Why do some people try every means to make money, only to end up with nothing? Why are some people still poor after believing in the Lord for a long time? Is it God's will for His people to be poor? Nehemiah did not receive a salary for twelve years and supported 150 people out of his own pocket. How did he do it? Let the teacher reveal the answer to us below:
Questions for Reflection:
How did Nehemiah deal with the officials' exploitation of the people? What are the roots of wealth and poverty? (Nehemiah 5:1-13)
Nehemiah did not receive a governor's salary for 12 years, and he also provided food and drink for 150 people every day. How was he able to do it? Was he a wealthy man? How was he different from the people of Israel? (Nehemiah 5:14-19)
What is the theme of this chapter? What kind of character should we emulate from Nehemiah?
Two Common Logical Systems
Regarding the theme of this chapter, the first is what our brothers and sisters said: a poor mentality and a wealthy mentality; the second is that there are always two kinds of people in the world: the poor and the rich; the third is two forms: one is worldly, and the other is human; the fourth is two other kinds of people: one is a heavenly priest, and the other is a worldly merchant.
In today's world, no matter what people do, they have a strong business mentality. Finally, there are those who are willing to suffer losses and those who are not. So when two different logics are abstracted from this chapter, they are two systems of thinking. In fact, the entire Bible speaks of two major different logical systems. Everyone should pay special attention to what kind of logical system is installed inside you? And what kind of logical system does this chapter express? Let us study it together.
The Process of Believing in the Lord
The process of believing in the Lord is the process of constantly removing worldly value systems, while at the same time constantly adding the logical system of a royal priesthood, and constantly being molded. One is a poor logical system without the appearance of a royal priesthood, and the other is a wealthy logical system with the appearance of a royal priesthood. Nehemiah wrote these things not just after the wall was built, but many years later. The text says that he did not receive the governor's salary for 12 years. As for whether he wrote the Book of Nehemiah 12 years later, we are not very clear, but it must have been after a considerable period of time.
This passage is written in the first person, in Nehemiah's tone, but we have no way of knowing whether it was written by him personally. But what is certain is that after he did these things, he was not penniless. We believe that he was still a wealthy man. What I want to tell everyone is: Whether one is wealthy or not, whether one is blessed or not, whether one receives grace from God or not, whether one becomes a person of God's grace or not, all have to do with God. If God bestows grace on you, even if you have nowhere to accommodate it, because of God's slight blessing, you will not be without a place.
The per capita consumption in one's life is actually not much. Nehemiah was wealthy because God bestowed grace on him. When we explore Nehemiah's life, he grew up in an ordinary family. Later, he became the emperor's close cupbearer, receiving a very high salary, accumulating a lot of wealth, and investing in a lot of assets. These assets made him a wealthy man. When he later became the governor, he did not take a salary for 12 years, but he provided food and drink for 150 people every day. That expense must not have been a small number. One can imagine that he was an extremely wealthy man before he became the governor.
Becoming a Person Who Can Afford to Be Rich
How did Nehemiah become a wealthy man? I think it is because he pleased God from a young age, and God made him extremely wealthy. After being wealthy, he was not dominated by these riches. This is what we need to learn the most. Today, many people cannot afford to be rich; they are ruined as soon as they become rich. There is a Chinese saying, Wealth and rank cannot corrupt. But how many people in today's society are not corrupt after becoming wealthy? So we need to think about what kind of logical system made Nehemiah a person who could 'afford to be rich'?
Let's first look at the difference between Nehemiah and the people of Israel. Nehemiah's logic is God's logic. Some of us will become wealthy because God likes people to prosper. God does not like people to be penniless. God does not like people to decline. If a person wants to prosper, then he must have a divine logical system inside him. He must believe in God and believe that God will bless those who seek Him. Nehemiah is such a person. But I have found that many of us feel that God is not a God who blesses us. Some people like to be poor Christians. This idea actually violates the gospel that God has revealed to us.
Today I lead everyone to pray: God will surely make you and your descendants a great nation. God will bless you. God will make your name great, and you will also bless others, so that others will be blessed, because the Bible says, Those who bless you will be blessed, and those who curse you will be cursed. Nehemiah has this Abrahamic mentality in him. The Abrahamic mentality is a very wealthy mentality. If a person can understand Abraham thoroughly, this person is extraordinary. In fact, by Nehemiah's time, the Five Books of Moses were already prevalent among the Israelites, but many Israelites did not know that this was a treasure. Only Nehemiah knew that this was a treasure. God led him step by step in his youth, and later he became the emperor's cupbearer and became a very wealthy man. After he became wealthy, what he had in his heart was still not money.
