By: Dr. Mike Jones<\/p>\n
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We just came out of an Economic down turn that started in 2008 and we\u2019re still seeing effects of it until this day. Saints, when you think about it, recession, inflation and economic hard times have been with mankind since the beginning of time. The are not new conditions demanding new solutions. The biblical answers to these economic conditions first appear early in the book of Genesis. Let\u2019s look at Genesis 26:1,<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
God gave Isaac very specific instructions to follow in order to prosper during those economic hard times: they\u2019re outlined in Genesis 26.<\/p>\n
The Lord told Isaac He would bless him because of the Abrahamic covenant covering the same three areas. Those elements were land, seed, and blessings.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statues, and my laws.\u201d <\/i>(Genesis 26:5)<\/p>\n Because of famine, everyone was leaving to go to Egypt, but the Lord has a different program for Isaac:<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee\u2026\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/i>(Genesis 26: 2-3)<\/p>\n During a time of famine, and you don\u2019t know God\u2019s will? This is why you pray the prayer of dedication and concentration: Lord, NOT my will but Your will be done.\u201d Move only upon God\u2019s command, not because of a rumor that there is prosperity elsewhere. Remember: God can bless you in any location.Deuteronomy 28:3, Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.<\/i><\/p>\n The beatitudes found in Deuteronomy 28, summarizes the various places where the blessings of God would extend to Israel\u2019s life and to ours, on the condition of obedience.<\/p>\n Isaac went forth under the Lord\u2019s instructions, and he\u2026 \u201csowed in the land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him\u201d<\/i> (Genesis 26:12).\u00a0 <\/span>And when you read down through the fourteenth verse, you will see where he was envied by the Philistines.<\/p>\n These three biblical principles apply to you and me today. Let\u2019s look at another biblical principle that we can also call a \u201cWisdom Principle\u201d for success in God\u2019s abundant kingdom. It\u2019s called GIVE AWAY THE LITTLE SEE YOU HAVE REMAINING for a greater harvest.<\/p>\n Saints, God wants us to deal with famine. We saw in Genesis 26, how Isaac survived the famine through his obedience to God and his willingness.<\/p>\n Look at how God rewarded the widow at Zarephath for her willingness to obey God and follow His principles of biblical economics. (see 1 Kings 17: 8-16)<\/p>\n This poor widow was nearly out of food. She had only enough for one final meal. Elijah represented God The same way churches do today. When the prophet Elijah came and asked her for \u201ca morsel of bread,\u201d she replied (1 Kings 17:12):<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026I have not a cake, but (<\/i>only) an handful of meal in a barrel, \u2026and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress (<\/i>prepare) it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. <\/i><\/p>\n So the poor widow obeyed, and met the need of the man of God. As a result of her willingness to play seeds, and her refusal to observe the winds and clouds of famine, God miraculously met her need.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026the barrel of meal wasted not (<\/i>was not used up), \u2026according to the Word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah. <\/i>(1 Kings 17:16)<\/p>\n Another biblical principle is to make sure that you don\u2019t just scatter the little bit of economic seed left, but concentrate on where to put it, meaning, plant it in good soil; don\u2019t just throw the remaining see to the wind and let it fall where it may. All ministries aren\u2019t called\/ ordained by God, and you don\u2019t want to plant seed in an unprofitable ministry that will yield you no return. Sow into good ground!<\/p>\n When times are financially difficult, you can reap your most abundant harvest by planting your remaining seeds into God\u2019s proven, producing works.<\/p>\n \u00a0Don\u2019t ever forget: when the dark clouds of hard times come into your life, God\u2019s Word can guide you out of your difficulty and into good times. Simply trust the main source: your heavenly Father.<\/p>\n Saints, the one main thing you have to remember about prospering in God\u2019s kingdom is that the world ways of prospering is NOT God\u2019s way to biblical prosperity. (Isaiah 55:6-9)<\/p>\n Ecclesiastes 11:4 clearly indicates how to world\u2019s way is different from God\u2019s way when dealing with economic matters:<\/p>\n \u201cHe that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n Conclusion: Don\u2019t ever feel that you are the only one going through hard times. Everyone goes through hard economic situations from time to time but do not make that fatal mistake of \u201ctightening up\u201d with God when things get \u201ctight\u201d!<\/p>\n Remember Isaac. He was one of God\u2019s children, and he obeyed God\u2019s laws. He planted goo, valuable seed in a time when everyone else was hoarding seeds\u2014and his seed came up, even in the midst of a famine! Why? Because he planted in accordance with God\u2019s command.<\/p>\n (Adapted from Reaping Your Harvest in the Time of A Recession<\/em><\/span>; all Scripture references are taken from the KJV unless otherwise noted.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Dr. Mike Jones We just came out of an Economic down turn that started in 2008 and we\u2019re still seeing effects of it until this day. Saints, when you think about it, recession, inflation and economic hard times have been with mankind since the beginning of time. The are not new conditions demanding new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-notes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.teachingministryofdrmike.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.teachingministryofdrmike.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.teachingministryofdrmike.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teachingministryofdrmike.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teachingministryofdrmike.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.teachingministryofdrmike.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.teachingministryofdrmike.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teachingministryofdrmike.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teachingministryofdrmike.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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