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Biblical Prosperity in Perspective 28
Withdrawing from
the Believer's Heavenly Bank Account
by Pastor John Hamel
In our last lesson we saw beyond a shadow of a
doubt that every Born Again Believer does indeed
possess what we are referring to as a Heavenly bank “account.”
Deposits are made into that account by the Believer through tithes, offerings, giving to the poor and other
forms of investing into the preaching of the Gospel.
In this lesson we will study how to tap
into that Heavenly bank account of yours and make withdrawals. First,
however, for reinforcement sake, I want to say a word about staying focused
financially.
Don’t Be Possessive with Your Possessions
“Charge them that are rich in this world,
that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the
living God, who giveth us richly all things to
enjoy;” (1Timothy 6:17)
Some people begin to prosper and they
become high-minded. The word Paul used for “high-minded” actually
means “arrogant, proud, contemptuous of others.”
Everyone needs to keep in mind that having
money does not make him or her better than others. Now I am going to
say something here, not to be lewd or repulsive, but to help someone.
Nobody is better than anyone else. No one. Period. Everyone
has certain bodily functions that need to be performed in private, for two
reasons. First, these certain bodily functions are humbling.
Second, no one, absolutely no one gives off the fragrance of a flower
garden while doing so. No one escapes this. This needs to be
said. Some high-minded people with money seem to think that we do not
know this humbling fact of life includes them as well. Now you know
we do.
Although we are all created in the image
and likeness of God, we are all still human beings. No one is more or
less human than anyone else. All human life has dignity. No one ever deserves to be
looked down upon for any reason. Never. Ever. Do it and
answer to God directly. Money makes no one special. Money does,
however, take on the nature of whoever possesses it. In the hands of
a benevolent person, money is
benevolent. In the hands of a malevolent
person, money is malevolent.
Until an individual realizes who and what
they are apart from Christ, they can never be fully trusted with who they
are in Christ. We are all “foolish, weak, base and despised” apart
from Christ. God uses us not because we are special, but rather because
we are not special. He uses us because we are despised, in order that
everyone may know that they are welcome to come to Him as well. This
also keeps us from becoming boastful in His presence. This is why the
Bible says, “He that glorieth, let him glory in the
Lord.” (1Corinthians 1:25-31) This is
why the Apostle Paul said to remind those who are rich in this world to not
be arrogant, proud or contemptuous of others. God may have promised
you a rose garden, but you don’t always smell like one.
Paul also said that we were to not trust in
uncertain riches, but rather we are to trust God, the
One Who blesses us richly for our enjoyment. In other words, Paul was
saying that we are to not be possessive with our possessions. God
gives wealth for us to enjoy the process of seeking and saving the lost,
destroying the works of Satan in the lives of others and that we might
become a testimony of His goodness so others will be attracted to Him, too.
When people forget why money comes, they begin operating in
fear concerning finances. Their wealth begins to enslave them.
They begin cutting God and the Covenant out of everything they do and
suddenly begin to decline. This is why Paul told the young Pastor
Timothy to give everybody in his congregation a “heads up” in these areas
while he was teaching them about Biblical prosperity in perspective.
Be Willing to Be a Receiver
In the Apostle
Paul’s letter to young Timothy, he continued to instruct the young Pastor
how to help his congregation to handle wealth.
“That they do good, that they be rich in
good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;” (1Timothy 6:18)
The word “communicate” here does not mean
to communicate ideas and thoughts through words. The word being used
here is a reference to riches flowing back and forth between
individuals. The Apostle Paul said that we must be willing to allow
this to happen. Before we can talk about making withdrawals from the
Believer’s Heavenly bank account, something needs to be settled.
If you have trouble receiving from other
people, you are going to have to ask the Holy Spirit to
help you change in that area. God will frequently use
people as one of His means of prospering you. Sometimes he will
create situations where other people are not involved. However, for
the most part, He is going to use people with a sensitive heart towards
giving. Get used to it. Take a stand against the spirit of
pride in Jesus’ Name.
Get over the “I don’t deserve it” attitude about receiving. You do
not deserve forgiveness either but that is exactly
what you get. If you really have a battle going on in this area, go
back and read lesson thirteen in this series, “This Isn’t Just About You, Honey!”
God is not a counterfeiter. He is going to use people to give wealth
to you. If you did not need it, God would not have promised it.
The lost, suffering, condemned people of the world need God to give you
more money to help them. Settle it within yourself now. Say out
loud, “I will cooperate with my Father in the matter of giving AND
receiving, in Jesus’ Name.”
