INSIGHT

Gary W. McIntosh ('75)   -   Photographs by Dave Hoskins/CIS

click to enlarge Gary McIntosh is the co-pastor and vice president of Higher Dimensions Ministries in Tulsa.

Two and one half years ago I had an experience with God that changed my life. The Lord came to me and said, "Son, I want you out of debt, and I want you out of debt now!" I knew by the way He said it, that it wasn't subject to discussion but a command to obey (Romans 13:8).

I was in real financial bondage. I paid my bills; I was a faithful tither; but at the end of the month I wouldn't have any money. On one occasion a missionary visited our church and Holy Ghost within me said, "I want you to plant a certain amount in his ministry." But I had to say, "Lord, I can't obey You because there is no money in my checking account, and I don't have a savings account. Why would You ask me to do something I can't do?" He said, "I want you to feel this heartache, but if you obey Me you will never be in this position again."

Later on I realized my situation wasn't an exception, but rather the rule. Most Christians are financially bound, and the kingdom of God is suffering through their lack of giving. Bound is having your paycheck spent before you even get it -- not knowing where your money goes. Bound is extending your credit cards to the limit and just paying minimum payments on them. Bound is having a house or car payment that is continually past due. Bound is not being in control of your finances.

When the Lord talked to me, He made it clear that the revelation on how to get out of debt was for me and the body of Christ.

But after we receive a revelation from God, we need wisdom to carry it out. So I began to seek His face and to search the Scriptures, and I found that there are over 500 Scriptures about prayer, fewer than 500 about faith, but over 2,000 about money and possessions! One out of every ten verses in the Gospels and two-thirds of the parables of the New Testament deal with it. Evidently God felt it was an area that needed to be addressed!

About 80% of our awaking hours are spent dealing with money: planning how to earn it or how to spend it. The Bible doesn't say that money is the root of all evil, but the LOVE of money. God knows we need it; He just doesn't want it to become a god to us.

We live in a critical hour in this country. Judgment has been on the body of Christ to cleanse; but when that judgment is over, it will be transferred to the world. Then there's going to be financial chaos, upheaval and crisis. We can see signs of it already. Our great country is in serious trouble. For example, our national debt in 1987 was $2,355,000,000,000. The whole kingdom of God on the earth could probably operate on the interest of that debt -- $195,200,000,000! The picture is not bright: banks are closing and the whole financial system is crumbling.

click to enlarge For a gift of $25, you can receive Gary McIntosh's Guide to Financial Freedom and The Budget Book, practical tools to get out of debt. Or with a commitment and a first gift of $35 or more, you can receive the guide and budget book, plus 4 cassette tapes of practical instructions to walk you through the tangled mass of debt to financial freedom.

But the Holy Spirit revealed to me that God always takes care of His own. He said: "If you will obey Me in this hour, you will be like Joseph in Egypt. You will have all you need. I will bless you and prosper you." When the judgment of God falls upon the world and they see that the church is blessed, they will come running for the provision of God. Not only are we going to feed them and help provide for them, but we will get them saved, healed, and delivered.

If we Christians get out of debt, then we can begin to give, share and move without entanglements. We must be like an army, listening to its commander's voice -- and when He says, "Move," we will be able to answer at once!

To do this, however, we will have to be free from the clutches of this world; we should not be conformed to its patterns. God's Word shows us how to be ready to obey God without entanglements. I have not become a wealthy man, but if God says, "Go!" I am able to do it.

I know there are a lot of alumni who are so bound that they cannot fully answer the call of God. To those I want to say -- you can get out of your situation! Then you will have the joy of being able to give when God prompts you to, or to answer His call without delay. I know you can do it for I did -- in less than eighteen months -- without a raise.

One of my first steps towards financial freedom was to commit myself to eliminate things that I thought were important but really were not. It is amazing how much you can live without as you work toward being debt free! We made it a family project. We learned how to cut back utility and food bills, reduce subscriptions and long-distance calls. We found ways to save on insurance and to have successful garage sales.

Every dime was considered a holy trust from God and spent accordingly. We all had to make sacrifices, and it took discipline; God walked through it with us, and it brought us closer to Him and to each other. Today, we pay cash for everything; and if the Holy Ghost prompts us to give, we have the money to do it!

The basic principle is: Get out of debt so you can give, so God can give to you, so that you'll be able to give more! The farmer who consumes his best seed is destroying his future crop. If you want a consecutive harvest you have to consecutively plant your best seed as a good steward of God's blessings. We need to balance prosperity with responsibility. But that doesn't mean that you are not going to enjoy the benefits of your financial freedom. If you are a vessel in God's hands, what flows through you to bless others blesses you as well.

God taught me how to follow the basic steps to financial freedom: (1) gain knowledge -- recognize indebtedness; (2) receive revelation -- budget; (3) flow in God's wisdom -- retire debts; (4) walk in discipline -- save. When I obeyed, I gained financial and spiritual freedom.

I pray that the Holy Ghost will plant this revelation in your spirit. And if you are in financial bondage, that He will guide you in applying the steps to freedom. It will require time, effort and discipline, but the rewards are beyond imagining.