“Jesus, be the MANAGER of my LIFE!”
1. EARN AN HONEST LIVING. The principle of WORK.
2Thessalonians 3:6 “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we appeal to people – no, we command them: settle down and get to work. Earn your own living.”
The first principle of financial freedom is you’ve got to earn a living.
Every once in a while you run into one of those unemployed spiritual types that say, “I’m just waiting on God to provide for me.”
“I’m waiting for my ship to come in.” Swim out to it. Take some kind of a job until the job you want opens up for you.
In fact the Bible says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “If a man won’t work, he shouldn’t eat.” . It says if he won’t work. If it’s a matter of character, you’re just lazy. The Bible says you shouldn’t eat. God wants us to earn an honest living.
2. PLAN YOUR SPENDING. This is the principle of BUDGETING.
You’ve got to set some financial goals and stick with them. Don’t go through 2008 the way you went through 2007 – fumbling around-drifting around, spending, guessing, listening for the creditor’s call not really knowing where your money is or where it’s going.
Proverbs 27:23-24 says,
23Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds,
24for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.
“Riches can disappear fast. So watch your business interests closely. Know the state of your flocks and herds.” God’s word is saying “Know where you’ve put your money. Know where it’s going.”
Here’s the starting point: Keep good records. You’ve got to keep track of your finances. You’ve got to be aware of how you use your money. Have you ever said, “I just don’t know where it all goes.” If you’re saying that, that should be a warning light – a great big red warning light that says you’re not keeping good records.
People say, “Money talks.”
It doesn’t talk; it just quietly slips away. And it doesn’t leave any forwarding address. Have you ever asked the question, where did my money go.
You have to plan your spending but in order to plan your spending you have to keep good records.
Proverbs 23:23 23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
“Get the facts at any price.” Be realistic about your finances. You need to ask, “How are we really doing? Before going out and buying something whether with cash or on credit.”
Ignorance plus easy credit equals disaster.
If you don’t know where you’re headed in your finances you’re not keeping good records and you’ve got credit cards, you’re already in trouble.
You are taking on debt on that you can’t afford. You have to be up on where your money is going. You have to plan your spending.
There are four things you need to know:
1. What I own.” “That’s your assets. You need to make an inventory, a list of all the things you
own. You need to know what you own.
2. “What I owe.” That’s your liabilities- debts. Get them all out on the table and figure out how much in debt you really are. You need to know what bills show up every four months or six months like insurance and property tax bills.
3. “What I Earn
It’s amazing how many people don’t even know exactly what they earn. If you earn $25,000, after regular taxes you only have 19,750. Instead of 2083 a month, you actually have $1645. If you earn $50,000, after taxes, you are only bringing home $36,700. Instead of the $4166 a month, you actually have $3058 a month. That’s without anything taken out anything but federal, state, social security and city taxes.
4. “Where it’s going.”
Take a month and write down every dollar that you spend. Only way to know where your money is going and what kind of budget you can come up with.
The easiest way to lose money is to keep more than $20 in your wallet at a time. Keep a record of where you spend your money in order to be able to use your money to help you get out of debt.
If you’d write it down, you’d have a whole lot less to worry about. This is a principle that’s in God’s word. First, earn an honest living. Second, plan your spending and keep good records.
Proverbs 21:5, “5Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.
“Plan carefully and you will have plenty. If you act too quickly, you will never have enough.”
Get what I say right now.
1. Financial freedom is not determined by how much you make.
2. It is determined by how you spend it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3. If you don’t have a plan, your yearning or desires will always exceed your earning and you’re
always going to be in debt.
4. No matter how much money you make, your expenses always rise with income. They always
do!
There are people can’t live on a$150,000 a year. WHY Their desires exceeds their earning. That why you need to do is write it down and get a plan.
When you go out, you fall prey to a trap.
Called impulse buying.
Impulse buying is, “I see it, got to have it! It’s in every window, catalog, television. Every advertisement is made to encourage impulse buying.
They don’t want you to think about it. They don’t want you to plan your spending because when you plan it you realize you can’t afford it now.
Pro. 21:5. Says “Plan carefully and you’ll have plenty. If you act too quickly [circle “act too quickly”] you’ll never have enough.”
