We always hear people say “God is in control” when life’s circumstances get challenging or maybe when the future is foggy and it isn’t clear how situations will play out. But God being in control doesn’t mean we don’t have a role to play.
If we claim God is in control and then don’t work together with Him as His partners to make wise decisions, we are deceived. He doesn’t want to be in control by Himself. If He did, he would have made robots instead of humans.
But that’s not the nature of Agape Love. By His Spirit, He gives us the will and the power to take back control of the things of the world (Phil 2:12-13). He is truly and practically in control when WE are in control of our inner lives and, by extension, the world’s resources we come into contact with.
This is a part of the characteristics of a healthy church – to take back control of the things of the world (not people) and use them for building God’s Kingdom.
Decisions being made
One of those resources is money. Jesus made it pretty clear that’s it one thing that has to be taken control of when He said…
“It is impossible to serve God and wealth.” (Matthew 6:24)
In light of this, a healthy church will have members that are continually discerning and deciding together how they can use money to further God’s purposes. When members are making decisions based on acquiring or accumulating money, they are moving away from God. They’re contributing to building the world’s system instead of His Kingdom.
God is being served when the decisions being made in the heart are for the intent of Kingdom purposes and not to acquire and accumulate more wealth. It comes down to discerning motivation and analyzing what it’s being used for.
A transfer from one place to another
Now no, this doesn’t mean money is to be avoided or not possessed. It doesn’t mean new jobs or promotions aren’t accepted because it means more money. It’s not about the physical possession of it. It’s about the relationship had with it.
Just like everything else in life, it comes down to the heart of the matter. It’s about a transfer of control. It’s about a disconnection. It’s about using it or being used by it.
A group of humans infused with the Life of Christ and living by that Life together (what a church was designed to be) have made a transaction. They’ve moved their money from one place to another because their lives have moved from one place to another. There’s a permanent change in relationship. This is directly tied to the ability to do true Kingdom work.
Watchman Nee says in the book Love Not The World…
All money that is truly devoted to God must come under the principle of destruction; that is to say, it must cease to exist as far as the world is concerned, and it must cease to exist also as far as I am concerned.
If your money is to come out of the world, then your life will have to come out of the world. You cannot keep your self back and contribute anything significant to God.
It is no easy matter to transfer money from the realm of Satan to the realm of God; it involves travail.
Money means nothing except…
If a person’s life has come out of the world, it will no longer be attached to money. The same is the case with groups of people (churches).
This letting go frees it to be used for what it was intended to be used for. Money no longer means anything to disciples of Christ except in the light of how it can further His eternal purpose.
When you follow Christ, you take nothing with you. Your old life is over. It’s incinerated.
Nee goes on to say…
The New Testament key to all finance is that we hold nothing to ourselves. The principle of divine increase is giving, not storage. For us to be redeemed from the world and not as a consequence offer ourselves to God is an utterly impossible thing. “Ye are not your own; for ye were bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:19–20).
The key to discerning what’s going on with money is to observe how it moves. Are people working to store it or are they constantly taking opportunities to deploy it for God’s purposes?
How money is flowing is what reveals who’s in control.
This is the tenth post in the Enemy Blueprints series. Go here to read the rest of the posts in the series.
Michael Fleming
Mike Fleming is the creator of Finding Healthy Church. Over 20 years ago, he was sparked by the frustration of failing to experience what the biblical story claimed a healthy church was like. He caught a vision and passion for seeing local churches be what they were designed by God to be. He shares what he's learning along the way so the health of local churches around the world are improved. He’s currently working on an eye-opening book that will help better understand what it means for a church to be healthy.