Todd Murner Leadership and Teaching: ECONOMICAL CHANGE

‘Economy’ has been generally defined as the management of resources, most often by the selling and trading of goods and services, for a given community or nation. Many times the media reports on the status of our national economy at any given time with a measuring device of productivity with descriptions of healthy, rich and robust or poor, slow and anemic. A poor economy would suggest that we are using more resources than we are manufacturing and thus incurring a debt. At the time of this writing, according to U. S. Debt Clock.org, the United States national debt has just surpassed 19 trillion dollars, which is, to say the least, disturbing.

It would seem that people of this era are not ashamed nor dismayed by financial debt. Debt is just a way of life. For those who keep such statistics, most people aren’t even close to having enough money ‘saved’ for retirement. Of course, trusting the government with this responsibility has long since been propagated throughout our society. Actually, most indicators reveal that the Social Security program will not be sufficiently funded for those who only rely upon that program as their sole source of income. So instead of saving money and investing, our society is moving deeper into debt with little to nothing to sustain them after their working days are over.

This is troubling because our society as a whole has changed their view of how our economy works. To me, this is symptomatic of a departure of not only the founding fathers’ view of this country, but also the kingdom of Christ view of just how life works, based on a kingdom of heaven revelation. You see, the world’s economy is generally based on dollars and cents…not sense. One would readily and justifiably take advantage of another in any business transaction and brag about it later…that’s just good business…right? WRONG!!!! At least in the kingdom of God that is absolutely wrong.

I just heard today of a ministry that was preparing to buy a church building from a church that had diminished in size and therefore couldn’t afford the building they occupied each week for worship. The minister who was positioned to buy the building realized the ministry was going under if no one bought the property and promptly waited to buy the foreclosed property later from the bank at a reduced price…despicable!

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? 9 The Lord’s voice cries to the city– Wisdom shall see Your name: “Hear the Rod! Who has appointed it? 10Are there yet the treasures of wickedness In the house of the wicked, And the short measure that is an abomination? 11 Shall I count pure those with the wicked scales, And with the bag of deceitful weights? 12 For her rich men are full of violence, Her inhabitants have spoken lies, And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. 13 “Therefore I will also make you sick by striking you, By making you desolate because of your sins. 14 You shall eat, but not be satisfied; Hunger shall be in your midst. You may carry some away, but shall not save them; And what you do rescue I will give over to the sword. 15 “You shall sow, but not reap; You shall tread the olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil; And make sweet wine, but not drink wine. 16 For the statutes of Omri are kept; All the works of Ahab’s house are done; And you walk in their counsels, That I may make you a desolation, And your inhabitants a hissing. Therefore, you shall bear the reproach of My people.”” Micah 6:8-16

The economy of the Kingdom of Christ is not built on selling goods and services but the Word and Spirit. It’s an economy where those within the kingdom judge righteously by doing the right thing based on a vision of God and not a balance sheet or profit and loss statement. For those who have professed their faith in Christ to pay their sin debt, we must now ask the Father to baptize us into Christ by filling us with His Spirit so that we now have His heart and mind on every matter…especially business transactions. Secondly, we must ask the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to open our eyes to Yahweh’s economy that is built on the following paradoxical premises:

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (money).” Matthew 6:24
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3:1-5

The solution to this widespread soul virus begins in the heart of every individual Believer of Christ. From there, we must return to Yahweh-centered family economies where there is unity and a commitment to the vision of the family-a vision that benefits each member of the family. Hopefully, this will spread to our churches and then to business, education and government. Let’s return to an economy that works and prospers everyone…the Kingdom of Christ!!!!

from Todd Murner Professional Overview http://ift.tt/20F6II9