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Commercials:
Everywhere You Want to
Be
(Series
– 3 of 4)
Pastor
Kris Vos
Money
is an area that we have
to deal with on an every
day basis. Jesus knows
us so well that he knows
we need help in this
area.
Debt
can be similar to a
toddler in a dirty
diaper – it smells bad
but it’s mine so I’ll
keep it.
Open
up this morning and
consider some input on
how Jesus would advise
us on our finances.
Money does not have to
be a constant source of
tension. 1 st
thing the Bible tells us
about our lives is not
to be normal!
Don’t
become so well adjusted
to your culture so that
you fit in without even
thinking!
70%
of Americans are living
paycheck to paycheck!
Last
year in America we set a
record number of
personal bankruptcy
filings.
We
set a record number of
foreclosures—more than
during the Great
Depression.
Credit
Card delinquency is at
an all time high.
Wise
households will
eliminate debt and save
some money.
Department
of commerce the average
American saved a -2.2%.
Their emergency fund is
their credit card. The
average American gets 50
credit card offers a
year. They are plastic
people eaters! We go
down to the cash lagoon,
you will be swimming in
interest-infested
waters. They don’t
make good flotation
devices. The creature
from the cash lagoon is
waiting below you and he
will pull you down and
you will never come back
up.
69%
of those who filed for
bankruptcy said that
plastic caused it.
Average
person has 7 credit
cards. $8,400 is the
average credit card debt
in America. If you paid
the minimum balance at
18% interest it would
take 24,000 dollars to
pay this off!
I
think we need to do some
plastic surgery! I am
not giving in anymore, I
am done. I made my
millions with Discover
points!
This
gets us going the wrong
direction. We need to
declare war! It is OK to
cut these things up.
Some of you it is OK to
go ballistic, it is OK
to downsize, it is OK to
eat at home and take a
sack lunch, it is OK to
drive a used car, it is
OK to wear hand-me-downs
and Walmart brand
clothes. When you can
spend cash, spend cash!
When you are using
plastic you don’t feel
it!
We’ve
tried it all in the
past: I have cut up my
own credit cards
ceremonially.
We
have talked about the
death grip = mortgage.
Jerry
told us the story of how
you could freeze your
credit card in a block
of ice.
This
morning our plan is
these little things! –
Take out the Credit Card
COVERS! (Cover says “Pray
before you Pay”)
Don’t
be normal!
(see all above)
Normal
isn’t working real
well in America! I pity
the fool!
Money
is a point of tension
for my wife and I! 90%
OF DIVORCES SAY THAT
MONEY IS IN THE TOP 3
REASONS.
We
have to get on the same
page as our spouses.
The
earth is the Lords and
all it contains. We get
1.7 million in our
lifetimes to manage for
God. A budget is so
important.
Debt
takes many forms.
The
greatest debt we owe is
the debt we owe to God
for our sins.
For
every time He has
said do it this
way and we ignored
him and did it our
own way.
For
every time we
tried to move
circumstances to
our advantage.
We
hurt Him. We piled
up a debt we can
never repay.
Debts
that others owe us!
(be careful – if you
are too demanding God
says he will hear the
cry of the one who is
burdened with debt and
he will hold you
accountable!)
Debts
of love.
Let no debt remain
outstanding, except the
continuing debt to love
one another, for he who
loves his fellowman has
fulfilled the law.
Romans 13: 8
Financial
Debts
There
are countless ways and
the Bible discourages
debt at every turn
though it does not
prohibit debt. Bill
Hybels organizes the
cautions in six
categories:
Debt
enslaves you to a
creditor.
Proverbs
22:7 says the “borrower
becomes the lender’s
slave.”
Some
of you have had major
injuries or other health
problems that have had
profound effects on your
lifestyle. Some of you
can no longer play
basketball, which would
be extremely depressing
for me. Some of you
cannot run the way you
used to. You can’t eat
the things you used to
love. Your life has been
seriously limited
because of a significant
health problem.
