06 Aug Wall Street or Gold Street… which one are you trusting in? Part 7
The Bible tells us, “They shall not be ashamed in the evil time and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied” (Ps. 37:19). The “they” spoken of in this verse is you! We are truly living in days of famine but the good news is that you and I will be satisfied! The Bible also tells us, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee” (Is. 60:1-5).
There are prophetic scriptures that apply to you and me today. Notice the sharp contrast, “Darkness on earth and gross darkness on the people”, and yet the “glory of the Lord” is risen upon us! Throughout the Word of God you can plainly see that in the midst of crisis and famine, God has a people who can prosper. We can be in the midst of a storm without the storm being in the midst of us! Our source is not this world’s system, it is God’s system! It is not Wall Street…it is Gold Street!
Over the last number of weeks we have shared with you “8 Principles to Prosper in Recessionary Times”:
- Tithing (Prov. 3:9-10, Heb. 7:1-8)
- Budgeting (Prov. 21:5)
- Working (II Thes. 3:10)
- Thinking (Prov. 21:5)
- Producing (Matt. 25:14-30)
- Investing (Rom. 12:4-5)
This week let’s continue!
- Saving (Prov. 21:20). “There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.” This powerful scripture clearly tells us it is wise and godly to save! The Bible also tells us, “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty” (Prov. 11:24 NIV). I’ve heard preachers use this verse to their advantage and say things like “See, you shouldn’t withhold” when it comes to offerings. But that is not what this verse says! It says you shouldn’t withhold unduly. In other words, you should save some, just not hoard (see Matthew 6:19-20).
The average American today saves just .04% of his income whereas the average German saves 10% and the average Frenchman saves 12% of his income. Many times we use scriptures like Acts 4:34-37 to make spiritual excuses for not saving. Here the Bible tells us, “Neither was there any among them that lacked; for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that wee sold, And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas…a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”
Many have taken these verses out of context and have used them to justify Christian communal living and why they don’t have savings accounts or investments. But please remember, this was a one time event in Jerusalem. In just a few years (70 AD) Jerusalem was to be razed to the ground as it was conquered by Titus. Therefore, their houses and land wouldn’t have existed anyway, so it really was a word of wisdom from God for that church at that time. In addition, the book has principles that we follow, it is not a prototype that we follow!
The following principles will help you to be a godly saver:
1) Learn to be content with your contents!
2) Don’t try to keep up with the Jones’…the Jones’ are broke!
3) Use credit cards like cash or do “plastic surgery”
4) Be a generous giver, conservative spender, and a diligent saver
Next week we’ll continue our series on “Wall Street or Gold Street”.