Lender to the Nations 4

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

 …only if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you. Deuteronomy Chapter 15 verses 5 and 6 NKJV.

And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. Deuteronomy Chapter 28 verses 11 to 13. NKJV

Articles of Gold and Silver as Wealth

In the Bible, God always blessed His children with articles of silver and gold as well as other material resources associated with wealth – purple robes and linen, exotic and rare spices. Beloved, rare spices and other resources, exotic clothing, silver and gold which were not common, expensive jewels such as crowns, rings, bracelets, necklaces and chains, and precious stones were symbols of wealth and royalty. Significantly, they still are and will continue to be such.  

Only recently, God opened my eyes of understanding to the significance of articles of silver and gold; gemstones, royal and exotic clothing as symbols of wealth and royalty. He also let me know that He has been blessing me with these items but I have never given thought to the value of what I own, some of which I discarded cheaply, threw away or put in the mission bag. Significantly, some of these things came cheaply, free, I never asked for them. And you know what, some of you reading this have also been blessed by God with these resources, but maybe, like me, you did not pay attention to them. Or even maybe, you have no idea what value they possess. So you probably treated them cheap and insignificant. But again like me, I believe that God is giving you an opportunity to make good use of these resources so that you can become the lender to the nations that He created you to be.

A number of biblical persons received gifts of articles of silver and gold as well as rare and exotic items of their day which made them wealthy. They include:

King Solomon received numerous gifts of articles of silver from many people, including royalty from other lands and these constituted some of his wealth. Please read 1^st Kings Chapter 10 verses 23 to 29 and 2^nd Chronicles Chapter 9 verses 1 to 9. 1 Kings Chapter 10 verse 14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold,

1 Kings Chapter 10 verse 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind.        

Lender to the Nations 3

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Life can sometimes be very ironic and sure throws pleasant surprises when least expected. A people assumed to be without the strengths and capabilities to make wealth stared wealth in the face. Abundant food, silver, gold and choice clothing in large numbers! What a great find! They did not waste a second. First they satisfied and dealt with the hunger pangs of many days; all the while keeping very vigilant eyes on the silver, gold and choice clothing which they carted away for themselves and hid in safe places. The questions to ask would be and should be – were the lepers right in helping themselves first to the silver, gold and clothing; and why hide them in safe places from the people of Samaria? Did they also need these items? Was the daily sustenance of food not their top most priority?

Beloved, herein is wisdom. The four lepers daily begged for sustenance at the city gates and always got pittances. If they got anything substantial, then begging would not be a daily grind at the city gates. So with this one opportunity designed to help themselves out of the daily grind of begging, they did a great job of it, securing their future. Besides, who would remember them when it was time to share that great bounty among the citizens of Samaria? And to think that there was a great stampede when the people of Samaria discovered the food. Fortunately for the physically less endowed but richly endowed wise four lepers, they had taken more than their fair share of the booties and hidden them for safe keeping away from the people of Samaria. Beloved, this great testimony of the four lepers illustrates that any form of incapacitation and challenge is no excuse from hooking up to God and connecting to His divine power in you to get wealth.

The four lepers responded to promptings by the Holy Spirit to go the camp of the Syrian army so that they would be the ones to inform the King and the people of Samaria that the siege was over. This is because none of the people of Samaria, including the army and the army chief were willing to step a foot outside the city gates for fear of the Syrians. But the four lepers who concluded that they had nothing to lose in the process of going to the camp of the Syrians gained a lot such as favor wealth, what they did not labor for coupled with the prestige of being the ones who reported freedom and deliverance from the siege. Their power to get wealth was the obedience and swift response to the promptings of the Holy Spirit – first to go the camp of the Syrians; secondly to help themselves to some of the wealth of the Syrians as well as and broadcast and thirdly to broadcast the good news to the King and his court; thus benefiting humanity. They were a blessing to the people of Samaria despite their physical challenges and the discrimination they suffered.

