As we have discussed, Israel was not just called out of bondage, but into the glorious freedom of God and into a new land of promised prosperity and blessing. Likewise, we are not just called out of this world, or this present evil age, but we are called to the kingdom of God. It, too, is a place of unprecedented prosperity and blessing. However, we must fundamentally keep in mind that the Lord’s kingdom “is not of this world” (see John 18:36). It is a transcendent kingdom far above this realm. His kingdom does have dominion over this realm, and at every point it touches it will bring overflow and blessing beyond measure.

For example, when the King touched the need for wine at the wedding at Cana, He made way too much wine for that wedding! (see John 2:1-11) When the King touched the need for food for the five thousand who had been following Him, there was a lot of food left over (see Matthew 14:20). Whenever the kingdom of heaven touches the earth, there is an overflow. That is why our pursuit should always be to seek the kingdom first and His righteousness, knowing that through His kingdom everything else will be taken care of, in abundance.

This is the promise that the Lord gives to those who are faithful to tithe, as we read in Malachi 3:10:
 

The same is affirmed in the New Testament in II Corinthians 9:6-8:

First, we are told that the Lord is able to make “all grace” to abound to those who are faithful in this. Just what would “all grace” look like abounding in a person’s life? The apostle goes on to tell us what it looks like: “having all sufficiency in everything.” Then he goes on to add that we “may have an abundance for every good deed.”

Now let’s ponder that for a minute. What would we do if we had “an abundance forevery good deed”?

We must also keep in mind that this grace is not for ourselves, but for good deeds. We, too, are promised to have “all sufficiency in everything,” but such a life is the result of a generous sowing of seeds. It is a conditional life which requires that we are seeking first the kingdom in everything. When we do this our motives will be purified, and we will be mature enough to be trusted with such grace. Even so, when heaven touches it we can expect too much!

Everyone who talks like this gets branded as preaching “the prosperity gospel.” I confess to being likewise alarmed by the way this is often presented to actually promote selfishness and selfish ambition. However, there is no question that the gospel of Jesus Christ does include an abundant prosperity that is beyond what even most of the “prosperity preachers” have yet comprehended. Just as Peter said concerning Paul’s teachings, the immature and unstable will distort such things, just as they will even the rest of the Scriptures (see II Peter 3:14-16). However, we cannot allow those who may take such things to extremes, or use these teachings wrongly, cause us to overreact and fall in the ditch on the other side.

But let us always keep in mind that this is not about us living in luxury, but about us bearing abundant fruit for the kingdom of God. This is not just about treasure on the earth—it is much greater than that! Those who have comprehended the “true riches” (Luke 16:11) will not be very concerned about earthly riches. We only want to handle those right so that we can be trusted with the true ones.

As one friend said, “One moment of the favor of God is worth a lifetime of effort.” If we really understand God’s grace, it should be a foremost devotion of our life. It may seem arrogant, but this is my prayer and devotion, to walk in “all grace” so that it abounds and touches everyone I come in contact with.

I also pray this prayer for my family, staff, and everyone who I have been given spiritual responsibility for in our congregations. I pray this for our ministry partners, the MorningStar Partners, as well as for everyone in our Fellowship of Churches and Fellowship of Ministries. I also try to pray this daily for those who are connected with us in any way, such as those who subscribe to our Morning Star Journal, Message of the Month, etc., and those of you who read this Word for the Week. I have a hope in seeing every person that our ministry touches walking in everything that they are called to walk in. If we do this it will get the attention of the whole earth.

I do, without apology, want to take good care of my family. That is a righteous desire, and a reflection of how the Lord wants to take care of His children. I want to be sure that each of my children are well-prepared and well-established for their purpose on this earth. I want to see that my wife is always well-taken care of. However, after I have provided for those entrusted to me, I have a vision for personally dying penniless. When my children are all grown and are established with their own families, I want to systematically simplify my life, and do all things and give all that I have for the sake of the gospel. When my last day comes, I would like to have a zero balance in my checking account and no possessions because they have all been given away for the sake of the gospel.

One of the great movies of our time is Schindler’s List, which ends with one of the most compelling scenes in any movie. Schindler is gripped with remorse at how he could have sold his gold pin or his car and saved a few more lives. I don’t want to get to the end of my life and have that remorse. We are all here to do what Schindler did, not just saving lives for the present, but for eternity! I don’t want to have the remorse that I could have done more and saved more, but didn’t because I held onto my possessions.

One of the most amazing things that I found out just this year is how the U.S. government has passed laws that assist people wanting to do this while they are still alive through what are called “Gift Legacies.” This was not done specifically for the gospel, but to enable people to leave gifts to charities without having to pay taxes on it, but churches and ministries qualify. Things like this make me even more thankful for our government. I know that it is not the kingdom of God, and is far from perfect, but I am very thankful that it is as good as it is and has programs like this.

What does this have to do with walking in the fruit of the Spirit? Good management of what we have been entrusted with is fundamental to walking in the Spirit and preparing for the coming of the kingdom of God. A major portion of the Lord’s own teaching while He walked the earth was about stewardship. The ones He called “good and faithful servants” were the ones who used the talents that He gave to them wisely, getting a good return for them. The one He called a “wicked, evil slave” was the one who buried the talent he was trusted with (see Matthew 25:14-30). Of course this speaks of our spiritual gifts, but literally a “talent” was a measure of money in that time.

As the Lord said in Luke 16:11: “If therefore you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous mammon (money), who will entrust the true riches to you?” We want to be wise managers of all the He trusts us with so that we can be trusted with “true riches,” which are the riches of His kingdom. In heaven there is no lack. When heaven touches the earth, it overflows with abundance. There are no sick in heaven. When heaven touches the earth, the sick are healed. Our job is to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom and to demonstrate its authority over the earth.

We must not be afraid of abundance or prosperity, but do let us consider it an even greater responsibility. We are not given this to consume on ourselves, but to invest! Think about it. How much more wicked would the slave who was given the ten talents have been if he had buried all of those? The more we are given, the more we are trusted, but also the more that we are responsible for. Let us be faithful with what we have been given so that we can be given more, until our lives are overflowing with the goodness of the kingdom “for every good deed.”