Applied Law

On January 27, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 6: 38

Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.

This is the law of sowing and reaping. If you give, it will be given to you. Period. Jesus spoke these words. The truth of the matter is that because this is a spiritual law, not Jesus nor even God Himself can stop the flow of benefit to you. A law operates the same way all the time and automatically. Jesus did not say and is not saying that when you give God will bless you. Read it again. He is simply teaching about the application of the law of sowing and reaping. When you sow, you shall reap.

As people begin to learn this important lesson they are routinely confronted with how, when and why to use it. Truly, I have seen more than one person trip over what they perceive as the ethic of this law. They will say to me, “Yes, I see this is true and from God but we shouldn’t give in order to receive.” That is like saying, “We shouldn’t intentionally use gravity.” I know it sounds holy, and that is what people are wrestling with. It is their learned sense of right and wrong. However, the real truth is that is a carnal perspective taught to all of us by the world. I know that sounds a bit harsh but I am trying to set you free here. When God establishes a law and Jesus teaches us about it they mean for us to use it for our benefit and for the benefit of those around us.

You don’t have to be selfish in order to use this law. You can always support this and other ministries with your increase. So, let’s get out of our worldly ethic for a minute and stretch our minds. Jesus came to the earth teaching that the Kingdom of God has come. That was a new thing and people had no idea what he was talking about. Then he proceeded to teach us how this Kingdom works. The first lesson, the predominant application of this Kingdom domain is that whenever you sow money, kindness, patience or anything else whether good or bad, you will receive a harvest which is multiplied many times over. Remember Jesus’ language. He said you shall receive “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over.” When I hear that I think of trying to get all of the bag of grits to fit in my canister. I have to shake it and bang it on the counter to get it to press down so that I can get all of the grits to fit. That’s what Jesus is talking about. Your return is going to be so great that you won’t be able to fit it into your container. It is running over.

Now then, why did Jesus teach us this? Was he trying to get us to give? Most people probably don’t truly believe that answer or we would see much better and more givers in the church. Why then? Here is a Bible principle that will serve you well if you will remember it. Everything that Jesus teaches us, everything that he tells us to do is for our good. That is a biggy. It means that Jesus told us about giving so that we will learn how to receive. Alright, let that sink in. Of the thirty-six words in today’s verse only one has to do with giving. The rest are about receiving.

Here is my point. Jesus was trying to teach us all how things work in the Kingdom of God. Remember he said that we are not of this world (John 17: 14). We are of the Kingdom of God. Therefore, we have to learn Kingdom Principles or how the Kingdom operates.

Today’s verse will teach you how to manage finances. If you want to make money, multiply your wealth and increase your financial well-being then you must give. That’s just how the Kingdom works, that is how Kingdom finances work. You cannot operate as the world operates and be successful because you don’t live in the world. This is a very important concept for us to grasp. Jesus is teaching how to succeed, how to have provision for every good work as well as taking care of your own needs. Now don’t say, “Well, I don’t want to give in order to receive.” That is denying the laws of the Kingdom. Would you say, “Okay, I am going to invest some money in this mutual fund but I don’t want it to increase.” Of course not. That would be foolishness. Why, then, would you expect a worldly venture to increase your portfolio but not your Father who loves you? When we stop and think of these things they really are foolish but it is only because we haven’t been taught. Now you know though. God intends for you to work the equation backwards. If I know the result I want, then I can figure out what seed to sow. If you need money, sow money. God’s law of sowing and reaping will multiply that seed and give you a harvest.

Jesus didn’t teach us to pray for our increase and then sit on the wharf and wait for our ship to dock. No, Jesus said, “Give.” Then pray over your seed. Ask Dad to multiply your seed to the one you give it to and to return it to you multiplied hundred-fold. Now that prayer is in keeping with the Word of God. Give and it shall be given to you. Let’s get scriptural with this thing and apply the spiritual laws.

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The Rich Young Ruler (Part 5)

On January 22, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Mark 10: 21

And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him, and said to him, “One thing you lack . . . come, follow me.”

What was the one thing that the rich young ruler lacked? I believe it was a deep abiding trust in the Holy One. I think Jesus was preaching Proverb 3: 5 to him which reads; “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” We know that this young man was holy because he kept the commandments. We know that he loved God. That is why he kept the commandments. He had a deeper longing for God also. He was not prideful either. Those two are demonstrated in the fact that he ran to Jesus and that he threw himself at Jesus’ feet. He wanted to know how to come closer to God and was willing to chase down the man he thought could teach him that.

His problem was not that he had riches. Really it is not hard to get into heaven with riches. You just leave them behind here on earth. You go, they stay. No, his problem was that he had learned to trust in his wealth. He trusted in his skills. He knew how to live and be prosperous but his trust was in himself and his ability to take care of himself. Jesus called him to leave that life and his possessions behind and follow him. Peter, John, etc. left their goods behind and it did not seem to bother them much. They did not have their trust tied into their fishing nets. This young man didn’t know how to walk by faith though. This is what Jesus wanted to teach him. In the fourth chapter of Mark, Jesus compared the kingdom of God to seed which is planted and having been planted, after a time, yields a crop. He was trying to teach them all the law of sowing and reaping.