Lender to the Nations 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Silver and gold as well as items of silver and gold are mentioned severally in the Bible. Significantly, the connotations of articles of silver and gold and their relationship to wealth, prominence, significance, relevance, affluence, influence, promotion and royalty is further attested in the Bible. Please read Genesis Chapter 13 verses 1 to 2. Several wealthy biblical personalities such a Kings Solomon, David, Hezekiah, Jehoshaphat were blessed with gold, silver as well as numerous articles of gold and silver. In many respects they were lenders to the nations as they owned and controlled great wealth.

Wealth is of God, comes from God and to as many people who are willing to receive the wealth from God. Please read Deuteronomy Chapters 8 verse 18, 15 verse 6 and 28 verses 11 to 13 and 2^nd Corinthians Chapter 8 verse 9. Ironically wealth does not drop on anyone like a bag of cherries. It has to be earned through divinely endowed abilities which range from divine wisdom, knowledge, understanding, uncommon skills and expertise, brute physical strength as in the cases of Goliath and Samson, etc. All of these however have to be traded for and multiplied in the marketplace. In the light of these, it is possible that certain people would to some extent be excluded, either by the personal restrictions and limits which they place on themselves or by societal restrictions and limits.

The unnamed four lepers of Samaria fall into this latter category. They could not engage in economic activities on account of their physical disabilities as well as societal restrictions and limitations which forbade them from participating in the marketplace of economic activities. In essence, they appeared to lack the power to get wealth. So they confined themselves to begging on a daily basis for sustenance at the entrance of the city gates of Samaria living on the mercy and generosity of passersby.

How to Manage Life Transforming Information for Profit

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The place of information management in accessing wealth, prominence and prestige in the land is very strategic. The person or people you share life transforming information designed to uplift you out of obscurity into limelight; out of poverty into wealth; out of the ash heap and dust positions of life to sit with royalty, with is very important. The Bible instructs that anyone diligent in his or her work stands before Kings and not unknown people. It is therefore important that you identify significant people; either kings or people highly connected to Kings to share such information with.

The four lepers who sat at the entrance gates of Samaria received the good news first because they responded to the promptings of the Holy Spirit speedily so they were the first to know that the siege was over and there was abundance in the land as prophesied by Elisha. After helping themselves to the bounties of siege and a war they could never have fought in even if they volunteered to, they shared the information with the King and his court and by extension, the people of Samaria. The lepers did not labor for their wealth. Access to the right information and being at the right place at the right time paved the way to the wealth the lepers accessed. In essence, they inherited the hard and maybe smart labor as well as wealth of other people. Significantly, they were careful who they shared the information with. They ensured that the information got to the King but not after they had used the information to better their lot. Rather than rush off to inform the King or the people of the city of Samaria when they first got to the camp, they kept the information to themselves and helped themselves to great booties before sharing the privileged information with other people.

Beloved, you can also access the right information by the Spirit of God. Access to the right information by the Spirit of God is also God’s way of empowering His children to get wealth.

The biblical Joseph interpreted the dreams of the baker and the butler; people who were well connected to Pharaoh; who had the ears of Pharaoh; who had direct access to the King and could recommend him and his services to the King. That was eventually what happened when Pharaoh had his troubling dreams which all the wise men and magicians of Egypt could not interpret. The butler recommended Joseph to Pharaoh and the moment the connection was made, Joseph by the grace of God was at his optimal best and impressed Pharaoh and his court beyond their wildest imagination. Joseph stood before a great king and other significant members of the court and on the same day, Joseph was divinely promoted from prisoner to Prime Minster.

Beloved, pray that God in His infinite mercies will help you to always stand before kings and significant people so that by His Spirit, He will seat you among princes in the land. Please read 1^st Samuel Chapter 2 verses 7 to 8, psalm 113 verses 7 to 8.

Can you imagine what would have happened to Joseph if he shared the information with someone else? That person would have taken the glory which rightly belonged to Joseph and Joseph would have probably remained in prison for the rest of his life. Beloved, what you do with the life transforming information God blessed you with either makes or mar your chances to the top. If you share the information with right people, you are made. But if you share the information with the wrong people, you remain at ground zero. I pray that will not be your portion in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

The Power of Right Connections

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Participation equals inclusion while non participation amounts to exclusion.

