In our study through the book of Acts, we came
to that challenging portion at the end of chapter
4, which records the generous, spontaneous giving
of those early believers filled with the Spirit
of God. And it seemed to lead us into a study
of biblical principles regarding finances. So
many are struggling with matters of finance,
that there is not the kind of freedom there ought
to be, in many lives at least, to respond to
the Holy Spirit when He leads one to give generously
to a cause. Today we're going to finish the message
on God's principles of family finance. You will
recall that there's a great deal in the Bible
about this subject of money. It is said that
two -thirds of the Marital and family problems
are related to it. And so since the Word of God
has so much to say about a problem that is so
common, it is good for us to at least take a
couple of weeks to see what God says regarding
finances. With apologies to Bill Bright, who
made this statement, or one like it, popular.
We begin by saying this, that God loves you and
has a wonderful plan for your finances. God's
plan for your finances can be summarized in certain
principles that we have looked at together. We
have seen four of them. The first one is that
all of us possess wealth and that God gives it
to us. We have defined wealth as whatever God
entrusts to us. It does not refer just to those
who are rich as we count riches, but all of us
have some wealth. It may be tangible or it could
be intangible, but anything that has measurable
value can be called wealth. God gives wealth
to us. All of us possess it. God doesn't condemn
wealth. In fact, He gives us the ability to gain
it. through work, through investment, and through
inheritance. The second principle that we've
already studied is that God uses our wealth for
several purposes in our lives. God uses our wealth
to bless us. God is not stingy. God does not
delight to watch us be miserable. Rather, God
wants our best, and He delights to bless us,
and He does by increasing our wealth. Secondly,
God purposes through our wealth to test us on
occasion, for we are stewards of what belongs
to Him. So He uses our wealth, or sometimes He
withholds our wealth, to reveal our maturity,
our trustworthiness, our wisdom. Thirdly, God
uses wealth for the purpose of teaching us, teaching
us of His faithfulness, teaching us of His trustworthiness,
to teach us about patience on our part. Certainly,
it is through the giving or the withholding of
money that God can get our attention real quick.
So, God uses our wealth for that purpose, to
teach us lessons. And finally, God uses wealth
in our lives to make us channels to meet other
people's needs. He purposes to use us so that
we can help those who have needs in their lives.
We then become channels of his resources to his
people. The third statement or principle that
we studied regarding finance, and this is where
we stopped the last time, is that we must beware
of the dangers of wealth, for there are dangers.
There are three of them that we have counted
together. First, gaining it can become the focus
of our lives. That is a danger. It can become
the controlling, dominating force in our lives,
thus subverting our morality, causing us to use
and manipulate people. to be tempted to destroy
anyone or anything in our way, and above all,
causing us to forget God. Gaining it can become
the focus of our lives. That is a danger that
we must beware of. A second danger that we've
studied is that possessing it can create anxiety,
or the old word that we're used to, worry. Possessing
it can cause us to worry. The rich man worries
that he will lose what he has and the poor man
worries that he won't have enough. We must beware
of anxiety. Worry about money can destroy our
minds, our bodies, our souls. It can also create
tremendous family problems due to stress because
of the lack of money or to overwork because of
trying to get enough of it. So possessing it
can, if we allow it to, create anxiety in our
lives. Beware. Then a third danger of wealth
is that failure to manage it can bring one into
bondage. That is, to debt. Now we define debt
as the inability to repay what has been borrowed.
If one is meeting his obligations on a loan arrangement,
that is not debt in the biblical sense. It is
an obligation that one has, but debt occurs when
one has overextended himself. That is financial
bondage, when the liabilities that one has exceed
the assets that one possesses. Debt results in
frustration, unfulfilled needs, and once again,
worry. The question I want to ask as we get started
this morning after that quick review is how can
one escape these dangers that we've talked about?
How can one escape them? Let's talk first about
the love of money or what the Bible calls covetousness.