Establish an Approximate Account Balance
Jesus commands and
commends good stewardship. (Matthew 25:23) He expects us to keep
track of our investing into the Kingdom so we will know what is in our
account. In the same way that we keep good track of our Earthly bank
accounts, so, too, we must keep good track of our Heavenly accounts.
It is absolutely not too late to figure
out, at least approximately, how much you have invested through tithes and
offerings over the years. If you have not been doing so, ask the Holy
Spirit to help you to roughly figure it out. This is not all that
difficult and God will be merciful to you. Once you get a rough
approximation of what you have invested into your account, begin to keep
better records.
For every dollar you invest into your
account, through tithes and offerings, God Himself invests at least one
hundred dollars. That’s right, one hundred dollars. Does the
Bible not say that God gives seed to the sower
and that He multiplies all seed sown? (2Corinthians 9:10) Jesus said that this is exactly
what the Father does when we invest into His Kingdom through tithes and
generous offerings. Let’s look at it in the Bible.
“Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we
have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said,
Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren,
or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my
sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this
time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and
lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.” (Mark
10:28-30)
Notice, Jesus said that the hundredfold
return on whatever you invest is “now in this time” not in Heaven. It is clear, for every dollar invested into
the Kingdom, God puts at least one hundred dollars into our Heavenly account.
When you think about it, that is actually a ten thousand percent interest
rate! No bank in the world is going to give you that kind of an
interest rate, no matter how much you keep there. This is why it is
so important to keep track of your tithes and offerings to the best of your
ability. It is your money that is being multiplied in that
account. You are a joint-heir with Jesus. You need to know how
much is available to you for when you need it.
Someone said, “I could never do that.
I just can’t imagine telling God how much He owes me.” Well, I have
said it before. I will say it again. “This isn’t just about
you, Honey!” It is urgent that you get the focus off of yourself and
get the focus on the lost people of the world who are bound up by the works
of Satan. God wants to get them free. He wants to use you to
help do it. Are you going to allow Him to do so, or not?
Are you going to put aside your agenda and
your little ideas about wealth, increase and abundance and let God’s bigger
ideas free up the bound people of the world, or not? The same God
that saved you, healed you, delivered you and filled you with the Holy
Spirit wants to do it again three billion times over in the lives of the
lost people of the world. The only thing standing between them and
God is selfishness, pride and ignorance. I cannot speak for you, but
I can speak for myself. I am not going to let people go to Hell over selfishness, pride or ignorance on my
part. I am running with God, I am running with supernatural increase
and I am running after all those folks who are headed for Hell on a greased
pole.
Decide What Your Withdrawal Amount Will Be
Once you have
approximately calculated your tithes and offerings over the past years, you
multiply them by one hundred (100). That’s what you have in your
Heavenly bank account now. For example, if you have roughed out that
in the past ten years you have paid $3,000 per year in tithes and offerings
that equals $30,000. Multiply that times one hundred. That
means that you have approximately $3,000,000 in your Heavenly bank
account. You are now ready to ask the Holy Spirit how He wants you to
use that money for seeking and saving the lost, destroying the works of
Satan and living a life that testifies of God’s goodness to you. Once
He starts telling you what to do, it is time for you to start making
withdrawals to do it. It is time for you to start asking Him for
specific amounts to perform His revealed will.
“Oh, God knows what I need. I’m not
going to tell Him to give me anything. I’m just going to let Him
decide.” Here again, we are dealing with false humility, pride and
just flat out foolishness. Is this what you say to the Teller at the Bank. Do you hand the Bank Teller a blank
withdrawal slip and say, “My kids are hungry and my rent is due. I
need a new car. Just give me whatever you think is best.” No,
if the money is in the account, you fill out the withdrawal slip and you
fully expect the Teller to hand the money over to you.
Of course, God knows what you need, but
even still, Jesus said you must ask for what you need. This is about
what Jesus says, not what we say.
“… for your Father
knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye
ask him.” (Matthew 6:8)
Jesus said the Father knows what we need
before we ask, implying that we must ask.
But He not only implied we must ask, He also commanded us to ask for what
we need.
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and
ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” (Matthew 7:7)
To make it clearer still, Jesus even
created a little acronym here. The first letter of the word “ask” is
“A”. The first letter of the word “seek” is “S”. The first
letter of the word “knock” is “K”. What does that spell? ASK.
What does Jesus have to do to get the
attention of some people, put on His Royal purple sweatshirt with the gold
H on the front, break out the Royal purple megaphone and turn it into a
prosperity cheer? “Gimme an A. Gimme an S. Gimme a
K. What does that spell? ASK. Say it again.
ASK.”