It
hangs over you like a
cloud every day of your
life. That is kind of
how debt feels. Once you
sign your name part of
the freedom you used to
have is gone. Every
financial decision you
make from now on is
balanced against your
debt.
Here
is how one expert
described it: “Once
you’re in debt,
interest will be your
companion every minute
of the day or night, and
it is working against
you. It has no love, no
sympathy. It is as hard
and soulless as a
granite cliff, and you
cannot dismiss it.
Whenever you get in its
way or you cross its
course or fail to meet
its demands it crushes
you. It just crushes
you.”
Debt
obligates you to
earning pressure.
Could
you survive missing one
paycheck? Could you
survive missing two? How
about three? How many
paychecks missed would
it take to put you
under?
If
you answered “no” to
any of these you are
under some heavy earning
pressure. Maybe work is
already difficult for
you and hard to find
fulfillment and joy in.
Add to it the weight of
the earning pressure you
are under due to debt
and your job can become
more of a prison that an
opportunity for
fulfillment. The rewards
that come from your hard
work and talents are
swallowed up in pressure
to pay your debts.
Said
Governor Dewey, urging a
pay-as-you-go policy in
government: “Back in
the 1860’s Borough
fathers decreed a new
road for what is now
Central Avenue in the
Bronx. It was to be the
latest thing—a plank
road. The fathers sold
bonds for that plank
road at seven percent
interest. The plank road
rotted away and Central
Avenue had to be paved.
It probably has been
repaved many times
since.
“Today,
decades after the plank
road is forgotten, the
City of New York is
still paying seven
percent interest on
those bonds and it will
continue to pay seven
percent interest until
the bonds are retired—in
the year 2147!
“That
plank road originally
cost $390,000. When the
last bond is retired, it
will have cost the
people three million
dollars.”
All
this undermines your
joy.
There
are enough things that
threaten to take the joy
out of our lives without
adding another one. 9
times out of 10 it is
going to be a source of
tension in your marriage
relationship.
YEAR
OF CANCELING DEBTS!
God
knew that debt takes the
joy out of life. So you
know what he did? In Deuteronomy
15 he sets a special
holiday aside. He says
every 7th year will be a
year for canceling
debts.
Can
you imagine if the year
2006 were a year for
canceling debts for you
and me. Yee ha! We can
finally get on top of
things cause the year of
canceling debts is here!
Unfortunately
such a year is only in
our dreams. The lottery,
the rich uncle’s will,
the dream job they just
don’t happen. When
they do happen they are
a fluke. But debt is
dependable. It never
goes away and you can be
sure it will not be
forgotten even if Y2K
eats all your records
they will find you, with
interest.
Debt
erodes giving
opportunities.
Have
you ever had a brother
or sister, mom or dad,
grandparent in serious
financial distress. Some
one close in the family
fall on hard times. You
wanted so much to help
but you were powerless.
All you had to offer
them was a share in your
debt-ridden life.
Maybe
you have even had the
opportunity to help
someone who has helped
you in the past. It is
hard to come empty
handed to a friend who
has been there for you
in the past.
Maybe
your heart gets pulled
in many directions. You
want to help the poor,
you want to give to the
church, you want to
express your love to God
by giving and your heart
says “Do it.” You
turn to your wallet and
it says, “It is not
there to give.”
Debt
will unmask character
flaws.
If
it gets bad enough debt
exposes parts of our
lives that we don’t
like to admit. Because
at the heart of some
debt problems lie things
like:
Greed
– I just need a little
bit more…
Discontent
– I would be happy if
I just had…
Impatience
– Inability to
delay what we want
for later. Gotta
have it and gotta
have it now.
Lack
of trust in God to
provide.
Now
I know that not all
financial troubles are a
result of debt or
character faults that
come with debt. There
are times when events
happen in our lives that
are beyond our control.
However, there are times
in life when debt
exposes some character
flaws that we need to
work on.
