God Empowers the Weak (8) - David Eells - UBBS 10.4.2026

God Empowers the Weak (8) (audio) David Eells, 10/4/26 God works all things together for our good if we love and obey Him. God hasn’t failed. God hasn’t missed. He hasn’t fallen off the throne. Everything He’s doing is to bring to pass the purpose that He had before the foundation of the world, when He chose you in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). If Adam had never fallen, would God ever have had to choose you to be in Christ? No. You mean, God knew that the fall was going to happen and He went ahead anyway? Yes. The Scripture teaches that very clearly. So we’re not here by accident. This is not Plan B. We were each put here like a seed sown in the earth. But then, among those seeds, the evil one came and sowed another seed, the tares (Matthew 13:25). We’ve been sown in the earth to bring forth fruit. When you take a seed and you shove it down in the earth, there’s dirt all around it. Don’t be surprised when you see dirt all around your soul. The dirt is your carnal or fleshly man. That’s God’s plan. It’s quite natural for a seed to grow in dirt, but it doesn’t grow very well if you leave it sticking out on top of the ground, or put it in the rocky places, or put it in the highways and byways (Matthew 13:4-8). A seed only grows well in the dirt. We don’t like the dirt, but take heart and rejoice because we’ve been put here to bear fruit to the seed of the Word. Where God has you is the most natural place for you to bear fruit. You just have to learn to agree with God in the process and not fight against Him. He has a process and a method. His method is going to be manifested by your obedience to Scriptures your flesh or dirt doesn’t like. Our flesh fights against it, but it’s the most important commandment of Jesus to crucify the flesh. It will put to death the old man, to bring to life the new man. (Mat.10:16) Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. A dove is a pretty harmless critter. So is a sheep. Sheep are really pretty stupid, too. I’ve been around them a little bit, but I understand that when a wolf goes after them, they just hunker down and die. There’s no biting, there’s no kicking, there’s none of that. No fight at all in them. They just hunker down and die like it’s what they were created to do. Well, that’s the way we’re supposed to be. (Mat.10:16) Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. (17) But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you; (18) yea and before governors and kings shall ye be brought for my sake…. “For my sake.” This is what He’s talking about. For Christ to live in us, we have to obey His command here. You have to be like sheep in the midst of wolves. It’s for His sake that we’re delivered up. (Rev.13:10) If any man [is] for captivity, into captivity he goeth: if any man shall kill with the sword, with the sword must he be killed. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. The real saints will patiently resist not the evil in others. . The violent people who lift themselves up are going to die a quick death because God has an enemy coming against them that’s not going to lose. Even if they fall on their own sword, they’re not going to be wounded because God’s sending them. They’re coming to accomplish their purpose, and that is to destroy Babylon in us; to crucify the flesh in us. The people of God are going to be set free through the destruction of Babylon. But there’s also a little Babylon in each of us that has to be destroyed, too, and that’s why we’re going to go through this experience. Not only Babylon corporately, but Babylon individually. And God’s sending an enemy that’s fully qualified to take care of that. But He says it’s going to take patience, and it’s going to take faith for you not to take the sword because when you take the sword, your spirit man loses ground. My wife had a dream about this: a younger brother who was out of his mind with getting vengeance on the world. God was showing us that there is a young brother out here in the world, a young Christian brother, corporately speaking, that’s going to rise up against this country and think to take things into their own hands. People don’t understand this because their teachers didn’t teach them this, and their lives will be cut short because the enemy who’s coming against them is not going to lose. God has a purpose in everything. God is Sovereign and everything He does is right; even if He does it through a wicked vessel, it’s right. When He crucified the Lord, He used wicked vessels to do it (Acts 2:23) and it was right. Today, there are these militant anti-abortionists who are trying to get abortion outlawed by force. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m against abortion. It’s murder and there’s no way you can call it right. But God is so Sovereign that He will use abortion to take babies out of this world because if those same babies were to grow up in this world, raised by this wicked generation, they’d be hell-bound. He’s taking them out of this world through this wicked device so they can go to be with Him. God is no fool; everything He does is right. When you look at circumstances, just remember God’s in them. He’s doing everything after the counsel of His Own Will (Ephesians 1:11). He doesn’t ask the devil anything, and He doesn’t back away from him. The devil just happens to be a vessel of dishonor who is, believe it or not, doing God’s Will. He’s wicked, he’s evil, he’s wrong, and the people who follow him are wicked, evil, and wrong, but he will fulfill the Will of God. The devil is here for people to make a choice. He’s here to bring judgment upon the sons of God who do wrong. As a matter of fact, the devil is here to give them an opportunity to do wrong. They have a choice in whom they obey and serve. This is part of our creation. We need an opportunity to do wrong. We’re going to find out through this process who the sons of God are. There are many who claim to be the sons of God, but before it’s over, we’re going to find out who they really are because the creation is awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God (Romans 8:19) and we will see that. They’re going to look just like the first Son of God, Jesus. God says there’s no power but of Him (Romans 13:1). If a power is raised up, God put it there, and He wants you to submit to it as Jesus did, even when it’s evil. Remember, Paul wrote Romans 13 in a day when all the rulers over God’s people were evil. (Rom.13:2) Therefore he that resisteth the power, withstandeth the ordinance of God: and they that withstand shall receive to themselves judgment. (3) For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. And wouldest thou have no fear of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise from the same: (4) for he is a minister of God to thee for good…. Actually, the word “minister” there is the Greek word diakonos, meaning “deacon,” so these wicked worldly rulers are deacons. … But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is a minister (“deacon”) of God, an avenger for wrath to him that doeth evil. (5) Wherefore [ye] must needs be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. (6) For this cause ye pay tribute also; for they are ministers (“deacons”) of God’s service, attending continually upon this very thing. (7) Render to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute [is due;] custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. The Bible says, be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake. And, yes, there will come a time when they will say to you, “Deny Christ.” They will want you to trust in the arm of the flesh and submit to the authority of the Beast. But in this case we have a higher authority, Jesus. God says we should submit and