Letting Go and Letting God

Preservation or Liberation?

“Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” Luke 17:33

Losing one’s life and generously giving it over to the One who made and saved us, is high on the list of divine priorities.

“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth (hoards, preserves) more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. ²⁵ The liberal (generous) soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. ²⁶ He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.” Proverbs 11:24-26

Perhaps the value of our abiding allegiance to the LORD is never more defined than in our giving, or lack thereof.

Taking control of our finances is very important in the divine economy. It is said that there are 2,500 Bible verses pertaining to stewardship and only 500 concerning faith, which we know is essential (Hebrews 11:6). Could it be that the fact that there are 5 times more Bible verses pertaining to stewardship than there are about faith and that God is speaking to us about the testing of the true value of our faith?

When we truly let go and let God work in and through our hearts, we will then open our hands in generosity toward others.

If you do not understand the connection and importance between faith and literal, practical, obedience, which means doing, then consider this:

“They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” Titus 1:16

“He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:4

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. … I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:21-23

The bottom line is that true saving faith in Christ always – with no exception – brings forth good fruit and good works. That one who does not have good works and yet, believes he is saved, is deceived:

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” James 1:22

Taking time to consider what we are doing with those resources the LORD has and is entrusting us with, is essential for all true followers of Christ. We cannot claim to be following Him who came and gave all and yet, purposely ignore the myriad of passages He gave us in His Word.

Taking Control

TAKE CONTROL of your money OR your money will take control of you! WHERE O WHERE did Jesus say to invest? Matthew 6:19-24 – IF WE don’t deliberately preplan, regiment, and discipline our giving, it won’t happen and we know that! The Bible says that God gave us work so “that we may HAVE TO GIVE.” (Ephesians 4:28) WHAT you do with your money is a direct reflection of the true priorities of your heart.

The honest-hearted disciple will deal with this (Proverbs 28:13). Most will turn away, not wanting to deal with this heart issue that God speaks so often of in His Word and seeks to get us to deal with before it’s too late.  Most of those reading these words have shown their disdain for the LORD who bled to save them by their refusal to help HIS work in the earth to be furthered, for His sheep to be cared for, and for lost souls to be won. God is calling you to repent before it’s too late.

Do we love darkness rather than light? It’s actually quite amazing how people shun this issue that the LORD so many times puts His holy finger on. They continue to sweep this under the rug, vainly imagining that it will somehow be okay in the end as they go on ignoring the myriad of warnings passages about stewardship and its importance. – “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” (John 3:19-21)

Can you think of even one Scriptural reason that God’s work and workers should be impoverished? What shall we say on that Great Day after we reveled in earthly comforts, pleasures and entertainments, and other wastes, while His work went undone due to our squandering of what HE placed in our hands? What shall we say to the Master when He calls us to account for the talents He put in our hands to be utilized for His eternal glory? See what the Judge of your eternal soul said will happen in Matthew 25. This is not a game. Your soul is at stake (Matthew 25:40-46). Isn’t it time we put our money where our mouth is? The money you receive this week for working should first and foremost be used to glorify the One who gave you that work and provided the ability, breath of life, and all else for you to accomplish such (Proverbs 3:9-10). “ALL things come of THEE and of thine own have we given thee.” (1 Chronicles 29:14) The LORD alone is worthy of the very “FIRSTfruits” of all we receive according to Proverbs 3:9-10). Participating in the plan of God as shown clearly in Ephesians 4 is essential to good stewardship (Ephesians 4:11-15). Your participation, in part, is to help fund a divine plan (1 Corinthians 9:1-14; 1 Timothy 5:17-18). Ignoring it will bring a recompense from the LORD, who sees the deepest thought of our heart and promises to repay us accordingly (Proverbs 24:10-12).

Beloved, God cannot bring fruit from a seed that is not sown! Release that “seed” as He calls it in 2 Corinthians 9:6-11. Your life here and hereafter will be much benefited for doing so.

Haggai 2:19 says “Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.”

Read Haggai 1 and 2 and discover what the LORD’s message to His people is in this late hour. This will test where our faith truly is and help us to be in obedience to our LORD, bringing forth fruit unto everlasting life (2 Corinthians 9:6-11; John 4:36).

The way you are spending or hoarding your money is a clear indication as to where your faith truly is:

“Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” Luke 17:33

WHO could argue about this opportunity but that one who seeking to preserve his life in this present, sinful, fleeting world?

“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. ⁷ Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: ⁹ (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. ¹⁰ Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) ¹¹ Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-11

Does the LORD see and consider what I hold back (save, stash away)?

As a result of truly trusting Him, we are free to be generous givers because we know that He who gave us what we presently possess, will bring more (Prov. 11:25-26; 2 Cor. 9:10). God’s Word tells us that those who are “rich toward God” liberally give to see His glorious Gospel work furthered in the lives of others - “the righteous giveth and spareth not.”  (Prov. 21:26)

“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.” Proverbs 11:24-26

Those who are “rich toward God” are rich in exemplifying Christ by giving of themselves. According to the above passage, those who generously scatter (plant seed liberally) increase while those who withhold come to spiritual poverty. A “curse” comes upon those who withhold and “blessing” upon those who release.

God not only watches WHAT we give, He also how much we withhold, that is, how much we keep in reserve for ourselves, to preserve our lives in this fleeting life instead of losing them. Read John 12:24-26, Luke 17:33, and Mark 12:41-44 (below).

The Widow Woman was “Rich Toward God”

“And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” Mark 12:41-44

When Jesus chose to go into the fellowship meeting of people who supposedly gathered to glorify God, He found some interesting things. Where did He choose to sit? – “Jesus sat over against the treasury (the place where people gave monetary offerings).” What was He looking for? – “Jesus…beheld how the people cast money into the treasury.” What did Christ discover? – “many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.” What was the conclusion of what He observed? – “Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”

It was no strain for the temporally rich to cast in what was a sizeable financial gift. What money remained in their possession was apparently what they relied upon – in lieu of trusting God. In contrast, it was a real faith sacrifice for the earthly poor widow woman to cast in “all her living.” In this the LORD told us He was pleased. This kind of faith manifests in our giving and that is what impresses God. King David said “neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing.” (2 Sam. 24:24)

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Comment:

“This was something I had to learn the hard way! Everything we receive is from God. Nothing we get is on our own. God wants us to know where are monies are going. There are many and I mean many (again had to learn the hard way) that have a secret agenda behind them that is not of God. Lord, give us the heart to give out of love and give us the wisdom to know where to give it.” Darlene Turpin

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