John Avanzini - Covenant of Wealth

The Covenant of Wealth

Deuteronomy 8:18 says God has given you the power to get wealth. Read the verse in context and you will see why God is giving you that power!

But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

Deuteronomy 8:18

God has given you power to get wealth so that He can establish His covenant. The word establish means "founded and grounded financially so that no economic problems could ever uproot or overthrow the orderly operation of that covenant on the earth."

Do you really think God wants the state of the world's economy to affect the operation of His Church and His chosen ministries? Do you really think God would want every economic slump in the natural realm to disrupt the ministry of His Church? Of course not!

God has a plan for His children to be so well established in finances that literally no problem in the economy will affect the Church's economy: good times, bad times, depression and recession make no difference. God intends for His Church to grow and flourish no matter what the world might be facing in its godless economics.

God has given all His children the power to get wealth so that they can be financially established. Then they can generously fund every need that arises for the operation of the covenant He made with Abraham. That is the primary reason He has given the saints the power to get wealth!

If you are seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, if you are using your God-given power to get wealth to establish God's Kingdom first, the secondary portion of the covenant comes into play. God will add the other things (your needs and desires) unto you.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

Notice God adds "all these things." When you effectively do your part of first establishing His Kingdom, God will do His part and give you "all these things" you need and want for the good life in abundance!

The Wealth of the Wicked

You may be surprised to learn that God has a pattern of taking "all these things" from the wicked and giving them to His children. It's true.

God periodically transfers the wealth of the wicked to His children.

... and the wealth of the sinner [wicked] is laid up for the just.

Proverbs 13:22

You know, I can hear you saying, "Brother John, I believe you. I believe you because I believe the Word of God. It says the wealth of the wicked is laid up for the just, so it must be true, but my logical mind says it's just too fantastic. I have to confess that it is beyond my realm of experience. Yes, I believe the Bible, but I must be totally honest. I have never heard of the wealth being turned over to the righteous. I see from my experience that lost, wicked men simply do not give away their wealth."

Please be at ease. You have heard of this wealth transfer happening time and time again. Let me remind you of some of these times.

Wealth Given to Abram

How about Abram and the Egyptians? Do you remember that account in Genesis 12? Abram received great wealth from the wicked Egyptians.

Although Abram came from rich ancestors, when he arrived in Egypt, he couldn't even afford to hire a bodyguard. So he told his wife, Sarai , to tell everyone she was his sister.

Well, you know the story. Pharaoh fell in love with Sarai , and stated he would marry her on a certain date. The Scripture says:

And he [The Pharaoh] entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.

Genesis 12:16

This was all good until Pharaoh discovered that Sarai was really Abram's wife. He became so angry that he threw Abram out of Egypt. Note a very interesting point: Pharaoh let Abram keep all the wealth he had given him!

And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

Genesis 12:20

In one short visit to Egypt, the wealth of the wicked was quickly transferred to the just man, Abram.

Notice how much wealth Abram acquired in this short time. Upon his departure from Egypt he had great substance:

And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold

Genesis 13:2

God sent Abram, out of Egypt with so much wealth; the Bible says he was very rich.

Further along in this passage, we see that Abram and Lot had acquired so many possessions while in Egypt that:

... the land was not able to bear them....

Genesis 13:6

They actually had such great substance that they could not dwell together, for they needed large amounts of land to sustain their large herds.

A close examination of Scripture seems to show that Lot's wealth came from his association with Abram. It is important to notice this fact. Abram's wealth was so excessive that even his nephew was able to prosper from his abundance.

Clearly, this shows that when God distributes the wealth, he doesn't mind if His children have more than enough. Listen to what He told Abram:

... Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:

For all the land which thou seest , to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

Genesis 13:14 ,15

These are not the promises of a God who wants

His children to dwell in poverty, starvation, and ignorance! No, indeed! The God of Abram is the God of abundance!

As you study God's Word carefully, you'll find that God has clearly stated His intention to take very good care of His children, especially those who walk in His footsteps and obey His will.

Also keep in mind that God gave all this land to Abram and his seed (the righteous). Remember that every bit of this property was once owned by wicked, heathen men, and God gave it to the just. The wealth of the wicked is laid up for the just.

Wealth Given to Isaac

Let's now look at another case where God transferred the wealth of the wicked to the just. Observe this process as it operated in the life of Isaac.

While Isaac was living in his homeland, he ran out of supplies because of a harsh famine. So he decided to do as his father before him had done and go down into Egypt.

Isaac got as far as the land of the Philistines when God told him to stop. He told Isaac to stay out of Egypt, and continue dwelling in the land of the wicked Philistines, a land the famine had rendered barren and seemingly non-productive. Yet God promised Isaac if he followed His instructions (instructions you and I would probably label as foolish), he would prosper.

Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father.

Genesis 26:3

Some will read this passage and immediately assume that God meant an abundance of spiritual blessings. Let's see what God really means by blessings in the midst of a famine.

Then Isaac sowed in that land [a land in the midst of famine], and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.

Genesis 26:12

In verse 14, we see a further inventory of what God had given to Isaac.

For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

Genesis 26:14

Are we to believe the Philistines envied Isaac's spiritual heritage? Are we to believe they envied Isaac's good standing with God? Of course not! The Philistines envied Isaac because he grew huge crops in the midst of famine, crops he was able to sell to the Philistines for great amounts of money. They envied his large flocks of sheep for meat and clothing, his "great store" of servants who waited on his every need. In the midst of famine, Isaac cleaned out the wealth of the Philistines.