obey as Jesus did when He was being crucified. The reason is that He put them in there to do this. Remember whom He put in authority when this was written. It was wicked rulers. Daniel was in the same situation, but he said that God raises up over the kingdom the basest of men (Daniel 4:17). He puts them there on purpose, and He puts them there to crucify us, if we will permit it. But God gives us His Word so that we learn to cooperate with Him in the process. We must cooperate with God in the process of crucifixion, and the way to crucifixion, as we just read, is weakness. A person who will not resist evil is a weak person, but the power of God to give them life will be there for people who are weak in the flesh. (Jer.17:5) Thus saith the Lord: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm…. If your strength is physical and not spiritual, then you’re cursed. Any part of God’s salvation works that way. Any place where you trust in the arm of the flesh, or run to the help of man, there’s a curse in it somewhere. It will be there. You can’t escape it because God’s Word is never wrong. God didn’t design for Christians to trust in the arm of the flesh for healing. That wasn’t His plan. God always heals. Did you ever see anybody come to Jesus whom He didn’t heal? He always heals. Apostate Christians say He doesn’t, but they’re wrong. It’s because they don’t believe. We must believe the Scriptures. There’s always a curse when you trust in the arm of the flesh. My momma and daddy had a good revelation of that. I shared how my momma had been taking some kind of medicine for years and one day she looked in Reader’s Digest side effects of medicine. It said the side effects of her medicine were breast cancer and glaucoma, and she had them both. It was a bad trade. And my daddy ultimately died of what the doctors did to him. It was another bad trade. God is the only One Who can deliver from the curse. Man tries, but all man does is shove it around a little bit. He can’t deliver you from the curse. God is the only One Who can do that because God is the One Who sent it. There were no bad side effects in Jesus’ method. If man could deliver you from a curse that God sent, then man would be stronger than God. No, man can’t do it. Look what they found out about penicillin. All they did was breed stronger germs that they can’t kill. They didn’t do away with it. What I’m saying is, look for the curse whenever man trusts in the arm of the flesh. It doesn’t matter what science it is, even psychiatry, which a lot of preachers are preaching now. If you have a problem, even some “full Gospel” churches will send you to a psychiatrist, and they’ll do it quickly. Never mind the Gospel. They don’t know about the power of the Gospel. They trust in the arm of the flesh for their power, forgetting about casting out demons. I’ll tell you, if you resist not the evil, you’ll see God stand up in front of you. You’ll see Him do miracles. I’d much rather be left in the hands of God (2 Samuel 24:14) than in the hands of man because that’s where you are when you resist the evil – you’re left in the hands of man. But God will do miracles. Do you know He can change men’s minds? He can give you favor. (Pro.16:7) When a man’s ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. God can change the heart of an enemy in a moment. It’s no problem for the Lord to change their mind. It’s no problem for Him to totally confuse them in their purpose, too, in a moment. I’ve seen Him do it, totally confuse them. They wonder what in the world they are doing there. (Jas.5:6) Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous [one]; he doth not resist you. Notice: The righteous do not resist their evil. The wicked do that. I know they put the word “[one]” there, but it’s in italics and not in the original. It’s not talking about Jesus because it says “he doth not,” present tense and future tense – “he doth not resist.” God’s command is very plain here. I know that people have taught that this doctrine is only true for the millennium, but that is totally stupid. Why would you need this doctrine in the millennium? (Heb.9:27) … It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this [cometh] judgment. Now is when we need to do this. (Pro.20:22) Say not thou, I will recompense evil: Wait for the Lord, and he will save thee. Wait for the Lord. He will save you. You say, “Well, He didn’t save Jesus.” That’s right because He wasn’t supposed to save Jesus who had to die for us. When Jesus died in the physical, He delivered us in the physical, but He died so that we could die in the spiritual, to the self life. He died so that we would have the ability to go against our flesh and win, so that this flesh would die. He made that possible. You’d never go against your flesh if it weren’t for His sacrifice. In fact, if you don’t exercise faith in His sacrifice, you won’t go against your flesh because it’s like picking yourself up by your own bootstraps, and that’s just not possible. You do what you are. The only way you can be something other than what you are is for God to reach in from the outside and put something there that wasn’t there naturally. Otherwise, you really are trying to pick yourself up by your own bootstraps. Christians always try to save themselves first. God wants that and that’s part of His plan. He steps back and says, “Go ahead,” and He watches you wrestle with yourself. When you finally discover, “Oh, it’s by grace,” then He steps in and does something. But first He wants you to get the revelation that you cannot save yourself. And if you keep saving yourself, or thinking you’re saving yourself, God will get you into the place where you can’t, because He wants you to understand that salvation is by grace and not man’s works. Your deliverance comes from Him by grace. He says to wait for Him. He’ll do it. He’ll save you. Don’t say within yourself, “I will do it.” Don’t even think it. This is where it has to stop. The battleground is in the mind, and it’s won or lost right there. You have to cast down every principle that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5). Everything. And one thing is this “my rights” business. We don’t have any rights. We were crucified with Christ. (Gal.2:20) I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that [life] which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, [the faith] which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. You are not your own. (1Co.6:19) … Ye are not your own; (20) for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body. You don’t belong to you. Your life doesn’t belong to you. Your money doesn’t belong to you. Your house doesn’t belong to you. (Luk.14:33) So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. That means your right, your will, your money; if you don’t renounce it, you are not a disciple; you are in rebellion against God. Think about it. We have to learn what this means to be a disciple. Renounce your rights. Dead men don’t have rights. Renounce your rights. Renounce your will. Renounce your material possessions; they are not yours. If they’re yours, you’re a thief because you stole them from God. He bought them; they’re His. If you’re doing with them what you want, you’re a thief. Do you realize that? That’s why we were given the Holy Spirit. God is our Lord. Let me show you another command of Jesus; another place where He wants us to be weak. The worldly church looks upon these as, “Well, that’s for Jesus.” But these “resist not him that is evil” are commands. If you’re a “disciple,” a mathetes, then you’re “a learner and a follower. That’s what a disciple is – a learner and a follower in the steps of Jesus. If you don’t obey these commands, you are not a disciple. You may be a tare in the midst of the wheat. You know, Jesus said, “if ye love