An intriguing proposal

Dr. Winter is founder of the Order for World Evangelization and General Director of the Frontier Mission Fellowship in Pasadena, CA. He wrote an article titled, RE-CONSECRATION TO A WARTIME LIFESTYLE

He is the paragraph that describes the "action" part of the article, in other words, what do we do?

The essential tactic in adopting a wartime lifestyle is to build on pioneer mission perspective by a very simple and dramatic method. Those who are awakened from the groggy stupor of our times can, of course, go as missionaries. But they can also stay home and deliberately and decisively adopt a missionary support level as their standard of living and their basis of lifestyle regardless of income. This will free up an unbelievable amounts of money—so much so that if a million average Presbyterian households, for example, were to live within the average minister’s salary, it would create at least two billion “new” dollars annually. What a mighty gift to the nations if carefully spent on developmental missions! To reconsecrate ourselves to a wartime lifestyle will involve a mammoth upheaval for a significant minority. But with ends as noble as the Great Commission, a wartime lifestyle is an idea whose time has come.

 Of course, such a mentality can be carried to far, far enough that we feel it's unfaithful to enjoy any possessions, pleasures or special activities.  Even in wartime it is important to have battle breaks.

What we are saying is that we too often assume that God has increased our income in order to increase our standard of living, when He really wants us to increase our level of giving.

Waste

Ever wonder after feeding the five thousand and the four thousand how they used the leftovers.  They made of point of collecting it all to ensure there was no waste. I wonder if Judas made a point of making a sale and collecting funds as people bought the food for the trip home.

It is in the living simply and the giving generously that we can become examples. If more than 50% of all churches are giving to the poor, feeding the hungry, reaching the lost with the gospel and excited about giving what they have away - it could become quite contagious. The world would see what grace looks like. 

Let's face it, to turn the tide of materialism in the Church today, we desperately need bold models of kingdom-centred living. Maybe its time for our Christian education systems to teach on budgeting, financial planning, stewardship, and giving. Maybe we need a cap on how much finances we draw for ourselves.

John Wesley has an amazing story about this as he personal experienced it.  Read the story here in Christianity Today.   

They say in terms of today's economy he would be making close to $200,000 every year but he only lived on about $30,000. 

For you to share with them when you have so much, and they have so little. Later, when they have more than enough, and you are in need, they can share with you. Then everyone will have a fair share. You will be blessed in every way, and you will be able to keep on being generous. Then many people will thank God when we deliver your gift. - 2 Corinthians 8:14; 9:11

Maybe this could even be a summer project.  See what capping one month could do to our fun in the sun. Then we could tell our story to others and maybe they might try it one month too.  Who knows where it could go from there.

We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things. - Hebrews 10:24

Heaven

Read a great illustration that made how I live my life on earth in perspective of heaven.  If my home was in the Netherlands and I was visiting Canada for lets say, 6 months what would that look like with these kinds of rules.  I cannot take anything back home with me, nor can I ship anything or carry back any money with me.  But while I am in Canada, I can earn money and send deposits to my bank account back in the Netherlands.  Question: Would I fill my hotel room with furniture and cover my walls with pictures and drape my windows with curtains?  I do not think so.  Since my time in Canada is only 6 months, I would send all my money home knowing full well they'll be waiting for me when I arrive. 

You made my life short,
so brief that the time
means nothing to you.
“Human life is but a breath - Psalm 39:5

Our portfolios, in light of eternity should have strategic kingdom-building projects which we can be funding with what God has given to us to give.

... for you to share with them when you have so much, and they have so little. Later, when they have more than enough, and you are in need, they can share with you. Then everyone will have a fair share, you will be blessed in every way, and you will be able to keep on being generous. Then many people will thank God when we deliver your gift. - 2 Corinthians 8:14;9:11

Three billion people today are outside Jesus Christ. Two-thirds of those do not have a viable Christian witness in their culture. If they are to hear — and Christ commands that they hear — cross-cultural missionaries will have to be sent and paid for. All the wealth needed to send this new army of good news ambassadors is in the American church. If we, like Paul, are content with the simple necessities of life, thousands of dollars at Bethlehem, and millions of dollars in the Baptist General Conference, and hundreds of millions of dollars in the Protestant church would be released to take the gospel to the frontiers. And the revolution of joy and freedom it would cause at home would be the best local witness imaginable. The biblical call is that you can and ought to be content with the simple necessities of life. Therefore, don’t try to get rich. - John Piper

We should work not only to meet the needs of our family and because it is healthy, but also so that we can take our earnings and use it to help those in need.

If you are a thief, quit stealing. Be honest and work hard, so you will have something to give to people in need. - Ephesians 4:28

Hospitality

Assuming we have houses, beds, chairs, food, drink, medicine and other provisions to share with others and the needy, we are encouraged to be hospitable. 

Dear friend, you have always been faithful in helping other followers of the Lord, even the ones you didn’t know before. They have told the church about your love. They say you were good enough to welcome them and to send them on their mission in a way that God’s servants deserve. When they left to tell others about the Lord, they decided not to accept help from anyone who wasn’t a follower. We must support people like them, so that we can take part in what they are doing to spread the truth. - 3 John 5-8

Paul and his traveling ministry team were deeply grateful for the hospitality that facilitated their ministry.  Without the support of those disciples called by Jesus to have and share possessions, those called to leave possessions behind couldn't carry out their mission.

We have three good instructions regarding our attitude towards wealth.

Don’t store up treasures on earth! Moths and rust can destroy them, and thieves can break in and steal them.- Matthew 6:19

Warn the rich people of this world not to be proud or to trust in wealth that is easily lost. Tell them to have faith in God, who is rich and blesses us with everything we need to enjoy life. Instruct them to do as many good deeds as they can and to help everyone. Remind the rich to be generous and share what they have.  This will lay a solid foundation for the future, so that they will know what true life is like. - 1 Timothy 6:17-19

 Any of God’s people who are poor should be glad that He thinks so highly of them. - James 1:9

Believers who lived in humble circumstances were not second class but of equal importance - some, because of persecution, lost their possessions and social status and became poor.

Since God hates partiality, the affluent do not marginalise or look down on the less affluent.  It is why ministries to do not court flatter the wealthy or court donors.

Here are five good reasons to be careful when we find ourselves with more than we need.

People who want to be rich fall into all sorts of temptations and traps. They are caught by foolish and harmful desires that drag them down and destroy them.- 1 Timothy 6:9

God blesses his loyal people,
    but punishes all who want
    to get rich quick. - Proverbs 28:20


 Jesus said to his disciples, “It’s terribly hard for rich people to get into the kingdom of heaven!- Matthew 19:23

But they start worrying about the needs of this life. They are fooled by the desire to get rich and to have all kinds of other things. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. - Mark 4:19


Don’t trust in violence
or depend on dishonesty    or rely on great wealth. - Psalm 62:10

 We should not be preoccupied with God's plan for others.

Jesus answered, “What is it to you, if I want him to live until I return? You must follow me.” - John 21:22

May we have not so much that we become proud and independent of the Lord and not so much that distracts us from our purpose or insulates us from our sense of His need and dependence on Him.

Make me absolutely honest
and don’t let me be too poor
    or too rich.
    Give me just what I need. If I have too much to eat,
    I might forget about you;
if I don’t have enough,
    I might steal    and disgrace your name. - Proverbs 30:8-9

 Giving is the safety valve that releases the excess pressure of wealth.


 

Call to discipleship

Jesus then told the crowd and the disciples to come closer, and he said: If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me.  If you want to save your life,^[a] you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me and for the good news, you will save it.  What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself?  What could you give to get back your soul? - Mark 8:34-37

The number of economic terms Jesus uses is striking - save, give up, gain, destroy, get back.

As Jesus was walking down a road, a man ran up to him. He knelt down, and asked, “Good teacher, what can I do to have eternal life?”
 Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good.  You know the commandments. ‘Do not murder. Be faithful in marriage. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others. Do not cheat. Respect your father and mother.’”
 The man answered, “Teacher, I have obeyed all these commandments since I was a young man.”
 Jesus looked closely at the man. He liked him and said, “There’s one thing you still need to do. Go sell everything you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come with me.”
 When the man heard Jesus say this, he went away gloomy and sad because he was very rich.
 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “It’s hard for rich people to get into God’s kingdom!”  The disciples were shocked to hear this. So Jesus told them again, “It’s terribly hard^[a] to get into God’s kingdom!  In fact, it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into God’s kingdom.”
 Jesus' disciples were even more amazed. They asked each other, “How can anyone ever be saved?”
 Jesus looked at them and said, “There are some things that people cannot do, but God can do anything.”
 Peter replied, “Remember, we left everything to be your followers!”
 Jesus told him:

You can be sure that anyone who gives up home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or land for me and for the good news  will be rewarded. In this world they will be given a hundred times as many houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and pieces of land, though they will also be mistreated. And in the world to come, they will have eternal life.  But many who are now first will be last, and many who are now last will be first. - Mark 10:17-31

Christ cared about this rich man and He discerned the inner workings of his heart.

 "When actress Lisa Whelchel was eighteen, starring in the popular Fact of Life television show, she heard a Christian speaker talk about thousands of starving children in Haiti.  In her book, The Facts of Life and Other Lessons My Father Taught Me, she writes "My eyes were opened to what a privileged life I lived and how totally unaware I was of what was going on in the rest of the world.  I was profoundly moved and convicted."
When the service was over, she went to the front, sobbing, dropped her Rolex watch and her diamond and emerald ring into the speaker's coat pocket and asked him to sell them and give the money to help the poor.  Whelchel went home full of conviction:
"I could easily live on 10 percent of my salary.  I decided to sell my condominium and rent a nice apartment.  It wasn't necessary for a single girl to live in a three-bedroom, two-story condo.  And I certainly didn't need to be driving around in a Porsche. Selling the car and buying a moderate car would free up thousands of dollars.  I had money invested in real estate across the country.  If I sold it, the money would feed tens of thousands of children.  It was a no-brainer.  My zeal was strong.  I knew I had heard from God and that I was doing the right thing."
Unfortunately, those close to Whelchel thought her response was extreme, the product of fleeting guilt feelings.  They told her it was "irrational."  As clear as God's leading seemed, she says, "My resolve began to break down under the weight of their arguments, which seemed full of logic and wisdom.  Eventually, I abandoned the call, closed my eyes, and returned blindly to living a life that seemed to make sense."
She tells the rest of the story:
Less than ten years later, all that money was gone anyway.  A chunk of it had been invested in a high-rise office building in Pittsburgh that went belly-up.  Another significant portion was in Texas land that dried up during the oil crisis and was eventually foreclosed upon.  When I got married, I sold my condo and bought a house during the California real estate boom in the 1980's, only to give it back to the bank three years later when the bottom fell out of the market.  The Fact of Life was canceled, and I spent all the cash I had making payments on everything for as long as I could.  At twenty-eight, I was broke.  Whelchel concludes, "God was trying to get me to invest my money in heaven, where it would be safe, but I thought it was too risky to take him at his word."

Lifestyles

Paul talks to the new Christian communities in his epistles and teaches them a radical attitude toward money and possessions as they lived with their families in their homes and operated businesses.

Try your best to live quietly, to mind your own business, and to work hard, just as we taught you to do. Then you will be respected by people who are not followers of the Lord, and you won’t have to depend on anyone. - 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

Christians needed steady employment to provide for their families.

 So, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, we ask and beg these people to settle down and start working for a living. - 2 Thessalonians 3:12

Jesus called His first four disciples to leave their fishing business to follow Him. Abandoning their possessions was part of answering the call, because Christ's ministry was itinerant, requiring almost constant travel, mostly on foot.

  Peter replied, “Remember, we left everything to be your followers!” - Mark 10:28

 As he walked along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus. Levi was sitting at the place for paying taxes, and Jesus said to him, “Come with me!” So he got up and went with Jesus - Mark 2:14

In the following verses we see a man not only willing but eager, nearly desperate, to leave all else behind and follow Christ.  Christ called him not to leave everything behind, but instead to settle into his community - with all that implies as to shelter, possessions, and vocation - and to us his home and possessions to further the kingdom.  Was this an inferior calling?

 When Jesus was getting into the boat, the man begged to go with him.  But Jesus would not let him. Instead, he said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how good he has been to you.”
 The man went away into the region near the ten cities known as Decapolis^[a] and began telling everyone how much Jesus had done for him. Everyone who heard what had happened was amazed. - Mark 5:18-20

The disciples were to stay in houses and be fed by those who were receptive to their message.

 He told them, “You may take along a walking stick. But don’t carry food or a travelling bag or any money.  It’s all right to wear sandals, but don’t take along a change of clothes.  When you are welcomed into a home, stay there until you leave that town.  If any place won’t welcome you or listen to your message, leave and shake the dust from your feet^[a] as a warning to them. - Mark 6:8-11

Later on Jesus tells the apostles were to take a purse, bag and even a sword.

How should we view our money and property?

The command "not to steal" proves that property can belong to one person and not to another.

Do not want anything that belongs to someone else. Don’t want anyone’s house, wife or husband, slaves, oxen, donkeys or anything else. - Exodus 20:17

The Law lays out strict rules for the protection of private property, requiring restitution for property violations.

Yet God wanted some input on our property.

No land may be permanently bought or sold. It all belongs to me—it isn’t your land, and you only live there for a little while. - Leviticus 25:23

In fact, a farmer's field had to be left unplowed and unused every seventh year. Although land could be bought from others, when Jubilee came every fiftieth year, parcels of land were restored to the families from which they came. When land was sold, the transaction price was determined by how many years remained until Jubilee. 

If it is a long time before the next Year of Celebration, the price will be higher, because what is really being sold are the crops that the land can produce.- Leviticus 25:16

Every seventh year was the year of release when all debts were cancelled.  This practise prevented permanent indebtedness and servitude. 

Be careful! Don’t say to yourself, “Soon it will be the seventh year, and then I won’t be able to get my money back.” It would be horrible for you to think that way and to be so selfish that you refuse to help the poor. They are your relatives, and if you don’t help them, they may ask the Lord to decide whether you have done wrong. And he will say that you are guilty.  You should be happy to give the poor what they need, because then the Lord will make you successful in everything you do. There will always be some Israelites who are poor and needy. That’s why I am commanding you to be generous with them. - Deuteronomy 15:9-11