Financial Workshop

Introduction

Thank you for coming.

PRAYER

When we started to plan this, we didn’t know who, if anyone would sign up. Jacob had mentioned that the bottom 10% of people, those whose finances are in dire trouble and the 10 top 10% of people are the most likely to take a course like this. It’s the 80% of the people in the middle that’s the hardest to hit because they think they are good, yet finances is a thing all of us can learn more about and grow in our stewardship abilities.

Now, if you are here, you might be in the bottom 10%, maybe you are here hoping for a miracle. Let me temper your expectations slightly, if it took you 30 years to break your finances, it’s going to take longer than 30 minutes to fix it. With that said, we are going to have times of Q&A today and Jacob has offered to stay after and talk with whomever may have questions even after we are done.

Today’s workshop is scheduled to go from 9 to noon. We want to stick to that schedule, so that those who have other things to do today, can leave without feeling bad. But, like I said, we will stay and talk afterwards to help.

With that said, we are breaking this workshop up into three main sections today. The first is going to be on Financial Stewardship. Each session will include some practical exercises designed to help you. We will then take a short break and follow that with the second session, which I will lead and it will be on Generosity. The final session today, Jacob will lead, and it will hopefully tie all of what we are talking about together and it’s entitled Godly Provision and Contentment.

So there’s the schedule.

Before we get into the first session, I want to help set the stage and give you the foundation of everything we are going to talk about in regards to finances today. And that is Gratitude.

Gratitude Is The Foundation Of Financial Stewardship

Gratitude Springs From A Heart That Recognizes God’s Part In Our Finances

1 Chronicles 29:10–14 ESV

Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.

Gratitude Starts With Recognizing The Source

David Recognizes Everything He Has Comes From God. “…For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours.” Riches and honor come from God.

David Gives Thanks For All That He Has. “Now we thank you…” David recognizes that it’s God who has given him all that he has. When we are grateful, we thank God for all that we have, recognizing that there is nothing that we have that was not first given to us by God.

Generosity Flows From A Grateful Heart. It’s through gratitude that David says that the people are able to offer their gifts to God. “But who am I…that we should be able thus to offer willingly?…and of your own have we given you.” We recognize the source, we give from gratitude and God is blessed.

“It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Gratitude Breeds A Godly Mindset

Ungratefulness Leads To A Poverty Mindset -- You are ungrateful for what you have, therefore you do not feel you have what you need or enough, so therefore you do not give. 

We will not give, if we are ungrateful for what we have. We will not steward well if we are ungrateful. We will not live full lives if we are ungrateful. Ungratefulness is a mindset that keeps us living unfulfilled lives.

Gratitude Leads To A Purposeful Mindset. God wants us to use our finances with a purpose. And today, one of my hopes is that you will find that. That you will see that God has blessed you in many ways and that you can use that for his kingdom and his glory.

Gratitude Exercise

Make a list of 10 things you are grateful for.

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A Lesson In Generosity: The Principle Of Sowing & Reaping

If God asked you to give away one possession, comfort, or material item today, what would be hardest to surrender?

What if, once you were obedient to God in this, he blessed you with double whatever you gave away? Would that make it any easier?

2 Corinthians 9:6–11 ESV

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

Main Point #1

We Reap In Proportion To What We Sow

Little Giving Nets Little Blessings - If you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly (in a meager way). If you so bountifully (generously), then you will reap generously. We will reap in direct correlation of how much we sow. Some people falsely believe that under the New Covenant percentages don’t matter.

But this passage draws upon that idea that it’s not the dollar amount, it’s the proportion. If it’s meagerly, meaning you have a lot, but you give little, you will also reap very little. Conversely, if you give generously (if you have a little but you give a large percentage of that little), then you will also reap generously.

1 Corinthians 16:2 AMP

On the first [day] of each week, let each one of you [personally] put aside something and save it up as he has prospered [in proportion to what he is given], so that no collections will need to be taken after I come.

