I’m appalled by what I see now and versus what I study in the scriptures, especially in relation to the church history which is according to the bible and scriptures and I must admit 'it's not what it is supposed to be — I’m talking in financial and economical terms of the church.'
Financial and economically as the church we are behind or I can say we are not living according to what the scriptures say we ought to and when I say the church I mean ‘the body of christ”
Studying from the life of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph you’ll see that when the world went into ‘famine’ the church which is ‘Israel’ experienced financial success and abundance — and the world in large relied on the church for survival. (it made things easier to prove their God)
The purpose of this blog writing is to look at things in perspective and focus in terms of financially and economically. I’m not talking about giving food parcel as per church which I know most churches and ministers are giving to the needy in times like this — I’m talking globally and taking things from a global perspective — the church as a whole.
Famine is a symbol of financial distress like the 2008/09, the great depression like in 1929, and pandemics which as it is happening now with the COVID-19
These downfalls affect people, lives, countries, and the world financially, socially, and economically -and my question is; what is the role of the church?
What role is the church playing? For instance, left and right you hear news of governments setting out billions of dollars for the economic relief, billionaires giving to the solidarity fund, and other funds given to the WHO
The more I see it, the more I see governments leading — the question is, will the church only lead after the pandemic is done with healings? Some may say, but other churches have been giving to the solidarity fund, — my argument is that they have not giving on a big scale, and by consequences, we are not at the forefront.
Some governments and billionaires are coughing billions of dollars and the church is giving out food parcel, 2 million rands, 1 million dollars and so on — who is going to make the news? Of course, those who are giving on a big scale.
And who is going to make an impact? The messaging and the agenda of the government is likely to succeed, rather than that of the church. People are likely to respect governments than that of the church — if a Muslim gives big at this point, their agenda, purpose, and mission are likely to overcome.
Okay, let's go back…
According to the scriptures, the land, money, wealth, riches, resources, and everything that is within the earth belongs to ‘us’ the church — not the government…
The verse I want us to focus on is Isaiah 9 verse 6 which says
“For to us, a child is born, to us, a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9v6 is a prophecy about the birth of Jesus Christ -And Jesus Christ is the church.
I love it when it says in the passage, ‘the government will be on his shoulders’ in the message version bible it says “He’ll take over the running world.”
So when Jesus died on the cross -He was taking over the governments and the running of the world. He was becoming the ruler of the government and therefore we are the government.
Jesus resurrected and he ascended to heaven and has left that authority with us the church. Who we are his government and therefore any government should submit under our authority.
The Bible says that the church is the body of Jesus Christ
As the body of Christ, the government is and must be upon our shoulders, not the other way around. The governments of this world were supposed to be looking at the church, not the church looking at the governments.
The Bible says we are the borrower, not the lender — the church was supposed to be lending to the governments, not the other way around. Or at least I’m glad we are no borrowing.
Like I said I’m always surprised by how behind we are as the church — and if you don't get me then maybe it would help if we would study the life of Joseph and you will see that; when the world was hit by the great famine Joseph “who is a symbol of Israel, which is the church” was on top and was a leader during this difficult times.
For God, in order to save Israel, which is the symbol of the church he raised Joseph to become the prime minister of Eygpt and the whole world looked up to Joseph for survival.
He had by the wisdom of God, during the seven years of plenty saved and stored up all the harvests that were during those seven years and during the seven years of famine, the Egyptians and the whole world relied on Joseph for supplies.
As Genesis 41 from verse 47–49 says “ During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully. Joseph collected {saved, stored} all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city, he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it. Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.”
Joseph did this because of the famine that was to come and that was not just famine — it was a great depression because it affected not only Egypt but the whole world.
It was a severe global economical and financial downfall and a very serious recession.
Genesis 41 verses 53 to 57 elaborates how powerful Joseph was and how all the governments, everybody, and anything cried and relied upon his shoulders.
“The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was a famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt, there was food. When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.” When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe everywhere.”
