25 Jun Wall Street or Gold Street? (How to Prosper in Recessionary Times)

I refuse to have an economic “crisis”!  Now that I have your attention, please allow me to explain.  I am not a Christian ostrich with my head buried in the sands of denial, but I have determined as for me and my house, we are not participating in the economic crisis!

Despite the media’s constant drumbeat of economic doom and gloom, my source is not Wall Street but “Gold Street”.  In other words, as an ambassador of God (see Philippians 3:20) an ambassador is never supplied by the country he is in, but the country he is from!  The Bible tells us we are in the world but not of it (see Jon 17:16).  I am in this economy…but God is my source!  The Bible tells us in I Timothy 6:17, “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.”  The Bible also tells us in Proverbs 8:18, “Riches and honor are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.”

Notice the phrase “uncertain riches” in I Timothy 6:17 versus “durable riches” in Proverbs 8:18.  Which would you rather have…uncertain riches or durable riches?  This is a no-brainer…sign me up for “durable riches”!  That having been said, let’s talk about:

8 Principles to Prosper in Recessionary Times:

1. Tithing (Prov. 3:9-10, Heb. 7:1-8).

Here the Bible tells us, “Honor the Lord with your substance and the firstfruits of your increase and your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats overflow with new wine” (Prov. 3:9-10).  “Hey wait a minute, Pastor Jim, that’s Old Testament!  Isn’t tithing an Old Testament concept?”  The Bible tells us that Jesus did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it (see Matthew 5:17).

My mother loves antiques.  She has in her collection an old coffee grinder.  Obviously this coffee grinder’s time has come and gone.  It is antiquated.  However, that does not do away with the concept of coffee or Starbucks.  The grinder is obsolete but the concept lives on today.  In the same vein, the concept of honor originated in the old covenant, but clearly still exists today!

Parents, imagine if you told your children to come in from playing outside and they disobeyed and came in six hours later!  You then sternly reminded them of honoring their parents, to which they replied, “Mommy, that’s Old Testament!”  Ladies, what if your husband came home from work and you nicely asked him, “Honey, how was your day today?” to which he replied, “Great!  I went to the gym before work, I made three sales at the office and I committed adultery!”  “You what?!” you incredulously reply.  “Oh yeah, I committed adultery…but honey, that’s Old Testament.”  How many of you ladies would at that point bring back Old Testament stoning!

Seriously, you can see how ridiculous it is to say that honoring God with 10% of our income has somehow passed away with the Old Testament!  Jesus apparently did not know this when He said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Matt. 23:23).  In essence, Jesus was saying “You mowed the lawn, just not from your heart.  You should mow the lawn, just make sure you do it from your heart!”

Let me show you another passage of scripture from the New Testament:  “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.  Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.  And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.  And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better” (Heb. 7:1-8).

This powerful passage of scripture is not doing away with the Old Testament tithe, but showing the superiority of the New Testament tithe!  Please allow me to show you why:

1. In the Old Testament, the tithe was taken.  In the New Testament the tithe was received.
2. In the Old Testament you tithed to get blessed.  In the New Testament you tithe because you are blessed.
3. In the Old Testament the tithe was given to men.  In the New Testament the tithe is given to Jesus.

In essence, Jesus figuratively then gave the tithe to be used in the local church.  The way some pastors teach it, when you tithe it’s like you are giving protection money to the mafia.  No, it is a joy and honor to tithe as you are in essence betting that you and God can do better with 90%, than you can with 100% all by yourself.  God then becomes your financial adviser!  In these challenging times I want more money than month and I believe God is the best financial adviser I could ever have!

Next week we’ll continue our series on “Wall Street or Gold Street…which one are you trusting in?”