An Overview of Our Heart on Provision

Our History, Our Heart

From time to time people ask financial questions. We’re different, and people are curious. Why do we charge registration fees? Why do we teach on provision and receive offerings? How is our income generated and how is it spent? These are good questions and as a ministry we happily respond openly before God and others. Early on, we received specific financial mandates from the Lord, therefore His principles are woven throughout the Visionwriters structure.

Registration Fees

Registration fees are part of the strategy God gave us. In the beginning we didn’t grasp the importance, but experience taught us that until people are asked to show value for what they receive, they simply don't get as much out of it. Years ago we stopped asking for Registration fees and our classes went to zero attendance. The few who attended were disconnected—unable or unwilling to do their own heart work. Topics of conversation were stale, lacking the freshness that daily dialogue with the Father engenders. Simply, the courses lost their value.

It was then we discovered something; the fee is not for our benefit, it benefits the student! Registration fees activate the value system. It was a message we were stubborn to hear 'for fear of the people,' but when we finally repented and returned to the instruction God had originally given us, class attendance and participation increased dramatically.

In the world, money is an icon of self-reliance, a symbol of independence, and even many ministers don't want to address the subject. Yet by letting go of money along with our fears about it we lay down symbols of “self” and open our hearts to receive 'more' of God.

We no longer question Him, but we understand some will. If registration fees cause a heart to grumble, perhaps that heart needs our message, or is not ready to hear what we have to say. Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder; it’s okay if a person doesn’t value what we offer. There are other wonderful ministries where their needs can be met. Here, God will refine the value systems of those who chose to come the way of the Visionwriter.

Check Us Out

We allow new students to take their first course for free. We want people to experience a course before deciding its worth. Afterwards, they can make an informed decision regarding its potential value in their lives.

We also offer a scholarship program for those who value our strategy, but have dire financial needs. It is better to have someone in class “catching the vision” than for extenuating circumstances to shut them out. We look for students who will show value by giving their heart to the daily pursuit of God in their journals and weekly responses. We approve only partial scholarships; for even students with extreme financial hardships need to activate their own value system by paying a portion of their registration fee.

Receiving Offerings

Giving is a natural response to God’s generous nature. If we’re not consciously aware of our union with Christ we may not yet recognize the depth of our desire to give. The fall of man was deep. Born selfish, it takes new birth and a lot of mind renewal to think generously. Believing is a believer’s work. Renewing the mind to the Kingdom of God takes repetition and focused attention, so we provide a short provision message each week to help prosper the soul. Hopefully, the message triggers a student to talk to the Lord about this important topic.

We value what God has put here because it’s changed our lives. If this ministry never went further than our own heart it would have transformed our world. But Father is not content with that. He wants the nations. With a registration fee, we show value for something that gives a tangible return: a manual, weekly teaching, structure, strategy, and a place to meet with others. When we give an offering, we learn to show value for something even when the return is intangible. Both are valuable lessons. While registrations cover the basic cost of the courses, offerings take us beyond ourselves.

We provide the opportunity for students to give into Visionwriter’s General Fund, so we can maintain our current presence in the earth; the Scholarship Fund, so the financially burdened can attend; and the Lily Fund, to help the poor and needy with basic necessities of life like food or clothing.

I remember a time we failed to receive an offering. A gentleman came to Jaque after class with a word of correction. He let her know the message had touched him deeply. He was accustomed to giving as a means of saying thanks as exampled in the New Testament. When no opportunity was provided he felt robbed. Thankfully he was bold enough to speak up. We try not to overlook this important part of our time together. It is a form of expression. We are grateful, and to those who give on every level we say, “Thank you. We hear God’s applause through your gifts.”

Withworkers

Withworkers are people who financially support our desire to eliminate from the world the ache of a silent God. Once a student experiences a greater connection with our vision their desire to give also increases. Becoming a Withworker satisfies their need to advance our mission.

