Seminar: How God does not us Money 1 of 2
Dave Ramsey: Saving = Greed?
John Maxwell: “Asking Questions”
(UNEDITED TRANSCRIPT)
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to Financial Freedom God’s Way, This is where you will continue to learn, apply, and pass on, Bible-based financial principles and applications so that you and your family will not only just survive, but can thrive during these very uncertain times.
Hi and welcome everyone, this is Bob Louder from Christian Financial Ministries, and it is an absolute honor to have you with us again—it really is. What is on the schedule for our 30-minute time together today?
- During our radio seminar, we are going to continue talking about how—according to the Bible, how God will and will not use money in your life.
- Dave Ramsey has a thought for the wife who thinks her husband is saving too much money—really? That ought to be interesting.
- Finally, well finally, we will spend a great Minute with Maxwell as John Maxwell focuses on the benefit to asking Questions.
So stay tuned, won’t you. It is going to be a great time together. As we start, let me pray for us. Father, thank You for meeting with us again today. Please give us ears to hear all that it is you have planned for us, to Your glory, in Jesus’ mighty name, amen.
BODY
Radio Seminar
During our last several times together you discovered the good news that, according to the Bible, there are ways that God will use money and other material areas of your life to help influence how you choose to live your life. The good news is that there are ways that God will use money; you saw that last time.
By the way, if you missed the last several times together, no fear, you can always go to our website at www.christianfinancialministries.org to either relisten to or even print out the transcript of those sessions
This time, well this time, you are going to discover a bit more about what God will do and not do with your finances. You are going to see that, again, according to the Bible–you are going to see that there are ways God will NOT use money or any kind of wealth to influence your life. According to the Bible, there are definitely ways that God will NOT use money.
That is where we’re headed, so, let’s get right to it. And as we do, I want to share with you some examples of some financial, some material situations that you may or may not see up and operating in your life—right now. The key is, you need to be able to recognize these examples so that if you ever do see any of these things up and operating in your life, well, you are going to know for sure that they do not come from God and they are not pleasing to God.
For example…First off, God will not use money to cause you fear and anxiety. He is just not going to do it.
- My friend, if you tend to be worried, or frustrated, or upset about money, well, according to the Bible, God is not in control: you, or someone or something else IS, but God IS NOT. God says that if you see things like fear and anxiety about money in your life, well, God says to you that those things, they don’t come from Him. But I’m telling you, there are a lot of Christians who do have fear, anxiety, anger, frustration, irritation, and aggravation, a get rich quick attitude, there are some who have all that and more when it comes to having money. We see them in the coaching room all the time. And do you know what God says to those folks in times like that? He says, “Hey, it’s not Me who is in charge of your life. You have yielded control of your life elsewhere.”
- How so? How does He say that to you. Well, take a look at Luke 12:22-26:
Then Jesus said to his disciples: Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.
Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap. They have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
- Remember the test? Remember Proverbs 10:22?
It’s the blessing of the LORD that brings wealth and He adds no trouble to it.
Do you remember that verse? By now I’m sure you do.
- You see, my friend, according to the Bible, if you have worry, fear, frustration, irritation, aggravation, anxiety, or even a get rich quick attitude and all the rest in your life, well, God simply does not have the place in your life He wants to have in your life. You have either denied His wisdom or moved out of His will. In either case you consider yourself to be an owner, not a manager, not a steward. And that attitude does not come from God, it just doesn’t. Listen, that attitude of an owner and all that fear and anxiety and all they rest—my friend, none of those come from God. As the matter of fact, all of that should be an indicator to you that you have not surrendered the material areas of your life over to the lordship of Jesus Christ.
- Nope, right off the bat, the first thing you discover is that God does not use money to cause you fear and anxiety.
And number two, God will not use money to separate your family either; yet you’ve already seen that money is the No 1 separator of families today, even among Christians. Right?
- James said in James 4:1
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
- You know, in financial coaching, I find that a whole lot of couples say they had more spendable income when they first started out together, along with far more peace. Now, well now, they make 10 times more but spend 11 times more and they have absolutely no peace. They want to go back, if they could just go back to where they started. But they can’t, of course; and so one question has to be, how did they get to where they are? How?
- I will tell you that one of the things I find, to a great extent, one of the reasons they are where they are is because they spend entirely too much time in front of television and on the Internet. I mean, do YOU want to know who the lord of YOUR life is, really? Well, try comparing the personal time you spend on your knees before the Lord God in prayer and in His Word—compare that to the personal time you spend in front of the TV and on the computer.
- Now, you should know by now that the TV, and your computer, and the Internet are neither good nor bad, right. It’s just how you choose to use them that is either pleasing or displeasing to God. The problem is that, a great deal of TV and Internet advertising helps foster the attitude that you’ve got to be moving up–you can’t be standing still—not even for a second. You see, one of the goals of advertising is to get you to believe that you must always be moving up and getting bigger and better and newer stuff, even to get some of the same stuff that someone else has.
- For example, and I see this every now-and-again, for example, do you know why most folks trade in their cars for new cars every 3 to 4 years? Because the new ones are out, not because the old one is worn out. Oh no.
- My friend, listen, if you tend to buy into the media advertising that’s going on around you, and you do tend to buy into it if you’re exposed to it long enough, if you buy into to it, it will help form attitudes that can be destructive to families—families just like yours. Yes, ungodly attitudes about money can separate families, but you have to know that all those ungodly attitudes and each and every one of those separations do not come from God.
So, now you know for sure that God will not use money to cause you fear and anxiety. He will not use money to separate your family. But there is more: God will not use money to Corrupt you.
What does it look like to be financially corrupted? Well, if your life is characterized by attitudes like greed, envy, deceit, and so many other attitudes along that same line, then you are materially, you are financially corrupted and you are tending to move away from God or even trying to stand against God and against His plan for your life.
