April 10 - Spiritual Money

April 10

Spiritual Money

Rom 12:2 …that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Did you know you can find God’s will in your check book? Neither did I but it must be you can, because I have seen it happen time after time. Many years ago some people in the church I attended started talking about getting a church bus. That was during the time that the Hyles-Anderson theology was creating a buzz in churches that wanted to grow. A new family was all for getting a bus right away. Many people in the church were opposed to spending money on a bus.

One evening during the deacons meeting the church treasurer read the financial report. It included $25 in the bus fund! I was unaware that we even had authorized a bus fund. But someone had taken out their checkbook and with a stroke of a pen our church now had a bus fund. Even though the deacon board returned the money to the donor, the die had been cast and within a few weeks there was enough money in the general fund to purchase a bus. So the church bought a bus.

I know of a church that wanted to build on to their church. The pastor told the congregation to use their homes as collateral and take out a loan to give to the church so they wouldn’t have to wait to build the addition.

Well, while that plan is a bit unusual, it sure beats waiting for God to supply the money.  It is just another example of the Spirit of the Checkbook. “Oh mighty checkbook, is it your will that we install a new sound system in the church? It will cost $5000 dollars. Let us look in your pages and see your balance. Oh Praise you lovely checkbook. We have $7238.73, so it must be your will for us to do it. Amen”

OK So that is a little melodramatic. But while no church or pastor would actually do that, I have been in countless meetings where a question of buying something or spending money has come up and the first question is not is it the will of God. The first question is “How much do we have in the general fund?” 

Now before you stop reading and write me off as some kind of hyper spiritual nut ball, let me share with you the story of a man who lived according to the will of God. His name was George Muller. If you aren’t familiar with him, he was the guy in England that started orphanages and depended on God to supply everything. He had some rules he followed. He never told anyone there was a need, except God. He prayed several times a day. Time after time he was faced with supplying the food and clothing needs of hundreds of orphans without more than a few dollars. He would pray and God would answer. The money would come in from the most unlikely and unexpected places.

But today we are talking about the will of God and not how God answers prayer. So let me get back on track.

The reason I have introduced Muller is I learned a great lesson from his narratives. On page 50 of a book entitled Answers to Prayer  Muller makes the following entry from 1864 in regards to the purchase of 17 acres for his #4 and

# 5 orphanages. “I might have bought it years ago; but that would have been going before the Lord. I had money enough in hand to have paid for it years ago; but I desired patiently, submissively, to wait God’s own time, and for Him to mark it clearly and distinctly that His time was come, and that I took the step according to His will…”

The property had been for sale. Muller had sufficient funds to purchase it, but he did not because he did not feel it was God’s will at the time. He prayed thousands of times and after a few years, events clearly indicated that it was God’s timing and God’s will to go ahead.

Our modern churches know nothing of such a mentality. The thought of doing what Muller did is so foreign to our way of thinking that we are tempted to call him too extreme. But God blessed this man and answered his prayers for 64 years during which he provided for thousands of orphans.

May we be more anxious to apply our faith to determining God’s timing and His will as we make decisions about how to be faithful stewards of what He has entrusted to our care. May we also be less anxious to use our check book balance as a substitute for the directive will of God.

The measure of success in churches today is number of people, size of buildings, and how quickly a church is growing. These are meaningless to our God. He requires obedience to His will and Word. 

1Co 4:2  Moreover it is required in stewards,

that a man be found faithful.