The desire to share this ministry with others is not a small thing. It requires stamina and faith to help others find a straight path for their feet. Solid monthly support helps us to expand our outreach and to become more accessible to others. Withworkers are God’s provision in these days and times. As the backbone of this ministry, they are our dominant source of income.

Provision Points

Included in this booklet are a few of the provision points we have shared with students over the years. We offer them as encouragement to all true believers. We pray for the heart’s full return to God. When God captures the heart, the heart will discover the proper use of money.

  Provision Point # 1 – Why We Teach Provision

IF the love of money is the root of all evil……. 1 TIMOTHY 6:10
IF our heart follows that which we treasure….. MATTHEW 6:21
IF we return to God with tithes & offerings…. MALACHI 3:7-12

…Then money is a subject that MUST be addressed.

The feeling we as fallen creatures have for money is symbolic of our self-reliance, greed and independence.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grief's.

1 TIMOTHY 6:10 (NIV)

At Visionwriters we consistently expose the attitude of man’s heart towards money because we understand God asks each of us to be His obedient bond-servants. This would be impossible if we ignored the very thing that seeks to take root in our hearts: the love of money. We seriously guard our hearts against the love of money because it is the primary source of false security. It camouflages our awareness of our need for God and competes for our devotion. If God is serious about wanting our hearts then He wants our devotion to money to return to it’s rightful place—Him.

You might cringe or at least shudder at the outspoken stand we take on this subject but I implore you to read on with an open heart for this could be one of the most important issues in your life and the key to releasing you into a power and freedom you have never known before. Because God puts such importance on the topic of money—we do—each and every week. We are in prayer for God’s Church on this issue. If you are already stuck in money concerns we pray our words will help lead you to repentance.

Oswald Chambers said, “repentance is at the threshold of our understanding of God.” Until there’s repentance, there is no understanding. The Lord will not force any of us to be His bond-servants but He will place His mark on the bond-servants who would rather love Him enough to be His slaves than to go on living for themselves. If these words distress you in any way please accept that as a sign that God wants to put the axe to the root of your distress. Otherwise it might erupt into an evil scheme by the intimate enemy to steal your love for God through the love of money.

I know I distressed you greatly with my words. Although I felt awful at the time, I don't feel at all bad now that I see how it turned out. The letter upset you, but only for a while. Now I'm glad—not that you were upset, but that you were jarred into turning things around. You let the distress bring you to God, not drive you from him. The result was all gain, no loss. Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets. And now, isn't it wonderful all the ways in which this distress has goaded you closer to God? You're more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more reverent, more human, more passionate, more responsible. Looked at from any angle, you've come out of this with purity of heart.

2 CORINTHIANS 7:8-11 (TMB)

“Money is never the problem but the power the heart gives it is.”

  Provision Point # 2– Return to Me

“Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty. But you ask, 'How are we to return?' “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' “Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?' "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse--the whole nation of you--because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

MALACHI 3:7-11( NIV)

The word tithe means “one tenth” and God says it belongs to Him. A full 10% of our income, before anything else is paid including taxes, belongs to God and it should be paid regularly and consistently. In paying tithes we honor God as the source of everything we receive and we invite Him to multiply the other 90% of our income.

The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives.

DEUTERONOMY 14:23B (TLB)

Tithing is giving the “best” which is the “first fruits” to God. This is basic Christianity and basic to true love. How could anyone who’s been touched by God not want to give even more than 10%? One man said, “Only backsliders just tithe.” The tithe is the place to begin our obedience. Tithing is a clear biblical directive we will obey if we are truly living in submission to Him. Under the New Covenant we’re part of the Melchizedek priesthood. Melchizedek received tithes. If this directive was not spelled out more clearly it is only because it was so obvious that it didn’t need to be. (See Psalms 110:4, Hebrews 5:10, and Genesis 14:20).

We must “die” to the tithe or the idea of doing what we want with God’s money. Now God obviously doesn’t need our money, but gives this command for our sake. If we are to be free from the love of money tithing is foundational to that freedom. Christians, churches and ministries who are under financial stress can usually trace their problems to this one issue. God meets the needs of all His people and ministries through heart felt obedience to this decree.

