Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001347
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00:00 [music] I4m John Bradshaw and this
00:03 is It Is Written. 00:06 Thanks for joining me today. 00:07 I am at the financial nerve center of the world, 00:11 right outside the New York Stock Exchange, on the corner 00:16 of Wall Street and Broad Street in Lower Manhattan, in e heart 00:19 of New York City. 00:20 What takes place here affects the financial well-being 00:24 of every corner of the globe. 00:27 Fortunes are made here and they are lost here. 00:31 National and global economies are fueled here and they 00:35 are depressed here. 00:37 It is here that the movers and the shakers of the financial 00:40 world, sometimes the Bulls and the Bears, make decisions 00:43 that affect the material destiny of millions of people 00:46 all over the world and sometimes it4s even a whispered rumor 00:51 emanating from this place that can have enormous 00:55 consequences, sometis devastating 00:57 consequences. 00:58 Now there are plenty of people who believe that what takes 01:01 place here on Wall Street is nothing but a legalized form 01:05 of high stakes and gambling, which one investor said 01:08 "lacks the dignity of Las Vegas." 01:10 Of course, there are plenty of people who invest here and in 01:14 other places in good faith and with the best of motives. 01:18 But what we know is this: Wealth is a dynamic thing 01:22 and it can even be a very dangerous thing. 01:26 Apart from what it can do to economies, it holds major 01:30 potential for either inflating or collapsing our emotional 01:33 self-worth. 01:35 Wealth can mean the difference and often in extreme terms 01:38 between comfort and crisis. 01:41 And also, wealth can impact our relationships, 01:46 often in dramatic ways. 01:48 Our relationships with people and our relationship with God. 01:57 [Intro music] It has stood the test of time, 02:07 God's book, the Bible. 02:12 Still relevant in today's complex world. 02:17 It Is Written, sharing hope around the globe. 02:32 [music] In the 1920's, the United States 02:34 firmly believed it had reached the summit of material success. 02:39 President Herbert Hoover spoke expansively of how the country 02:43 was drawing closer in, in his words, to such a complete 02:48 triumph over poverty unlike anything that had ever occurred 02:50 in the history of any land. 02:52 Investors bought feverishly. 02:55 Some, even embezzling company funds in the confidence 02:58 that they could easily pay the money back because, 03:02 in the words of one person, the stock market was about 03:04 to climb to the moon. 03:08 [Music] 03:16 Let's go back to that fateful fall and the waning months 03:19 of 1929. 03:22 As September began to unroll, New York City streets 03:27 were filled with back to school and back to the city shoppers. 03:30 Fifth Avenue windows drew crowds of admiring shoppers 03:33 looking at the latest fashions. 03:35 Theater ticket brokers were rushed off their feet. 03:37 Broadway musicals were sold out months in advance. 03:41 The building industry was booming. 03:43 Towers and terraces were rising along streets and avenues 03:47 all around the city. 03:50 And through it all, the stock market was at an all-time high. 03:55 On the 3rd of September, 1929, a single share of Montgomery 03:58 Ward stock bought the previous year for $132 was selling 04:03 for $469. 04:06 Shares in Radio Corporation of America, best known 04:09 as RCA sold the previous year at $95.50 and now they 04:14 were selling at $505. 04:18 There were a lot of people in those heady days who owned 04:20 thousands of shares like these. 04:22 After all, you could buy them with only 10% down and owe 04:27 the broker for the rest. 04:32 Then, on the 4th of September, there was a little slip 04:35 in the market. 04:36 Nobody really noticed. 04:38 The following day, the New York Times reported that the market 04:40 had dropped by 10 points. 04:42 Surely, nothing for anybody to get too concerned about. 04:45 But one well-known financial writer warned that in his 04:50 opinion, the wild ride of prosperity was over 04:53 and soon a depression would follow. 04:57 But like so many prophets, whether secular or sacred, 05:00 he was treated nothing more than an alarmist. 