Please read Part One and Part Two
Making Withdrawals from your Heavenly Account
We have already seen that you can make deposits into your heavenly account, that will result in rewards you will receive when you enter into the next life. But can you make “withdrawals” and receive benefit here in this life? If we give financially, can we expect a return financially? It is down here in this life that we need money, not in heaven.
If you look at the scriptures that talk about giving, almost every single one of them also mention some sort of return.
Luke 6:38 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.
Mark 10:28-31 28 Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.”
29 So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s,
30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time–houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions–and in the age to come, eternal life.
31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
2 Corinthians 9:6-11 6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
9 As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.”
10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,
11 while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.
Malachi 3:10-11 10 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.
11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts;
Proverbs 19:17 17 He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.
Philippians 4:15-19 15 Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only.
16 For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities.
17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.
18 Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.
19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
You have to make the withdrawals
I think I have presented enough scripture here to show that when you give, you can expect a return here in this life. What we have in operation is the principle of sowing and reaping. We’ve talked at length about the sowing part, giving. I now want to address the reaping part.
There is a prevalent tendency among Christians to neglect the reaping side of the equation. They are obedient to the scriptures to give, but they don’t focus much on the return other than having a general trust that God will take care of them. Now having that trust is a good thing, but the majority of Christians are settling for less than they could have. They understand that they have an active part to play in sowing and giving, but as for the reaping side, it’s “whatever God wants for me.” They take a very passive attitude towards reaping.
Understand that to experience the benefits of a harvest, the reaping side is very much as important as the sowing side. The Bible always talks about them both together, sowing and reaping. You have an active part to play in the reaping just as you have an active part to play in the sowing. The return you receive from your giving depends on you as much as it depends on God.
What would you think of a farmer that sowed his crops, but then sat around in the fall wondering why his bills were going unpaid. “But didn’t you sow a large crop this year?” “Uh-huh.” “Did it produce well?” “Oh, it’s a bumper crop.” “Did you harvest it?” “Harvest? What do you mean?” “Didn’t you go into the fields and reap the crops, gather them into your barns and then sell them on the market?” “No, I’m just trusting God to meet my needs.” You wouldn’t think much of a farmer that neglected such an essential part of the farming process.
Suppose someone has a good job, and has been making deposits into an account from every paycheck for years. They’ve got a large balance in it. But then they complain, “I don’t understand! I’ve been working all this time and making deposits, but I don’t have any money! I need a new car! My house is falling apart! My clothes are worn out!”
“Doesn’t that account you’ve been making deposits into have money in it?” “Oh, yeah, lots.” “Well, why don’t you take some money out of that account?” “Oh, I believe in making deposits, but I don’t believe in making withdrawals. The bank knows I need money; I believe they’ll just give it to me.”
The Bible uses the natural terminology of an account to explain things. Why should you think that the heavenly account works differently than a natural account? To receive any benefit from the account, the one who made the deposits is also going to need to make withdrawals. It’s not up to the bank.
In your heavenly account, you can make deposits all your life through good works, giving being one of them. These will result in rewards in heaven (after they have been tested). But if you want to get some of the benefit that is available to you now in this life, you are going to have to take an active participation in making withdrawals.
Another great thing about the heavenly account – making withdrawals from deposits we have made in this life does not decrease the reward we get for giving in the life to come.
How to make withdrawals
You have to ask
Just as in a bank account, to make a withdrawal from our heavenly account, we have to ask and make a request.
Matthew 6:7-8 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8 Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
God knows what you have need of before you ask – but you still have to ask.
Ask in Faith
1 John 5:14-15 14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
It is not only important what we ask, but how we ask it. 1 John 5 says that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us, and if He hears us, we have what we asked Him for. The implication is that if you do not ask according to His will, He doesn’t hear it. “Hear” in this sense means that He does not give it heed or act on it.
According to His will requires two things:
- The thing you asked for is God’s will for you
- The manner in which you ask is according to scriptural principles
The way to ensure the first requirement is true is to find scripture that covers what you are asking for. If you have a promise in the Bible that covers it, then you know it is God’s will for you.
To illustrate the second requirement, look at James 1:5-8.
James 1:5-8 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Here we have a promise that God will give wisdom to whoever asks Him for it. That establishes that it is God’s will to give us wisdom. But we must ask in faith, expecting that He will communicate that wisdom to us. That also means we must expect that we can hear from God. So the manner in which we ask is just as important as what we ask.
Faith is a subject that is huge by itself (see my multi-part series on Faith), and we won’t take the time here to cover all the aspects of it. In its basic form, faith is a trust and confidence in God and what He has said, and then believing and acting like what He said is true.
This should result in a boldness on our part when we bring our requests to God. We know we have a right to ask, and as 1 John 5:15 says, we know we have the petitions granted to us that we asked of Him.
Hebrews 4:16 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Notice the connection between this verse and 2 Corinthians 9:8 – we come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace to help, and God is able to make all grace abound towards us, that we are self sufficient and have an abundance for every good work.
