#133 12/2-3/2023

Seminar: Financial Freedom 6 of 6
Q&A: Wife working outside the home
Scam Alert: On-line Selling
Minute with Maxwell: “Proceed”

(UNEDITED TRANSCRIPT)

Welcome to Financial Freedom God’s Way Radio, where you are continuing to learn, apply, and pass on, Bible-based financial principles and applications so that you and your family will not only just survive, but will 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 time together we will wrap up talking about our 7-step process to move out of financial bondage and into financial freedom—Step 1 is to get into the Bible, Step to is to make sure we have the heart of a manager rather than the Owner, Step 3 is to pray—to ask the Owner to help us be a better steward, and Step 4 is to identify and manage the major priorities of our life. That’s where we have been. Today we will cover Step #5 which is to have a clear conscience, Step 6,–avoid indulgences, and then Step 7 is to learn to accept God’s provision. It is going to be a great time together.
• We will follow up the radio seminar with a great real-world question from a real person.
• Next, you will hear what the Better Business Bureau has to say about a new on-line selling scam…
• And finally, well finally, we will spend a great Minute with Maxwell as the NY Times best-selling Christian author, speaker, and leadership coach John Maxwell focuses on the word “proceed.”

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 previous Radio Seminar time together,

• You discovered that God’s plan for each of us is financial peace, not financial bondage.
• You also discovered that financial peace can best be described according to Proverbs 10:22….It is the blessing of the Lord that brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.
• Simply put, we can have financial freedom when we combine our salvation, with all that God places into our care and custody, along with His peace.
• So, that’s what financial freedom is, but how do we get it?
  • Well, we 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—hear, read, memorize, and meditate on 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 or the manager. Recall we talked about that 3×5 commitment card you put on your refrigerator or that physical inventory you take on a regular basis.
  • Step #3 is to Pray. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “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.”
  • #4 is to set a biblical balance in our life by setting and managing the major priorities in our life…and recall, there is absolutely no way we can manage time—time keeps on ticking regardless of how we lead our lives. Managing our priorities is the only answer to maximizing the time we have.
  • And step #4 is to turn our work, our profession over to the Lord—why? So He can help us better keep our lives better disciplined, organized, and balanced.

So, are you with me—I bet you are, and remember you can always go to our website to replay to this program as a podcast—they should all be in place soon.

OK, let’s wrap up our 7-step approach the Lord has in mind to move us from where we are to where He would have us to be—to move us from financial bondage into financial freedom STEP NUMBER 5: Have a clear conscience.

• Jesus teaches us that conflicts we have in our lives need to be resolved, and He shows us in Matthew 18:15 and 5:24 how to resolve them in a way that does not hurt the Body of Christ and is pleasing to God.
• Now, this may not be a particularly pleasant process because there is usually hurt pride involved.
• As the matter of fact, we are told In the Proverbs to own up to our shortcomings, to confess our sins. This means we need to develop a spirit of humility.
• Basically, Step number 5—which is to have a clear conscience, is summed up nicely by Acts 24:16…So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. Do you want to begin to know what it is like to begin to enjoy financial freedom God’s way? Then you need to act in such a way as to keep a clear conscience before God and man—which is step #5 down the road to financial freedom God’s way.

STEP NUMBER 6 is to avoid Indulgences.

• In Luke 9:23 Jesus says…If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
• And in John 6:27 Jesus instructs us not to work…for food that spoils, but for food that endures…
• Recall that an indulgence is something that has little if any utility. We are to first, prayerfully identify the indulgences that are up and operating in our life, then, well then, we need to prayerfully work to control them.
  • Now, to control them does not necessarily mean to eliminate them
  • For example, overspending is often a problem. Generally, you tend to overspend by impulse buying while you are shopping. So, the husband says, well, we’re going to cut out all shopping. But shopping can be a major form of entertainment and recreation in our society today.
  • Remember how we get rid of a bad habit? We identify the bad habit and replace it with a good habit. If you identify impulse buying as a bad habit, true, you can eliminate all shopping, but you can also choose to replace impulse buying by establishing the habit to base your spending on your budget, and thoroughly discuss all major purchases before you buy.
  • No bells or buzzer sound if we should walk out of a mall without buying anything. However, we often tend to feel obligated to bujy something so folks we don’t even know believe you had a purpose for shopping.

And finally, STEP NUMBER 7, the last step along God’s path to Financial Freedom is to learn to accept God’s provision.

