The Kingdom Equivalent of Flipping Real Estate

Let me start this post by saying that I think flipping real estate is great.

In fact, I would love to buy, renovate, and flip a house someday. But, this post is not about flipping real estate exactly; it’s about the Kingdom equivalent thereof. And it’s important that you understand first that I am NOT saying that flipping houses isn’t Kingdom, because it can be. Flip all the houses in the world, and make a bundle of money doing it. More power to ya. 🙂

But you will see what I mean below. I want to use flipping houses as an illustration for something amazing that God offers you for your finances in the Kingdom. Whew! (Wipes brow.) Now that we’ve got that more or less covered, let’s begin. 🙂

People who are skilled at construction and investments often flip houses because it’s a methodical way to gain a profit.

The theory is that if you identify a house that needs help but has potential, purchase that house for a song, and repair it–doing much of the work yourself–then you can sell it afterward and keep the profit. This is an appealing investment method–if people know what they’re doing–because it’s a pre-determined path to wealth. Buy low, sell high. Works every time.

Except for when it doesn’t:

• It doesn’t always work if costly, unexpected repairs are needed.
• It doesn’t always work if the costs of materials and labor rise.
• It doesn’t always work if you can’t find a buyer for your newly-renovated house at the end.

There are LOTS of hidden risks involved with flipping houses.

Nevertheless, people persist. Why? Because the appeal of taking a big risk that leads to a big reward is STRONG.

Well, I absolutely believe that people can flip houses for the Kingdom. We are all called to be entrepreneurs. BUT, this post isn’t about that. In this post, I want to show you a straight-out Kingdom equivalent of flipping houses–a way to become extremely blessed that is just as methodical as flipping houses is.

Flipping houses appeals to people so much because it’s METHODICAL.

There’s a formula. It’s (mostly) math, and (mostly) predictable, and you can (mostly) plan it out on paper–and then watch your plans come to pass as you become rich.

This isn’t limited to just flipping houses; I’ve heard about people flipping yard sale items, thrift store items, and so much more. They rely on the principle that “buy low + sell high = profit” and it works every time.

The appeal is found:

1) partly in the thrill and adrenaline rush of the chase, but mostly

2) in the perceived guarantee of success and wealth.

Did you know you can become rich just as methodically–and with just as much adrenaline–by investing in the Kingdom?

True story. Here’s how it works:

Real estate is not a sure thing. It’s a pretty good thing, but any guarantees are off when disasters, unexpected repairs, and similar surprise expenses hit.

But you know what IS a sure thing? God’s Word about how to invest.

Here’s what GOD says about how to invest:

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

And I’d like to present to you today that you can give your way to wealth–just as methodically as you can become rich by flipping real estate–but without the risk.

That’s right: The same way you could flip thrift store bargains and become wealthy, you can give your way to wealth.

Think of it this way:

Let’s say you want to flip a house one day. But, you don’t have the money to buy a house to flip yet! So, you decide to start smaller: with yard sale or thrift store items.

In this example, let’s say that all you have is $5. That’s all you can invest; all you have to play with. $5. So you go to your favorite thrift stores and you hit all the yard sales. Eventually, tucked into the back corner of a thrift store, you find IT. A treasure. Not a big treasure, but a little treasure. You know it’s worth $10, but you score it for $5.

You take your treasure home and put it up for sale on social media. A few days later, you sell your $5 find for the $10 it’s worth.

Now what do you do? You could take the $10 and spend it, but you decide to do it differently. You decide to take the $10 and reinvest it.

Reinvestment is a principle that stock market gurus know and practice. If you’re buying into a mutual fund, your original investment by itself will grow a little bit. But if you leave your dividends in your stock account and reinvest them into the same mutual fund, your original investment + the reinvested dividends will grow A LOT.

Back to the story about your thrift store find:

You reinvest your new $10 by going shopping again. This time, you find a $20 treasure at a yard sale. And you somehow manage to walk away with it for $10. You list it for sale again, and again you sell it. Now, you have $20.

Next, your creative side hits. You take the $20 and you go buy a wooden pallet from another yard sale. You go home, cut the pallet into four squares with your power saw, and paint the pieces a pretty, neutral color with some old paint from your garage.

Then, you capitalize on the “farmhouse chic” decorating craze by painting pretty words and sayings on these pieces of wood. You attach a bracket to the back to hang them with, and you list your new signs for sale.

For the signs, you paid $20 for the raw materials. However, you list your signs for $20 apiece … and you sell all four of them! Now, you have $80 cash. You had $20 in materials in this project, so you profited $60. And since you got your original $20 back, you still have $80 cash in hand.

This is called “investing.” You’re investing a little bit of money plus your time and talent, and you’re producing more money because you’re following a proven system that works.

So let’s see how the same thing could work in the Kingdom.

In the Kingdom, if you give, you receive. You can give several ways:

1. Alms: Giving to people who need financial help with something.

Proverbs 19:17 says:

“He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given.”