Esther participated in the search for a queen contest and God gave her victory. Her participation in the search for a queen contest made it possible for her to be planted in the palace as queen to King Ahasuerus in the kingdom. If she had not participated in the contest, she would not have won and be planted in the palace. The implication is that she would have missed out on divine purpose by refusing to participate in the search for a queen contest.

Participation gives you platforms to connect with people whether socially, politically, academically and economically. As you participate, you meet and interact with people and in the process connect to people God designed for you to interact with in order for you to achieve purpose. You are not Moses who has to be at the backside of the desert for forty years. Moses had to be at the backside of the desert for a divine purpose and if your purpose differs from that of Moses, then you have no business being at the backside of the desert.

The Mindset of the Wealthy 3

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

The unnamed virtuous woman of Proverbs Chapter 31 verses 10 to 31 was a successful wife, as well as a mother no doubt. Besides, her husband was a man of substance considering that he sat with the elders at the city gate. That should have been any woman’s pride in her days. After all, she owned a home provided for by her husband yet the Bible records that she was not an idle woman. Economically and socially, and even spiritually, she was profitably busy. In today’s world, she would be described as a fashion designer, and a very successful one at that. But her success as a fashion designer did not get to her head that she had peaked. Rather, the success she experienced as a fashion designer who supplied sashes to merchants did not get to her head and make her complacent. Rather, it made her more diligent and committed to investing in other areas of the economy. She took profits from her fashion business into purchasing a field to grow a vineyard – a source of raw materials for wine production. What an amazing woman, with the great mindset of the wealthy, the people who truly understand the difference between bread and seed. A typical bread eater would happily fritter the profits from the fashion business in to bread eating (physical bread, entertainment, additional clothes and accessories that are not even needed) but the seed sower that she was, she ploughed the profits into a different sector of the economy thereby multiplying her income streams as well as sheltering her financial resources by investing in different sectors of the economy. That is the mindset of the wealthy, invest, reinvest, diversify investments, multiply income streams and associate with like minded people and not bread eaters.

Isaac was the heir of Abraham, a very wealthy man. Please read Genesis Chapters 13 and 24 yet Isaac did not become complacent despite inheriting so much wealth from his father. Isaac kept working to accumulate more wealth (Genesis Chapter 26) until he became very wealthy and even when he was already very wealthy, he did not stop investing. He dug up more wells despite the contention by the Philistines over the wells his servants dug.

The Mindset of the Wealthy 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

God also endowed Solomon with great descriptive powers so that he could describe plant life, including plants and trees which were not even native to Israel. He had great descriptive powers coupled with vast knowledge which kept his very attentive audience spell bound; willing to come back again and again to hear him speak. Additionally, this same audience spread the word about Solomon’s great wisdom, vast knowledge base and understanding like wildfire. Any wonder his fame spread.

King Solomon topped these up with the divine ability to teach – transfer knowledge and wisdom resources to other people. Please read Ecclesiastes Chapter 12 verses 9 to 13. He was a great communicator. Solomon was indeed endowed with the tongue of the learned – Isaiah Chapter 50 verses 4 to 5; an instructed tongue, clearly instructed by God to speak peace, life, comfort, healing, deliverance, knowledge to take away ignorance from the lives of people held captive by ignorance (Isaiah Chapter 9 verse 2), understanding to people whose lack of understanding made life difficult to understand; and wisdom to the foolish so they could become wise, truly functional and successful.

King Solomon also knew how to take advantage of divine opportunities and platform. The people who came from all nations to hear his wisdom alongside his own people whom he ruled were great assets. So he invested his wisdom in them; and also partnered with them to do business. Hiram, his most trusted and respected ally was one of his greatest business partners. Together, they ruled the sea with their trading fleet of ships alongside their seasoned sailors who knew and understood the sea and sea routes as well as where to find gold, silver, choice spices and other great articles of trade. This way, King Solomon made money every second, minute, hour, day, week, month and year. Are you still surprised that he was the richest man of his days!