HopeLives365

Mark Finley: Our economy is on very shaky footing. Thinking people everywhere are seriously concerned. They wonder, are we headed for a recession? Or even more seriously, are we headed for a depression?

Announcer: This is HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message: "Economic Survival in a Time of Financial Crisis." Enjoy, and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up to date with HopeLives365 and Pastor Mark by going to hopelives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: What impact will the Iran war have on our economy? It's already having a significant impact. Will the United States blockade of the Straits of Hormuz be one in which it lasts for weeks, months, and seriously impacting the transportation of oil? Will that play a major part?

As you look at it, already we find gas prices rising. Gas is just now a little under $4 a gallon. But even more seriously for the trucking industry, diesel fuel is about $5 a gallon. That means that food costs will continue to rise. That means because trucking costs rise, the rise of household goods will be there continually. Construction costs will go up.

As you look around us today, we find some very troubling signs in the economy. There is a prominent economic magazine in the United States called *The Insider*. Recently, *The Insider* ran an article that was titled "The US Economy: 7 Deadly Signs." This sentence caught my attention: "Parts of the America's economy are already in deep trouble, and the weakness could drag the whole country into a recession."

Here is another very serious economic problem, and it's this: our national debt in the United States is $39.1 trillion. That translates into an annual household income debt of $289,000 per household. If you look at this and you compute it, America's national debt rose $2 trillion this last year. That's $8 billion a day.

When you have debts rising at that extent and you have a $39.1 trillion debt in the United States, how do you pay off that debt? You borrow money. When you borrow money, what happens? You pay interest. So we are not even paying off our debt now; we're paying interest on that debt.

What about if your household had credit card debts that you maxed out and you were paying 18% on your credit card debt? How long could you continue to borrow and continue to wildly spend without having an economic crash in your family? Can we think that the United States of America is going to continue to borrow, continuing to run up its national debt without some economic crash?

I'm not suggesting that economic crash is going to come today, tomorrow, or next month. But I am suggesting that as you look at the trends in the United States, thinking people, brilliant economists who look at what's going on behind the scenes, are seriously concerned.

As a Bible student, we ask the question, "What does this all mean?" And as a Bible student, we ask the question, "What does the Bible predict about a coming economic crash?" But even more seriously, "How can you, how can I be prepared for that crash? How can we prepare our families and our children for what's coming?"

First, let's look at what's coming and then let's discover how we can prepare for it. We go to the book of Revelation. The Revelation was written by John on the island of Patmos. It's God's last message for mankind and it provides for us specific details on what's coming upon the world. In Revelation chapter 18, we look at a threefold union: the union of the fallen church powers, the union of political powers, and the union of economic powers.

Here in Revelation the 18th chapter, looking there at the ninth through 11th verses, I read. Scripture says, "And the kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her"—that's the kings of the earth uniting with the religious power—"will weep and lament for her when they see the smoke of her burning."

Verse 10, "Standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, 'Alas, alas, that great city Babylon.'" Now, Babylon is a symbol in the book of Revelation for religious confusion, a union of church and state. "For in one hour her judgment has come." And what happens when the judgments of God fall in these last days of earth's history? Verse 11, "The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her; no one buys her merchandise anymore."

Well, if no one buys her merchandise anymore, this is describing what? A great economic collapse. But even to make it clearer than this, let your eyes drop down to verse 17, "For in one hour her riches came to nothing." So the Bible predicts in the book of Revelation that there will be a rapid, sudden economic collapse.

This is not unique to the book of Revelation. If we go over here to the book of James and come to James chapter 5, verse 1-5, "Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you." Rich people? Miseries coming upon them? Why? "Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You've heaped treasures together for the last days."

So here the Bible talks about this sudden economic collapse. It talks about heaping treasure for the last days, but that money being rotten, or moth-eaten, or collapsed. Isn't it kind of fascinating too where it says your gold and silver are corroded? One of the most secure investments today is gold. One of the most secure investments that people are buying up—gold in bullion, gold in bars—so that if there is an economic collapse, they believe they will be secure.

What's God saying in James chapter 5? Everything you placed security in is going to let you down. There's no security in riches. There's no security in wealth. There's no security in our material possessions. We are headed for a great economic collapse.

Ellen White, in ninth volume of the *Testimonies*, page 13, makes this remarkable statement: "There are not many even among educators and statesmen who comprehend the causes that underlie the present state of society. Those who hold the reins of government are not able to solve the problem of moral corruption, poverty, pauperism, and increasing crime. They are struggling in vain." Now, what are they doing? They're struggling in vain to do what? To place business operations on a more secure basis.

If men would give more heed to the teaching of God's Word, they would find a solution to the problems that perplex them. I'm fascinated with this sentence: that business people, the brightest minds that we have in the world, are struggling in vain to try to solve the problems that we have in our economy today.

