The Economy of the Kingdom
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· 785 viewsThere exists two economies, the economy of this world and the ecconomy of the Kingdomg of the Lord God! How we operate within these two economies determines how effective we are in our role as Christians here, but also the role that we play in the Kingdom of Heaven, when we get there!
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Transcript
Open with communion time and asking the worship team to go back into another song or two until everyone has been served. (SHARE COMMUNION THOUGHT)
Open in prayer for service and for Bobby Kington’s mother and others who are sick.
Ask for Dee to come up and ask for our graduate, Addyson, to come up and present her with a card and then for prayer!
At the beginning of communion, I mentioned that the devotion that I read from yesterday dealt with economics and the paying for of goods, as denoted by the statement from Milton Friedman, "There's no such thing as a free lunch”. This devotion tied in perfectly with where my heart was for today’s message. In fact, this message, was actually a message that I was going to prepare to give last week, but when I was trying to write and prepare for it, the Lord changed the message and I didn’t give it. So, I am going to start that message with you this morning, the Lord willing!
At the beginning of communion, I mentioned that the devotion that I read from yesterday dealt with economics and the paying for of goods, as denoted by the statement from Milton Friedman, "There's no such thing as a free lunch”. This devotion tied in perfectly with where my heart was for today’s message. In fact, this message, was actually a message that I was going to prepare to give last week, but when I was trying to write and prepare for it, the Lord changed the message and I didn’t give it. So, I am going to start that message with you this morning, the Lord willing!
The message title for today is, “The Economy of the Kingdom”, and my hope for this message, or maybe even messages, is that we will all begin to see the truth about operating within the Kingdom of God and of how His kingdom economics, is nothing like that of the world that we live and operate in, on a daily basis.
Let me read a few passages for you this morning, just to set the foundation for this message.
Genesis 12:3,
I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Deuteronomy 15:6,
For the Lord your God will bless you, as he promised you, and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow, and you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you.
Deuteronomy 28:12,
The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
These passages show us the relationship and the covenantal agreement that God made with the nation of Israel, thousands of years ago.
Through the nation of Israel, the world would be blessed.
In fact, in studying the passage from Genesis 12:3, I found it interesting as to the word used for “bless” in this passage.
The Hebrew word for “bless” in this passage is “barak”. It means to do or give something of value to someone else; it refers to a special favor, mercy or benefit; a gift bestowed by God.
It is the root of the word “berek”, which means to kneel.
One place that I read from said that “Biblical scholars believe this is a critically important element in understanding the overall importance of the word “bless” in the Genesis 12:3 passage. It points to the association between humbling oneself before God and then receiving mercy, benefit, gifts, holiness and/or divine purpose for life. Simply put, God was telling His people that He would draw them to kneel in adoration and humility before Him so that He could pour out happiness, goodness and prosperity upon them. And as others honored Him by honoring His people, they too would be brought into the cycle, receiving blessing from Him through His chosen nation.
In honoring the nation that God blessed, you would thus be honoring God, because He had chosen them.
This sounds a lot like another statement about honoring God that we read of in the Bible.
In John 5:23, Jesus said,
that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
If you honor the Son of God, you are thus honoring God Himself, because the Father and the Son are one. When you bless and honor what God has chosen, then you ultimately bless and honor God, because His will has been honored.
Has everyone got that?!!
You see, through the nation of Israel, the Lord would ultimately bless the entire world through that of His beloved Son, the Light and Salvation of the entire world. Just as the prophet Isaiah mentioned in Isaiah 42:6, 49:6, 52:10, 60:3, where the Lord God said through the prophet,
“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,
he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
God had made a covenant with the nation of Israel, that through them, He was going to bless the entire world and that kings would come out of them.
In Genesis 17:6 the Lord said,
I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.