Giving Flows From Your Mindset - If you think you never have enough to give, you will never have enough. It’s in your mindset. If you think you only have a little bit to give, you will only give a little. But if you recognize the source and realize he owns it all, and you truly believe that, It will free up you to give generously. 

Generous Giving Reaps Generous Blessings - Clenched first vs open palm.

The Paradox of Generosity - It enriches rather than impoverishes. We think because we don’t have much, if we give it away, we won’t have anything. But the paradox of generosity is that the more you give, the more you will receive.

Proverbs 11:24 ESV

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.

It really comes down to your mindset. Will you adopt a generous mindset?

Main Point #2

Our Last Season Affects Our Current Season

What We Planted Last Season Is What We Have This Season

What We Are Reaping Now Was Planted Last Season.

If We Want To Reap More, We Need to Sow More. But we must realize this doesn’t happen immediately. Sowing takes time. We sow in the Spring and reap in the Fall. Don’t expect tomorrow’s blessings today.

Main Point #3

Giving Must Flow From The Heart

Do Not Give Reluctantly - Do not give if you are going to be sorrowful about your giving. God is more concerned about your heart than your wallet, but your wallet does give a good indication as to what is going on with your heart. If you look at your checking account and see that you don’t give, that should tell you something about your heart.

Do Not Give Under Compulsion - Don’t let someone coerce you into giving. I’m not here to coerce you into giving. I’m here to tell you what the Scriptures say about it and to testify as to what a blessing it has been to my life.

Autumn and I made a big transition a few years ago. I was working two full time jobs. One here at the church and the other as a traveling sales rep. We were faithful in our giving and we were fairly generous, though God has helped us to become even more generous as time has gone on. But we felt the Lord convicting our hearts (those that preach the gospel should get their living from the gospel 1 Cor 9:14) and so we made some big changes to our household. I quit my job as a sales rep making 6 figures and would only work as a pastor, making about 1/3 of what I was making before. Autumn would go back to work a couple of days a week to help supplement.

But here’s what didn’t change - our giving. We continued to give the same amount as we did when we were making much more money. Now, we hit some really tight times, but we kept giving. So, let me tell you a little story about how God helped us in that season. Because of all the changes we were making, it really made our taxes complicated that year. I knew we would have to pay and in my mind I thought it would be close to 3k. The following Spring, about a week before they were due, our accountant let us know we owed 8k. We were shocked. I was on my way to Souly when I found out. I gave that to the Lord and before the week was out, I had two people come up to me, without asking, without any prompting, out of the blue and tell me they felt God wanted them to invest in me and offered me money. One of the paid my state taxes completely and the other paid half of my federal. I ended up paying exactly what we had set aside, 3k.

God Loves A Cheerful Giver - God’s concern for the heart is a concern for our happiness. Here’s what I’ve found, when I give freely, when I give out of love, I find so much happiness.

Examples -

At certain points in my life, I’ve given totally secretly. I put cash into an anonymous envelope and left it or mailed it to someone.

At other points, I’ve given directly and seen the blessing as it was received and that’s brought me joy.

Sometimes I’ve given when I was asked. Other times I have given when I saw a need.

Each of these contain a special blessing.

God Doesn’t Want You Worried About Money

He wants you to be content (v8 having all sufficiency in all things) so you may about in every good work. Jacob is going to talk to us shortly about contentment, but I just want you to notice that contentment has a purpose. If you are worried about money (read the end of Matthew 6) you will not be effective in the kingdom. God wants you to trust him with your finances.

Let’s pray.

Sowing & Reaping Exercise

Make A List Of Places/People/Ministries You Want To Give Into. If money is no option, where would you give? List 10.

Make A List Of Places You Are Currently Spending Your Money That Isn’t Reaping Kingdom Benefits.

In What Places Are You Willing To Cut Spending And Start Giving? We Are Enriched By Generosity