me, ye will keep my commandments” (Joh.14:15). This is how we’re going to prove if we really love God. They’re the ones who desire to keep His commandments. They are mathetes; they are disciples. (Mat.6:19) Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal. Jesus commanded, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth.” That’s not a request, but we plan for a rainy day, when He tells us, “be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Mat.6:34). Even the preachers have their retirement savings accounts, as if they’re supposed to retire. I never saw anybody in the Bible ever retire; they just died or were killed doing His work. They didn’t need IRAs. They had the power of God. (Mat.10:9) Get you no gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses; (10) no wallet for [your] journey, neither two coats, nor shoes, nor staff: for the laborer is worthy of his food. Jesus sent the apostles out in weakness. When they came back, He asked them, “when I sent you forth without purse, and wallet, and shoes, lacked ye anything? And they said, Nothing” (Luk.22:35). So they didn’t have to store up to have their needs met. They didn’t have to be their own supplier to have their needs met. They walked by faith. God has shown me this. He’s made me go through this, too. Now a lot of people use the next verse to justify trusting in the arm of the flesh. They say, “Well, Jesus told us to take a sword.” By the way, did you know that people who store up are numbered among the transgressors, just as people who take the sword are numbered among the transgressors? Yes, they are. And since this verse covers both principles, it’s good that we look at it right here. (Luk.22:36) And he said unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet; and he that hath none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword. Why did He say, “sell his cloak and buy a sword”? Why would you have to sell a cloak to buy? Why couldn’t you just buy without selling something first? And why, in particular, a cloak? We know that the Bible tells us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. We’re putting on His righteousness. (Rom.13:14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, [to fulfil] the lusts [thereof]. He said, put away, as concerning your former manner of life, the old man (Eph.4:22). Put off “the old man,” which he called “your former manner of life.” Put off the old man and put on Christ. Jesus is saying you have to sell your cloak in order to buy a sword. Stop and think about it. You’re selling something. You’re selling something that God gave you in order to buy a sword. And not only that: (Luk.22:37) For I say unto you, that this which is written must be fulfilled in me, And he was reckoned with transgressors… Underline “transgressors” because that’s the whole point He’s making here. The person who takes his own supplies, who is his own supplier, and the person who takes the sword are both transgressors. So they may say, “Jesus told us to bring a sword,” but it’s contrary to what He said after they used it. (Luk.22:38) And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough. One translation says “that is enough.” It’s enough to prove you’re a transgressor because this is not what Jesus taught the whole way. The people who supplied their own needs, and they do it today; those who supply their own needs may put you under the Law in order to give to them and to give to their ministry. They do that because they’re afraid to stand by faith in God and, if they did, He would allow their little kingdom to crumble. That’s what He’d do because, if people gave according to the Holy Spirit, a lot of kingdoms around us would crumble. If you gave when God told you to give, where God told you to give, the kingdoms of men would crumble and they know it. So they put you under the Law. “You have to give to us. We are the storehouse. Bring your tithes into the storehouse.” No. the storehouse was in the temple, which we are. We don’t need to supply our own needs. The power of God will be manifest in our weakness. If you put yourself in a place of weakness, God will be there. He will see that you never do without. The apostles went out, and God was always with them. He’s no different with you. If you have to go in your strength, you’re in trouble. And everything that you use in your own strength, you’re going to lose because the world is going to plunder you. But if you go in God’s strength, then He is your supplier, He is your Jehovah-Jireh, and He’s never going to fail you. That’s where miracles are. You’ll see miracles if you do that. He said, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal (Mat.6:19). Why did He say that? I’ll tell you one very good reason is that He likens this to people who serve mammon and not God. (Mat.6:24) No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. You’re going to hold to the one and hate the other, and that means hold to the mammon and hate God. You can’t serve them both. He said, “for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luk.12:34). The word “mammon” means “confidence,” and it means “that which is trusted in.” It doesn’t just mean “money”; it means “treasure.” In fact, the Hebrew word for “treasure” is matmon, and it means “that which is trusted in.” You know what? You cannot hoard it and not trust in it. I’ve heard them preach it for years and they’re lying. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” You can’t have it in the bank, or however you have it stored up, and not trust in it. It’s just not possible. When a person gets in trouble, they’re going to run to their god, and then you know who their god really is. That’s why Jesus said that. He said it’s not possible to serve both God and mammon. (Mat.6:22) The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. (23) But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness…. In other words, get your eye only on the Lord because, if your eye is double, your whole body is going to be full of darkness. But He said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth.” What is wrong with doing this? For one thing, God has designed this earth to support the life that’s on it and “when goods increase, they are increased that eat them” (Ecc.5:11). So, if somebody is storing up, somebody else is doing without. And if somebody’s storing up, then, of course, they are trusting in that. Did you know that God called storing up “covetousness”? Do you know that the covetous will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven (Ephesians 5:5)? The covetous were separated in the early church. They’re not separated today, because it doesn’t make any difference; everybody is covetous. But in the early church they were separated from among God’s people. Paul said that if any man who is called a brother is covetous (1 Corinthians 5:11), then the church was to judge them (1 Corinthians 5:12). He put the covetous right in there with the fornicators. There was no difference. Jesus said, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth (Luk.12:15). The Bible says a covetous man is an idolater (Ephesians 5:5). Why is the covetous man an idolater? Do you know what the word “covetous” means? It does not mean “desiring what belongs to somebody else.” The Greek word means “desiring more.” Not being content but desiring more. And the Bible says, “but having food and covering we shall be therewith content” (1Ti.6:8), not desiring more. A person who is covetous is an idolater. “Idolater” comes from the Greek eidololatres, and it means “a servant to that which is seen.” Stop and think about this. Have all the luxuries of life given you any more time to spend with the Lord? You’d think so, but it seems they just rob you of your time more than they make free time for you. You become a servant