We can come boldly and with confidence to the throne of grace because we know we belong there and that provision is already made for us.
Do not confuse boldness with a lack of humility. What you are thinking of is arrogance. We need child-like faith. A small child is totally dependent on his or her parents. Children with good parents come to know and believe the love that those parents have for them. And they develop an implicit trust in their parents. That is humility.
But, a child has no compunctions whatsoever in coming to his parents with his needs (or wants). He just walks right up and asks.
The problem is that religion has taught us to be beggars. We attach “if it be Thy will” to every prayer thinking we are being humble, and have little confidence that He will grant our requests. We just hope He will. We think that the purpose of prayer is to try to talk God into the notion of giving us what we need. This is especially true in the area of finances and healing.
Faith comes to God to obtain what was promised. That’s what it said in Hebrews 4 – we come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain.
The word obtain in the Greek is lambano, which is also translated to receive or accept, and is often translated to take. To receive means to take something that is offered. The Message translation of Hebrews 4:16 illustrates the attitude we are to have very well:
Hebrews 4:16 MSG 16 So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.
God gives or offers, but we must receive or take. We do this by faith, by believing.
Mark 11:24 NIV 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Imagine yourself in prayer asking God, “May I have this?” and that He answers back, “Yes. Here you go.” What would be the next step? You thank God for the answer. And you keep thanking Him until you have that answer in your hand, even if it takes a while.
“But I have bills that have deadlines.” God knows what your deadlines are. But deadlines don’t move Him. Remember the story of Jairus, whose daughter was at the point of death (see Mark 5)? Jairus asked Jesus to come with him and lay His hands on her, and she would live.
On the way, devastating news comes – “Don’t bother the Teacher any more, your little girl is dead.” It was too late. TOO LATE. You know what? God does not believe in “too late”. Jesus immediately turned to Jairus and said “Don’t fear, only believe!”
At that instant, the life of his little girl was in Jairus’ hands. He had a choice – he could side in with the bad report that came, that it was too late, or He could side in with Jesus and not give in to fear. Because at that moment fear was pounding at him like physical blows, sapping every last shred of hope from him. Jairus did the very smartest thing he could – he did not give in to that fear, even though he felt it, he kept his mouth shut, and they continued on the same path as if the bad report had not come.
Don’t let some device that has gears or electronics click a few times and make you decide God’s word and His promise are no longer true. Keep going with the same trust and confidence you had when you first started praying, even when the deadline has passed, and He will come through for you.
Some Steps to Faith
The subject of faith is a vast one, and we can only scratch the surface in this teaching. But here are some general steps and guidelines for faith that can be applied to finances or any other area. Understand that they are just guidelines, and you should be led by the Spirit and do what God tells you to do.
Determine that it is God’s will for you to have what you are asking for.
Faith begins where the will of God is known. Find scriptures and promises that cover your situation, then you will know it is God’s will.
Go over the scriptures, meditate on them, to build hope and faith in your heart.
The goal is to get to the point where you believe them in your heart. Too many people skip this step and go to praying immediately.
Make a specific request from God, in line with the scriptures.
Ask God for the thing you want – i.e., pray for the results that you want, don’t just tell God what your problem is. But, leave it up to God how He will meet the need. For example, you may need more income to cover your expenses and meet your needs. You could pray for a raise, but that is telling God how He will meet the need. He could get you a raise, but He might do it some other way. Don’t worry, He’ll come by it honestly. ;^)
Begin thanking God immediately for the results.
Mk 11:24 says that whatever you ask for in prayer, when you pray, believe you have received (the things you ask for) and you will get them. Some translations say, believe that it is granted you. Or very simply, believe that God said “Yes” to your request. The natural thing to do in that case is thank Him.
Change what you say about your situation.
Change your words to line up with what you are believing for and what the promise of God says. You may need to “call those things that do not exist as though they did”, like God does in Romans 4:17. For example, if you need a job, say that you believe you receive a good job that meets your needs. Confess that you have favor with God and man and that employers want to hire you. Say that your resume attracts attention, and that you are led by the Holy Spirit where to apply for.
Now don’t say, “I’m not unemployed.” That would not be the truth, that would be “calling those things that exist as though they did not.” You don’t deny your circum- stances, you recognize that God’s word can change your circumstances.
Having done all to stand, stand.
You might have to wait a while for the answer. And it might be longer than your flesh wants to wait. The Bible uses the analogy of seedtime and harvest – there is a growing period. It is through faith and patience that we inherit the promises (Hebrews 6:12; 10:36).
It may be that circumstances get worse before they get better. I.e., you’re praying for more income, and more bills crop up. Don’t let the circumstances move you. Stay in faith, keep thanking God for the answer.
You will get results. God is faithful.
Can you be trusted with riches?
For this discussion, we’ll define “riches” as having way more than you need – where money is no object. There is a danger in having a lot of money that I’ve already mentioned – the independence it brings, and the power to act. That could be either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the individual. Some people can get caught up in the distractions and pursuits that having money enables, and their spiritual life suffers. They lose some of their dependency on God.
