Riches in Righteousness 2
(week 28/02)
Olubi Johnson
In our last article we saw that God wants us to increase in riches in righteousness. We also saw that it takes the wisdom of God to do this. In our article this week we shall see that to increase in riches in righteousness we need to have the right motivation for wealth and be creative.
Motivation for wealth
To avoid the trap of covetousness in our pursuit of wealth or increase of riches we must understand and then have the right motivation for wealth. God wants us wealthy and to increase in riches because:
- He loves us because we are His children and desires us to have the best and enjoy all things richly.
Deuteronomy 7:13-14 (KJV) And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee. Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren
1 Timothy 6:17 (KJV) 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;
2. The richer we are, the more time we should be able to have to fellowship with, serve God and so bless God.
Deuteronomy 8:6-10 (KJV) Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
3. The richer we are the more money we can put into preaching the gospel and establishing the Kingdom of God on the earth.
Deuteronomy 8:18 (KJV) But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
Creation of Wealth
Hitherto the body of Christ for the most part has preached and practiced a prosperity that has come only by transfer of wealth rather than creation of wealth.
Typically most preachers expect their prosperity to come by the tithes and offerings they get. The saints prosper by the salaries they earn and gifts that others give them.
While all of this is alright, we need to realise that God wants His people to be creative. He wants them to create wealth by conceiving new ideas, new products and new services.
This creation of wealth will ultimately lead to a transfer of wealth from the wicked to the righteous on the earth.
Remember that God, by giving Jacob a creative dream, transferred the wealth of Laban to Jacob.
Genesis 31:6-12 (KJV) And ye know that with all my power I have served your father. And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me. If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked. Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled. And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.
In the same way today God’s people who will seek riches in righteousness will be given creative ideas, visions or dreams that will create new wealth and cause a transfer of wealth from the world to the body of Christ.
The body of Christ will be the most powerful financial institution on the earth.
Local churches will be rich enough to have their own banks and lend to whole nations in fulfillment of:
Deuteronomy 28:12 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.
God, through the creative ideas He will give His people, will cause a shaking of the economies of the world and fill His house (i.e. the church) with the glory of prosperity. This will cause the desire of all nations to turn to him causing the gospel of the Kingdom to be preached unto all nations or tribes and tongues and the end-time harvest souls to come into the church.
Haggai 2:7-9 (KJV) And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.
Matthew 24:14 (KJV) And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Isaiah 60:4-6 (NIV) “Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD.
Like Joseph, the end-time church will have the ‘corn’ of goods and services in a time of worldwide financial famine because of a lack of integrity and discipline in many corporate bodies.
Genesis 41:56-57 (KJV) And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.
We are already seeing the beginning of this in the financial collapse of Enron, Arthur Anderson and other hitherto powerful financial, industrial and multinational corporate bodies. It is vital to understand that with iniquity abounding (Mt.24: 12), in this 3rd. day, it is only by the grace of God through Jesus Christ that men can maintain a high enough level of integrity and discipline for success in the business and industrial world. This is why it is the church that is operating in the wisdom and righteousness of God that will excel, in this day, in the creation of wealth.
In our article next week we will see practical steps we can take to increase in riches in righteousness.
