3/13/02 Update:
Acres of Diamonds
by Ron Wood
If you read National Geographic Magazine, you will notice this month's issue features America's only producing diamond mine, the Crater of Diamonds State Park, located in southwest Arkansas. For a small fee the public may search and dig all day on a plowed lamporite field of greenish-gray soil hopefully finding diamonds and other precious stones lying near the surface. When I was there early in March, fifty stones had already been found this year. Most are very small, the size of a match head. The area which produces diamonds is the center of an extinct volcano, now sun-drenched upturned earth surrounded by pine trees and forest. You can rent trowels and screens to help find the stones but no electric or powered tools are allowed. On display in the lobby is a beautiful diamond, a "one in a billion" find, a 0/0/0 rated 1.09 carat brilliant white gem mounted in a lovely ring designed by Underwood Fine Jewelers of Fayettville, Arkansas, after being expertly cut by Lazare Kaplan of New York City. An ideal cut diamond this perfect of this size is so rare that most jewelers will never see one in their lifetime. It is named the Strawn-Wagner diamond, originally an uncut three carat stone found by a Murfreesboro woman in 1990 as she searched through dirt that can only be described as acres of diamonds.
This is the place where the Lord welcomed my wife and I to retreat after our recent return from Africa. We enjoyed a haven of solitude and prayer, a place to listen to the Lord in quietness and rest in an old restored farmhouse made hospitable for God's workers needing respite. What a coincidence, that an opportunity to reconsider our strategy to take the riches of Christ to the poor of the earth should be near some of God's hidden riches buried in the ground. Not only that, but riches accessible to anyone desiring to search for them. And what a coincidence that while we were there, a magazine read by twenty million people highlighted this out-of-the-way region and its hidden riches.
Three years ago, God began speaking the words, "End-Time Transfer of Wealth." Last year, God gave me a phrase which I wrote into a brochure entitled, "Who wants to be a millionaire?" I told about how I had watched the American TV show only three times, but each of those times I witnessed a contestant go all the way to the top. After September 11, I shared about the phrase "Daddy Warbucks" from the movie about Orphan Annie and told how God reminded me that those who finance the war effort can become rich. (Realize, God has a war effort and He has officers and soldiers in the battle.) This past December my small book, "Thief in the Storehouse," which teaches that God wants to finance his kingdom workers, was translated into Spanish and delivered into the hands of hundreds of pastors in Cuba. As the people in the churches of Cuba begin to honor God out of their poverty, even though it is only a widow's mite, it will become inevitable that communist oppression will end and the embargo on trade will be lifted. Today as I awoke the Lord gave me this new phrase: "Acres of Diamonds."
I know this word is partly to encourage me, but also it is intended to bless you. Although at this present moment I am without funds to buy a vehicle or furnish a house, nevertheless, I am rich. I am rich with the treasures of heaven, the revelation of Jesus, the knowledge of God, the gift of eternal life, the abundant mercies of a risen Savior who knows me and calls me by name! And I speak this confession by sheer faith, I will handle millions of dollars for missions. I say this based on God's promise that whatever we ask in Jesus' name, He will do, if we have faith and not doubt. And I am asking for big things from God. Why? Because Jesus from the cross claimed the nations (Ps. 22:27-29).
Like Abraham, I am looking for what only God can provide. By faith, God speaks and "calls into being that which does not exist." (Romans 4:17 NAS) And God invites us to speak forth our faith as well. What God has promised, He is able to perform (vs. 21). Abraham, after considering his pitiful circumstances, also considered what God had said, thus he grew strong in faith (vs. 20). God will always have the last word. Will you listen? Whose report will you believe? This is faith's response: We must say what we hear so we can see what we said.
What if you had the found this valuable diamond or one of hundreds of other precious stones, some weighing more than six carats? What will you do when God blesses you? I am convinced that God has already placed along our path buried treasures awaiting excavation, resources more than sufficient to meet our needs and to finance His mission in these last days.
God has a program to allocate wealth in these last days. The apostle James had much to say about money, about how we treat the poor, and about faith and how it relates to good works. I want to quote from James and comment briefly on it. (See James 5:1-11 NASB95)
The End Time Transfer of Wealth
1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.
2 Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.
3 Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!
4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
Vs. 1 says great misery and lament will come to the rich. This isn't what we expect, is it? But when God releases judgement on the earth, those with the most to lose will feel it the keenest. Only the righteous will be spared (Malachi 3:16-4:3). Vs. 2 says riches can rot. Vs. 3 says gold can rust. Powerful images, metaphors from a spiritual reality. It is when riches are allowed to accumulate, unsanctified, unused for God, that they rot or rust. When such is the case, these riches testify against the owner. Did you know your money speaks to God, either for you or against you? And here is a key revelation: It is in the last days that stored up wealth produces such painful judgement. Verse 4 tells us why: the pay of the laborers has been withheld. It is always dangerous to defraud the workers whom God has sent. Vs. 11 says the outcome is in the hands of God.