How can one escape loving money? The answer to
that is by learning to be content. Turn once
again, as we did last time, to 1 Timothy chapter
6. We have here in the final chapter of this
first epistle to Timothy some excellent words
regarding the love of money and how to overcome
that. Paul is speaking about some of the false
teachers of that day who were after money, and
he says in verse 6, actually is a means of great
gain when accompanied by contentment. Godliness
is its own reward. And he says it is a great
gain when it is accompanied by contentment. For
we have brought nothing into the world, 1 Timothy
6, 7, we have brought nothing into the world,
so we cannot take anything out of it either.
And if we have food, covering, that is clothing,
with these we shall be content. Content. How
many people do you know who are truly content?
What does it mean to be content? I think the
basic Institute on Youth Conflicts has a fine
working definition of contentment. They say realizing
that God has given me everything I need for my
present happiness is contentment. Realizing that
God has given me everything I need for my present
happiness, that's contentment. Contentment is
a sort of self -sufficiency. Not centered upon
oneself, but it is sufficiency within oneself
apart from exterior circumstances of life. That
is contentment. The apostle goes on here in the
word to warn us that those who want to get rich,
that is those who are not content with what God
has provided, fall into temptation. and a snare,
and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge
men into ruin and destruction. For the love of
money is a root of all sorts of evil. Think of
how many evils in the world are the product of
the love of money. Right now, our government
is deeply concerned about what can be done with
the horrendous drug problem in our society. One
of the reports I saw in that this last week said
that a problem they face presently is that whenever
they arrest the leaders of a group, that there
are immediately people standing in the shadows
who step forward to fill their places. And why
is that? Because of the lucrative results that
come from preying upon the weaknesses and the
miseries of sad and tragic people. But the love
of money causes people to desire to be involved
in that sort of thing. It is the root of all
sorts of evil and some by longing for it have
wandered away from the faith. and pierced themselves
with many a pang. They can't blame anybody but
themselves, says the Bible, for the kind of pain
that they endure. They have pierced themselves
because of the love of money. How can one escape
this? Let me give you four suggestions. One can
escape from covetousness, first of all, by identifying
his real needs versus his wants. That's a struggle
for all of us, isn't it? Because it's so easy
for us to put our wants into the category of
what we need. But if we're going to escape covetousness,
we have to be rather ruthless about this thing
as we judge it in our lives and decide what it
is that we really need and what things are there
that we would like to have. The must haves versus
the would likes. I think the way to determine
one's needs is the answering of this question.
What must I have to live and to serve the Lord
Jesus Christ in the place where he has called
me? The answer to that will vary with the individual.
I cannot judge the needs of anyone else in the
congregation. The answer to the question is personal.
It is customized. What must I have to live and
to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in the place where
He has called me? As I evaluate the response
to that question, I come close to finding out
what my needs are. Once you know your needs,
let your needs determine your basic standard
of living. Don't allow your standard of living
to fluctuate. with your income as it increases.
But be harsh and disciplined with yourself and
determine that you will establish your standard
of living based upon your needs, not the income
that you have. Second, discipline yourself to
live on what you have. If you want to escape
the love of money, discipline yourself to live
on what you have. To do that, you have to have
a budget. And you have to develop what is called
sales resistance. Sales resistance. It is a good
thing I am married because I have a difficult
time resisting a salesman. I know the statements,
I know the tricks to close the sale, and I fall
as a sucker for it every time. And I tend to
be an impulse buyer. At least I used to be, worse
than I am now. An impulse buyer, you have to
be aware of that kind of purchasing. One has
to deny self -indulgence and extravagance. Discipline
yourself to live in what you have. Third, if
you want to escape covetousness, learn to give
money away. That's the real test. You'll find
out real quickly how much the love of money has
a hold of you. When it comes to the point of
giving it away now want to go on to say learning
to give it away wisely not foolishly Don't be
a sucker for everything that comes along asking
for your money be wise about how and where to
whom you give your money and fourth Pray about
your desires Let God fulfill them if and as he
sees best You've already discovered your needs.
