How To Start Working With God Financially

[Here is this full teaching combined into one post.]  

Most people have heard the Bible contains more than 2,000 verses regarding money.  Most people understand that the Bible says A LOT about money.  But very few people agree on what the Bible actually says.  When you put all 2,000 verses on the table, if you were to fit them together like a puzzle, what do they say?  Do they make a clear picture of God’s will for your finances? 

Actually, they do!  Let me first show you what the picture looks like, and then I will show you how to get started on the path to seeing that picture in your life.

2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9 talk a lot about money.  They are directed to Christians, and they explain God’s will for our financial lives in no uncertain terms.  First of all, we should understand that Jesus became poor so that we might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).  That should come as no surprise when we understand His substitutionary sacrifice on the cross.  He became sin so that we might become righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21).  He became sick so that we might be healed (Isaiah 53:4-5).  He became poor so that we might be rich.

Now don’t get hung up on the word “rich” and stop listening.  Just understand that God wants you to have plenty of money, and He wants you to connect your salvation and your spiritual life with your financial life. 

Why does God want us to have money?  Is it so we can all live in mansions and drive lambos and play golf all day?  There is nothing wrong with those things, but that’s not why God gives us the power to create wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18). 

Here is the primary reason God wants us to have plenty of money - “God will generously provide all you need.  Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others . . . Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous.  And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.”  (2 Corinthians 9:8,11)

God wants you to have all of your needs met.  He also wants you to be enriched to the point that you can always be generous.  He wants you to have abundance, not just so you can stockpile for yourself, but so you can be a blessing to others.  When you share what God has given you with others, they will understand it’s actually coming from God, and they will glorify Him.

God wants everyone to have enough.  He loves you and wants you to eat the good of the land and enjoy all the good things available in life (Isaiah 1:19, 1 Timothy 6:17).  He also wants you to help others in His Name, on His behalf (2 Corinthians 9:13, 1 Timothy 6:18).  This lets others see His love for them, and it helps them rise up so they too can increase and then help others.

It’s time to believe God for wealth, not just for ourselves (which is greed and wrong) but for God’s Kingdom and God’s people.  God wants us to enjoy life and His blessings, free from lack and financials concern. 

So how do we start integrating our financial and spiritual lives and seeing God’s will in our finances?  Take some time to review Bible verses on money (using Google if needed).  God wants to bless you financially, and God wants you to give Him some of your money. 

The idea of giving God money is where many people have problems, especially because they probably heard this from a preacher.  But forget about the preacher for now, just focus on the Bible.  Here is the key – God is not telling you to give Him your money because He needs it. Rather, God is inviting you into His financial system (examples, Psalm 50:12, Malachi 3:10-12) 

That’s right, God doesn’t need your money.  God’s true works (including your church, hopefully) don’t need your money either.  That doesn’t mean they don’t need money at all (the world works by money).  But if you don’t give God your money, He will work with His other resources and people.

Giving to God is the ONLY mechanism by which His financial system will operate in your life.  That’s just the way it is.  But rather than getting annoyed about this or rejecting His financial system altogether, understand that God, the Creator of the Universe, designed the best possible financial system.

In God’s financial system, bringing your money to Him and His Kingdom is planting a seed that produces a harvest (2 Corinthians 9:6).  While there are several ways to give your money to God (gifts to the poor, tithing, offerings and true financial seeds) they all function in God’s system of sowing and reaping. 

So we must modify our thinking for our spiritual and financial lives.  For their integration we must bring money into God’s Kingdom for God’s financial system to operate for us.  As we do this, we are sowing seeds that produce harvests.

When you bring your money into God’s economy, giving it to His Kingdom, God receives that as a seed.  God then gives you a financial harvest on that seed.  Let’s see that concept in God’s Word. 

(2 Corinthians 9:6 NIV) – “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously."

(Proverbs 19:17 NLT) – “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord-and He will repay you!”

(Malachi 3:10-11 NIV) – “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe," says the Lord Almighty.”

(Proverbs 3:9-10 NIV) – “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”

The Bible makes a few things about money abundantly clear.  First, God wants you to give some of your money to Him (by giving to His Church and His works).  Second, God wants to bless those gifts and give you a harvest on those seeds, a return on those investments.

We could categorize the various ways we give to God as follows: (1) tithing, (2) gifts to the poor, (3) first fruits offerings, and (4) general offerings.  We will discuss each of these in turn, and today we will briefly discuss tithing.  I’m going to summarize an hour’s teaching into a few sentences, so I encourage you to study these verses I mention.

While tithing is mentioned in the Jewish law (Leviticus 27:30), the practice does not originate there.  Tithing is the customary tax for the king (Genesis 14:20, 1 Samuel 8:15,17), and this custom was established long before the Jewish law.  Tithing to God appoints God as the King of your life. 

