It's Supernatural

Sid:  We want everyone everywhere to hear the good news but there is a problem in America. It’s got to do with money, it’s got to do with the lust connected with money, it’s got to do with misunderstanding God’s principles of finance. I have felt for a long time there’s something off there’s something that needs to be corrected having to do with money in the body of Messiah and the approaches for raising money, and the reasons and the motives for giving money. I got ahold of an audio cassette series by an individual a teacher that we’ve had on Messianic Vision before friend of mine Craig Hill he’s founder of the Family Foundation International. They conduct seminars on helping families, teaching seminars they’re based in Littleton, Colorado. I have Craig on the telephone right now and you gave an example in your series I don’t think anyone could ever forget and you call it “Sparrow Faith.” Would you explain this Craig?

Craig:  Sure. That comes Sid from Matthew chapter 6:24 – 26 and of course verse 24 we talked about in the last couple of days “You cannot serve God and mammon.” We’re talking again about the fact that mammon is a spirit it’s not money, but Jesus goes on in verse 25 and He says “Therefore” which of course means because of what I just said you cannot serve God and mammon, “therefore I say to you do not worry about your life.” What we find most Christians doing a spending a lot of time worrying about their life. Jesus said “Don’t do that, not what you will eat, what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on is not life more than food and the body more than clothing.” And verse 26 is really the interesting one, and of course I’ve read this verse all my life and it was just only a couple of years ago that something new and it came alive to me because verse 26 is Jesus’ example of how provision comes to us. So how are we supposed to be provided for? Every one of us needs provision, every one of us needs food, we clothing, we need shelter, we need these types of things. So how is that meant to come? And Jesus tells us in verse 26 His picture here is “Look at the sparrows,” or some translations say “The birds of the air for they neither sow nor reap, nor gather in the barns yet Your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” The thing that just shocked me Sid when this came alive to me is all my life what I’ve always heard people say is “When you’re in need, when you don’t have enough money the thing that you need to do is you need to give. And the reason you need to do that is because of sowing and reaping because of the principle of sowing and reaping.” The thing I saw in the scripture was that that’s not wrong to give when we’re in need but usually people are doing it for a wrong motive. The motive is they are giving to try to get God to meet their need and the problem with that is that throws God’s provision back on the basis of my works again instead of His grace. Whereas Jesus is actually saying here He says the example of the picture is the sparrows, “Look at the sparrows they don’t sow or reap, or gather in the barns. The reason they’re provided for is their Father in heaven loves them and it’s His good pleasure and delight to give to them, to make provision for them.” Something came alive in my spirit Sid when I saw that I suddenly realized God’s provision for me is not based on anything I do or don’t do. God’s provision for me is as a result of His grace to me…

Sid:  And yet there is a truth in the law of sowing and reaping, and yet what it’s saying there is it’s not based on their sowing and reaping it’s based on God’s care.

Craig:  That’s right sowing and reaping is not for the purpose of getting your need met according to Jesus here. Jesus says “I’m going to meet your need because I love you, or My Father’s going to meet your need because He loves you.” Another picture…

Sid:  Sounds like a good God to me.

Craig:  Oh it’s wonderful to understand who God is. Another picture that would go along parallel with that is a little child in the home of his parents. Most little children that I know of would not be required to sow and reap in order to receive their provision. In other words, how ridiculous would be for a little child to come up to his mother at lunch and say “Mommy if I give you half of my peanut butter sandwich, or if I give away half of my peanut butter sandwich to somebody that’s in need could I please have dinner?” Well no his mother says “I’m going to give you dinner anyway just because I love you.” Not that giving away half your peanut butter sandwich would be a wrong thing to do, but that’s not the reason to do it you give it away because you want to bless that person that has need but I don’t try give away half my peanut butter sandwich as a little child to try to induce my parents to make provision for me. No my parents made provision for me when I was a child because they loved me. Jesus’ point here is “My Father in heaven wants to make provision for you because He loves you.” The powerful scripture that I saw in the Amplified is Hebrews chapter 13 verse 5 and 6. It says:

“Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said,”  Now this isn’t your father who said this, or your pastor who said this, or your husband, this is God Himself who said this: “I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?”

Sid:  You know Craig as you’re aware many and many of the Mishpochah are I come from a Jewish background. I had what was known as a classic Jewish mother I had a good father too, but I had what was known as a classic Jewish mother.

Craig:  Right.

Sid:  Whenever I had a need mom would come through.

Craig:  Yep.

Sid:  Whether I was good or bad, stupid or smart I knew unconditionally my mom would come through. Now when I became a believer in the Messiah somehow that picture of my mom coming through was transferred to my heavenly Father. I can’t tell you how but it was it was like a natural step. I have always felt that God would provide and guess what, He has.

