Trinity Baptist Church

Family Makeover Series

When the Bills Come Due

I Timothy 6:6-10

 

Our Extreme Home Makeover is going according to plan, but there is one little matter we have not yet discussed.  How are we going to finance the project?  When the bills come due, can we finance this project without going into bankruptcy?  The answer to that question is very easy.  It all depends on whether or not we have managed our money properly. 

 

That is exactly what we are going to be talking about today - managing money.  How many of you feel like the former pro golfer from Georgia, Doug Sanders, who said this,

"I am working as hard as I can to get my life and my cash to run out at the same time.  If I can die right after lunch on Tuesday, everything will be fine."

 

I am sure that it does for more than a few people, because there is one thing I am absolutely convinced of and that is the average person in America has no clue in how to manage money. 

 

Just consider this.

* Consumer debt has tripled since 1980. 

* The average American household has over $35,000 in consumer debt.

* The average amount of credit card debt in households with more than one card is now more than $8,000 according to CardWeb.com.

 

* About 43% of American families spend more than they earn each year.

 

* Personal bankruptcies have doubled in the last 10 years.

 

Many people have more month than they do money.  They have more bills to pay than bills to pay them. 

 

This problem prevents more extreme home makeovers than almost any other problem you could imagine.  Gallup reports that 64% of all couples worry about money.  It is also now the number one cause of divorce - 51% of all spouses that call it quits had something to do with their finances.

 

What makes all of this even more amazing to me is that compared to the world, most of us are filthy rich.  Do you realize if you own your home, have two cars and any kind of retirement plan, you have more wealth than 98% of the world's population.  You were in the top 2% of the world's richest people.  Even those of us who claim to be relatively poor are in the top 10% of the world's richest people regardless.

 

According to the Census Bureau, the average family in this country last year made $40,816 dollars.  With no raise, that means the average family will make $2 million dollars in a working lifetime and yet the vast majority can not manage their money enough to even have a really decent retirement.

 

I want to destroy a myth in this message.  Most money problems are not because people don't make enough money it is because they don't manage the money they make.  I want to give you some encouraging words today.  Money management is easy if your priorities are right and you have discipline.

 

There are only 3 things you can do with money. 

(1.)   Spend it

(2.)   Save it

(3.)   Share it

 

In fact, I just described to you how the average person manages their money and they do it in that same order.  First they spend it, either by buying things, paying off debt or paying taxes.  Then, if there is any left over, they may save some and then if there is any left over, they may give to the church or to charity.

 

I want to share with you 4 keys to money management from the greatest money management expert in the universe - God Himself.  The principles I am going to give you cannot fail, because you have God's guarantee they will work.

 

I.  Be Correct In How You See Money

 

I Timothy 6:7

 

Think about that statement, which is true.  When you were born, you brought nothing into this world and when you die, you will carry nothing out of this world.  That raises the question, who did "it" belong to in between?   Who owns the money that you have?  Who owns the cash in your wallet?  Who owns your paycheck?  Who owns your bank account?  Who owns the equity in your house?  Who owns your stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and investments?  In other words, whose money is it?

 

If somebody asked you this question on the street you would have said something like this, "Well, it's mine.  It is in my name.  I work for it.  I earned it.  It is mine."  Not so fast.  What if someone else actually owns it and he has given it to you to manage for him? 

 

It makes a huge difference who really owns your money, because if the money belongs to you then you can do with it whatever you like, but if the money is really someone else's and you are only managing it, then you not only have to handle the money the way the owner wants you to, you will have to answer to the owner for how you manage his money.

 

The truth about money is this.  You don't own a single penny and neither do I.  The reason why you didn't bring it into the world and why you can't carry it out is because it doesn't belong to you to begin with.  Whether it is gold, silver, copper or greenback, all of it belongs to God.  It is His money and it is not ours to hold.  It is His for us to manage.

 

When Lynden Johnson was the President of the United States, he was out on the tarmac of an air force base being escorted to his helicopter.  The only problem was there were scores of helicopters on the tarmac and he wasn't sure which one was his.  The young air force corporal thought he would help President Johnson find his helicopter and he pointed to one and said, "Mr. President, this is your helicopter sir."  President Johnson looked at him and said, "Son, they are all my helicopters."

 

You will never be able to manage your money properly until you understand it is not your money.  It is all God's money.

 

We have an upside down view of money.  We figure the money is ours and God's money is just what we may give Him on Sunday.  God's view is right side up.   It is all His money. 

