GODS TRANSCENDENT ECONOMY

by, Jim Wies

The Kingdom of God is an unshakable Kingdom, and it is a transcendent Kingdom. That is, it transcends our circumstances and our situations. It is all pervasive and eternal. And the economic structure of His Kingdom operates at a level that transcends the natural economic structures of our world system. It is therefore essential for us to place our trust in God rather than this world’s economic systems during times of economic uncertainty.

For thus says the LORD of hosts, "Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. "I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD of hosts. "The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,' declares the LORD of hosts.” Hag 2:6-8

If we view life from the perspective of the limited natural resources of this world’s economy we see that there is only so much oil in the ground, there is only so much acreage to be farmed, there is only so much forest to be harvested and only so many dollars to be circulated. So often, our anxiety about the natural economy is the same as those who do not know about God’s transcendent economy. But the Scriptures have a lot to say about this unshakable Kingdom and its transcendent economy. When we take God’s perspective, we realize God’s resources are unlimited.

God cares about money. Not that He needs our money, since after all, Scripture tells us He created the wealth of the universe.  But an honest examination of the Scripture reveals that He is very interested in our attitudes about, and stewardship of money, and He cares about our provision. We find that the Scriptures have a lot to say about money.

In fact:

Three of the Ten Commandments deal with money;

There are 700 direct references to money in the New Testament;

16 out of the 38 parables in the New Testament Scriptures deal with the right and wrong use of material possessions;

1 out of every 6 verses in the Gospels deals with stewardship;

In the first epistle of Paul to the Corinthian church, there are 13 verses on love, and 39 verses on giving;

The longest chapter in the Bible next to Psalm 119 is Numbers chapter 7, all about giving.

God even ties His assessment of our faithfulness and potential for promotion to our proper stewardship of money. (Luke 16:10-13) So it becomes important to us to know what the Scriptures say, and how God views the issue of money.

In this examination of God’s transcendent economy, we will be looking at the Scriptures to establish the following truths.

God is very attentive to our financial situation.

God has the ability to prosper you.

God has the desire to bless you.

God has a purpose for your prosperity.

Satan wants to plunder and rob you

There are clear Scriptural principles and laws that bring blessing or curse.

God has provided ways out of financial distress.

The Lord knows what you need:

In Jesus’ famous sermon on the mount, He said this:

“You cannot serve God and mammon. "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”  Matt 6:24-33

God has the ability to prosper you

It was He who prospered Joseph. “The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand….The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.” Gen 39:2-3,23

It was He who prospered Israel. "Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God…who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, … who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end-- then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.' "And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” Deut 8:11,15,16,-18

It was He who prospered Isaac in the midst of a famine (Genesis 26) and provided for Elijah in the midst of a drought (1 Kings 17)

He promises to prosper those who walk uprightly. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” Ps 1:1-3

He promises to prosper those who believe His prophets. "O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?…Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel… in the midst of the assembly…. “You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you."… and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper." 2 Chron 20:6,14,17,20

He promises to prosper those who honor Him with their money. “Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.” Prov 3:9-1

“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.  Mal 3:1

“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 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. As it is written:  "He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever."  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, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God”. 2 Cor 9:6-11

He is well able to bless you . Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever! If something is broken, HE can fix it. If it’s dead, HE can raise it. If it is sick, HE can heal it. If it is lost, HE can find it. If he doesn’t have it, HE can get it. If it doesn’t exist, HE can MAKE it! He is  STILL the Creator! He took the widow’s oil and meal, and made it last until the famine was over. (1 Kings 17) He took six barrels of water and turned them to wine. (John 2) He took a boy’s five loaves and fishes and fed 5,000 people and had enough left over to fill 12 baskets with fragments. (Matt 14) He can take one kernel of wheat and in two years give you back 32,500 kernels of grain… if you put it in the ground and sow it.

Of course the whole concept of wealth and prosperity in the life of a believer is very controversial. That is why we must look to the Scriptures for truth regarding these issues. We have looked at the fact that God has the ability to cause us to prosper. We will now explore an additional Biblical truth that it is His DESIRE to bless us.

Here are just four of the many Scriptures that make that clear.

“Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, "Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant."  Ps 35:27

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Rom 8:32

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:19

So if He has the desire to bless us, the next question some would ask is why do we not experience it in our lives?  The answer is simple. We need to see that God WANTS to bless us, but it is our responsibility to place ourselves in a ‘bless-able’ position. This includes motives, attitudes and actions. It includes the understanding that God has a purpose in our prosperity.

Seven Biblically based Principles of Provision in God’s Kingdom

Principle ONE: God wants us free from the love of money:

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Tim 6:6-10

Principle TWO: God wants us free from worry and fear:

“Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matt 6:31-33

Principle THREE: God wants to provide for us to show His genuine care for us, as our Creator:

“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?… Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Matt 6:26-30

Principle FOUR: God wants to bless us so we can be a blessing to others:

“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. As it is written: "He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever."  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, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. 2 Cor 9:8-11

Principle FIVE: God wants to provide for us through the principle of productivity i.e. the principle of labor and reward:

There is a consistent rule found in Proverbs 14: 23 that states: “In all labor there is profit”.  God will reward us for our labor. Period. “Work” has always been God’s idea and leads to increase. “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God.” Deut 5:13-14 “Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, but he who gathers by labor will increase.” Proverbs 13:11

