Unfollow – Finances
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Matthew 16:24
This church is very passionate about many things.
First, we are passionate for those that are unchurched! In the words of Jesus, “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick” (Jesus was being question by religious leaders why he would eat with sinners).
We are passionate about people experiencing the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is the death, burial, and resurrection. We believe Acts 2:38 is the plan of salvation without hesitation or apologies. We are passionate about Jesus Christ being the one true God manifested in the flesh and we know the devils believe that also and they tremble.
We are also passionate and bold in talking about finances – and we make no apologies.
I come to you with a heavy burden that many of you are carrying.
At the start of 2022, 64% of the U.S. population was living paycheck to paycheck, up from 61% in December and just shy of the high of 65% in 2020, according to a Lending Club Report.
That means 6.5 out of 10 people in this room are not making ends meet and can barely keep their head above the water financially.
If you think making more money is the answer… listen to this statistic:
Even among those earning six figures, 48% said they are now living paycheck to paycheck, up from 42% in December, the survey of more than 2,600 adults found.
This saddens my heart today that most of you, according to this stat, are living under unnecessary stress because you have made bad decisions with money.
You have been sold a lie that money is the answer to your happiness and if you can just GET MORE, your life would be complete.
Let me say this as loud as I can, “UNFOLLOW”
Unfollow every mindset and every person that tells you to buy things you can’t afford and that it is OK to live in debt.
The “Buy now, pay later” is definitely true. YOU WILL PAY FOR IT LATER! Stop using credit cards you can’t pay off at the end of the month or buying things that you know will put you in a financial bind.
In the words of Dave Ramsey, “Act Your Wage.”
The enemy’s purpose is to steal, kill and destroy many things in your life. Don’t let him make you believe that if you get more of this world, your life will be complete.
We must have a different mindset of how we handle money and align ourselves with God’s Word in order to win.
Attention parents and future college students, just because everyone is taking student loans out for college doesn’t mean that it is the right thing to do.
As a parent, do your kid a favor for their future, UNFOLLOW Sally Mae and every other student loan company out there. College campuses are filled with the worst type of dealers – debt dealers.
About 8 years ago when we had our first financial budgeting class to help people get out of debt, one parent with own student loans stood up and said, “I would go on campus and beg every student not to take out student loans.”
There are ways to go to college and not go in debt. The best way to set up a student to fail after college is let them have a mortgage payment for the rest of their life in student loans.
And this is not just about student loans, I am talking about uncontrollable debt that is not just killing the world, but it has infiltrated the church too. It’s sucking so much air out of many that you can’t even breath.
That is not how God called us to live.
It doesn’t have to be that way. THERE IS HOPE! YOU CAN OVERCOME THIS TEMPTATION!
We are faced with many temptations in this life. Pastor Terry talked recently about the wages of sin being death and how just one fling can lead to a road of destruction. But he didn’t leave it there, he finished the verse…. “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
In any temptation we face, the Bible is clear that Jesus has made a way for us to escape. In Luke 4, we see Jesus about to start his ministry and He just got off a 40 day fast. His flesh was at the weakest. That is when the devil attacks the most. When we are drained, when we are weak, when we are tired, he attacks us. He tries to get us to do one fling that he knows will destroy us and turn into something bigger.
Here is one of the three temptations in this particular story.
“And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Luke 4:5-8
The devil tried to tempt Jesus into focusing on today’s kingdoms, diverting him from the cross.
You and I are faced with that temptation every day. Are we going to allow ourselves the pleasures of this world if they take us further away from the cross? Are we ok with just one fling because we just needed to have it? Or are we going to deny ourselves, pick up our cross and FOLLOW HIM?
Many of you are losing sleep. You’re stressed. You have anxiety. You are depressed and you are worn out. This is mainly because you have gotten caught up in the cycle, the ‘never can get ahead” gerbil wheel, and you are running in circles and getting nowhere!
I want you to know that THERE IS HOPE! You don’t have to live like this anymore. In order to get it right, you have to trust God FIRST in your finances.
You have to believe that God can do more with 90% of your income than you can do with your 100%!
One pastor said it like this, “It seems like everyone I talk to that pays their tithes says they are blessed, and everyone else I talk to that doesn’t tithe says they can’t afford it.”
There are tools that we want to help you with so you can budget and work to be debt free.
Is it possible? Yes, it is possible.
My wife and I, and many others in this room, are examples of how to live on less than you make (no matter what the amount is) and become debt free.
It takes hard work, discipline, and the ability to say NO to the things that only give you immediate pleasure.
Just making a budget and saying no to things, is not enough.
You must trust God with the first 10% of your gross income (which is the tithe). This is a biblical principal throughout the Word of God that was practiced before the law, in the law and after the law.
It is not just any 10%, it is the first 10%.
It is not a payment plan. The Bible is clear that it is your first and your best, meaning, before you pay anything, you give your tithes unto the Lord.
Here are a few of the many scriptures that talk about giving God your best and first.
“A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 1:6-8
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 3:10-12
Every principle of the ungodly about anything, especially money, you should unfollow!
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.” Psalm 1:1-4
You should never let this world’s economy scare you, if you are aligned with God in your finances. As a matter of fact, it is in this time that the Godly will flourish! It amazes me to see through out the Word of God that in droughts and in the times of “not enough” God always provides and many times more than enough.
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Matthew 16:24
My prayer today is an impossible prayer but those are the ones I like to pray.
It is that 100% of the people that read this would decide that they will pay their tithes (that is 10% of their gross income).
Now let me be clear, this is a giving church.
Year after year, our giving keeps growing. According to our CPA, our church gives four (4) times more per person then the average denomination church. THAT’S INCREDIBLE.
A big reason why that is happening is because there is a core of this church that is giving 20% or more of their gross income.
It’s not because they have a lot, they just understand the principle of storing up treasure where rust and moth doth NOT corrupt and thieves cannot break in and steal.
Although giving in offerings is important in addition to our tithes, today I pray for those that have not yet trusted God to do more with 90% then you can with 100%.
Today is your DAY!
If you don’t believe me or God that money is not your answer, then here is a secular quote…
“I think everyone should get rich and famous and do everything they dreamed of… so they can see that it is not the answer.” ACTOR JIM CARREY
God, You are my generous Provider who pours selflessly into my life. Lord, teach me to be generous, to give without counting the cost, and to sacrifice without looking for recognition or reward. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
