Dr. Myles Munroe of Bahamas Faith Ministries International is one of my favorite guests on This Is Your Day! because he speaks candidly about the need for believers to understand God’s kingdom principles and to allow those principles to help each Christian become a world-changer.
On one of our recent programs he said, “There are 6.7 billion people on the earth, and they are seeking the same thing—good government. Nations spend billions of dollars every few years to vote in a new government, and they do it because people believe that it holds the answers to earth’s problems. This is why these elections are such a big deal.”
The reason why people around the globe put so much emphasis on government is because the human heart, deep inside, believes that the problems of the world can be solved by better government.
Human governments are important. That is why the Bible is so emphatic about government. There is a deep desire for governmental systems, since through the fall of Adam and Eve, man lost a government.
You can read in Genesis 1:26 that God gave Adam dominion. The Hebrew word for dominion means “kingdom.”
The Kingdom Lost
A kingdom is the governing influence of a king over a territory. Ideally, the king impacts the dominion with his will and his purposes so he can produce people who reflect the king’s morals and values.
As Dr. Munroe taught, “When Adam disobeyed God, he lost a government. God’s original idea was to colonize the earth with the kingdom of heaven so the earth would become the reflection of what heaven is like in every way. God’s plan was to fill the earth with the culture of heaven, since the most powerful thing in any country is its culture.”
Since Adam disobeyed God and lost the dominion over the earth, satan has done everything in his power to pollute mankind and keep us from understanding what God’s original plan was.
God wanted man to dominate the earth with the kingdom of heaven. But Adam and Eve, through sin, declared independence from God’s plan.
But God’s plan has never wavered. The Bible chronicles His plan to restore His kingdom on earth, as it is in heaven.
The Kingdom Restored
Adam had to develop his own government. The first act of that government was murder within the family. And we have not recovered since. Look at the world around you. We think we can govern ourselves, but we end up destroying more than we build.
We are still under the curse of independence from God. And when you declare independence from a kingdom, you throw off the influence of the king and the government of the king.
That is what has happened through the centuries with the King of kings.
Yet when our Lord Jesus Christ was promised in Genesis 3, it was foretold that He would come to crush the serpent’s head.
The power and the government of a snake is in its head. That’s where the poisonous serpent’s venom is.
So the prophecy pointed to a time when Jesus would come to take back the power, the authority, and the kingdom that satan stole through the sin of Adam and Eve.
Isaiah prophesied that the government would come upon the Messiah’s shoulders and that it would not end:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)
Christ came to earth to restore God’s government. That is why He tells us to pray this way:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13)
Dr. Munroe tells us on This Is Your Day! that when we are told to pray “Our Father” that it refers to the Father as our Source, our Government.
Kingdom Prosperity
So many wonderful benefits come from being part of God’s kingdom—salvation, healing, fellowship with the Father, and so much more.
One of the most wonderful benefits of His government is prosperity.
“Prosperity is evidence of kingdom colonization,” Myles says. “Poverty is a sign that the kingdom has not impacted an area yet. The power of multiplication comes from the kingdom of God. The law of sowing and reaping comes from the kingdom of God.”
In fact, the Lord Jesus promises that kingdom-sized sowing will yield kingdom-sized reaping. We don’t give just to receive. We give because it is a kingdom principle that works!
There are many, many reasons why planting seed into the kingdom is so important. For one, planting brings harvest: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38).
Understanding Kingdom Principles
Why you plant and how you plant are crucial to the harvest you receive!
You cannot understand kingdom giving until you understand kingdom principles. In fact, one of the first things Jesus Christ did during His earthly ministry was to announce His kingdom “mission statement”: “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).
He uses the word kingdom for an obvious purpose: Jesus Christ is King of that kingdom! He is not a mayor. He is not a president. He is not a prime minister or a governor. He is the King. This is an important point, because a king is very different from a president or some other head of state. He is not voted into power. There is no national referendum to select him.
A true king is born a king.
