Managing Your Money

“Managing your money!”

January, 15th, 2012

Pastor Allan Kircher Shell Point Baptist Church

Scripture: Proverbs 27:23-24, 21:5, 21:20, 6:6-8, 21:17, 3:9-10

 Money isn't all it’s cracked up to be.

 In fact it can bring more pain than pleasure!

 no matter how much money we have

 If we're not very careful it can become one of the greatest sources of stress in our lives.

I don't want to presume but I would bet that most of us here have worried about money from time to time.

• In fact, let's take a quick congregational poll.

• Okay-if you have ever been stressed about money raise your hand.

• Most of us are even stressed out right now about money.

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All of us worry about our money from time to time.

o Gallup 64% of all COUPLES worry about money.

o Number one cause of divorce-

o 51% of all spouses that call it quits say their decision had something to do with their finances.

Maybe we should change the marital vows to pledge “Debt to us part.”

 Our debt these days is a big problem that is growing worse.

 A Newsweek cover showed/couple buried under credit cards/headline/read, "Americans are drowning in debt.

Article said, "Americans have been borrowing in record amounts

this year.

 Home equity debt has soured past 330 billion dollars

 Bankruptcies are up 20%.

 And most people are spending more than they make."

Larry Burkett points to the underlying reason behind all this..,

"...increasing number of families that don't know how to handle money, debt, and resources.

 Americans clearly lack financial literacy skills.

"And the shoddy way that many of us handle our money doesn't just affect our bank accounts.

 It also negatively affects our walk with the Lord.

Bill Hybels writes, "The courts of SPIRITUAL bankruptcy are filled with men and women who vowed to get more serious about their spiritual lives...but after one more deal, after one more increase, after one more level, after one more....more...more.

Vast numbers have gained the whole world only to lose their souls...

o sincere Christians have been lured by riches and the love of money;

o They have squandered their lives and given up their spiritual fruitfulness."

o Okay-how can we avoid all these problems?

o I mean, how can we deal with our money so that it causes us less stress?

o How can we manage our money instead of it managing us?

Well, first/we have/embrace/mindset/believe/all we have is God's

Cannot be separation between sacred and secular in life.

 We have to understand/WAY we handle our money/spiritual issue

 That we should look to God for answers in this arena of life.

 In fact that's what I want us to do this morning.

 to go to the Bible/wisdom about money management.

God has a book/penned by the wisest/richest man in world.

 someone who/great deal of experience managing money.

 I'm referring to King Solomon and he was very wealthy-

 So wealthy in fact that he would put Bill Gates to shame.

For example, the Bible tells us that Solomon ate on plates of solid gold.

 When he finished dinner they didn't just WASH the plates-they POLISHED them.

 Solomon was EXTRAVAGANTLY wealthy

 God inspired him to share all the wisdom he gleaned from his money management in Proverbs.

There are five basic things that King Solomon says we must do if we are to manage our money wisely

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Here they are-we must:

Keep good records, Plan our spending, Save for the future, Be content with what we already have, And give back at least 10% to God.

1. First of all, to keep from fretting over our finances we must keep good RECORDS.

Solomon refers/this/principle/ACCOUNTING in Proverbs 27:23-24 He says, "Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds, for riches don't last forever and the crown might not be secure for the next generation.”

 In Solomon's day, instead of STOCKS they had FLOCKS.

 A man's herds were his assets/shepherd's job to keep track of the size/condition of the flock.

 Solomon is saying, to prevent monetary stress

 First thing we must do is keep track of what we've got.

 We must constantly be aware of the state of our accounts.

Have you ever said, "I don't know where all my money goes!"

If you don't know, unless someone is stealing from you behind your back, you're not keeping good records.

o As someone has said, "Money used to talk. Now it just quietly slips away."

o And we need to keep good records so this doesn't happen.

Our record keeping must be set to enable us to know four things: