“Wherefore David blessed The LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.  Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.
Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.  Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.
But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.  For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.
O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.  I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness.
As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.  O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee: and give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision,”   1 Chronicles 29:10-19.

I got saved in the early 70’s and I can remember from my first experience in Church that there seemed to be an inordinate focus most of the time on finances.

At times, most of the service would be given over to ‘encouraging’ the people to give sacrificially and when you do, expect a good return on your giving.

Whole ministries were founded on the concept of ‘give to get’, telling us that if you give to a certain ministry you will be more blessed than if you give somewhere else.

We were even told that if we had a physical need and gave a specific amount our prayers would be heard, and we would be healed.

This twisting of scripture and gifting has continued to this day and in some cases has grown worse.   I call it the “Gospel of Mammon.”  Clearly, where your treasure is so is your heart!

For years I would test the spiritual condition of churches I would minister in. I would share testimonies of salvations, visitations, healings and restorations.

Most of the time I would receive a measured amen or Praise The LORD for these testimonies.  Then I would share a testimony of a financial miracle or breakthrough and every single time, the raucous loud clapping, cheering and ‘amening’ would reverberate throughout the Church!

It was a sad display of the condition and focus of the hearts of God’s people.  The scripture above gives us a clear picture of the purpose of giving — to build the Temple of The LORD.

In verse 11 we find that David indicates that ALL that is in heaven and in the earth is The LORD’s.  Verse 12 continues stating that both riches and honor come from Him, and He reigns over all.

The first thing we need to understand is that as believers, everything we have is His!  We have been bought with a price — The Blood of Jesus.

When we entered into that covenantal agreement, we committed ourselves and all that we have to Him for the purposes of the Kingdom.

As such, we now become stewards of anything materially that comes into our lives realizing that we own nothing — it belongs to The LORD.

There should be no need to ever coerce or pressure God’s people to give!  As stewards over the resources He has placed in our hands we have a responsibility to hear His voice and obey Him in the area of giving.

Look at David’s expression of humility and awe at the privilege of giving to The LORD for the building of His temple,

“But who am I, and what are my people, that we should retain strength and be able to offer thus so willingly?  For all things come from You, and out of Your own [hand] we have given You.  For we are strangers before You, and sojourners, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope or expectation of remaining.  O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy Name and the token of Your presence comes from Your hand, and is all Your own.  I know also, my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things. And now I have seen with joy Your people who are present here offer voluntarily and freely to You,”   1 Chronicles 29:14-17 AMP

David, and his people counted it a privilege to give!  It was an honor to them, and they fully realized, repeatedly, what they were giving was already The LORD’s.

Today, the temple is defined by Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19 which says,

“What?  Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?”   1 Corinthians 6:19.

When we give to The LORD that which already belongs to Him we are giving towards the ‘building’ of the temple — the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

That temple is people!  Our purpose is to fulfill the great commission — to fill up the full measure of people that are Christ’s inheritance!

Part of the failure of the church is we have not had our focus on the real goal — building His Temple!

We are not called to help build a man’s kingdom or ministry — but the Kingdom of God.  We are commanded to be obedient to His voice and do as He says.

We have reached an hour where the Remnant are awakening to the reality of Kingdom Life with the understanding of the transitory nature of this earthly realm.

Revelation is beginning to transform how we conduct ourselves and how we can fully engage in the Kingdom Life we were born into.

Part of this transition is the understanding of the abundance of resources that are available to the believer as part of our covenant.

We have access to the wealth of our King!  With this understanding a shift is taking place where we begin to conduct ourselves as the true heirs we are — not impoverished and malnourished but living an abundant life.

We give freely and joyfully without even being asked because we are part of a Royal Family that has more than enough!

In the days ahead those who have come to realize and walk in the resources of the Kingdom will be positioned as end time Joseph’s to help the multitudes who lack.

I’ve had a dream, a vision that in the days ahead we will come to the place where we have to actually tell the saints to stop giving!

We have enough to complete this mission.  We will not be taking anymore offerings for this project or conference.

We will only come to this place when we begin to realize what we truly have in Christ — every need is supplied, every request is answered, every debt is paid, because we ARE sons and daughters of the King!

 

For His glory,
~ Bruce Allen

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Dr. Bruce Allen, is the founder of Still Waters International Ministries, PO Box 1001 Chewelah WA, 99109 United States.  It is Bruce’s passion to see the Body of Christ awaken to their destiny in this hour by equipping them to hear God’s voice and access the reality of the supernatural in every day life.

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