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PRINCIPLES OF GOD'S KINGDOM ECONOMY
In light of the economic crisis throughout the world today, we need to discern from the Scripture the principles that are needed to guide us in the uncertainty of these critical times:
1. God Is In Control! a. Daniel 4:17, 25, 26, 32 “The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. Thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.” b. Romans 13:1b “For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”
2. His Kingdom Is Eternal! a. Daniel 4:3 “His Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his dominion is from generation to generation.” b. Daniel 4:34 “I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.” c. Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven...For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” d. Hebrews 2:8 “Thou has put all things in subjection under his(Jesus)feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.”
3. Kingdoms Of The World Are Temporary! a. Daniel 4:35, 37 “All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doesth according to this will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? Praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.” b. John 17:14-16 “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shoudest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” c. Romans 12:2 “Be not conformed to this world;” d. I John 2:17 “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
4. We Are To Be Subject To Authorities! a. Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” b. Romans 13:2 “Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” c. Romans 13:3 “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:” d. Romans 13:4 “For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” e. Romans 13:5 “Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.” f. Titus 3:1 “Put in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work.” g. I Peter 2:13 “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the praise of them that do well.”
5. We Are To Pray For Authorities! a. I Timothy 2:1-3 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the wight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”
6. We Are To Pay Taxes! a. Matthew 17:24-27 “They that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute(taxes)?...Lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.” b. Matthew 22:21 “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the tings that are God's.” c. Romans 13:6 “For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.” d. Romans 13:7 “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.”
7. Our Citizenship Is In Heaven! a. Philippians 3:20 “For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ:”
8. We Are To First Give Ourselves! a. II Corinthians 8:5 “But first gave their own selves to the Lord...”
9. We Are To Get Out Of Debt! a. Romans 13:8 “Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.” b. Leviticus 25:11-17 v11: “A jubilee(50th year) shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. v12: For it is the jubilee(50th); it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. v13: In the year of this jubilee(50th) ye shall return every man unto his possession. v14: And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbor, or bu yest ought of thy neighbor's hand, ye shall not oppress one another: v15: According to the number of years after the jubilee(50th) thou shalt buy of thy neighbor, and according unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee: v16: According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee. v17: Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the Lord your God.” (Note: God made provision for a 50 year Jubilee for all debts to be canceled, ire., Debt Restructuring; Bankruptcy, etc.) We should give ourselves to the Lord!
10. We Are Not To Be Anxious Or Worry! a. Matthew 6:25-34 v25: “Take no thought(worrying, anxious, troubled)for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? v26: Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, not gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? v27: Which of you by taking thought(worrying, anxious, troubled) can add one cubit unto his stature? v28: And why take ye thought(worrying, anxious, troubled) for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: v29: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. v30: Wherefore, if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? v31: Therefore take no thought(worrying, anxious, troubled) saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? v32: (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. v33: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. v34: Take therefore no thought(worrying, anxious, troubled) for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
11.We Are To Be Content! a. Philippians 4:11-13 “ For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all thing I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” b. I Timothy 6:6-11 “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” c. Hebrews 13:5-6, 8 “Be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me...Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”
12.We Are Not To Charge Brothers Interest! a. Deuteronomy 23:19-20 “Thou shalt not lend upon usury(interest)to thy brother; usury(interest)of money, usury(interest)of victuals, usury(interest)of anything that is lent upon usury(interest): Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury(interest); but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury(interest): that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.”
13.We Are To Help The Poor And Strangers! a. Leviticus 18:9-10 “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God.”
14.We Are To Work For Our Necessities And The Needs Of Others! a. Acts 20:33-35 “I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shewed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” b. Ephesians 4:28 “Let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.” c. II Thessalonians 3:10 “If any would not work, neither should he eat.”
15.We Are To Give Freely! a. Matthew 10:8b “Freely ye have received, freely give.”
16.We Are To Give With Generosity And Liberality! a. Romans 12:8 “He that giveth, let him do it with simplicity(liberality, generosity):” b. Luke 6:38 “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
17.We Are To Invite The Needy For Meals! a. Luke 14:12-14 “Then said Jesus also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shall be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”
18.We Are To Give Clothes And Food To Those In Need! James 22:15-16 “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled: notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?”
19.There Are Times For Storing Up! a. Genesis 41:1-57 God made provision for his people by having them store up during the years of plenty for the years of famine to come.
20.There Are Times The Lord Miraculously Provides Food And Water! a. Exodus 17:6 God made water come from the rock b. Exodus 16:1-36, God made provision for his people by supernaturally providing daily manna and quail from heaven.” c. I Kings 17:10-2 God used Elijah to provide the widow with meal and oil d. I Kings 17:4-6 God fed Elijah by a raven e. I Kings 19:5-8 Elijah was fed by an angel f. II Kings 4:1-7 God used Elisha to provide pots of oil for a widow and her son.
h. Matthew 15:34-38 Jesus fed the multitudes by multiplying the bread and fish.
21.The Lord Miraculously Provides Health! a. Exodus 15:26 “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.” b. Deuteronomy 7:15 “And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.” c. Isaiah 53:5 “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” d. Matthew 9:35 “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” e. James 5:16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” f. I Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
22.The Lord Miraculously Preserves Shoes And Clothing! a. Deuteronomy 29:5 “And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.”
23.The Lord Supernaturally Prospers! a. Psalms 1:1-3 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” b. Proverbs 3:9-10 “Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wind.” c. III John 2 “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
24.The Lord Provides Supernatural Protection! a. Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”
25.We Are To Live One Day At A Time! a. Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
c. Luke 11:3 “Give us day by day our daily bread.”
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