I once told a friend that if I could be in more than one place at a time, I would move to a certain neighborhood in Livorno, Italy. I said I’d meet people and begin to teach the Bible as we have in Burgos, Spain.
“Where would the money come from?” he asked.
Before I could think about it, one beautiful word jumped from my lips: “Jesus!”
That really blessed me! All the money we need to reach the world with the Gospel will come from our dear Lord Jesus. However, the Bible does say, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge . . .” (Hosea 4:6 KJV). Jesus is our wonderful provider. He’ll supply all we need, and even things we want (Philippians 4:19; Psalm 34:10). But if we don’t know that, or if we don’t know how to cooperate with Him financially, we won’t enjoy His full blessings.
TWO TRUTHS ABOUT FINANCES
The Lord Jesus revealed two truths about finances to Brother Kenneth E. Hagin that have greatly blessed me. And of course, they are in line with what the Bible teaches. They are learn to follow the inward witness and learn to believe God and release faith for finances.
1. LEARN TO FOLLOW THE INWARD WITNESS.
In his book How You Can Be Led by the Spirit of God, Kenneth E. Hagin said the Lord told him the following:
“If you will learn to follow that inward witness, I will make you rich. I will guide you in all the affairs of life, financial as well as spiritual. [Some think God is only interested in their spiritual well-being, and nothing else. But He is interested in everything we are interested in.] I am not opposed to My children being rich; I am opposed to their being covetous.”[1]
It makes perfect sense that God’s children, being led by His indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14), would walk in His highest and best.
Here are two great resources for developing your spirit and becoming skillful in following the inward witness.
• “How to Train the Human Spirit,” a single audio message by Kenneth E. Hagin. It is available for purchase as a downloadable MP3 from rhema.org/store[REMJ1] . It’s so valuable for us to train our spirit to follow God! Listen to this message and put these truths into practice.
• How You Can Be Led by the Spirit of God. Read and study this book by Kenneth E. Hagin. Then put into practice what you learn.
2. LEARN TO BELIEVE GOD AND RELEASE FAITH FOR FINANCES.
We see a second truth Jesus revealed to Kenneth E. Hagin about finances in his minibook How God Taught Me About Prosperity. Rev. Hagin said the Lord told him, “Don’t pray about money anymore; that is, the way you’ve been praying. Claim whatever you need.”[2] In the rest of this book, Rev. Hagin explains how the Lord taught him to believe Him for prosperity and release his faith for finances. Our faith and our words play an important role in our receiving the Lord’s full supply for us. This book also is available from rhema.org/store. Or you can purchase and download an e-book copy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or the Apple Store.
The missionary must believe God for the money needed to obey Him and “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15 NIV). Take advantage of the resources I’ve mentioned. Apply them to your life. As you do, I trust that they’ll enable you to reach out in faith and receive all the Lord has for you. God has fully provided for us. He’s given us all we need to fulfill His plan. Glory to His Name!
[1] Kenneth E. Hagin, How You Can Be Led by the Spirit of God, 2nd ed. (Tulsa: Faith Library Publications, 1986), 25.
[2] Kenneth E. Hagin, How God Taught Me About Prosperity, (Tulsa: Faith Library Publications, 1985), 17.
[REMJ1] Rich: The YouTube link said “No video available!” I suspect it was pirated. When I worked at KHM, the Hagins were trying to remove pirated messages from YouTube, etc. The actual, legal MP3 download costs only $4.