Now your wants. Let God determine how to fulfill
those. Remember, the contentment is not found
in the possession of things, but in resting in
the providence of God, knowing that He will bring
to me what He sees I need and what He sees is
best. I have some good friends who live in California
and they've been desiring for, oh, I suppose
two or three years to come out to Minnesota to
visit us. I called them a couple of weeks ago
and I said, hey, when are you making that trip
to Minnesota? And they confessed that they had
just paid off their vacation from last summer
and had learned a lesson from that, not to borrow
money to go on vacation. And so they said, we're
praying about it. And they said, why don't you
pray with us because there's a radio station
there having a contest. And the third prize are
two round -trip tickets on Western Airlines wherever
they fly. So you pray with us that if God wants
us to come to Minnesota, we'll win the third
prize. Well, that's what you call praying about
your wants. I got a call this week they won the
third prize. One out of 30 ,000. So they'll be
here in June. I'll be glad to introduce them
to you. That's how we escape covetousness. Four
suggestions at least. Let's talk about the second
danger, worry. How does one escape from worry?
Now of course that's something most of us don't
experience, right? So we need to learn this for
other people, but let's learn it so we can pass
it along. What's the answer to worry? Very simple.
Learn to trust God. That's too simple, isn't
it? We think, but it boils down to that very
simple statement. I can overcome worry in my
life, whether it be about money or anything else,
by learning to trust God. Turn to Luke chapter
12. The Lord Jesus says in verse 22, for this
reason I say to you, do not be anxious, do not
worry for your life as to what you shall eat,
nor for your body as to what you shall put on.
He says, don't worry about your basic needs,
for the life is more than food and the body than
clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither
sow nor reap, and they have no store room nor
barn, and yet God feeds them. How much more valuable
you are than the birds." Does God miraculously
provide for the birds? No, not really. Through
the cycle of nature and through what He has built
into them, their needs are provided for. So Jesus
is not necessarily saying here that God is going
to miraculously, supernaturally drop out of heaven
what you need for your life. But he's saying
that God has given us abilities, God has given
us industry and our character so that we can
go out and work, and normally it is through that
means that God will provide for our needs. He
goes on to say, In verse 29, do not seek what
you shall eat, what you shall drink, and do not
keep worrying. For all these things the nations
of the world eagerly seek, but your Father knows
that you need these things. But seek for his
kingdom and these things shall be added to you.
So Jesus is simply saying here that if you and
I will make The Lord and His work in the world
and in our lives are number one priority. God
will see to it our needs are met. We can learn
to trust Him. Our Father knows our needs. He
has committed Himself to provide for them. We
should not deny Him the opportunity to prove
Himself or to direct us by providing or withholding.
Worry doesn't do any good anyway, does it? And
in fact, worry destroys our testimony because
what it says is that our Father either doesn't
know, or He doesn't care, or He can't meet our
needs. That's what worry testifies. Someone has
said, worry is interest paid on trouble before
it is due. Don't worry. Leave your needs with
God. Trust in Him. Worry is like a rocking chair.
It'll give you something to do, but it won't
get you anywhere. I guess all of us have heard
the poem, said the robin to the sparrow. I should
really like to know why these anxious human beings
rush about and worry so. Said the sparrow to
the robin. I think that it must be that they
have no Heavenly Father such as cares for you
and me. If you and I really want to get the victory
over worry, then it comes by learning to trust
our Father. Then the third danger that comes
with wealth is that of bondage or debt. What
is the answer to debt? Learning to live within
God's provision. The reason that we get into
debt is that we are not content to live within
what God provides for us, and so we go out and
we borrow in order to get. You say the real problem
I have is not knowing that. I think I've learned
that. My problem is how do I get out of debt?
I suppose there are many of us today who are
facing that. How can one escape financial bondage
where we've gotten in over our heads is the real
point. And we're not able to keep now the obligations
that we have made. How can we regain the peace
and the freedom, the release that we once knew
before we got into this kind of bondage? I want
to suggest six things very, very quickly. Number
one, you can begin by transferring the ownership
of all you have to God. Now that is a mental
and spiritual maneuver that is significant. It
takes time and work to do that. But you must
begin by transferring the ownership of all you
have to God. Recognize that it is His, all you
have is His, not just the 10 % that we sometimes
hear about. By the way, if you have never heard
or read the Pineapple Story, you need to get
a hold of that book from somebody who has it
or from the Basic Institute on Youth Conflicts
and read it. The Pineapple Story is a fantastic
story of a missionary who learned what it means
to give ownership to God of all that he had.