If you give alms, the Lord promises to give back what you gave. So alms doesn’t produce a financial profit, but you don’t lose anything either. Translate: This type of giving can be a playground for a lot of fun, because you can give and give and give and it can never hurt you. You don’t get rich from it, but you can do a whole lot of good–and bless a lot of people.

2. Seed offerings: Giving into good soil as a Kingdom investment, and telling the Lord you expect a return.

Seed offerings are the way you can become methodically wealthy. I’ll come back to seed offerings in a moment. But first, the third type of giving is:

3. Tithe: Giving the first 10% of your increase to the Lord.

Giving the tithe to the Lord is an act of worship and obedience. When you tithe, you are entitled to the sixfold blessing of the tithe–two of which are:

1. Open windows of Heaven and blessings being poured out from the Lord that overflow all our needs; and
2. God prevents anything from stealing or devouring your stuff, your time, your money, or anything else God has entrusted to you.

This article isn’t meant to be a treatise on the tithe; read my article on The Sixfold Blessing of the Tithe if you want to learn more about that. 

But knowing there are 3 types of giving, how can you get rich methodically?

Here’s how to become financially prosperous by sowing seed offerings:

1. Start with a small amount. Whatever amount you have is fine.
2. It helps to start with an unusual amount–like $5.31 or $2.18 or $10.76 or some other unusual amount. (Read on for why.)
3. Identify some good Gospel ground to sow into–a good place to make a Kingdom investment.
4. Invest your seed by giving to that organization (your local church, favorite proven Christian ministry, etc).
5. When you do, speak to that seed and tell it to come up as more money for you. (You could also name your seed anything else, but we’re talking about financial increase in this blog post, so that’s why I said to speak to it and tell it to come up as more money for you.)
6. In your journal or Bible, write down how much you gave and the date.
7. Next to where you gave, calculate how much your seed would bring you if it brings you 30 times more, 60 times more, a hundred times more, and a thousand times more (Matthew 13:1-9; Isaiah 60:22; Genesis 26:12). This is where it helps to have given an odd amount. (30 times $5.31 is $159.30, and watching for that amount to come back is easier than watching for $20 to come back.)

Next, pray over your seed.

Commit your seed gift to the Father and ask Him to bring you a 30-, 60-, 100-, or 1,000-fold return in cash money back to you.

Then, wait to see what God does with your Kingdom investment. If He suddenly gives you an idea for how you can go out and make or earn money, do it. (Remember the example of cutting a wood pallet up into signs above.) If not, keep praying.

Pray like this:

“Father God, thank You for Your Word. Your Word says that if I give, it will come back to me; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over shall be given into my bosom.

Thank You, Father God. Your Word is true. So Father God, in Jesus’ name, I commit this seed offering into your hands. Please bring me a huge return–thirty-, sixty-, a hundred-fold, and a thousand-fold. Show me when You are giving to me as a result of this seed, and help me to reinvest in the Kingdom. Let money be given back to me, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over into my bosom.

Thank You, Abba. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

And then you wait.

Keep on sowing while you wait. Work hard when the Lord gives you strategies and ideas, which He usually will. And when money starts to come back, add it up. Watch for the sum of the money coming to you to equal one or more of the numbers you were waiting for as a harvest on your seed. (See step 7 in the list above.)

And as money comes back to you, invest it again by giving again.

Each time you give, keep track. Write it in your Bible, in a journal, or on a ledger.

Sow your seeds into good ground–and pray over them every day. Insist in prayer that God give you way more than you sowed; that “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over shall be given into your bosom.”

Giving is an investment strategy guaranteed by God Himself.

That’s why the devil works so hard to convince people not to give. Jesus said that the devil–the thief–“does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10a). The devil knows how God’s Kingdom works. He’s been observing it for thousands of years. And the devil knows that God will bless people who give. So, Satan works overtime to try to convince you not to give–so he can rob you of the wealth God intends for you to have.

Don’t let him. Don’t listen to Satan, ever.

Jesus is generous. God’s Holy Spirit is generous. God the Father so loved the world that He gave.

God loves to give, so He invites us to do so with Him since we are stewarding His resources for Him. And when we partner with God to give into His Kingdom, He makes us wealthy.

This teaching has very practical implications. Giving will make you wealthy if you do it God’s way.

If you aren’t sure, start small. Follow all the steps listed above, but start with one dollar, one Euro, one pound. Start with what you have, and then watch God give back to you “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”

Keep your returns in a glass jar if you have to, as they come in, and then reinvest them as quickly as you can. Keep track of the process and of the amounts you give and receive.

Test God. Try Him out. Prove Him, even.

Giving is one of God’s most profitable ways to become wealthy.

Just like you could flip real estate, you can also flip Kingdom gifts when they are invested into good ground. And God’s Word says that, if you do, He will give back to you “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”

Is the Lord stirring your heart over this word? Go ahead; make a plan right now and get started! God’s Word is true, and it can be depended upon!