Need a blessing? Here's a tip.

Do you need healing in your body?
Do you need financial provision?
Do you need protection from the enemy in your spiritual walk?
Well let me tell you about a miracle cure for all these that ail you.

No, I'm not trying to sell you some gimicky product. I'm trying to sell you a Biblical principle that will change your life. Interested? Read on!

In my last post I talk about living out of a Royal mindset and not out of a Pauper-based mindset. We should realize that we have the Kingdom of Heaven and the riches of a King at our fingertips and that we are in lack of nothing. We represent a God who has no lack or need.

However, here is another financial issue that is huge. And when I mean huge, I mean HUGE. It has to do with giving to the poor.

Let's take a look at Matthew 19 -- the story of the rich young ruler. Now, if we notice in the story, the rich man is also a very moral man. How do we know this? Because he tells us that he has kept all the laws. Basically, he is your average church going Christian of today. Well, that, and he's very wealthy. He asks Jesus what he can do in order to receive eternal life. Jesus' response? Sell all your possessions and give to the poor.

Why did Jesus respond that way? Because Jesus saw the bondage that was in the man's heart. He saw that the man held and trusted more closely to his earthly possessions in this life than he ever could to the possessions of the Kingdom of Heaven (which is a severe bondage, indeed). Jesus was telling him that in order to step into eternal life, he had to leave one life to embrace another.

Notice that Jesus didn't tell the rich young ruler that he couldn't keep his money. He told him to sell his possessions and give to the poor. Not "sell everything you own and give it all away so you have nothing." Jesus wasn't planning on leaving the guy a poor man himself! Jesus wanted to rid the man of the root of greed in his heart.

Jesus was saying, "I want you fully abandoned to me! I want you to SELL OUT."

There is a root of greed in our hearts when it comes to our money. Mainly it stems from us not really knowing who our financial backer is (it's God, by the way, if you haven't read the previous post). Our ability to trust in our money more than in God is a bondage that holds many of us.

If you want to see how far it has you gripped, there's a simple test. When you come up to a stoplight and you see a beggar on the side of the road with a sign asking for money... how do you react on the inside? Do you grimace? Do you begin thinking of all the excuses not to give money? "Oh, he'll probably just spend it on beer or drugs." "Well, I do have to use this money to pay a bill...." or "Someone else will take care of it."

If you've had these thoughts you're not alone (and this includes me, let me tell you!). But what I've come to learn, however, is that there is a bondage in our hearts that we don't even realize. And the only way to get rid of it is to give away what we have. (This also relates to spiritual principles -- remember when Paul talks about us being doers of the word and not hearers only, thus deceiving ourselves? We become deceieved when we learn something from the Lord and we don't give it away to help someone else. You'll see why in a minute).

The only way to remove the bondage from our hearts is to give away what we have. I know a guy who is so convicted by this that if he is approached by someone on the street asking for money, and he even grimaces on the inside a little, he'll give double what he was going to give in order to weed that bondage out of him. But another point I've noticed is that this man already made the decision in his heart to give of ANYONE who asked. He had a core value that already made the decision for him. It's the kind of value we need on the insides of us.

Jump over with me to Ephesians 4:28. Let me ask a question... When does a theif no longer become a theif? We would say, "Well, when he earns his keep!" but Paul goes a step further and says, "...he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need." You stop becoming a theif when you've earned and GIVEN AWAY that which you have.

So, we know that giving to the poor is the way to break off the stronghold of greed in our lives. But there are a great many things associated with giving to the poor -- such as blessing, protection, and even healing.

Look at Isaiah 58:6 - Listen to what the Lord says -- "Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homelss poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily break forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard..." etc. etc. (quick note: living a "fasted" lifestyle has really nothing to do with giving up food or living like a poor man... but it DOES have to do with providing for those in need. That is the fast that God has chosen for us -- to be giving away what we have).

Did you notice the promises? If you break off the yoke of oppression and feed the hungry (give to the poor, etc)... there are several things that will happen.
1. Your light will shine forth. You will become a beacon of hope and blessing to all those around you.
2. Your recovery will speedily break forth. You are promised to be healed if you give to the poor.
3. The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. You are promised supernatural protection from the enemy (both physical and spiritual). If you keep reading in Isaiah 58 you'll notice that he continues about how protected you'll be against any evil coming your way.

Even more so, there is another blessing associated with giving to the poor. Jump over to Proverbs 19:17 - "One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed."
4. You will be repayed in full for whatever you give. Not only that, but you'll get riches in heaven because the poor can't pay you back on earth. (Think about this -- even the tithe and offerings come back to you in the natural. However, a poor man can't repay... so the Lord sees and HE repays. How awesome is that?"

Here's a story to prove my point: My Pastor was going on a trip to Argentina. Now, he didn't have the finances to pay for his trip. We (the interns) were with him on our way up to a conference. My Pastor has the value in his heart to give to whoever asks... he also understands the principle that if you have a $1,500 bill to pay and you only have $500 in your account, you might as well take the $500 and give to the poor because its not enough to pay your bill anyway and the Lord repays. So we pull up to a stoplight and there's a beggar there. My Pastor rolls down the window and hands the man all the money in his wallet (a hefty sum!), knowing that it won't be enough to pay for his trip anyway. Later on at the conference, he receieved over $650 from random people who told him that the Lord prompted them to give. It was enough to pay for his trip.

Giving to the poor is a necessity to a healthy Christian lifestyle. It's not just for the church's benevolence offering (which is great, by the way). It's not just for those rich people who can afford it. We're all called to walk in the ability to give to those in need. And if we do, it comes with a promise.

Let me briefly recap:

Need healing in your body? Give to the poor. (In Psalms 41 it is promised that you WILL NOT die of health issues if you are faithful in giving to the poor).
Need protection from spiritual oppression? Give to the poor.
Need a financial blessing or provision in your life? Give to the poor.
And, as a bonus: it will rid you of the root of greed in your life.

This is a very critical principle. I've began applying it to my own life and I'm astonished at the results. The more money I give, the more I seem to have (and mysteriously, even... because I don't know where its coming from!!). The more money I give, the less problems in my spiritual walk. The more money I give, the healthier I've been. I'm serious. This really does work. The Lord cares about the poor. And He cares about His children. If He's provided for you, go and provide for someone else. Do it! I dare you.

And remember - we have to die to live. We have to give to keep. As Misty Edwards says, "It's the inside-outside-upsidedown Kingdom."