Number two, give something to God as a token
of your sincerity. In other words, begin immediately
to give to his work. Evidence his preeminence
in your life as a step of faith and obedience.
You say, yes, but my debts, listen, your first
debt is to God. Your first obligation is to him.
So evidence in some tangible way his priority
in your life. That's step number two. Number
three, begin buying on a cash. only basis. Destroy
your credit cards, what someone has called those
plastic gods that we carry around with us who
meet our needs. Destroy them. You know, buying
on credit can become habitual and addictive as
much as drugs. So my counsel to you, if you are
in financial bondage, is just to quit cold turkey.
Take a pair of scissors and cut those cards up.
Our society is based upon credit. Far, far too
much for its own health. Perhaps you, like me,
have received letters in the mail. You have already
been approved for $3 ,000 or $5 ,000 or $500
credit. All you have to do is return this form
to us and we'll immediately send you our card.
and you can go out and buy whatever you need.
How tantalizing that is. How alluring and deceptive.
For one almost begins to think that that's free
money, but it's not. It's not. Begin buying on
a cash -only basis if you really want to get
out of debt. If you are in debt now, you're in
financial bondage at this point, you will never
get out as long as you use a credit card. You're
in debt because of credit. Now, there may be
a time in the future when you will be able to
use a credit card and make it your tool, instead
of it dominating you. But for right now, you
must get rid of those cards. Number four, attempt
to arrange for possible payments with your creditors.
And we're talking about someone who's way in
over his head. who can't keep his obligations,
who's getting letters and phone calls saying,
when are you going to pay? Number four then,
attempt to arrange for possible payments with
your creditors. Most creditors, if they sense
you are sincere about it, will work with you
and will help you to get out of debt. There are
what I think some unscrupulous people around
who encourage even further debt. We had one man
in our church who was in over his head. He got
a letter from his finance company that said,
we know that you're having trouble meeting our
payments. Let us loan you some more money so
you won't have so many problems. You say, well,
what about bankruptcy? Is that a possibility?
This is my opinion, and I'm sure that there are
some who might disagree with me on this, but
I believe that bankruptcy can be used, but only
if absolutely necessary. and then not to escape
responsibility for what is owed, but only to
protect one's assets so that he can pay back
what is owed in full, ultimately. We had a man
in a church that I pastored who was in partnership
with some unsaved men, and they got themselves
into real financial bondage and the other two
skipped town. Leaving him with the shambles of
the business and this humongous debt. He had
no choice but to file for bankruptcy He learned
a lesson number one that you don't go into business
with unconverted people and He has remembered
that now over these I suppose some Perhaps 20
years since that occurred He declared bankruptcy,
but his purpose was not to be relieved of his
obligations, but only protect what he had. And
he went back over a period of time and paid back
in full every creditor of their business. And
God has honored him because of that. His business
has flourished. And indeed today he's even on
the board of a bank in that city. Now, when you
declare bankruptcy, if you feel that's a tool
you must use or something you need to realize,
there are certain consequences that can occur
to your credit future. Attempt to do everything
you can to bring your payments down so that you
can pay all of your creditors off given time.
Number five, write out a budget and learn to
stick with it. That's not going to happen accidentally.
It's going to require discipline on your part.
But do it anyway. Write down a budget. What your
income is on one side of the page, on the other
side, where that money has to go. And balance
it out and do not go beyond that. Enforce it
on yourself. And number six, seek legitimate
ways to increase your net income. Your net income.
Now one of the things that often happens is,
well, my wife is going to have to work. It may
be that you will not increase your net income
by very much when that happens. You better investigate
that, look at it real carefully, all the additional
costs involved when your spouse works. It may
involve getting a second job yourself, or it
may involve getting a different job. But seek
legitimate ways to increase your net income.
so that you can get yourself out of bondage as
quickly as possible. I've spent too long on that,
but let me rush ahead now to the number four
principle. We've talked about three principles
of family finance found in the Word of God. Principle
number four is that God wants us to make the
most of His gifts. He really does. Whatever God
gives to us, He wants us to make the most of
it. See, how can I make the most of what God
has given to me? Let me give you again six suggestions.