One of the writers of Proverbs (not Solomon) makes this prayer:
Proverbs 30:8-9 8 Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,
9 That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God.
Many Christians settle in this middle ground – where they have their needs met, and maybe a little bit more. And they consider themselves blessed (which they are). But at that point, your focus is still on yourself: “my needs are all met, so I am satisfied with where I am at financially.” God also needs people that will take the focus off of themselves, and their main pursuit becomes how they can use their money to help others. They can be trusted not to be corrupted by the deceitfulness of riches, and so God can continue to increase their wealth so that they are empowered to do more.
Speaking of Solomon, the richest man the world has ever known, we can read about some of the struggles he had over what to do with his life in the book of Ecclesiastes. He speaks of the many pursuits he went after – studying and acquiring great learning, architecture and building, and many many other things. He comes to the conclusion that “all is vanity”, because he would die just like a poor man and all his wealth would go to another.
Although he was exalted for his wisdom, there was one area that Solomon failed miserably at – his family life. 2 Kings 11:3 states that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines, which pretty much meant that he took any woman he fancied and made her a part of his harem. That included non-Israelite, pagan women also. They were his downfall. You can read about it in 1 Kings 11:1-13, how they turned his heart away from serving the Lord fully, and he compromised with them and built temples for their gods and accompanied them in their idol worship. God spoke to him twice about it, but he did not change.
All the wisdom he had was not transmitted to his sons. The kingdom of Israel was split into two, with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin following Solomon’s son Rehoboam, and the rest after Jeroboam, the son of one of Solomon’s high servants. The greatest tragedy was when Jeroboam, for political reasons, led the people of the northern kingdom into idolatry (he did not want them dependent on Jerusalem and the Temple worship). 1 Kings 12:25-33.
Passing the Tests
There are two tests we must pass to see if we can be trusted with riches.
The Poverty (lack) Test
One test we must pass is how we deal with lack – when there is not enough coming in to meet your needs. The test is, will you continue to trust God to meet your needs? Will you continue to have faith in His promises of provision, even when it seems like it is not working? I.e., will you continue to walk by faith and not by sight, concerning finances?
Will you continue to give, to tithe, to put God first in what you do have coming in, even when you can really really use that money to pay bills?
The Wealth Test
The second test we must pass is the wealth test. What do you do when you get extra and have an abundance? Do you automatically go out and spend all that extra on yourself? Or do you also think about how you can increase your giving? Tithing should be the minimum we do. As our abundance increases, we should also be increasing the percentage that we are giving.
We should give to ministries, but one of the most exciting things we can do is give to individuals. To be the ones that do the pouring out in Luke 6:38. To pray and ask God to lead us to people that are believing Him for finances, so that we can be the channel that He uses to answer prayer. To exercise as much faith to be a giver as we did to be a receiver.
When God finds a person like this, He sees to it that they always have that abundance, and increases it. The increasing always comes in stages, and your giving has to precede the increase. I.e., you have to be faithful in the little before He will trust you with the much. And as you are faithful at each stage, He will continue to increase you.
How will God get it to you?
I’ve said that it is essential that we take an active part in the reaping as well as the sowing. Very often, God will make provision for our increase by providing opportunities or ideas or resources. But to get that increase, we have to do something. This is common in scripture.
We have the story in 2 Kings 4 where a widow of one of the prophets at Elisha’s School of the Prophets came to him because her husband had left a debt. Elisha asked, “What do you have?” She had a little bit of oil. So Elisha instructed her to go borrow as many containers as she could. The amount of blessing she received depended on her obedience to that command – when the containers ran out, the miraculous multiplication of oil stopped.
Even after the miracle, she still had to do something to have her need met – she had to sell the oil.
A couple of times Jesus provided for Simon Peter through his occupation of fishing. The miraculous draught of fish – but they still had to be sold to obtain a monetary benefit. When it was time to pay the Temple tax – go cast in a hook, bring up the first fish, and there will be money in its mouth.
But there are other times when God just brings in a blessing unexpectedly and that you didn’t earn. He can do both.
Bethel Church in Redding, CA has a declaration that they have everybody recite before they take up the offering. They have several that can be found here. This particular one (Offering Reading #1) originally came from Dick Mills. It illustrates a couple of things – putting faith in your sowing, expecting a harvest/return, and various ways that the harvest could come.
As we receive today’s offering,
We are believing the Lord for:
- Jobs and better jobs
- Raises and bonuses
- Benefits
- Sales and commissions
- Favorable settlements
- Estates and inheritances
- Interests and income
- Rebates and returns
- Checks in the mail
- Gifts and surprises
- Finding money
- Debts paid off
- Expenses decrease
- Blessing and increase
Thank You, Lord,
for meeting all of my financial needs
that I may have more than enough
to give into the Kingdom of God
and promote the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Hallelujah!!!
