God’s Plan for Redistribution of Wealth

As the political election season approaches, both Republicans and Democrats are heating up the rhetoric of accusations about using taxes and government policies to redistribute the people’s wealth.  Republicans accuse Democrats of using taxes and new laws to take wealth from the hard-working middle-class and wealthy Americans to redistribute it to the poor. Democrats accuse Republicans of tax policies and laws that allow the wealthy to take from the middle-class and poor and redistribute it to themselves.  In truth, all government taxes are a form of forced redistribution of the people’s wealth (but Scripture admonishes God’s people to pay them anyway—Matt. 22:15-21).

God has a plan for redistribution of His wealth that He has repeatedly fulfilled throughout history.  That plan was best exemplified in the person of Jesus Christ.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich  (2 Cor. 8:9).

In the person of Jesus Christ, God took His own wealth and purposefully redistributed that wealth to His church. Man often limits the meaning of wealth to the concept of money, property, or holdings.  God includes these things in the wealth that He transferred to the church through the person of Christ, but the foundation of His wealth is not material; it is His knowledge, revelation, grace, character, and the like.

Scripture reveals characteristics of God’s plan for redistribution of wealth.

1.        He works through the willing. 

In contrast to the government tax of forced redistribution of wealth, God works in the lives of His people to make them willing to give.  “For if there is first a willing mind,” says the apostle Paul when asking the Corinthians to give away from their monetary wealth to meet the monetary needs of Jewish Christians in Jerusalem (2 Cor. 8:12).  He continues the thought with,

 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver   (2 Cor. 9:7).

2.        He imparts abundance, that it may supply the lack.

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians encouraging them to give to the need in Jerusalem, he said,

For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack — that there may be equality  (2 Cor 8:13-15).

The Corinthians had an abundance of money but a lack of faith for godly living in Christ. The Jerusalem Jewish Christians had an abundance of faith for godly living, but their faith cost them their family inheritance and ability to participate in the marketplace of Jerusalem.  Paul believed he had the mission from God to supply the lack in the Jerusalem church with a willing gift of money from the Corinthian church.  He also believed the faith for godly living in the Jerusalem church could supply the lack of such in Corinth that he was trying to impart to them.  The end result of each church’s willing giving would be equality.

3.       He uses the principle of seed-faith to encourage expectation in the giver.

Paul’s passion was to help the Corinthians see that their monetary giving was like a seed that they would sow, not a debt or obligation that they owed.  He wrote,

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  (2 Cor. 9:10).

When a believer willingly participates in God’s plan for redistribution of wealth by giving away from their time, money, character, or revelation knowledge of God, they are planting seed.  This seed is not only at work in the lives of the recipients, but also in the lives of the givers.  God causes that seed to grow into good fruit of time, money, character, and further revelation of His knowledge. 

I believe that any government law or program that forcibly taxes one to redistribute to another is a hindrance to God’s plan for redistribution of wealth through His church.  I also believe God is calling His children to a life of willing redistribution of their imparted wealth in Christ.

by Benjamin Davis,  Senior Pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church

ASSURANCE OF MY REWARD

By Shari Tyson

I enjoy reading various translations of Scripture. I appreciate the different ways people interpret the Word, knowing I can trust the Author, Holy Spirit, to lead me into the full truth of what He intends. The other day, I read Ephesians 2:8-10 from the New Living Translation. It says,

“God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

My heart grabbed hold of “Salvation is not a reward for the good things you have done…” 

Therein lays the beauty of grace. God’s salvation—His peace, well-being, prosperity, health, wholeness—is a gift to me. Nothing I do can qualify me to receive it. It is never dependent upon what I did or do; it is and always will be dependent upon what Christ did.

That made me think of Hebrews 11:6, “…he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

How easily we can mix law with grace. If I think that I have to go to church, tithe, pray, read the Bible, don’t cuss and chew and run with those who do, WHATEVER, to receive God’s blessings, I have mixed the law with grace. I used to mix law with grace in my understanding of Heb. 11:6, but Holy Spirit has graciously interpreted this verse to me and given me a “grace perspective.”

If I am going to be able to diligently seek God, to draw near to Him, I am going to have to believe two things. First, He exists and He is who He says He is…LOVE. Second, He has reward in His heart and hands for me, not judgment. I will only be able to get close to Him when I believe He is good and has good in store for me.

Under law, God’s blessings depended upon the people’s obedience. Under grace, His blessings are dependent upon Christ’s obedience. I believe that’s why we are exhorted to bring our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). If I look at my obedience, I will condemn myself because I see my failures. But if I look to His obedience, I see perfection. When that revelation is mine, my heart’s desire is to fellowship with my church family, give from the finances with which He has blessed me, talk to Him in prayer, and meet Him in His Word.

