BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

FEB 1990 One of the first articles by Happy Caldwell to be published in the BVOV magazine More About Money by Happy Caldwell For years now, we believers have let Satan do a number on us about money and, in many ways, it has blocked the work of God upon the earth. We’ve let Satan lie to us and tell us that money doesn’t matter to God. But look at Deuteronomy 8:18: “Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.” Money does matter to God! In fact, God said He gives us the power to get wealth so that He may establish His covenant. What covenant? The one He made with Abraham when He promised him that He would bless him and make his name great in the earth (Genesis 12:1-3). God wants to bless us as believers. He wants to make our name—the name of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ—great. But before He can do that, we’re going to have to let Him straighten us out where money is concerned. We’re going to have to let Him teach us how to have and how to handle money according to His Word. Exactly what does that involve? In a word: Worship. For years now, God has been showing me that He wants us to worship Him with our money. Some people say, “Well, I don’t think material things are important. What God cares about is our hearts.” What they don’t realize is that you can’t separate the two. When you bring God your money, you bring Him part of yourself. You bring Him what you’ve labored for, what you’ve studied for, what you’ve given your time for. That money is part of you. It represents you. God wants us to worship Him with our money—all of it! He doesn’t want us to say, “Well, I’ll give God the 10 percent, but the other 90 is mine.” He didn’t say, “I so love the world that I’ll give them 10 percent of Jesus.” He gave all. Several years ago, the Lord told me that He wanted me to give away a leather coat my dad had given me, to a preacher I knew. I was at a meeting in San Antonio, Texas, at the time, and I had to go back to the hotel room and pray because I didn’t want to give away that coat. I loved it. That was the problem. I actually knelt there on the bed in the hotel room and wept over it. Finally I gave in. “OK, God, I’ll do it.” But He said, 'No, I don’t want you just to make yourself do it. I want you to be totally willing.' I had to pray a little longer to get willing, but eventually, I did. That night I went over to the meeting, found this preacher, called him over, wrapped that coat around his shoulders and said, “The Lord told me to tell you, ‘This is a coat of love....’” The next night that preacher came back to me and said, “Brother Caldwell, when I got home last night, I asked the Lord why you gave me this coat. I don’t need a coat. But the Lord told me that you needed to give it.” “That’s right,” I answered. “I did.” “Well, the Lord told me to receive it and then to give it back to you,” he said. Then he laid his hands on me and prophesied, “Yes, indeed, this is a coat of love. And because you were willing to give it, I’m giving it back.” Listen, God wants us to be willing to worship Him with everything we have. He wants us to be willing to give all. Then He can bless it, multiply it and give it back to us. Have you ever read about how the Israelites gave toward the building of God’s Temple? King David gave more than $612 million of his personal wealth to get it started. Then the priests gave several hundred million dollars more. Finally, they called the people together and they gave too. And when the Queen of Sheba came from the South and saw it all, she said, “This God is greater than any I’ve ever known.” Then she summoned her servants and they brought all their treasures too and said, “We will now worship your God.” You see, it not only has an impact on God when we worship Him with our money—it has an impact on the world as well! 24 : BVOV

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