#131 11/18-19/2023

Seminar: Financial Freedom 4 of 6
Q&A: Wife working outside the home
Better Business Bureau: “Toy Scam”
Minute with Maxwell: “Persistence”

(UNEDITED TRANSCRIPT)

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Financial Freedom God’s Way. This is where you can learn, apply, and pass on, Bible-based financial principles and applications so you and your family will not only just survive, but can thrive during these very uncertain times.

This is Bob Louder from Christian Financial Ministries, and it is an absolute honor to have you with us again—it really is. Now, what is going to be on the schedule for our 30-minute time together today?

• First, during your Radio Seminar, you will continue working through your 7-step process to move out of financial bondage and into financial freedom—today we will talk about setting God-honoring priorities. It is going to be yet another great radio seminar time together, I promise.
• Then you will follow up with a great real-world listener question that centers on what the Bible has to say about moms working outside the home—that ought to be interesting.
• Next, you will hear what the Better Business Bureau has to say about a new toy scam—that is t-o-y—a new tow scam that is going around.
• And finally, well finally, you will spend yet another great Minute with Maxwell as the NY Times best-selling Christian author, speaker, and leadership coach, John Maxwell, will focus your attention on the word persistence—on being persistent.

So stay tuned, won’t you. It is going to be a great time together. As we start, as we always start, let me pray for us. Father, we thank You for meeting with us again today. Will You 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 previous Radio Seminar times together,

• You discovered that God’s plan for each of us—His plan for me nd His plan for you is financial peace. It is not financial bondage.
• You also discovered that financial peace can best be described according to Proverbs 10:22 that says,

  It is the blessing of the Lord that brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.

  
  

• My friend, simply put, you can have financial freedom when you combine your salvation, with all that He places into your care and custody, along with peace.
• So, that is what financial freedom is, but how can you get it? how can you get on and stay on the road to financial freedom God’s way?
  • Well, you have already discovered that the first of the seven steps along the path to financial freedom is to get into His Word—to become involved with the spiritual disciplines—to know what it is like to regularly, routinely, prayerfully hear, read, memorize, meditate, and study the Word of God. That is the first step.
  • The second step is to acknowledge—to reaffirm before God that everything you have belongs to Him. He is the Owner. You are the steward. You are the manager. That is step two.
  • Then, you saw last time, step number three, is to Pray. Isaiah 55:8-9 says this:

    “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

So, after you get into God’s Word, after you reaffirm that He is the Owner and your job is to manage, and then you spend time in prayer with Him, then, STEP NUMBER 4—you need to begin to operate by a set of God-honoring priorities. That being the case, let’s take a look at a scriptural sequence of priorities you need to consider. Here are the Priorities:

• First of all, number one, your first priority—and this should be no surprisee—your first priority must be God, Himself.
  • Matthew 6:33 very specifically says you are to …
    …seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well..

• Again, this means being devoted to a person, not a cause, not a denomination. It means getting to know God personally, not just knowing about Him.
• You see, the key to being able to delight in the things of God is to first be able to delight in God Himself.
• And that requires you set aside time to spend with Him in His Word and in prayer.
• Now, I have to tell you, from personal experience, even though I know how important it is to put God first in my life—to have Him as my top priority–I have to share with you that many times I still have a hard time concentrating on God. I don’t know about you, but it used to be in my life, I had no problem concentrating on God during the hard times. That was no problem at all. I could always remember to run to God when times were tough. However, I would forget to focus on Him during the good times. Then, as He grew me to focus on Him during the hard times and the good times, I found I was leaving Him out of my in-between times. The problem was that most of my times were in between times, which means that most of the time I tended not to concentrate on God…ouch. Just like you, I am still a work in process. I am still in the process of making God my first priority all the time, during the hard times, during the good times and during all the in between times.
• All this is to say, God Himself must be our first priority—your first priority, all the time.
  • The second priority, for those of us who are married, your second priority is your spouse.
    • Ephesians 5:22 says this:

      Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
      

• And in Ephesians 5:25 you find this,

  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…

  
  