A Person Who Loves God Must Be a Wealthy Person
Everyone must know that a person who loves money will not be wealthy, but will become poor, but a person who loves God must be a wealthy person. When we first read the Book of Nehemiah, it says that when Nehemiah heard that the wall was destroyed, he wept and prayed desperately. This person is an extraordinary person. But today when you see the church declining, you may say in your heart, What does this have to do with me? When you see the desolation of the church, do you pray for the church?
Although today in our church, we have witnessed many of God's miraculous deeds, it is still desolate, isn't it! So we really need to be filled with Nehemiah's mentality. Nehemiah did not suddenly have this mentality when he was serving as a cupbearer, but he always had it. When he heard such news when he was serving as a cupbearer, he was saddened. In fact, he always had such a mentality in his heart. Such a person is called a person with a priestly mentality.
A person with a priestly mentality is extraordinary. Some time ago, I went to a group and shared with them the priestly mentality, sharing my favorite sentence: God makes my name great. These are very remarkable words. If you have a priestly mentality in your heart, God will surely make your name great. God will surely make you a blessing to many people. You are no longer a poor person, but a very wealthy person, not only wealthy in mentality but also wealthy in material things. God makes our name great because what we have in our hearts is the kingdom of God. We are priests. We need to bring the power from God's throne completely to this world. This is the priest.
A Leverage with Immense Returns
When God magnifies your name. There is a very interesting phenomenon. In ancient China, there was a concept called ‘a leverage with immense returns’. The story goes like this: In ancient China, there was a man named Lü Buwei. He felt that if he sold household goods, he would at most earn a profit of ten percent, and he would have to transport them in large and small carts, which was very tiring. He felt that selling jewelry would yield a hundredfold profit. Although jewelry was small, it earned a great deal. He said that it would be great if there was something in this world that could bring immense returns. Lü Buwei was very clever. Later, he became the father of Qin Shi Huang. How did Qin Shi Huang become his son? He found a hostage from the State of Zhao who later became the King of Qin, and his son became Qin Shi Huang. Later, he became the Prime Minister in the State of Qin. So how could he achieve 'a leverage with immense returns'?
Everyone must know that mastering the power of the government is about formulating the rules of the game, creating the rules for the commercial operation of the entire country. Then, he is bound to be a wealthy man. Why? Because he has ‘leverage’. If a person wants to become wealthy, he must use the principle of leverage, ‘using a little force to move a great weight’. Everyone must have the concept of ‘using a little force to move a great weight’. If a person wants to become wealthy, it is very difficult for you to save one hundred dollars today and one hundred dollars tomorrow, but leverage is very powerful. Let’s do the math. For example, you have two hundred thousand and invest in an industry worth one million. Later, this one million industry grows to two million. How many times has it increased? Six times. Because eight hundred thousand is a loan, after selling it for two million and paying off eight hundred thousand, there is still one million two hundred thousand left. Dividing by two hundred thousand is six times. This is the principle of leverage. Lü Buwei understood this very well. As the top of the national mechanism, he could change the rules of operation, so he had 'a leverage with immense returns'.
So, today, this 'a leverage with immense returns' is the combination of politics and business. This makes the accumulation of wealth very fast! So, Lü Buwei raised three thousand retainers, and Nehemiah raised one hundred and fifty. Today, you and I rely on the priests of the eternal God. Lü Buwei relied on Qin Shi Huang. Aren’t you and I better than Lü Buwei! If you and I have the mindset of a priest, you will have the rules of blessing in your hands. If the rules are in your hands, you are the kind of person who can achieve 'a leverage with immense returns'!
The mindset of a priest is a wealthy mindset. Nehemiah has such a mindset. Don’t think that he will be poor just because he raised one hundred and fifty people for twelve years. He will not be poor, because he is the one who formulates the rules. He not only formulates the rules for governing the province of Judah in this world, but also masters the rules for obtaining God’s blessing. So, after twelve years, he is still not a poor man, because God blesses him.
In this world, if you can master the rules of God’s throne of blessing, you will never run out of them. There is a rich man, and his worker said to me: His master will never run out of money in his life. I think it’s hard to say. The treasures of the world are uncertain, and you can go bankrupt if you are not careful. But if you and I are connected to the throne of the eternal God and establish a priestly logical system within you, God will surely remember you and bless you. This is Nehemiah’s logical system.