When Jesus called Andrew and Peter, he told them that he would make him fishers of men. In the rich young ruler’s case, he would have shown him how to sow and reap in the kingdom of God. He would have taught him how to make money by sowing, but also he would have taught him how he (the young ruler) could plant the seed of God’s word and reap souls saved and destiny bound. He could have become a great evangelist because he already knew the principles of business. He just needed to learn to operate as God and Jesus did. And he needed to learn what we are all still learning even to this day. Walk wherever Jesus calls you without fear or concern for your own livelihood. Do what he calls you to do and have no thought for your own needs. They are the responsibility of the Father. The rich young ruler couldn’t step out of his comfort zone and follow Christ. He couldn’t step out on that water and trust Christ to hold him up. He couldn’t go where Jesus called because of his fear and lack of faith and trust. Now the real question is, “Can we?”

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The Rich Young Ruler (Part 4)

On January 21, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Mark 10: 17 – 20

And as He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him and began asking Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother.’” And he said the Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.”

Jesus wasn’t teaching about salvation in this story. He was teaching about walking according to the kingdom that God is now and in the future will establish. He is talking about learning to work and walk in the earth as God has so designed. We can see this in the first several verses. Jesus finishes dealing with salvation in verse 20 and yet the story goes on through verse 31. So what was Jesus talking about in the subsequent 11 verses?

The young man asked what he needed to do to inherit salvation and Jesus answered him, “Keep the commandments.” The man answered that he had so done all the years of his life. That’s it then, isn’t it? Jesus said, “Do this and you shall inherit salvation” and the fellow essentially says, “Ok.” That ends that conversation. But Jesus saw something in this young man that he really liked; more than liked actually. The scripture said that Jesus loved him. Jesus said, “Come follow me.” It is like Peter and Andrew leaving their nets and following him. I am also reminded of the story in Matthew 8. Jesus called someone to come with him but the man responded, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” Jesus answered him though, “Follow Me; and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”

You see, nothing was more important than following Jesus. To this day, nothing is more important than following Jesus. Anything that we allow to come before our following of our Lord is a problem. Actually, it is an idol. Anything that we put in a position of higher importance than the Lord Jesus is an idol. We are serving it rather than the Lord. You see that Jesus was not going to be second place in any of these people’s lives. Jesus understands that we all have responsibilities but he wants us to put him first place in our lives. He is to be our Lord and all other things should fall into place behind him.

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The Rich Young Ruler (Part 3)

On January 20, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Mark 10: 23 – 26

And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were even more astonished and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?”

If Jesus was teaching that rich people cannot get into heaven, then why were his own disciples astonished? Why has this come as such a surprise to them? After all, they have been following him around for some time. They were living in a totally different mindset than we are today. Wealthy people were the spiritual leaders and all of the spiritual leaders and wise fathers were wealthy. Abraham was very rich. To the disciples this was like Jesus telling them that Father Abraham couldn’t get into heaven. In their minds, if rich people couldn’t get into heaven, then no one could. Furthermore, they were men of means. Peter and his brother, Andrew, owned their own fishing business and James and John were partnered with their father in their own fishing business. Matthew was a tax collector. Tax collectors were wealthy and well educated though despised, probably because they collected taxes for the Roman authority. Because of their wealth they were not only astonished but also a bit concerned. You see that in their entreaty about leaving behind everything to follow Jesus. They apparently didn’t sell everything they had because they reveal here that they left it at home. They left their worldly goods behind. They did not give it away. Matthew used his immense wealth to throw Jesus a big party (Luke 5: 29). He must have had a big house too because the scripture says “there was a great crowd.” David was rich. His son Solomon was the richest man in history, even to this day. What sense would it have made to the disciples for Jesus to say that rich men couldn’t get into heaven? Abraham was already there (see Luke 16). 

But Jesus was not telling them that rich people couldn’t or wouldn’t get into heaven. He wasn’t even telling them that it is hard for them to get into heaven. He did not even mention heaven until the last sentence. How is this reconciled then? Jesus was teaching them about the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of heaven. These are related but different subjects and understanding that clears up the confusion evidenced by the apostles. We will see it more clearly tomorrow.

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Generous Growth

On January 13, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 11: 24 – 25

There is one who scatters, yet increases all the more and there is one who withholds what is justly due, but it results only in want. There generous man will be prosperous and he who waters will himself be watered.

How is it that the one who gives generously shall increase all the more while the person who hordes shall experience lack? It hardly makes sense. This, however, is the law of sowing and reaping that Jesus taught his disciples and is still teaching us today. This is how the Kingdom of God works. You cannot reap a harvest without putting some seed in the ground. When the Israelites were being fed in the desert by manna from heaven, they found that when they tried to store away extra, it rotted. That is what happens with our resources. I am all for saving but not at the cost of being tight fisted and stingy. The Kingdom goes to those who learn how to give.

I have noticed that the people who get the most disturbed about Christians and especially ministers having substance are those who are not givers. The reason might be that they simply do not have a revelation yet of how generous Father God is yet. They seem afraid to release anything that belongs to them. Once they find out that there is joy in giving then they will no longer be afraid of loss. Then, perhaps, they will not begrudge others having material wealth because they will understand two important principles. First, they will not fear that someone else having wealth means that they will somehow be deprived and second, they will understand that those people acquired their substance through their own generosity as the scripture says. Once we understand how the kingdom of God works and have experienced God’s generosity in our own lives then there really is no place for fear of lack or jealousy.

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