05:03 After all, people said, surely things must slip a little bit 05:06 [sad blues music under] before the rise continues 05:10 in earnest. 05:12 It was on October 21st, though, that the market slide began 05:16 to pick up speed and brokers started sending out margin 05:20 calls. 05:20 [Thunder] When the money wasn't 05:22 forthcoming, and how could it be, the dumping began. 05:27 On October the 24th, later known as Black Thursday, a structure 05:32 of the market cracked wide open. 05:39 Millions of shares were pitched into streaming chaos on 05:41 the floor of the Stock Exchange. 05:44 On this very corner right behind me, crowds gathered ... 05:47 numb and waiting ... 05:49 hoping against hope that something would happen 05:51 to restore the damage and to retrieve the losses 05:54 that they and so many others were experiencing. 05:56 That day became known as the day of the millionaires 05:59 slaughter. 06:02 For five days the madness continued until on October 29th, 06:06 the market really hit rock bottom. 06:08 On one of those five days, General Electric saw its stock 06:12 price absolutely plummet and GE had historically been 06:16 a very sound and well performing company. 06:20 Even though at the time the people did not 06:22 even realize it, it was worse yet to come. 06:25 Companies such as US Steel and General Motors saw 06:28 their share prices drop precipitously. 06:32 This economic downturn, this hardship affected people 06:35 so badly that across the country there were people who took 06:39 their own lives, so badly had they been affected 06:43 by what had happened in the stock market crash. 06:46 [sad slow Piano muisc] Around the city, the towers 06:48 and the terraces stopped rising. 06:50 The building industry, usually an indicator as to the strength 06:53 of weakness of an economy, came to a virtual standstill. 06:56 It has been said that children born in 1929 didn't even hear 07:01 the sound of builders at work until they 07:05 graduated high school. 07:09 So how does God feel about money? 07:11 The Bible has a lot to say about money and finance. 07:14 We'll find out more in just a moment. 07:20 In Matthew 4:4 the Word of God says, "It is written, man shall 07:24 not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds 07:28 from the mouth of God. 07:29 Every Word is a one-minute Bible-based daily devotional 07:32 presented by pastor John Bradshaw and designed 07:35 especially for busy people like you. 07:40 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch it on-line 07:42 everyday on our website, itiswritten.com. 07:45 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 07:47 Watch Every Word. 07:48 You'll be glad you did. 07:50 Here's a sample. 08:01 Thanks for joining me. 08:02 Every now and then my daughter will show me 08:04 a feature on my phone that I knew nothing about and I'll say, 08:07 "well, that's really helpful, I did not know that." 08:10 It can be like that with God's blessings. 08:13 There might be things we are missing out on because we 08:15 simply don't know about them. 08:18 You know, the Bible says in Exodus 20:8, "Remember 08:20 the Sabbath day to keep it holy." 08:22 God carved a day out of the rock of time and set it aside 08:25 for us to spend time especially with him. 08:29 If you are missing it, you are missing it, 08:31 you are missing a real blessing. 08:33 I wonder how many people are losing a blessing because 08:35 they are not remembering the Sabbath day. 08:37 Just letting the hours pass by without taking them 08:39 to spend with God. 08:40 Don't make that mistake. 08:41 Let the Sabbath be the blessing that God wants it to be 08:45 in your life. 08:46 I am John Bradshaw for It Is Written. 08:49 Let's live today by Every Word. 08:54 This is It Is Written. 08:56 I'm John Bradshaw. 08:57 Thanks for joining me today. 08:59 It's with good reason that the writer, George Santiano once 09:02 observed that those who do not remember the past are condemned 09:06 to repeat it. 09:07 When we think back to the more recent economic crisis 09:10 this planet has gone through, we would be excused 09:13 if we thought that people just don't seem to be very good 09:17 at learning from history. 