II Samuel 7:16,
And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”
And then in Psalm 89:3-4, we read,
You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant:
‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’ ” Selah
So, God was saying that He was going to produce a nation which would have kings coming out of it, but that out of those kings, and one in particular, King David, God was going to establish a dynasty, a kingdom and a kingship which would never end!
That is ultimately fulfilled through the Son of God, Yeshua, Himself!
Jesus, once here on this earth, went around saying to everyone, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
And then In Luke 17 we read, “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
So, why am I telling you all of this about the blessed nation of Israel and the Davidic dynasty and the coming of the Messiah and thus, coming of the Kingdom of God to this earth?
Because with the coming of the Kingdom, comes the rule and lordship of the King that rules over that kingdom and with His rule and sovereignty, comes the standards of how the people of that kingdom must live within it and of how the ECONOMY of that kingdom will operate!
I want you to understand about the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven and of how its economy and principles are not like those of this world in which we exist. For we are in this world, but we are not OF this world, if we are truly children of God, and thus members of the kingdom of heaven!
I want you to understand about the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven and of how its economy and principles are not like those of this world in which we exist. For we are in this world, but we are not OF this world, if we are truly children of God, and thus members of the kingdom of heaven!
Jesus said, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
If we are operating according to this world and its standard of operations, in both our natural, as well as in our spiritual lives, then the world treats us one of its own. We are no different and thus we are treated no different.
HOWEVER, if you are truly a blood bought child of God, and thus a member of His kingdom here on earth, then you should be operating to a different set of standards and a different way of living your life, which runs COMPLETELY counter, to this world and the god of this world!
And if we are living according to the standards of the Kingdom of God here on earth, then the world will not receive as one of its own and it will thus HATE us, just as it hated Jesus who came and established the kingdom here on earth!
The point being, Jesus set the standard of what a kingdom citizen on earth should look like, and then He began creating for that kingdom, AMBASSADORS who would walk and talk and live the life of a kingdom of heaven citizen here on this earth!
Who are those AMBASSADORS which walk this earth and display the power and the authority of the kingdom to which they belong and the king to which they serve?
Well, according to the Apostle Paul, in II Corinthians 5, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.”
And then he says, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
So, if you know that Jesus is your Lord and your savior, then I want you to raise your hand right now, in boldness and with assurance!
YOU, according to the Bible, are a new creation in Christ. YOU, according to the Bible are now the AMBASSADORS of the kingdom of God here on earth!
And according to I Peter 2:9,
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
If you are God’s child this morning, then I want you say right now, “I am chosen by God!”
“I am royalty in His kingdom!”
“I am a part of a holy nation!”
“I am the righteousness of God!”
“I am an ambassador of the kingdom!”
And as an ambassador you and I need to understand how we live and move about in this world in which are currently positioned.
And we MUST understand about the economics of this amazing kingdom in which we live!
When I was in college at the University of Tennessee years ago, I was business major and in business college, you study quite a bit about economics. You study “micro” economics and you study “macro” economics and as to how the economy of this world operates and what makes it tick.
When I was in college at the University of Tennessee years ago, I was business major and in business college, you study quite a bit about economics. You study “micro” economics and you study “macro” economics and as to how the economy of this world operates and what makes it tick.
You will hear and use terms in the world of economics, like “interest, supply and demand, markets, capital, purchasing power, gross domestic product, gross national product, inflation, deflation, flatulation (Just seeing if you were paying attention).
Anyway, these are but a few, of the many terms and concepts that are a part of the economy of the natural world in which we live.
And guess what everything in this natural world economy in which we live in, centers around and hinges upon?
You’ve got it.........MONEY!
When I was in business college and studying about economics and marketing, the sole purpose of going to college and studying these things, was how to make a company money and even MORE MONEY.
And in the process, if you are doing your job and making them money, then guess what? Because they are nice people in the business world and love you so much, they are willing to give you some of their money, as payment for your services!
Yeah, right! I remember when I told my father that I had declared a business major as my course of studies, he said to me, “The only thing that I am going to say to about your choice of studies is this. Always remember, that corporate blood runs ICE COLD!”
