FREEDOM FROM DEBT – I Owe, I Owe, It’s Off to Work I Go
Luke 12:15-21 (NIV)
[15] Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
[16] And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. [17] He thought to himself, ’What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
[18] "Then he said, ’This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. [19] And I’ll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ’
[20] "But God said to him, ’You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
[21] "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
INTRODUCTION:
A. For many of us our theme song as we start a new work day is, “I owe, I owe! It’s off to work I go. (whistle) I owe, I owe, I owe.” Unfortunately few of us will “Whistle While we Work;” instead we are more likely to sing the blues!
B. Many of us live our lives like MONOPOLY. You know how the game works. Players accumulate property, build houses and hotels, and then wait for the other players to land on their property so they have to pay up. Eventually you hope to bankrupt everyone else and have all the money and property. Truly, American Capitalism at its best!
1. Unfortunately, many of us end up like Pearl did the other day. She lost the game. Her cousin Amber had everything and Pearl was bankrupt. However, here is the good news! When the game was finished, the board was folded up, all the game pieces were put away, and the lid was put on the box. It was only game.
2. Owning expensive cars, an extravagant house, and living a “more-is-better” life will yield no more joy for eternity than winning at MONOPOLY. When your life is over, the game pieces are put away, and the lid is closed on your coffin. It won’t really matter who owned the railroads or Boardwalk. Earthly wealth doesn’t guarantee earthly happiness or heavenly treasure.
E. John D. Rockefeller Jr. was one of the richest men in the world. Shortly after his death, someone asked his chief financial advisor, “How much did Rockefeller leave behind?” To which the advisor answered, “Everything!”
F. It’s like the story of the man who decided that when he died he wanted to take it all with him, so he instructed his wife to burry him with all his money. Being a loving devoted wife she followed through with his instructions. When he died she delayed his funeral for one month. During that time she cashed in all of his stocks and bonds, sold all of his property, his cars and other belongings, emptied his checking and savings accounts, collected his life insurance money. She liquidated everything and had a pile of cash—literally millions of dollars. Finally on the day of the funeral she put it all in the coffin with her beloved husband just like he had asked. They closed the lid and buried him. A friend heard what she had done and asked why she would just bury all that money with him. She said, “I wrote him a check. If he can cash it, then he can have it.”
I. What is financial freedom?
1. Financial freedom is not living the American dream!
a) This morning we are going to look at six biblical principles that will give us financial freedom. Applying biblical principles to your money will not help you win at Monopoly or the game of Life. Accumulating more stuff and having a big bank account is not what it means to be financially free.
• Luke 12:15 (NIV)
Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
b) If you only hear one thing this morning then hear this: Financial freedom is not the accumulation of wealth and the stuff that money buys. You can have lots of money and things but be held captive by it all. We need real financial freedom.
ILLUSTRATION: Henry Ford was once asked, “How much money is enough?” His answer: “ONE DOLLAR MORE.”
• Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NIV)
Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.
2. In a word financial freedom is CONTENTMENT.
• 1 Timothy 6:6 (NIV)
But godliness with contentment is great gain.
a) When you are content you won’t fall into the trap of debt to buy more and more things today using tomorrows pay check. Contentment is of greater gain than anything money or credit can buy. Contentment will remain long after the stuff we buy wears out and needs to be replaced.
b) When you are content you have patience and can live by cash instead of being impulsive and buying things on credit. When you are content you will stop paying creditors interest and start paying yourself instead, and you will have more to share with others and to give to the work of the Lord. CONTENTMENT IS GREAT GAIN. CONTENTMENT IS REAL FINANCIAL FREEDOM.
• Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
c) Jesus encourages us to be RICH TOWARD GOD! Don’t put yourself in financial bondage by thinking that your identity is the sum total of your assets. Life is more than your bank account or the stuff that fills your house. Be financially free with godly contentment; contentment that comes from the knowledge that God is with you all the time. The Lord loves you and will take care of you; that’s real satisfaction that this world can never take away from you.
3. Would you like to find real financial freedom? Would you like to learn the secret to contentment and break free from the bondage of debt?
a) Financial freedom is within your grasp! You can be financially free as you learn to live according to biblical principles for wise financial management.
b) Now let me free you up a little bit by reassuring you that we are not going to try to cover everything the Bible has to say about money. The Bible has over 700 verses that talk about money; Jesus talked more about money than He did heaven or hell. You will be glad to know we aren’t going to look at everything the Bible has to say, nor are we going to look at everything Jesus said. Instead we are going to look at six principles that should guide the use of our money and give us financial freedom.
II. Principle #1: The biblical principle of work.
• Luke 12:16 (NIV)
And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.
The ground did not produce a crop by chance; this man had done work necessary to have an abundant harvest.
