Window of Acceleration for Kingdom Finances Part I

This week, we will be further examining God’s prophetic timetable regarding the seasonal shift of Shavuot (Pentecost), particularly in regard to releasing Kingdom provision for the end-time harvest. The following article corresponds with our recent series on power evangelism, and I would recommend that you read those teachings in our archives, to better understand the urgency of the hour.
As we have stat ed over the past few weeks, we feel that this year’s Pentecost marks a wholesale release of authority in the realm of power evangelism to the corporate body of Christ, but it also points to a number of other prophetic indicators. At a series of meetings we conducted on Shavuot earlier this month, there were a number of healings, including several unusual miracles: metal pins melted from someone’s body, several instant weight loss miracles occurred, the Lord healed blood-related diseases, etc. But of greater interest was this: We instructed everyone to check their pockets at the onset of the meeting, because often God will miraculously deposit money there when His glory intensifies during the meeting. Following the session, a lady approached me having found three, one-dollar bills in her pocket which were not there before. By the next day, we learned that several others had similarly found three, one-dollar bills in their pockets. Furthermore, in the offering plate, a sig nificant number of envelopes all had three, one-dollar bills enclosed!
In the weeks following those meetings, the Lord continued to download what we feel is a timely message regarding Kingdom provision.

Release of Resurrection Power in Finances
While the number three represents the Trinity, the Lord clarified to us that this sign represented third-day resurrection power in the realm of Kingdom finances. Interestingly, none of th e bills appeared to be crisp, new dollar bills, but rather, they were bills which had already been in circulation. It is as if God translated the money from somewhere else, and put it into these people’s pockets!
We feel that the Lord is bringing back the axe head that was lost. In 2 Kings 6, one of the company of prophets who was with Elisha had lost a borrowed axe head, which fell in the river Jordan as he was chopping wood. Elisha made the iron axe head to float, thus bringing back the thing that was lost. In the same way, we feel prophetically, that this is a season of the Lord restoring loss in the realm of finances for the body.
The Lord gave us Is. 42:22, “But this is a people robbed and plundered; all of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prison houses; they are for prey, and no one delivers; for plunder, and no one says, ‘Restore!’” This is a season to begin saying, proclaiming and declaring the word “Restore!” over your finances. God longs to pour out the provision to supply your vision for this last day harvest. Not only is he pouring out power in the marketplace, but also in your day-to-day needs and affairs. And there is funding needed to fuel the labor of the harvest fields.
At the beginning of 2006, we prophesied that this would be a year of cancellation of debt, as well as the repayment of debt. That God would provide means of escape from it. For many, instead of escaping, it seems that the debt has continued to pile on since January! However, we feel that the fulfillment of this word was reserved, to begin now in the month of June. Shavuot is the Feast of Weeks, marking harvest season at the end of a 50-week period. This is also prophetic of the 50-year jubilee cycle, in which debts were ordered to be cancelled in all of Israel. So prepare now for the turning of the tide! The Lord is also making it clear that he wants us all to succeed financially, not just for our own sake or our own little kingdoms, but to further HIS Kingdom!

The Floating Axe Head
When we look at the story of the axe head, it is important to recognize first of all, that the thing was borrowed. Borrowed, represents debt. And this was not just anyone in debt; it was a spiritual person – a prophet, in fact. One of the first things that Elisha asked was this question, “Where did it fall?” (2 Kings 6:6).
God does not just want to bail you out of your predicament. He also wants to give you wisdom, to understand how you arrived there in the first place, so that you do not fall into the same pit again. Where did you lose your axe head? Where did you first start to encumber debtor financial loss? Is there a pattern or a character issue at stake? Have you lacked an essential element of faith, or overextended yourself needlessly? Allow the Lord to first show you where the loss occurred: where it is rooted.
Next, Elisha cut a stick and threw it at the place where the axe head was lost. This means we must apply the cross to this area of our lives. The Jordan River also represents the cross, or the baptism of self-death. Once this happened, the axe head was restored, immediately coming up supernaturally to the surface. Resurrection power!
The time is now for resurrection power in our finances. In our Shavuot meeting, there were nine sealed envelopes that supernaturally appeared in the offering basket (from a relatively small crowd), each bearing three, one dollar bills. Nine envelopes – or three threes – represent God in His fullness, right now! Bob Jones told me since that time that this number represents a “right now” thing of God, not something for the distant future, but for the present. For this reason, we feel that there is a key window of opportunity for financial breakthrough and Kingdom funding in this immediate season.

Examine Yourself!
Do you have all the funding you need for the vision the Lord has given you? Are there areas of loss in your life that still await vindication and the justice of God? If it is indebtedness you struggle with, how did you get into debt? Let us begin to examine these areas sincerely, then apply the sacrificial work of the cross them.

Concerning debt, in particular, let us look a bit closer. In the Kingdom, there is a difference between laws and principles. There is no specific law against indebtedness, but there is a general principle in script ure that debt should be avoided. This is not to say that a mortgage or auto loan is unbiblical. But neither is it something we should enter into lightly without God’s direction. Some have leapt headlong into legalism over such issues, never borrowing anything at all. Others have borrowed carelessly. Sometimes God does direct people to incur no indebtedness whatsoever. There is no formula, except to rely on the voice of God and not give heed to the deceitfulness of the heart regarding riches. It is clear that we are expected to use wisdom in these issues, and hear clearly from the Lord.

Whe n the Lord begins to pinpoint an area where you lacked trust – perhaps where you stepped out on credit, rather than stepping out on faith – then it is time to apply the cross. And in the area of finances, the cross nearly always looks like giving.

God uses foolish things to confound the wise. One of the most “foolish” things we can do to escape debt is to sow into the glory. Of course, this is really not foolish at all, but it is the wisdom of God to deliver us from poverty and fear of lack.

Sowing into the Glory
We are not called just to invest in a person or a ministry, but into the very glory of God. This is where acceleration comes from. We don’t just sow into man’s projects, but we sow into the anointing – into the things God Himself is blessing – and then Miracle Gro is applied to the seed!

In Acts 4:36-37, we read of a man who invested greatly into the apostolic anointing:

“Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.”

First of all, the man Joseph should not have owned any land at all in Israel, since he was a Levite. The land may have been sold in Cyprus, or perhaps it belonge d to his wife. But either way, it very likely represented everything he had, as he sowed a very costly gift. As we follow the progress of the life of Barnabas, we begin to see the ramification of this sacrificial sowing into the glory. By Acts 13, this same Barnabas is recognized as a “prophet/teacher.” And by Acts 14:14, Barnabas is recognized as an apostle, right along with Paul! He reaped the very same mantle into which he invested his earthly treasure.

There are a number of keys here to pick up. First of all, we should recognize th at everything we own belongs on the altar, not just our tithe! Also, while we can never buy the anointing, as Simon the Sorcerer attempted to do, we definitely reap it when we sow into it sacrificially. Whenever I see a mantle on someone’s life that I respect and long to operate in myself, I love to sow into their lives and ministry, because it always rubs off when we partner with Heaven.
Furthermore, it is critical that we not just pursue provision or finances, but rather, pursue the anointing and favor of God on your life in the place of intimacy and relationship. It has been said that five minutes of God's favor is better than a thousand days of strife. As we learn to trust God with our needs and pursue His glory, it is His favor that will begin to open doors.

Next week, we will take some of these concepts further, as we discuss the favor of God, overcoming poverty and becoming a blessing in the Kingdom …