Hello Friends! Be encouraged people of God!
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." (Isaiah 43:18-19)
So last week, I prematurely began running my mouth about finances after sharing about the crazy price increase happening with used cars! I knew at the time that God was burning a message inside of me, but I needed more time to flesh it out, seek His word and relay it in a way that was coherent.
Fair warning:
This may be the most controversial post I write. Many people will scoff at me and turn their heads and think these things are dishonoring to the religious institutions that we have grown to trust. But I also believe this is the most exciting, encouraging and hopeful post that I will write. And if no one else reads it, or understands the things written in it, then at least I will have it to look back on once all of these things are fulfilled.
About the Car
So, to start, I have to revisit the incident that sparked this topic. A week or 2 ago, a little critter ran up into the hood of my car and chewed at some important electrical wiring, resulting in our need to take our car the dealership to get fixed. I have a 2020 Toyota Sienna that we bought unexpectedly in the height of the pandemic (May 2020), after our previous car had numerous electrical, power steering, honking while turning, and other issues. We had never before bought a new car, but for the first time, we took a leap of faith, and financed a car that would be safe for our family. I say “leap of faith” and many of you may think that financing a new car is normal. But we had always tried to buy cars in cash, so as to not have a car payment. I would say this was a commonly held belief for us and many other Christians or conservatives. A year later, my husband and I resolved to pay off our car in full and prayed together for supernatural provision to get the van paid off in 2 months. God absolutely showed up and we sure enough owned our new mini van, free and clear, just 2 months later.
Now, when we took the van in to get fixed a few weeks back, the car dealership on the spot offered to buy our van back for $5,000 MORE than we originally paid for it. SHOCK! I have always been told, and it has always proven true that new cars depreciate in value the moment you drive it off of the car lot! Never in my wildest dreams would I expect a car that is now 2 years old to actually INCREASE in value! And at this, I knew God was up to something! I knew this to be a sign of the NEW THING that has been prophesied and that God has shown me personally.
In retrospect, I was in awe that despite the fact that we went against our previously held ideas of wisdom and good counsel to finance a new car, God used that very car for a potential financial increase! (Spoiler: we haven’t sold our van at this point, but I am using it as an important illustration about what the Lord is up to).
In my excitement I jumped on social media to share my bewilderment and excitement at what I saw was an obvious “changing of the guard” of an old system. But instead of my excitement being met, I found a lot of people one again parroting the old council that we had always held as wisdom. “Keep your van!” “ Your car is paid off, why would you sell it now?”
And while I fully understand and submit to this kind of reasoning, I couldn’t ignore or fight the revelation that I was having in my spirit! “Behold, I am doing a new thing, Do you not perceive it? Now it springs forth.” (Isaiah 43:19). Oddly enough, that verse has meant a lot to me for the past 5 years, as my friend prophesied it over the birth of Emmy. Emmy was our baby that signified a “new beginning” for our family. The same week I found out I was pregnant with Emmy, I also learned that my husband had been engaged in an affair with another woman. It was the darkest season of my life and yet, God, “made a way through the wilderness, and streams in the desert.” This prophetic decree had a huge impact on our family 5 years ago, the same way it does today, and believe it or not it still revolves around babies being born, new things being birthed to life, and God making way in the darkest of seasons!
It will start with the Fall of Roe & a Jubilee
Yes, I am talking about abortion, and really it is just a bridge to cross to get to the heart of the subject at hand. It is the parting of the red sea that we have to walk through. It (abortion) is the alter to Baal that must be torn down before we can see a Gideon Army take new territory. So it is absolutely no surprise at all that abortion is once again the topic at the forefront of the news! We are fast approaching the 50 year anniversary of Roe V. Wade. And I know in my heart that this anniversary will mark the reversal of the current “law of the land”. Yes. Roe will be torn down! And what will happen next will be an avalanche of all God has spoken in past years coming to pass.
The tearing down of roe v wade after 50 years will mark a TRUE jubilee! Leviticus 25: 8-10 explains,
“In addition, you must count off seven Sabbath years, seven sets of seven years, adding up to forty-nine years in all. Then on the Day of Atonement in the fiftieth year, blow the ram’s horn loud and long throughout the land. Set this year apart as holy, a time to proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live there.”