This is why the tithe must fall to the ground and die before it can produce a harvest. This means the tithe is not “consumable for anything else.” If we eat this seed how can it produce a harvest and glorify God? A farmer would be a fool if for hunger’s sake he ate his seed for planting. He might satisfy his belly today, but in so doing he’d destroy the future God intended for his family! To withhold the tithe is robbery.

No excuse for not tithing is good enough. This is a radical command that demands radical obedience. This is the only time in scripture God asks us to test Him! He says if we obey He will open the windows of heaven. This means He will give us uncommon wisdom with the other 90% as well as with all other things that concern us. Quit robbing God.

“Obedience is better for securing your financial health than any other

investment you can make.”

  Provision Point # 3 – The Storehouse

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

MALACHI 3:9-10 (NKJV)

And at the same time some were appointed over the rooms of the storehouse for the offerings, the first fruits, and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who ministered.

NEHEMIAH 12:44 (NKJV)

Christians are commanded to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse so there may be food in God’s house. In the Old Testament the storehouse was a room in the temple where tithes were stored. Today it would simply be the “bank account” of the ministry where you are spiritually fed. Then you and others can continue to be spiritually fed by those God appointed to feed and serve you.

Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn't the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.

1 CORINTHIANS 9:7-10 (NIV)

A regular and timely commitment of the tithe to the storehouse meets basic needs and avoids spiritual famines. Visionwriters is one of many spiritual storehouses but your tithe belongs where your heart is being fed. You don’t eat at McDonalds and pay Burger King. The ministry that feeds you is your storehouse and your tithe belongs with them.

On occasion you may be fed by more than one primary source but God would not have you spread your tithe too thin. Offerings are to be given above and beyond the tithe to ministries that bless you. As tithing builds your trust and love for God your offerings become an expression of your ever increasing freedom.

Money will be more and more attracted to you because it loves to grow where wisdom nurtures it. Think of money like a child needing an authority figure that will never bow down to it and allow it to rule the house but who, through obedience to God, commands its respect. Money knows who is boss, and if you don’t rule it, it will rule you.

Sometimes your storehouse will call for special offerings. Remember that an offering is not given out of your tithe...an offering is to be given above and beyond the tithe. As your freedom increases so will your prosperous heart and you will be happy to give it. Actually your budding generous heart will demand that it be done.

“The thinner your devotion to God the less potent your gifts will be.”

  Provision Point # 4 - Budgeting

All that you have and all that you are belongs to God. He is the Owner...you are the manager. A steward manages what belongs to God. To manage money is to handle it with a degree of skill and to treat it with thoughtful care. All we have to manage has been given to us by God. He expects us to direct it to do what He sent it to do. This is why as good stewards we learn to use a budget. A budget is a written and revolving plan directing money where to go. If you need help in learning to budget there are a lot of good books and resources to help you or Visionwriters has workshops you can request that teach it too.

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks; give careful attention to your herds.

PROVERBS 27:23(NIV)

With a budget we learn obedience with percentages and numbers. It’s like a numerical journal. We wait in His presence for His wisdom to know what columns we need to form and how much to allot to each one.

To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who are unfaithful, even what little they have will be taken away.

LUKE 19:26(NLT)

Basically we all have tithes and offerings to give and bills to pay. A budget helps us gain the kind of clarity that frees our minds from the fog that comes from sloppy stewardship. Our hearts no longer condemn us when confusion with money is put to rest in the budget and our hearts are freed to worship in an unhindered stream to God.

A budget is generally put on a spreadsheet that allows us to break our income and expenses into categories showing us how much we currently have to work with . The first column in the expense category is labeled “tithe.” This is the first outgo we send to the storehouse. Other columns may be offerings, college funds, mortgage or rent, utilities, groceries, auto, insurance, allowances, and so on. In my first days of budgeting I feared that God wouldn’t want me to spend money on “fun stuff” anymore. I didn’t know Him as the generous God He is but lived with the scary “what if’s” about Him. I thought He might force me into a straight jacket allowing no room for pleasure. When I was obedient in spite of my fears, I discovered what He’s really like. He only wanted to set me free so I would have room to receive even more. As I surrendered to being a good steward of His supply I actually began to feel more prosperous and enjoyed exercising my giving and spending more than ever.

