I don’t put my trust in my money, the stock market, property, my career, my bank account, my boss, my education, my experience or anything else. I put it in Christ and Him alone. Those other things are unstable and can fall overnight but God’s Kingdom is unshakable! It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have those things in our life, it just means our trust, hope, confidence and dependence is not in those things. They are not our ultimate source, God is. God owns all the wealth, all the idea’s, all the inspiration, strategies, plans – everything! Ownership is an illusion. Ultimately nothing belongs to us, it all belongs to God. We came into this world naked, and naked we will leave. Everything we have while on earth is from God, it’s for God and it’s to serve God in His purposes to see the Kingdom come and His New Covenant established throughout the earth. This cannot be done in our own strength and resource. This takes divine resources and supernatural ability. And this can only come from God.
I believe God is our source from the smallest things to the greatest things. And when we trust Him in the small things and are faithful in them, He will entrust us with the bigger things. Whether it’s small things like being able to pay our bills, eat, being clothed to the big things like planting churches, preaching the Gospel to the masses, influencing governments and economies, discipling nations – it all ultimately comes from God.
God wants us blessed, and He wants to make us a blessing to the nations so that He can establish His covenant throughout the earth.
His resources, supply and heaven’s riches to live this Kingdom life doesn’t come to us through works but by grace and through faith! This article isn’t about using faith to be lazy so that we don’t have to do anything and just expect God to provide everything. This is about having faith so that we don’t limit God but rather get into his supernatural supply. It’s so that we can go after our calling and the big vision God has given us in life and not hold back because of fear of lack. Many people wait for finances before they get the vision, but vision doesn’t follow finances, finances follow vision.
Are you living in a puddle or a river?
I believe we can either live in a puddle of our limitations or a river of God’s infinite unlimited supply of wealth and resources to be blessed and to be a blessing to the nations. At the Cross God released a mighty river.
2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”
It’s through the Cross and God’s grace that Jesus took all our poverty and poorness so that we could receive His riches and supply. God’s unlimited supply doesn’t come to us through self effort but through grace. And this abundant supply of grace is God’s mighty river that has been flowing since the Cross. Christ now sits on a throne and from His throne flows the river of life and we are invited to drink for free and have His life flowing through us. And it’s all by grace.
However, it takes faith to live in this river!
Fear will keep us in a puddle. The puddle may not be that bad, but it’s completely limited to us. The river is God’s supply, the puddle is ours. You can be in grace and still be living in the puddle because you’re living with your eyes on yourself and not God as your source.
Faith doesn’t move God to make His river of unlimited resources flow through our lives. God moved at the Cross and His river is already flowing. Faith simply moves us into the river. Even though the river is flowing because of grace, it takes faith for us to get into it.
What keeps us in the puddle?
Fear keeps us in the puddle. We’re afraid to let go and trust God. We want to hold on to everything we’ve got because “if we let it go we won’t have it anymore and we rely on it”. The only way to break fear is to let go and trust God. At some point faith has to leap! Nobody can pray for you to have God’s river flowing through your life. Nobody can pray for your to have more faith. Nobody can pray for you to live in the river while you’re living in the puddle. You can’t live in the river while you are living in fear and trust in self. People can pray for you all day and you won’t move into God’s supply. You have to have faith.
How do we get in the river?
The only way to get out of the puddle and into the river is to open your hands and shift your trust to God. Fear wants to keep our hands closed and holding on but faith lets go and opens its hands. The only way you can open your hands is when you truly believe God is your source.
I regularly check my heart to see if I’m living by fear or faith. I never want to live by fear. Fear is a puddle. I always want to live by faith. Faith is a river.
I find I’m living by fear if I’m always worried about lack and afraid to be generous with my finances. You know when you’re being stingy and holding on. This comes from fear. And it causes us to live in a puddle. The river is right there and it’s flowing and yet we’re living in a puddle. We can be in grace and still living in a puddle. Grace says, “I don’t have to give”. And that’s true, we don’t. But sonship says, “I’m not afraid to give. I know who my Father is. And I’m living in His river!”
Whenever I feel fear keeping me in a puddle, I know the only way to break that fear is to give. In doing that I am forcing my hands to open and to look to God as my source. No one can pray for me that this fear will be broken. I have to break it by doing the very opposite of my fear. My fear is to hold on, because I’m not trusting God. So to break that fear I need to open my hands and let go. There is always such power in doing this and a surge of faith, joy and scary excitement because we’re letting go of trust in ourselves and turning to God to trust in Him. This is especially tested in times when you don’t have enough. These are the times when we are most likely to go back to trusting in ourselves and having fear of letting go. But these are the times that expose what’s truly in our hearts. Ultimately it’s not about money, it’s about what our heart trusts in, yet the way we give or hold on is always a clear indicator of where our heart is. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What we do with our money shows if our trust is in self or in God.
Whenever I find my trust is in myself and it’s causing me to fear, I instantly do something about it. I give! I challenged myself to give. This instantly begins to bring an excitement as I feel my heart shifting and fear beginning to break as my faith turns to God and starts moving me back into the river! Every time this happens I always experience miraculous financial provision and supernatural peace. I suddenly get out of my ability and back into God’s ability.
The Macedonia church is a fantastic example to us of this. They were the poorest church and yet they gave the most! The broke their fear of letting go and literally got into God’s supernatural ability and supply.
