Fast & Furious Part 3 Series

Fast and Furious

EASING UP TO CREATE MARGIN

Luke 5:16

AFTER OFFEERING PLAY VIDEO: “Go For Broke”

Well, welcome to the third week of the series called “FAST & FURIOUS: EASING UP TO CREATE MARGIN”. Today I want to talk to you about Financial Margin, as we dive in.

I wonder how many of you would just go ahead and say in front of the world and everybody that you occasionally or maybe even often have some financial stress in your lives?



In our culture today, financial stress is completely normal. You see it in almost everyone you come in contact with. Today, living paycheck to paycheck, it's absolutely normal. Having monthly payments...normal. Debt...normal. Worry, anxiety, fear; especially in a slowed economy is very normal. Sadly, having tension in your relationship, fights if you are married, is very, very normal. Sadly again, having little or no financial margin is very, very normal. That is one reason we do not like normal, because normal is not working.

! MARGIN (FINANCIAL MARGIN): THE

AMOUNT AVAILABLE BEYOND WHAT

IS NECESSARY.

! DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT YOU HAVE AND WHAT YOU NEED.

oHAVE $3K PER MONTH INCOME AND2.5K IN BILLS, YOU HAVE $500 MARGIN

oHAVE $3K PER MONTH WITH $3K BILLS, NO MARGIN

oHAVE $3K INCOME AND SPEND $4K....YOU HAVE A BIG PROBLEM!

! What does financial margin look like? !

It is having money left over at the end of

the month. It's possible and it's a good

thing! It's having money available to help

someone who is in need. It's having

money available to give without feeling

stressed when you give. It could be

having money available to do something

that you enjoy.

In the house of the wise are stores of

choice food and oil, but a foolish man

devours all he has. Proverbs 21:20



! Example of my two friends (imaginary)

! LOOK AT THE WORDS OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY. THE SMALLER HOME WITH MARGIN COULD BE SEEN THIS WAY...

6 But godliness with contentment is

great gain. 7 For we brought nothing

into the world, and we can take nothing

out of it. 8 But if we have food and

clothing, we will be content with that. 9

People who want to get rich fall into

temptation and a trap and into many

foolish and harmful desires that plunge

men into ruin and destruction. 10 For

the love of money is a root of all kinds of

evil. Some people, eager for money,

have wandered from the faith and

pierced themselves with many griefs. 1

Timothy 6:6-10

! WE SEE DEBT CAUSING TREMENDOUS GRIEF

! WE SEE FINANCIAL PRESSURE CAUSING TREMENDOUS PRESSURE

! WE SEE PEOPLE UNABLE TO ENJOY WHAT THEY DO HAVE BECAUSE THEY ARE CONSTANTLY WORRIED THAT THEY MIGHT LOSE IT ALL.

! OUR CULTURE TELLS US SO MANY THINGS THAT ARE NOT TRUE!

oWhat's the problem? Why is it that so many of us trade margin, flexibility, security and peace and such, from

material things that do not last? Why is it? Well, our culture is convincing us of a lie. Our culture is lying to us over and over again. Our culture is telling us this is the definition of happiness.

· OUR CULTURE’S DEFINITION OF

HAPPINESS: MORE THAN I

CURRENTLY HAVE.

! In our culture, most of us have life-styled our way straight past margin. It's not an income problem for most. Most of you will say, "If I only made more money!" But, it is not an income problem, it is a lifestyle problem. It is not an income problem, it is a lifestyle problem. As your income goes up, your lifestyle does too. We have no margin because we have a

lifestyle problem. Which, if we get past the obvious and get to the root of it, what we really have is not just a lifestyle problem, but a spiritual problem. That is what we really have, a spiritual problem.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures

on earth, where moth and rust destroy...

20 But store up for yourselves treasures

in heaven... 21 For where your treasure

is, there your heart will be also. Matthew

6:19-21

Where your money goes, there your heart follows. Let's be honest, the average Christian in the US gives about 2% of their income toward God. That means about 98% goes to the world. That means that 98% of our heart goes toward the world. We wonder why we want more of the world

and we are not satisfied with God, because it's a spiritual problem. We actually think that more is going to make us happy.

So what do we do? What do we do? How do we create financial margin? Now, you don't have to write this down, but the most simple answer, and the very obvious is this; you either earn more, or spend less. That's it, both or either will work. Earn more, spend less. That's the very obvious answer. If you want to create margin, do that. That's as simple as it gets. Earn more, or spend less. Earn more, or spend less. But, every one of you are smart, you already know that. You know that, you know that, you know that! But, most people are not doing that, because there is a deeper root issue. I want to try to answer the deeper root problem that will help us to create margin.