It is nothing short of good old-fashioned
disobedience to say, “God knows what I need. I’ll let Him
decide.” God said, “No, you are to ask Me for what you need, even
though I already know what you need.” God does not owe us an
explanation. We owe God obedience to
His Word.
Do you need to pay off the house? Do
you need to pay off the car? Do you want to help somebody preach the
Gospel in another Nation? Figure up how much it is going to take to
do that, allowing for a tithe and an offering to be paid on it. Then
claim it, in Jesus’ Name. Say, “Father, in Jesus’ Name, I claim this
amount of money for this purpose. I thank You for it now, in Jesus’
Name.”
Once you do that, avoid those books and
websites that criticize people who take these Godly steps. They are
intended to keep you from receiving. They are intended to keep the
lost from being saved. They are intended to keep the bound from being
freed. They are intended to keep your life from being a testimony
that will bring people into the family of God. Sure, well-meaning
fellow Believers produce these websites.
However, they are well-meaning fellow Believers who are not grounded
in the Word and are inadvertently listening to Satan. They simply do
not know what you know.
Write down in your spiritual journal the
amount of your requested withdrawal. If you do not have a spiritual
journal, this is the time to start one.
Magnify God for Honoring His Word on Your Behalf
Every morning when you wake up, say, “Lord,
according to Mark 11:23 and John 16:23, I believe I receive ($ amount) for the
establishment of Your Covenant in the Earth and the payment of my bills, in
Jesus’ Name.”
“Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say
continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the
prosperity of his servant.” (Psalm 35:27)
Praise God continually for sending the
withdrawal amount to you. When Satan begins to attack you with
thoughts of doubt, open your mouth and start praising God for the
withdrawal amount. Make him pay for challenging you. Praise, praise
and praise some more. Do not set dates for when the money will
arrive. The date will come and go and you will end up angry with God
for something that was not His fault. Let God set the date. You
set the atmosphere with praise and more praise and more praise on top of
that. When you are all through praising, sit down and take a
rest. While you are resting,
praise Him.
Commission the Harvesting Angels
“Bless the Lord, ye his angels,
that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto
the voice of his word.” (Psalm 103:20)
Speak to your harvesting
Angels. Do not tell them to bring the money to you.
They cannot do that. Tell them to cause it to come to you. Tell
them, “Angels of God, you go now and influence people to obey the Lord
concerning me. Cause situations to turn to my advantage. By the
authority of Jesus’ Name and by the power of His Blood, you cause that
money to come to me. Satan, you
loose everyone God is talking to on my behalf, in Jesus’ Name. I have
this credit in my Heavenly account and you can’t stop my withdrawal from
coming to me, in Jesus’ Name.”
Now refuse to go back to your old ways of
praying and asking God for something, only to start complaining because you
do not see it in three days. Stay in faith. Dare to believe in the face of the most adverse,
contradictory circumstances. Keep shouting praises even
when you are under pressure. This will cause the money to come forth.
“Let the people praise thee, O God; let all
the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and
God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all
the ends of the earth shall fear him.” (Psalm 67:5-7)
It takes faith to praise God when it looks
like nothing is happening. It is pleasing to God when we continue to
praise Him during these periods of silence and seeming inactivity. (Hebrews
11:6) He sees that you are using your faith and that is quite pleasing to Him,
indeed. That is when the Earth yields her increase. That is
when God begins to bless you so mightily that it even causes the Earth’s
population to tremble when they see His generosity upon your life.
Your prosperity will result in the ends of the Earth fearing Him because
you will be able to finance going there to tell them about Him.
Jesus said in Mark 11:23, in essence, “My
people can have what they say. The only problem is, so many of them
just keep on saying what they have.” Do not talk about what you do not have.
Figure up what you do have in your Heavenly account. Then ask God for what you need and start saying, “It’s mine
now, in Jesus’ Name.” God will move upon people and create situations
that will cause that money to come into your hand. He promised in His
Word. His Word is His bond. You keep your end of the Covenant,
making deposits and withdrawals, and God will keep His end of the
Covenant. He will use you to withdraw people from the merciless clutches of Hell and deposit
them inside the Pearly Gates of Heaven! It takes big bucks to preach
a big Gospel to a big sin-filled world. That’s just the way it is.
Do not be afraid that wealth will cause you
to turn your back on God. You love Him too much to do something like
that.
Be blessed … John and Barbara Hamel
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