By: Chioma Madonna Ndukwu
“God Doesn’t Give Money, He Gives Power To Make Money — Pastor Anny Ikebudu
The last chorus of an explosive praise and worship session had barely settled when Pastor Anny Ikebudu walked to the pulpit at House on the Rock Church, Aba.
Few expected his first instruction. It was not an invitation to open their Bibles.
Instead, he asked church workers who were students to come forward. Then he invited those who genuinely did not know where their next meal would come from.
For a moment, all eyes shifted to the front as people quietly stepped out of the congregation.
Pastor Ikebudu announced that a church member had donated ₦1 million to support people in need. From that gift, ₦10,000 was given to each person who came forward, while the remaining balance, he said, would be shared among widows in the church.
No one needed an explanation. The message had already begun.
The message that followed was titled “Breaking Financial Stagnation: Mysteries of the Kingdom.”
Pastor Ikebudu explained that financial stagnation is not always broken by working harder alone. In the Kingdom, there are mysteries, God’s ways of doing things, that often run contrary to human reasoning.
Until those mysteries are understood and consistently applied, people may labour tirelessly yet struggle to make lasting progress.
Only then did the pastor ask the congregation to turn to Deuteronomy 8:18.
“But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant…”
Then came the statement that lingered long after the service had ended.
“God doesn’t give money. He gives power to make money.”
It was a reminder that prosperity in God’s Kingdom is not about waiting for money to appear. It is about recognising the ability, wisdom, creativity and opportunities that God places in the hands of those who trust Him and are willing to work.
Pastor Ikebudu explained that God gives power before He gives results. Money is the fruit; power is the seed. He equips people with ideas that solve problems, wisdom that creates value, favour that opens doors and the strength to remain faithful until opportunities begin to bear fruit. In doing so, God establishes His covenant on the earth.
He went on to redefine what financial overflow really means.
Overflow, he said, is not piling up wealth for selfish pleasure. Neither is it measuring life by how much one owns. It is having enough to meet your needs, enough to fulfil God’s purpose and enough left to become a blessing to others. Wealth that ends with its owner has missed the heart of the Kingdom.
Drawing from Mark 4:11, he reminded the church that Jesus spoke about the mysteries of the Kingdom. Those mysteries, he said, are like keys. The right key opens doors that human effort alone cannot unlock.
Many of those principles, he noted, are counterintuitive, they run against the current of the world. While society often rewards shortcuts, God looks at character. While many chase quick wealth, the Kingdom calls for patience, diligence and integrity. Understanding those mysteries and putting them into practice is what breaks financial stagnation.
That was why he urged believers not to stop at hearing God’s Word.
The Bible, he explained, was never meant to remain on a shelf or in the pages of a notebook. Its power is released when it is lived. Revelation becomes transformation only when it is put into practice.
Returning to Deuteronomy 8:18, Pastor Ikebudu challenged the congregation to stop waiting for prosperity while neglecting responsibility. God gives power, but He expects people to put that power to work.
He encouraged believers to keep searching for jobs, learn skills that create value, improve themselves, start businesses where they can and refuse to let rejection convince them to stop trying. Honest labour, he reminded the church, still has God’s blessing upon it.
The pastor then addressed another misunderstanding that often shapes people’s attitude towards money.
Your employer is not your source. Your salary isn’t your source either. Your business is definitely not your source. They are all channels. God alone remains the Source.
Channels may change. A company may close. A contract may come to an end. The economy may rise and fall. Yet none of those things diminish God’s ability to provide through another channel. Respect the channel. Celebrate the channel. But never worship the channel.
That conviction, he explained, should also influence how Christians respond when money becomes scarce.
If God is your Source, then internet fraud, ritual practices, kidnapping, banditry, bribery, corruption, cheating customers and selling fake products as genuine can never become alternatives. No financial breakthrough is worth the price of a damaged conscience.
“You cannot help God prosper you,” he cautioned. “His blessings do not arrive wearing the clothes of dishonesty.”
He acknowledged that many families are living under genuine economic pressure but urged believers not to allow difficult seasons to dictate their choices.
“We must trust God regardless of the economy,” he said. “If I don’t have it now, perhaps it is simply not yet time.”
Those words carried quiet reassurance for anyone wondering when their own breakthrough would come.
Towards the close of the message came another thought that settled gently across the auditorium.
“It is a cash-flow problem, not a poverty problem.”
A difficult season should never become a permanent identity. Empty pockets today do not cancel God’s promises tomorrow.
Pastor Ikebudu also drew attention to Psalm 35:27: “Let the Lord be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
God delights in the prosperity of His people, he explained, not so they can live for themselves alone but so they can advance His Kingdom and become a blessing wherever they are.
Before Pastor Anny Ikebudu spoke about Kingdom overflow, the congregation had already witnessed it. The ₦10,000 shared with students and members facing hardship, together with the decision to support widows with the remaining funds, illustrated the sermon before a single point had been developed.
What unfolded that morning was more than a lesson on money. It was a reminder that God is not merely interested in increasing what people have. He is committed to increasing what they can become.
For in the Kingdom, God does not simply give money. He gives His people the power to make it.
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