• We’ve already hit on this one.
• Prov 3:5-6 and Phill 4:19 speak to the fact that God will provide for us and He will not forsake us.
• The question is: Do we trust Him or do we just say it with our mouths?
  • It is easy to say, “I trust God.”
  • It is something else to sit there, out of work, with no income in sight, bills to pay and food to buy to feed your family and believe that God is going to provide.
  • Unless we have been in that position and seen Him act—we have seen Him provide, it may be easier to say we trust Gd rather than actually trusting God.

So, here you have a 7-step process to follow to find God’s Path to Financial Freedom.

• Step 1 is to get into God’s Word to see what He has to say about finances
• Step 2 is to make sure you recognize and act on the fact that God is the Owern and our job is to manage or to Steward all that He gives us.
• Step 3 is to pray—remember if He is the Owner, and He is, we can ask the Owner HOW to manage and He promises to answer.
• Step 4 is to set and manage the priorities in our lives—remember, it is generally best for us to learn to set and manage priorities, not time.
• Step 5 is to have and keep a clear conscious.
• Step 6 is to avoid indulgences,
• And finally, Step 7 is to learn to accept God’s provision.

Now

• You may already be working on one or more of these 7 steps to financial freedom, and any one or more of these just might take you the rest of your life to come to grips with…
• Just a suggestion, a personal opinion,
  • I believe Financial Freedom as much more a journey, that a destination.
  • Consider these steps as tools to help you manage the journey.
    • Most of us will not find true freedom this side of seeing God face to face. However, these steps give us the tools to respond to the difficult times we know we can expect as we walk with the Lord.

But there are some things we can do to better head down the path to financial freedom. Let me give you yet another personal opinion…I believe that according to the Bible, God is much more concerned with the process you follow that the product or the result. For example, the Bible says that it is an evil man who borrows and does not repay. In other words, the Bible tells us that it is important that we make every effort to honor our debts, to pay our bills—that is important to God. What is more important to God is the part you give Him to play in the process. God is a process orientated God. Yes, it is important to pay your creditors. Yes, it is important to properly manage what He gives you. What is more important is the part you give Him to play in the process.

So, think as financial freedom as a process, not as an end result—think of financial freedom as a journey, not a destination. What is most important to God is the part you give Him as you manage that journey.

Q&A

Now, let’s follow up our radio seminar time with a couple of great real-world questions from real-world folks.

• Here is the first Questions
  • Bob, I started a small business out of our home several years ago. It has now grown into full-time work, and my husband would like to quit his job to help me. Since it is a business that sells primarily to and through women, they will most often look to me as the “boss.” Is it scriptural for my husband to work for me.?
  • Sally, this is a great question and is certainly important to a lot of folks during these uncertain employment times. I don’t mind saying I prayerfully struggled a bit with this response. There are several examples in the Bible where husbands and wives worked together outside the home. For example, Aquila and Priscilla worked together as tentmakers (Acts 18:1-4). Then, according to the Old Testament Book of Judges, Deborah was a prophetess of God to the Israelites, and the fourth (and only female) Judge (leader) of Israel mentioned in the Bible. Clearly, she had authority over her husband outside the home in the same way a female US Senator has authority over her husband as it relates to her profession. So we see it is possible for a wife and husband to work together in business, and for the wife to have authority over her husband outside the home. Genesis 2:24 defines the marriage relationship as a husband and wife becoming “one person.” A couple needs to ask themselves if they can fulfill that definition while working together outside the home or in a home business. I suggest you prayerfully determine together and record the following: (1) the gifts, skills, abilities your husband can bring to your business; (2) specific areas of responsibilities and who will have the ultimate authority under specific circumstances; and then (3) prayerfully evaluate on a regular basis the effectiveness of your teamwork in your business and the impact it has on your home life then adjust either one or both as appropriate. You and your husband may want to talk about this with a certified Christian small business coach.
• Great question

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 advance…let’s take a listen.

Wow, great teaching. Today’s Statement of Strength: “The difficulties you meet will resolve themselves as you advance. Proceed, and light will dawn and shine with increasing clearness on your path.” “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 review just a bit.

• During our Radio Seminar time we wrapped up our 7-step process the Lord and you can take to move out of financial bondage and into financial freedom. And remember, you can listen to this broadcast again and even get a free written transcript from our website at www.christianfinancialministries.org
• During your Q&A time we talked just a bit on how husbands and wives can best work together outside the home.
• You now have some great thoughts from the BBB on how to better sell on line and avoid being ripped off.
• And finally, John Maxwell just shared his thoughts on advance.

So, thank you for being with us today. And again, please 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 2024, PLUS remember you will also find each of our radio programs posted as Podcasts. So, you will now be able to go back and re-listen to 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 blessed day, won’t you, and we’ll see you next time as we continue down your personal road to Financial Freedom God’s Way.