As we learn to let God speak to us in numbers He will inspire new columns like “fun money” or whatever other columns we desire. God doesn’t want us feeling guilty or wondering “where in the heck did the money go?” Through obedience as good stewards He wants our skills to improve with practice and thus—our earning potential.

“Financial problems are not overcome with more money but

with correct money management.”

  Provision Point # 5 – A Good Eye

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

MATTHEW 6:22-24 (NIV)

Since the eye is the lamp of the body, the degree of revelation knowledge we walk is determined by it. The love of money has the power to snuff out the light and blind us spiritually. It steals our heart from its Owner who alone deserves to have it all! The love of money hardens our hearts toward truth, actually making it possible to give it lip service but never allowing it to set us free through our obedience to it. If we are going to be bond-servants and obey the One true God this affection towards money will have to be rooted out of our hearts. As we are willing to let the Holy Spirit convict and convince us of the greed in our heart and then confess it He will forgive us. Many people have a problem making a true connection to God because of this often understated problem.

Don't be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, "I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you," we can boldly quote, "God is there, ready to help; I'm fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?"

HEBREWS 13:5-6 (TMB)

Devotion toward money can be subtle. When we naturally identify ourselves with our status and possessions we inadvertently measure our worth by them. The trick of the intimate enemy is to get our focus and trust off God and onto what we can do to secure our own lives. Where we place the weight of importance is where we will put our effort. If money holds the emphasis in our hearts we will put our deepest devotion into getting more of it. We always put our effort in the direction of our focus. This is the reason the first commandment says:

Love the LORD your God will all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

MATTHEW 22:37 (NIV)

It takes a lot of energy to focus on God and keep our hearts in Him. But once we determine to do it anyway everything else falls into place and “all these other things will be added unto you besides.” Watch what happens when we divert our attention from Him; we soon find we’re unable to juggle life’s varied concerns. But when we deliberately surrender our mind, heart, and strength to Him we find peace that flows like a river driving fear out of doors.

God is our provider. We would do well to learn to live believing this. We should recognize that our inheritance is in God and that every obedient release of the love of money is a lesson in trust. Trusting God is the true safeguard for the eternal future which starts right now.

An old adage says—”it’s all in the way you look at it” and truly, everything good comes from clean sight or right perspective. True prosperity is based more on our eyes and how much we’re willing to let go of, rather than on how much we can hold on to. Develop a good eye by training your gaze to look steadily on Jesus who is the author and perfecter of your faith and trust Him to burrow out this deceiver of your soul.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

MATTHEW 6:19-21 (NIV)

“It’s impossible to love God with all your heart and still fear the loss of money.”

  Provision Point # 6 – The Danger of Debt

The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

PROVERBS 22:7 (NKJV)

For a Christian, debt poses a moral dilemma because the borrower is servant to the lender. Christians are supposed to be bond-servants of God but many are slaves to consumer debt. The statistics are staggering. Most households (including Christian) carry an average balance of $20,000. Personal bankruptcy is at an all time high. The average adult will receive 32 credit card offers a year regardless of their credit history. Creditors target those with a history of credit problems because they know they are easily hooked. They count on the probability of earning more interest and late fees on those who are addicted to credit card spending.

Credit cards are a current drug of choice. “Buy now and pay later” is an evil trap to get us to lust after the things of the world and to break covenant with our God.

You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it. This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little.What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.”

HAGGAI 1:6-9 (NIV)

Responsible stewards are able to use credit cards, even for things they wear or consume because they will never obligate themselves to more than they can pay off at the end of the month. Otherwise they use credit only if it will increase their income. Credit card companies don’t make much money on good money managers.