• These two verses form the basis for a lot of marriage counseling. Though this is not a marriage seminar, I think it is clear that a couple—any couple must learn to appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of each other in order to be good partners, good parents and to be good stewards.
• And notice, the second verse seems to carry a heavier burden than the first.
  • The husband is the one who is told to love his wife, not the other way around. Did you ever notice that?
  • You see, the wife is not told to lover her husband—that is probably because the Lord knew, having made the wives, that if we husbands, if we love our wife as Christ loves the church, we will never have to worry whether or not our wife loves us.
    • Now, I am sure it has occurred to most of us by now that our spouses are somehow different that we are. Have you noticed that the two of your have some differences?
      • This is not only true; it is true for a good reason.
      • Larry Burkett used to say, if God had put two people together who were exactly alike, one of them would not be necessary.
      • You know this is true, one of you likes to….sleep in the other is always up early, one is a messy, the other is a clean freak. One always can get from point a to point B, the other couldn’t find their way out of a paper bag—does that ring a bell?–one likes to spend the other save, and it goes on and on.
      • I have to believe that these differences are there so that we can learn to complement each other’s strengths and help compensate for each other’s weaknesses. The sooner we learn that, the easier and more pleasant the marriage relationship becomes.
        • We have time for a couple of stories that help prove this point.
          • For example, we had a couple come in for some financial coaching some time back.
          • The husband had a history of get-rich quick investing. He would make bad decisions, without talking with his wife, and he was forever losing money on his investing.
          • The couple would come in for some coaching time after time after time.
          • Finally, he agreed that before he would act on another investment decision he would come in and explain it to us and his wife.
          • And that is exactly what happened. This couple came in, and the more he tried to explain his next sure-fire investment, well, the more he talked, the more confusing it sounded
          • We turned and sked the wife, “What do you think about this idea?”

She responded, “I don’t understand anything about it and I sure do not have even the slightest peace about it. I cannot believe this is what God has for us.

• The fact was, she came to the right conclusion—this investments was not God’s plan for their life.
• You see, the husband had quit listening to God so God just went to his wife and said to her, “will you tell that dummy to stop–I don’t want him to waste any more of my money!”

• Another story I can recall from a few years back…
  • There was a gentleman who came to Christ rather late in life, in his late 50s maybe his early 60s. This guy was highly educated. He had a couple of Masters degrees and a couple of PHDs, and he was in high demand as a Christian speaker because people wanted to hear what a brand new Christian with a couple of PhDs had to say.
  • Now, you have to know that when he spoke, he talked a good talk. He came across as a great Christian everywhere but at home.
  • The problem at home was that his wife only had a high school education. Rather than going on to college, she went to work to help put him through all of his higher education. There was his masters degree, then his first PhD, then his second PhD. As a result of all his education, he began to get a big head. He thought of himself as a highly educated man, and not so much for his wife. He began to look down on his wife primarily because of her lack of education.
  • At the time, they lived in Chicago, and once He was asked to speak at a church in Detroit. He was invited to speak to the men, and his wife was invited to speak to the women.
  • This really irritated the guy because he just knew that she was going to blow his cover.
  • So, what happened? Well, they left Chicago on their way to Detroit, and they were not speaking to each other. His jaws were tight and she was doing just fine…had a big smile on her face. And the more she smiled the more irritated he became.
  • Well, they got off the interstate to get some gas, got back on the interstate, and about five minutes later, the wife said, “Sweetheart, I believe we are going the wrong way.”
  • And he exploded. He said, “Listen, don’t you think with two PhDs I know how to drive from Chicago to Detroit, I don’t need you…” and he began to see sights pointing to Chicago, Chicago, Chicago. He was headed in the wrong direction.
  • In our coaching session he said he finally recognized he just might have a problem when he had to drive for another 30 minutes trying to figure out how to turn the car around without her knowing it.
    • My friend, we need to recognize the fact—you need to recognize the fact that husbands and wives were designed, were put together to be a team, to build up each other’s strengths and compensate for each other’s weaknesses. So our second priority is our spouse.
    • We, you and I, I need to recognize, the single best counselor God has ever given us, second only to the Holy Spirit, is our wives. And wives, the single best counselor God has given you, second only to the Holy Spirit, is your husband.
    • You see, sometimes God blesses us right where we are with what or whom He has already put into our life. And it is the same with you singles. God’s has placed someone in your life to help give you wisdom and that person needs to be a priority in your life.
    • So, our first priority is God, then, your second priority is your spouse.
• Our third priority is our children.
  • Ephesians 6:4:
    
    Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
    
• We need to work with our children. And when we work with our children it’s helpful to remember that we are not raising up children; we are raising up future
• This means
  • We need to learn to deal with their individual personalities and recognize that they are not stamped out with cookie cutters—what works with one child may or may not work with the other.
  • And by the way, we are not try to make them over into the little people we wish we could have been, could have been or should have been. We need to spend time with them not to mold them as much as unfold them to help develop their unique bent from God.
    • You see, your children, all children–they listen and they watch, and a lot of what they learn is caught, not taught. The thing I love most about my kids is that they love the Lord. The thing I dislike most about my kids—my children, is the number of my bad habits that they pick up. They learn by watching and listening.
    • Personal opinion here, I don’t believe every child—particularly in today’s world, I do not believe every child needs a college education. The data tells us that
  • 80% HS grads not have a clue what to do with the rest of their life.
  • So, what do they do, whether or not mom and dad can afford it, they set out to find themselves at a college or university where they can party.
  • But the data also shows us that 80% College grads don’t have a clue what to do with the rest of their lives. This data is proved out by the fact that 80% of college graduates change careers 7 times in a lifetime, not just change jobs in a career field, but change careers 7 times in a lifetime trying to find first money and retirement, then only later, satisfaction.
    • I remember the story of a doctor’s wife.
      • The doctor’s wife was at home when she discovered that the bathroom toilet was overflowing and making a real mess.
      • She didn’t know what to do so she picked up the phone to call her husband the doctor.
      • He said, “I can’t come home right now.” She said, “Well, you had better because we’re going to flood out the whole first floor if we don’t get this fixed.
      • He said, “OK.” He came home, and sure enough there was water flowing everywhere.
      • So he went over to the phone, picked up the phone, called the plumber, and the plumber said he would be right over. Now you know this is not a true story…oops…I’m hoping no plumbers are listening right now.
      • So the plumber came over, checked out the situation, reached into his tool bag, pulled out one of those claw-type tools, reached down into the toilet, pulled out a toy ball, put the tool back into his case, and gave the doctor a bill for $150.
      • The doctor said, “A $150 for three minutes work. I’m a doctor and I don’t get paid $150 for three minutes work.
      • The plumber said, “Neither did I when I was a doctor.”
        • Personal opinion: You and I, our children, we don’t need a college education to make God the priority in our life. When God is the priority in our life He will tell us whether we or our children need a college education.

So, our first priority is God, our second is our spouse, our third is our children, and our fourth is to prayerfully establish the right balance in our life. Then fifth, our fifth priority would be our work.

Psalms 127:2

In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat–for he grants sleep to those he loves.

We will talk about this fifth priority next time.

Q&AS

Now, let’s build a bit on what the Lord is showing us about financial freedom. Let’s take a look at a real-world question we receive a lot and one I know has crossed your mind a time or two as well.

• Here is the first question:
  • Bob, I really want to be home with my children, but my husband wants me to work because he feels we need the money. I am almost afraid not to work because we are barely getting by financially.
• Sally, I hear the pain in your words—I really do.
  • I know that you have already learned that that many women with pre-school-age children are working for virtually nothing. By the time you calculate transportation, clothes, childcare, eating out, and all the rest, it can take a pre-tax income of $30k or more a year just to break even. That is not a good situation.
  • My prayerful response to your question is this: If your husband insists that you work, and you believe you should not, but rather stay home to be a mom and a wife, then you need to explain your thoughts and hopes and dreams to you husband. If he still believes you should work, then you should respect his authority and do as he asks.
  • However, and this is a big “however,” if your husband’s decision to have you work is motivated by the desire to achieve or maintain a certain life-style, then you need to know, that most often, within a year, you and your husband will find yourselves dissatisfied with that life-style—you are going to want to reach to the next level, and then you will have few options—you will have to continue working.
  • The real issue could be that you and your husband need to learn to be content with your present life-style. Phil 4:11 says,

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

• By the way, Sally, if you and your husband find it hard to talk about this, I suggest your prayerfully get some help—the first place I would go would be to your pastor.

Well, there you have it…another great question having to do with the financial responsibilities of husbands and wives. A great question for you to consider.

SCAM ALERT

Minute with Maxwell

It is time again for one oF my favorite times together with the Lord and you—it is time for another Minute with Maxwell. Recall that John Maxwell is a #1 New York Times bestselling Christian author, coach, and speaker and considered the world’s most influential leadership expert. Today, John’s Minute with Maxwell is all about being persistence…let’s take a listen.

Wow, great teaching. Today’s Statement of Strength: “Persistence & resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.”

CONCLUSION

Boy, this has been a great time together with the Lord and you—hasn’t it? Let’s wrap up by first taking a quick look back..

• During our Radio Seminar time we saw the importance of understanding and setting God-honoring priorities as we move along God’s path to financial freedom.
• During our Q&A time we saw that there is no biblical references that prohibit a wife from working outside the home. But, we also saw that just because the Bible does not discourage it, that does not automatically imply the Bible encourages it. That decision has to be prayerfully made by the husband and wife together.
• And now you know what the toy scam is all about and how to avoid it
• Finally, you heard some great thoughts from John Maxwell on being persistent.

So, thank you for being with us today. Remember to check out our website at www.christianfinancialministries.org, that’s www.christianfinancialministries all spelled out, and when you do you will now find some information on the live and virtual seminars, workshops and John Maxwell leadership training now on the books for January, PLUS you will also find each of our radio programs posted as Podcasts. So, you will now be able to go back and review and even download any of our radio programs anytime you want.

Now, as always, let me close us in a word of prayer. Father God, I thank you for bringing us together today and for each of the days to come to Your glory in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a blesse d day, won’t you, and we’ll see you next time as we continue down your personal road to Financial Freedom God’s Way.