Please read Genesis 14 and 15 carefully, as it’s a fascinating story, and the origin of why we tithe to God today.  In Genesis 14, Abraham (by defeating several kings) is established as the most powerful leader in the region.  He then submits himself to God (as his King) through the tithe.  Immediately thereafter (Genesis 15) we see God accept this appointment (“I am your Shield, your Very Great Reward”) and give Abraham great promises.

We don’t tithe because it’s legally required.  Furthermore, despite what many teach, Christians are not “cursed” if they don’t tithe (all such curses are removed when we come to Christ).  Tithing is, however, a form of seed that produces wonderful harvests in our life.

(Malachi 3:10-11 NIV) – “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe," says the Lord Almighty.”

Tithing integrates God and His economy into your financial life.  Tithing brings both God’s supernatural increase and God’s supernatural protection to your finances. 

Tithing is 10% of your income, given to God.  Promptly after I receive any money, I give 10% to God right off the top.  Based on my reading of Genesis 28:22, I count everything I get as from God, and I give 10% of all (based on gross income). 

I realize 10% may sound like a big number, but start somewhere.  Start at 1% if you can and work your way up.  Read those promises from Malachi (above) as you are building your faith for those harvests on your tithe seeds.  You will see God’s promises start to manifest in your life.

Now discuss giving to the poor.  As with tithing, giving to the poor is not a legal requirement.  You will not be cursed or go to hell if you never give to the poor.  However, God wants us to be ever mindful of the poor as we consider our finances. 

I find Leviticus 23:22 (and other similar passages) very interesting as I consider giving to the poor.  Whenever your receive financial increase in your life, you should be ready to share with the less fortunate. 

God is going to attach you to specific ministries and works for your regular giving (for me its Grace Family Church, Schools for Haiti, Inc., Andrew Wommack Ministries and Bill Winston Ministries).  Some of those may help the poor (like Schools for Haiti).  But God also wants you to have spare monies around and available for the less fortunate. 

You see someone collecting money for a needy family, or an orphanage, or something like that.  Give them a few bucks.  You see an opportunity that sounds good and you feel your heart moved with compassion, send a few bucks there way.  Quickly check with the Holy Spirit, what’s the right number?

Look at this amazing promise for when you are generous with the poor.  “Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.”  (Deuteronomy 15:10 NIV)

(Proverbs 19:17 NLT) – “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord-and He will repay you!”

As with tithing, gifts to the poor invite God’s blessings into your financial life.  Yes, I understand we don’t only give to get, we’ll talk about that later.  For now we are focusing on understanding God’s economic system.  As we use our money according to God’s ways, we will see His financial blessings show up.

Now let’s talk about general offerings.  General offerings are different from gifts to the poor or the tithe.  Offerings are freewill gifts to God and His works that are over and above your tithe.  While it’s true that tithes and gifts to the poor can both be marked under the general term “offering”, we want to differentiate the term to further understand God’s economic system.

While tithing and gifts to the poor both invite God’s blessings and produce wonderful “harvests” in our lives.  We should primarily associate our “seedtime and harvest” economic endeavors with general offerings. 

2 Corinthians 9:6 should be at the forefront of your mind when thinking about general offerings.  “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

One time (around 13 years ago) I was up early and praying.  I knew God wanted me to have more money, but I didn’t know how to get it.  I prayed that God would show me what to do.  Three hours later my father called and invited me and my wife to a Biblical finance convention in NYC, all expenses paid.  I can quickly sum up the entire conference for you, “God’s economy works by seedtime and harvest, and if you want to reap bountifully you must sow bountifully.” 

Let’s look at a couple more verses from 2 Corinthians 9 (verses 10 and 11) while we discuss this.  “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”

Notice that, while me may think the money came from our labors, really all of our seed came from God anyway, and what we are giving to God was already given to us by Him.  I like to keep that in mind when I think God is prompting me to give a gift or “sow a seed”. 

Sowing general offerings is the most important mechanism by which we can level up financially and move to the higher realms of God’s economic system.  Undoubtedly, tithing and gifts to the poor bring increase to our lives, and the increase will be steady and great.  But sowing and reaping (mechanically and habitually) moves you into more of an economic partnership with God and positions you for upward movement (I would submit). 

“The Lord of the Harvest” (Matthew 9:38) has given you seed (no matter how little you have, there is something you can sow).  God wants you to sow seed and He will then bring you a harvest.  From that harvest you can tithe, give to the poor, and sow additional seed (just like we see in the Biblical models).  Over time your fields will grow, your crop will increase, you will sow more seed and you will reap bigger harvests.  No matter where you are at now, you can start sowing and growing financially.

To operate this system at its highest levels, begin praying to God about seeds you should sow, and begin looking for opportunities.  All your “seedtime and harvest” should be done out of your relationship with “The Lord of the Harvest”.  When you know you have some offering seed in the ground, begin praying for your harvests and standing in faith to receive.  Remember that when harvests start coming in, you will need to sow more seed from those harvests.

