John K. Jenkins, Sr.
What is your attitude towards financial resources?
For many people, money reveals the prevalent problems surrounding their circumstances. However, God’s word says differently.
“A feast is made for laughter,
And wine makes merry;
But money answers everything.”
Ecclesiastes 10:19, NKJV
The truth of the matter is that money plays a significant part in our lives. In fact, many of the challenges and issues we face can be resolved with money.
Saints, God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). Some of you are in financial strife because you are not operating from a place that aligns with God’s purpose for money!
Think about it this way: chairs are designed for a particular purpose. They have been created so that you have a place to sit down, and when used correctly, they can be comfortable and functional. However, if you decide to sit on the armrest, you are misusing the chair’s purpose because armrests are for arms, not your backside. When you use something other than the way it has been intended, you are abusing it!
Some of you are abusing the money God has blessed you with. So, how can we step into the purposes and design for the finances God has provided? Together, let’s look at four kingdom purposes for money.
God’s Purposes For Money
God gives us money for a particular reason, and how we steward it significantly impacts heaven and those around us.
1. Meet Basic Needs (Matt. 6:26-30)
The first and self-explanatory reason God gives you money is so that He can meet your basic needs.
“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”
Matthew 6:26-30, NKJV
God gives us the exact resources to meet our basic needs. This is the money we need for housing costs, food, and bills. So when you take the money God gave you to care for your family and squander it on wants and desires, you are abusing the resources He set aside for a specific purpose.
God sees and is watching how you manage what He has given you. Maybe you have no 401K, college fund for your children, or money saved for an emergency; why are you spending resources on new clothing and shoes when you have a closet full of perfectly good attire?
When He looks at your financial circumstances, does it reveal someone He can entrust with more?
2. Provide Direction (1 Kings 17:1-9)
I believe the First Baptist Church of Glenarden is highly favored in supernatural and unique ways. God has proven He can trust us with more because we have proven faithful with what He has already given us as we lean into His direction each step of the way.
FBCG has a building called the Empowerment Center. When we first purchased it with cash, we considered adding another worship facility there. So, I met with my staff and asked them to consider the cost of renovating it for that purpose. Well, when they informed me it would cost 16 million dollars, I very quickly changed my mind! We re-evaluated our options, and for 1 million dollars (paid in cash), we now have a healthcare center, a counseling space, and a warehouse to serve those in need with clothing and food. FBCG proved that we could be entrusted with our worship building, and God continues to bless and multiply what He is doing in our congregation!
1 Kings 17:1-9, NKJV shares what it looks like when God provides direction through His provision:
“And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.’ Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, ‘Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.’ So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, ‘Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.’”
Some of you continue to stay at a place that God has dried up and He wants you to move on! Perhaps you have lost your job—God is directing you to another field of work! Maybe your landlord won’t renew your lease—God has a better home waiting for you! Perhaps a relationship with a friend has grown silent—God has a brother and sister for you to encourage you in this next season!
When the brook dries up, it’s time to do something else! Be open to recognizing that when the resources are not what they were, God may be trying to move you to another place.
God Changes Circumstances
In 1 Kings 17, we see that God told Elijah to go to a particular place with specific promises. What is spectacular about this passage is that ravens are scavengers, yet God flipped the nature of these birds, and instead of them feeding themselves, they brought Elijah sustenance.
Saints, God will adjust the character of those who usually take from you and make them resources for you, and those who have hurt you will be a source of blessing to you!
3. To Give Help to Others (Romans 12:10-13)
“Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another, not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.”
Romans 12:10-13, NKJV
Throughout God’s word, He commands us to love others. One way we can do that is by giving to help one another. However, many will never prosper because they are stingy with what God has provided to them.
Think about where you are in your life. You got to this place because someone helped you or your family. (Even if it wasn’t given directly to you, you still benefitted from it!)
I believe that when you sow generosity and give to others, God will give it back to you—pressed down and overflowing. He is constantly looking out for his children and causes them to prosper when they have been selfless and benevolent to others.
One thing that can be helpful to remember is that no matter how hard-pressed you are financially, there is always someone worse off than you. Find someone who may need assistance: a struggling single mother, an elderly person who isn’t sure how they will be taken care of, or a neighbor who is less fortunate. Then, take a portion of the resources God has given to you and be a blessing to them.
Remember, God wants His children to live a lifestyle of giving. Not only is it how God moves through His people, but it also breaks the bondage of selfishness in the giver.
4. To Show His Power (Malachi 3:10)
Have you ever had a supernatural provision that was specifically the amount you needed? If so, you experienced the power of God!
“’Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,’
Says the LORD of hosts,
‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.’”
Malachi 3:10, NKJV
God is so sure and faithful in His ability that He asks us to test Him in all things. When He performs a miracle and provides on your behalf, He makes His testimony known.
Saints, we serve a God who will pour out upon us every good thing we need to accomplish His will and beyond. And when we combine our trust in Him and obedient action through our money, He will bless us so that we can be a blessing to others.
For more on God’s purpose for money, check out Pastor John K. Jenkins, Sr.’s sermon, God’s 4 Purposes For Money.