We begin this
journey in Jerusalem. Jesus was taken up in the clouds recently and
they were gathered in the upper room when the Holy Spirit was poured
out upon them.
A Kingdom Established
He
was taken up into the skies, then two men appeared, saying the He
would return as He had left. So it happened.
After
a few days, the Holy Spirit was poured out on those who waited. The
church was born, His kingdom established upon earth and, as Paul
wrote on his blog, we started ruling with Him!
It
reminds of how Elisha saw Elijah come by, slaughtered his ox,
barbecued it on the embers of his plough and greeted his parents,
never to see them again. It takes discipline and faith to take such
a radical step. Seek ye first His kingdom.......
Communalism Introduced
Soon,
communalism was established. Like Jesus said to the rich young man,
these people sold whatever they owned and pooled the proceeds. There
was no lack.
Then
a husband and wife cheated with a piece of land, trying to cheat on
the Holy Spirit. Soon, they were dead! It reminds of the man who
had buried a treasure in a corner of his tent, causing the defeat of
the Israel. Seek ye first His kingdom........
God's Economy
Haggai
delivered a decisive message from the Lord, stating that we have lack
because we do not build His temple first. The accusation is that we
lived in houses of faced stonework and wood paneling, while His house
lies in ruin.
The
promise is given that blessing will follow when the foundations of
the Temple is lain, which is what I am doing here, just as thousands
of others are doing it. Seek ye first His kingdom.......
Is It Sin To Have Assets?
By
no margin is it sin to have wealth, yet the legal position is that
nothing belongs to either you or me, but to the Lord alone. We are
merely in a fiduciary capacity and, if He calls upon you to give all
you have, you simply will have to do it. Does this sadden you?
Think how the yuppie geek in Jerusalem had felt. Seek ye first His
Kingdom........
Abraham
was blessed, so was Job and others. RG (Bob) Le Tourneau, inventor
of the bulldozer lost his shirt so many times but ended up wealthy
beyond imagination. Even the 5% he eventually kept for himself was
so much that he gave most of that away as well! He did sign a
contractual partnership agreement with God.
Independent
of any external influence, I made a covenant with our Lord Jesus soon
after I was reborn on February 10, 1985. It was during the night of
February 12-13, 1985, that I committed forty percent of my net
after-tax income to Him. At the time of wiring this as a disabled
person, I can attest thereto that my sole personal income, the
monthly state disability grant, is US$100, $40 of which is used to
provide the Internet access it requires to be the missionary I am
called to be. No breach of contract from my side, my 40% goes to His
work! Seek ye first His kingdom.......
Animosity in Heaven
The
wealth of the Vatican gets lamented daily, as I see one post after
another stream by. It is just strange that nobody mentions the
tremendous wealth of some Protestant churches, pastors,
televangelists, etc. In Jeremiah it is said that their fraud is what
fattens them.
Fraud
in the temple? Yes! Malachi lamented, saying that “if only
someone would nail shut the doors of the Temple!” He continued
by challenging us to take a sick or lame animal as an offering to the
White House, or to the Queen of England, or to President Vladimir
Putin, or President Robert Mugabe. Imagine showing up there with a
lame duck or a dead chicken under the arm; will the royal leaders be
glad to see you?
Malachi
goes on by saying that His people defraud Him, they rob Him, by being
untruthful in their supporting of His work, as they keep the best to
themselves.
While
being wealthy, or even owning a house or a car is no sin, not serving
Him with your net worth is stealing from Jesus. Just know that you
do not own a thing, as even earning it through hard work is a
privilege through Grace. Seek ye His kingdom first........
The Lazy Butts
The
Bible never teaches that those who do not work, should not be eating.
It only addresses laziness, by clearly stating that those who do not
want to work, should not be
eating!
Who do I give to?
- Widows – in my book by death or divorce
- Orphans – by death or divorce
- Levites – the unpaid workers in His field, such as organic missionaries, of which I am one
- Foreigner – the brother or sister from afar, who is in need, of which I am one
Seek
ye His kingdom first........
HeCommerce
Partner
formally with God. Close a notarized Joint Venture Agreement with
Him, or formally donate shares to a non-profit that serves His church
of Acts and be sure to declare dividends when the financial year
ends. Assume the position of Deputy President and accept a
resolution to appoint Jesus as Senior President in your company, be
it enterprise or a one-man garden services initiative.
Apply
the same principle throughout. Seek ye His kingdom first!
Lead By Example
We
sold our home at a slight loss, sold or gave away all our furniture,
gave our very decent low mileage Mercedes-Benz away and stepped out
in faith. My family and I were sent just like we see in Luke Ten.
We
took no purse, proclaimed His peace upon our arrival, shared His Word
and His love, but left when we were not given any to eat. We lived
out in the open through terrible winters, with Antarctic cold fronts
arriving in Africa to turn our beds into streams and left us
shivering could.
Largely,
here on Google+, we had found the same. There were many proclaiming
tremendous faith but went silent when challenged to prove it.
Saddened by the prospect of losing net worth, they fled into the
shadows. Mostly, we live in utter lack. Having tested some 34
churches in my city, our Lord had led me to Google+, interestingly
not really to Facebook or Twitter.
I
had showed my obedience to God, I did as was expected of the rich
young man. Nobody says you must go live under a bridge or in a tent
in the mountains. As, if all people release the currency that is
soon bound to fail and let go of any excess, there will be sufficient
for all, including your good self.
You
are the only church we have, the rising church of Acts. Partner with
us to teach His righteousness and His love to the ends of the earth.
Seek ye His kingdom first...
Support Our Mission or That of
Others
We
minister to the public, as the marketplace is our mission field. You
do not have to support us, but please target His children as your
first priority. The poor will always be with us, use the perfume
from the alabaster flask for Him.
Our
vision is to expand my wife's jewelry business into a formal retail
shop where coffee, confectionery, light meals and other hand craft
also get sold. The shop will be regular retail but, as is our
custom, we will not sell magic charms, for instance. Instead, we
find that there always will be someone needing a shoulder, or a
listening ear, as well as a word of wisdom and encouragement. The
current market we have is narrow and vertical because we are bound to
a small area in a city of almost four million people. We are in need
of an economical vehicle that will allow us to work in a radius of
about a hundred miles, doing day trips a few times per month.
Further
information upon request.
Seek
ye His kingdom first!