He was soooooooo right!
Anyway, in this country, we are all raised with the same somewhat basic mindset: we got to school and we study in order to develop some basic skills for life and then we grow up and move out into the world, and we find an HONEST and HONORABLE way to work and earn money for a living, right?!
And then throughout our lives, we are taught that we should acquire more and more of this stuff called money and if we can stash enough of it back and horde it up for ourselves, then we can quit work and live comfortably on this stashed money and eat bon-bons and sleep in late every day if we want to.
We refer to this concept as the “American......................DREAM”, right?
We are taught and we dream about financial independence as our source of security in this world. MONEY, MONEY, and more MONEY, is what we hear and watch about even dream about in this natural world.
But is that the same way that the kingdom of God and its economy operates?
Around the world, money is represented by different types of currency. In the United States, our currency is the US dollar, right? And the higher the value of each of the bills in our currency, the prettier the pictures they put on them!
Around the world, money is represented by different types of currency. In the United States, our currency is the US dollar, right? And the higher the value of each of the bills in our currency, the prettier the pictures they put on them!
I mean, come on, who doesn’t think that Benjamin Franklin is one good looking guy?
Anyway, in other nations, and it used to be the same way in this country, their currency is backed by gold, as the securing standard.
So, the money that they are using, is secured with the universal standard of intrinsic value, which is pure GOLD!
Now, in this country, we keep rolling paper currency hot off of the presses each and every day, and it’s all secured by..................I guess our word, that we are good for it!
So, the US currency is the dollar, in Britain its the British Pound, in Japan its the Yen, in France it’s the Franc, in Canada it’s the Canadian dollar and so on and so forth.
Point being, each nation has it’s own currency to represent itself to the world in terms of its place in the world’s economy and money thereof.
BUT, what about the kingdom of God here on earth? What is our currency? Are we moved by the world’s economy and its standard of MONEY and its power?
The long and the short of it, is this. ABSOLUTELY NOT! The money of this world and its use in this world, has no affect at all upon God and His kingdom, either in heaven where He is at, or here on earth, where we represent Him!
Now, I know that people are going to argue with me and say that the church depends upon money to operate and keep the gospel going, but that is not true!
We use the resources that God sends through His faithful servants, in accordance with the economy of this world, but the kingdom of God and its economy will not be moved or influenced in the least, even if the economy in this world collapsed and everything went belly up tomorrow.
MONEY, does not alter or change or influence the kingdom of God at all.
And let me go ahead and say this, since I just asked you a second ago, as to what the currency of our kingdom is?
The currency of the kingdom heaven, is our FAITH!
Your faith and my faith, is how we operate in the kingdom of heaven!
It is not by how much money that we acquire here on earth that pleases God, right? I mean what does the Bible say that we must have in order to please Jehovah?
FAITH! “Without FAITH, it is impossible to please God!”
In the natural, physical economy that we live in, your money is the thing that secures your dreams and hopes and visions. If you don’t have the cash to buy it, you don’t get it! (Or at least not without putting yourself into debt to buy on credit, in which, you are still bound to paying it off with money!)
But, in the kingdom of God, as His servants who are doing His will, our dreams and hopes and prayers for something to happen, either now, or in the future, are secured with the currency of our kingdom’s economy, right........by our FAITH!
I mean what does Hebrews 11:1 tell us?
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
When you or I need to acquire something from the kingdom of heaven general store, how do we purchase it? THROUGH OUR FAITH!
And you acquire the currency of heaven, (FAITH), here in the kingdom of God, through serving God and listening to His Holy Spirit and studying His righteous Word, and stepping out and spending that currency all of the time!
And the more that you spend that currency, the more He lavishes back upon you!!
It is completely opposite to this world and its economy practices.
I don’t make more money in this world by spending my money, right?
