Put Money in Its Place (March 26th, 2006)

(April 2nd, 2006

(April 9th,  2006)

where nobody stands alone

(April 16th,  2006)

Proverbs 22: 7

Someone asked Willie Sutton, the notorious bank robber why he robbed so many banks. "Because," replied Sutton, "That's where the money is." Source Unknown. What the wealthy think about money: I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness--John W. Rockefeller.  The care of $200,000,000 is enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it--W.H. Vanderbilt.  I am the most miserable man on earth--John Jacob Astor.  I was happier when doing a mechanic's job--Henry Ford. Millionaires seldom smile--Andrew Carnegie. Source Unknown. Malachi 3: 7 – 9 7 "From the days R95 of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept {them.} Return R96 to Me, and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts. "But you say, 'How shall we return?' 8 "Will a man rob F52 God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes R97 and offerings. F53 9 "You are cursed R98 with a curse, for you are robbing F54 Me, the whole nation {of you!} Instead of being a thief let us focus on how to budget God’s money. (the money He allows for us to borrow from Him) 1 Timothy 6: 6 – 11 (NAS) 6 But R225 godliness actually is a means of great R226 gain when accompanied by contentment. R227 7 For we R228 have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. 8 If we have R229 food and covering, with these we shall be content. 9 But R230 those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a R231 snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the R232 love of money is a root of all sorts F58 of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered R233 away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But flee R234 from these things, you man R235 of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, R236 love, R237 perseverance F59 and gentleness. I. Be consistent/content with how you save money a. 1 Timothy 6: 8 b. Average American saves less than 1% of finances c. 61% of Boomers and elders do not have an IRA d. Proverbs 21: 20 i. 20 Precious treasure and oil are in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man consumes them. ii. Life Application Bible notes 1. This proverb is aobut saving for the future.  Easy credit has many people living on the edge of bankruptcy.  The desire to keep up and to accumulate more pushes them to spend every penny they earn, and they stretch their credit to the limit.  But anyone who spends all he has is spending more than he can afford.  A wise person puts money aside for when he or she may have less.  God approves of foresight and restraint.  God’s people need to examine their life-style to see whether their spending is God-pleasing or merely self – pleasing. e. Consistency in life is important i. A man's life is always more forcible than his speech. When men take stock of him they reckon his deeds as dollars and his words as pennies. If his life and doctrine disagree the mass of onlookers accept his practice and reject his preaching.  C.H. Spurgeon. ii. Just as Consistency in finances is just as important. f. Being consistent in your money is putting it in its place at all times. i. Money will need to be there because it could be like a roaring lion waiting to destroy relationships, lives, and jobs In I Talk Back to the Devil,  A.W. Tozer reminds us: "Money often comes between men and God. Someone has said that you can take two small ten-cent pieces, just two dimes, and shut out the view of a panoramic landscape. Go to the mountains and just hold two coins closely in front of your eyes--the mountains are still there, but you cannot see them at all because there is a dime shutting off the vision in each eye." It doesn't take large quantities of money to come between us and God; just a little, placed in the wrong position, will effectively obscure our view. Cedric Gowler. II. Be cautious in how you spend money a. 1 Timothy 6: 6 b. Proverbs 21: 5 i. 5 The plans of the diligent certainly lead to profit, but anyone who is reckless only becomes poor. c. 1 Corinthians 6: 12 i. 12 All R222 things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. ii. just because you can doesn’t mean you should d. Proverbs 22: 7 i. The real question:  Who owns you? ii. 7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is a slave to the lender. e. Budget out of debt i. Know your income ii. Know your debt and expenses 1. Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.   B. Franklin. iii. Cut wants and prioritize needs iv. Bank $1,000 emergency fund v. Spend the rest 1. Get God in front 2. Don’t try to take the lead. The demand God makes on income is well documented in the Old Testament command to give of the first fruits. 3. Larry Burkett once said on his “Money Matters” radio show, those of us who don’t tithe should really consider whether we’re Christians at all. You guessed it; controversy and call-ins flooded the show. It’s not about the total here, but the tenacity to tithe with consistency. Give to God first, and you’ll find a way to figure life out on what’s left. 4. Pay Regular Bills Next 5. Pay Debt Third a. Snowball debts:  Smallest to Greatest. b. After God and the bills, the cash that’s left is ours—well, it’s our creditors and ours. We owe them, and it’s time to pay up. Cut the creditors in now, so you can cut them out later. 10 WAYS TO USE MONEY Let’s get something straight: We don’t own anything, God does. Our jobs are to use the resources He has gracefully provided for us responsibly. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But what does that look like practically on a day-to-day basis? Here are 10 easy ways to be good stewards of the money He has entrusted to us—and save some cash in the process. 1. Buy generic products, especially at the grocery store. You will be shocked by the difference of your monthly grocery bills if you buy generic brands, as opposed to name brands—everything from plastic baggies, to bread, to spaghetti sauce, it’s almost always cheaper. 