Craig:  That’s your experience.

Sid:  But someone may not have had an experience like that and may treat God the way perhaps their mother or father treated them…

Craig:  That’s right.

Sid:  …And have that wrong picture on the inside of them.

Craig:  That’s exactly right. That’s true for an awful lot of people that they have a wrong picture or often times through wrong teaching. They’ve been taught that their provision is dependent upon what they do that they better do this, they better do that and if they don’t God isn’t going to provide for them. That is a wrong picture of God because God loves us. You don’t see sparrows running around having anxiety attacks…

Sid:  (Laughing) You gave a story of a man that didn’t… just had enough money for a bus ride home, the weather was bad, the distance was far…

Craig:  Yeah.

Sid:  …And you did something that some people would say “Shame on you Craig Hill.” What did you do?

Craig:  (Laughing) I felt like when it happened I had a man come for counsel. Our ministry at that time was supported by the offerings people gave. So we always prayed with each person at each time each session and said “Let’s pray and ask the Lord what you’re to give in the offering.” So I did that same with this man and he said “Well we don’t even need to pray I have nothing.” And I felt, it was real strange Sid, I felt the Spirit of God just rise up in me and I said to him something that I would’ve never in my own natural mind wanted to say, but I said “I don’t believe you. Empty your pockets.” He emptied his billfold, and he emptied his pockets, and sure enough he had nothing in his billfold but out fell 50 cents from his pocket.

Sid:  Big deal!

Craig:  Yeah, and I said “I knew you had something.”

Sid:  (Laughing)

Craig:  And he looked at me with terror in his eyes and he said “No that’s my bus fare home. I live 16 miles away I’m going to have to walk home in the snow if you take that away from me.” I felt the Lord just rise up again in me and I said “You know what we’re going to pray and ask God what part of that you’re going to give in the offering.” Terror just struck his heart and that’s when I realized why God was asking me to do that and the reason was… again this spirit of mammon had so gripped this man’s mind that he was trusting in 50 cents he wasn’t trusting in God to get him home he never trusted in God he always trusted in those little coins to get him home. And of course as we said a couple of days ago in reality there’s no power in those coins there’s power in God.

Sid:  There’s some people listening and they’re say “Well that’s not me I have more than 50 cents.” But you know what in principle that’s many people, you’re speaking to many people Craig right now.

Craig:  And I told that man “You’ve got to know I’m not after your money. I mean you could give the whole 50 cents and I don’t think it’s going to change anything in our ministry one way or the other, but what I’m after is faith in your heart to begin to rise up toward God. What I call Sparrow Faith to know that God loves you and he’s going to provide for you. And what we’re going to do right now is break the power of that spirit of mammon…”

Sid:  How do you, that’s a good question, how do you break the power of that spirit?

Craig:  Yeah 2 things:

1. First of all recognize it and repent.
2. You begin to give. You begin to break the power of that spirit by taking money which was designed for buying and selling and you begin to give it, not for the purpose of… here’s the distinction that’s tricky. Not for the purpose of trying to get God to meet my need because of my giving, but what I’m doing is breaking the power of that spirit’s hold over my mind.

Jesus did it for example with a rich young ruler that came to Him. He asked that rich young ruler to sell everything he had and give it to the poor. And of course the disciples I’m sure were thinking “Well we have some stuff do we have to do the same Jesus?” People may be listening today “Well is that what I really need to do? Should I sell everything and give it to the poor?” You know what I’ve told some people Sid “If you have ask the question maybe you do?” Because the issue is not the money or the stuff the issue is “In what is my trust?” and that was the issue for this man.

Sid:  Did the man give his 50 cents?

Craig:  In the end we prayed and he felt like the Lord was speaking to him to give 5 cents.

Sid:  Yeah but he needed 50 cents to get home.

Craig:  That’s right.

Sid:  So 45 doesn’t cut it.

Craig:  That’s and that’s what he was afraid of. So he gave his 5 cents walked… and we prayed over it, walked out of my office came back the next week with a miracle story.  He said “I was still angry when I went down to the bus stop” but he said “It was an amazing thing I found a nickel at the base of the bus stop sign.” He said “It was halfway home before I even acknowledged it was God.” He said “I was still angry and I said to myself ‘Boy that was sure lucky I found this.’” Then halfway home he realized “God that was You, You did that!” When he got home he in addition found an unexpected check for $5 in the mail which he attributed to God. He came back the next week excited he said “I’m ready to pray! Can we pray in advance I want to begin to give in the offering,” and that man’s life turned around and changed as that spirit was broken over him…

Sid:  No matter what is going on in your life things can turn around, and if the good that can be better and if they’re bad allow for the supernatural.