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Page 1: Winning in your finances

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Winning In Your Finances:

How to Walk God’s Pathwayto Prosperity

Published by Mac Hammond Ministries, a.k.a.,Living Word Christian Center© 2013 Living Word Christian CenterISBN: 1-57399-168-6

All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United Statesof America.Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripturequotations are from the King James Version Bible.

Mac Hammond Ministries

P.O. Box 29469Minneapolis, MN 55429-2946

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WINNING IN YOUR FINANCES:How to Walk God’s

Pathway to Prosperity 

It’s a mindset deeply entrenched in the thinkingof literally millions of Christians. Religion andtradition have conditioned them to believe that it’snot only useless to ask God to prosper you, it isactually sinful.

That’s why “the prosperity message,” as it hascome to be called, has generated so muchcontroversy in recent years. The idea that Godmay actually want you to increase financially runscounter to nearly everything many of us have

been taught. A few people get downright offendedif you dare to suggest God would have them beanything but poor and miserable this side of heaven!

The liberating truth is that God’s will for His

children is increase, sufficiency, and abundancein every area of their lives. His Word clearly tells

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us so; it lays out many different principles aboutprosperity that are vital to understand. I don’t havetime in this book to explain each of theseprinciples, but I would like to lay a foundationupon which you can begin to walk the Winner’s

Way in the financial arena.

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Chapter 1

GOD WANTS YOUPROSPEROUS!

There are few qualities more critical to ongoingsuccess than proper perspective. Viewing thecircumstances and situations of life through theright “lens” is at the heart of godly wisdom. This isespecially true in the financial arena, for the Bibleclearly states the “love” of money (not moneyitself) is the root of all evil. (1 Timothy 6:10)

To properly navigate and win God’s way in thefinancial arena, we must have a proper perspectivetoward it. With that in mind, I want to share withyou three important “lenses” you must lookthrough before you can begin to walk God’s

pathway to prosperity.The first thing that must be clear in your mind is

that God does want you to prosper and is notagainst you having things. A wealth of Scriptureclearly proves this fact while also showing us He is

against “things having you!” Things (money) haveyou when they occupy the place God is to hold in

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your life and you “forget” God by placing your“trust” in riches. (1 Timothy 6:17, Deut. 8:10-11)

Thus the issue is our perspective toward moneyand how we use it—not does God want us toprosper. There is only one reliable way to be

assured of this truth: go to His Word. There is noshortage of Scriptures that speak directly to thisissue. Although space does not permit us to lookat all of them here, a sampling will give us a clearpicture of God’s intentions.

In Deuteronomy 8:18, God makes a remarkablestatement:

Ask yourself a question. Why would God tellHis covenant people He was giving them thepower to get wealth if He didn’t want them to

have any? you may be thinking.Many believers rob themselves of hundreds of 

wonderful Bible promises through such anassumption. They think that because the promiseswere originally made to Israel (the children of 

Abraham) in the Old Testament, they don’t applyto them as well.

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The New Testament says we have a bettercovenant established on better promises.

[Jesus] (Hebrews 8:6)  (Galatians 3:14,29)

As a born again believer, practically everypromise made to Abraham or Israel belongs toyou. Part of your birthright as a seed of Abrahamis the God-given power to acquire wealth. Heplaced that power within you. You won’t offend

Him by using it.Does God really want you to prosper? Look at

Psalms 35:27 and see.

According to this verse, watching His servantsprosper doesn’t give God heartburn, it gives Him

pleasure! Think of it. God is pleased when youincrease!

This is a theme that is woven throughout theentire Old Testament and continues right on intothe New. Look at 2 Corinthians 9:11 for example.

Paul says Christians who give to the work of theGospel are:

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The NIV translation of this verse is enlightening.It reads, “You will be made rich in every way sothat you can be generous on every occasion, andthrough us your generosity will result inthanksgiving to God.”

In that verse and throughout that entire chapter,Paul tells you to expect great financial increase if you are a giver to the work of God. The clear aimof this passage is to raise your level of expectancyconcerning your financial harvest. Look at verses

6-8 for example:Here is one of the clearest expressions of the

will of God for your finances in all of Scripture!When you give cheerfully and abundantly, Godwants you to expect Him to bless your finances.

