Law Number Two:
Financial prosperity comes as the result of diligent, hard work.
The same Bible that says, "Give and it shall be given unto you..." also says:"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise. Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest."--Prov. 6:6-8.
The Bible calls diligent work "wise."
In order to prosper, you will have to apply yourself diligently to some form of income-producing activity. Own a business. Work a job. Farm on a farm. Sell a product. Provide a service. And in order to prosper, you may have to do more than one.
I know a number of men and women who work full-time jobs, and who also have some kind of part-time income-producing activity on the side. A man employed as an air conditioning and heating repairman, may also repair additional units on his off-hours over the week-end. A guy I know in a blue collar job, also runs a lawn mowing service on the side. He makes as much off his mowing as he does from his full-time job. A security guard I know also does various kinds of odd repair jobs on the side.
You can give away all you possess, and believe for the "hundred-fold return," but if you don't diligently perform some kind of income producing activity, you'll be living on the streets.
Hundred-fold return, or not.
Law Number Three:
Financial prosperity comes as a result of living on a budget.
Jesus said that before you build a tower, you need to sit down and count the cost to see whether you have enough to finish it. (Luke 14:28).
Do you have enough money coming in over the rest of this month to enable you to pay all of your bills on time? If not, then you need to bring in some extra money between now and the due dates on the bills. But you won't know what money you have at all unless you live on a budget and track your expenses.
You should create a reasonable budget, and be careful to track where your money is going. A budget will allow you to see where money is being wasted, and eliminate the waste.
I have a large yard, and a few years back, my push mower just up and died. I hired my friend with the lawn mowing business to come in and mow it from time to time. But he charged $30.00 to do so, which was reasonable for the work involved. However, it needed to be mowed about every 7 to 10 days. $30.00, $60.00, $90.00--it adds up fast. Expenses like this are just money down the drain. When you see wasted money going out a hole, you need to plug up the hole.
I went to Sears and bought a Craftsman riding lawnmower. It cost me right at $900.00. But I would have spent that much over three or four summers anyway. Now that several years have passed, it has virtually paid for itself. I am mowing my own yard time and again, and the only cost is a buck or two of gasoline.
If your financial waterbucket has some holes in it, then plug them up. Keep track of how much water you have. Quit waiting for the downpour, and catch the trickles around you.
Eventually, your bucket will be full, and you can pour out to others.
Law Number Four:
Financial prosperity comes from saving, planning ahead, and anticipating potential set-backs.
You never know when a season of unemployment may come. Nor do you know when an unexpected expense may arise. That's why it is called an "unexpected" expense.
We see a perfect example of the need to set aside in the times of plenty, to prepare for times of difficulty, in the life of Joseph in the Old Testatment. God revealed to him through Pharoah's dream that seven years of plenty were coming, which would then be followed by seven years of famine. So Joseph organized a massive food storage program, and conducted it through those seven plenteous years. And when the seven years of famine followed, people were kept alive through the food that had been amassed.
Notice the things Joseph did not do:
He did not pray and "release his faith" for the famine not to come.
He did not ignore it and take the stand that God would provide for him no matter what.
Instead, he got in and covered his bases--so to speak. Joseph's gathering of food in anticipation of a time of famine is commended in the Bible as an example faith in God.
As God is prospering you, you need to set back each pay period some money in savings to have to draw on in times of difficulty.
Too many of my fellow believers define "living by faith" as "taking no precautions."
Some deliberately refuse to carry medical insurance or life insurance. I've seen such believers reduced to poverty through one major medical problem, or by an untimely death. At the same time, many in our circles refuse to eat right, and get appropriate exercise and rest. They think they can disregard common sense, and God will always rescue them, and they call this "living by faith." That is not faith. That is playing Russian Roulette. As I heard Brother Hagin--a man of faith--say in a minister's meeting, "You can not continue to violate God's laws concerning diet, nutrition, and the physical body and expect God to always heal you. He won't."
You need to anticipate the needs of life, and prepare for the potential storms of life. Carry medical insurance on yourself, your spouse, and your children. If your current employment does not provide medical insurance, it would pay you to accept a job that offers a lesser salary, but that provides you medical insurance. One major medical bill could bankrupt you.