- You know, it’s interesting–do you know what is just one of the ways Christians corrupt ourselves so very often? Well, it happens across the Body of Christ and comes around about every April 15 It’s when Christians choose to cheat on their income taxes. You know how to cheat on your income taxes right? Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you do cheat on your taxes, but you know how to cheat, right. How? Well, you cheat on your taxes when you choose to claim deductions you aren’t allowed or you do not claim income that you should. Then if you do choose to cheat on your taxes, well then pretty quickly after that you going to begin to wonder why you don’t hear from God as much anymore.
- What would keep you from hearing from God if you choose to cheat on your taxes? Well, take a look at Ephesians 5:5…
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person–such a man is an idolater–has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
- But then there is also Proverbs 28:9 that says,
If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable.
Take a close look at this verse…do you see the words “deaf ear”? Well, these words probably paint a picture in your mind of someone who hears, they hear, but they simply ignore what someone else has to say, right; in this case, someone who hears what God has to say but chooses not to do what God has to say. This picture seems to create a distinction between hearing and doing, right. But these words “deaf ear” become a whole lot more meaningful when you realize that the Hebrew language uses the same word for “hear” and for “obey”–exactly the same word. Therefore in the Hebrew, to do the one is to do the other. In other words, to “hear” is to “obey.” To “obey” is to “hear.” My friend, according to God, you do not have the luxury to hear and NOT obey. What does this mean? Well, it means that if you choose not to both, listen AND obey, what God has to say about how you ARE TO and ARE NOT TO handle the material areas of your life, God will not listen to you when you pray. Wow. All of that in just one little verse…and there’s more, just wait until next time.
- My friend, I got to believe that, according to God’s Word, if you choose to allow the material things of this world to corrupt you, for example, to cheat on your income taxes, God will not listen to you when you pray. Not only that, He won’t use you. He will not give you a chance to really work closely with Him. It’s just not going to happen. If you cheat on your taxes it will be impossible for you to have peace about money. And according to the Bible, if you don’t have peace about money you are not in God’s will.
- Now, I know, I know if some of this describes you, I hope not, but if any or all of this describes you, well, you might be thinking something like, “Bob, don’t tell me that God won’t use me if I cheat on my income taxes. I cheated on my income taxes last year, and I plan on cheating on my income taxes again this year, thank you very much. Don’t tell me that God doesn’t use me, why, I teach, I preach, I sing, I give mightily, I’m an elder, a deacon…don’t tell me that God won’t use me if I cheat on my income taxes.”
- Now, if that or any part of that happens to be you, well, any or all those things may very well be true. But let me ask you…
- How do you and you wife get along? Or, how do you and your husband get along?
- How is your relationship with your children?
- How do you sleep at night, with the joy of the Lord in your heart—peace, joy, contentment? Do you go to sleep and wake up praising the Lord? Or do you go to sleep and wake up thinking about money…how to make it, keep it, and keep other people from it?
- How are you quiet times? Do you even have a regular QT?
- My friend, according to the Bible, if you allow money to corrupt you, in any way, shape or form, well …I think God says you just might as well keep your money. Go ahead and spend it any way you like; because God doesn’t need it anyway, remember, it all belongs to Him.
You know, it’s been said that one stupid choice can destroy your integrity. One stupid choice can destroy your integrity–a stupid choice like cheating on your income taxes. Now, how do you not allow yourself to become financially and materially corrupted? How do you avoid stupid choices? Well, like my pastor says, to avoid stupid choices you need to “stay close and clean”. No, God, God will not use money to corrupt you.
So, God will not use money—He will not use wealth in your life to
- Cause you fear and anxiety
- separate your family, or to
- Corrupt you.
But that’s not all. Next time you will discover even more ways God will not use money in your life.
But for now, let me ask you: How many of these do you see up and operating in your life–right now, today? Or, maybe not today, but at some point in your not so distant past? Well, the more of these you see up and operating in your life at home, at work, at school, at church…well, the more of these you might see, the more you are choosing to move away from God in this area. Remember, according to the Bible, you can choose to be a steward, or you can choose to try—to try, you’re never going to make it but you can choose to try to be an owner. And if you choose to try to be an owner, well then you choose to move away from God. Now, God says He will never move away from you. But you can flat choose to move away from Him. And, what do you tend to loose if you choose to move away from God? Oh, not very much—not really. Just things like your passion, your power, your purpose, purity, prudence—you tend to lose the capacity to see danger, you loose insight and wisdom, you loose your perspective—you loose your Witness.
To keep from loosing all of this and more, you need to know more about how God will not use money in your life…that’s next time. Don’t miss it.
Dave Ramsey
As you probably already know, Dave Ramsey is an American evangelical Christian personal finance personality, businessman, radio host, and an eight-time best-selling author. When Dave speaks, people listen. So let’s join in and listen to what Dave has to say to the wife who believes her husband is saving too much money.
Thanks Dave, and by the way, you can learn all about Dave Ramsey at www.ramseysolutions.com, that’s www.ramseysolutions.com
John Maxwell
Now it’s time for one of my favorite times together with you…that is with a Minute with Maxwell where John Maxwell is going to talk with us about the importance of asking questions.
Thank you John and thank you for another great Minute with Maxwell as we learned why it is so important to keep asking questions.
CLOSING
And that, well, that wraps up our time today, remember to be with us next time for more about How God Does Not—How God will not use money in your life pulse a whole lot more.
For now, let me close us in the same way we started, and that is with a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for bringing us together and teaching us again today, to your Glory, in Jesus Name, Amen.
Have a blessed rest of your day, won’t you, and we’ll see you next time as we continue down your personal road to Financial Freedom God’s Way.