And just as some currency is backed by gold, likes the United State’s used to be, the currency of heaven, FAITH, is backed by and secured by the Word of God.
The Bible is the gold standard for our FAITH and backing it and holding it up in this economy!
I love how the late Dr. Myles Munroe taught on God’s economy. He said it this way and it is sooooooooo TRUE. “The foundation of the Kingdom of God’s economy is access. It (acess) is more powerful than ownership. The foundation of the world’s economy is private ownership.”
I love how the late Dr. Myles Munroe taught on God’s economy. He said it this way and it is sooooooooo TRUE. “The foundation of the Kingdom of God’s economy is access. It (acess) is more powerful than ownership. The foundation of the world’s economy is private ownership.”
You see, in the world’s system of economy, you and I are to become owners of everything. We acquire and take ownership of everything in order to thrive and have our being.
In the kingdom of heaven, we own NOTHING, but we have access to EVERYTHING!
The Bible tells us in II Peter 1:3,
By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.
We own nothing in this kingdom, but we have access to EVERYTHING within this kingdom.
And how do you purchase anything in the kingdom?
Right, with the currency of the kingdom, your FAITH!
And technically, even in this natural/physical world in which we exist, we OWN NOTHING!
Our homes, our cars, our land, our families, and yes, our MONEY, it all belongs to the God of creation, Yahweh.
The Bible says, “The earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof; the world and those who dwell therein.”
You and me and everything on this planet, belongs to the own who created it!
And the way that we increase in our currency and what we have in the kingdom of heaven, is by giving away to others!
That makes absolutely no sense to the world that we live in. But it is the absolute truth in the kingdom of God. You do not gain by holding onto this world and its things, but rather, you gain in the kingdom of heaven, by releasing and giving to others!
TELL OF RAVI ZACHARIAS’ STORY about his Lebanese friend, Sammy Dagger. He was like a packet of dynamite......very vivacious and energetic and charismatic! His wife, who was English, was named Joy. In the story, they are driving their car one night at 11:00 and Sammy sees a suitcase sitting on the side of the road. He tells his wife, “Darling, there is a suitcase sitting unattended on the side of the road!” To which she tells him, “It doesn’t belong to us....leave it alone!” (In Lebanon, you would never dream of stopping and looking into someone else’s suitcase, alone or not, unless you are Sammy Dagger!) FINISH STORY!
There is sooooooo much more to the kingdom of God and the economy of His kingdom than I could ever teach about in one message, or two , or even more. The parables that Jesus taught about, when speaking on the what the kingdom of God is like, show us how precious and priceless and beautiful becoming a part of this kingdom really is!!
There is sooooooo much more to the kingdom of God and the economy of His kingdom than I could ever teach about in one message, or two , or even more. The parables that Jesus taught about, when speaking on the what the kingdom of God is like, show us how precious and priceless and beautiful becoming a part of this kingdom really is!!
In II Corinthians 8-9, Paul talked to the church of Corinth, about their generosity of how they were to increase in their giving to the work of the ministry and of how releasing to the kingdom of God, brings an increase to the giver in the kingdom of God.
In II Corinthians 9:10-13, Paul tells the church,
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.
By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,
In other words, when we give and release into the kingdom, to serve others and grow the kingdom, an amazing things takes place. The praise and worship and thanks to God is lifted up!
And when praise and shouts of thanksgiving are lifted to God, because of what we are sowing into the economy of the kingdom, here on earth, then God supplies more seed for sowing (both physically and spiritually)!
And we will be enriched in every way, to be more generous to others, which will result in more shouts of praise to the name of God!
Paul said in I Corinthians 3:21,
So don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you—
Everything in the kingdom belongs to you and I. So, we are not to boast in men about the things of this world, or desire them, because we are heirs to everything in heaven and have been given ACCESS to all things in the kingdom!
For this reason, we are to rejoice and shout with praise to God at all times!
END WITH “JERICHO: THE SHOUT OF VICTORY”
