Buck Wild
Pt. 3 - Trust
I. Introduction
I have mentioned that I loved Silver and Trigger on TV. I just loved horses in general. Here is further proof. This is me in 1971. I was 3 years old and my Granny Ely bought this rocking horse for me for Christmas. Now it would be outlawed because of all the lawsuits for kids getting their fingers caught in the springs of death and the broken bones from falling off onto the metal poles at the base!
I also mentioned that I am a huge Louis L'Amour fan. Those two horses and the horses depicted in L'Amour stories had one common trait. They were trustworthy. They would come running to the owner when the owner would whistle. They wouldn't let anyone else ride them. They were trusted to warn the owner of impending danger like snakes, cougars, or human enemies trying to sneak up on them in the middle of the night. They saved their owners on more than one occasion when the rider was going through a dessert and the horse would be "given it's head" to find water. The reins were dropped and the horse would locate unknown pools of water. The horse would take a wounded rider back to the ranch with no direction from the injured rider. These horses could be trusted. Isn't that the goal as we talk about our finances? We want to trust our money. However, the problem is that money isn't trustworthy. It's value shifts. It's buying power changes. It's availability fluctuates. That is why even though we tame and train our money we must make sure that our trust is cemented in the right place. Even a trained horse may buck or get wild at times. So, we need
to make sure that even though we do everything we can do to make money mind and matter.
(SLIDES 3&4) We must also make money marginal. Marginal means - situated at the edge or almost insufficient. In other words make sure that we recognize and keep our trust in the Master. The reason what God says about our finances and treasures works is not all about the money of we give, although He does command 10%. It isn't because money has some divine power. Instead the reason we know that what God says works is because God is worthy of trust!
We must trust God!
To keep our finances from being Buck Wild we must put and keep our trust in God!
Trust what has been tested.
Scripture is full of instances where God has proven trustworthy. But perhaps no greater place than the familiar story of Abraham! When you stop to consider that Abraham's journey up a mountain, in Genesis 22, to sacrifice his only and promised son involved more than just the loss of a loved son but the loss of a miracle son born in old age, a long awaited son, a promised son, his destiny and legacy were all wrapped up in this one son. See the trust Abraham has developed in God over the long years of waiting when Isaac asks THE QUESTION . . . dad where is the lamb for sacrifice. Abraham's response reveals trust - The Lord will provide. Not might. Not I hope. Not maybe. He will. This brings Paul to say in . . .
Romans 4:3 (NIV)
What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Another version says it like this . . . What we read in Scripture is, “Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own.”
Abraham, a wildly wealthy man. discovered how much he owned didn't matter but trusting God did. In fact, he trusted God with his most prized possession. You know the rest of the story. This trust led to God providing a ram for sacrifice.
Abraham would testify that you can trust God with your son.
There are others who learned this lesson.
Moses would testify that you can trust God for a way of escape.
Job would testify that you can trust God with your family.
The woman with the issue of blood would testify that you can trust the Great Physician with your health.
So, Scripture is chock full of a tested and proven God.
And it is because of these examples that many of us still gather in settings like this today. We have come to the conclusion that God can be trusted with our spiritual life! Right? Don't we trust Him when it comes to our salvation? Our eternal destination? Our healing?
My question and challenge for us is this . . .
How many of us trust God more with our soul than we do with our savings?
Why is it that we believe that God can take care of our sons and daughters, safety, our family, and our health but fail to realize that He is also trustworthy and tested when it comes to what we call wealth?
If He can handle my body, then surely He can handle my bank account. If He can handle my relationships, then surely He can manage my real estate. If He can handle my kids, then surely He can handle my "Ks"!
We must come to the place where His proven trust worthiness encompasses our financial life so that we trust Him with everything we have!
Maybe you are here today and would say . . . that's Scripture and I need some more modern reasons to trust God. Glad you asked. May I just share a few of the testimonies that came in after last year's God's Guarantee Challenge?
- Today, the first day. I found $40 laying on the floor in the grocery store. I looked around to see if anyone was around and looked to see if anyone seemed to be looking for it.
- Over the last two months, I’ve sent multiple e-mails to a client regarding outstanding invoices that haven’t paid. Some from 2018, most of them from 2019, all of last year my invoices with this client went unpaid. It was not brought to my attention until after the first of the year. Multiple invoices/jobs that equal around $9,000. My client’s paralegal is supposed to send the invoices to the insurance adjuster for them to issue the checks. At any rate, they didn’t get sent, therefore no checks. I am getting a check this week where approximately 1/3 of those invoices will be paid.
- Two families have received unexpected large financial gifts.
- Two families have seen significant healings or God’s hand work during a medical crisis.
- Two individuals have received raises at work.
- One individual was given a new car.
- Two of our college students, who are participating, have received major scholarships.
- One individual got a new job.
- One family was facing major plumbing issues and upon further review was informed that it was the city’s issue instead of their issue.
- I have been wondering what we were gonna do financially until my wife starts her job. We have been tithing and trusting God to get us through this rough season. Little did we know He was working behind the scenes. He provided an instant substantial raise from my place of employment that took place the next pay period. So if your wondering what your going to do or wondering if he's still faithful to HIS word, just trust me He's still faithful. Tithe, pray, and believe that He can turn things around.
And these are the ones I know about. I am certain there are more!
Why am I sharing these stories? I just want you to understand that you can tame your money, train your money but your trust must be in God. He is faithful. In fact, God is so comfortable with His own track record of trustworthiness that He challenges us to test Him. Did you know that finances is the only area of our life where we are encouraged by God to "test" God.
Malachi 3:8-10 (CEB)
Should a person deceive God? Yet you deceive me. But you say, “How have we deceived you?” With your tenth-part gifts and offerings. You are being cursed with a curse, and you, the entire nation, are robbing me. Bring the whole tenth-part to the storage house so there might be food in my house. Please test me in this, says the Lord of heavenly forces. See whether I do not open all the windows of the heavens for you and empty out a blessing until there is enough. (enough what? According to Paul enough resources to be generous in every way.)
So, God recognizes that His own reputation is at stake. His Word is at stake if He doesn't honor what He has said He would do in this area of our life! The reason God says to test Him in this area is that . . .
God is trying to get our eyes off our stuff and back on our Source!
He can be trusted! My money can come and go. My retirement account can go up and down. My investments may crash but if I have established the fact that God is my source my trust will never waver! In the middle of abundance or famine the Source is secure. I can trust Him in every season of my life. This is why my bucks aren't wild. They aren't my source!
This is another reason why we do God's Guarantee every year. We do it to remind us to tame and train. To help us graduate to generous. But we also do this to remind us that God is our Source and His Word is on the line. We tame by making sure God is the master of money. Then we train by grinding for 90 days and giving generously. We do this because we trust God! We trust that God will honor His promise and get involved with our money.