Why? So you can squander money on the desiresof your flesh? No! So you may continue to“abound to every good work.”

The very words of Jesus Himself confirm thisbiblical truth:

(Luke 6:38)

(Mark 10:29, 30)

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Chapter 2

STEWARDINGHIS RESOURCES

When we talk about giving, there is a keyelement that must be understood, and it is thesecond lens through which we must viewprosperity. It is the most basic call of God on eachof our lives—to be God’s steward.

Stewardship is the one calling that we all havein common: it transcends all dispensations andfollows us into eternity. We are created to managecreation on God’s behalf, to manage or administratethe household or estate of our Lord. The essenceof the principle of stewardship is this: we don’town anything. We are God’s stewards, and we

need to see our life as a resource—time, talent,money, etc.—to the accomplishment of God’spurpose in the earth.

First Corinthians 4:2 says, “Moreover it isrequired in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”

We see here that a requirement for stewards is thatthey be found faithful. But how are they to befaithful? Luke 16:10-11 tells us:

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Here we see that the least that God expects usto be faithful in is our handling of “unrighteousmammon.” (The phrase “unrighteous mammon” isa reference to money; however, this is not sayingthat money is either good or evil. Mammon, or

money, only becomes “unrighteous” when it isused wrongly.)

As stewards, we need to be faithful to followGod’s commands, particularly in this area of finances. Because faithfulness on any level is

impossible until you become faithful in the use of your money. You see, prosperity doesn’t involve just your bank account. Prosperity also includesprosperity in your soul, an abundance of health,your every need provided for—body, soul, andspirit. That’s why it is vital to understand thatgiving of our natural resources (money) is the leastthat we are called to be faithful in. It is intricatelyentwined with everything else in our life.

Understand, however, that once you learn to befaithful with your money, it doesn’t mean you’reautomatically going to be faithful in all the otherareas of your life. There are other steps that mustbe taken in order to become faithful in those

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areas. What it does mean is that you simplycannot become faithful in any other area withoutfirst taking care of the money matter.

Next, I want to emphasize the latter portion of Luke 16:11. “If therefore ye have not been faithful

in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit toyour trust the true riches?”

The most important thing I want you to see inthis verse is this: if you haven’t learned to befaithful with your money, “who will entrust to you

the true riches?”What are the true riches? The true riches are the

gifts and callings of God, His power and anointing,and His divine endowments. These are the trueriches that God desires for each of us to manage

as His stewards on the earth—for the purpose of initiating change on His behalf.

If we don’t understand and function in this mostbasic of all callings, then everything else issuperfluous. It won’t work right. We are here to

manage life and life’s resources on behalf of God,to fulfill His plan and His purpose. But unless welearn to first become faithful in that which is

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least—properly stewarding our money—we’ll notbe entrusted with His true riches. Until weunderstand and accept this call as God’s steward,prosperity can never be born in our life, not by thehand of God.

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Chapter Three

GOD’S PURPOSEFOR PROSPERITY

The third lens that we need to look through tosee God’s purpose for prosperity is theunderstanding of how God expects us to earn ourmoney. In Ephesians 4:28 it says, “Let him thatstole steal no more. But rather let him labor,working with his hands the thing which is good,that he may have to give to him that needeth.”

Some people read this verse casually andassume it to say that if you’ve been a thief, thenget a job and start living right. But Paul is actuallygiving us his definition of what a thief is. The firstthing he says is that if you don’t want to be a thief 

and you don’t want to steal anymore, get a joband begin to “labor at that which is good.”Dictionaries define that word as a diligent,consistent effort. This is God’s way for you togenerate an income. He wants you to be

hardworking and persistent in your vocation.

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Unfortunately, there are a lot of folks punchingthe clock in the morning, doing as little as theycan during the day, and leaving early in theafternoon. That’s not God’s way. You give it yourmost consistent, most diligent effort, and God says

if you don’t do that, you’re a thief. You won’t haveHim involved in your financial life if you’re notmaking a diligent, consistent effort at that which isgood.

In Luke 10:7, Jesus said that the laborer who

works diligently is worthy of his hire. Whateveryou do, if you do it as though unto the Lord, Godwill see to it that you get a fair wage.