How to Establish Nehemiah’s Logical System
Can Nehemiah’s logical system be established? If you worry all day long, you will not be able to receive Nehemiah’s logical system. Once this system is established, it is a wealthy mindset. Know that God will surely bless him, magnify his name, and make him a blessing to many. Will he care about money? Priests must not focus on money. Until now, God has been very gracious to me. Although our church started from scratch, today in the center of Singapore, in a very expensive place, there is always a sea of people. But we are very wealthy. This is amazing! You must know that those who bless you will be blessed. Those who are willing to be close to you will surely be blessed.
We once had a sister who, although not in our church, contributed every month. God greatly blessed her. She is not foolsih at all. The amount of contribution may be your monthly income. So, everyone must change their poor mindset! If you are poor today, it is because you have had a poor mindset in the past. The logical system of businessmen focuses on profits and money. Once God shakes you off, you will be as poor as a church mouse. Those with many children who seek food to survive are very pitiful. I think they may have been rich people before, taking advantage of the people of Israel, and as a result, one day God shook them off and they became poor. When they are poor, their eyes are on money, on that bite of food. When they are wealthy, they are also staring at money, also staring at that bite of food. This is the logical system of the Jewish people.
People of the world like what they can see and touch, such as: houses, money, and property. They feel comfortable when they see them, feel safe when they have them, and feel insecure without these things. What a deadly idea! Money is printed by the government. If it doubles the amount of money it prints, the money in your hand becomes half. Inflation, like a rat, enters the granary and keeps eating your money. I saw a news report that someone saved six hundred and seventy thousand fifty years ago. In those days, six hundred and seventy thousand could buy sixty-seven houses. Fifty years later, he found that the bank had confiscated it because no one had claimed it. The ancient Chinese liked to wrap money in a small package, put it in a jar and bury it in the ground. My grandmother fled from famine from Hebei to Northeast China, hiding her property in a jar and burying it underground. Later, she died without taking it out.
A Poor Destiny Has Roots
A poor destiny has roots, so Jesus said, The poor will always be with you, but you will not always have me. When someone took an alabaster jar filled with precious perfume, broke the jar, the jar was very expensive, about a year’s income, and the perfume inside was also very expensive, also a year’s income! Pouring it on Jesus’ head, his disciples said, Why are you doing this? It could have been sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus said, Don’t say that. What this woman has done for me, she did to prepare me for burial. Wherever this gospel is preached in the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her. There will always be a poor mindset in this world, but there are not many with the mindset of a priest, including his disciples. Can you change the mindset of these descendants of Israel today, to seek more food to survive? People are poor at the root. If the root of poverty is removed, can they not be wealthy?
A loser is a loser in his heart, so he lives like a loser. I hope everyone will be shaped into the mindset of a royal priesthood. Believe that this is an extremely valuable asset! Not only are the poor of Israel like this, but also those who are wealthy. The wealthy are afraid of becoming poor, so they rely on seeking profits to make money. The curse suffered by taking advantage of these people will make them poor. There is an old saying: The wheel of Feng Shui turns, ‘thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river’. The Chinese have summed it up very clearly! But the priest of the eternal God will never be thirty years west of the river, thirty years east of the river, but will always be in the temple of the eternal God! Nehemiah took out his money to contribute to the Israelites, but the Israelites took advantage of the people. What does God want from us? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. You must learn to love mercy, but don’t be fooled by the beggars!
Cultivating a Wealthy Mindset is Very Important
Cultivating a wealthy mindset is very important, and as a result, this sentence will be fulfilled in you: Remember me, my God, concerning all that I have done for these people, and show me favor. In my heart, may God remember what I have done for these people and show me favor, remember all that I have done. Because all that I have done represents the priestly mindset within me. I am really not seeking my own benefit, but seeking God’s benefit. When you seek God’s benefit, God will surely bless you. You are wealthy, not because you make money by seeking profits, but because God blesses you. A sister gave a testimony last Friday, found a new job, and her salary increased by fifty percent, thanks to the Lord. Everyone should go back and examine themselves to see if there is a poor mindset within them. Whether you have really given everything for God. If you really give for God, God will surely magnify your name, those who bless you will be blessed, and those who curse you will be cursed. May this be fulfilled in the brothers and sisters.