09:20 The crash of 2008 was really brought about by the collapse 09:24 of the housing market in 2007. 09:27 Just as people in the 1920's were able to buy stocks 09:31 at ridiculously low prices, leaving them vulnerable 09:34 to the demands of brokers when the difficult times came, 09:37 people were able to buy homes in the first decade 09:41 of this century when their finances and, in fact, 09:45 the shape or the financial health of many 09:48 of the institutions suggested that wasn't a very good idea. 09:52 There was easy credit, fraudulent underwriting, 09:54 predatory lending practices. 09:57 And what happened was, when the economy tanked, 10:00 and people lost their jobs, they became terribly, 10:04 terribly vulnerable. 10:07 Making mortgage payments became either 10:09 excruciatingly difficult or, in many cases, 10:11 simply impossible. 10:12 The economy was in disastrous shape. 10:18 Foreclosures and evictions multiplied and the pain 10:22 is still being felt today. 10:25 As in 1929, the stock market soared to record heights 10:29 in October of 2007. 10:31 The Dow Jones got up past 14,000 points. 10:35 But after the crash, there was a dramatic decline. 10:39 It picked up pace during 2008 so that by March of 2009, 10:44 rather than being way up at 14,000 points, the Dow Jones 10:48 was way down at 6,600. 10:52 Market analyst Phil Dow compared the great depression 10:57 and the months and years that followed that with 10:59 the recent collapse and the years that followed 11:02 that and he said, these were his words, 11:04 "it's very troubling when you have a mirror image." 11:08 Now not all analysts agree with his assessment and by many 11:12 markers, by many indications, the US economy has rebounded, 11:16 in some ways, in recent years. 11:18 But as the recent economic difficulties have shown us, 11:22 when we fail to learn the lessons of the past, 11:25 it can be ruinous. 11:28 Even though there are certainly some differences, there are 11:30 many parallels between what happened in 1929 and what 11:34 happened in 2008. 11:37 But one big difference is this and this might be just a little 11:40 troubling when we think about it. 11:43 In 1929, far more Americans lived in rural areas and on 11:47 farms and could at least grow their own food. 11:51 Today, many more Americans live in suburbia and in big cities 11:57 where self-sufficiency is virtually impossible. 12:00 The civil and the social unrest that would follow an even 12:04 larger financial melt-down would be dramatic and would lead 12:08 to scenes of chaos and unrest, the likes of which you have 12:12 never seen before. 12:15 [Oriental style string Music] Just as many stories 12:24 of personal tragedy followed the Wall Street crash of 1929, 12:28 many similar stories followed the global economic crisis 12:32 of 2008. 12:34 One of them was the story of Adolf Merkel, a businessman 12:38 and a stock trader and one of Germany's richest people. 12:41 Merkel was born into a very wealthy family in the City 12:45 of Dresden. 12:47 He developed his Bohemian grandfather's chemical wholesale 12:51 company and turned it into one of Germany's largest 12:54 pharmaceutical outlets. 12:55 His family's holdings also included a genetic drug 12:59 manufacturer, a cement company and a vehicle manufacturer. 13:04 Even though he was trained as a lawyer, he spent 13:06 most of his time and energy investing and just like many 13:10 people towards the end of the roaring 20's, 13:13 Adolf Merkel got involved in some risky and speculative 13:17 investments. 13:18 In 2007 he was worth 12 billion dollars, but after the global 13:23 financial collapse, his worth had dropped to 9 billion. 13:27 Still a lot of money and he was still one of Germany's 13:29 five richest men. 13:33 But the loss of that $3 billion weighed heavily upon him 13:36 to the extent that in the early days of 2009 near his home 13:41 in Southern Germany, Adolf Merkel threw himself 13:44 into the path of an oncoming train. 13:47 He left behind a wife and four daughters. 13:57 But of course there are plenty of stories that have much 13:59 happier endings. 14:01 In 2001, Michael Bloomberg became the Mayor 14:04 of New York City. 14:06 Now he is somebody that many people have called a genuine 14:09 success story. 