Ephesians 4:28 also shows us what our motiveshould be for laboring: “Labor at that which is

good that you may have to give to him thatneedeth.” If this isn’t your perspective, then hesays you’re a thief.

I know that’s a strong statement. But thereasoning behind it is this. You’re God’s steward.

And when you start laboring for motives that areself-centered, the income that you generate willbe consumed on you instead of where He wants it

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consumed. As God’s steward, if you’re consumingresources on yourself, He says you’re a thief.

God wants our paradigm regarding prosperity tobe outward and not inward—to meet the needs of others and not to be consumers on our own flesh.

That, my friends, is the purpose of prosperity.

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Chapter 4

UNDERSTANDINGTHE TITHE

Now that these three lenses are in place, we canbegin to properly view how God intends for us touse our money. As I said before, as God’s stewardsin the earth, the least that He expects us to befaithful in is our money. And being faithful withour money begins with the tithe.

The Tithe Predates the LawThere are those in the body of Christ who argue

that the tithe in not in the New Testament and thatit was under the law; therefore, Christians are notrequired to tithe. Both of these assumptions arewrong. The fact is that the tithe predates the Lawand it is in the New Testament. To clear up thiserroneous doctrine, let’s look at a few verses. Lookat Hebrews 6:20:

(Amp.) To better understand Jesus’ high priestly ministry, we need to know more

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about Melchizedek. The first mention of Melchizedek is in Genesis 14:18-20:

[Abraham]Melchizedek in his meeting with Abraham did two things. He

received Abraham’s tithes and thenconferred blessing upon him.

Like Melchizedek, Jesus too receives tithes.Look at Hebrews 7:8:

(NKJ)Let me ask you this question? How inconsistent is it then to expect Hisblessing when we have not acknowledged Him as our high priest with our tithes?

The Confession of Our Faith

Now let’s look at a verse that tells us how wecan further access Jesus’ high priestly ministry.Hebrews 3:1 says:

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(NKJ)(NKJ)We can apply that principleto us in this way. There are many peoplewho habitually give their tithes to theLord. Unfortunately, they do it for thewrong reasons. Some feel condemned or 

shamed into tithing. Some feel that if they didn’t tithe, God would be angry with them. Others fear the pastor may change his opinion of them if he knew they didn’t tithe.

While they do pay their tithe, they do it for thewrong reason and, consequently, apply no faith toit. They fail to make any confession of faithregarding their tithe; as a result, they do not reapthe supernatural blessings from tithing. We must

do both. Pay tithes to Jesus, our high priest, with aright heart motive and then make a confession of our faith so He can respond to our faith.

Where Does the Tithe Go?

Does God need your money? No. But it isthrough the tithe that we acknowledge Hissovereignty. God looks at the tithe as our

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recognition of His lordship and our declarationthat we have submitted our interests in thismaterial world to Him. Leviticus 27:30 shows usthat God views the tithe as His.

The tithe is not something we give God. It’s

something that we pay Him. How to pay the titheis a question for many people. Malachi 3:10 givesus the answer:

It clearly states, we’re to bring all the tithe to thestorehouse. (Notice it does not say, “Divide your

tithe up and send it to a number of differentstorehouses.”) What then is the ? In the dispensationof the church age, the word is analogous to thelocal church. In other words, you are to bring yourtithe to the local church of which you are a

member.Too often, I hear of people sending off their tithe

checks to their favorite traveling ministers.Although they are on the right track in giving toministries that are doing God’s work, they are

doing it out of order. First, all the (10% of yourgross income) goes to your home church. Afterthat, you are free to give (monetary gifts above and

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beyond the tithe) to other ministries.Malachi 3:10 explains why all the tithe goes to

the storehouse: “Bring ye all the tithes into thestorehouse [church], that there may be meat inmine house.”

The term here is a reference to natural provision.Meaning, the tithe provides unencumberedgeneral fund income to pay for the cost of ministry.

Also, the word in the New Testament is a wordthat is used for the Word of God. (Hebrews 6; 1

Corinthians 3) God is saying that when you bringyour tithe to your storehouse, the meat of God’sWord will help you grow spiritually. In otherwords, if you want to receive the meat of the Wordof God in your church, you’ve got to be a tither.

The tithe is the first step toward receiving aconsistent diet of the meat of God’s Word in yourlife. It’s a spiritual exchange.

