Published by This program will help you undo financial bondage.
Jesus used the illustration above to identify the principle that we must die to ourselves (our will and pleasures we desire) in order to produce much fruit. In other words, we cannot enjoy the eternal and earthly benefit of a relationship with God unless we are willing to forsake our will and abide wholeheartedly in His will. Most people probably never think of a seed planted as being dead. Much more they think how could something that is dead produce life at all not to mention many more of its kind. However, you must understand this principle through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that resulted from His willingness to be crucified according to God’s will for the benefit of mankind.
He arose after three days was seen of about 500 witnesses and ushered in the church age. This has resulted in multiple billions of people accepting Him as Savior and Lord to be of service to others in the earth and to receive the promise of resurrection from the dead when he quickens our bodies at the rapture. Because He was a seed that was planted in the ground and dead to Himself, He lives to the will of God the Father to produce the kind of enormous fruit we see in the church throughout the past 2000 years.
While the greater application is one of dying to ourselves and living to God, so that we can win many more people into the kingdom of God, this principle also has practical application in the money management arena while we’re on earth. Unless we die to ourselves, we will not manage money in accordance with biblical instruction and God’s plan for our lives and resources He entrusts to us. Instead, we will usually operate from the world’s vantage point and value system of which many have been taken from biblical principles but twisted to a point where they hurt users in the long run if not the short run.
Here are a few cases in point. First, many business executives said “greed is good” and so it seemed for quite some time. They helped manipulate revenue and accounting data, sometimes fraudulently, to boost stock prices so that over two decades their salaries shot up over 2000% percent while the average worker’s salary increased approximately 60% over the same period. We now see that some of them over the past 5 years have been convicted of crimes that have netted them many years in prison and taken away their formerly vast fortunes. Second, many business people, speculators, and average individuals reached into the credit (loan) handbag in ways that pushed the housing market to steep appreciation for two decades. Using unwise underwriting standards financial institutions offered ARMs, interest only loans, no and low down payment mortgages. Many required no or low income and asset documentation requirements and many greatly increased debt to income ratios in order to steer people into such loans. Many speculators outright lied about income on their applications and other individuals simply didn’t refuse such loans. All of them refused to believe that God’s Word is true and alive and meaningful for today.
If God’s word on debt and surety had been applied by businesses, speculators, and individuals alike the housing, credit, and economic crisis would not be in America today. You see, it all started because a great number of Americans failed to die to themselves and their will. This means they didn’t choose to live to God’s will as stated in the scriptures. Instead, they focused on the material things they could gain from the financial boom that occurred for a while (promotions, bigger titles, big investment accounts, bigger investment accounts, house bigger, bigger houses, mansions, cars, very expensive cars and SUVs, jewelry, and more expensive and ostentatious bling, etc.) They thought they could get away with using credit in any way they wanted and could pull unwitting borrowers and lenders into enormous debt and interest payment situations without it really being “oppression” and “unwise.” What we’ve found is the walls to that house eventually cave in on us.
The greedy seed in us must die to itself and be buried in Christ, so that we may live to benefit many others and allow heavenly blessings to be poured upon us in the right way. If you will die to yourself, the lust of the flesh, the lust of eyes, and the pride of life you will find that you are able to affect far more people with the gospel of Jesus Christ than you would otherwise be able to do. You will also find the blessing of God piling up on you and no sorrow added to it. God will open doors for you to make these inroads in ways that you or I do not yet know. But that is what faith is all about – the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen! Dying to self is a continual process. So you must inventory yourself everyday by letting the Lord know that you’re ready to stop everything and take another direction when He wants you to – even being willing to eliminate or move out of that business, ministry, or endeavor that you know He formerly told you to engage. Remembering this, anything you hold onto after He directs you elsewhere is now operating on your will, not God’s will.
Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!
Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 4:21-32, Luke 7:1-10, John 12:20-26, 2 Corinthians 4:12-15
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