Carry dental insurance and keep your teeth in good shape. Paying $50.00 for a teeth cleaning once or twice a year is much less costly than spending thousands of dollars later.
Carry mortgage insurance, and disability insurance that will pay off your mortgate in event of your death, or will make your mortgate payments or other credit payments in case you are disabled.
If your health reaches a state where you need an operation, then believe God for healing for a certain period of time. If at the end of that time period your faith has not connected and produced your healing, then go ahead and have the operation. Don't allow your health to deteriorate and deteriorate. Take care of matters like this in a timely fashion.
Remember, it wasn't raining when Noah began to build the ark.
Law Number Five:
Financial prosperity is the result of listening to the Holy Spirit.
Several times the Holy Spirit has lead me to take financial steps that I did not understand at the time, but which prepared me for a time of difficulty that came later.
At a place where I worked some years back, I noticed the man who replaced the snacks in the candy machines. Nearly every time I saw him, he was training a new helper. One time when he came in alone, I asked him why he seemed unable to keep a helper. He explained that the amount of money he offered someone to help him replenish the vending machines in the various locations at my large place of employment, was sufficient only as part-time income. As soon as they found a full-time job, they would quit.
He told me what he paid, which wasn't bad for a couple of hours of work per week. I took his card and intended to give the information to an unemployed brother I knew at church. But as I turned to walk away, the Holy Spirit prompted me in my spirit. It was as though He just gently touched me inside, and indicated, "No, you take this part-time job."
On the inside of me I actually said to Him, "Me? Goodness, I'm already busy with the full-time job I'm working now. I don't need this money, but that brother at Church sure does." And I started to ignore the prompting, then I caught myself. I thought, "No....No....No! If the Holy Ghost is directing me to take this part-time job, there must be a reason, and I need to obey Him." So I turned on my heel, walked back to the vendor, and told him I would be glad to help him.
As I made money from this part-time work, I set it aside in a special account, and saved my earnings. It wasn't a tremendous amount, just a few hundred dollars. But my oh my, am I glad I had that extra income, because within a few weeks I had some extra bills come in that I had not expected, and the money I had saved covered these expenses to the penny. Glory to God.
It pays to listen to the Holy Spirit.
The next couple of times I ran into the unemployed brother at Church, I felt a little guilty. I had thought of taking the income off this part time job, and just sowing it into his life to help him. But then as I got to know him better, I saw that there was a great deal of dishonesty in this brother. He was very evasive about his past, and about any of the details of his life. And he was very, very negligent in the way he handled things. Had he taken this part-time job, rather than me, I am certain he would not have been faithful with it. Abruptly, he disappeared and moved to another state. I believe the Law was searching for him.
Clearly, the Holy Spirit knew the man better than I did.
Earlier this year, I went out to look for a new car. I went to the first dealership, but I felt uncomfortable in my spirit about the place. He could not find me the kind of car I really wanted, and the stories he told me changed several times.
I ended up going to another dealership and buying a new car from them. They sold me a car that was precisely what I wanted, and at a very advantageous price. I felt good in my spirit about this deal and this dealership.
When the salesman from the first dealership found out that I had bought a car from another dealership, he went into a rage. He tracked me down, confronted me in a parking lot and screamed obscenities at me.
Wow.
I had no idea that salesman and that dealership was evil like that. And if the salesman and the dealership management were this obnoxious to me before a sale, how would they have been concerning follow-up experiences like standing by the warranty on their car? They were probably just as unreasonable on the follow-up matters too.
I didn't know these people were crooks, but the Holy Ghost did. I've had no regrets at all with the dealership I ended up buying from. And their follow-up has been excellent also. They have fulfilled to me every part of the car's warranty.
It pays to listen to the Spirit of God. He will save you money and trouble if you'll listen to him.
Law Number Six:
Financial prosperity involves intelligent debt management.
I know.
Some Christian leaders promote the idea that God never wants us to borrow money. I respect those leaders, but I disagree with their teachings and conclusions concerning the intelligent use of debt. Follow my reasoning here and give this some thought.
God's word literally says, "Owe no man anything but love." Some teach therefore that a Christian must never borrow money.
Preachers draw the wrong conclusion from that scripture because they are taking it out of the context in which it is written. We'll look at the specific passage of scripture shortly, but let me give you a couple of other scriptures out of context before we do, and you'll see the error.
