Are you tired of living paycheck to paycheck? Do you want to gain momentum in your finances? Do you ever wonder why some seem to flourish financially and others seem to be stuck in the mud? Do you debt fund or do you live within your means? If you said "yes" to any of these questions then please read on. The God that created the heavens and the earth, also created us to flourish, and multiply. That same God instilled that mindset of multiplication into His chosen people the Hebrews.
Let's find out more about how a Hebrew mind thinks about wealth, and the secrets to multiplying it. In the book by Craig Hill, “Five Wealth Secrets 96% of Us Don't Know,” Craig lays out these five secrets that a Hebrew mindset uses to create wealth:
1. The 4% segregate their money into several distinct categories of use (jars) and intentionally prioritize their usage.
2. The 4% focus their life on fulfilling a calling and vision.
3. The 4% invest their resources only in things that multiply. They also invest their time and energy in people who multiply.
4. The 4% understand that the economy flows in cycles, and therefore they anticipate and prepare for each new phase in the cycle.
5. The 4% prepare for and leave an inheritance for at least two subsequent generations.
Let's talk a bit more about the distinct categories, or jars, as Craig Hill puts it.
Craig breaks down finances into these 5 Jars, or categories:
Jar 1 Tithes, Jar 2 Offerings, Jar 3 Savings, Jar 4 Investments, and Jar 5 Spending.
He recommends starting out by putting 10% of your income into the Tithe Jar,, 3% into the Offering Jar, 3% into the Savings Jar, 4% into the Investments Jar,, and finally 80% into the Spending Jar.
Please understand these percentages are only a recommendation, the important thing is to put a percentage of your income into each Jar.
— Special Offer —
Below there is a link to get a free download for a Spreadsheet to utilize the 5 Jars Method that Craig Hill discusses in his book. The spreadsheet also includes a template for a monthly budget.
Moving forward I would like to focus this blog on his second secret, vision, aka life calling, or God's assignment for your life. By far, in my opinion, this is the foundational truth to success. Not because I say so, but because the Bible tells us so. God is the one who has plans to prosper you:
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. “
Jesus says this about seeking God: Matthew 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.”
And there is this passage about God being a rewarder: Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him.”
I can say with certainty that when I heard God and followed what He put on my heart to do, our lives, my families’ lives, began to demonstrate God’s reward. Back in 1996 God spoke to me very strongly about how I did not honor my Father growing up, He showed me all the times as a kid on that I dishonored my Dad. When I asked God what to do about it, He told me to write a letter apologizing and to offer to go back to work for my Dad. This was no small ask, as I had worked for my Dad before and it was a nightmare, but God.
Things did not change overnight, but we went from being in debt, barely making rent for a small apartment, then 2 years later we bought a condo, 6 years later we bought a house, 10 years later we had a net worth over a million dollars.
Also, remember God's word, His 5th commandment says: Deuteronomy 5:16 ‘Honor your father and your mother, just as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well for you on the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”
The Hebrew word for go well for you, is "Yatab" the Strongs concordance says it means "happy, successful, right"
That is why I say, the biggest secret is following God’s plan for your life. We read in Deuteronomy 8:3: “And He humbled you and let you go hungry, and fed you with the manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, in order to make you understand that man shall not live on bread alone, but man shall live on everything that comes out of the mouth of the Lord.”
We also see that our God is a God of wealth, His very covenant, which we are partakers of through the blood of Christ, give us the power to make wealth. In fact He says this:
Deuteronomy 8:18 “But you are to remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, in order to confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. “
Wow, it says that God confirms His covenant by giving us the power to make wealth! Yes it does, but remember God's covenant is an agreement that we give God our all, and God us His all. So we are called to use that wealth as God directs us, that why Jesus says in Luke 9:24: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, this is the one who will save it”
Craig Hill also uses this diagram to explain the different levels of provision:
Survival is the living in the place where God is only supplying for our needs, as in the parable in Matt:6:24-34.
The next phase of provision, Craig calls "Overflow." Where by we are walking in reaping what we sow. The final phase of God's provision is called "Multiplication." Whereby, we faithfully steward our assignment, our resources, and our walk with the Lord.
Speaking of God's assignment for each of us, we are all called to do our part to fulfill God’s great commission to disciple nations, Therefore whatever our assignment is it will entail discipling nations, whether we are called to run a business, or serve in government, or teach at a school.
Matthew 28:18 "And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Jesus taught us that part of discipling nations to help ensure that the people are cared for. After all, He came to preach good news to the poor.
Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, 19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
And below Jesus tells us how important it is to care for those in need:
Matthew 25: 34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
So let’s press into our God, know His ways for our lives, His call, His vision so we can partake of His covenant to give us power to make wealth so we can see His Kingdom come and His will be done on this earth as it is in heaven. There is no poverty in heaven, there is no sickness in heaven. God helps us to deny ourselves take up our cross and follow Jesus!
To purchase or find out more about Craig Hill's' book "Five Wealth Secrets 96% of Us Don't Know" click here.
For your FREE download to the 5 Jars Google Sheet and Monthly Budget template click here.