I will attempt to be more brief than I was before
on those last six. Number one, if you want to
make the most of what God has given you, beware
of swindlers. That's rather reasonable, isn't
it? Investigate carefully the promises that sound
too good to be true because they usually are.
Reject those promises of a fast buck that you
hear about. Beware of swindlers. Number two,
be a wise shopper. Look for the best buy. Delay
some purchases until there is a sale. I have
a little thing that I hate to buy a book for
full price. And in my ministry, of course, books
are the tools that I use. But I despise paying
full price for a book and always look for sales.
Use coupons. Some of you may feel that's too
much trouble. You can save literally hundreds
of dollars a year if you're wisely used coupons.
Attempt to buy at a discount. The number three,
if you want to make the most of what God has
given you, do not sign, rather co -sign on a
loan agreement. Because that leaves you responsible
in case of a default of the other person. Listen
to some of the verses from the Word of God about
this. Proverbs 17, 18, a man lacking in sense
pledges and becomes surety that is a co -signer
in the presence of his neighbor. The word of
God says you lack in sense if you co -sign alone.
Proverbs 22, verses 26 and 27, do not be among
those who give pledges, among those who become
sureties for debts. If you have nothing to pay,
why should he, that is the creditor, take your
bed from under you? You say, well, does that
mean never help another Christian? No, it doesn't
mean that at all. You can help another Christian.
But when you do, don't loan money, don't cosign
a net, give money. Give with no expectation at
all in return. And if that believer repays you,
then fine. If not, then... You've given it to
the Lord. I believe the Word of God gives this
principle, too, that you should not charge interest
of another believer. So you can help other believers.
But when you, quote, loan them money, in your
mind make it a gift so that there does not develop
a rift between you and that brother. Consider
whatever you give as a loan to the Lord. Proverbs
19, 17 says, He who is gracious to a poor man
lends to the Lord and he will repay him for his
good deed. A fourth suggestion as to how to make
the most of what God has given you is to borrow
money wisely if you must borrow. Not beyond what
is essential. Not for beyond what is essential.
And not for impulse buying. And I think it's
a good principle never to buy on your first contact
with a salesman. Now, I apologize to you salesmen
who may be here who won't like that, but I think
that's good counsel nonetheless to never buy
that first contact. In fact, one of my friends
told me this week that his principle is that
he tells the salesman, there are two things I
must do. First of all, I have to think about
this 24 hours. Number two, I have to tell my
wife. And he said, by that time, he usually doesn't
buy. Do not borrow for depreciating items, items
that lose value in time. Do not borrow beyond
what can be repaid. As I've suggested already,
rather than borrowing, allow God the opportunity
to provide or to redirect you or to deny your
concern for this moment. Don't allow yourself
the luxury of becoming indulgent and running
ahead of God with an independent spirit. When
you consider borrowing, understand the true nature
of interest and how that increases the cost of
the item that you may be buying on sale. In the
long run, you may be paying more because you
borrowed money to buy the item on sale. instead
of waiting and paying perhaps even full price
when you had the cash. And notice whether it's
simple interest or compounded interest. And never
buy without figuring the actual cost of the item
over the term of the contract of your borrowing.
Suggestion number five as to how to make the
most of what God has given you. Prepare a will.
to protect your assets and your family. Every
person ought to have a will. I must confess to
you, mine is woefully out of date. And so as
I preach this, there is this stab in my own heart.
If that's your case, or if you don't have a will,
please see a professional who can help you draw
one up. Because if you don't have a will, the
government has one for you. And number six, invest
some of your money in a wise manner. Invest some
of your money in a wise manner. Don't gamble
in a high -risk scheme. And don't become bondage
to worry over the investments that you make.