This spiritual exchange is also illustrated in1 Corinthians 9:11 where the apostle Paul said, “If 

we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it agreat thing if we shall reap your carnal things?”This verse clearly indicates that there is an

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exchange of natural for supernatural—an exchangeof money for spiritual provision.

Over the years, I’ve seen this principle in playover and over again. People who never getplugged into church, who never grow spiritually,

and eventually disappear altogether are thosepeople who fail to pay God the tithe. But thepeople who are faithful with the tithe are the oneswho get the most blessed and are set apart by Godfor various responsibilities and calls on their lives.

They learned to be faithful in that which is least,thereby building for themselves a foundation fromwhich they could become faithful in every otherarea of their lives.

Furthermore, this spiritual exchange is made

glaringly clear in the last part of Malachi 3:10 “…prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, andpour you out a blessing, that there shall not beroom enough to receive it.”

To the tither, God says He will open thewindows of heaven and pour out a blessing thatthere isn’t room enough to receive it all. That’s

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quite a supernatural exchange on your giving,wouldn’t you say?

But before you start jumping up and down, youneed to understand that the phrase “you won’t beable to receive it all,” is not to be taken as literal.

He’s not saying you’ll have so much money youcan’t open enough bank accounts to accommodateit all. He is saying that you won’t have enoughroom in your heart to receive all that He’s broughtyou, and the result will be, your heart desires will

change. The tithe turns a hard heart into a sowingheart. Why is that? Jesus said in Matthew 6:21,“For where your treasure is, there will your heartbe also.” When you begin investing your moneythe way God says as a faithful steward should do,your heart will begin to change.

Now when you talk about God pouring out ablessing, people begin to conjure up in theirminds pictures of them winning the lottery,inheriting a million dollars, or a bag of coinsdropping out of heaven.

(Don’t hold your breath on any of thathappening.)

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The blessing of God will manifest in your lifethrough various things like God giving you wittyideas on how to save or earn extra money. Manypeople have the testimony that before tithing theylived paycheck to paycheck. After they began

tithing, their current income somehow becamemore than enough to meet their needs.

Another interesting phenomena that tithersexperience is that the number of financialemergencies is drastically lowered. They find that

the lawnmower doesn’t break down, the car keepsrunning smoothly, and the refrigerator keeps“fridging.” Like the children of Israel wanderingthrough the dessert, they find (figurativelyspeaking) that their sandals never wear out!

For the tither, God opens doors of opportunitythat no man can shut.

Consequences of Not Tithing

Speaking through the prophet Malachi, God

said to the Israelites:

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(Malachi 3:7-9)(Though the term“umbrella of protection” is not literally inthe Bible, the principle very clearly is.)

Finally, I want to call your attention to animportant stipulation with regard to tithing. God

says “prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts…” We are to “prove Him” in this.

Some people hear about the tithe and decidethat they’ll “try tithing for a few weeks and seewhat happens.” No! You don’t try tithing. God says

that we are to prove Him in this.

How do we prove Him in this? You make adecision to base your life on the Word of God. Youmake a commitment to tithe simply because Godsays to. When you make that commitment to Him,

then He commits Himself to you and He’ll pouryou out a blessing there’s not room enough toreceive!

Meeting the Needs of Your Family

So far, we’ve learned as God’s stewards that theleast that we are to be faithful in is the use of our

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money. We’ve also learned that we are to generateincome by “laboring at that which is good.” Andfrom the fruits of our labor, we are to pay God thetithe, which is ten percent of our gross income.And we pay “all” the tithe to “the” storehouse,

which is the church we attend.So then after you’ve generated an income and

given God ten percent, the Bible says in 1Timothy5:8 that the next thing you do with your money isto take care of the needs of your family.

Before we go on a vacation, before we buy aboat, and before we give money to the Gospel, weare to meet the needs of our family. If you don’t,it’s tantamount to being an infidel, an unbeliever.

Meeting the needs of your family is a serious

matter to God. It’s vital that they have thenecessities in life—food, clothing, and shelter arethe barest essentials.

How do we define what a “need” is? In definingwhat need is, there are two things you need to

keep in mind. First of all, “need” is a very personalthing. Only you and God know what “needs” your

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family has. So don’t let anybody else define foryou what need is for your family. And don’t everget in the business of trying to define somebodyelse’s need.