They don’t want you to think!! They want you make a decision based on emotion. Stir your emotions by lighting, color and sex appeal to make you buy.
Have you ever bought something that you later regretted buying? Yes. We’ve all done it. You say, “Why did I buy this? I can’t afford it. I can’t make the payments. I can’t do the upkeep.” You made it on an impulse.
Advertisers know that there is one word that causes impulse buying more than any other word.. You’re addicted to it.
The word is “Sale”.
“I have buy it! Look how much I’m saving!” You couldn’t afford it in the first place ---You can’t afford it later or now so don’t buy it either time.
The Bible says if you don’t plan your spending you’re going to give into this impulse buying.
Proverbs 21:20 20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up. is God’s IQ test.
“Stupid people spend their money as fast as they get it.”
The Bible says if I spend my money as soon as I get it, I’m a fool! I’m stupid, dumb. I’m very foolish. Stupid people spend their money as fast as they get it.
How do you break the habit of impulse buying and spending money foolishly You need to plan your spending.
How do you spell relief?
You Spell relief by making a BUDGET!
What is a budget? A budget is simply planned spending.
A budget tells your money where you want it to go rather than wondering where it went.
You’re saying, I want it to be spent this way.
If you don’t do that, it’s just going to go all over the place.
To control impulse buying, you’ve got nip it in the budget.
Here’s your homework: I want you to go home and make a simple budget, if you don’t have one.
1. Rent or house payments 2.Utilities 3. Gas 4. food…
2. You get to the end and how much do you have left over? Nothing. Because you’re spending more than you really make most likely. Then you go back and start cutting. It’s never any fun.
But if you want to get to financial freedom and enjoy the fruits of financial success, you’re going to have to learn to live on a budget. That’s your homework!
There’s a third principle of financial freedom.
3. SAVE FOR THE FUTURE. This is the principle of INVESTING.
Proverbs 21:20, 20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.
“The wise man saves for the future.”
The Bible says it is wise to save. But we’re not very good at this as Americans. We live in this “Spend it now, live for today” mentality.
We don’t follow God’s principles to save for the future.
Proverbs 13:11, 11 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase. ‘
“Money that comes easily disappears quickly.”
A Florida newspaper reported that a study showed that 70% of lottery winners in Florida are bankrupt within three years. “Money that comes easily disappears quickly. But money that is gathered little by little will grow.”
What’s little by little? By saving it.
You need to set three kinds of financial goals:
1. Saving goals 2. spending goals, 3.You need to know those and be clear about them.
The Bible has a lot to say about investing, far more than we can cover today.
In Proverbs 6:6 it says, “Go study little ants. They store up food in the summer so when the winter comes they’ll be well taken care of.” The reason we don’t do that is we want everything now.
You didn’t get into debt overnight. You’re not going to get out of it overnight. But if you’ll apply these five financial principles, you can do this too.
1. Earn an honest living (that’s the Principle of Work),
2. Plan your spending (that’s the Principle of Budgeting),
3. Save for the future (that’s the Principle of Investing)
4. RETURN TEN PERCENT BACK TO GOD. That’s the principle of TITHING.
In Malachi 3:10, God says, “Bring to My storehouse a full tenth of what you earn.”
Tithing means ten percent. That’s what tithing is. “Bring to My storehouse a full tenth of what you earn. Test me in this,” says the Lord. “And I will open the windows of heaven for you and pour out all the blessing that you need.”
Notice the words Test Me”.
This is the only place in the Bible where God says, “I dare you!” Only one place in the Bible does God say, “This is how you can prove that I exist. You can prove it by tithing. You put Me first in your money, give Me the first ten percent back, and see if I don’t bless your life. Test Me. I dare you. Try it out!”
Why do I tithe? The Bible says three reasons:
1. Out of gratitude for my past.
People are more selfish about money than anything else. The most sensitive nerve in the body goes from the heart to the pocketbook.
God says, “I know that you spend most of your life revolved around money – thinking about it, spending it, saving it, earning it, using it, investing it, worrying about it, paying it, repaying it.” So He says, “I want to be number one in this primary area of your life. So ten percent comes right back to Me.”
2. It’s a statement in the present that says, “God, You’re number one in my life.”
I give you the first day of every week (Sunday),the first part of my day, I give you the first part of my money.”