Christians should devote time to learning about their covenant with God. We are not our own; we belong to God. Putting ourselves in debt to the world is like returning to Egypt to have Pharaoh rule and reign over us. This is an abomination to God in view of all He did to get us out of Egypt. Serving Pharaoh or the world is like having a purse with holes it in for every last cent is extracted in interest until we’re broke and have to borrow more from Pharaoh just to live. (See Genesis 41).

If we would follow God and care more for His house than for our own, giving Him exactly what He asks for, He would get Egypt (the world) out of us and take us into the Promised Land. How far does this God robber—debt—have to take you before you repent and run towards home? Repentance is a beautiful gift from God and a necessary step to get you into obedience. Please repent and make a commitment to live within your means and put God’s house first.

Oh Lord, turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.

  Provision Point # 7 – Understanding Covenant

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah...I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.

JEREMIAH 31:31-34 (NKJV)

A covenant is a binding agreement. When David and Jonathan cut a covenant they exchanged all they were and all they had which meant they also exchanged their strengths. (1 Samuel 18:3-4). A covenant always implied an exchange of life. Since the life of the flesh is in the blood, cutting covenant was always done with blood.

The word “covenant” gives us a cameo view of the entire Bible which speaks in covenant language. Christ shed His blood to give us His sinless life while taking our sinful lives in exchange and carrying them to the cross. His blood was used on both sides and through it God legally removed our sin, wrote His law on our hearts, brought us to a personal knowledge of Himself, and answered Christ’s prayer for oneness.

Covenant language says, “What is mine is yours and what is yours is mine.” If I have a loaf of bread and you need it—it’s yours. We stand beside one another in battle; your enemy is my enemy. My friends and connections are yours—opportunities belong to both of us in covenant and so does our grief and sorrow. As with Jonathan and David, covenant is passed from one generation to the next.

Covenant is two-way. It must be given and received, offered and accepted. It must be defined and understood—thus communication is a big part of covenant. Consider the fine print of any contract you sign. It’s there because understood or not, you’re obligated to the terms and conditions of that contract. If the covenant is broken there will be legal consequences. The terms of covenant give each party the right to demand that the terms be honored.

Christians are supposed to be in covenant with God. We are His and He is ours. “Thou art my God.” He owns the rights to all our love and devotion and the privilege of being our sole provider. This is why debt is such a serious issue. When we incur debt we enter into covenant with the world and commit our lives (money is our life-time we spend at work- turned into dollars) to a god Christ died to separate us from and we do it after we have pledged our lives to Him! It’s shameful the way we do not pay our vows to God! (“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways”).

For Christians, covenant is a moral word and it means...we can’t serve two masters. How can we say we’ve made Jesus Lord when we’re in debt to the world? How can two walk together unless they agree? And how can we give God what we have now committed to the bank who supplied our loan?

Know that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

DEUTERONOMY 7:9 (NIV)

“Oneness is only a myth until we are back in covenant with God.”

  Provision Point # 8 – Working With Us

Be very sure now, you who have been trained to a self-sufficient maturity, that you enter into a generous common life with those who have trained you, sharing all the good things that you have and experience. Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest.

GALATIANS 6:6-7 (TMB)

Are you experiencing God’s character in finance as you yield to His Lordship? Money is a language in itself. Everyone is known by how he makes, manages and directs his money. When we sell out to God we declare that our entire selves belong to Him. Where are you today with tithes and offerings?

If Visionwriters is your spiritual storehouse then know that God will move on your heart to tithe here. Please obey. If another ministry is feeding you more heartily, then an offering here would be appropriate. If you can say:

"I believe in your mission to eliminate from the world the ache of a silent God. I want to lend my life through tithes or offerings and will joyfully send my dollars which represent my life and my time to help advance your vision.”

...then the Lord is asking you to be a Withworker! Please show value by submitting your pledge on time and communicate with us if your pledge changes. Count it a joy to stand with us and keep praying for us. We love you with the love He so mightily works in us. Together we honor our Almighty, Sovereign Father. Below is an overview of our Withworker Plans: