Chapter 11

Continuation of Junk To Jewels Chapter 11
Spiritual capital is on the inside of you.

We have been studying that the Ark of The Covenant is now in the heart of a believer. Therefore everything we need for life and godliness is already in us. That is typified by the contents of the Ark.

The Law for our character.
Manna for all of our earthly needs.
Aaron's rod for our outreach or ministry.

When Adam fell, he lost the wonderful world of receiving fruit or dividends from God's capital. Jesus came to restore that.

In John Chapter 6 Jesus fed the 5,000 + supernaturally. The next day the multitude followed Jesus across the lake, and thinking He was the promised Messiah, asked Him to repeat the feeding miracle. Jesus refused. Then He went into an unusual speech stating that He was now the manna from heaven, and that He would be different from Moses' manna miracle. In Moses' day the people were fed from manna falling from heaven, an outside miracle. Jesus said that now people's provisions would be manna from the inside of a person. He said to them that He was the manna and that they would have to eat His flesh and drink His blood, referring to a blood covenant with deity.

Drinking His blood, in my opinion, confirms and recognizes the blood covenant, and our blood purchased benefits. Eating His flesh, in my opinion, is eating His Word. However, I believe it also means being conformed to His character, being like His flesh, being transformed by the power of His Word into His image.

That is good, but it is also challenging. The people in Moses' day did not have to consider their own inner spiritual condition to any great degree; the manna just fell, with some restrictions about the seventh day.

However in our time, our very provisions and blessings depend upon our inner spiritual condition. Since our provisions are coming from within, God within, then we need to make sure that we continually repent our way through life so that we stay clean in order to have everything work.

Additionally, Psalms 78:18-29 tells the story of how the people despised the manna and wanted meat also. God gave them their belly full of quail, their own heart's desire, but it was accompanied with a plague.

This tells desires and us that we need to be grateful for God's manna as His plan for our lives, and to be cautious that we do not try to replace that with our own wants.

Spiritual Capital.
If you have capital in this world, in the natural, that capital will earn interest or dividends for you without a lot of work. You must tend to your capital, but it does not require a lot of "sweat." Real estate will produce rent or agricultural crops, cash will produce interest from the bank, and stocks will produce dividends.

There is also spiritual capital. The fruit of character, fruit for provisions and fruit for ministry work is like spiritual capital. Our capital account or fruit account may be increased in several ways. Overcoming is the most powerful way. Spiritual fruit, or spiritual capital, is one of the primary objectives of overcoming. This is one of the primary ways that God gives us the anointing, the authority, and the power to accomplish His will on earth. I believe that God uses the gifts of the Spirit to accomplish His purposes, but I also believe that ministry as the result of overcoming is powerful and has a permanent effect that the gifts of the Spirit may not, in some cases, have.

As we overcome afflictions and enter into worship, we find ourselves in His presence more and more. Worship brings us into His glory so that He is blessed and so that He may bless us with His presence. We have always had the capital in our hearts, but we only realize it when His light shines on it in these conditions.

Is God a capitalist?
Before Adam rebelled, he had the capitalist principle in his heart. You might say that Adam contained "spiritual capital." He was in charge of a garden that worked for him in much the same way that stocks and money in the bank work for you as capital. However after he rebelled, God told Adam that he lost that capital. "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). I am not proposing that Adam was lazy, or that God wants us to cease to work and expect others to feed us. No to that! However, you do contain manna in your heart, and that manna, when prepared properly, will supply your needs. God warned them to not store up the manna. Why? I believe it was because God counted it as "spiritual capital" and it was not to be abused as natural capital, kind of like a saving account. Also, God wanted them, and us, to trust Him daily for our provisions. If you are from a culture that does not understand the term capital, then follow the explanation that Jesus gave in Matthew chapter 6.

Jesus spoke of two opposites to explain spiritual capital.
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal" (Matthew 6:19).

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). "Added" is like a dividend being paid on a stock that you own. Dividends come from capital. The manna in your heart, if properly cared for will be your capital. Jesus is your Manna!

Seeking the Kingdom of God is seeking to live on the Word. It is taking care of the poor, and sending or taking the Gospel where God leads you. It is overcoming curses in your life by the blood of the Lamb, the word of your testimony, and not loving your life (soul) to the death.

Our contentment. His presence will be enough for anything!

Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians from a Roman jail. I want to briefly use his example of how God can give us contentment while we are in the process of overcoming. In Philippians 2:8, Paul spoke of Jesus' blood and His Cross. In Philippians 3:8, Paul speaks of his cross, or not loving his life to the death. In Philippians 4:12, he spoke the word of his testimony and said, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."

During the overcoming process, God may take you through times of being in need (abased) and times of having plenty (abound). But He will teach you to be content with each set of circumstances, as long as you are in right relationship to the Tabernacle, to Jesus.

Finally.
Determine that you will practice the presence of God on a daily basis. It is the main ingredient for victory in this life and the next. Now go ahead and walk through all of the points we have covered in the Tabernacle, starting in the outer court, going into the Holy Place, and finally into the Holy of Holies. Most likely you are in His presence. You may or may not actually feel the manifest presence of God. You must rely on faith in His Word; feelings will follow.