Why God Is For Wealth

Let’s start by reading about when Jesus healed the centurion’s slave from afar. Turn with me to Luke chapter seven.

Luke 7:1-10 NLT - When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death. When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.” So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.

We will extract much value from this one real-life story today. The first thing I want you to notice is how Jesus treated this wealthy man.

How do we know this Roman officer was wealthy? Because he single-handedly built a synagogue for the Jewish people.

Not only was he wealthy, but he was very generous. How many of you would like to have enough wealth to single-handedly build the next gathering place for NoLimits Church?

There’s been so much teaching against wealth in the church that we assume God hates wealth. Interestingly, there is very little to back up this false doctrine.

These false teachers like to bring up how Jesus said it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Only through a foolish mindset can we twist this to say that God is against wealth.

First of all, this scripture is talking about those who are rich before getting saved. This is not an instruction on avoiding wealth for those who have already surrendered to Christ. 

Jesus is simply making the point that it is much harder for the rich to surrender to Christ. They are self-sufficient and have a much harder time recognizing their need to make Jesus Lord.

Look around America. You can see that this is true. Those who are self-sufficient have a much harder time coming to Christ than those who already need help.

The second thing you should know is that the “eye of a needle” refers to a small gate. This gate was just big enough for the camel, but not any baggage it was carrying.

So, when people would come to the gate, they would have to go through the painstaking process of unloading everything off the camel so it could go through.

When the rich come to Jesus, they have to shed their reliance on their wealth. Salvation requires complete surrender. Nothing else can be Lord. And laying down self-reliance for Jesus is hard to do.

That’s the point Jesus is making in this statement. He is not saying that Christians shouldn’t become wealthy. He is crying out for rich, unsaved people to do what seems impossible. He wants them to lay down their self-reliance and be saved.

Back to the wealthy Roman officer. I find it interesting that the Jewish elders made a point to let Jesus know about the officer’s generosity. It’s almost like they had a problem with wealth, like many Christians do today.

“This man is wealthy, but he is also very generous. He even built us a synagogue!”

This same story is recorded in the book of Matthew with no mention of the officer’s generosity. Do you know what that tells me? Jesus would have helped this man regardless.

We may have a hard time helping a rich person, but I can guarantee you, Jesus doesn’t.

Jesus didn’t rebuke this man for his wealth. He didn’t even rebuke the fact that he had servants. Rather, Jesus praised the man for his rare faith.

Listen to me loud and clear. God is not against wealth. The truth is, God takes great pleasure in making you wealthy. It is one of His many rewards for obedience.

God prospers the generous. As you use your money to demonstrate the Kingdom of God, God will see to it that you continually grow in your ability to be generous.

God wants every generous person to be wealthy. But for those who have a hard time letting money go, Jesus is crying out for you to lay down your self-reliance and completely surrender to Him.

Some of you stand before the gate, just like that camel. You want to go through, but you can’t until you unload everything else you are trusting in.

Don’t let money keep you from entering into the Kingdom of Heaven. Being intentional with generosity is how you unload the weight of this world and walk freely into God’s abundance.

Storing up money is not God’s way of wealth. God is not interested in stockpiling your savings account or Roth IRA.

When you become wealthy God’s way, it's a free flow, an endless supply. It comes in only to find its assignment and go right back out to accomplish something for the Kingdom of God.

Picture the spigot outside of your house. Right now, water is jam-packed in your pipes, looking for a way out. They are completely full. No more water can get into your house.

But if you open that spigot and start letting water out, the water begins to flow. The pipes stay full, but they are always getting new water.

And get this. Whether you open the spigot a little bit or all the way, the water will continue to flow. It will never run out, unless something happens to the water company.

But we are talking about God’s wealth, not water. God is your supplier and it is guaranteed that He will never run out.

I pray that all of you become mega-wealthy God’s way. But it's going to take more than my prayer. You must also choose to be generous. You must choose to open that spigot.

And one last thing. You should know that you can become wealthy the world’s way. I’m not saying that generosity is the only way to wealth. You can also become a slave to money and get wealthy.

But all who choose that path will find themselves scrambling on judgment day. Jesus will look at them and say, “Well, I was never your Lord. You chose to serve another master.”

This is why I give you an opportunity to be generous every Sunday. It’s a rescue mission of sorts to make sure that you never allow money to become your master.

Show your money who’s boss by choosing to be generous.

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