to that which is seen, an idolater, an eidololatres. In the old days, before they had all this stuff, people had more time for the Lord. A materialistic society robs Christians. Christians are strong when they get out of materialism, when they’re content to lead a simple life, and they don’t need all the luxuries to make them happy. If you need all that to make you happy, you’re sick. Those things you accumulate shouldn’t be what make you happy. It’s the Lord Who should make you happy; it’s righteousness that should make you happy. The Lord knew this. (Luk.12:15) And he said unto them, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. (16) And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: (17) and he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits? (18) And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and I will build greater; and there will I bestow all my grain and my goods. In other words, he didn’t have any place to bestow his grain and his goods on anybody but himself. That’s the problem. He didn’t want to bestow them on anybody but himself. “I’ll get prettier. I’ll get bigger. I’ll get better.” (Luk.12:19) And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry. (20) But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night they require thy soul of thee. That’s what it says in the original Greek: “They require thy soul.” What requires your soul? The riches require your soul. The Bible teaches that in other places. (Luk.12:20) But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night they require thy soul of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be? (21) So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. Here’s the point: “They require thy soul of thee.” (Psa.49:16) Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, When the glory of his house is increased: (17) For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him. (18) Though while he lived he blessed his soul (And men praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself), (19) He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light. (20) Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, Is like the beasts that perish. He said they’ll never see the light. What is He talking about? Remember what was told to the rich man? (Luk.16:25) But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things: but now here he is comforted, and thou art in anguish. See, obviously things are going to be turned around in the next life. The Kingdom of Heaven is so totally opposite to this world. Things are in the works now to be turned around then. “Up” is “down” and “down” is “up” in the next life. Did you know that? He who humbles himself shall be exalted. Everything is going to be the opposite. It’s not going to be those whom the world has considered the great Christian leaders. It’s going to be the obedient and the fruitful. If you’re famous with the world, even the worldly church, you’re sick, and you’re in trouble. That was not the way the wicked treated the prophets and Jesus. If you are walking with God, then the world will treat you the way they treated the prophets and Jesus, which means you’ll be hated. (Pro.13:7) There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing (This is talking about having nothing toward the Kingdom.): There is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great wealth. (8) The ransom of a man’s life is his riches; But the poor heareth no threatening. What is a ransom? Isn’t it a price that must be paid for someone’s freedom from bondage? Look at what the price to be paid for freedom from bondage is: it’s the riches. It’s the treasures that are stored up. It’s the things that you don’t need and things you’re trusting in. That’s not the only place in the Scriptures it says that. Isn’t that amazing? (Luk.18:25) For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (They talk about this “eye of the needle” over there in the Middle East. And they called it the “eye of a needle” after Jesus preached this (Matthew 19:24; Mark 10:25; Luke 18:25), but you can’t shove a camel through there.) Jesus meant what He said. That which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God (Luk.16:15). Jesus said this to the Pharisees because they were lovers of money and they were scoffing at what He was saying. You know, God’s going to try us. God tries every one of us with money and with material goods. We’re going to be tried to see what we’re going to do with them. God made a command in the Old Testament concerning the manna (Exodus 16:18) and Paul used it in the New Testament to show us something. Look what Paul said in the New Testament. Why is it wrong to store up? Because if you’re storing up, you’re a thief, and I’m going to prove it to you from the Scriptures. (2Co.8:13) For [I say] not [this] that others may be eased [and] ye distressed; (14) but by equality: your abundance [being a supply] at this present time for their want, that their abundance also may become [a supply] for your want; that there may be equality. See, that’s what your store should be used for. Am I coming against your flesh? I hope so. In the New Testament, the rich are exhorted to be ready and willing to distribute. That’s their job when they come into the Kingdom and the reason is so “that their abundance also may become [a supply] for your want; that there may be equality: (2Co.8:15) as it is written, He that [gathered] much had nothing over (Underline that: “had nothing over.”); and he that [gathered] little had no lack.” See, God has a plan for the poor of the Kingdom, the people who are in need in the Kingdom, and His plan is “equality.” No, everybody’s not going to drive nice cars, I know that. But if you have your needs met, that’s the point. God wanted equality, and when the Church started in the Book of Acts, that’s immediately what they set out to do. People who had material possessions sold them and gave the money to the apostles for distribution to those in need. I tell you, the spirit of this is going to come back into the Church and there’s going to be equality, but what’s going to happen first is God’s going to take everything away from the super rich. He’s going to take everything away because Christians and all are in idolatry in this country, and they’re serving the things that they can see. All those things are going to pass away. In the judgment that God’s sending against this country, He’s going to take it all away from those that store up and redistribute it. A sister named Verna had a dream about all the valuables being held over a deep pit. God showed her it’s all going to be taken away because God’s going to deliver His people from idolatry. This is not going to bother people who don’t have a lust for things. They couldn't care less, as long as they can see the power of God and the work of God. God wants equality and He wants your excess to meet somebody’s needs, so that their excess will meet your need. Think about it, folks. Most of you believe that hard times are coming. If your excess now will meet somebody’s need, then their excess later will meet your need. That’s what it says there. The people who are going to have the hardest time are the people who are idolaters, the people who are serving things. If something is not yours, then God has to tell you what to do with it and, if you’re a disciple, it’s not yours. Every time God’s ever told me to do something great, He was there with grace in me to do it and He’s always done something greater for me. He has never failed. Never. And He never will fail you. If He tells you to do something, don’t worry about it and don’t fear. It’s His and He can do with it what He likes. If He tells you to do something with it, do it because He’s going to bless you. Jesus said, “give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give