David
the greatest king of
Israel had a problem
with this last character
flaw of not trusting
God. When he saw this
beautiful woman
Bathsheba he felt that
God had let him down in
the wife department and
he needed to intervene.
He got her husband
killed and took her as
his own.
God
told David, : “I would
have given you many more
things.” II Samuel
12:8
If
only David could have
trusted God. If only he
could have been content.
Hebrews
13:5 Keep your lives
free from the love of
money and be content.
Debt
distorts other’s
view of God.
People
often ask me if I ever
get pulled over do I
tell them I am a pastor
to try and get out of
the ticket.
No!
That is one of those
times I want to make
sure that people don’t
know that I am a
Chrisian. Not that I am
ashamed to be identified
with Christ. I just know
that He depends on me to
act justly and live
beautifully as one of
His children. If we walk
around with a huge debt
hanging over us we will
not be healthy examples
to our communion with
God. He expects us to
honor him with all of
our important decisions.
Don’t
be FOOLISH!
Proverbs
21:20 “In the house of
the wise are stores of
choice food and oils but
a foolish man devours
all he owns.”
We
could sum it all up with
Proverbs 21:20 “The
wise man saves for the
future, but the foolish
person spends whatever
he gets.” [This
book has such great
stuff in it doesn’t
it?!]
Cabrillo
quote – We
come to the new world in
the name of his majesty
the king and in the name
of God Almighty to bring
light to those living in
darkness, and to find
the great wealth that
was said to be in this
world.
In
the land of “ing”
there is this
conquistador mentality.
Bling, bling! And you
end up OWING! Hording—coveting—wanting—borrowing
You
gotta get in the zone.
[Not to be confused with
the END ZONE]
Managing,
budgeting, saving, and
tithing.
There
was a TIME article about
being in the zone for
athletes. How do we get
in the zone.
It
is an area that is
distinguished from
another area.
God
wants to see us in this
area. We will have a
hard time finding this
area. God wants you to
be in the sweet
spot. If God
willingly gave us His
Son is He going to hold
out on us in other areas
of life?
The
blessing of God is when
we receive the tangible
and intangible blessing
and favor of God in our
life. We have peace and
tranquility of soul.
When
you are at peace with
God there are intangible
benefits on that you
cannot put a price tag
on. = PRICELESS!
You
have to have a plan!
Proverbs 27:23& 24
You
know the conditions of
your flock, pay
attention to their
condition because riches
do not endure forever…
Budget!
A budget is telling your
money what to do rather
than wondering where it
went. The greatest enemy
to financial wisdom is
LIFESTYLE!
God
does want us to enjoy
the money he gives us
but to stop feeling
guilty we are going to
have budget what he
gives.
You’ve
got to write it down.
Every dollar has to have
a name.
We
have 25 different
categories. They have to
add up! You can’t have
a negative figure at the
bottom.
What
happens if you take
flowing water and you
cut off the flow—it
becomes stagnant. When
God starts blessing us
we have to keep the flow
going!
The
power of money properly
spent is truly amazing.
It
can bring healing to
marriages
It
can bring food to the
hungry
It
can bring aide to those
who have nothing in
heaven!
It
can bring light to a
dark world
Coffee
cup that came alive the
mold was growing…when
we get stagnant we start
to reek spiritually. It
is OPM – other people’s
money. If I give someone
10 - $10 bills then it
is easier to give. If we
get in that perspective
that we are giving money
that is not our own we
begin to get in the zone
and find the connection.
The
power of money
properly spent is
truly amazing.
It
can bring
healing to
marriages
It
can bring food
to the hungry
It
can bring aide
to those who
have nothing in
heaven!
It
can bring light
to a dark world
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While
my money is landing in
India it is being
invested in heaven. God
doesn’t need your
money and neither does
our church. Our church
is an unstoppable force,
nothing is going to slow
this down!
Every
spending decision is a
spiritual decision.
You
practice giving in your
financial life and then
you can give more in
your relational life.
Resources
include: Bill Hybel’s
message on giving, Mark
Beeson’s message on
giving.
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