Everyone has trouble with finances at some point in life. (In his book, “How to Succeed in Money,” George Bowman says, "About nine out of every ten people with an income are financial failures." He means people in general fail to manage our money wisely.
40% of Americans borrow more money than they can make monthly payments on. The average family is only 3 weeks away from bankruptcy. 85 out of 100 Americans have less than $250 of cash in the bank by age 65. Why do we have such financial problems? Is it because we’re so generous toward others that we just don’t have anything left for ourselves? Are we taking out too many loans to give new cars to our neighbors? I don’t think so…
It’s not because we’re generous…. The average American gives only 2% of their income to charitable institutions. Today, we have more resources at our disposal than any people in history, but somehow financial matters are still a source of constant difficulty and stress. Why?
The obvious reason is because we want stuff and we have the power to borrow for it…
Credit cards, 2nd mortgages and low APR automobile loans… It’s easy to get what we want…
But the underlying reason is that we feel empty, and we try to fill that emptiness with things that will bring us a sense of satisfaction and self worth, but in the end we find ourselves just as miserable as before, only with more toys, and more responsibilities, slaves to debt: struggling to make the payments on things that failed to make us happy… But the next thing is bound to do it, right? No…
The wise King Solomon said in Proverbs 22:7, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Do you feel like a servant to the lender today? Are you strapped over the barrel of negative cash flow? If so, I want you to know the Lord wants to deliver you out of that bondage and into a Simpler Life: a debt free life.
You may have noticed that when you can’t pay the bills, life becomes more complicated and less enjoyable. Financial stress is a crisis, it’s complicated stressful and it siphons the joy out of life.
It’s hard to enjoy the simple pleasures of life when you can’t pay for the necessities.
(Go to the beach for a simple day, find out you have to pay a parking meter and you don’t have the money, or the time in Maine when we had no money to get to the beach there, because they set up a toll booth to get to the harbor. Complicated finances can destroy simple pleasures.)
Unfortunately, if you are living under that kind of bondage and stress, you are missing God’s will for you: to enjoy your life and live life more abundantly…
Deut 28:11-13, “The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity-- in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground-- in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you. The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.”
We have a God who wants us to live life at the top, not at the bottom. We have a God who is named Jehovah Jireh: the Lord, my provider and He has the provision to take care of every need and every godly desire you havein life. He has the riches to pay off every bill and all of your debts. He has the desire to make you a lender and not a borrower… and He wants you to live debt free; lending to many but borrowing from none!
He’s just waiting for us to get the clue and tap into the bountiful supply of His provision…
A lot of you have been tapping into your own provision for a long time, trusting in your supply and it’s not enough. It’s never enough. That’s why your credit cards are maxed-out and you’ve taken out a second loan on the house… Today needs to be a new day for us as a church body: a new day of the provision and supply of The Lord in our lives and our church. I’m believing for God’s provision to pay off all the church debts by the end of this year. Can you join me in that? I believe you can set some personal goals that seem impossible today too, and that God can accomplish them if you’ll believe and not doubt… But you have to persevere and obey the commands of the Lord, or you’re putting a curse on your finances.
Deut 28:15-20, “…if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him.”
BEEF #1: DISOBEDIENCE
God’s major complaint with His people throughout history, and it angers Him as much today as it did with the Israelites 3,000 years ago, is when His people forsake Him and refuse to obey His commands, because He knows that His commands are LIFE to our souls and He wants us to WALK in that LIFE! His Word says to love Him is to obey Him…
II Jn 1:6, “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands.”
But walking in obedience means walking by faith and trusting in Him…
Some time, and it may begin today, God will require you to give up whatever it is that is most important to you in order to receive it back again. (Rich young man, Abraham sacrificed Isaac only to receive him…)
In 1 Kings 17:8, the Bible paints a scenario of a widowed woman in financial crisis.
She could see the trouble coming for months. Her husband passed away. He was her immediate source of provision for her, and now he was gone. The money was running out. Just a few days before, she spent the last of what she had on a few days worth of flour and oil.
She had finally reached the end of her means and all she had left: the most valuable possession she had was a little handful of flour and a some oil in the bottom of a jar, which she believed was just enough for one last mean to feed herself and her son. So she went to the town gate and started to gather some sticks to build a fire she could cook over. They had a store in town where she could buy bundles of precut sticks and those little Bic lighters, but she didn’t have any money… All she had was the flour and oil for one last meal, so she went to the city gate to find some sticks for the fire.