 

 Psalm 24:1 says,

"The earth is the LORD's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it."

                                (Psalm 24:1, NIV)

 

In Old Testament times, one part of worship was bringing animal sacrifices.  There were times that people were tempted to think that God somehow needed these animals and that they were doing God a big favor by taking one of their herd and sacrificing it to God. 

 

This is what God said to these people.

 

Psalm 50:9-12

 

This is the key question you have to answer and answer correctly or else you will never be able to handle your money properly.  Is it my money or is it God's money?

 

II.  Be Committed In How You Share Money

 

I Timothy 6:9-10

 

The reason why the scripture talks about the love of money and not just money itself is, if you ever grow to where you love money, you will not only see money as your money, but it will become increasingly difficult for you to give any of it away.  Let me ask you a question. 

 

Do you love money?  Don't answer this question too quickly.  If you get more joy out of getting money than you do out of giving money, then you love money, which is exactly why Jesus said these words,

 

Acts 20:35

 

You remember how I told you that the average person handles his money in this order?  First he spends it, then if there is any left over he saves it and then if there is any left over from that he might share it? 

 

I am about to shock some of you, but the key to financial freedom and the secret to managing money properly is to flip the order. 

 

God's way of managing money is this.

(1.) Share it

(2.) Save it

(3.) Share it

 

What most people do with God is this.  They give God the leftovers.  Here’s how perverted we are ib how we think.  We would never dream of serving our special guests leftovers.  Most of the time, we fix a nice meal, and then we eat the leftovers. 

 

Let me ask this question.  If we would not serve our guests leftovers, why would we give God our leftovers when it comes to money?  They way we manage our money is this - we buy what we want, pay what we owe, give what the government demands and if there is anything left, we might give God something.

 

That’s especially true with many when it comes to special projects like missions.  I can almost guarantee you that our general offering giving will go down when we are raising money for Malawi or a missions project because many only give  God the leftovers. 

 

Therefore when there is a project  going on, rather than sacrificial giving, we just take what we would normally give to the church and give it to the project.

 

Here is what is wrong with that line of thinking.  When you put God first, you put giving first.  When you put giving first, God responds to your giving by getting personally involved in your finances.

 

It is very simple how it works.

 

 Proverbs 3:9-10 says,

 

If you were a farmer in Old Testament days, you gave God the first fruits.  The first fruits were the first 10% of your crop.  That is, before you sold any of it to make money before you stored any of IT; you first gave 10% of it to God.

 

That 10% is what the Bible calls - the tithe.  It is a word that simply means "tenth".  The scripture says that we ought to begin our money management off the top by giving God 1/10th of our income.

 

I know when I talk about tithing some of you just got very suspicious of my motives and I really can't blame you.  You are sitting there thinking, all this man wants is my money.  All he wants to do is to line the coffers of this church with my hard earned money.

 

Or maybe you just tune me out.  I can promise you that one of these days when you stand before God and give an account of your life you’re going to wich you had listened and applied.  So pPlease hear what I am about to tell you. 

 

I am not trying to get your money, because you don’t have any money for me to get.  Remember it is not your money.  Just in case you think I am, let me take you off the hook - then don't give any money.  Though the truth is - I am not trying to get money out of you I am trying to get you in on God's blessing.

 

I am saying this realizing that the more prosperous America becomes, the more stingy she becomes.  In 1933, at the height of The Great Depression, church members gave an estimated 3.3% of their disposable income to the church.  In the year 2000, members gave 1.94% of their disposable income to the church.  In other words, the vast majority of people don't tithe.

 

I am convinced that is one of the reasons the vast majority of people cannot manage their money because they don't have God involved in their finances. 

 

When you tithe it is an act of commitment, an act of thanksgiving, and an act of faith. 

 

It is an act of commitment because when you give that tithe, you are saying the 90% belongs to God as well and you are going to use it for Him. 

 

It is an act of thanksgiving because when you give that tithe, you are telling God thank you for being the one who gave it to you to begin with. 

 

And it is an act of faith, because when you give that tithe, you are trusting that God and you together can do more with the 90% that is left over than you can do with 100% by yourself.

 

You will only give first when you put God first.  When you put God first, He gets involved and here is what He promises.

 

Luke 6:38

 

Malachi 3:10

 

The message is very simple.  Today's stock gain is tomorrow's stock loss, but the blessing of God is continuous and lasts forever.

