Let me ask you some questions. Is God
rich? Yes. How do you know? We know because scripture tells us but we know that we know because God shows us. He is generous to us, physically,
mentally, spiritually and even financially. We live in the United States where
even the poorest of us is financially wealthy compared to most other countries.
Here’s another question. Does God want
us to be more like Him? Of course He does. So, if God wants us to be more like
Him and He is financially rich then would you say that He wants us to be
financially rich? Ooh, be careful! I guarantee you that there are lots of
preachers out there that like to make that connection. There’s only one
problem.
Well, actually, there are lots of
problems with that. There is the problem of Paul…the problem of John…of Peter,
James, Timothy, oh, and of Jesus Himself; none of whom were financially
wealthy. It’s just not true. God wants the best for us, just like you want the
best for your kids and He knows that, most of the time, money is not what is
best for us. But He is very generous.
So, why is God so generous towards us?
Why does He bless us like He does? He does it because He loves us and because
it ultimately brings Him glory. Jesus said, “What man
is there among you, when his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a
stone? "Or if he shall ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will
he? "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to
those who ask Him!” (NAS, Matthew 7:8-11)
God loves to give and that is the
attribute that He wants to develop in you. That is how He wants us to be more
like Him. The good news is that you don’t have to be rich to give. You just
have to have something. Maybe God leads you to give of your time. Maybe He
wants you to give of your talent and maybe you give of your treasure. Trust me.
Satan is going to attack in every one of those areas.
He is going to tell you to give all
you have at work so you don’t have energy to give any time anywhere else. He
will tell you that you don’t have any talents even though scripture tells us that
all true believers have at least one spiritual gift. And Satan will sure attack
your finances to make it hard for you to give anything in that area and there
are several ways he does that.
We talked last week about what I
believe is Satan’s best lie about finances. His most powerful attack is to
convince you that you can’t afford to tithe or give financially to the local
church. When you believe that, you cut yourself off from the blessings that God
wants to give you that will be eternal blessings in Heaven which is a way
bigger deal than anything He might give on this earth.
The next best trick Satan likes to
pull on us is almost as powerful and that is the attack of debt. Debt is a
killer in so many ways. In fact, sooner or later, it is going to play a part in
the death of our country. Did you know that, as a country, we are nearly 22
trillion dollars in debt and it goes up every second? How much is a trillion? I
have no idea. I can’t comprehend it. I get excited when I see a twenty-dollar
bill.
But our country has survived for years
by just kicking the debt can down the road and we keep passing that debt down
to our kids and grandkids. Congress and all the presidents, Republican and
Democrat, just keep raising the debt ceiling and borrowing more money because
cutting the debt is too hard to do when you need to get reelected. It’s
ultimately why the government is supposedly shut down right now.
So, with the nation so bound up with
debt, it is even more important that we not have debt as individuals and as a
church so that when the financial collapse comes, we are not in a hole. But
some of you right now are thinking that your hole is too deep and you will
never get out. I know that feeling but you can get out. I know you can.
I heard the story about a man who
often walked through a cemetery on his way home. One night, though, unaware
that a new grave had been dug in his path, he tumbled in. For some time he
struggled to get out of the 7 foot deep grave, but finally gave up and settled
down for the night.
An hour later, a farmer out possum
hunting came walking through the cemetery and he too fell into the grave. He
began a desperate attempt to get out, unaware that there was anyone else in the
grave. The first man listened to him for a few minutes, then reached over in
the pitch darkness and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You can’t get out of
here," he said... but he did! (Ted Mulder, Dec 30, 2004)
You too can get out of your hole of
debt if you are motivated enough and if you have the right tools and if you go
by God’s Word. So, let’s turn to the wonderful book of Proverbs, chapter 22 and verse 7. Scripture talks a lot about money
and Proverbs in particular has a lot to say about it. I believe this verse says
it best.
Proverbs 22:7 – “The rich rule
over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.”
*Ask Brian to come up with a rope. *
Imagine with me, if you will, a
typical college graduate. He managed to land a good job right out of college
and now feels more freedom than ever before. He is making decent money so now
he just needs some stuff to live. He needs a place to live now that he has
moved out of his college dorm and the realtor told him he can afford this nice
house and it’s his with just a small down payment and a promise to keep paying
it for the next 30 years. (Wrap the rope around both hands.)