On the way there, I think it’s safe to assume she was praying, pleading to God for financial aid.
But she didn’t hear God answering. She was experiencing a crisis of faith and she thought, “Either God provides or this will be my last meal.”
Financial hardships are times of real crisis; times when tough decisions have to be made: what’s most important? Do I cut the phone service or the television cable? Do I drive the car or ride the bike? Where does the money have to go and what can I do without?
And for Christians this often presents a crisis of faith, because a full 10% of our income is earmarked for tithes, and we’re tempted to put God’s tithe on the chopping block to pay the bills.
We think, “I’m short on cash this month. I can’t pay my bills. Do I give my money to the church or to the bill collectors who are screaming down my neck for their money?”
This is the crisis of faith where our obedience is really tested…
It’s the crossroads between the blessing and the curse. Do I obey God and trust Him to be my provider, or do I withhold the tithe or the offering and feed my family today?
The struggle over money is probably the biggest spiritual curse on the Christian church today, because God’s people are looking at the tithe and the offering as optional commands in the Word of God, like God is saying, “Obey me when you can.” We feel proud when we do it, like we deserve a pat on the back from God when we give what belongs to Him and we wonder why He doesn’t “bless us” when we beg Him for more. But the fact is this: the tithe and the offering belongs to God.
Lev 27:30-31, "’A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it.”
Both the tithe and the offering belong to God before they belong to you. He’s simply giving you the free will choice to either obey Him or disobey Him. What you do with that decision will determine the direction of your life, your happiness and your finances.
This is the crisis of faith where our obedience is really tested…
It’s the crossroads between the blessing and the curse. Do I obey God and trust Him to be my provider, or do I withhold the tithe or the offering and feed my family today?
It’s the same crisis the widowed woman faced hundreds of years ago…
She was gathering sticks at the city gate when the prophet Elijah strolled over. God told him a woman was going to provide some food for him.
Somewhere in her heart, the woman hears God telling her, “I’m sending someone your way and I want you to feed him.”
How was she supposed to do that? She had no money and no more than a handful of flour!
At that moment, she was having a crisis of faith: she could either listen to God or listen to her senses. Someone here is under conviction because God has laid it on your heart to turn your tiny supply over to Him, and you’re afraid to listen because it will cost you everything you have.
This lady was facing the same thing to a greater degree. She wasn’t confused about whether she should shut off her Cox high speed internet and cable service package, or pay tithes this month. She had NOTHING: NOTHING left to bargain with! IT WAS A LIFE & DEATH DECISION!
Elijah sees the woman and asks,
I King 17:8-24, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?"
As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."
12 "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don’t have any bread-- only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it-- and die."
13 Elijah said to her, "Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.
14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ’The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.’"
How bold was Elijah to ask for her last few ounces of flour for himself! Now, that wasn’t very gentleman like, was it?! God was asking her to give everything and trust Him for the rest.
She was at the crossroads between selfishness and obedience.
She had the same choice you and I have to make today: Provide for myself or turn it over to God and start living under the supernatural provision of God…
The whole idea the Bible illustrates with this woman’s life is that the command was to be obeyed, even to the point of death… Are you there yet, where this woman was in her faith?
She could have justified her disobedience to His commands, after all she had a responsibility to take care of her son at home first, and here this stranger: a man with good hands, was asking her to provide for him first. That’s a crisis of faith friends, which requires spiritual understanding.
This poor woman was close to God. Not only did she know Him and experience His live and provision before, but she knew, alive or dead, some day she would face Him, sooner or later, she would answer for all her actions, so better to obey and die for Him than to disobey and die without Him. That’s faith, and love for God.
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.
16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.
You see, her FAITH in GOD put to ACTION made GOD her PROVIDER and He provided WAY MORE than the last meal she expected to eat with her son that day.
She had a tough decision to make, but because she submitted her life to God, HE PROVIDED!
SHE KNEW HIM as JEHOVAH, JIREH, her provider, not just by head knowledge, but by experience because she submitted herself to God in obedience.
Friends, you and I need to begin to understand this concept of submission and obedience, especially in our finances before we can expect the blessings of God. Until we submit ALL to God, we will continue to live in poverty: spiritually and financially, provided by our own means…
For some of you, tithing might be a huge leap of faith like it was for the widow, but refusing to submit your finances to God is a guarantee you’ll continue to live according to your own ability and that’s a pretty lame living even for the richest of you…
Honoring God with your finances is the first step in proving your loyalty toward God. It’s a baby Christian step: it’s Christianity 101, shouldn’t be a problem in the church, although the church in America only has an average of 15% who tithe regularly… And that indicates a very sad spiritual condition.