Jesus said, "Ask and it shall be given you..."--Ok. "Boy that man's wife looks hot! I mean, H-O-T! I'm going to ask God to have her leave him and become my wife."
That won't work. Jesus did not mean for His statement to be taken out of context like that.
"Yes, but didn't He say, 'All things are possible?'"--Then that Scripture proves I can have that man's wife.
No, it doesn't. You're taking it out of context.
Taking another man's wife away from him is sin. In fact, it involves three sins: coveting, stealing, and adultery. God can't give you sin in answer to prayer--He doesn't have any sin stored up in Heaven. He has nothing to do with sin. "All things" means all things, assuming you have the sense to not ask for sin. If you want sin, God can't help you. Go ask the Devil for sin, and he will give you plenty!
"All things work togther for good to them who love God and are called according to His purpose."
Yes the Bible literally says that.
But let me ask you something concerning what happened to a person I knew.
My friend was a born-again, Spirit-filled, graduate of ORU. He served God on the mission field for several years. He returned back to the States for a visit with relatives. While there, he climbed up in a tree while playing with some of his nieces and nephews. He lost his grip, and fell to the ground, sustaining a brain-stem injury.
Instantly, he forgot how to read and write, and lost all the advanced education he had received at ORU. The only things he could clearly remember was his own identity, the identity of his family and friends, and he retained his memory of the Lord. Jesus said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." And the Lord was true to his word.
My friend spent the next couple of years struggling to regain the mental faculties he had lost. He never did. He was never able to return to the mission field that he loved. He was never able to provide for himself, or continue in the call God had placed on his life. Two or three years later, he suddenly died in his early thirties.
I attended his funeral.
Did falling out of that tree "work together for his good?"
No.
But doesn't the Word say, "All things work together for our good?" Yes it does. But it does not mean that rape, murder, premature death, and the other horrors that can happen in life all are good for us. It means that no matter what the Devil and the world throws our way, the grace of God will see us through, and our ultimate testimony will be one of overall rejoicing, and not one of complete grief. As the 23rd Psalm says:
"Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life..."
And the ultimate result:
"And I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever."
The Lord told me one time concerning another Christian that was close to death, "Don't grieve for him. For the day he comes to be with Me, will be the greatest day of his life. For on that day, he will come to be with His Lord, and to receive his reward."
My missionary friend's accident cut short his ministry. He did not bear all the fruit, and bring to the Lord all the souls the Lord and he had wanted, and the accident and premature death was bitter. But what followed afterward was sweet. You see, he went to be with his Lord, which is the greatest experience a person can possibly have. Today, he is shouting up and down the streets of gold, and his good works and good fruit have followed him.
Are "all things" possible, even sin?
All things, yes. Sin, no.
Do "all things" work together for our good, even premature death?
The sum total of the Christian's life, yes.
Tragedy and premature death, no.
Remember this:
Scriptural error is simply genuine truth taken to a ridiculous extreme.
Now read--in context--with me Romans 13:7, 8:
"Render therefore to all their dues:
tribute to whom tribute is due;
custom to whom custom;
fear to whom fear;
honor to whom honor.
Owe no man any thing,
but to love one another:
for he that loves has fulfilled the law."
This passage of scripture is not speaking about financial debt. Anymore than "all things" promises adultery, or "all things work together for good" includes premature death. You can tell this by the context.
The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write to the Christians at Rome, exhorting them to fulfill all the various duties of life. Pay tribute, custom, fear, and honor to whomever life requires you to pay these things. "Owe no man any thing but to love one another..." Fulfill all the other demands of life, and fulfill also the Lord's command to "love your neighbor as yourself." Keep seeing yourself as owing a debt of love to others, and keep giving out the love God has put within you.
The Epistles speak repeatedly about loving your neighbor, walking in love, and there is even an entire chapter devoted to it, namely I Corinthians chapter 13.
If it is true, as some teach, that God wants us NEVER to go into debt, isn't it strange that He mentioned it only once in the Epistles written to the Church? If Christians are truly forbidden to go into debt, wouldn't Paul have repeated the command to EVERY church? Of course he would!