2. Shop at Goodwill: There are many “diamonds in the rough” at Goodwill and thrift stores. Sure, a lot of it is junk, but there are also some great finds, especially with clothes. Most people don’t realize that people donate and drop off perfectly good things to these places because they are moving, a relative has died and they are unsure what to do with their things or have people have grown out of their clothes. It takes a little hunting, but you can find some great finds at a great price. 3. Never make impulse purchases: Never make spur-of-the-moment decisions on large purchases. Take a few days to think about it and weigh the options. Ask yourself questions such as, “Can I afford it right now?” and “Do I really need this?” This will allow you to think clearly without the swirl of emotions while being in the store. 4. Tithe: Remember, every cent we own belongs to God, but He entrusts us with His resources. However, He requires that we give back at least 10 percnt of our gross earnings, not our net. Tithing was not a suggestion, but a direct command for God’s children. And it’s a great weekly reminder that our resources do not belong to us and it provides us the opportunity to use our money to honor Him. 5. Seek value above cost: Products that may cost a bit more may last longer. Some products may cost quite a bit less, but they may wear out or break much sooner. Weigh value (how long it will last, how it will serve its purpose, how often it is used, etc) above mere dollars and cents. 6. The Starbucks Factor: It’s not the large items that will surprise you how much they add up—it’s the small things. A movie here, a Starbucks grande caramel mocha there, filling your car up with gas, eating out—you’ll be surprised how much it adds up. Write down everything you spend for two weeks and notice how the little things add up to more than a little chunk of change. Try to limit your spending and trim down on the “non-essentials” of life. If will make a big difference! 7. Avoid eating out often: Most people I work with eat out almost every day for lunch (and some of them every day for dinner!) My wife and I either bring a lunch or go home for lunch most days. We’ve found that going home most days for lunch and having a sandwich saves a great amount on our monthly bills. Take a lunch to work and cook dinner at home more often than not. It’s not only easy on your wallet, but also on your waistline! 8. Remind yourself that possessions are not the sum of your life: It’s an easy principle: living simpler will make life simpler. Remind yourself you don’t “need” as much as you think you do and that everything you see you don’t necessarily have to have. 9. Be creative in how you spend your time: read a book, take a walk in the park, ride your bike, throw a Frisbee, watch a little league baseball game, play your guitar, watch a children’s play. It will save some cash on how your entertain yourself. 10. Always, always, always pay off your credit card bills! If you ever fail to make a payment on your credit card because you don’t have the money cut the card up immediately into a hundred pieces. My dad always said, “There are only two types of people: those are paying interest and those that are receiving interest.” Paying interest on your credit card can take years to get out. Your credit will carry with you the rest of your life. The key to all of these is moderation. Spending in moderation with wisdom and balance will help keep your checkbook in balance as well. f. Be cautious how you spend your money i. Remember:  You are the only one looking out for your finances. III. Be contented with God’s work not money (v. 10 – 11) a. Epiphany DNA It is the dream of a place socially active in global and local outreaches.  This place will facilitate a glocal (global + local) small group outreach.  There will be an active small group outreach in every city of Robertson County.  Social and spiritual outreach will be conducted in every country of the world by supporting foreign missionaries.  This is a place that desires to be a community church, not a church in the community.  It is the dream of a place that expands its public ministry into every home through televised and/or webcasted services. b. For us to accomplish this vision we must be more concerned with doing the will of God, than we are collecting all the money for ourselves. c. This is a message to us as individuals but also for us cooperatively.  For a church to sit on $100,000 in their savings and say they don’t have money to properly staff the church or help someone out is a thieving lie. John G. Wendel and his sisters were some of the most miserly people of all time. Although they had received a huge inheritance from their parents, they spent very little of it and did all they could to keep their wealth for themselves. John was able to influence five of his six sisters never to marry, and they lived in the same house in New York City for 50 years. When the last sister died in 1931, her estate was valued at more than $100 million. Her only dress was one that she had made herself, and she had worn it for 25 years. The Wendels had such a compulsion to hold on to their possessions that they lived like paupers. Even worse, they were like the kind of person Jesus referred to "who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:21). Daily Walk, June 2, 1993. d. 1 Timothy 6: 10 – 11 i. love God’s work more than money ii. How put money in its place 1. God’s advice about money in Proverbs (This is outside of tithe) a. Be generous 11: 24 – 25: 22: 9 b. Place people’s needs ahead of profit 11: 26 c. Be cautious of countersigning for another 17: 18; 22: 26 – 27 d. Don’t accept bribes 17: 23 e. Help the poor 19: 17; 21: 13 f. Store up for the future 21: 20 g. Be careful about borrowing 22: 7 e. God says to be wise and unselfish with money i. Leonard Sweet states, “We go “within” ourselves by getting “outside” ourselves.  How do we “find ourselves”?  Jesus says:  “Lose yourself” in the other.  – in his book out of the question into the mystery. f. Malachi 3: 10 – this is only place where God says “Test me” i. " R99 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food F55 in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open R100 for you the windows of heaven and pour R101 out for you a blessing until it F56 R102 overflows. IV. Invitation a. Test him in this. b. Who wants to test him today? c. Life sucks, everything going wrong, then put your finances in God’s hands and focus on the work of God. d. Test him.