Over the past few weeks, the point I believe God is trying to drive home for us is that happiness and fulfillment begin when we are obedient and fully submitted to God.
Every area that I submit to God becomes simple and enjoyable. Every area that I hold back to myself and refuse God the Lordship over is complicated, stressful and unsatisfying because whenever my will, my schedule, my desires, or the things I’m doing with the resources God has given me come into conflict with God, then life becomes complicated.
BEEF #1: DISOBEDIENCE
BEEF # 2: ROBBING / WITHHOLDING FROM GOD WHAT BELONGS TO HIM
A widow gives her tithe to bless God.
A businessman gives the ten percent to please God.
The emperor gives a tenth to please God.
However, the priest in charge of the sacrifice defiles the offering. Rather than offer it up to God, he hides it away, and when he sees something he desires, he purchases it for himself with the money, which has been set aside as an offering to the Lord.
That man is in grave danger, because he has stolen from the Lord.
Any man who does such an evil thing is under the judgment and condemnation of the Lord.
He has made himself an enemy of God by robbing him and by appearing to be righteous to his peers, while at the same time being devious and backhanded.
(Millions of people were dismayed at the scandal when they learned that much of their money wasn’t going toward the spread of the Gospel after all: much of it was going to Jim Bakker…)
Millions of Christians today are doing exactly the same thing: they’re withholding God’s resources to line their own pockets. Really, it’s all the same to God: sin is sin. Are you robbing from God, or not?
Are you robbing God?
The rich young man couldn’t submit his wealth to Jesus. How would he ever fully submit his life to Christ if he couldn’t submit his wealth? Isn’t life worth more than gold? How much more, eternal life?
Some of the richest tithers in the church refuse to give more than their tithe because they think they’re doing God a favor by tithing… Who are we giving to anyway, people? Are we giving to God or man? If God, then why withhold the offering?
BEEF # 3: OFFERINGS SACRIFICED TO FALSE GODS
Jeremiah 7:21-26, “’This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! 22 For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23 but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. 25 From the time your forefathers left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. 26 But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their forefathers.’”
Are you offering up your sacrifices to false gods?
We all make huge sacrifices to have what we want. But how often do we sacrifice to God a pleasing offering? How often do we make adjustments and sacrifices to bless our Lord?
We’ll rework the finances and work overtime to pay for a vacation, a new car or a bigger house, but when it comes to giving an offering to God, our hands are raised, but empty.
Who’s getting your offerings?
If you’re not giving them to God, then whom are you giving it to? Cox? SDG&E? Who?
Why is God always the first person we withhold from? Is it because we fear Him least? Because we respect Him least? Or because we believe in Him least?
Submitting your finances to God is the FIRST step toward financial peace and prosperity in your life. If you can’t submit your finances to Him, you will NEVER be fully submitted to Him.
The Lord’s resounding call to His people is been one of love and grace. He says, “Return to me!”
Hosea 3:4b, “They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.”
CONCLUSION:
Mal 3:13-14, "You have said harsh things against me," says the LORD. "Yet you ask, ’What have we said against you?’
"You have said, ’It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty?
I’m not seeing the benefit of obedience! What have I gained by obeying God?
Who are you that you should serve God only for the purpose of getting something out of Him?
Are you the servant, or is He?
PERSIST, OVERCOME TO THE END and you will receive your reward.
Are you so selfish and are you so far from submitting your life to Him that you would refuse to obey Him if there wasn’t something in it for you?
DISPELLING THE CURSE OF NEGATIVE CASH FLOW:
I: OBEY and He will provide from unexpected sources.
People of faith are always doing the impossible because they believe God is bigger than their circumstances…
II: Submit to God what belongs to Him AND be generous toward Him.
Who and what are you “offering up” to, making sacrifices for that you have no room for God?
III: Don’t give up or loose faith.
Mal 3:7-14, “Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. "But you ask, ’How are we to return?’
Wouldn’t you love a fresh outpouring of abundance and blessing from God?
Return to me, and I will return to you…
How are we to return? By returning to God what belongs to Him…
8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, ’How do we rob you?’ "In tithes and offerings.
9 You are under a curse-- the whole nation of you-- because you are robbing me.
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.
12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.
Financial health begins the moment we submit our finances to God.
