Isaiah 60:1-5 quoted below is an especially important prophecy for our times:

Here we see that at the very time darkness is covering the earth and deep darkness the peoples, the Lord’s glory will be rising upon His people and appearing on them. It is important that we understand the nature of this darkness is even now spreading over the earth, but we should be even more devoted to understanding and pursuing His glory. This we will do, but first we need to stay focused on the economic theme that we have been covering for the last few weeks.

As the glory on the Lord’s people arises, the nations will begin coming to them. They will bring the abundance of the seas and the wealth of the nations. However, as stated, this is not so we can be rich. It will be like when the first disciples brought all of their possessions and laid them at the feet of the apostles. That was not done so the apostles could be rich, but so they could fairly distribute to those in need. This is a basic apostolic calling and responsibility, which we will see the church embrace as it returns to its apostolic foundations.

The way that every Christian is called to live is to “...have an abundance for every good deed...” (II Corinthians 9:8). Our main goal should not be to raise our standard of living, but our standard of giving. Whether it is by natural means or supernatural, we should have abundance for everything that God calls us to do. That is normal Christianity, and no Christian should settle for anything less in their life.

However, as we have been covering, there is a process of maturing that we have to go through to be trusted with this authority and responsibility, which is one of the reasons for the cycles of abundance and need. We need to embrace each one in their timing, learn all that we can from them, resolving to keep our peace and contentment in the Lord above all things. We do not want to set our hearts on riches if they come or overly fear financial testing when it comes. Our goal must be to grow in faith and keep a level head regardless of our financial state. Set this in your heart. Neither our joy nor our peace is dependent on what we have, but on Who we have.

One of the ultimate issues of true Christian maturity is learning to handle money or what the Lord called, “unrighteous mammon,” properly. It tests some of the ultimate issues of the heart and quickly distinguishes true believers from the false.

In just the last ten years there have been two major investment scams that have bilked churches and ministries in the United States out of tens of millions of dollars. As a ministry we have been approached by many lesser schemes as well. They all promise huge returns on investment. Every one I have talked to about the investments insisted that they were one of the ways God was going to fulfill the prophecy that the wealth of the wicked was going to be given to the righteous. However, the Scriptures themselves are clear in stating that the wealth that lasts is the result of faithfulness and diligence, not “get rich quick” schemes. Those who are faithful with a little will be trusted with more. Therefore, our primary goal should not be how much we have, but faithfulness with what we have.

As we briefly discussed before, studies show that there seems to be nothing so sure to wreck someone’s life than winning the lottery. Most who have won the lottery end up broke again within just a short period of time. Many are even worse off than before they won because they no longer have jobs or many of their previous friends.

I have a number of friends who are professional athletes. Their bonuses and salaries often become public. I have been in restaurants and walked in public places with them and watched as they are continually bombarded with requests for loans from people they have never even seen before. I have watched these people become insulted and even outraged because these athletes did not give them what they asked for. It is a shocking thing to witness.

Many of these athletes quickly become isolated from family and cannot go back to their old neighborhoods because of such continual demands on them if they do. Most would like to help their old friends and neighbors, but they do not know how to do it. If they give them some money, it is inevitably gone quickly, and then they are back asking and sometimes even demanding more. Free money may be the most addictive and destructive drug of all.

Reggie White was one of the best and most feared defensive ends to ever play professional football. Reggie is also probably one of the most loving and generous people I have ever met. I do not think I know anyone whose mind was so continually devoted to finding ways to help other people, especially the poor and needy. Reggie’s wife, Sara, is just as loving and devoted to this, but is probably feared by as many people as Reggie. I used to tell people that if they had to choose between fighting Reggie or Sara, pick Reggie! Reggie confided in me once that if it were not for Sara, he probably would not have anything left because she would not let him just give his money away.

Together, with other friends, Reggie and Sara devised a plan for helping people in a way that would really help them. They started a foundation called Urban Hope. Through Urban Hope, they train people who want to start a small business and teach them about basic business principles and management, beginning with how to write a business plan. After that, when someone would ask them for a loan (which was almost always for the purpose of starting a “can’t miss” business venture), they would say that they were open to this, but they only loaned money to people who had been through the Urban Hope training.

Statistically, more than 75 percent of new business ventures fail in the first year, and only a tiny percentage makes it for more than two years. The primary reason for this is that even with a marketable product, there is far more to running a business than seems apparent until you have done it. Becoming too successful too fast can be just as destructive to a new business as not growing fast enough. Urban Hope now has a track record of helping nearly two hundred new businesses to get started, with only a tiny fraction not becoming successful and lasting, reversing the typical statistics.

The church must start thinking strategically like this. I know some that have, training their people in management and business, spawning so many businesses around them that they become micro-economies greatly benefiting their communities. Some of these became models for President Bush’s “Faith Based Initiative.” That program is controversial with both Christians and non-Christians, but its intent is noble, and there is a great deal of merit to it. However, the church should be running ahead with this program whether the government gets behind it or not.

My point is we are seeking to restore “the apostolic faith” to the church, but we must realize we are not seeking to build another first century church, but the twenty-first century church. The gospel is relevant to any period, and the church is called to be the light of the world in its time. We are in an economic age, and equipping our people economically is a basic part of what the church should be doing for its people today.

I am vehemently opposed to giving anyone a position of authority in the church because of their wealth or their gifts. However, we must understand that many Christian businessmen (and women) are truly called as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers who are to equip the church for its calling in these times. In the coming weeks we are going to look at other biblical prophecies that explain this, and look at some ways that this can practically be done.