Here is what I see being arranged unseen and unnoticed by our Almighty God. There is an agenda from heaven presently affecting the earth. This agenda is already operational. It is being enforced by holy angels, by the "coincidental" opportunities arranged by divine providence, by diligent application of ethical economic principles, by the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon the dedicated talent of trained individuals and the corporate courage of companies with a kingdom vision, by men and women of faith who dare to believe God's covenant Word. It is an end-time transfer of wealth from the hands of the wicked into the control of the righteous. God is preparing to prosper His people! Jesus said the meek shall inherit the earth. Those who have sacrificed houses and lands and family for Christ and His kingdom will be amply repaid. "Say to the righteous, it will go well with them." God honors faith! Paul said this to those who would partner with him in his apostolic purpose, "And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19) Do you believe this promise?
What to do when God blesses you
Here's what to do if you find yourself standing on the verge of wealth-generation. Be careful that you do not forfeit the privilege God is offering you, that you do not squander your inheritance or waste this precious moment. Guard this season by applying God's ways to your wealth, God's methods to your money. In the fear of God please remember this, God who made you rich can also make you poor. Stewardship is required. Deuteronomy 8:18 shows you the source of your prosperity: "But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant..." Power to make money comes from God. Here are seven pointers to protect your new God-given opportunity:
1. Be patient. "Haste makes waste." Sowing must precede reaping. Every season serves the harvest. The season when the seed is in the ground doesn't look like much, but the farmer knows what will happen as time passes. Don't faint. Reaping is in "due season."
2. Don't criticize. Often a season of promotion is preceded by a season of humiliation. Pass the test of proven character. When God humbles you, guard your heart and keep it free of the weed called bitterness. Bitter roots choke off your crop and poison your harvest.
3. Honor God. You can't spend stolen money and go free. Honor God and be blessed. Tithes are the first one-tenth of all your earnings. If you withhold it, you rob God. That money (the tithe) has been marked and it shows up on God's tracking system. Those who steal tithes or withhold offerings or lie about pledges inherit a curse on their house (Zechariah 5:1-4; Malachi 3:8-12; Acts 5:1-5).
4. Eliminate debt. Paying interest unnecessarily only robs your future. Cut up credit cards, pay off automobile loans, retire debts early and quickly. Make financial freedom a primary goal. Travel light so God can recruit you. How do you avoid debt? Pay God 10%, then pay your self 10%. Use that savings as it accumulates to handle emergencies and to prepare for investments.
5. Establish a standard. Don't foolishly start living a lavish lifestyle just because you have come into wealth. Establish a standard which you are comfortable with then determine to stay there. Why? So you don't keep consuming an increasing percentage of your income. Find ways to give away more, to bless the poor, to sow more of your seed, not eat more of it up.
6. Help the poor. Many a man or woman has been made wealthy by God because their parents or grandparents gave to the needy. Ross Perot is an example. His father often took groceries around to the poor on Sundays. If you give to the poor, you lend to the Lord and He pays with good interest. Besides, you will have treasure in heaven that will never perish!
7. Invest in outreach. Most of our giving as Christians is to our own comfort or spiritual nourishment- to our church, our pastor, our worship facilities. Try sowing seed into other fields, into the lives of those who cannot repay you. Especially target for investment those whose words are reaching the poor of the earth with the riches of Christ. For example, Rheinhardt Bonnke, a German evangelist based in the US, is touching millions of Africans with the gospel. Help him do more. Consider SAT7, a ministry which beams down gospel programs into the homes of Palestinians in their language. Strengthen Ablaze International, the evangelistic miracle ministry of Stephen Strader in the Phillipines. Or, if you feel led, help me print and distribute thousands of kingdom teaching books through the ministry of Touched by Grace. We are knocking on amazing doors of opportunity now in India, Ghana, and Chile, as well as Cuba and South Africa. We need to seize the moment while we can.
These are ideas to consider as you stumble over precious stones buried in the soil where God has placed you. Look down, get low before God and open your eyes. See what's hidden right under your feet. Are you standing on acres of diamonds and don't yet know it?
© 2002 by Ron Wood. Visit us on the internet at http://www.touchedbygrace.org We are touched by grace to touch the world! For more information or to contact us, write Touched by Grace, P. O. Box 12749, Wilmington, NC 28405 USA.
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