We can even view the ability to work and gain profit from it as a gift from God.  “As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor--this is the gift of God.” Eccl 5:19

It is important to understand that as Christians, everything we do, we do “unto the Lord”, as working for Him. “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” Col 3:23-25

Having been in and out of “occupational ministry” various times in my life, I have come to realize God wants us to view ourselves as the Lord’s servant, whether washing dishes or preaching to multitudes; whether selling cars or healing the sick. It is all service to Him. And in ALL labor there is reward. “Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers;” 1 Cor 3:8-9

If we want to see God’s provision, one very clear part of that is the principle of labor and reward. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lordknowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Cor 15:58

Principle SIX: God wants to provide for us through the law of multiplication through sowing and reaping:

In Patricia King’s book “Dream BIG” she states that the kingdom principle of “Sowing and Reaping” is the granddaddy of them all. The law of sowing and reaping is a universal principle and is essential to understanding how God’s transcendent economy works. As early as the 8th Chapter of Genesis we see God explaining this law in His covenant with Noah where He states: "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Gen 8:22

So just as surely as you can count on the sunrise coming up every day, so can you count on the law of seedtime and harvest, or sowing and reaping.

I like to put it this way, when you sow “good seed” into “good soil”, in the “proper season”, you can EXPECT a harvest of what you sowed. It is a promise. One of the most dramatic examples of this came from my own life a number of years ago. A friend was on the mission field as a church planter and had very little money to work with. When he came to Arizona to visit, we found out that his family didn’t own a microwave oven and it was very needed. So we packed up ours and made the sacrifice (gasp) of giving into their ministry a microwave oven. Very shortly afterward, we received a mystery package at our door from a random ‘sweepstakes’ we had entered without purchasing anything. We actually won a secondary prize in the sweepstakes, and the prize we won was a brand new microwave oven that was delivered to our door. And it was much nicer than the one we gave away. AMAZING!

I have also found that as a prophetic minister who has traveled quite extensively, ‘sowing’ prophetic words into many people and ministries, that God has been abundantly faithful to arrange that I receive timely words from Him in the form of prophetic ministry when I need it. In fact, some have jokingly called me a “prophecy magnet” when I attend meetings of that sort. I am, more often than not, called out of a crowd in meetings and given prophetic words. The fact is, whatever you sow, you will reap. Not only that, but the seed will be multiplied.

Not long ago, research was done as to the multiplication of a seed that is sown. The researchers took one kernel of wheat and planted it. They then planted what they reaped, and repeated the process over a span of two years and in that time they multiplied their seed into 32,500 kernels of grain.

In Paul’s extensive instruction on the subject in Chapters 8 and 9 of 1 Corinthians, he once again reminds them of this principle.

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:  "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." 

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.  2 Cor 9:6-11

It’s a promise!

Principle SEVEN: God wants to provide for us through the law of faithfulness and increase:

 “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?  And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?” Luke 16:10-14

From this Scripture we see three distinct levels of faithfulness and increase:

Faithfulness in little things… entrustment of much

Faithfulness with money… entrustment of true riches, the things money can’t buy.

Faithfulness in that which is another’s… entrustment of that which is your own.

One area of faithfulness that directly affects our topic of God’s Transcendent Economy is faithfulness with money. We need to faithfully steward that which we have, and also properly steward that which we give. That implies deliberate and purposeful giving.

Three kinds of giving:

Proportionate giving – tithe

Sacrificial giving – free will offerings

Desperate giving – seed sown toward a harvest

Proportionate Giving – the tithe (a tenth)

For those who want to write off the idea of a tithe, saying it was part of the obsolete Old Testament Mosaic law, an honest search will discover that Abraham implemented a tithe as part of his faith, back in Genesis 14, four hundred years before the law. (selah) Although we find debate, maneuvering and all kinds of justifications when it comes to tithing or not tithing on the part of many Christians, it is clear God watches our actions and attitudes about giving. We see Jesus in the temple watching what people gave, (and He still does today)

“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.  Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything-all she had to live on."  Mark 12:41-44

Sacrificial Giving – free will offerings to support ministries and the poor

“…the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.” 2 Cor 8:2-5

“One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good deed. Prov 19:17

Desperate giving –  seed sown toward a harvest

 The “Isaac” Principle

The people of God will sow in faith during times of leanness and reap 100-fold upon their investment.

“There was a famine in the land … Then the LORD appeared to him {Isaac} and said: …" Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; … Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous;” Gen 26:1-3, 12-13

The “Prophet’s Reward” principle

The “Prophet’s Reward” pertains to sowing and reaping, but specifically the KIND of soil you sow into. A farmer knows that the best use of seed is to sow good seed into good soil and at the right season. Sowing good seed into “prophetic” soil at the right time, you can expect something the Scriptures call the “prophet’s reward.” (Matthew 10:41)

Normally, whatever you sow, you reap. Thus if you sow money, you reap money. If you sow kindness, you reap kindness, etc. But when you sow into a prophetic ministry, you kick something into motion that goes beyond the normal sowing and reaping. In other words the “prophet's reward” is beyond money and is the things money can’t buy (see 2 Kings 4). The Shunemite woman showed hospitality to Elisha in 2 Kings 4. Later her son died and Elisha raised him back from the dead. Having her son raised from the dead was definitely something that money couldn’t buy.