Wouldn't Peter, John, James, and Jude have echoed this command too in their Epistles to the Church? Absolutely. But Peter, John, James, and Jude are all silent about financial debt. I guess they didn't get the memo notifying them that any financial debt of any kind is an absolute NO-NO.
Reason this out a bit.
It is ok to use your head for something other than a hatrack. :)
Let's have a little fun with this for a minute.
Dr. Frankenstein (of the old horror movies) sent Igor out to find a brain for his monster. He told Igor to go to a particular place and buy one.
When he returned, the Doctor asked him,
"Did you buy the brain I told you to buy?"
Igor replied, "No. I got a different one.
Frankenstein asked, "Why?"
Igor replied, "This one was on sale for half-price.
It belonged to a Charismatic--so it had never been used."
Hits a little close to home, doesn't it?
Well, think this situation out.
If it is wrong to borrow, then it must also be equally wrong to lend, because by lending, you are putting another person in the position of owing you. Yet in the parable of the talents, the Lord rebuked the unfaithful servant for not at least putting his money in the hands of the money changers so that "I could have mine own with usury [interest]." Mat. 25:14-30. In other words, the Lord wanted him to put the money to work in a system of lending, borrowing, and repaying with interest.
If there is nothing wrong with lending, and in fact the Lord commends lending, then there can't be anything wrong with borrowing either.
We have built this entire "no debt under any circumstances" doctrine on one single Scripture from the New Testament, and upon a handful of Scriptures from the Old.
We act like debt is a bondage or a curse. Well, it is an obligation. And if you borrow unwisely, you can easily get under a great burden of debt.
But if used wisely, debt is not a bondage.
Debt is leverage.
Does Donald Trump look like he is in financial bondage, as he flies from mansion to mansion in his helicopter? I don't think so. Moral bondage, yes. Financial bondage, no. Yet he has built his financial empire using a great deal of money from other people and from banks. He uses other people's money--debt--as leverage.
Yes, he could take several years, and save up a billion dollars. Then he could pay cash to have some big hotel and resort built. But he doesn't. He borrows the money, builds the resort, promotes the facility, is awash in paying customers, and the money comes rolling in. He uses the incoming cash to quickly pay down the debt, while at the same time, borrowing another billion to build the next resort or real estate venture.
He has prospered and prospered and prospered by using other people's money. And he has given little, if any of it, to God.
He understands that intelligent use of debt is not bondage. It is a leverage by which he is able to accomplish a major undertaking that would be impossible--even for him--if it was all done by cash on the barrelhead.
States borrow money by issuing bonds, so that they can go ahead and complete a road building project. With the project completed, traffic increases, business opportunities arise, commerce increases, which in turn increases tax receipts. Before they know it, enough money has come in to pay off the obligation, and more money comes in over and above that.
Now take this down from the billionaire level, and governmental level, to our level.
A believer wants to buy a $100,000.00 house. He doesn't have a penny. And he is convinced that God never wants him to borrow money. So he rents a house, paying $500.00 per month rent, and begins saving money to buy a house. Let's say he is able to save $500.00 per month. Some months he is able to put $1k aside. Other months, he can't. And sometimes he has unexpected expenses arise. It is great if the $100k comes in miraculously within a year or so. But what if it doesn't? What if it takes five, ten, or twenty years? Where is he then?
Let's assume it takes him 20 years to save up $100k to buy his dream house.
How much money has he paid in rent?
$120,000.00!
So he saved up $100k and paid cash for a house. But he threw away in rent $120k.
Why?
Did he have an extra $120k to throw away?
No. He was misguided enough to believe that God never wanted him--under any circumstances--to go into debt for anything.
What if he had approached this financial goal, seeing intelligent use of debt as leverage rather than bondage?
He could have gotten a First Time Homebuyer's Loan at a low rate, with no down payment required. He could have moved into his new $100,000.00 house within days. Rather than paying $500.00 per month in rent, and saving $500.00 per month towards a house, he could have paid $1,000.00 per month in a mortgage payment.
At the end of 20 years, he would have wasted not one penny, and would probably have the house paid off, owning it free and clear. And depending on the interest rate of the loan, he might have $20k or more in cash, not counting the $120k he would not have spent on rent.
So you tell me. Which is wiser:
Throwing away $120k in rent, and living in a crackerbox for 20 years, but eventually buying a $100k house for cash.
Or,
Leveraging yourself into a $100k house immediately, wasting nothing, saving $120k that you would have thrown away in rent, plus having possibly an additional $20k on top of everything else.
I think the answer is obvious.
Many Christians have not prospered because they have thrown tens of thousands of dollars away, avoiding intelligent debt.
Another benefit of the intelligent use of debt is establishing and maintaining a good credit rating. Many expenses in life today are tied in to your credit rating. If you have a good credit rating, you will probably not have to put up deposits on utilities, cell phones, and in other situations of ongoing expenses. If you have a good credit rating, you will also be offered car insurance and property insurance at a more favorable rate. If you have a good credit record, you are more likely to be hired for certain kinds of jobs where as a part of their background check, they also check your credit.
There are many, many advantages to having a good credit record, none of which you can take advantage of if you are debt free year after year and have no credit rating at all.
It is extremely detrimental and very limiting financially to live this supposedly wonderous "debt-free life."
No legitimate professional financial advisor in the world will recommend that you absolutely refuse to ever borrow money.
Who knows how many millions of Christians have let opportunity after opportunity slip past them because they refused to borrow money in order to accomplish a particular financial goal.
Is it any wonder that so many Christians have failed to prosper? They have declined financially because they followed extreme teachings rather than the sound advice of their banker, accountant, lawyer, and financial advisor.
Law Number Seven:
Financial prosperity accumulates over time.
So many Christians are looking for their gusher, instead of steadily accumulating all that is coming to them in a trickle.
A Christian millionaire told me one time, "My family was just as poor as everyone else's around here. I can't say that we made so much more than others did. But I can tell you this: We certainly wasted alot less than they did!"
Sadly, too many believers are looking for a spiritual get-rich-quick scheme, sowing seeds of faith into ministies, in the same manner in which gamblers spin a roullette wheel, or play the lottery.
They practically hover over the offering bucket, whispering under their breath,
"Maybe this one will do it!....
I made the check out for $77.
Seven is the number of God.
GLORY!
Come on lucky seven!...
Come to Papa!.....
Momma needs a new pair of shoes!"
Turning to their daughter they say,
"Here baby! Blow on this check for daddy, before I toss it in the offering bucket."
Brethren, it simply does not work like that.
In the Bible you see a few scattered examples of believers receiving riches virtually overnight: Joseph, the Three Hebrew Children, and Daniel. A handful of instant riches, but millions of believers who prospered over the course of time through diligent work and by making wise decisions.
God may indeed give you a financial gusher overnight, but keep gathering all that trickles by you in case He chooses not to.
Law Number Eight:
The final component of financial prosperity is consistently giving to God.
While living on a budget, and meeting all of your responsibilities, you need to have a heart for the things that touch God's heart. He desires for His Word to be preached so that others may be saved and set free. He also loves the poor, the hungry, the needy, and those who can not provide for themselves.
You should set aside a consistent amount of money that you can give out of each pay period into two areas: The ministry where you are being spiritually fed, and to the needs of those around you.
Don't allow yourself to be pulled off into extremes in the area of giving.
You can't find a single instance in the New Testament where Jesus, Paul, or any of the Apostles urged believers to give beyond their means. Yes, there was an instance or two where believers themselves decided to give sacrificially. But in those instances you don't see Jesus, Paul, or anyone else standing over them, pumping and pumping them to give more, more, more, and promising them every blessing imaginable in return.
Give as you feel you can reasonably afford to give, and as you believe the Holy Spirit is leading you to give. Do not allow yourself to be manipulated for money.
Now Brethren, can you see why many WOF Christians have not prospered? Don't these financial laws make sense? You can not and will not prosper through financial giving only. You must apply all of God's laws of financial prosperity. But if you apply what the Bible shows us is Gods laws, you will gradually prosper and prosper.
God's TRUE Laws of Financial Prosperity:
1. Making wise decisions.
2. Working diligently.
3. Living on a budget.
4. Saving and planning ahead.
5. Listening to the Holy Spirit.
6. Intelligent debt management.
7. Accumulating resources over time.
8. Giving to God.
Go and do thou likewise.
Copyright 2006 Mel C. Montgomery. All rights reserved. Material may be copied and shared with others if done so in entirety, free of charge, and if attribution is given.
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