WEALTH ABIDES IN THE HEART
Luke 15:12-14
12. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in want.
The prodigal son fell for the deception of the pseudo-wealth he had gathered from his father. Real wealth is not what you have in the bank or the buildings you have built; real wealth is what is in your heart. Pseudo wealth has the tendency of deceiving people. It’s one of the warnings God gave us in the church, don’t let pseudo wealth make you fail the test of pride because the more things are increasing in your heart, the safer for God to do more and give you more in your hand. If there’s nothing substantial in your heart and the things in your hands are increasing, it will destroy you. People like this permit success to separate them from God. The premature departure of the prodigal son from his father’s covering is one of the symptoms of pseudo-wealth. The elder brother had as much property as the prodigal but he stayed with the father. Stay close to voices of reason and wisdom in your life, never disconnect. Absalom departed from David’s counsel, Gehazi departed from Elisha’s counsel and their end was nothing to be desired in the next generation.
The prodigal son had no plans for the future, no savings, no investments, and he went to a far country; this is false autonomy when you’ve not learnt to do things well under authority and you claim autonomy. Such an individual will say “I can stand on my own.” Ask yourself if it was God’s direction for you to start something of your own now, or is it the season for somebody ahead of you to cushion your mistakes so that you can learn under him and you would have also learned something that money cannot buy. This is because the person under whom you’re learning will be paying for your mistakes. When you eventually become autonomous, remember him. He may be your elder brother who brought you under his wings in his shop and he’s training you how to do business, when you lost N150,000 he didn’t cut off your head because you’re of the same father and mother, he cushioned the pain and he paid for your mistakes. There are some lessons in life that you will learn at great cost, don’t repeat them again.
I remember a young man whose wife made his life miserable and tough because she refused to work under anybody; her classmate who went to work at the bank ended up as a bank manager. She was very cocky and her husband was struggling as a pastor. Beware of pride; it always goes before a fall. Some people move into false autonomy not because they are trained but because they are proud and don’t want to serve under anybody! There are some people who can teach you the critical lessons of your calling, career and trade. Some people got their wealth and success in an ungodly manner, such people will teach you how to die in sin but there are some other men who can teach you the legal way of succeeding in your business and you can learn from them. Stay under them, stay under somebody. Let somebody show you how to do something, learn it and learn it well.
Be sincere to ask yourself why am I moving into autonomy? Some pastors have started their own ministries based on the evil of false autonomy without learning the critical details of their calling. God may have anointed you to start something later in your life but you need to learn the critical lessons somewhere. I regularly ask people “What are you learning?” Mummy and I go to some places and when we left, she asks “Why didn’t you talk there, since you known more on the same subject than the people there?” I would answer saying “ I wanted to know what they know.” Most people are only interested in what they want to say, not what others want to say. I decided years ago to do more listening than talking. I’ve never seen anybody being arrested for keeping quiet.
Over the years, media people have asked me to grant interviews but I have said “I’ve never done it and I don’t want to do it.” Television stations ask “Do you have anything to say sir?” I say “I don’t have anything to say, if I do, I will say it on Sunday. Don’t build your life on the comment of people who don’t know you. In the far country, no one knew the prodigal son and they assumed he was a success, but he had disconnected from the voice of reason and wisdom in his life. The people in the far country thought he was a success because he came with material things but had nothing substantial in his heart. Remember: It’s what’s in your heart that will keep what’s in your hand. If your heart is empty, your purse will soon follow suit. Money flowed away from this boy because there was nothing in his heart that could preserve what was in his hand. He had no father, no counsel, no caution, no control, he had no positive company and he espoused a wrong lifestyle.
Luke 15:13
13. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
Let your heart be filled with value, kingdom insights, concepts, instructions and solutions to problems. Just keep stocking your heart and the material things for your hand will come. Take time to assess yourself on how rich you are in your heart. Don’t marry a man because he has a car, marry him because he knows where he’s going. There are things that should be in your heart, that’s different from the things in your hand.
LEARN THE THINGS THAT MATTER MOST
Many years ago, there was a pastor who would borrow money to buy expensive clothes in order to appear impressive while his colleagues were investing their time and energy in preaching all over the country, organizing programmes, writing books, sweating and pulling the ropes of establishing their ministries. Years after, they have cut different stories for the next generation of believers and ministers. Today, they are pressing on to do all that God has asked them to do, but the other man has lost his church and everything he had because while he was buying clothes with borrowed money, others were stocking their hearts with the things that matter for ministry and things that will matter in the end.
One day the Holy Spirit ministered to my heart that “What you are doing today will matter on that day.” There is no doubt that you have a God-given destiny but the question is, are you making daily deposits in the bank of that destiny? Start minding and giving attention to the things that will matter in the end. Stop trying to copy anybody or to impress people.
This prodigal son had only a spending habit and not a saving habit. What is your habit today? Is it a spending habit or a saving habit? Do you have an investment habit? He only bought consumables and liabilities. He didn’t buy any assets; had he cultivated an investment habit under his father he could have bought all the land in that far away country. He saw his father’s goods and he started spending it. He didn’t learn the art of decision making from his father. He didn’t watch the cautions of his father, neither did he watch the feelings and the perception of his father.