 

III.  Be Consistent In How You Save Money

 

I Timothy 6:8

 

If we could just learn to be content with having enough food, enough clothing and a roof over our head, then we could learn another little secret about money management and that is after you pay God, pay yourself.

 

I was shocked to learn that the personal savings rate of disposable income in this country is roughly 1%.  The Federal Reserve every 3 years conducts the Survey of Consumer Finances and found that 61% of all workers between the ages of 24 and 64, (that is 66 million people) do not have a retirement savings account.  That is no IRA, no 401(k), no KEOGH plan, no Roth IRA, no 403(b), nothing.  They just all share a strong belief in the tooth fairy!

 

Did you know that 85% of Americans end up with less than $250 dollars in cash savings when they reach the age of 65?  Do you know why?  Because all those years, they were paying everybody but themselves.  A husband had been sitting at a calculator for about 3 hours not saying a word.  Finally, he looked up and said to his wife, "Honey, if we continue to save at our present rate, by the time I retire we are going to owe $700,000 dollars!"

 

The reason this is so important is that Money Magazine says, 78% of us will have a major negative event in a given 10 year period of time (maybe a job loss, an unexpected pregnancy, the car blows up, the washer and dryer are bombed by terrorists), but you are going to have a negative event.  Couple that with the fact that 49% of Americans could cover less than 1 month expenses if they lost their job and we have a lot of disaster waiting to happen.

 

 

That is why after you pay God first, you ought to pay yourself second.  Most people recommend saving at least 10% of your income.  If you can't afford 10%, start with 5%.  If you don't think you can afford that, just add up for 1 month all the money you spend that you really don't have to - whether is it at Starbucks, The GAP, McDonald's, or Best Buy and just see how much you could begin to save.

 

IV.  Be Cautious In How You Spend Money

 

I Timothy 6:6

 

You know a lot of us have spending habits that could be cured with one word - "contentment".  You see a lot of people think that once you give God your tithe, you can spend the rest of it any way you want to, but I want to remind you, all of it belongs to Him.  The other 9/10ths constitute an expense account given to us by God that we will one day have to justify before Him.

 

You can be rich in 1 of 2 ways - in how much you have or how little you want.  Most of us need to learn to be satisfied with more of what we have and with less of what we want. 

 

Ecclesiastes 6:9 says,

"Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don't have."                       (Ecclesiastes 6:9, NLT)

 

The average person spends money quickly, impulsively, and foolishly.  We finance things that are immediately worth 10-20% less the minute we exit the store.  We have become slaves to financial institutions, who don't even know our name.

 

Yogi Beara once said, "Why buy good luggage?  You only use it when you travel."

 

Just because you can make something work financially doesn't mean you should.  Just because you can afford something doesn't mean that you should.  Just because you can borrow that money doesn't necessarily mean that you should.

 

Remember, the only person looking out for your best interest is you. The credit card industry isn't looking out for your best interest.  They are looking out for their best interest.  The retail industry is not looking out for your best interest.  They are looking out for their best interest. 

 

One of the best things you can do if you have credit card debt is as expeditiously as you can, after you give to God what belongs to Him, and hopefully after you have saved some money, is dump your debt.  Pay off that credit card debt and then do some plastic surgery.  Cut those cards up and throw them away if you can't handle them.

 

Plan your spending.  Proverbs 21:5 says,

"Plan carefully and you will have plenty. If you act too quickly, you will never have enough."                    (Proverbs 21:5, LB)

 

That is why I say, be cautious in how you spend money.

 

I can tell you this - if you have shared your money faithfully and saved your money diligently, then you will be able to spend your money more wisely, because you won't have left money to spend in a frivolous way.

There is one other question that I have to raise in this message or you really won't get it.  The real question is not - who owns the money?  The real question is - who owns you? 

 

A missionary was talking to a chief of a tribe in a far away land about Jesus Christ, the chief tried to impress the missionary with gifts of horses, blankets and jewelry.  The missionary looked at the chief and said, "My God does not want the chief's horses, blankets or jewelry.  My God wants the chief himself."  The chief smiled and said, "You have a very wise God.  For when I give myself to that God, He will also get my horses, my blankets, and my jewelry.

 

Jesus Christ has a claim on you.  He signed it in His own blood.  He died on a cross to pay for your sins and not just to pay for your sins, but to pay for you.  He was raised from the dead that He might come into your heart and not just help you manage your money, but to help you manage your life.  The God who owns it all wants to own you as well.