The Stronghold of Finances

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

Today's Passage: Proverbs 3:1-10

Memory Verses: Prov. 3: 9-10

Most of you so far have been in agreement with the strongholds we've studied up to this point. But I guess this one's a stronghold just because of this simple fact: it's about MONEY. But by the Spirit of God, we're going to expose this one just as He's used us to expose the others. Brothers and Sisters, can we be real? Why do you think the laws in this country have gone from reverencing God to almost forgetting He exists? Money. Why do you think all things worldly and immoral manage to make the news as well as primetime television, while anything based on Christianity finds its way on the back burner? MONEY. And why do you think people who pretty much live for the devil are the ones meeting the needs of the poor and the destitute? MONEY!!!

Brothers and Sisters, many of us are still holding on to the reins when it comes to who's in control of our money. As a result of this, God is not able to multiply it and make it produce for His kingdom what only He can. That's why the passage for today is that we are not to lean unto our own understanding. There is no way our human minds can conceive of what He has prepared for His children to accomplish on this earth. If you are still unwilling to let God control how much and how often you give, it's a matter of how much you really TRUST Him.

Let's get even closer to home and run a few basic tests of who's in control of your money. Do you find yourself constantly "broke" and unable to give at church? Are you one of those Christians who believe that our money should not be given to the pastor because he or she is spending it on himself/herself? Worse yet, do you think 10% is way too much to give out of the little you are making for yourself and your family? If this is where you are, the enemy has deceived you into thinking that the church only wants to rip you off and take all your money.

After today, I pray that the scales will be removed from your eyes and that you never again allow the enemy to keep you blindfolded and in bondage to money. What he doesn't want you to know is that ONLY by giving -- and giving the FIRST tenth of everything that comes in your hand -- can you truly begin to recieve what God has in store for you. God can discern our selfish intentions when we hold on to what is His to begin with. How can we hope to overcome the evil that is in the world if we spend all our lives broke, busted and disgusted? Despite what you have seen in the examples of those believers that God has raised up, His desire is not only to give us wealth so we can be like the people in the world and acquire two of everything.

God's purpose for wealth goes far beyond what we've ever been able to conceive. When our heart is in the right place, and we become determined to give according to God's Word, we become rulers over many. God is still looking for believers who will finance shelters, charter schools where young people can learn to fear Him again, and who will stand up to the lawmakers and have the voices of true believers heard rather than ignored. God's Name is not reverenced because His people have chosen to be selfish instead of about the business of doing His will on this earth. How can anyone take us seriously when all we can say is "I'll pray for you"?

When is the day going to come when we begin to BE the church, which was able to finance the greatest revival the world has ever seen by adding 3,000 members to itself DAILY, even without the modern technology we boast about today? If every believer in every church in every city in the United States alone became a tither and a giver, I believe we could end world hunger in less than a year. Yes, y'all, God is that serious about how involved He wants to be in your finances. Begin today to give Him more and more of this area in your life, and watch Him change you and everything around you.

Prayer: Father, Your Word is challenging me today to put my complete trust in You concerning my finances. Please allow me to trust You and You alone, and then use me to bring Your kingdom down to this earth. For Your glory and in Jesus, Name, Amen.