But if you want to make the most of what God
has given you, then learn to wisely invest some
of it in some manner. I think all of us need
to realize that character is revealed by one's
money management. By that I don't mean that a
person who gets rich or one who is miserly has
good character. That's not the point. But the
point is how one does handle or manage his money
does reveal his true character. But someone says,
I never seem to have enough money. Maybe a lot
of us can identify with that. I never seem to
have enough. It never goes far enough. And if
that goes on long enough, the question comes,
then why doesn't God meet my needs? Right? John
MacArthur suggests four questions to ask when
you are thinking about that first one. I never
seem to have enough. Why not? Four questions
are, number one, do I really need more? Do I
really need more? Number two, is God testing
my faith? I need to consider that. Number three,
did I already misuse what he gave me? And therefore
it seems I don't have enough. Number four, have
I violated biblical principles? And he lists
some of the principles. The principle regarding
stinginess. Proverbs 11, 24 says, There is one
who scatters, yet increases all the more. And
there is one who withholds what is justly due,
and it results only in want. Stinginess. The
violation of the principle of generosity, really
is the principle, can cause us not to have enough.
We may be guilty of hastiness. There are some
of us who are impulse buyers, as I've already
suggested. Proverbs 21 .5 says, everyone who
is hasty comes surely to poverty, may be guilty
of stubbornness. There are some people who have
the idea they're going to do whatever they want
to with their money, and they don't care what
God says. Proverbs 13 .18 says, poverty and shame
will come to him who neglects discipline. There
are some people who don't have enough because
of laziness. Proverbs 20 -13, do not love sleep
lest you become poor. Open your eyes and you'll
be satisfied with food. Proverbs 23 -21, drowsiness
will clothe a man with rags. Some may be guilty
of indulgence and therefore they don't have enough.
Proverbs 23 -21 says, for the heavy drinker and
the glutton, will come to poverty. How many have
sadly learned that? And so, my friend, if you
feel that you don't have enough money, it may
be because you violated one of those verses in
the Word of God. Well, in this brief detour regarding
biblical finances, I've only been suggestive,
not exhaustive, in what I've said. If you need
more detailed or personal help if you need more
instruction in this way. Then let me encourage
you to take the course on finances that's being
offered next quarter in the Grace Center for
Biblical Studies. That's being offered in one
of the two hours this quarter and the next quarter
will be offered the opposite hour so that within
the next three months you may be able to take
it at least. Because there you will spend 12
or 13 weeks talking through these things that
we've talked over quickly in just a few weeks
If you want help before you can get to that Then
let me encourage you to get the book Christian
financial concepts by Larry Burkett Actually,
this is a workbook That you go through it is
a Bible study course to help you to understand
what the Word of God says regarding your finances.
Christian Financial Concepts by Larry Burkett.
B -U -R -K -E -T -T. Our finances and how we
handle them are important. They are a measure
of our maturity and our character. But my friend,
as important as finances are, let us never forget
that they shrink. in relation to our spiritual
concerns and our relationship with God. Now sometimes
our finances reflect our relationship with God,
don't they? But if you're here today with the
impression that somehow what you do with your
money or how much you give or so on makes you
acceptable with God, let me tell you now, clearly
without any hesitation, that we become right
with God, not on the basis of our money whether
how much or how little we have, but on the basis
of our faith in Jesus Christ. If you have never
trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, that is
your heart's need. That is the resource that
you're lacking right now in your life. Of all
men, whatever your bank account says, if you
don't have Jesus, you're impoverished, you're
poor. But if you'll receive Him today, He will
pour into you the life of His spiritual riches.
And if you have problems in finances or in any
other area of your life, he will begin working
from the inside of you to correct those problems.
You say, well, I'm trying to get those things
cleaned up before I do that. Listen, don't do
that. That's doing it in reverse. That's putting
the cart before the horse. Let him come into
your life and then work through you to enable
you to help you with those difficulties that
you face. Let's bow together in prayer. Lord,
you say so much in your word regarding this important
subject, and we have, it seems so very quickly,
but skimmed the surface, and yet I pray that
there will be some help here for us so that we
may be wise and godly in the handling of our
finances. Lord, if there are today some tough
decisions some of us need to make, the right
prioritizing of our lives to reflect the true
values that there are, then I pray that we'll
make those decisions. Give us the courage to
do that and the discipline to stick with it.
For Lord, we want to be responsive to your spirit
and be able to handle our finances as you direct
us. And Father, I pray that if there would be
one here today who doesn't know Christ, that
that one would understand the simplicity of receiving
Him and come to know Him to whom to know is life
eternal. In Jesus' name, amen.