When you look at the situation in our economy, how can you and I be protected from this economic crash? How can we be prepared for this crash whenever it comes? And again, I am not a calamity howler; you know that. I'm not saying this is going to happen this month or next month. But what I am saying is, based on the Bible and based on the facts of the economic world, a crash is going to come.

So the question becomes then, "What are some sound biblical principles to safeguard our families in this coming crisis?" Here are four biblical principles that if you put them into practice, you will have safeguards. You'll have guide rails and guard rails to protect you when the world goes insane because the economy, the money that they put their confidence in, disintegrates before their eyes, as this great economic collapse occurs. You can keep your mind when the world loses its mind, when the riches in one hour are worth little or nothing because of this economic collapse. You can have security.

Four basic principles of economic security. Here's principle number one: live today in the light of eternity. Matthew the sixth chapter, these are the words of Christ. Live today in the light of eternity. Matthew chapter 6, Jesus speaks and we begin there with Matthew 6 and verse 31. Let's go back and pick up verse 28. "So why do you worry about clothing?" In other words, why do you worry about material things? "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"

Do we work? Definitely. Do we try to be as economical as possible? Certainly. But we trust that God will supply our needs. What does it say in Philippians 4:19? "My God shall supply your need." We live for eternal values, not the things of time. We're not squeezed by the material values of this life.

Notice as I continue: "Therefore do not worry," verse 31. We need not be in fear and anxiety and worry about some economic collapse. Don't worry about what shall we eat, what shall we drink, what shall we wear. "For after all these things the Gentiles seek." Gentiles, that is worldly, unbelievers, those that don't know Christ. "For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."

We have absolute trust, absolute confidence in our heavenly Father. "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Seek first the kingdom of God. Place your priority on the things of eternity, not on the things of time.

In Proverbs 23, verse 4 and 5, we read these meaningful verses. Everything in this life is transitory and will pass away. That which alone will endure be that which is eternal. Proverbs 23, verse 4, "Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven." Didn't you get that? Don't set your eyes on things that are not, things that are going to just fly away, things that are so fleeting.

The new pair of shoes that we buy today is going to be worn out tomorrow. The new clothes that we buy today are going to be out of fashion tomorrow. The new car we buy today is going to break down sometime. And the new house we have will certainly have repairs. Does that mean we shouldn't buy new things, buy new clothes, buy new shoes, buy a new house? Not at all. But it means we shouldn't be obsessed with them. We can have possessions, but possessions should never have us. It's when possessions control you, it's when you covet more and more and more. In simple faith, seek God and His righteousness and trust Him.

First principle of surviving the economic collapse that's coming: live today in the light of eternity. Second: recognize that God is the giver of all good gifts and be faithful in your stewardship. Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse 18. See, everything we have really comes from God. We are stewards of God's good gifts. Our health is a gift that comes from God. Our job is a gift that comes from God. Certainly we have talents, we have abilities that God has given us; many of us have honed those talents and abilities, sure.

But what does it say in Deuteronomy 8, verse 18? "And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day." Remember the Lord your God, because it's He who gives you power to get wealth. In other words, be a faithful steward of God's funds.

Proverbs chapter 3, verse 9 and 10 make this observation. If you want to be financially prosperous, be a faithful steward with the funds that God has given you. Place God first in your stewardship. The scripture says, Proverbs 3, verse 9 and 10, "Honor the Lord with your possessions, with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine." When we place God first in our lives, He blesses us in amazing ways.

I remember as a young pastor, I was teaching the importance of stewardship, the importance of putting God first, and I quoted Malachi 3, verse 8 to 10 that talks about "Bring you all the tithe into the storehouse." And I explained that a tithe is a tenth of our income, that as we are faithful in our tithe, that God promises to supply our needs, and that being faithful in tithe acknowledges that we believe that God has given us the ability to get wealth and that all of our finances are His. It's not that 10% is God's and 90% we do whatever we want with. No, the 10% that we give to God acknowledges that everything is His and we want to be faithful in how we use it.

I was teaching that and after that sermon, I was sitting in my office one day and a man made an appointment with me and he came in, and he had in his hand a brown paper bag. And when he came in, I could tell he was pretty upset. He said, "Pastor, you said that I have to pay tithe and be faithful in all that God gives me. I want to show you something, Pastor. Pastor, here are my bills."

And he began taking his bills out of that brown paper bag and throwing them on my desk, one, two, three. And as he threw them on my desk, he said, "Now Pastor, you tell me, how can I possibly pay tithe with all these bills? The bills are more than my income." I sat there for a minute and then I looked up calmly and said, "Sir, has your method gotten you out of debt?"