Now, he needs a car and he really
likes that new sporty job so he signs up for payments for that. (Wrap rope
around feet.) He needs a gym membership but that’s just $40 a month. No big
deal. (Keep wrapping.) Cable TV, Netflix and a new TV to watch it on are just
reasonable living expenses. (Wrap, wrap, wrap.) Then he meets a girl and you
know what happens. (Wrap around the head.) Ahh! Freedom! He’s living the good
life now, right?
“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to
the lender.” It happens all the time and it is so easy
to do. Thankfully, we have some options for getting us out of debt. Let’s talk
about a few of them. Your first option is the lottery. A quick google search showed that the Powerball lottery
thing is up to $129 million. That ought to cover most of your bills, right?
Anybody need more than that to get out of debt? I doubt it. So why not play the
lottery?
I know, I know. It’s not going to
change you and you are still going to go to work and you are going to give a
bunch to the church. Right. Of course. But first you have to win and that’s the
first problem. The odds are astronomical. It’s the same with any kind of
gambling. The casinos are beautiful, fancy places for a reason. They win. Not
you. They exist to take your money and they are good at it.
But I hear you. You say there is no
scripture that forbids it. No commandment that says, “Thou shalt not gamble.” I understand that and here is my response
and then I’ll back it up with God’s response. My response is, first, it’s just
unwise. The odds are so against it and it wastes money. Secondly, gambling is
addictive. It’s a fact. So, why would you try even once something that can
easily get a hold on you and never let go? Also, let’s say that you can handle
your gambling. Maybe you can. It’s Russian Roulette but let’s say you can
handle it. Please justify to me exposing your children to anything that is
addictive.
Whether it is gambling, alcohol,
tobacco, porn or anything addictive, why would you have it in your house or show
your kids that it is okay if you know there is a good chance it will ruin their
life, if not kill them? Maybe you think you can handle some of that stuff. But
what if your son or daughter or precious grandchild can’t? Ruining your life is
one thing. Ruining your family is another. Don’t try it.
Do you know why they call it the
“Curse of the Lottery”? Because it is not blessed. God says in Isaiah 65:11-12, “What
will happen to you for offering food and wine to the gods you call “Good Luck”
and “Fate”? Your luck will end! I will see to it that you are slaughtered with
swords.” (Contemporary English Version) That’s
how God feels about gambling. Still think that’s an option for getting out of
debt?
Let’s talk about some ways that God
will bless. There are any number of programs (some of them faith-based) that
you can enroll in to help you and most of those are good to very good. Dave
Ramsey has a whole program. Crown Financial has a program. Most of them cost
something to enroll and that can be a problem but maybe you can check out a
book or get some information online in that regard.
I’ve read Dave Ramsey’s book and it
was very helpful but my approach to you today is to take what scripture teaches
and go off of that. I’m no financial planner but I can read scripture and it
says that Christians are supposed to be new creations. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the
new has come.” Now, if you have been a believer for more than a
few weeks, you know that new creation does not come all at once. It is a
continual process.
God changes us in some ways at the
moment of conversion but He is continually in the process of changing us all of
our lives. The secret to that conversion is our surrender to it. It’s painful
sometimes. We don’t like change but when we learn to surrender to God’s will
for our lives, we can receive generous and eternal blessings.
So, what do you do when you surrender
to something or someone? You put your hands up, right? You put your hands up to
show that you aren’t holding anything and God wants us in that position. He
wants to hear us say, “Lord, I have
nothing. Will you please help me?” Prayer is always our greatest weapon
against the attacks of Satan, including, of course, his attacks on our
finances.
But when you come to God in prayer and
submission with your hands up and out, God can either take something away or He
can fill your hand with something. But He can’t or won’t do that if you have your
fists clenched. If you say, “God help me” but you aren’t willing to change or
give something up, then don’t call Him “Lord” and don’t expect His full and
abundant blessings.
We all know the old saying about when
it comes to debt and you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop
digging. That’s true and that is important. Don’t go into more debt. Stop
buying stuff. It’s amazing how hard that is for some people to understand but I
want you to see how God blesses when you not only stop buying new stuff but
also get rid of the stuff you have. Now, this is important and I know God will
bless it because I have done it.
When you come to God with open hands,
fully surrendering yourself to Him, then you also have to surrender everything
you have. Whether you are in debt or not, you ought to be mindful that
everything you have came from God and when you admit that to Him and let Him
know that He can have it back anytime and you only want His will to be done,
that is where God wants you to be. That is the point where the blessings come
rushing in, pressed down shaken together and running over (Luke 6:38).
