of the videos, from what I have read. If you want the book, it is available for around $14.99 at christianbook.com, or the full price from Bethel, which is $22.99.

But let me go ahead and say that this is not the “name it - claim it”, prosperity message like so many of us have seen and heard.

This teaching goes into the meanings of and the differences between the terms, POVERTY, RICHES and WEALTH.

And it then shows how the Christian should see them, from a Biblical perspective.

This evening, I want to simply lay some basic groundwork for the coming lessons and look at a few scripture verses that pertain to these words and see what your thoughts and perceptions are on them.

Maybe some of you have been brought up in and think that wealth and riches are inherently wrong to desire within the Kingdom.

Once you begin to see the meaning of the word WEALTH and its contrast to RICHES, hopefully this will help you, as it has done for me.

It’s like I have said before, “We need to stop taking everyone’s word for things and begin to read and study things for our own lives.”

You have probably, or possibly heard it said before, that Jesus and the Bible have much to say on the subject of money and wealth?

Well, in one source that I looked up, it said, “Jesus talked much about money. Sixteen of the thirty-eight parables were concerned with how to handle money and possessions. In the Gospels, an amazing one out of ten verses (288 in all) deal directly with the subject of money. The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 verses on faith, but more than 2,000 verses on money and possessions.”

Probably, a couple of the most renown and frequently used verses about the subject of money found in the Bible, are ,

1 Timothy 6:10 NLT

10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

And then, ,

Luke 18:24–25 NLT

24 When Jesus saw this, he said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

With both of these, as is inherent to all scripture, we need to look closely at what is being said and why it was said.

In the Ii Timothy 6 passage, Paul does not say, “For the love of money is the root of evil”, or even, “MONEY is the root of all evil”, as so many have quoted, but rather, it says, “For the LOVE of money is the root OF ALL KINDS of evil.”

Everyone say, “OF ALL KINDS”!

Is there a difference between saying, “money is the root of evil” versus saying that “the LOVE of money is the root of ALL KINDS of evil”?

Most definitely there is a difference!

Jesus made it clear that where you treasure is, there your heart will be also! In other words, if your heart, your soul and will and mind are IN LOVE with the concept of having lots of money, because you desire to live and amass as much as possible in this life then you are wrong and not living for Him and as a Kingdom ambassador!

,

Luke 12:16–21 NLT

16 Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!” ’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ 21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

The Bible is clear that this earthly LOVE for money (not money itself, as this is never said in the Bible), but the LOVE of and for money is the root, the source, of all KINDS of evil. Therefore, one cannot say that money is the source of all evil.

In other words, this ungodly love and obsession leads to many other sins and earthly desires, or evils!

Just like the love of sex can become the root of all KINDS of evil. Sex, just like the truth of Kingdom WEALTH, are both from God and yet a perversion of either one, can and does lead to different evils!

Kingdom wealth, as we will be looking at in the coming lessons, is not to be viewed like many, or most view, earthly, natural, carnal wealth.

When we think of wealth, we tend to think of what?

Right, having lots of money and monetary security. Kingdom wealth, however, is something that transcends this understanding! It applies to SO MUCH MORE!

So, in being clear, the desire to store up and amass monies and material things here on earth, a.k.a. EARTHLY WEALTH, not Kingdom WEALTH, is where a person has a major problem.

Or as Jesus said in ,

Matthew 6:19–20 ESV

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

It is the desire and love OF MONEY and what earthly pleasures and security that is seems to bring, that become the stumbling block for many. Do you remember the rich young ruler who came to Jesus, as we see in ,

Luke 18:22–27 ESV

22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

Matthew 19:21–26 NLT

21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. 24 I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” 25 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. 26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

In other words, Jesus was saying, a person who is RICH and who’s love and desire resides upon money and earthly wealth will have difficulty in entering the Kingdom of Heaven, because the love of money becomes a stumbling block for them. This person will mostly depend upon their works and their own abilities to get them passage into the Kingdom and heaven.

So, to this. Jesus says, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

In other words, by a person’s own works and abilities, it is IMPOSSIBLE to gain entrance into the Kingdom. RICHES and earthly WEALTH and/or our own works, will never get us into Heaven.

But, by grace of God alone, does ANYONE ever get into heaven. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”