14:10 Not only has he earned plenty of money but he has devoted 14:13 a lot of his time and many of his resources 14:16 to public service and philanthropy. 14:19 Michael Bloomberg was born to an immigrant father, a real 14:22 estate agent in Boston, Massachusetts. 14:25 Young Michael worked his way through college as a parking 14:29 lot attendant, helping to pay for his tuition at Johns 14:32 Hopkins University. 14:33 He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and then he 14:37 began his career as a general partner at Solomon Brothers 14:41 on Wall Street. 14:42 Eventually he found his own company and by the year 2012 14:48 he was worth $27 billion, making him the 13th richest 14:54 man in the world. 14:56 But what is most important? 14:59 To hear some preachers tell it, God wants everybody 15:02 to be wealthy. 15:03 You're not blessed until your rich. 15:06 But looking at it biblically, that can't possibly be true. 15:09 1 Timothy 6:10 says that, "the love of money 15:14 is the root of all kinds of evil." 15:16 Jesus told one man who evidently had plenty 15:19 of resources to sell everything that he had and give 15:22 the proceeds to the poor. 15:25 In fact, the Bible contains a lot of warnings about 15:27 the misuse of wealth, how we ought to be careful 15:30 about money and careful that finance, money, wealth, 15:34 doesn't become an idol to us. 15:37 One interesting thing the Bible says is this, in Proverbs 23:5, 15:41 it says: "For riches certainly make themselves wings. 15:44 They fly away as an eagle towards heaven. 15:52 That's the thing with money. 15:53 It can be here today and gone tomorrow. 15:57 So, does God have a plan? 15:59 Does he have a plan to bless and prosper his people. 16:02 We will find that out in just a moment. 16:14 Eyes for India is giving sight to the blind and you 16:18 can be a part of this amazing work that God is doing. 16:21 15 million blind people live in India, more than 16:25 any other country in the world. 16:26 And many of the blind in India could see again 16:29 if only they could have simple cataract surgery. 16:32 It Is Written is making that happen. 16:35 Would you support Eyes for India? 16:38 For just $75, you'll be giving the gift of sight to someone 16:42 who desperately wants to see. 16:45 Here is all you need to do: Call 1.800.253.3000. 16:50 That's 1.800.253.3000 to donate and support Eyes 16:56 for India or you can write to It Is Written, Box O, Thousand 17:01 Oaks, California 91359. 17:04 You'll also find Eyes for India on-line 17:08 at itiswritten.com. 17:09 Every $75 you give gives someone the precious gift 17:13 of sight. 17:14 Eyes for India, doing the work of Jesus in opening 17:17 the eyes of the blind, and opening hearts 17:21 to the love of God. 17:23 Just a couple of years ago one California businessman earned 17:26 $33 million in just one year. 17:31 He had 5 homes, a fleet of luxury cars, including 17:34 a chauffer driven $320,000 Maybach. 17:38 He socialized with lots of big name people, he had Wolfgang 17:41 Puck to his house to cook him dinner. 17:44 The man was doing very, very well. 17:46 But then, his company hit some difficult circumstances, 17:49 which meant that before long, his company was bankrupt. 17:54 No more charter jets. 17:56 No more chauffer driven vehicle. 17:58 all that wealth, disappeared He had had a net worth of $230 18:04 million but suddenly all the wealth was gone 18:10 just like that, gone! 18:14 Now, let's not think for a moment that the Bible 18:17 says that God doesn't want anybody to be rich, 18:20 that's just not true. 18:21 And Jesus certainly doesn't say that everybody should sell 18:24 their possessions and give the money to the poor. 18:26 In fact, in Deuteronomy 8:18, the Bible says it is God who 18:32 gives you power to get wealth. 18:35 Wealth and material prosperity are simply gifts given us 18:38 by God. 18:40 And like all gifts given us by God, here is the key. 18:44 God wants that our wealth and our prosperity be used 18:47 in ways that bring glory to him. 18:52 [Electronic Music] 18:57 The Bible contains a lot of stories about people who 18:59 were very wealthy in terms of this world's goods 19:03 and yet they remained faithful to God. 19:06 One person like that was Job. 19:07 He had 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500 female 19:11 donkeys. 19:12 This man was rich and yet the Bible says of him that he 19:16 shunned evil and he feared God. 19:19 In fact, when he lost everything, virtually all 19:22 of his family and all of his possessions, the Word of God 19:25 says in all of this, Job did not sin. 19:28 In fact, during one point in his affliction, Job said: 19:32 "Though he slay me yet will I trust in him." 19:37 After Job lost everything, God gave back to him twice as much 19:42 as he had before. 19:43 So clearly God doesn't disapprove of wealth. 19:46 What God disapprove of is when wealth becomes the overruling 19:51 passion, the overriding passion in our lives to the extent 19:54 that when suffer a loss of means, we consider, 19:57 like Adolf Merkel, that maybe life isn't worth living. 20:01 When we live to get and acquire and to have for selfish 20:06 purposes, that becomes a problem. 20:09 In Luke 12:15 Jesus said, "Take heed and beware of covetousness 20:15 for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things 20:19 he possesses. 20:21 The Patriarch Abraham was also a man of great wealth, yet God 20:24 said of him at one point: For I have known him in order that he 20:28 may command his children and his household after him, 20:31 that they keep the way of the Lord to do righteousness 20:35 and justice. 20:38 Though he had plenty of it, material wealth wasn't 20:41 the focus of Abraham's life. 20:42 Now, it was the focus of the life of the rich 20:45 young ruler, the young man Jesus spoke to in the 19th 20:48 Chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. 20:50 Jesus told him to sell everything that he had and give 20:53 the proceeds to the poor because his possessions 20:56 were coming between him and a right relationship 20:59 with God. 21:00 Now, in his final address to the nation of Israel, King 21:04 David said this: For all things come from you and of your own, 21:09 we have given you. 21:10 Here is where we see the principle of what we 21:14 could call Biblical stewardship. 21:16 Now it does not only apply to our finances but to 21:19 everything that we possess. 21:21 When we dedicate what we have to God, we are only giving him 21:26 what was his in the first place. 21:29 The children of Israel acknowledged this principle 21:31 as they returned to God their tithes and offerings. 21:34 And what God had to say about this through the prophet Malachi 21:38 contains one of the most remarkable promises 21:41 in the entire Bible. 21:44 "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse 21:46 that there may be food in my house and prove me 21:50 now in this, says the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open 21:53 for you the windows of heaven and pour out 21:56 for you such blessing that there will not be room 21:59 enough to receive it. 22:03 The children of Israel were to acknowledge God's ownership 22:06 of everything they possessed. 22:08 By returning to God a 10th of all they earned, this was 22:13 the tithe. 22:14 The tithing system was established by God long ago, 22:17 even before the establishment of the Nation of Israel. 22:20 You see this in Genesis 14 where Abraham gave tithes 22:25 to Melchisedec and you see it in the experience of Jacob, who 22:29 when he was fleeing from his brother Esau made a similar vow 22:32 to God in Genesis 28:22. 22:37 "And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be 22:40 God's house. 22:41 And of all that you give me I will surely give a 10th 22:44 to you." 22:47 Now of course, there are some who will say that the tithing 22:49 system was done away with when Jesus died on the cross so that 22:53 God's people today no longer have to return to him a 10th 22:56 of their increase as was done during the Old Testament times. 23:00 But writing to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 9:13, 14, 23:05 Paul couldn't disagree with that idea more strongly. 23:08 Here is what he said: "Do you not know that those who 23:11 minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple 23:16 and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings 23:20 of the altar. 23:22 Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach 23:25 the gospel should live from the gospel." 