1. Work is part of God’s design for man.
• Genesis 2:15 (NIV)
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
a) Work is not part of the curse for sin! God created man with the purpose to work.
b) God designed man to work because we are created in God’s image. GOD IS A WORKER!
• Genesis 1:26; 2:2 (NIV)
[26] Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness . . . [2:2] By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
• John 5:17 (NIV)
Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."
c) Don’t fall into the trap of begrudging your work. You are most likely to resent your work if you are trapped by debt and financial woes.
d) Others of you may hate your jobs because of conflicts with your boss. If you want to get free from the drudgery of your work THEN FIRE YOUR BOSS!
2. Make God your boss and work for the Lord.
• Colossians 3:23 (NIV)
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
a) You will go to work with a different attitude when you remember that you are not working for man; you are working for the Lord.
b) God is a good boss to work for. The Lord will honor you as you honor Him and the Lord will pay you well! With God as you boss He “will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” Philip. 4:19 (NIV).
3. You don’t have to do your work alone! God wants to work with you.
• Deuteronomy 28:12 (NIV)
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.
a) As you begin each work day acknowledge God’s presence with you; commit to do your work for Him and ask for His blessing upon what you do. Now watch as God’s favor is upon all you do. Your attitude will be transformed and you will begin to go to work with joy in your heart instead of dreading the start of another day.
b) Financial freedom is found as you apply the biblical principle of work in your life. God designed you to work; it is not a curse. Make God your boss and expect God to work with you as you experience His blessing upon all you do.
III. Principle #2: The biblical principle of investing.
• Luke 12:16 (NIV)
And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.
The abundance of the man’s harvest was not just the result of favorable weather conditions or having a good season; it was not just chance or the blessing of God upon his work. A good farmer knows that buying seed to plant is an investment that you expect to reap dividends on when the harvest is ready. The rich man reaped in proportion to what was sown; his harvest was great because he had made an investment in the seed planted.
1. God wants us to save for the future.
• Proverbs 21:20 (NLT)
The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get.
a) Easy credit has many people living on the edge of bankruptcy. The annual savings rate in the US is at an all time low of just 2% while many Americans have a negative savings rate (that means they spend more than they make each year).
b) The desire to “keep up with the Jones” and to accumulate more and more stuff pushes people to spend every penny they make. Anyone who spends everything he makes is spending more than he can really afford. A consumer mentality only keeps you in financial bondage piling on more and more debt.
• Proverbs 6:6-8 (NIV)
[6] Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! [7] It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, [8] yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.
c) The Bible doesn’t tell us to be like the locust. The locust devours everything in its path and leaves nothing behind. Instead we are to consider the ways of the ant who with hard work stores up provision for the long winter. Don’t be a locust and spend it all; be wise like an ant and save for the future.
2. A word of financial wisdom: PRIORITIZE DEBT REPAYMENT FIRST AND THEN BEGIN MAKING INVESTMENTS FOR THE FUTURE.
a) One simple way to think about credit cards is they let you spend tomorrows pay check today! Debt is borrowing against your future. How can you begin to invest and save for the future if you are spending tomorrow’s income even before you have earned it?
b) Think about it from a net worth or balance sheet stand point. Your net worth is simply to total of all your assets minus all your liabilities. One way to increase your net worth is to add to your assets through savings, but your bottom line also improves by reducing your debt. In other words you are richer with every payment you make to reduce your debts and liabilities.
c) Financial freedom is found as you apply the biblical principles of work and investing in your life. Let your money begin to work for you and give you a brighter tomorrow.
IV. Principle #3: The biblical principle of budgeting.
• Luke 12:17-18 (NIV)
[17] He thought to himself, ’What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ [18] "Then he said, ’This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
The rich man had a financial plan. He looked over his resources and made the financial decision to build bigger and better barns. Instead of selling his grain for a quick buck, he decided to increase the size of his farm and store the abundance of his harvest.
1. A budget is a financial plan.
a) People who are living financially free manage their money BY DESIGN AND NOT BY DEFAULT.
b) Have you ever heard someone say, “I just don’t know where all my money goes?” Maybe you are the one saying it! The reason people don’t know where their money goes is because they are not looking where it goes. They spend on impulse and not with intention or purpose. If you want to know where all your money is going then you need to start watching where it goes. A budget is your financial plan to help you control where your money is spent.
c) Maybe you have heard of the person who said their money talks? They always hear it saying, “Goodbye.” The purpose of a budget is so you can start talking to your money instead of it talking to you. A budget enables you to tell your money where to go instead of wondering where it all went when it wants to say, “Goodbye.”
2. A budget empowers you to make wise use of your money.
• Luke 14:28-29 (NIV)
[28] "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? [29] For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him.
a) It’s the fool who starts something and can’t finish it. It’s the fool who does not take control of their finances to properly manage their money.
b) A budget is the responsible way to handle your money. I’ve often said, “Responsibility gives you RESPONSE ABILITY.” When you make responsible choices and chose to manage your money by following a budget or financial plan, then you have the ability to respond when a financial crisis arises instead of panicking.
c) For some a financial crisis may be trying to decide which bill to pay; “Do I pay the eclectic bill, or should I pay on my credit card?” For others a financial emergency is when the kids are sick and have to see the doctor or the car breaks down or you have an accident. Maybe your financial crisis is a job change. With a budget you are prepared to meet these unexpected expenditures because your budget controlled how you used your money giving you the recourses necessary to meet the challenge with confidence . . . and cash!
d) Financial freedom is found as you apply the biblical principles of work, investing and budgeting in your life. Stop wondering where your money went and develop a financial plan that will empower you to tell your money where to go.
V. Principle #4: The biblical principle of avoiding debt.
• Luke 12:18 (NIV)
"Then he said, ’This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
I want you to notice what the rich man did not say. He did not say, “I will go to the bank and ask for a loan to build a new barn.” He avoided making an impulse decision on credit. He decided to use the cash he had on hand to make the needed improvements to his farm.
1. The financially free avoid the misuse of debt.
a) Understand it is not a sin to buy something on credit. It just is not in your best interest—it is in the best interest of the bank! Using credit is not a sin, but you should examine your motives anytime you want to make a purchase using credit. Why? Your motive might be a sin!
• 1 Timothy 6:6-8 (NIV)
[7] 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.
b) Most credit purchase are made on impulse because you think you have to have whatever it is you are buying. Yet if you stopped and waited before you purchased you might realize you don’t really need it.
c) Furthermore using a budget forces you to plan your purchases thus enabling you to pay for purchases with cash instead of using credit.
2. Don’t fall into the credit trap!
a) When you buy on credit you make a financial contract to use someone else’s money to make your purchases, but you further agree to repay them what was borrowed with interest.
b) Buying on credit only causes you to pay more for what you want! Instead of paying the retail value of what want to purchase, you pay retail plus interest. For instance you can go to the local department store and buy a new washer for say $500 using the stores credit card. However when you make the minimum payments on your purchase you don’t just repay the $500 for the washer you have to pay the interest too, so when it is all said and done your $500 washer actually costs you over $2,000; you will pay for four washing machines, but the store is only going to give you one.
c) Did you know that if you have a credit card with a $3,500 balance and an 18% interest rate that it will take you 40 years to pay it off making only the minimum payment? Here’s the added problem. Most people never pay their credit cards off! They pay it down a little and then go buy something else on credit, so in the long run their balances only go up.
d) Some folks believe the bank won’t give you more credit than you can afford to pay back. If that’s true then why do so may people file for bankruptcy each year? Banks want to keep you in financial bondage as long as they can, so they will give you more and more money that you agree to repay with more and more interest!
• Proverbs 22:7 (NIV)
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
3. If you want to be financially free the break free from the bondage of debt and stop using credit all together.
a) Our personal story is a testimony to the reality that it can be done.
b) Financial freedom is found as you apply the biblical principles of work, investing, budgeting and avoiding debt.
VI. Principle #5: The biblical principle of giving.
• Luke 12:19 (NIV)
And I’ll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ’
The rich man failed to practice the principle of giving. He was only thinking about himself. He didn’t think about giving to honor God with His wealth, nor did he think about sharing with others.
1. Don’t put off giving to God! Giving to God first opens the way for you to experience God’s blessing in your finances.
• Proverbs 3:9-10 (NLT)
Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything your land produces. [10] Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with the finest wine.
• Proverbs 11:24-25 (NIV)
[24] One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. [25] A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
• 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (NIV)
[6] Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. [7] Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. [8] And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
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2. 90% goes further than keeping it all and trying to go it alone without God’s blessing.
• Malachi 3:8-10 (NIV)
[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.
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IV. Principle #6: The biblical principle of stewardship-God is the owner of it all.
• Luke 12:20-21 (NIV)
[20] "But God said to him, ’You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
[21] "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
The rich man thought everything belonged to him and that he was in control of his own destiny. Yet in reality nothing belonged to the rich man—not even his life.
1.
• Psalm 24:1 (NIV)
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
• 1 Chronicles 29:10-14 (NIV)
David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, "Praise be to you, O Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. [11] Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. [12] Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. [13] Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. [14] "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.
2. Every financial decision is a spiritual decision.
a) Obedience in giving helps us to remember to keep God first in our finances; therefore we go to God and ask His to direct us in the choices we make. It’s not our money anyway; it all belongs to God.