unto your bosom” (Luk.6:38). When you need, the way to get your needs met is not by storing up and it’s not by borrowing; it’s by giving. God made me prove that. There have been times when God didn’t supply my need until the last minute, and when I looked at what I had and looked at my bills on the other side, there was no way. Do you know what God told me to do? He said, “Give it. Get rid of it. Get it out of your hand.” As soon as I did that, He met the whole need, and He did this to me time after time. You see, the way to receive is to give. This is God’s method. And I’m not preaching that so that you give to me because I don’t care if you give to me. I don’t have to worry about that. I found that God is never going to fail me. Never. Now I know that it’s almost impossible to live today without having a bank account, without putting money in the bank to pay the bills. But Scripture tells us not to store up our treasure. Well, where is the line? I’m not trying to draw one. That’s between you and God. I’m not going to say anything that He didn’t say. But get alone with God and your conscience and find out what He means to you when He’s talking about that. I’m not going to put anybody under a law. Some of you may be thinking, “How could I pay my bills if I just gave everything away?” Oh, believe me, that’s happened to me many times. Many times, I had to give everything away before my bills got paid. God never failed me. I was never too late paying my bills, but I first had to get rid of whatever I had for Him to do it. And what I had wasn’t enough to cover the bills anyway, so I might as well get rid of it. It’s a place of being weak. See, when you are weak, He’s going to be strong. It’s an act of faith to give when you need, like the woman with the two mites, because God doesn’t measure your giving by how much you put in; it’s what you have left after you put in. The woman with the two mites gave more than all those rich Pharisees (Mark 12:42-44). They put in out of their abundance. Jesus didn’t mention them. They were putting in under the Law anyway. She wasn’t putting in under the Law. That was all she had. She was totally under grace and totally in faith in God and she figured, “This won’t meet my need, it might as well meet somebody’s,” and she just gave it. And I’ll tell you what, that woman didn’t go away without being blessed. I’ve experienced it. I know it’s true. Some people try to say that the way the early church met the needs of the saints is just communism, but there’s a big difference. There’s a difference between socialism or communism and Scriptural equality from the heart, and worked by God, and the other is by law. And there have been groups that have this legalistic way of communism. They had equality in the early church, but it was not the kind of communism we see in the world. That way is forced upon men who have wicked hearts because of law. And, as you know, the Law cannot make perfect (Hebrews 7:19). The Law does not have the power to bring things to pass, but grace does. When they gave in the early church to meet one another’s needs, God made sure that it was going to come back to them later. Anything that goes out comes back. There will be a time when your needs will need to be met and they will be met because you met others’ needs and you trust God. That’s what 2 Corinthians 8:14 says. And I’m not trying to draw a line there about how much. You figure that out. Only you know if it’s something that you’re trusting in. The only reason many people I know have a bank account is so they can write checks to pay their bills. I have one, too, but I don’t store up. In fact, I have to run and put money in the bank so that they can pay my bills. Okay, maybe you’re not storing up money, but you’re storing up groceries. Are you doing that for convenience so you’re not running to the store all the time? Or are you trusting in what you’ve stored up for yourself? God left some things between you and your conscience and Him, and that’s the way this is. Let God deal with you when you read that in 2 Corinthians because I don’t think we should make any laws or regulations. God wants to talk to you; He wants to lead you and if you humble yourself to those Scriptures, He will show you what it means for you. And that’s the way we ought to leave it and not go beyond the things which are written (1 Corinthians 4:6). Listen, this world is set up for the rich to plunder the poor, and this has always been true. There will come some relief when the plunderers meet with justice. God did not ordain this system except to teach the people a lesson. You know the people who are behind the wars in the world, who are behind the governments, who are raising up and destroying governments, have been the rich? It’s always been the rich. They are ruling this world, and the devil is using them to do it. He’s the god of this world. They worship him and they serve him. They’re in the physical realm ruling this world, although they don’t know God is over everything. (Jas.5:1) Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. And they are coming for this country. This is a pertinent word for this day. (Jas.5:2) Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. He’s talking about your spiritual riches being corrupted and your spiritual garments being moth-eaten. (Jas.5:3) Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. (4) Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days. (5) Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered in the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth (or “hosts”). (5) Ye have lived delicately on the earth (Does this remind you of the rich man and the beggar, Lazarus?), and taken your pleasure; ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter. (Jas.5:6) Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous [one]; he doth not resist you. [one] once again is not biblical here because the righteous are the ones being plundered. That was true in Jesus’ day and it’s true in this day. We should seek God for contentment. (1Ti.6:6) But godliness with contentment is great gain: (7) for we brought nothing into the world, for neither can we carry anything out; (8) but having food and covering we shall be therewith content. The Bible says we should be content with the simple things of life, a simple life. You may have read the stories of some of the great men of God and how they were just so content, so happy with so little. Like the early disciples they were consumed with serving God not toys. They didn’t need material things to be happy. They led a simple life. How much more time do you have for God if you are obedient and lead a simple life, if you don’t lust after the world and run after the things of the world? (Act.20:35) … It is more blessed to give than to receive. And be obedient, as far as seeking equality among the brethren. God wants equality. God wants to bless His people, and He’s going to bless them with equality and low overhead so they can do the work of the Kingdom. God even promises “His righteousness abideth for ever” (2Co.9:9) for the person who seeks this. That’s a tremendous promise. Another thing to look at is tithing. You may not agree with me, but God didn’t ordain for His Church to stop at tithing. Tithing was when 90% belonged to you and 10% belonged to God. But there’s no such thing in the New Testament. We are totally stewards in the New Testament. God had something much greater than tithing. You will not find tithing taught in the New Testament. I’m telling you to look. You say, “Oh, yeah it is, in Matthew 23.” No, it doesn’t say that. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees in (Mat.23:23) … Ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law…. Jesus said tithing is of the Law. He never preached tithing. You can’t find one verse where He did. The New Testament talks about tithing they did dishonestly in the Old Testament; that’s true, but equality in stewardship superseded tithing. This is what makes you a steward, when it all belongs to God, not just 10%. You don’t, and you can’t find 10% in the New Testament. Read it carefully. And if you’re under the Law, you’re doing business with God according to the Old Covenant. Don’t try it because, if you do, He’ll do business with you according to the Old Covenant. I learned that when I first came into the Kingdom and started tithing. God blessed me when I tithed because I hadn’t been giving anything. But it wasn’t long until He showed me that He had something better. Everything in the New Testament is better. The great blessings are much better than the Law. (2Co.9:6) But this [I say,] He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Now, he just says, the more you give, the more you’ll receive to give. And he does say to give, as you’ll see, if you read on. (2Co.9:7) [Let] each man [do] according as he hath purposed in his heart…. That’s not the Law, is it? No, and I tell you, most preachers will rebuke you if you say that nowadays. It’s as if they didn’t know it was in the Bible. (2Co.9:7) [Let] each man [do] according as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. It’s not of necessity? That’s exactly right. So that delivers you from the Law right there. Not of necessity. “For God loveth a cheerful giver.” In other words, He wants it from the heart. He doesn’t want you under the Law. He’s not interested in that kind of sacrifice. The sacrifice He wants is a cheerful giver. And look at His promise for doing this. Now this promise is not for tithers. I’ve had tithers say, “Well, I give my tithes. Why doesn’t this promise come true to me?” It’s because this promise is not for tithing, because if you’re under the Law, you can only reap a harvest that’s under the Law. God never made the Law with the Church. He never made tithing with you. He made the Law with the Jews; not with you. You don’t have to figure out what part of the Old Covenant you’re under. You’re not under any of it. It’s all types and shadows to be fulfilled in your life, but you’re not under any of it. He didn’t make that Covenant with you, He made it with them. There’s a moral law in the Old Testament that’s always true but He puts it in our heart not over our head. But the ceremonial laws, like animal sacrifice, tithing or circumcision. All these things have been superseded by something greater. For example, Paul told us that baptism represents circumcision (Colossians 2:11,12). We’re still being circumcised, except it’s not the cutting away of the flesh of the foreskin; it’s the cutting off of the whole old man. That’s what baptism means. So, when you bring things from the Old Testament into the New Testament, it’s magnified. The tithe has been magnified. It’s not 10% anymore; it’s 100%. And the Sabbath is not a day anymore; it’s every day. See, everything has been changed. The Sabbath is being fulfilled in the New Testament by those who cease from their works and enter into the rest through faith (Hebrews 4:3). Jesus didn’t say you had to obey the Law. He said you’ll fulfill it. There is a difference. Now, a person who does equality will fulfill the tithe. If you sow bountifully, you will fulfill the tithe. But you’re not doing it because you are under the Law. It’s a totally different relationship with God. Now, look at this fantastic promise! (2Co.9:8) And God is able to make all grace abound unto you…. You mean just for giving bountifully? That’s what He said. … All grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything…. (2Co.9:8) That’s a promise. I tell you, there are few promises like that in the Bible that are so inclusive, and He’s giving it to people who are bountiful givers. (2Co.9:8) And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work. Now that’s a promise! (9) As it is written, He hath scattered abroad, he hath given to the poor; His righteousness abideth for ever. God imputes righteousness to a person who doesn’t give under the Law but gives under grace – and gives bountifully. Sowing bountifully doesn’t mean we should throw it to the wind just to be giving it. He wants us to be good stewards, and He doesn’t want us to pour sand down a rat hole because that’s what you’re doing in a lot of ministries. You’ve heard the saying that you can’t out-give God, and that’s true. But I know preachers many times use it to make themselves rich. You’re not supposed to keep what He gives back to you. He still wants equality. The materialistic preachers, the prosperity preachers, they think this is a means to get rich, but you’re not being content with food and raiment if you’re doing that. (2Co.9:10) And he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food, shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing…. So it’s not supposed to stick in your hand. That’s the problem. You see the preachers riding around in their luxury vehicles and living in their million-dollar homes. What happened? Is there equality in their church? No. It’s stuck in their hand. He said He multiplies your seed for sowing. In other words, God multiplies what you give back to you so that you can give it again. Most people only give 10% when it comes back. You can get fat and filthy rich on this 10% business. I mean, in a worldly way, you can do that. But if you have it stuck in your hands, you’re robbing God because that’s not His plan. It’s supposed to keep on flowing through you and meeting needs. When you do that, then you’re storing up treasures in Heaven. If you store them up on the earth, they’ll get stolen and become corrupt. But if you store them up in Heaven, you can reach up there and get them anytime you need them. It’s just like when God supplied the manna and He told them to only gather enough for one day. If they took more, it bred worms (Exodus 16:20). They were storing up, and it corrupted. Those omers were leveled off and anything that fell out went into somebody else’s omer (Exodus 16:18). Everybody had their needs met and nobody had excess. If anybody had a heaping omer, then he had what belonged to somebody else. The tithe was given for the Levitical ministry. I’m not denying that. The problem is there are a lot of people who went and weren’t sent. There are a lot of people out there who are receiving this and they have no business doing it, and they’re not doing with it what God told them to do in the Bible. When Jesus gathered together the sheep and the goats in front of Him (Matthew 25:32,33) and He separated them, He separated them by what they did with what they had. (Mat.25:35) For I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; (36) naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. (37) Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink? (38) And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? (39) And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? (40) And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, [even] these least, ye did it unto me. In the Old Testament, the storehouse was in the midst of the temple and the people of God are the temple. Jesus didn’t ask one time, “Did you pay your tithes?” He did ask, “Did you meet My brethren’s needs?” That’s how He judged them to be either a sheep or a goat. “Did you meet my brethren’s needs?” See, there must be a fulfillment of what happened in the Old Testament in the New Testament. In the New Testament, the treasury is still in the temple, but it’s not a building. But preachers will tell you to bring your tithe into the storehouse, which, conveniently is them, while people in the church are in need and can’t pay their bills. Instead, they keep building bigger and bigger churches, and