And your level of need will change with the

level of responsibility God entrusts you with. Forexample, a person who is single will have muchfewer needs in life than someone who is marriedand has children. The level of need rises drasticallyonce someone becomes married and then rises

again after he or she starts having children.Secondly, God knows when you’ve stepped

across the line and try to define something as aneed when it really is a “desire.” Don’t try to conGod. He knows the difference between “genuine”

need and “false” need. And when you’re honestbefore God about it, He will see to it that you willalways have enough left over to meet the need of others.

Do you know what we call money that is

“leftover”? We call it seed. Seed is what we use tomeet the needs of those around us. And seed is

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also the instrument God uses to bring increaseinto your life. So we need to spend some timetalking about the seed.

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Chapter 5 

THE SEED—YOUR INSTRUMENTFOR INCREASE

When we talk about using our leftover money tomeet the needs of others, we need to have anunderstanding of how the needs of others are met.Do we use our excess money to purchase a bag of groceries for someone that can’t afford any food?Do you fill up someone’s car with gas? Do we sliphim a twenty dollar bill when you shake his hand?

Though these are all charitable things to do,they will not, however, meet the greatest need ina person’s life. No amount of money can purchasea man’s salvation. No amount of money canpurchase a healing. The only thing that meets

human need on every level consistently andpermanently is the Word of God. So consequently,the seed that you have left over is best used to getthe Word of God into the hearts of others.

As a matter of fact, in Matthew 13, Jesus defines

seed as the Word of God. The soil that the seed isplanted in is the human heart. When the seed of God’s Word concerning salvation, healing, or

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deliverance is sown into the hearts of the lost,then the people who sowed the seed are entitledto a 30-, 60-, 100-fold harvest of that seed.

You see, when you give your money to aministry to help spread the Gospel, you are

planting the seed of God’s Word into the hearts of those that, that ministry preaches to.

Galatians 6:7 says, “Be not deceived; God isnot mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, thatshall he also reap.” Your experience of prosperity

is based on how effectively you use what is leftover to get the Word into other people. Becauseyour harvest in life is not dependent on tithing. It’snot dependent on how much you grow andmature in the knowledge of the Word. No. Your

harvest in life is dependent upon how you useyour life’s resource to get the Word of God intoother people.

Regretfully, many people make the mistake of “eating” their seed that is left over. There’s

something that they’ve been wanting for a longtime and so instead of planting the seed, they“eat” it. Without knowing it, they’ve shut off theirmeans of increase and prosperity.

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When you make the heart commitment to giveyour extra seed to “him that needeth,” then Godwill see to it that your desires for these otherthings will be fulfilled. He’ll make a way for youto get them. He loves you and wants to see you

increase. But if your heart’s desire is to consumethat seed instead of give it, then you’ve blockedHim from bringing those things to you.

Now, I’ve been referring to your extra “left-over”money as seed. One time Jesus referred to money

as seed. But then in the parable of the sower, Jesusreferred to the Word of God as seed. So which isit? Is seed money or is it the Word of God?

The only time that Jesus ever referred to moneyas seed is when it was given to support the

preaching of the Gospel.Otherwise, God would be a respecter of persons.

If our harvest in life depends entirely on what aman sows (or how many people he can get to hearthe Word), then that would give preachers an

unfair advantage. Why? Because most people arenot preachers, who have the distinct advantage of speaking to large amounts of people. So instead,

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we are told in Galatians 6 to use our money tosupport those that preach or teach the Word.Meaning that when you give money to support thepreaching of the Gospel, in a vicarious sense, thatis your way of preaching the Word into the lives of 

the lost. Do you see this? God gives you as muchcredit for getting the Word to the lost as the personthat did the preaching. So this is what Jesus meantwhen He said to sow our money. Otherwise, seedis normally understood to be the Word of God.

I want to show you a Scripture that illustratesthis very point. I’d like us to look at the account of the feeding of the five thousand in John 6:5-7. Itsays:

(NKJ)Then Andrew piped up and said,

“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish…” But then hismind got the best of him too. He said, “…but what are they among so many?” (V 9)

 Jesus then said, “Make the people sit down.”(V 10) In Mark’s account, Jesus had them all sit

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down in companies and ranks to prepare them toreceive a supernatural miracle.

