Webster’s dictionary defines currency as a “medium of exchange” or the “money a country uses.” Would it surprise you to know that heaven has a currency? Yes, it does and you have probably heard of it before. The currency that heaven trades in is the Word of God. I am defining the Word of God here as all the ways in which our Father speaks to us, not just the Scripture. Granted, the Scripture will be the bottom line objective test for most of us and that is good. However, our God is a speaking God and can speak to us in a great variety of ways, from the beauty of nature, to the gifts of the Spirit, to text of the Scripture. God speaks to us and His Word is the very “medium of exchange” for all the treasures of heaven.
God is eager to generously supply the needs of His children, as any good Father would be. If you doubt this statement reread Matthew chapter 6 and 7 and see how eager our good Father is. This is exactly my point today. God is eager to invest himself in you, with you and through you. He has told you this and He is eager for you to “cash in” so to speak, on the currency of His promises to you.
God has made many promises to each of us and we often fail to believe, or take these promises seriously, and see the stuff of Heaven released in our lives. Let’s get something clear here right out front: God wants to bless you with the riches of His love, His stuff, His power and His people, but if your goal is just to get rich or own a bunch of stuff, you are dead to God’s best for you already. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. We must be careful to hunger for God and His righteousness (Matt 6:33) and present our sinful lust to Him daily so He can live fully in us. We all are tempted here in this area but the true riches of peace, contentment, love and joy all reside in relationship with God through Jesus Christ, so don’t sell out your heart for some lousy house on a hill. The great joy of a life spent in the abiding presence of God is the richest and most exciting life that can be lived. It is literally what you were made for.
Getting back to the currency of heaven let’s, look at an example of what I am talking about; the promise of greater works found in John 14:12-14 (ESV)
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
This is a promise from God, to all his children, of the nature of His desire to partner with us is in the works of the Kingdom of Heaven. When we read this it should challenge us to take it seriously, test it, pray it, proclaim it and finally live it.
When I say that we “test it, pray it, proclaim it and finally live it” this is what I mean. This is the currency of Heaven working in us. This is the process of being good soil as Jesus teaches in His parable in Matthew chapter 13. He talks about how various people receive the word and it either produces good fruit or it does not. Jesus says that good soil is someone who hears the word and “understands it”. That basically means that we actually take the word into ourselves until we do what is says, or become what it wants to make us. This is the transaction process of the currency of Heaven.
So, when I read a promise (or receive a prophecy) from God I start by testing it. Is this word for me, does it apply to me (context), and what does it actually mean? This is simply being a good student of the Word. I don’t want to take promises out of context and for selfish reasons; this will only damage me and my relationship with God. There is much to be said about this but I cannot write more for now. For our verse of today, John 14:12-14, it is a verse that is easy to understand. Jesus uses the term “whoever” indicating this a general promise. This promise has a condition that we “believe” in Him. So, I, David Knaup, can do the very works of Christ and even greater works as I believe in Him. Wow!
Next, I will begin to pray the text, to interact with God over what He is promising me. I want to ask Him to bring to life in my heart what His Word is focused on doing. This is probably the place where the miracles really happen. I start to get faith that this is God’s will for me. I pray “Lord, I see that you want to partner with me, use me and teach me to do the works of Christ. Help me believe, forgive my unbelief and help me to step out in boldness.” I believe that is what Paul meant when he said this to the Romans in chapter 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. “ As we speak, pray and think on the word, it produces faith in us. This is currency of Heaven being deposited to your bank.
Next, I proclaim the promises of God and look for the fruit. I want to make a statement about what this means and does not mean. Proclaiming the Word of God is speaking truth into the face of lies in me and around me. As one part of the “greater works” I now know that it is God’s will to heal. The message of the Kingdom of Heaven resounds throughout the Gospels and has driven from my heart any doubt that I should teach and proclaim that God is a healing God and he wants me to be His agent of healing. When I stand over someone who has cancer I believe that God wants to heal and I speak healing over the person. Because of my unbelief, warfare, the unbelief around me and other factors healing does not always happen. I still openly state that God wants to heal this person with cancer and I fight for it to happen.
I do not believe that this means I should declare someone as healed who is not in fact healed. I do not believe that this form of “confession” is healthy or in line with the message of the Kingdom of Heaven. When a person is healed, something has changed and we experience the evidence of that change. That is exactly what Jesus called healed. If a person is not healed, I will still speak the truth and look for the Kingdom to break in, waiting and fighting for the rule and reign of God to “manifest” here on Earth just like it is in heaven.
To proclaim the word is to speak it and to agree with it by your actions until its truth is realized in the world just like it is in heaven. So, we test it, pray it, proclaim it and finally live it.
God has a treasury of His currency that He is eager for you to take and to use to expand His Kingdom in the earth. God has a treasury of His precious currency that He is eager to adorn your life with and cause you to overflow in the love and presence of His Holy Spirit.
Jesus, I thank you that it is your will for me to walk in the fullness of your love, to work miracles, to heal, to proclaim your word and see the dead raised. That is my confession and it is the currency of heaven.