Here is what the bible tells us to expect in a jubilee from Leviticus 25-26.
-returning to the land that belonged to your ancestors and returning to your clan (prodigals coming home).
-slaves will be freed
-debts will be forgiven
-interest will not be charged
-peace in the land
-large, bountiful harvests
-a baby boom (infertility be gone)
-God will be among us! His Spirit poured out!
“I will give you peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep with no cause for fear. I will rid the land of wild animals and keep your enemies out of your land. In fact, you will chase down your enemies and slaughter them with your swords. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand! All your enemies will fall beneath your sword. I will look favorably upon you, making you fertile and multiplying your people. And I will fulfill my covenant with you. You will have such a surplus of crops that you will need to clear out the old grain to make room for the new harvest! I will live among you, and I will not despise you. I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high.”
-Leviticus 26:6-13
The excitement is tangible! God among us!
God is Changing the RULES
I know all of this is so exciting! How could anyone think anything besides how good and amazing this sounds? I have a warning in my spirit for all Christians. I have been shown this warning in the past, not to despise the new move of God that is coming upon the earth. God spoke very clearly to me a year ago, that the ones that will carry the great revival will not be who we expect, and that many in the body of Christ will reject these torch carriers. Similarly, God has recently shown me that many Christians will also reject the new thing that God is doing because it will directly affect the old way that Christendom has operated and will specifically alter the systems that man has put in place for religion’s sake. But God has said, these are man’s systems, Not Mine! God is going to completely change the rules of the game! I am 100% certain.
As I have been reflecting on all these things, I was sitting in church when the Spirit of the Lord spoke to me and said, “I am changing the rules”. Immediately I was reminded of Moses striking the rock after God told him to speak to the rock. This act of disobedience resulted in Moses being kept out of the Promise Land at the end of his life. The story goes like this (paraphrasing):
The Israelite's had been roaming the desert and were thirsty and without water. Moses sought the Lord and He told Moses to strike a rock with his staff and water would come gushing out (Exodus 17). A second time, the Israelite's are without water and again Moses seeks the Lord. This time, God tells Moses to SPEAK to the rock (Numbers 20). But, Moses strikes the rock instead of speaking to it and again water comes from the rock. God was not pleased because Moses disobeyed. Both times, the water came out and the people were able to drink, but Moses’s disobedience keeps him from entering the Promise Land.
So where did Moses go wrong? He sought the Lord both times, but the second time, he believed in his heart that the original rule (striking the rock) still applied so he did what he knew would produce the end result of the water coming from the rock. And water did still came out. But guess what, God was speaking a NEW THING and Moses did not discern it. Similarly today, many will continue to operate in the old set of rules, and they may even reap the same result as when those rules still applied. But if you listen carefully to what the Lord is currently speaking, he is indeed changing the rules! The old rules may still work to a degree but they are no longer God’s rules. I can not emphasize this enough, because that is how hard it is going to be to change old mindsets about how Christians are to live and operate and preach and evangelize and do church and do school and do finances… But listen carefully my friends, God has been changing the rules for years now, do you not perceive it? He is indeed doing a new thing!
Oh I wish I could leave it at that, but I know you need more proof, more justification that God is in fact changing the rules. Blessing and honor have flowed from the old set of standards, but I beg the question, “whose standards were they to begin with?”
To understand why God may have blessed past methods of operating in the church and among his people, you have to understand chronos time and kairos time. It is very much aligned with the law of the Sabbath year (every 7th year) and the year of Jubilee (50th year). Chronos time is chronological. It is where man builds up systems of government and finances and policies and life goes on seemingly normally. And then you have Kairo’s times, where God intervenes and sets up new ways, His ways on the earth. These Kairo’s times can be seen as jubilees! Where God set’s the record straight and puts things back in right order. I can not speak to when the last jubilee may have been. I know there have been past great revivals for the Kingdom of heaven, but I believe this coming jubilee is going to be BIBLICAL! It is going to be a divine reordering of many, perhaps ALL things, across all nations!