When you are around people who know how to do things, study them. Study the right things about them. Jesus told his disciples
John 14:17
17. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
They still wanted him to show them the Holy Spirit, but He told them since you have been with me; you have observed the Holy Spirit in me in everything you saw me do. The times he wanted to pray but moved further, it was the Holy Spirit, they didn’t go beyond the physical. Some people come to church and all they look at is the moustache of the man of God but that is not why you came to church. You came to follow the faith of the man of God, not his moustache. Imbibe how the man of God makes his decisions. When you see the father God has given you calling people forward to lay hands on people, observe how he lays hands on some and how he by-passes others, and for some others he only touches with a finger. You should take note of these and ask him questions when you have an opportunity. Don’t seek to memorize the operations of the gifts of the Spirit in the life of a man of God, some young men have committed such errors as this. I knew a young man came to preach for me some years ago and all he did was to repeat the same words and moves of the Spirit which he say Benny Hinn demonstrated in one of his meetings.
For money to flow towards you, don’t develop wrong habits. Rather, develop the habits that earn you money, keep money, increase money, multiply money and perpetuate money. If we are going to have generational wealth, you need to develop work ethics. The prodigal son did not work in the faraway country; he only spent and lavished his money in a riotous way. Ask yourself real questions: “If you lose your job today, can you sustain your current lifestyle? If you cannot, then you need to change your current lifestyle immediately. It is important for you to surround yourself with godly wisdom. Make it difficult and impossible for folly to reign in your life because the Bible says “The fool will soon be separated from his wealth.” There’s no fool who doesn’t lose money somewhere.
A man of God once preached a message on 15 Descriptions of a Bible fool and a fellow minister who was having financial struggles called him later and said “My friend, I heard your message and I now know my problem, I was fulfilling thirteen out of the fifteen descriptions of a Bible fool you gave.” Thus, nobody needed to tell him why he was having financial problem. Surround yourself with godly wisdom, make it possible for you to be a fool.
JOIN YOURSELF TO FATHERS
Do everything to bring up the voice of the Holy Ghost in you. Find a pastor (or father) that is worthy in your life who will tell you the truth. Don’t just flock around people who tell you smooth things that you want to hear and not the right things that are critical to your God-given destiny and generational wealth (Isaiah 30:10).
2 TIMOTHY 3:16-4:1
16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;
17. That the man of God may be thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
The word of God is to do four things: teach, reprove, correct and instruct but many Christians only go for teaching. If you hear general teachings but you don’t follow the instruction that you should love your wife, your marriage will be less than the ideal.
Surround yourself with friends who are powerful people and not stupid friends. Success will give you two things; true enemies and false friends. Success will not give you real friends! When you really make it big, expect true enemies and false friends. Don’t deceive yourself that when you’re successful, you’ll have friends. You must surround yourself with real friends now when there is so string attached; friends with whom you will settle certain things together. I read about a man of God who joined himself with four other men during their days in the Bible School and they vowed and cut a covenant that they will succeed and have global ministries; they encouraged one another, propel one another, eventually trhee of them made it big, these are the kind of friends you should have in your life right from the secondary school or the university, you must set your face like a flint.
I have young men in church presently who are forming themselves into groups to succeed in life by pulling resources together for investment purpose. I told them, “I’ll serve as your pastor and patron or whatever else you want me to do, but don’t bring in among you any stranger who won’t listen to your pastor’s counsel. I know you and understand the four of you and I’ll counsel you, but if you bring somebody that’s not under my pastoral authority and you don’t know someone who can call such a person to order, that person is not safe”. You need friends who will propel you, push you and challenge you when you are erring; people who can stand with you in the place of prayer, people who will see your success as their success.
A friend in need is not always a friend indeed. It is not when you are in sorrow that you know a true friend because your enemy can afford to sorrow with you. A true friend is someone who is happy at your success as if it is his own. A competitor parading as a friend will seek to mention his own exploits as well in the midst of your success. Such a person does not enjoy your success. In this light, you should ask yourself: how many friends do I really have? Surround yourself with godly wisdom, and godly people who make it impossible for you to do foolish things. Some people have done foolish things that made them lose everything; they lost blessings, favor and good things because real friends are walking away and keeping quiet around their advisers.
You will also need critics. One of the powerful things you can enjoy is the criticism of critics. A critic will show up whether you’re looking for one or not. Don’t fight him, one of the reasons God puts Judas Iscariot in the camp of Jesus was that Judas was the best witness that Jesus was holy because if Jesus was sleeping around with Mary Magdalene, Judas would have mentioned it, so don’t be afraid. When the critic is around you he will show your blind sides, since you can’t see the back of your head. Critics will also help you to balance your life. Caution: Don’t stop the good work you are doing in order to listen to a critic. A footballer at the front of goal will not respond to someone saying “That is not how to score a goal.” Rather he will score the goal before answering the critic. Tell him “Next time I will kick the ball better” but you should score your goal first of all. It is important that you understand this because sometimes your friends may be afraid to say some things but your father should be able to talk. You should go to places where people can ask you questions that make you uncomfortable to keep you on the right track. You don’t need a pastor who is afraid of you. For the past twenty-six years of pastoral ministry, I do not pastor anyone who I cannot discipline. If I cannot discipline a man, I would rather resign or walk away from the thing. I didn’t receive the call of God to destroy people.
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