some of them are just half-empty mausoleums. (2Co.9:10) And he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food, shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness: (11) ye being enriched in everything unto all liberality, which worketh through us thanksgiving to God. Wow! There are some tremendous promises here for giving according to the New Testament. If you have a need, if you’re in trouble and you need your needs met, let me tell you what to do: Don’t ever stop giving. Give more than you’ve ever given. Remember what Jesus showed us: the storehouse in the midst of the temple is the people of God. The very first thing God wants you to do is meet the needs of God’s people. The second thing He wants you to do is “make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when it shall fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles” (Luk.16:9). He’s talking about using your money to bring souls to the Lord because they’ll have an eternal tabernacle if you use your money to bring them into the Kingdom, won’t they? I’m saying that God wants you to use what you have as a steward, so that in the hereafter those people whom you used your money for will be able to receive you into eternal tabernacles. That’s what the Scripture says. God’s purpose for us here on earth is to be a blessing and to bring people into the Kingdom, and to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. (Mat.6:33) But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. He said all these other things will be added to you. Don’t worry about them. That’s what the Gentiles seek after. Look at the birds. (Mat.6:26) Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value than they? Look at the flowers. (28) And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: (29) yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. You don’t have to seek after these things. He literally means that. Look, there will come a time when you may not be able to work and make your own living, but God is your Jehovah-Jireh. It doesn’t matter that you can’t work. Don’t worry about it. Just seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness and God is going to make sure that your needs are met. He’s going to prove it to you. The birds don’t sow. Look at the point He’s making; look at it and meditate on it. Okay, suppose you can’t work. Suppose you’re put into such a position of need. Suppose this country falls apart and money isn’t worth anything and you don’t have a job. Does that mean God can’t supply your needs? No, just the opposite. If you continue giving right there, you’ll find out God will bless you right there. He has bound Himself by His Word to be your Jehovah-Jireh; He will meet your needs. Look at the birds. They don’t store up in barns. Your Father feeds them. Look at the flowers; they’re clothed. They don’t labor to be clothed. Father clothes them. So, He says to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. This is an important principle. If you have a need, don’t ever stop seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness because He said it’s going to be met. See, the problem is that when people get a need, they start seeking the need instead of seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. They get turned around. That’s the worldly way. If you have a need, seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and what you need will be added unto you. When I agreed the Lord was going to give me a house in Florida, one of the first questions that came to us was, “Well, how’s God going to do this?” And my wife asked me, “Well, what do you think we ought to do, start saving our money? Should we sell our house?” You know, God told me the opposite for everything there. He told me, “Don’t save anything; just keep giving, and giving.” And that’s what we did. We never saved a nickel. We just kept giving and giving. At that time I was making plenty of money and we just kept giving. And we didn’t sell our house either. He made us give it away. God’s Word is true. He doesn’t tell you to gain any other way. He doesn’t tell you to store up to meet your need. He tells you, don’t store up. He wants to show you He can do a miracle. He wants to prove to you that, in your weakness, He’s made strong. You want to see a miracle? You have to be weak to see a miracle. You have to be in a position of weakness. The commandments of Jesus are designed to make you weak. He said, “Don’t store up.” And the thoughts will come to you, “What if I have a problem?” “What if I get sick?” “What if ...” Don’t worry about tomorrow. (Mat.6:34) Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Obey His command and do not worry about tomorrow. The devil will give you trouble by worrying about tomorrow because it will be a self-fulfilled prophecy. Listen, if you don’t have it, God will see that you get it. If you already have your own need supplied, why does He have to do a miracle? You don’t get to see miracles that way. Besides, you’re rebelling against God. (Luk.16:12) And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? Do you see that? What we have is another’s. If you see a brother in need, you should try to meet that need because we already have some principles in the Bible and God wants us to obey them. He said, “give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away” (Mat.5:42), and “release, and ye shall be released” (Luk.6:37); and He means it. And He’s talking about wicked people there, too, by the way. Nowadays Christians will pass up their brother in need or people who ask them and say, “No, I can’t do that. I have to bring my tithe into the storehouse.” What they’re doing is rebelling against the principles of Jesus to give, or lend, or release, in order to obey the Law that they were never under. Preachers are putting them under the Law so that they rebel against every principle Jesus ever spoke. You don’t need a word from God if you see a brother in need. He’s already given you a word. Now if a person is doing okay financially and you know they’re making it, they’re getting by, you wouldn’t do that. And you’re not supposed to meet a person’s greed. Why give it to a preacher who has an expensive home and car? Does he need it? Obviously not. Something’s wrong there. The Bible says, “he that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord” (Pro.19:17) but “he that giveth to the rich, [shall come] only to want” (Pro.22:16). Number one in God’s priority is His children, not the world. I’ve seen people skip over His children and go straight to the world because they wanted to, or maybe because it was kinfolk or something like that. No, you can’t do that. That’s not Scriptural. Remember what we read; it’s “inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, [even] these least, ye did it unto me” (Mat.25:40). Now, if you do give it to family, does God count that if they’re in need? Well, that could fall under the category of what He said about being a wise steward and gaining those people and bringing them into the Kingdom, so that they have an eternal tabernacle (Luke 16:9). Sometimes the Lord wants you to do that, to meet the need of some poor, lost person because God’s going to use it as a testimony to them. He’s going to use it to bring them to the Lord. God can guide you to do all kinds of things. In the Old Testament, they needed a law because they didn’t have the Holy Spirit. We’ve been given the Holy Spirit because He is to lead and guide us. We follow the law of the Spirit, and the Holy Spirit has been given to us to guide us. God didn’t tell us how much here, how much there, but He gave us the Holy Spirit. The church has actually put us into bondage. At the same time, people in the church with real needs go without. I’ve heard so many testimonies, you have, too, of people who go to a church to get help with their needs and couldn’t do it; and yet the hierarchy in the church was living pretty well. And the churches still will receive the 10% when a person could be saying, “Enough is enough. I’ve been giving to this building fund and these people who are human – flesh and blood – are freezing and starving in the church.” Now some people prey on churches and just want handouts. They’re being leeches instead of trying to find work. They think it’s easier to have the church give them something. So where do you know where to draw the line? I know I’ve shared this experience with you before, about when I was an elder in Louisiana. We had this couple who came in there, and that’s the way they were. They were strictly Gimme, gimme, gimme; they were leeches. We’d give to them and they’d be eating steak. We hardly ever ate steak. Well, the Lord showed me something, and He gave me wisdom there because we had just taught, “give to every one that asketh thee” (Luk.6:30), and the text there is talking about the wicked. When they ask you, give to them. I understand there are cases whereby you don’t want to be a partaker in other men’s sins. If a man’s an alcoholic, you don’t give him a buck to go buy another one, but you can use wisdom. You can meet his need with wisdom. You don’t have to meet it with money. But after we had taught these people this, this couple came. And God showed me that He sent them there to try everybody in that church to see if they would obey the Word they’d heard. Were they going to submit, and were they going to give, and were they going to lend and were they going to do what the Bible said to do? I think that a lot of people did overcome there. They actually entered into more of God there because they did obey that. But there came a time when the Lord told the elders what to do with that couple, after they had tried the church. I mean, God spoke to me just as plainly as could be when I asked Him what to do about them because they were tormenting the church. He spoke to me and said, “Kick the baby bird out of the nest.” That’s what He told me. In other words, they were just leeches. They were just soaking everybody dry. It was, “I need this, I need that, I need this.” They had no responsibility. The guy would lose his job because he wouldn’t get up in the morning and go to work, and things like that. And the Lord does try people to know, “Are you going to obey?” See, if you obey God’s Word, He will take care of things. It may not look reasonable to you, but you come against your flesh when you do things just because the Bible says it. Your flesh says, “No, no, no,” and you’re saying, “Yes, I’m going to do it just because the Bible says it.” It may look unreasonable to you, but when you obey it, you’re crucifying your flesh. Finally, there was a time when God wouldn’t permit the church to be tried anymore. The Bible says, “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able” (1Co.10:13). And this is what happened. This is something I hardly ever do. I wouldn’t even think of doing this unless God told me to, but He told me to call that woman up in front of the church and cast out a spirit of graft because she was using her position to gain from the people of God. When I did that, I’ll tell you, it was an eye-opener because when I commanded that spirit to come out of that woman, she hit the ground and she was wiggling around down there just like a snake. As fat a woman as she was, there’s no physical way she could have done that. And the spirit came out of her. Well, she lasted only about a week until she went back to doing her same old tricks again. God sometimes will cast a spirit out because the people need it, but if that person does not repent, it will come back. That’s when the Lord said, “Kick the baby bird out of the nest.” When the momma kicks the baby bird out of the nest, they either fly or hit the ground, and that was this case. It didn’t last long. A preacher from another church in New Orleans called me and asked, “Do you know these people?” I said, “Yeah.” He said, “Well, we’re having a little problem.” I said, “Yeah, I can guess what it is.” So he asked for my advice and I told him what I did. “Well, it sounds like good advice. We’re going to do that, too.” I said, “Fine,” but I know God sent them there to test them in obeying His Word. Sometimes you don’t want to do that. You don’t want to obey the Scriptures. You think there’s somebody more deserving of this. But it says, “give to every one that asketh thee” (Luk.6:30) and He’s talking about sharing with the wicked. (Mat.6:19) Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal: (20) but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. The emphasis here is that it cannot be corrupted when you lay it up in Heaven; you can use it, and it’ll be there for you. (Gal.6:7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. In other words, you have to sow it to reap it. Some people don’t understand why they’re not reaping. Did you sow it? The Bible says, “give, and it shall be given unto you” (Luk.6:38). There are principles in the Word of God. Again, I say the amount doesn’t matter. I’ve never given as much as God’s going to give to me. It doesn’t matter the amount; it matters what you have left, like the widow (Mark 12:42). She was a giver and God met her needs. And God will meet your needs if you store it up in Heaven where it cannot corrupt and where the interest is greater. When we gave a house, God gave us a much better house. When we gave a car, God gave us a much better car. The interest is great. It’s “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom” (Luk.6:38). That’s not to make you rich. It’s supplying seed to the sower (2 Corinthians 9:10), so God just wants it to keep on going. God will do miraculously. If you give abundantly, according to what you have, He’ll give abundantly, according to what He has. How do you store up your treasures in Heaven? (Luk.12:30) For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: but your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. (31) Yet seek ye his kingdom, and these things shall be added unto you. (32) Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. It’s not as if you have to talk God into it. He wants to do miraculously. But many people will not put themselves in a position of weakness where God can do this. It is, “my power is made perfect in weakness” (2Co.12:9). It’s faith and if you have faith, you don’t need to store up. (2Co.12:33) Sell that which ye have, and give alms; make for yourselves purses which wax not old (In other words, it’s not something you store up and you’re keeping it for a long time), a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief draweth near, neither moth destroyeth. (2Co.12:34) For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Many Christians are storing up on earth when they should be storing up in Heaven. They point to Joseph and how he stored up grain in Egypt (Genesis 41). I really believe that Joseph was storing up there in type; the grain that he was storing up is the grain of the Word of God. Because if Jesus said it, He’s never going to change His mind (Matthew 5:18). It’s His commands to us. If He said it, it’s always going to be that way. What God is going to do in the future will be miraculous. I mean, I found out when God moved me to Pensacola that when I didn’t have something, it didn’t have anything to do with God’s supply. Nothing. I saw God multiply food. I saw Him put food in our stomachs when we didn’t have any food. And I know that God will never let you do without when you have a need. It has nothing to do with your supply; it has to do with what you’ve been doing. There’s going to come a time when you need some treasure stored up, right? Have you been storing it up in Heaven?