And what I love is that Joseph as a good Christian, or believer as we say and he did not say give and it would be given to you good measure, pressed down and shaken together. He did not say God loves a cheerful giver, and he certainly did not go out with phones, and cameras showing as to what he was doing which is what Christian does best — giving to the poor.
The bible says Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians and it came to a point whereby the whole world came to buy grain from Joseph.
We can say Joseph was very economical in his practice or he was business-wise, or he was financially savvy in this situation and he understood that he had a global demand. He was a solution during times of trouble — and that is what the church is supposed to be: a solution in times of distress.
If you read further you’ll realize that Joseph had the global economy at his hands and fingertips — that is where the church supposed to be: we ought to be controlling the economy of the world.
How do we do that?
Instead of just teaching giving, and the principle of seeding, tithing, and other spiritual principles pertaining wealth — we out to be teaching believers to be like Joseph, have a product, find a gap in the market place, create a service or product which is a solution to that market.
Find problems and come up with solutions. We ought to be teaching them to take over in the financial world, in the economy, and give them an understanding of entrepreneurship. Joseph had a product, which was a global demand and he sold it.
Reading the bible I didn't see where God told him to sell it, and I didn't see where God rebuked him for selling bread and grain -after all, it was God who gave him the gift of interpretation.
But Joseph knew that in order to control the economy — you need to have a global demand. In order to be powerful and influential, you need to have what everyone wants and needs
The church was and had supposed to have trained financial missionaries, and millionaires and billionaire believers — that in times like this the church is taking over and is ahead.
I’m not talking about training them about giving and seed principles — I’m talking about equipping them to be like Joseph and be like King Solomon who had a Horse-Trading-Empire and just as the prophet Elisha taught the woman on how to build an oil empire business and pay her debts
2kings chapter 4 verses 1 to 7 highlights the whole story when the woman who was left in debts by one of the sons of the prophet, {for God sake, he was so spiritual, feared God, served the prophet and he died and left his wife with those debts.} The wife came crying to the prophet because the creditors had come and wanted to take her two sons.
You’ll see that the prophet didn't say give the oil to the poor or to the church and you’ll be able to pay for the debts. In verse 7 the bible says when she came to the prophet after she had done filling up the vessels the man of God said to her, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”
She only had a “little oil”
She had a product or we can say a commodity which she could sell — the man of God gave her a miracle and an idea on how to live for the rest of her life, which is making a profit from the oil — and I’m pretty sure she afterward opened an oil-empire business.
The prophet did not only give her "a miracle" of an unending supply of the oil - but gave her an idea to build a business empire.
You see I’m already teaching business from the bible perspective and showing you that there were believers in the scriptures who built empires, had commodities, products, and services which they were selling therefore business is not devilish but scriptural.
Selling is not a bad thing — its a business principle and it takes you into an influential and powerful side. Having a business and entrepreneurial mindset has always made people of the world rich, and powerful
Even when you look at the billionaires' list on Forbes; ‘no one is on that list unless they are selling something, whether be property, Softwares, apps, food, clothes, accessories or whatever they are selling through their empires — the point is: they are selling something.
Just as the Prophet taught the woman - we supposed to be teaching believers and say “Go and sell, pay your debts, build an empire from it and live from the rest of the profits.”
What I’m teaching is also backed up by Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 18 as it says “You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the power to get wealth”
Meaning God has given us the church the power, ability, and strength to create wealth — and that power simply means “ideas” to create wealth are given by God.
Truth is that what I’m saying is: “the church was supposed to be doing more than the governments.”
There comes a time that the governments will be jealous, embarrassed, and shocked by what the church would be doing in the lives of people and the world — and I’m talking economically and socially because we would be controlling the world’s economy.
I once read a story that in 1 year Akon did more for Africans than the government and charities by helping 600 million Africans. The Senegalese-American R&B hip hop recording artist, Aliaune Damala Bouga, popularly known by his stage name “Akon” in 2015 he launched a mega solar project aimed at providing electricity to some 600 million Africans.
I’m sure most charities and the governments were embarrassed by what Akon did, and was doing because that is what they are supposed to be doing and guess what? Akon is a Muslim — not a Christian.
The Church was supposed to be embarrassing and putting the government into jealousy as Joseph did in his time and I strongly believe that Isaiah 9v6 does prove that by saying that the government will be upon on his shoulders.
The government will rely on, and cry unto the church — we haven't got there, however, we supposed to be there — and I believe we would reach that point.
Imagine as a church we go to the rural areas and informal township like Khayelitsha and we build a state of the art kind township and revamp it into a stardom township with even factories, nice town-houses, great sewerage systems, and clean water pumps.
We build places of businesses like malls, factories, and change the state of their economy and create job flow within the township. For instance, we cough up about R10 billion just like it is nothing and we change the status of their township in a split-second.
From an economic and social standpoint view, we would have changed their lives and done what the democratic government has promised them since 1994. It will be then easy, to talk in spiritual terms and influence them from a spiritual point of view.
Going back to Joseph and the Church...
You can go through the story and the life of Joseph and you’ll see how interesting it is and how severe the famine became.
It came to a point that they sold everything, their livestock, their lands, and eventually, they sold themselves as slaves and workers of Joseph.
Joseph is the shadow of the church, which is the body of Jesus Christ.
The government of Israel and other governments or you could say other kingdoms relied, and cried on the shoulders of Joseph for survival — and guess what? That is what the church was supposed to be during these times and ages.
In times like the COVID-19 pandemic — the church was supposed to be on top financially, lending to the governments, building science labs for scientists to come up with a speedy recovery remedy, and assisting in hundreds of billions of dollars to the world.
Isn't what the bible says
that …
We are the leaders
We are the blessing to the world
We are the lenders
we are above
Isn't the bible that said, “silver and gold is mine says the Lord”?
Doesn't the Bible says that “the world is the Lord’s and all its fullness.”
Ain’t we the heirs of the world? I thought the world belongs to us?
The scripture that says “All the silver and gold of the world is mine saith the Lord.”
Not some, but all — and that scripture simply means “the world’s economy is under the rule of the church and it belongs to the church.”
According to the bible — what is of God is of the Church
God has given Jesus Christ all dominion, and us through Jesus Christ we have that dominion.
Do you know why we are not seeing this in fulfillment?
Because instead of ministers teaching prosperity in a global perspective, they preach and teach it for self — not only for themself.
But as in like for the individual believer — true they teach you to prosper but never taught the church to prosper as a whole for the good of the church and for global issues like we are facing now.
I always fell kind of cringy when I see believers coming to testify on Sunday because they have successfully bought a car or a house — I’m sure you’re like isn't what we are supposed to be testifying about?
Well, if you read, and have studied the bible you’ll understand that all that belongs to you — it's normal just like drinking water.
it's normal for you to drink water — would you testify on Sunday for drinking water? Exactly it's supposed to be a normal thing for you to have houses — not a house, to have cars, riches, the Rolexes, and for you to be a millionaire or a billionaire.
Christianity is far and above than those things — why testify about what you were supposed to have or be in natural terms? would you testify that you are black or white? Nah you won't, because you know its a natural thing and you were born like that.
Why testify for things which you were born to be or have? Imagine Prince Harry testifying that he is happy that he is rich — he was born wealthy and was born in wealth and you won’t see or hear him happy and testifying that he just bought a Bentley.
Didn’t you read the bible and it says you’re of the Royal Family which is the Family of God-head? The same family which you were born in, especially when you say I’m born again
Don't you know that family is rich — it owns the earth, the world, the galaxies, and the heavens and everything that you see in creation
Now you’re part and an heir of that family!
Okay, let me stop blowing you...
I’m off and for such, I was born to teach and preach. Judge for yourself you’ve got the scriptures with you — it’s just that Christians don’t read. They wait for their pastors to do the reading for them.
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