He said, "Pastor, you know it hasn't." I said, "Look, why don't for the next six months you try God's method? Seek Him first, place priority on the things of eternity. Secondly, be a faithful steward to God. Play fair with God. Be honest with God in your stewardship and watch what God does in your finances."

He said, "Pastor, I'll do it!" And I gave him some other financial counsel about how to get out of debt. We talked a little bit about paying off things a little bit at a time. We talked about the fact of carefulness in purchasing. And in six months, that man was doing a lot better.

So how do we protect against this coming economic crash? We place our minds on things above. We recognize that God will take care of us. Secondly, we become faithful in our stewardship. And there's a third thing that is equally as important, and the Bible talks about indebtedness.

Avoid debt like a plague is the third principle. If you make an investment that necessitates your going into debt, be sure the thing that you invest in has equity in it to pay off the debt. For example, if you buy a house, most of us don't have the finances to pay for the house cash, so we have to take a loan. But be sure that that house has equity in it to help pay off your debt. The Bible is very clear about indebtedness.

Proverbs 22, verse 7. Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived other than Jesus, says this: "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." So if you find yourself in debt, you're in slavery. You're in economic slavery. You can't do the things that you want. Interest rates continue to strangle your joy. You wonder every month how you're going to make it. The borrower is servant to the lender.

Romans 13, verse 8 puts it this way. These economic principles, if you say to yourself, "I would rather save to purchase something than go in debt to purchase it." There are some people that go on shopping sprees with money they don't have, put it on their credit card, can't pay the credit card at the end of the month, and as the result of that are in serious, serious debt. Romans 13, verse 8 says, "Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law." Owe nobody anything.

There's a certain liberation, there's a certain freedom when you do not owe somebody else money. You're not in slavery. You're not in bondage. You're not in jail or in prison to that.

We were teaching these principles once, and a young couple attended a seminar on the Holy Spirit. And the speaker talked about how the Holy Spirit leads us to be convicted about certain sins. Now, this couple was having a very difficult time. They usually were quite harmonious in their relationship, but they have gone through some very rocky times, arguing, debating. And one of the reasons for that is they were going further and further and further into debt. And the Holy Spirit convicted them that they needed to pay off their indebtedness before they made further purchases.

Now, this couple loved skiing, and so they decided, "Look, although we'd like new skis for this ski season, like new ski boots, we're not going to buy them." One day they were in the mall and they walked by a ski shop. And in the window of the ski shop, there was a big sign that said, "All skis 50 to 60% off." They looked at one another and said, "That's amazing!" Then ski jackets, 50% off, ski poles and boots, big, big sale, huge sale. They said, "Let's just go in and look."

They began to look, tried on a ski jacket, tried on ski boots, got fitted for skis, and it was only going to be a couple thousand dollars and they said, "Look, just this once we can put it on our credit card." And so as they were walking out to the cashier and the cashier was ringing up everything, they looked at one another and she said, "Honey, we made a pledge to God that we're not going to go further in indebtedness. We didn't even pray about this. Let's pray about it."

And so they said to the clerk, "Could you hold these things for a minute?" And they went out into the mall and held hands there and prayed a simple prayer: "Dear Lord, we know that this indebtedness has put us in economic bondage. And we know that our indebtedness is causing us friction in our marriage. Lord, we don't want to make a misstep, give us wisdom." Both of them felt convicted, very, very convicted that they should not make that purchase and go further in debt. They went into the clerk and said, "We're sorry, we're not going to buy." And they said when they walked out, they took a deep breath and felt incredible, incredible joy.

Here are three principles—three principles that will help you when the economic crash takes place. Number one: right now begin seeking God first. Place your interest in things of eternity, not on things of time. Place your focus on that which really counts forever and ever and ever. Secondly: make stewardship a way of life for you. Be sure to remember that it's God that gives you power to get wealth and be faithful in your tithe and offerings. By doing that, God is teaching you faith to stand through the coming crisis. Thirdly: avoid debt like a plague and if you're in debt, limit your purchases and begin working slowly to get out of it.

And fourthly: learn to be content with what you have. Learn to be content. First Timothy chapter 6. You know, it's a wonderful thing to be content with what you have, not to be continually wanting something else that you don't have, that's just going to cost you more money, that's going to put you further possibly in debt. The Apostle Paul talks about contentment and he says to Timothy, First Timothy chapter 6, verse 6 to 8, he says this: "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it's certain we can carry nothing out. Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content." My friend, it's a wonderful thing to be content with the gifts that God has given you.

Announcer: You've been listening to HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at hopelives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark.

Mark Finley: Friend of mine, make Jesus first. Fill your life with a sense of gratitude for Him because in that you will learn to trust in our heavenly Father. In Jesus' name, you will be thankful, content, and filled with His goodness and grace.