Sowing and reaping should become your predominant mental mindset when it comes to your finances, rather than saving, investing and hoping for increase.  The world’s economic system can work for people (and of course we should save and invest as we can).  But nothing compares to God’s economic system, and how God can increase you financially when you integrate your spiritual and financial lives. 

As one man said, “you can’t have enough jobs to get the wealth God wants you to have.”  His point is that you must sow for it.  Why is that?  Because God wants you to rise, shine, receive His blessings, and show His love to the world all at major levels, beyond what any job could provide, and participating in God’s economy is a major way we do that.

The last type of offering or giving to God that we will discuss is the first fruits offering.  Some people suggest that tithing is a form of the first fruits offering because we bring the first 1/10 of our increase to God, but I believe they are actually different concepts, and the first fruits offering is something we should all understand and give (when applicable).  As with the other forms of giving, the first fruits offering is not a legal requirement, but another form of seed we can sow, another way we can honor God financially, and another way we can integrate our financial and spiritual lives. 

Exodus 23:19 says, “the first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God.” Note also Romans 11:16 – “For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy.” 

I believe the first fruits offering applies to any new source of income and to the first income of your new year.  Again, these are not requirements, but seeds that can produce harvests in your life. 

I remember the first time I got paid legal fees, it was $5,000.00.  I prayed and the Lord said to give half of it as the first fruit offering.  I knew that I was going to need lots of legal fees in the years ahead, and I wanted to make sure the first was holy so the lump would be holy.  I wanted to identify God with all the money I would make as a lawyer.  I can tell you beyond the shadow of any doubt that God has blessed me in this law practice in numerous ways.

So whenever you have a new source of income, or you have some money come in for the new year, consider giving the first fruits offering.  This places God’s blessing on the entire year’s money, and on all the money from that venture, and further identifies God with your finances.

We should now discuss the accusation that we who talk like this are only giving to get or trying to greedily manipulate God’s systems for our own gain.  I would like to address that point a few ways.

First of all, if these Bible verses and systems don’t work as I’m suggesting, then they just won’t work, and you can then quit and do what you want.  At worst you are out a few bucks that probably went to your church. 

Because of how my parents raised me, I’ve been a tither and a giver my entire working life.  I can honestly say from 20 years of experience that these systems do work to increase you financially, and really they are the only explanation for my financial life. 

But while the systems do work, if you are only using them to increase your own holdings, they aren’t really going to work for you.  Greed blocks you from hearing from God with financial instructions.  Greed blocks the Holy Spirit from moving on you with financial compassion.  Greed blocks you from giving correctly. 

Self-interest will prevent you from truly entering God’s economic system.  Selfishness is the opposite of love.  God is love, faith works by love, love is the most important commandment, and if you don’t walk in love you aren’t going anywhere with God.

I want financial increase because it is God’s will for my life, and it’s God’s will for your life too.  That’s the line you need to cross, the understanding you must have.  I want finances because God wants them for me.  And therefore, I must want to do with my finances what God wants me to do with them.  If God says to give, I must give.  If God says to tithe, I must tithe.  I want more so that I can do more for God. 

Sure, I want nice things for me and my family.  We all do.  That desire comes from God too!  God loves you and wants you to experience the best the world has to offer (of good things) (Isaiah 1:19). 

And therein lies the true genius of God’s economic system.  God’s economic system provides the path for you to increase, for you to glorify God, and for you to bless others all simultaneously.  While you are increasing financially so are others and so is the Kingdom at large.  While you are learning to increase, you are also learning to given generously, and all the while you are drawing closer to God in your heart and in your finances.

We may never get to the point where we are completely immune to the occasional financial fear or selfish desire.  But God knows that, loves us anyway, and wants to help us.  The more we operate in God’s economy, the more God will use us to bless others, the more we will feel His generosity and compassion, the more we will learn to trust God.  The more we experience His system, the more we will want to give, and the more we will truly want to increase for His Kingdom.

So let’s sum it up.

The Bible is clear that God wants to bless us financially.  But God doesn’t want to just rain money down on us from Heaven, God wants us to learn and operate in His economic system, His system of seedtime and harvest. 

God, as the Lord of the Harvest, gives us various seeds that He wants us to sow.  These seeds further God’s will in the earth and bless others.  From these seeds, God brings harvests into our lives.  These harvests produce blessings for us and more seeds for us to sow.  This is His economic system, and it’s His only economic system.

Tithing, gifts to the poor, general offerings, and first fruit offerings are all forms of “seeds” we can sow. 

Your spiritual reality and your salvation should have a tremendous impact on every area of your life.  God wants you to integrate your spiritual and financial lives.  God wants to work with you financially and to see all His financial promises in your life.  If you want God’s will for your financial life, which is increase (Praise God) then study the Bible’s teachings on money, and begin sowing financial seeds to receive financial harvests.

As I’ve said, in God’s amazingly brilliant economic system, we increase financially, bless others, honor God, and draw closer to God all at the same time.