Wesley on Economy
1 Timothy 6:6-10
I was going to tell a joke about the economy, but the government beat me to it
Some of you have asked me what I think is going to happen this next year
I have given it a lot of prayer and meditation and I believe that I have heard from the Lord
You might want to write some of these down
Ten Predictions – Thus saith the Lord
1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost.
ISN’T IT GREAT TO KNOW WHO IS STILL IN CONTROL?
There is always HOPE for those that believe
However, you and I need to be ready for a falling economy
The economy was bad in Wesley’s day
(For those of you new to our church and the Methodist system, John and Charles Wesley began the Methodist movement out of the Anglican movement in the 1700’s)
John Wesley had much to say about the economy and how to protect ourselves
He had three simple rules
The first is Gain all you can
On the surface, this may seem obvious
There are some stumbling blocks
“Gain all you can” means you must work
You cannot gain by stealing, cheating, lying or hurting somebody else.
An adult cannot live with someone else and let them support you
In fact, Paul tells us in 2 Thess 3:10 “If one will not work, neither let him eat.”
This does not refer to the young or old or to the ill or infirm, but to the lazy
No work, no food
We must look at gain through the lens of love
We cannot foreclose on widows and orphans
We cannot pay poor wages to increase our profits
We cannot bilk or con people out of their money
If the people in the news looked at gain through the lens of love, we would not be in this fix
The second of the financial rules is Save all you can
“The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets.”
Prov. 21:20 (TLB)
One way we can protect ourselves is to save
I know there are some here that are living from paycheck to paycheck
You are the ones that really need to be saving all that you can
To be able to save, some of us may have to take another job
But, if we save, we are protected from emergencies
If we cannot find five or ten dollars every paycheck to put back, where will we find the money to fix a car that breaks down?
Or pay a larger than average heating bill?
Or fix a water heater that goes out?
Whether living from paycheck to paycheck, living on a fixed retirement income or making more than two or three thousand each month, these times call for all of us to be saving all we can
Now, you might think, “Well, I have my credit cards for emergencies.”
Have you looked at your bill lately?
We just did. We have good credit and pay our bills monthly.
Our credit cards have increased the interest we pay.
28% per year
Using the “rule of 72” your debt will double in a little over two and one-half years
That is why the Bible says, “The borrower is servant to the lender.” Prov. 22:7
AND, “Keep out of debt and owe no man anything.” Rom 13:8 (Amp)
If you are deep in debt, you must get out or you can lose everything you have in these perilous times
We are cancelling our credit cards
When I get back, we will have a lesson on “How to get out of debt” for those that are not certain
Until then cut back on your spending, maybe get a second job, but start saving all you can
And finally, Wesley said, Give all you can
I know that this sounds strange to you
Prosperity is like love – the more you give away, the more you get
The Bible says that God will open the windows of Heaven and pour more blessing in your lap than you can hold
IF you will give to the church and others (Mal 3:10)
Scriptures also say if you cast your bread on the water, it will return to you many times what you gave (Ecc 11:1)
In Galatians (6) Paul says we reap whatever we sow – much more than we sow
Many people have proven God in this
If you do not have enough, give more and you will have more
There are families in this church that have proven that
I have not asked permission to tell their names, but there are several
Would you rather have multiples of 500 dollars or 5 dollars?
Wesley was afraid that the Methodists would cling to the first two rules, Making and Saving, and ignore the third
Let me be perfectly scriptural – thus says the Lord, “You cannot hoard your way out of the economic times” (x2)
God blesses us so that we may bless others (Matt 25, Mk 12:29-31)
It is our responsibility to be Jesus for the world, thus
It is our responsibility to insure that our neighbor does not go hungry
Yes, we are to feed our families and our selves
But we are to use our blessings wisely so we can be a blessing to others
YOU CANNOT OUTGIVE GOD (x2)
I am not telling you this to get your money
I am not trying to get a raise, or get thrown out
I am trying to bless you
I am trying to tell you how to get a blessing
It works every time
Do you want to survive the coming crises?
Gain all you can
Save all you can
But also, Give all you can
God does not ask for more than this
To read more check out www.opendoorstochrist.org
Rev. O. K. Neal
