God Blesses US Economy so Americans Can Spread Gospel, Missions Pastor Don James Says
SILVER SPRING, Maryland — Pentecostal New Jersey pastor Don James says that America runs the risk of losing its financial blessings from God if American Christians don't stop embracing an "ostrich Christianity" and help spread the good news of Christ to the most dangerous corners of the world.
James, the lead pastor at Bethany Church in Wyckoff, New Jersey, who has worked on projects to help train underground house churches in China and other countries of the world that are dangerous for Christians, spoke Friday during a breakout session on church mobilization at the International Christian Concern's annual The Bridge conference for the persecuted church.
Citing a statistic from Christian Freedom International, James warned that at least one person around the world is killed because of his or her faith every five minutes.
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With a staggering fact like that, the Assemblies of God pastor argued that Christians in America, who are blessed with comfort and greater financial resources than other Christians in the world, cannot afford to sit around and waste time by solely focusing on the minor problems in their own churches and local communities.
"[Persecution] is taking place and it's happening right now, and somewhere in the next couple of minutes, someone will give their life for the gospel of Jesus Christ," James explained. "That is really why we are here and it points back to Mark 1:15 that the time has come for us to really wake up to what is happening worldwide to really help the cause of giving the gospel around the world."
James explained that American church should not delay in helping the persecuted brothers and sisters around the world who are willing to take their faith in Jesus to the grave and spread the gospel. He stressed that the Bible calls for Christians to "redeem the time" and "make the most of every opportunity."
"We have the opportunity to learn and to begin to value exactly why it is that many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are so [faithful] for the cause of this gospel around the world,'" James said. "We can't live with ostrich Christianity, which says 'I kind of stick my head in the sand and forget about it as long as things are going well in my life, my church and my local community.'"
"I don't think that is the heart of God. I think the heart of God is 'We need to think global,'" James continued. "For the first time in the history of the world, God has given us the tools and the opportunity to think global. You and I live in the day and age of the jet engine. So, there is so many things that could happen."
James reasoned that the fact that America is financially prosperous and has an abundance of resources is not a coincidence. He contended that God has blessed the United States so that its people can bless others around the world with the truth of Christ.
"Many people in my church work on Wall Street. Wall Street may say that 'This is why the economies of the world are the way they are.' But I would argue that and say, 'No, the economies of the world are the way they are because God's hand is on it," James said. "And the economy of the United States has been blessed for 200 years because the hand of God has been on it because we will be a light to the nations. It is an urgent time in which we live."
James warned that if Americans don't take advantage of the blessings from the Lord, then they could lose those economic blessings.
"Many years ago, I read Willard Cantelon's great book The Day the Dollar Dies. He [asked], 'Why has God blessed America?'" James recalled. "God has blessed America because He knew there would be a heart of people that would take the resources that he has channeled from Heaven into our midst and use those resources to reach the world with the news of Jesus Christ. That is why we are a blessed nation. Cantelon says that when we stop doing that, that will be the day the dollar dies."