In other words, if you really want to understand what God thinks about this kingdom principle, you have to study what a king is and what a king is not.
Seven Kingdom Principles
God never gave man ownership over the world. Everything is His! We are simply stewards of whatever He gives us of His kingdom. This is an important point, because it means that whenever God wants to shift His property around—to give it to other people—He can, and He will!
Here are seven kingdom principles about government and giving to a king:
1. Because the power and glory of a king are displayed in the ruler’s wealth, kings desire territory and wealth.
2. The purpose of a king’s wealth is to secure the reputation of his glory. His reputation is determined by the accumulation of his wealth. When he is wealthy, he’s respected by other kings.
3. Giving to a king acknowledges the king’s ownership. A king does not just rule his territory. He owns it. The people are his property; the land is his property. That is why even earthly kings are called “lord,” for it means “mighty owner.” Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” In verse 8 of the same chapter, we are told who the King is: “Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” He is the King.
4. Giving of any kind is the greatest act of acknowledgment. Any gift that you bring to the king reveals the value and worth that you put on the king. The measure of your gift tells the king what you think of him.
5. Worship demands a gift, and giving is worship. You cannot go to a king and say, “I love you and I worship you,” without bringing a gift to prove it. Even the wise men from the Orient, who were apparently kings of a small territory, came to Jesus bearing expensive gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Scripture tells us that no one should appear before Him empty-handed (Exodus 34:20).
6. Giving to a king is expressing our thanks for what we still have. In other words, if we bring one-tenth of all we own to the king, we are showing gratefulness for the nine-tenths that we still have.
7. Finally, giving to a king puts pressure on the king to give something greater back to you. Remember the story of the queen of Sheba and King Solomon (1 Kings 10). She came with her servants bearing precious gifts worth millions in today’s dollars “to prove him.” What she was saying is that she wanted to prove that she was the greater royalty. What she discovered was a kingdom filled with plenty, and King Solomon gave back seven times more than he received. It was a competition of out-blessing each other! That is the way it works in kingdoms.
If we could only grasp what the Lord wants us to understand through the kingdom principles throughout the Bible. We would never appear before Him empty-handed. We would bring our greatest gifts, knowing that He always gives back much more than we offer Him.
If we truly understood how to give to our King Jesus, we would realize that God can shift wealth around just as easily and quickly as He did overnight by giving the wealth of Egypt to their slaves—the children of Israel.
God promises that when He directs us to give into the kingdom, we put pressure on Him to give back even greater to us: “Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10). In today’s terms, the Lord was saying, “I dare you to try and outgive me!”
When you give to any king, you put pressure on him to prove that he is greater by outgiving you. This is a kingdom principle that Jesus wants us to understand and enter into.
Your obedience in giving proves that the next time He asks you for an even larger gift into the kingdom, not only will you be able to afford it because of the outpouring, but He knows He can trust you to give it as your faith grows. As trust builds, blessings flow more abundantly.
The harvest depends upon the seed you plant into the kingdom: “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6).
What will you give to the King of kings?
Open your heart and give that generous seed that will bring lost souls into the kingdom of God now, for we know that King Jesus is coming soon, and what we do for Him, we must do quickly!
The Reason for Giving to God’s Kingdom
Why you plant and how you plant are crucial to the harvest you receive. By your giving, many are now living! And as you give according to the kingdom principles at work all around you, the Lord will reward you for your faithfulness to His glorious cause. I stand in agreement with you for an abundant financial increase in your life, even as you give today for a historic harvest of souls. Sow your most generous seed today with expectancy and faith. Then watch God open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing so abundant that you cannot contain it!
Be generous during this unprecedented season of harvest and outpouring as we continue to reach out through crusades, broadcasts, and mission outreaches around the globe.
Let’s do it together while there is still time!
For it is “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6)…
Preaching the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ,teaching the unchanging Word of God,and expecting the mighty and miraculous power of the Holy Spirit,
Benny Hinn
