Derek Prince - You Cannot Separate Your Love From Your Money
The next thing I want to say is brought out in a statement in the prophet Haggai, just before the prophet Zechariah, if you know where he lives. Haggai 2, just one or two verses. The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, says the LORD of hosts. It's very important to understand that. The word silver, in Hebrew 'kesef', is also the modern Hebrew word for money. Just as in French the word 'argent', is the word for silver and the word for money. So God is saying: the money is Mine, the gold is Mine. It's awfully important to understand that all the wealth in the world actually belongs to one person. Who is that? God, that's right. And then he goes on to say in that context: The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former. God directly relates the glory of His house to the possession of wealth. In other words, wealth belongs to God and its primary purpose is to be used for the work of God.
I've heard preachers say more than once in a rather self righteous way: I never preach about money. I have to say that such a preacher is delinquent. It's his obligation to preach about money. People think the New Testament doesn't have much to say about money, but that really is not borne out by the facts. Most of us know there's one chapter devoted to love. It's a beautiful chapter. 1 Corinthians 13 has 13 verses. Many fewer people know that 2 Corinthians contains 2 chapters devoted exclusively to money; chapters 8 and 9. And between them they contain 39 verses. So you could say the New Testament gives three times as much space to money as it does to love. That's not the right conclusion. But the conclusion is that what you do with your money, has got a lot to do with how much love you really have. You cannot separate your love from your money.
In Acts 20, Paul gives us a little picture of the motivation of his own ministry and preaching. I believe it's really an example that we need to bear in mind. He says for instance, in verse 20, reminding the people among whom he had been working for about two or three years. He says: I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed to you and taught you publicly and from house to house. It's helpful for God's people to know His plan for dealing with money. So we have no right to keep back that part of Biblical truth from God's people. I think there's a kind of tradition grown up in Britain, that it's not nice to talk about money in church. You know who's behind that tradition? Satan, without a doubt. It suits him very, very well. It also suits stingy Christians who don't want to be challenged with the need to give.
And then in the same chapter, in Acts 20:26-27, Paul says again: Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. The whole counsel of God includes what we are to do with our money. So if we are called to minister the word of God, we have no right to keep back the truth about money. I think because of that sort of religious attitude and tradition that you don't talk about money in church, I think many, many, many of God's people have been robbed of the blessing that God intended them to have. Remember, God is for us, He's on our side. He's not trying to cheat us, He's not trying to rob us. Everything He tells us in His Word is for our good, it's to help us.