Grace frees me to see God as the rewarder He truly is and allows me to rest in the obedience of Christ for all the blessings of the covenant. It pleased Him to bruise His Son (Isa. 53:10) because it is His pleasure to give us the kingdom (Luke 12:32)…no strings attached…except that I confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. 

Isaiah 32:17—“The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.”

 Shari Tyson leads the nursery ministry at Abundant Life Covenant Church.

Faith IS…Or Faith ISN’T

By Shari Tyson

I think two of the most powerful words in Scripture are in Hebrews 11—“Faith IS.” Faith is always in the present tense, or it isn’t faith. Faith cannot be something that was or will be. If faith is to be “the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen” (Heb.11:1), it must be NOW. 

Faith is what I have in what God has already done. Faith moves me. Faith pleases God, but it does not move God. God already moved at the cross. Now I must develop the faith already resident within my regenerated spirit to appropriate its current and victorious quality.

If I ever find myself feeling discouraged or frustrated with any circumstance of my life, it is because faith no longer IS in my life. Discouragement, frustration, fear, and unrest cannot exist in an atmosphere where faith IS. So, if I find myself experiencing any of those negative emotions, it is the first indication that I have moved from the realm of faith into the realm of physical senses, and that’s my cue to change.

Feeling negative emotions is never a bad thing unless I let them control me. In fact, negative emotions can serve me well if I realize their proper function in my life. If I had no sensation of pain, life would be a perilous journey. Just the simple task of making dinner could be tragic. I could accidentally place my hand onto a hot surface and critically burn myself if I didn’t have the sensation of pain to cause me to withdraw my hand quickly.

Likewise, feelings of discouragement or fear or frustration or anger are cues that I am doing something that will harm me. Rather than be defeated by them, I should use them to my advantage by allowing them to let me know that I have moved from a place where faith IS to a place where faith ISN’T. Just as the pain that registers in my hand causes me to withdraw from that hot surface and keeps me from destruction, so the negative feelings I experience should cause me to withdraw from the sensual realm back into the realm of the spirit, where I belong. Kept in their proper place, negative emotions will actually keep me from destruction because they awaken me to the knowledge that I have left the overcoming place of NOW faith.

When my faith IS, anything that might trouble me WAS!  

 Shari Tyson leads the nursery ministry at Abundant Life Covenant Church.

Interviewing God, Part VIII

Members of the Christian community often have questions about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  Most of us have either said or heard someone say, “When I get to heaven, the first thing I want to ask God is ….”  In aggregate, the pool of questions becomes quite large.  The drama, INTERVIEWING GOD, depicts a female news correspondent in an informal setting asking God a number of questions.  The answers she receives are from His Word, which the Lord inspired the prophets and apostles to write.  Scripture references are given throughout along with the author’s personal notes.  The interview was lengthy as one might imagine, so here it is broken into parts.  In the initial posting, God used a stage play analogy to answer the ultimate controversy of the universe question – “Who’s in charge?”  He upheld the inerrancy of the Bible, or as He terms it, “the introductory remarks.”  In the second posting, God revealed both the origin and the purpose of suffering.  In the third, God explained key elements within the creation of man plus the devastating fall of man.  He disclosed the choice to continue, nonetheless, making covenant with certain individuals and unveiled a restorative seed principle.  In Part IV, more truths were mined concerning the use of parables, the essence of true learning, plus the principle of authority was revisited.  That part ended with the interviewer “tipping her hand” a bit, asking ever so shyly about the second coming.  In Part V, God plunged headlong into the study of the time of the end – or eschatology – debunking the most common views of our time.  In Part VI, some of God’s answers given in Part V were brought into question via the interviewer bringing up His long ago promise to Abraham.  This became merely a catalyst for God, revealing His true Israel.  In Part VII, the Lord continued to discredit the popular “end times” teachings of our day, plus He brought clarity to those concepts of the thousand year reign, the rapture, and the resurrection.  Here the interview concludes as God reveals some key elements of the Incarnation plus unveils the ongoing plan involving His church to ultimately bring about the transformation of the world as we know it.

                                                      INTERVIEWING GOD

                                                                       by

                                                        Michael A. Lawrence

                                                                          

                                                       Part VIII

                                         “The Best is Yet to Come”

                                            

THE PHYSICAL RETURN OF YOUR SON DOES NOT NECESSARILY NEED TO HAPPEN?  IF THAT IS TRUE, WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT FOR MANY.

I must answer your question in this manner.  Remember, I have been emphasizing that my son is the pattern for all the sibling troupe.  At the fully appointed time, he became a man – laid aside his privileges forever to live life as a man.[1]  He remains a man.  As such, he has never seen me, no man has.[2]  He was intimate to the point of being one with me and my spirit.  We could live our life through him as a man.[3]  He trusted in the invisible me to the point of doing all our bidding – even to the laying down of his life in the cruelest manner imaginable to a man.[4]

YOUR SON PERFORMED THE MIRACLES AS A MAN?