TWO WARNINGS:
Now to speak to another very clear aspect of the coming jubilee. The Lord is going to wipe away debts. I know saying this can cause a wide range of emotions from excitement to perhaps jealousy of those who have lived modestly and without acquiring debts. But I have to make it very clear that God does not hold either position as higher or better than the other. Jesus himself spoke to both of these viewpoints.
The First Warning: To those forgiven of their debts
First in the parable of the unforgiving debtor (Matthew 18: 21-35), Jesus warns those who are forgiven of great debts to offer the same forgiveness they received:
“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.[k] He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars.[l] He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 3But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.” - Matthew 18:21-35
Second warning: To those with little to be forgiven.
Jesus speaks about those who feel they are justified in a higher reward for doing what they perceive as “right” and comparing themselves to those who they look upon as having been disobedient. One such example is the brother in the parable of the prodigal son who becomes jealous at his brother’s warm welcome home after running off to live a life of sin. And another example in Luke 7: 39-50 Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven- as her great love has shown, But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” Still, let us look closer at a third example, the Parable of the Vine Workers in Matthew 20.
“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay the normal daily wage[a] and sent them out to work. At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’ They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’ The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’ That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’ He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’” (Matthew 20:1-16)
God’s ways are not our ways. It really is that simple. Yet, so hard for our hearts to understand. The Lord can elevate anyone he chooses and reward anyone he wants. He is not unfair or unjust. These parables are important to keep in your mind when you begin to see God’s hand at work, forgiving debts, transferring wealth, tearing down old systems and using unlikely people to rebuild new systems. These things are going to take place and have already begun.
A HARD TRUTH
Now for a hard truth, which I feel I must address- those who have fervently followed the financial council of Christian influencers such as Dave Ramsay, may have a hard time understanding what God is doing in this time. I have listened to these and similar Christian financial teachings in the past and I have always felt a check in my spirit. It is being highlighted even more in these days, that this is NOT God’s system, but man’s. I know how hard this is to hear, trust me it is harder to write! Although I believe there is some wisdom in these teachings, and that they have worked for some or perhaps many, in the past, God is expecting us to actively seek out HIS financial systems. And HIS system is NOT to have 1 million dollars in your bank account - that has actually NEVER been God’s system. Please don't stop reading here if I have offended you, I hope to make it all clear!
In fact the bible is clear, time and time and time and time again that the way to financially prosper is not to store up wealth but to tithe, to give, to sow, to plant, to give more, to leave behind homes and lands and comfort… If I listed all the verses here this post would be LONG, but here are some references for you to look up on your own:
-Matthew 6:19
-Matthew 19:21-24
-Acts 2:45
-1 Chronicles 29:14
-Proverbs 11:25
-Luke 6:38
-Proverbs 3:9
-2 Corinthians 9: 6-11
-Proverbs 3:27
-Malachi 3:10
-Luke 6:30
-Matthew 10:8
-Luke 3:11
Fear or Faith in Finances
Our church has a motto which is really more like a lifestyle or core value of “Tear the Loaf” which is an example of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes (Matthew 14:13-21). In giving of what we have, even when what we have seems to be little, we will see supernatural multiplication. This has proven true in my families personal finances again and again.
In stark contrast, I have seen many people paralyzed in their finances when they look on it and see lack. Fear is at the root of many people’s financial burden. Fear of the future, fear of not having the provision necessary for the next week or month or year or even for retirement. But Jesus also tells us not to worry about these things in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6:25-34. Ending with these words, “For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:33-34).
I can already hear the “but’s” “what-a-bouts” and doubts swirling around in your mind and let me put you at ease. I believe in saving money. I think it is wise to have money set aside for unforeseen financial hardships. In fact, I will say that in practicing “tear the loaf” our finances have never been better and we have never had more money in savings than we do right now. But I do not see that as the goal. And I do not see it as the way that God asks us to live with our finances.