So, let’s do that right now. This is
not the end of this message. We are just getting to the good stuff. But I want
to ask you to bow your heads and close your eyes and to symbolically raise your
open hands and prayerfully tell God how grateful you are for what you have.
Tell Him you appreciate your family, your house, your car, your health, the
dogs, the bank account, the clothes, the stuff that you have and then give it
all back to Him right now.
Lord, we do thank you for what we
have. You are very generous! We acknowledge that everything we have comes from
you and we know that, as Job said, you give and you take away. So, Lord, we are
not giving you permission. We are just wanting what you want for our lives. So,
give us what we need and take away what we don’t need and we will give you the
glory for it. Thank you, God. Amen.
Now, here is the next step. If you are
in debt that is becoming unmanageable, it’s time to take this a step further. You
have agreed with God in prayer that you need help and you want what He wants
for your life and as part of your effort to quit digging the hole by stopping
buying stuff, you now need to get rid of some stuff. Stuff is the enemy. It
keeps you from living in freedom.
Stuff is like medicine in one way. You
know how all medicines have side effects? Every medicine will hopefully do its
job but every medicine has some kind of side effect. Some are greater than
others but all have some side effects. Stuff is the same way. When you buy a
house, you don’t just move in. You have to sign contracts and get warranties
and do maintenance and put stuff in it and get it winterized and summerized (why
is summerized not a word but winterized is?) or whatever. There is a lot to do
when you own a home. And all that stuff takes time and energy and money. Those
are side effects of stuff.
Now, the good news for those in debt
is there has never been an easier time for you to sell some or even most of
that stuff. That’s right. If you are in unmanageable debt, stuff is the enemy
and it is time to sell it. Let me give you an illustration. Many years ago there
was a precious person in our community that constantly struggled with money
issues. They were consistently late paying bills and had a hard time paying
even for food and medicine.
Thankfully, we have always had a food
pantry and this church often helped them with food but also with money to pay
rent and other necessities. Then one day I saw they had a picture posted on
Facebook of them standing in front of a large boat. I couldn’t see but the
front end in the picture and it wasn’t very clear so when I saw them next, I
asked about whose boat that was.
“Oh, that’s ours. It used to be Ross Perot’s
boat but it’s ours now. We could sell it right now for probably $50,000 but I’m
going to fix it up.” Do you see what
I mean about stuff having side effects? Not only is that a great way to get on
Todd’s bad side but that boat was keeping them from true freedom.
That’s a pretty extreme case, but even
the little stuff can keep you from having the freedom that God desires for you.
I remember reading something years ago when I was so deep in debt that changed
my life. It was written by a man who had gotten out of massive debt and he said
one of the first things he did was sell nearly everything he owned. His advice
was sell everything that is not making you money or putting food in your mouth.
I remember he said, not “putting food
on your table” because you don’t need a table. You think you do but you don’t.
You don’t need all those shoes. You don’t need all those clothes. Sell them. I
know you won’t get anything near what you paid for them but that’s okay. Get
rid of the toys, the tools, the Christmas tree, even the pets. Sell all that stuff.
And with today’s technology there is no
easier time to do it.
I know that sounds drastic but that is
part of going to God with open hands. A little bit of manageable debt is not
sinful and having stuff is not sinful but having debt steal your freedom to
give generously like God gives, especially while you have stuff is sinful. How
bad do you want God to help you out of debt? Are you willing to give up what
you don’t need to be more like your Father, God?
I know that some of this has been hard
to hear for some of you. But if you are serious about getting free and getting
out of that death hole that is debt, then you will do whatever it takes. I’m
out of time this morning but I hope you will come back tonight because I have
some good material and resources for you, especially if you have debt.
God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’" I can be
content because God will always be beside me. As Jesus said: He knows what I
need. Now Paul said pretty much the same thing in Philippians 4:12. “I know
what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned
the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or
hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
And what is that secret? “I can do everything through Him who gives
me strength.” Philippians 4:13
A few verses later, he writes this:
“…my God will meet all your NEEDS according to
his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19
Do you know Him today? Do you have a
relationship with Him? Do you know for sure that if you died today that you
would go to Heaven? You can. Ask God to forgive you of your sins. Repent of
those sins and turn away from that lifestyle. If you just believe that Jesus is
God and died on the cross to pay for your sins, you can live with Him for
eternity in Heaven. Do that right now as the music plays.
No comments:
Post a Comment