The Bible says that there were five thousandmen there. Most Bible commentaries suggest thatwith women and children present, the total

number of people would have probably totaled 20thousand people.

After everyone was seated, Jesus took the breadand when He had given thanks, He broke it andbegan to distribute it to the disciples and they, in

turn, distributed it to the multitude. He did thesame thing with the fish.

Then it says when everyone had their fill, Jesushad the disciples gather up the leftovers. After theygathered everything up, they had a total of 12

baskets of leftovers. Approximately 20 thousandpeople were fed with five barley loaves and twosmall fish and they had 12 baskets full of leftovers!

Commentaries say the baskets were most likelywoven market baskets, and one of those baskets

would have accommodated at least 30 to 50 of the little boy’s lunch. And they ended up with 12

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baskets full! That’s 600 lunches left over after onewas sown.

That’s a 600-fold return. And just whose returnwas it? One commentary suggested that there wasone basket left over for each disciple. But that’s

wrong. The disciples didn’t sow the lunch. It wasthe little boy’s. Therefore, it was his return.

So what is the lesson learned from this accountof the feeding of the five thousand? It’s this. Thelittle boy could have given his lunch to someone

that seemed to be hungrier than he was. Accordingto the Word, he would have received a 30-, 60-,100-fold return on his giving. But because he gaveit to ministry, 20 thousand people were fed withthe little boy’s lunch instead of just one.

We see in this example that giving to ministryordained by God multiplies the effectiveness of the seed sown. And I would suggest as well that itmultiplies the magnitude of the harvest returned.

So again, we see the big picture of God’s

purpose for money.

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CONCLUSION

As I said in the beginning, there are manyprinciples found in the Word of God whichcontribute to your being empowered to prosper. Iencourage you to study them as they all worktogether and none of them can be disregarded.

I have shared with you in this book what isneeded for you to lay a solid foundation uponwhich you can begin winning (God’s way) in thefinancial arena.

I encourage you to allow the Bible to adjust

your perspective. God really does want you toprosper as you view life through the stewardshiplens and work hard with the motive of having togive to those in need.

It doesn’t matter what your background or

current financial situation is; if you adjust yourperspective, align your actions with the principleof the tithe, and are faithful to sow the seed thatGod provides, you will be on His pathway toprosperity. Soon, you—a willing and cheerfulgiver—will literally have become a clearinghousefor the work of God. Hallelujah!

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A B O U T T H E A U T H O R

Mac Hammond is host of the nationallydistributed half-hour broadcast; he has alsoauthored several internationally distributed books

including and .Mac Hammond graduated from Virginia Military

Institute in 1965 with a Bachelor’s degree inEnglish. Upon graduation, he entered the Air Forcewith a regular officer’s commission and reported

for pilot training at Moody Air Force Base inGeorgia. He received his wings in November1966, and subsequently served two tours of dutyin Southeast Asia, accumulating 198 combatmissions.

Between 1970 and 1980, Mac was involved invarying capacities in the general aviation industryincluding ownership of a successful air cargobusiness serving the Midwestern United States. Abusiness merger brought the Hammonds to

Minneapolis where they ultimately founded LivingWord Christian Center in 1980 with 12 people inattendance.

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After more than twenty years, that group of twelve people has grown into an active churchbody of more than 8,500 members. Today some of the outreaches that spring from Living Wordinclude Maranatha Christian Academy, a fully-

accredited, pre-K through 12th grade Christianschool; Maranatha College, an evening andweekend college with an uncompromisingChristian enviornment; Living Free RecoveryServices, a state licensed outpatient treatmentfacility for chemical dependency; 3 Degrees, acutting-edge Christian music club which is smoke/ alcohol free; The Compassion Center, a multi-faceted outreach to inner-city residents; CFAITH,an online cooperative missionary outreach of hundreds of national and international

organizations providing faith-based content and anonprofit family-oriented ISP; and a national andinternational media outreach which includeshundreds of audio/video teaching series, and thebroadcasts, the publication, and magazine.

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To order, visit our website at mac-hammond.org,

call 1-888-600-6336, or write us at: 

Mac Hammond MinistriesP.O. Box 29469

Minneapolis, MN 55429-2946