The power of wealth (II)

(Continued from last week)

We said previously that the church was designed to impact the world with God’s Kingdom culture and laws and where our influence comes from. We also looked at money myths we must not believe.

What is the power of money?

I must begin by saying that money is not everything. It is also certainly not the most important thing in life. Character matters more than anything. And money

However, money is powerful and can do many things.

Deuteronomy 28: 8-13, “The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. [9] The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. [10] And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. [11] And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee. [12] The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. [13] And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them.”

The power of money is what the money can do or get done. That is to say the value of money is its power.

Money, according to economists and biblical sources,

1. Is a medium of exchange,
2. Store of value,
3. Unit of account.
4. Source of status and social prestige. There is a dignity that comes from wealth. Money gives you respect. The King’s wealth is his glory and it is his reputation. It determines his reputation among all the kings. So, it is with individuals.
5. A provider of physical and psychological security. The Bible says money is a defence.
6. A contributing factor to human welfare and well-being. Money can afford you better education, good health services and other social comforts and many other things that make for a better life. God wants you to prosper 3John verse
7. A basis for military strength. America, the richest country in the world, is also the most powerful nation, in the world.
8. Money plays an important role in the development of society.
9. A source of public influence and political power. Wealth gives you a name and a voice. Ecclesiastes 9:16, “Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.” The poor man has no voice, but money gives you a voice of authority and control. When you are wealthy, people think you know what you are doing.

When you become successful, you also become wealthy. Then you also become influential.

The world will continue to ignore the church as long as we remain broke. We must teach our people to find their gift, develop it, use it and dominate the world!

The Bible says in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.” Nations here means Governing powers or systems of control: the political world, the banking system, the insurance systems, the educational system, the entertainment system, the world of sports, etc.

The word disciple means student or learner. To be able to make a disciple of someone means you’re their teacher and you cannot be their teacher unless:

1. You’re in a position of influence. You cannot teach students who you cannot influence. And you cannot influence students unless you are not as broke as they are.
2. You’re in a position of power
3. You have the knowledge they don’t have and
4. You have the expertise they never had and
5. Experience they don’t have. So, Jesus was saying I want you to be the teacher of nations.

To be able to do that, you have to be in a position of influence. And one of the things that make you influential is wealth.

The church is losing today because we’ve been so busy preparing people for heaven that we are not teaching them to impact the earth. Discipleship means you become the person of influence.

God can make a whole government your students. Joseph was Pharaoh’s teacher.

Ecclesiastes 9:14-16, “There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it. A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him. So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.” Ecclesiastes 9:14-16 NLT

Ecclesiastes 9:16 (NKJV), “Then I said: Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, And his words are not heard.”

When you gain wealth, you gain attention. You have to learn how to become wealthy in a godly way so you can become influential.

There are 3 levels of blessings:

1. The works of your hands (Deuteronomy 2:7, “For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.”) In this level, it’s not flowing but you lack nothing.
2. Your basket. Deuteronomy 28:5, “Blessed shall be thy basket. You don’t need a basket if all you have can fit into your hand.
3. Your storehouse. Deuteronomy 28:5, “Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.” This is the level of excess. You don’t need a store house if all you have can fit into a basket. This is the level of overflow or abundance talked about in this verse of Deuteronomy 28; Proverbs 3:9-10; Malachi 3:9-10, Luke 6:38; also

God will take you to the level of storehouse wealth and increase your influence, in Jesus name! Kingdom resources will be made available to you for Kingdom work and impact, in the name of Jesus!! That gift hidden in you will emerge for global recognition and impact, in Jesus name!!

Bishop Dr. Charles Olowojoba is the General Overseer of Dayspring Bible Church Worldwide with HQ in Abuja, Nigeria & President, Dayspring Christian Ministries Int’l. Website: www.dayspringcmi.org e-mail: [email protected] Help line: 08035150515