Wisdom for your MONEY

Proverbs 3:1-10 “1 My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, 2 for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. 3 Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. 9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; 10 then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.”

Title: “Wisdom for Your Money”

PRAY

Proverbs 3:9-10 “9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; 10 then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.”

The bible has alot to say about the topic of MONEY!

DOES YOUR MONEY NEED A LITTLE WISDOM?

***here is the big idea for todays message: Why is it that when we think of WISDOM, we often think of BEHAVIOR, or SPIRITUAL things such as LEADERSHIP or Business or decision making - We think Virtue, and Being Skillful but we often don’t think it applies to OUR FINANCES

or we go LOOKING ELSEWHERE for Wisdom in our MONEY when its ACTUALLY JUST RIGHT HERE

I WONDER IF YOUR MONEY COULD DO WITH SOME GOLDY WISDOM

According to a national survey around 30% of americans HAVE A BUDGET for their finances..... but

73% of people don't regularly follow a budget....only a minority of people actually stick to a regularly updated budget

Nationwide Survey Finds 48% of Americans Have Less Than $1,000 in Savings, While 20% Have No Savings at All

Q: DOES YOUR MONEY NEED A LITTLE WISDOM!

(maybe your in here today and you’ve never heard a message about MONEY and WISDOM… maybe you’ve heard prosperity messages and you have a perspective thats maybe skewed… but what if we SOUGHT WISDOM.. to be be better able to handle our finances - and as a result - God being as faithful as he is.. will bless us with WISDOM, to carry out the task of being BETTER with our money?

WE BELIEVE WISDOM APPLIES .... RELATIONALLY… PROFESSIONALLY.... but What about FINANCIALLY?

I think it applies to what JAMES was talking about in

James 1:5 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

James 1:5 M:BCL

5 If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it.

Ps 86:11 “11 Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.”

Ps 25:4-5 “4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. 5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”

The bible CALLS MONEY… WEALTH… especially in the time the bible was written - MONEY was understood to be about someones WEALTH....

WEALTH An abundance of goods or money. Terms such as “rich” and “poor” are relative to the context in which they are used. Besides pragmatic considerations, the ancient Near East had both social and spiritual implications for wealth. Biblical writers considered wealth an indicator of one’s spirituality.

When the bible talks of wealth - It speaks of WELL BEING and Specifically FINANCIAL or WELL RESOURCED. WEALT

18 Instances where “wealth” is mentioned in the book of proverbs....

proverbs 28:22 “22 A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him.”

Proverbs 28:8 “8 Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit gathers it for him who is generous to the poor.”

Proverbs 23:4 “4 Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.”

Proverbs 22:16 “16 Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.”

proverbs 19:14 “14 House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.”

Proverbs 19:4 “4 Wealth brings many new friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend.”

proverbs 18:11 “11 A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his imagination.”

GOD HAS MADE WISDOM AVAILABLE… SEARCHABLE… APPLICABLE - and i believe WISDOM STANDS AT THE READY TO HELP YOU BECOME WISE FINANCIALLY

5 ways WE CAN bring WISDOM (Gods Way) to your money:

1.Recognize Where Your Money Comes From

Recognize....that God has given you the ability to make money

You have been given the ability - The power - to Go and work, and make a living, get an income.

Where does this come from? It comes from God.

if you want to have WISDOM with Finances, you have to understand where it all originates from in the first place:

Deuteronomy 8:11–19 (ESV)

11 “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.

“for it is HE, who gives you POWER to GET wealth”

Its a very humbling thing to know that the talented nature in you doping what you are called to do that causes you to be blessed financially and see money come in - That ability, that power CAME from the LORD.

Wait so even the hustle, even the hard work, is that even part of this??

of course it is

but let me say it this way: WHO GAVE YOU THE DESIRE TO HUSTLE, TO WORK HARD… to be SUCCESFUL?

It all comes from the Lord!

isn’t that HUMBLING?

What does humility do in our lives?

It brings us CLOSER to God.

James 4:6 “6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.””

James 4:10 “10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

**when i was starting out in my business career i was extremely motivated, i was driven, i was fired up: i had experiened a deep loss and i had a drive that was unmatched by anyone i knew at the time. i worked harder, i did more - at one point in my business career i was doing things at 25 that guys who were 45 were getting to do. I was all about being a self made man. I went after it. Then i read my bible. These scriptures sunk into my heart....and i repented. Not because i worked hard. That was God-given. I repented because i thought i was responsible for it. I wasn’t, He was. And i told the LORD, i will never take responsibility for my own success ever again. EVERYTHING COMES FROM GOD>

*** why am i laboring this point, this is WISDOM that will set you FREE - It will change your Lense in such a way

IF YOU RECOGNIZE WHERE THE POWER COMES FROM, you’ll VALUE IT EVEN MORE - and thats WISDOM.

2.Honor the Lord with your Money

Proverbs 3:9 M:BCL

9 Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best.

proverbs 3:9-10 “9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; 10 then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.”

It says “Honor the Lord”

Do you honor the LORD?

How do you honor the LORD?

Biblical HONOR is attributed to HIGH VALUE - VALUE that DETERMINES the POSITION, and an easy way to understand that is who is seated at the place of HONOR AT THE TABLE OF YOUR LIFE

WHO GETS THE BEST SEAT IN YOUR FINANCES? .....the best seat at the table. not the end, not in the middle. the HEAD of the table. If i want to HONOR someone at my house at my table, in my home. i give them my SEAT. i say “here you go, i want to HONOR you, i want you to SIT HERE” in the HIGH place of HONOR.