Yes he did.  My, how bright you are.  Of course, we directed him, but faith is the only thing that pleases us to the point of being moved to action on one’s behalf.[5]  We would empower him as he proceeded as a man by faith in the invisible.  He was the pattern.

IN WHAT WAY?

My son was disappointed with some in his inner circle when they refused to believe the reports of his resurrection from those who had seen him.  They demanded physical evidence in order to believe.  They behaved much like those who had demanded that he come down from the cross to cause them to believe that he was whom he had claimed to be.[6]  Of course, those in his inner circle were distraught about how things had seemed to turn out and that their own agenda had not been fulfilled.  We chose to cut them some slack.

YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT DOUBTING THOMAS?

Yes, plus some others before him.  However, we were able to use the occasion of Thomas’ disbelief to put forth a timeless principle during a subsequent appearance by my son.

WHEN WAS THAT?

When he said to a doubting Thomas and, I might add, to all those future generations adamant for his personal physical return:  “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”[7]  That was the way he had lived his life as the “God-man,” as a pattern for all his siblings to follow.[8]

YOU KEEP SAYING, “THE BEST IS YET TO COME.”  WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?

I can’t say enough about “those who are of the household of faith.”[9]  They are not some parenthetical “plan B,” as many in error would have you to believe.  They are my uniquely endeared ones who have been in my heart and mind all along.  They are our primary agency by which all the ills of society as you know it will be rectified.  I know it seems at present as if so many are trying hard not to act like it, but we will turn that around.  We continue to raise up voices which are causing more and more to awaken from the stupor of false doctrines of men.[10]

I MUST ADMIT THAT MUCH OF WHAT YOU HAVE TOLD ME IS INCREDIBLE.  IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE “HOUSEHOLD” BELIEVE SOMETHING ELSE.  HOW COULD YOU HAVE ALLOWED THAT TO HAPPEN?  HOW COULD SO MANY BELIEVE SOMETHING AND IT STILL BE FALSE?

I like your spunk.  You ask good questions.  You display an unmistakable desire to know my ways.  The truth is, we’ve been up against these odds before and were not unduly hindered.

WHEN DO YOU MEAN?

When we had Moses send spies into Canaan, how did that go?

NOT VERY WELL, THE WAY I REMEMBER IT.

Why not?

A TEN-TO-TWO MAJORITY WERE AFRAID TO TAKE CANAAN, AND YOU LET THEIR VIEW PREVAIL.

And they were wrong?

YES.

That generation – did they experience the good life in Canaan?

JUST THE TWO WHO HAD BEEN IN THE MINORITY.

The faithful?

I HADN’T THOUGHT OF IT THAT WAY, BUT YES.

We proceeded with the two plus our next generation into the next phase of our production.  I rest my case.[11]

I DON’T KNOW IF MY BOSSES AT THE MAGAZINE WILL WANT TO PUBLISH THIS.  THEY DO HAVE A WHOLE LOT RIDING ON THAT OTHER SCENARIO.

Whatever.  We’ll get the word out.  Don’t assume that Abram was the first one I asked to leave Haran for Canaan.  He was the first to obey, that’s all.[12]  That’s all.        

             

           

                          

---

[1]Unless noted otherwise, all scriptural references are from the New King James Version.  All parenthetical items contained within scriptural references are my emphasis.

“(Christ), although He existed in the form (essence) of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant . . . (coming) in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7, New American Standard).

[2]“No one has seen God at any time” (John 1:18a).  “. . . who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6:16a).

[3]“”I and My Father are one. . . . If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him” (John 10:30, 37-38).

[4]“And being found in the appearance of a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).  “. . . I lay down My life for the sheep. . . . No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself” (John 10:15b, 18a).

[5]“But without faith it is impossible to please Him . . .” (Hebrews 11:6a).

It’s the author’s belief that only our behavior that is activated by or in response to faith is pleasing to God to the point that He will be moved to engage Himself on our behalf in our endeavor, trial, etc.

[6]“Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe” (Mark 15:32a).

[7](John 20:29b)  “Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer” (2 Corinthians 5:16b).

[8]“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6).

[9]“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

[10]“. . . (Why) do you subject yourself to regulations . . . according to the commandments and doctrines of men?” (Colossians 2:20b, 22b).  “And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7).  “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or I speak of my own authority” (John 7:17).  “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). 

[11]“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them. . . . And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. . . . Then Caleb . . . said, ‘Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.’  But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able . . .’ and they gave . . . a bad report . . . saying, ‘The land . . . devours its inhabitants . . .’” (Numbers 13:2, 25, 30-31a, 32).