2 Corinthians 8:1-4 “And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.”
Paul then urges the Corinthian church to also excel in this kind of giving. We often need this kind of encouragement to remind us not to shrink back into fear and holding on but to live with open hands as we trust God. Often we can excel in everything else but when it comes to money we want to hold on. Listen to what Paul encourages them to do:
2 Corinthians 8:7 “But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
How do we give?
I believe to open our hands and give is to give into the Kingdom. It’s not giving into worldly and temporary things or idolatrous things but giving into God’s eternal purposes. Our money is simply a tool to help advance the Gospel and the Kingdom here on earth. We don’t get to take our money to heaven but the great thing about giving into the Kingdom is that we are giving into eternity. When we use our money to effect the eternal destiny of people’s lives I believe that money counts for all eternity. All other money fades here on earth. This is what Jesus encouraged us to do:
Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Eat your bread, but sow your seed!
People in grace often have an issue with sowing and reaping because they see it as a work and it’s often taught as one. I don’t see it as a work, I see it as something we do in the river. God’s river supplies both seed and bread to us. Paul actually taught this to the Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 9:10 “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.”
Bread and seed is supplied by God. It’s all by His grace. We simply eat the bread and sow the seed. This means that whatever God has supplied to us, some of it is bread for ourselves and some of it is seed to be sown. When our trust is in God it’s easy to sow the seed. When our trust is in ourselves and we’re living in fear – we eat the seed! But the seed is not for eating, it’s for sowing. Some of our income is always seed for sowing. Don’t eat your seed! The second part of that verse speaks of God increasing our store of seed and enlarging our harvest. This can only come by sowing the seed. If we’re eating the seed we’re limiting the supply! That’s why some people are living in the puddle and not the river. Living with open hands and continually releasing the seed is faith. It causes us to live in the abundant supply of more seed for greater harvests. And it really is all by grace. Grace to receive the seed, grace to give the seed and grace to receive more seed. Our sowing the seed doesn’t earn anything. It’s not a work, it’s an act of faith and trusting God. We sow the seed that He gave us because we trust Him. If we don’t trust Him, we eat the seed and live in the puddle.
2 Corinthians 9: 6-7 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
When we live in a puddle we give sparingly, but when we live in the river we give generously. When we live in a puddle we give fearfully, but when we live in the river we give cheerfully! Why? Because our hearts are full of joy and peace that God is our source and supply, not us, therefore we can give knowing that a river is flowing in our life.
Grace supplies, and continues to supply, and faith moves us into this supply. So when we close our hands and hold on we cut off this supply and go back into the puddle. But look at the incredible promise God gives to those who sow the seed God gives them generously and cheerfully:
2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
This is the mighty river of God’s unlimited supply that we can live in! We ought to meditate on this verse.
What happens when we trust God, open our hands and sow the seed that He has supplied to us by grace?
- God is able to bless us ABUNDANTLY.
- So that in ALL things,
- At ALL times,
- Having ALL that you need,
- You will ABOUND in EVERY good work!
This is the scripture I am meditating on and want to live the rest of my life in! And anything that wants to stop me living in this I have got to deal with.
Where should we sow?
I suggest into good soil! Kingdom soil that is going to yield an eternal harvest.
- Don’t sow into rocky soil – legalistic and religious people or ministries.
- Don’t sow into thorny soil – idolatrous and self seeking ministries preaching a man-centred gospel and building their own kingdom and not the Kingdom of God.
- Don’t sow into hard soil (pathway) – ministries going nowhere because they’re stuck in unbelief and don’t teach the Word of God.
- Sow into good soil – ministries that teach the Word of God, the Gospel of grace, the New Covenant, the finished work of Christ and who are advancing the Kingdom throughout the earth to help people and transform communities and nations.
Recently I have been stirred by God to sow seed into ministries who preach grace and are further down the road than I am. Some of them are very successful and don’t look like they need anymore money. But that’s actually a great sign that the soil is good and will yield a fruitful harvest.
The reasons we give:
- Because we have God’s nature in us, and His nature is generous. When I’m living by God’s nature I live generous and unafraid.
- Because I want to see the Kingdom of God coming through different ministries and Churches and organisations, and I believe their soil is good soil to sow into.
- Because I want to constantly break fear off my life and live with total trust in God and in His river of unlimited supply so that I can fulfil the grace calling upon my life through his supernatural resources.
- Because I want to partner with ministries that I believe in and want to see growing in influence in the earth.
Philippians 4:14-19 “Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
I want you to know that New Nature Ministries is good soil to sow into. Your seed will lead to a great harvest through us and through you. Our trust is in God. He is our source and supply. Yet I know one of the ways that He supplies is through generous people who give into ministries they believe in and want to see advance. We would love you to partner with us so that together we can advance this Gospel throughout the world.
God has given us a big vision and you can be a part of this. It involves 7 major things:
- Producing numerous teaching resources.
- Developing a Bible academy.
- Planting churches.
- Developing a ministry network.
- TV ministry.
- Hosting international conferences.
- A charity to help children who are victims of abuse.
To make a once off donation or set up a monthly partnership with us please visit: www.newnatureministries.org/partner-give/
2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
Here’s an audio sermon I did about this same topic in the Philippines:
Other teachings you may like:
Think, don’t worry about money!
Slay the monster of materialism and your financial situation will change.
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