23:28 What we can see is that the tithing system 23:31 was established by God. 23:33 It existed before Israel was a nation during the time of his 23:37 realm during Christ's time on earth and was even endorsed 23:40 by the Apostle Paul after Jesus had died and gone to heaven 23:44 and it is not just about tithing as important as that is. 23:48 The believer in God says God has control of everything, 23:52 everything that I have and everything that I am. 23:56 When we give it to God, God blesses. 23:58 Jesus said, "where your treasure is, there will your heart 24:01 be also." 24:02 If your treasure is parked in the driveway and never placed 24:06 in the offering plate, it might be time to think again. 24:09 If your treasure is in your bank account and in your stock 24:12 portfolio and not given to God and to the work of God, 24:15 it could be that we have got things out of balance. 24:19 And remember this, here is the promise of Jesus 24:22 in Matthew 6:33. 24:23 He said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his 24:25 righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. 24:29 You can't out-give God. 24:30 You don't give to God and end up broke. 24:32 Malachi's promise was God's promise through Malachi 24:36 that when we give to God he will open up the windows of heaven 24:39 and pour out such a blessing we won't have room enough 24:41 to receive it. 24:42 Not that we give to God to be blessed but we give to God 24:46 knowing that he will bless. 24:50 We give to God our stuff, our finances, we give to God 24:54 everything we have and everything we are. 25:09 Today we've been talking about crucial financial issues 25:12 that affect all of us. 25:13 Our goal at It Is Written is to help you live 25:15 a more satisfying and God-centered life. 25:17 So this week, our free offer is a helpful book on finance 25:21 called "God will Provide." 25:23 It is a practical discussion on how a faithful God 25:26 has promised to provide for the needs of his 25:28 faithful children. 25:29 And includes a special section prepared by Ed Reid on Managing 25:33 Finances in Difficult times. 25:35 Please call or write us and this free book 25:37 will be on its way to you. 25:38 There's no cost and no obligation. 25:41 Just call 1.800.253.3000 and ask for the book God 25:46 Will Provide. 25:47 You can call any time day or night. 25:50 If the line is busy, please keep trying. 25:53 You can also request this free book by writing to It Is 25:56 Written, Box O, Thousand Oaks, California 91359. 26:00 And we'll mail a copy to your address 26:03 in North America. 26:04 Please note, this free book is limited to the supply 26:07 on hand. 26:08 For immediate access, you can download a free electronic 26:12 version of the book God will Provide from our website, 26:15 itiswritten.com. 26:17 It Is Written is a faith-based ministry made possible 26:20 by viewers like you. 26:22 If you wish to help the worldwide outreach 26:24 of It Is Written and help us ensure people continue 26:26 to be blessed by solid Bible teaching your tax-deductible 26:29 gift may be sent to the same address or you can 26:32 make a gift on-line at itiswritten.com. 26:35 Thank you for your letters and your continued support. 26:37 Our toll-free number is 1.800.253.3000 and our web 26:41 address is itiswritten.com. 26:48 Let's take the time to pray together for a moment: 26:51 Our father in heaven, I thank you that you are 26:54 the giver of all good gifts. 26:55 I thank you that you give us power to get wealth 26:57 and that you bless us as you do and I know that many people 27:02 and they are saying Lord,sing I am struggling to make 27:06 ends meet. 27:07 Father, irrespective of how much we have, I pray that all 27:10 we have can be placed on the altar and given to you. 27:13 You have given what we have is all yours. 27:16 Take it and please bless it and bless us. 27:20 Let us be faithful to you in all things I pray, 27:22 in Jesus' name, Amen. 27:46 Thanks for joining me today. 27:47 I look forward to seeing you again next time. 27:49 Until then, remember, it is written, man shall not 27:54 live by bread alone but by every word 27:57 that proceeds from the mouth of God. |
Revised 2015-03-04