“So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept (and complained) that night.  . . . But Joshua (and Caleb said), ‘The land . . . is an exceedingly good land . . . (and) the Lord

. . . will bring us into this land and give it to us . . .

“The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘. . . The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness . . . except for Caleb . . . and Joshua . . . (and) your little ones . . . (whom) I will bring in . . .’” (Numbers 14:1, 6a, 7, 8a, 26, 29a, 30a, & 31a).

[12]“And Terah took his son, Abram (and company) . . . and they came to Haran and dwelt there. . . . and Terah died in Haran” (Genesis 11:31, 32b).

“Now the Lord had said to Abram:  ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.’  . . . So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him . . .”

(Genesis 12:1a, 4a). 

God-Inspired

By Patricia Frater

I have been in various art classes over the years. All of them were a lot of fun. There was always the time where we would go around the room to see everyone’s progress or go up to the front of the room with our art for critique. If others did something different or their designs were pointed out by the teacher as being amazing, then I would immediately say to myself, “Wow! Hers/his is so much better than mine.” Then I would look at mine and think, “Mine is no good. I’m horrible at art.” I would immediately think of the negative side.

When I was a senior in high school, I realized that I was having a bad confession and a bad attitude about my art. I had an assignment to sketch something, and I didn’t know what in the world I was going to sketch. The Holy Spirit inspired me to go out and sketch a tree in my backyard. I put on my headphones, turned on some worship music, and started to draw. It was like the Holy Spirit was in my hand drawing. I remember while I was sketching thinking that the lines on the tree were so unique. It was relaxing, and the finished product was something inspired, drawn by God through me. I gave it to the teacher the next day, and she loved it! She said she would like to see more of these. That was God. It wasn’t my talent that drew that tree; it was God.

Now I am going to Ozarks Technical Community College to get my Graphic Design degree. I get to work on computers instead of drawing and creating stuff by hand (although I do draw out my designs on paper before they are put on the computer). I started out the first semester with a pretty basic class and an Illustrator class. Many people in my Illustrator class already knew the software, and after a few projects I would look at what people created and think how good they were. I thought, “Wow, these people are good. How could I ever do that?” I talked with my mom, and it was the same issue from high school. I needed to renew my mind. God provided for me to go to OTC, it was His plan for me to go into the Graphic Design, and it was God who inspired me.

At the beginning of the second semester when I was walking to my car, my bad confession came up in my mind again, “Their designs are so cool; mine’s nothing compared to theirs.”

God caught me right there and impressed on me, “This is my work. Don’t dis it.”

I changed my thinking right there and said, “Thank you that You, God, came up with all of the designs, and it’s You who makes me successful.” So now when I see others’ designs, I stay focused on remembering those are their designs; my design is God-inspired.

Patricia Frater is a Glendale graduate continuing her education at OTC.

GIVING AND RECEIVING

By Angie Gibson

I was taught about tithing from the time I was a very small child. The most vivid memory I have about it was when my father sat me down to teach me how to use a checkbook. I had started my first real job, summer babysitting for a neighbor. I will never forget how he told me that I was to always give the tithe first, then put money into savings. Spending money was last on the list. So from then on I never questioned whether a tithe would be given; I just always did it.

After I got married God tested us. We made very little money, but we were determined to be faithful. We were definitely making below the “poverty” level. God impressed on us at that time to make our “tithe” more than ten percent. We were being faithful in the little things, so God could give us more to be faithful with. And He did.

Obedience to God brings security. As we had children, we believed I was to stay at home. Once again, we were tested. The tithe was never touched. God always provided. We never missed a bill, even though, strangely, there were a few years where we were operating in the red. We never asked for assistance, but God did provide assistance from others at times.

God is looking for those who love Him more than money. He also wants us to see that everything we have came from Him, so essentially, it is His to do with as He chooses. Even in the years where God began to bless us abundantly, and tithing was just a drop in the bucket, He began to show me that no matter how much we made He knew how to get my heart. He required us to use restraint in spending and also gave us specific assignments as to how He wanted us to use/give His money.

About two years ago, I was sitting in church, and our senior pastor read familiar verses before the offering. Malachi 3:10 says,

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,

That there may be food in My house,

And prove 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 a blessing

That there will not be room enough to receive it.”

During the few years that led up to that day, I felt like God had more than abundantly blessed us. I was surprised that day when God revealed to me, “You have not yet been blessed like this,” meaning to me that day was still coming and He wanted me to have expectation for it.

A holy sacrifice given to the Lord must be one without blemish—it must be our best (Malachi 1:6-14). “For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38).

Angie Gibson is a homemaker in Springfield, Missouri.