3. It is a statement of faith. Every time I tithe, I’m saying, “God, I believe Your promise. I believe that You will take care of me, that I can live on 90% better than if I had all 100%. So I’m going to trustyYou enough to take care of my finances.”
Here’s the principle: whatever you want God to bless in your life, put Him first in it. You want God to bless your relationships? Put Him first in your relationships. You want God to bless your time? Put Him first in your time. You want God to bless your money? Put Him first in your money.
. There are more promises related to giving in the Bible than any other subject. Why? Because God wants you to learn to be like Him and God is a giver. Let me give you one: Proverbs 3:9-10, “Honor the Lord by giving Him…” the leftovers of all your income? “Honor the Lord by giving Him the first part of all your income and He will fill your barns to overflow.” That means right off the top.
I need to say this, some of you are tithing but you’re saying, “I’m not seeing God’s blessing in my life.” You’ve got to do all five of these principles. All five! You’ve got to earn an honest living. You’ve got to plan your spending. You’ve got to save for the future. You’ve got to give ten percent back to God and then the fifth principles is very important…
5. ENJOY WHAT I HAVE.
That’s the Principle of Contentment.
Ecclesiastes 6:9, says “It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to always be wanting something else.
Their yearning exceeds their earning. People get overextended. They buy house, a car more than they can afford. They over spend, they get all kinds of credit debt. They bought more than they could afford. There’s tension, frustration, fatigue because we’re always trying to keep up.
We get real tired and relationships start to frazzle
“It’s only temporary. We’re hustling right now but it’s only temporary.” A temporary solution has become a lifestyle.
You say, “One of these days when things settle down.” They’re not going to settle down! They’re not going to settle down until you choose to settle them down.
If you wait for them to settle down, by that time the kids will be gone and it’s too late.
The key to all this is Hebrews 13:5, 5Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” “Be content with what you have.”
You didn’t get in debt overnight. You’re not going to get out overnight.
If you feel the pressure of finance in your life, arguing at home over bills, if you’re saving nothing and you’re spending all of it, this is a symptom.
If you don’t do something it’s going to be worse next year.
You need to take these principles and make them work.
It’s a symptom of a much deeper problem than you think. Yes, you need financial principles and yes, you need a money manager to help you make this thing work. But you need more than that. Because an unmanaged finances represent an unmanaged life. Out of control finances are a symptom of an out of control life. You don’t need just money management, you need a life manager. And His name is Jesus Christ.
Do these principles work? Absolutely. But two things: One, you have to do them all you can’t pick and choose. It’s the five points of a star. And two, you’ve got to do them in the right order.
Here is the order that God blesses:
1. You earn it.
2. You tithe it. You put God first. “God, You’re number one in my finances.”
3. You save it. You pay God first, you pay yourself second. It’s your money that God has given
you.
4. You repay. You set up a repayment plan so little by little get out of debt
5. You enjoy the results of that in your life.
The Bible says you will never be satisfied by things.
Isaiah 55:2 2Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
In plain English “Why do you spend money on that which doesn’t satisfy?” The greatest things in life aren’t things.
“If I put my trust in money, if my happiness depends on wealth, it would mean that I denied the God of heaven.” Whatever I trust for my happiness is my god.
Prayer:
Father, You’ve seen these hands. I don’t know their individual situations but You do. Many of them are experiencing financial stress and difficulty today. As they follow Your principles, I pray that You will miraculously turn around their finances. I know they didn’t get into debt overnight and they’re not going to get out of it overnight. But replace that debt with dedication to do the right thing. Replace the pressure with peace. Help them to get out of the hole and onto Your pathway to financial freedom and success.
Pray this in your heart: “Father, I want to follow Your financial principles in 2011. Forgive me for spending more than I make. Forgive me for unwise purchases. Help me to get back on track with Your plan.
Today, I commit myself to Your financial principles.
2. With Your help in 2008 I’m will keep better records.
3. I’m going to learn to plan my spending.
4. With Your help I’m going to save some for the future.
5. And I’m going to put You first in my finances by returning the tithe back to You.
6. Help me to enjoy what I have. Jesus Christ, I invite You to be the manager of my life. I want to trust You with my finances and with my future. In Your name I pray. Amen.”