God really wants our blind trust. I find that the people with the most radical, blind faith, are the biggest givers, most generous are also the most abundantly blessed. The simple reason for this comes from the belief that absolutely E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.NG. in this world belongs to God. Our car - it belongs to God! Our land, our house, our kids- they all belong to God. The land next door, that I wish to buy someday, it also belongs to God. So I know I can approach my Heavenly Father in prayer with all boldness and ask Him for that land, because IT IS HIS! This is also seen in scripture. God Loves giving land! He loves to expand your territory! He loves to see you build for His Kingdom! Because, when you realize that everything you have belongs to God, then you want to use it for HIS purposes! And He wants to work WITH YOU to fulfill those purposes, thus, MORE PROSPERITY!
The greatest example of this is the Parable of the Talents/Silver in Matthew 25: 14-29. It is one of my favorites!
The Parable of the Talents
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver[b] to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money. After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’ The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’ But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” (Matthew 25: 14-29),
I love this because it makes a few things crystal clear. 1. The silver belonged to the master, not the servants. Again, everything we have belongs to God. 2. It challenges the way we innately think- fear drives the 3rd servant to bury (hide away) the silver rather than invest it or do something with it. 3. Instead of cultivating an attitude of “equity” and everything having to be fair, the servant who hid his silver, get’s it taken from him and given to the servant who did the most with his silver.
You guys, money does NOT have value in and of itself. Money sitting in the bank will not have any value if our banking system crumbles. THESE ARE ALL MAN MADE SYSTEMS! THEY ARE NOT GOD”S SYSTEMS! It begs the question, where do you put your trust. Are you secure in your finances because you have a large bank account or because you BELIEVE that God will provide for ALL of your needs when you seek HIM and HIS KINGDOM?
STEWARDSHIP
Lastly I must address the subject of stewardship, because I know that is the first thing that jumped into many of your minds. “But, God wants us to be good stewards!”
YES! He does! Do you know what stewardship is? Obeying God. That is good stewardship. If God tells you to sell everything you have to purchase a field where you found buried treasure, then obedience to that command IS stewardship! Sometimes God will tell you to do something that will confound the wise (it will be against worldly wisdom, it may even be against “Christian wisdom”). God may tell you to sell your home, move across the country to a state you have never even visited, buy a piece of land in a flood zone, live in a manufactured house with your 6 kids, and build a barn for the harvest. And no matter how crazy it may seem to others, and no matter how much “wise counsel” you may receive telling you not to do it– STEWARDSHIP is doing the thing that God said, not the thing man said! And as I am writing this, I know that you know it’s true! I know God has spoken to each one of YOU before and told YOU to do something that other’s advised against.
LAST THINGS
The whole point in writing this isn’t to leave you in doubt or questioning, but to build up your faith for what God is going to do next in the earth! This is going to START WITH the overturning of ROE VS WADE! That is the altar to Baal which requires human sacrifice to keep its stronghold over the land. Then we will see a tearing down of the old systems! just as I mentioned above with the financial system. All the past ways that have seemed wise in your finances are going to be flipped! And it is for God’s purposes! He is going to transfer wealth from all that corrupts to that which is pure and ready for more (just like the parable of the servants). The car dealerships are a sign of what is to come- their lots are empty, they have to buy back your cars to resell. Do not take this lightly, it may be a divine opportunity from the Throne of Grace. Hold on tight for this divine flip and don’t fall out during this rollercoaster of a ride! Wait, it will not stop with the financial systems. God will tear down the education system and put it in the hand of the righteous to rebuild! This has already begun- have you perceived it? He will bring the medical system to ruins and it’s lies will be revealed for all to see! Hidden cures will be made known and knowledge about natural health and wellness will be reestablished! And let us not forget what he will do for the CHILDREN! Your wombs will be OPENED! Those who have desperately waited for a baby and longed to conceive, YOU WILL BE GIVEN A DOUBLE PORTION! It is a jubilee! A great move of adoption will sweep across the land. Families will be healed and restored! The land will be fruitful. Legacies will be established. And the Lord will be among us. A great outpouring of His spirit is going to be a reality! Can you taste it yet?!
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.” (Luke 5: 37-39)
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