Jesus recognized that men tended to be greedy. He even had one of His executive team members dipping into the treasury of His ministry. If Jesus had that going on, we also might have similar issues. It will be vital for you as a son to be sure that you steward the funds that are under your control.
As Kingdom Financiers, we must be extending those personal principles of tithes and offerings so that we don’t create any hindrance to the flow of funds. We can be positioned for a solid financial flow by our giving or hesitancy in giving or see that flow cut off entirely.
In Proverbs, we find some incredible wisdom we need to implement in our lives.
Proverbs 11:23-31: 23,
The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath. 24 There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. 25 The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself. 26 The people will curse him who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. 27 He who earnestly seeks good finds favor, but trouble will come to him who seeks evil. 28 He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage. 29 He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart. 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise. 31 If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner.
This passage begins by addressing the motivation of our heart which should be for good, not evil. Then it speaks of generosity. You have likely heard the testimony of people who are continuously giving and, as a result, are constantly flourishing. Giving is not limited to money. It covers many more areas.
Tithing
There are various forms of giving. The first we usually call tithing, but tithing is not giving; it is returning. It is a stewarding for the Father to be returned to the assigned storehouse.
Offerings
Then we have offerings that are amounts above and beyond any tithe. If we have not tithed, God cannot bless it.
The withholding of the tithe has an associated curse as one is robbing not the pastor, not the church congregation, not their family, not their friends. Rather, they are robbing God.[35] That is not a good position to be in.
Proverbs 26:2 tells us:
Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight.
If I don’t want a curse to have the legal rights given to the accuser to land upon me, I need to not qualify for that curse.
Robbing God permits a curse to be placed upon them and their finances. The solution is simple: tithe and give offerings. Firstfruits Firstfruits are gifts unto the Lord in advance as seed for a coming harvest.
Firstfruits
Firstfruits are gifts unto the Lord in advance as seed for a coming harvest. Firstfruits should be commensurate with the expected harvest amount.
Here’s an example,
If you want to sow a firstfruits for a $10,000 return, a $100 firstfruits seed is not equal with the desired harvest. Ask Heaven what the amount should be and respond accordingly.
Alms
Giving to the poor, widows, or orphans are examples of alms, but it is not limited to that. If, for example, you have a print shop and someone comes to you to get some printing done, but you need more time to service them well, you could recommend a competitor you know to do the job for them. That would be considered a giving of alms by you.
You could give someone a verbal recommendation, which is also a form of alms. Alms are much broader than we have believed.
In the Proverbs 11 we find that: 25 The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.
Generosity will result in abundance. What you are giving, you will also receive. If I sow money, I will receive money. If I sow vehicles, I will receive vehicles. What we sow is what we reap. That is a fundamental principle of farming.
26 The people will curse him who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.
If you have a certain product and you withhold it without good cause, it will not generate a harvest for you.
Look at verse 27:
27 He who earnestly seeks good finds favor, but trouble will come to him who seeks evil.
Many times, what you need is not funds but favor. Favor will take you much farther than your money can. When you seek good and seek to do good, it will result in favor.
The Old Testament contains the story of Job, who was tremendously blessed. Throughout the book of Job, you read of his good deeds, which resulted in blessings in his life. The calamity that Job faced lasted a long time, but actually, it was over from start to finish in just a few months or weeks.
In the end, he was twice as blessed as he had been before.
The Court of Heaven Case
Job was on Satan’s radar because his blessing affected the economy of the land he lived in. Satan did not like the competition and took him to court. The only problem was that Job did not appear with him in The Court of Heaven.
Why did this happen, His non-appearance resulted in a default judgment which was placed upon him.
But wait, Job received the victory through it all. In the next verse, he was found not guilty for trusting in his riches.
28 He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage. 29 He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart. 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
Your life should produce fruit that is a tree of life – life-giving, not death-producing.
Your life should have such qualities that Jesus could step in and you would have no discomfort with your financial practices.
31 If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner.
Everyone will be recompensed.
Remember, the seed you sow, is the seed you grow.
What kind of seed are you going to produce? What we do is a stewarding of what has come into our hands. We must understand that all monies that come into our hands have an assignment.
Let’s say that the twenty dollar bill in your wallet had the assignment to help buy some things for a little boy, pay for someone’s lunch, or purchase gas for someone to travel to their next appointment.
We should seek the Father concerning what the monies we are stewarding are assigned to do.
The money you receive as wages helps put food on your table and clothes on your backs.
The purchase of that food helped pay the salaries of the farmers who produced the food, the workers in the grocery store, the wages of the truck driver who delivered it, and so on.
It is a never-ending cycle of provision, so the money you are stewarding is not really yours. It is in trust to you. You have been entrusted with it.
Practice generosity. I know of people who give something to someone every day.
By doing so they are creating a constant flow of money or whatever they are distributing into their lives and the lives of others.
Galatians 6:9 in the JB Phillips Translation says, A man’s harvest in life will depend entirely on what he sows. (Phillips)
In conclusion,
What are you sowing? Can you do better?
How well are you stewarding that which is in my hand?
As sons, the Father wants us to learn the basics, so we can be able to handle any influx that would come into your hands.
When He can trust us, we will be entrusted.
Excerpts were taken for Dr. Ron M.. Horner’s book entitled, “Building Your Business with the Blueprint of Heaven: Seeing what Heaven Sees and Making it Happen“.