Its the same idea with our finances: You Honor God, by PUTTING HIM FIRST.

Write this down: “EVEN IF GOD ISN’T FIRST IN MY LIFE, HE IS STILL FIRST”

YOU MAY NOT PUT GOD FIRST, BUT HE IS STILL FIRST.

You may not put JESUS in pole position - but you gotta know today - he still is #1

He is the beginning and the end, The Alpha & the Omega, He existed before anything else did. and He certainly comes first before you and i!

heres why i say that - why wouldnt we LINE our LIVES up with WHAT WHO GOD IS AND WHAT HE IS DOING!

tithing is the biblical promise of economic Blessing and Security: but its based on critical thing: HONOR.

When you put HIM first, Everything will be in the correct order:

(i know people, who don’t pray much, who don’t come to church much, who don’t seem overly spiritual at all: but they HONOR God with their treasure, and they have blessed finances: ITS WISDOM)

A wise man, woman - PUTS THE FATHER AT THE HEAD OF THE TABLE OF TABLE OF THE FINANCES

Do it and you’ll be blessed!

3.Attend to your money

(Another common reason people do not budget is because they feel too broke to budget. Many people forgo a budget and simply hope that things will magically work out.?

What does it mean to attend to the RESOURCES?

We cann it STEWARSHIP

Create a plan

Have a budget

God doesn’t HONOR fools and FOOLS who lack sense in the area of finances.

Once you have MONEY, Once you’ve HONORED God with your MONEY - YOU NEED TO ATTEND TO YOUR MONEY.

Biblical STEWARDSHIP is the outworking of WISDOM in our financial lives

Stewardship is as simple as a starting with a budget. and A budget is simply a roadmap that gives you that gets you to a place called financial freedom.

a BUDGET will at the VERY LEAST- MAKE YOU AWARE OF two things: How much is coming in… and How much is going out! … and from there you can make wise choices & implement changes.

**i once sat down with a guy who was having some financial difficulty and he wasn’t progressing, wasnt happy with how his finances were going and wanted my help and i agreed to sit down - talk - and find out what part of his budget wasn’t working out. pretty quickly i worked out - not only did he NOT have a BUDGET, He wasnt aware of his finances at all. i asked him Well how much do you think you are overspending?… he didnt know..

Then i asked - how much are you making?.... I dont know

“do you know how much you make” and he gave me a blank stare.

So we started from the BOTTOM - but i made it clear:

IF YOU SPEND MORE THAN YOU MAKE. YOU NEED TO STOP DOING THAT (if you want to live with WISDOM applied to your finances).

If you want to be blessed you need to attend to your MONEY. Having a Budget is haaving a a plan and a plan means your are PLANNING to get someowhere and that ist

“HOPE IS NOT A STRATEGY”

HOPE IS AN ANCHOR FOR THE SOUL (Hebrews 6)

NOT A SOUND STRATEGY FOR FINANCIAL WISDOM.

… too many people SWIPE.. and HOPE!

....... Too many people don’t know what they make and dont budget accordingly

......Too many people BLAME God for a LACK when There isnt a lack - There is a lack of attention!

..........Too many people get frustrated that they dont have WISE finances and its because you havent established a budget

what is WISE is ATTENDING TO YOUr FINANCES, KNOWING WHAAT YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN ABND THEN GOING FROM THERE

Proverbs 12:10 “10 Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.”

Wise man has regard or lives attentive to the condition of what God has given him - NOT KNOWING ISNT AN OPTION!

Attend to your finances - Because God gave them to you

Resources: (these will be available in the COLONIAL APP)

App’s: Rocket Money (Free), Mint, Every Dollar Counts (paid) Courses; Financial Peace with Dave Ramsay , Budget Tools Social Media Accounts to follow: GO TO OUR APP & YOU WILL FIND A BUDGET SHEET.

4.Do something with your money

Matthew 25 (ESV)

1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like.....

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

God has a FORMULA for your finances: DOUBLE or nothing

the guy who got 5.. got five more - He doubles it

the guy who got 2 - got two more - he doubles it.

The guy who gets ZERO. Gets in trouble!

Here is the point - Gods calling all of us to account one day to show him “WHAT WE DID WITH WHAT WE GOT GIVEN”.

Thats why WISDOM in this area is so critical.

5.Leave your money -

for the needy & the poor

the needy & the poor.....

The people of God have always been called to LEAVE something for the world around them!

Leviticus 19:9-10 “9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”

for the next generation

“a wise man leaves an

Proverbs 13:22 “22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.”

Were all called to live generationally - In our spiritual lives but also an inheritance, a legacy - a heritage of Faith in Christ, expressed through our finances - so that the generations to come will also declare “god has been good to me” so i glady honor him with my first and my best!

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Notes

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Ancient Near Eastern Perception of Wealth

The Graeco-Roman world placed a high value on benefaction. The wealthy spent large amounts of money on their cities. However, they turned away from the impoverished. Spending money on civic projects such as bathhouses, libraries, and theaters, brought honor to a person. Caring for the poor, however, did not. Graeco-Roman writers described the poor as a drain on society (e.g., Homer, Odyssey, 18.1; 14.226; 18.363; 18.49). In contrast, Jewish law required farmers to allow the poor to glean from their leftovers (Lev 19:9–10; Deut 24:19–22).