PRICING THE KINGDOM

MONEY CAN BUY MANY THINGS BUT IT CANNOT BUY YOU THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM
You have accepted Jesus as your LORD and Savior and became a member of a church. First off, Welcome Home we are glad you decided to join us. Secondly, now that you are a member of the Body of Christ let me remind you of some of your obligations:
You need to be a loyal follower of Christ. Christ won back His Father’s creation from sin through Love. Love is shown in many forms: compassion, sharing, caring, total surrender to Christ, just to name a few. Follow Christ by showing His Love to others.
You need to give of yourself, mind, body, soul, and material things to further the work of the kingdom. Just giving money is NOT enough. Just coming to church on Sunday is NOT enough. Just praying daily is NOT enough. Just believing is NOT enough. Just reading Scripture daily is NOT enough. Get the Picture.
According to the Bible, Jesus Says:

And Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 19:23 

The rich man may have money to burn and think that he can buy his way in by giving money but not giving of himself. NOT
​And do not think that paying someone (televangelists) to pray for you is right either, it isn't. They will tell you to send money to the ministry (pay them) and the prayers will be answered. Obviously they are not talking to God.

And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows--how, he himself does not know. "The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."                                             Mark 4:26-29

​Strong faith is not immediate, it is grown through living in Truth and maintaining a Christ-like life. Growth does not just come from going to church, the Word controls and is in every facet of our lives. The Word and faith in Jesus are the water and nutrients that feed our every move. When we become tempted and commit sin, our spiritual food is lessened and our growth is stunted delaying the harvest. If we stay in sin we will not grow and blossom. If we receive the food but there is no pollination (follow His Word and Way and spreading it), we cannot grow fruit and will rot.     

"For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. “To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. "Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. “In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. "But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. “Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. “The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.' "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' "Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, 'Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.' "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' "And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.' "But his master answered and said to him, 'You wicked, lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. ‘Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 'Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.' "For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. “Throw out the worthless servant into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.                                                                                                                             Matthew 25:14-30

Do not think that this means the more money you give, the more you receive. That is not the case here.  Tithing with money is necessary for upkeep, yes. But in order to gain, you must give more. Think of the talents as sharing the spiritual gifts that God has bestowed upon us. Some get more, some less. It is how they are used as to what is gained. We should not expect accolades or payments for use of the gifts for what we give we shall receive. If we share Jesus with one, then that person shares with another, then another; therein lies our wealth.    
Where does it say that to maintain membership in a church you must give money every week? Money is a material object that only goes so far and is NOT a requirement for membership. That is a danger which must be stopped. To some, money is everything, their idol. Money currently controls governments, it controls status, it controls materials to make what is bought and sold to live in this world. Money has become a God. But money does NOT control membership in the Body of Christ. It does NOT decide your involvement. You cannot buy positions in the church. I was in a church where the deacon chairman was more concerned with how much a person tithed rather than how well the members were in the Spirit. How much you put in the offering plate is between you and God, just make sure you give of yourself as well.

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse . . . and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”                                                                       Malachi 3:10
THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MONEY
This does not mean pay more get more as the “prosperity gospel” preachers say. It has nothing to do with individual riches. In fact it has historical significance going back the lack of food going into the national storehouse to feed the priests. Since the Israelites we not giving enough of their own crops, the priests had to take time away from their priestly duties and farm on their own. 
Those who use this are filling their pockets with money and not sharing as they should (i.e. Joel Osteen’s multimillion dollar mansion, Creflo Dollar and large bank accounts, T.D. Jakes wanting a private plane for missions).

 “No one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age.”                                                                                    Mark 10:29-30

Giving $10 does not mean you will see $1000. Once again, Jesus is speaking of Spiritual wealth and a place in the Kingdom.

The fruit of the vine is the final gift of the spirit. What do I mean? Yes I believe that faith alone saved me but having faith is not enough. Keeping faith to ourselves and not sharing it is like the seed that grows but does not give fruit. Our spiritual wealth may depend on if we were like the servant who gained because he used the gift wisely. Do not be like the servant who tucked it away.

MONEY IS NOT GOD,  FAME AND FORTUNE GET YOU NOWHERE BUT A GOOD GRAVE

​GIVE OF YOURSELF AND BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT, THAT IS BEING WEALTHY