Biblical Finance: Act Your Wage
F5 Sermon Series (/Finance, Family, Fitness, Faith, Forgiveness) • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
In order to get out of debt, we must
Admit we have a problem
Accept our Truth
Adjust our Habits
and Anticipate Coming Out
This morning as we continue developing an understanding of Biblical Finances I want to take this opportunity to shed some more light on the idea of accepting our truth
I believe a major player, leading role, and main character in our inability to be freed from our financial bondage (debt) is our failure to Act Our Wage
Now what do you mean Pastor Davis by Acting your wage?
How many of us have heard our parents or somebody say to us?
act your age and not your shoe size
Typically it was said when an individual was acting contrary to how a person their age is supposed to act
Along those same lines,
According to the Urban Dictionary, Act Your Wage is:
A phrase to address those who spend far more money than they really can afford, attempting to seem rich or wealthy.
A phrase to address those who spend far more money than they really can afford, attempting to seem rich or wealthy.
or better yet, the act of failing to live within ones means
A situation that most Americans find themselves in.
it is believed that if you have debt outside of a mortgage and student loans.....you are not acting your wage
And again I believe the reason for this type of behavior is our ongoing struggle with accepting our truth
we struggle with giving up on trying to keep up
It seems as if by nature we have been conditioned to:
Disguise our Reality
by
Don’t let no one know the your truth
Fake it, til you make it
Displaying our fantasy
Many of us have been told, don’t let no one know your truth
Fake it, til you make it
rying to prove ourselves to others, instead of ourselves
Therefore, we exhaust all of our resources trying to prove ourselves to others, instead of ourselves
We try hard to replicate an idea of what we perceive others think we should be
And in the process, we lost a sense of our true selves
Therefore, we go about life living as imitators instead of originators
Illustration:
Its as if we are unpaid actors on the hit broadway show stage called Imposters
We are like what King Solomon declared in
says
7 One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing;
another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.
7 One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing;
another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.
This has caused many of us to be like that horse that fell in the hole and couldn’t get out
Illustration: Horse Grave
Because of this many of us are like that horse that fell in the hole and couldn’t get out
Because of this his owner decided to just through dirt on him to bury him
but unlike his master my goal today is to throw some dirt on you with some fertilizer in it to get you out
I’m throwing fertilizing dirt on you to get you out
but you have to want to get out
and do like the horse did
collect that dirt under you feet and stand on it (build a new foundation)
We must learn this truth that our living ought to match our earning
because an unbalanced life is a life destined for failure
How do we act our wage?
How do we act our wage?
Acting our wage requires three things that are found in :
Turn with me to
AN ACT OF VISION
18 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,
but blessed is he who keeps the law.
or as the NIV version puts it
But blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.
AN ACT OF VISION
AN ACT OF VISION
AN ACT OF RESTRAINT
AN ACT OF DILIGENCE
18 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,
but blessed is he who keeps the law.
Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint;
Vision
Vision
Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; b
Restraint
Restraint
but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.Vision
Vision
Vision
Our failure to Act our Wage has a lot to do with our lack of vision
we are perishing because we have no vision
living paycheck to paycheck because we have no vision
robbing Peter to pay Paul because we have no vision
running up credit cards because we have no vision
•And as King Solomon tells us the lack thereof comes with consequences
You see, When you understand Vision you understand that:
Vision is for an appointed time
Vision is for an appointed time
•Vision is for an appointed time
It is a pictorial picture of a preferred future
With that being said, when you have Vision,
your focus in the now is only preparation for the future
In other words, my actions now has nothing to do with my now, but my future
Vision causes you to make sacrifices today, so you can be satisfied tomorrow
Vision is a necessity that contains both permissive and preventative elements
Permissive- allows for alignment
Bridging my present with my future
Buying $100 sneakers for a preschooler isn’t bridging my present with my future
But putting that $100 in a savings account is
Preventative- alleviates chaos
You see, when you have vision you put the necessary perimeters in place to prevent you from failing
Illustration- Preventative Maintenance is maintenance that is regularly performed on a piece of equipment to lessen the likelihood of it failing
The car manufacturer put certain perimeters in place like a certain amount of miles before
Oil change
Oil change
Filter
Tire Rotation
•Gives permission to use the vehicle for another identified number of miles
Jut to give permission to use the vehicle for another identified number of miles
What perimeters?
Disgrading credit cards
Budget
Self-control or as our text tells us
Self-control
Restraint
Restraint
Vision is a pictorial picture of a preferred future
It has nothing to do with my now, but
Restraint
Restraint
Restraint is a measure or condition that keeps someone or something under control or within limits
it is the ability to practice self-control
Illustration
the thing is desirous, but self control (restraint) tells you know I can’t afford it
so you walk away
The bible tells us that an unrestraint person is a fool
20 Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling,
but a foolish man devours it.
King Solomon lets us know that the lack of restraint brings about incessant consumption on the part of the fool
A foolish man or woman lacks restraint
Or better yet, one who doesn’t operate within his or her means is classified as a fool
foolish — devoid of wisdom or good sense or sound judgment.
foolish (ungodly) adj. — devoid of wisdom or good sense or sound judgment, especially with an association with insolence or ungodliness.
Listen living paycheck to paycheck is a clear sign that you aren’t acting your wage
A wise person - accumulates
A foolish person - decimates (spends his or her income as fast as it is produced)
And the reason why is because
a wise person is farsighted
whereas a fool is nearsighted (has no vision)
Contrary to popular belief, we are endowed with self control, we just don’t practice it
7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Restraint requires sacrifice
and we have to learn to see the value in sacrificing
The sacrifice of today, may be the blessing of tomorrow
Illustration: The Ant
Take for instance the ant. They sacrifice a lot during the summer in order that they might store up for the winter
Illustration : My Credit Card
Pastor’s Credit Card (Disney, Down Payment on Car)
Balance - $9,042.46
Minimum Payment - $178
Interest Rate- 19.49% (Promotional Rate- 5.50%)
If I just pay the minimum balance it will take me 22 years to pay off which will take my total payment to $ 17,570
Now if I would have taken that same $9000 and invested it
Investment - $9000
Years - 22
Average Return Rate - 10%
Addt’l Contribution $178/mth
End Balance- $232,648.80
Without contribution -$73,262.47
Diligence
Diligence
I firmly believe that its not enough to have restraint, but we must also be diligent
Diligence is the act of persistence
4 A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
The bible clearly lets us know that diligence leads to wealth
We have to be diligent in this thing
committed
dedicated
steadfast and unmoveable
Illustration: Cartoons
Sylvaster the Cat - Tweety Bird
Wile E Coyote - Road Runner
Elmer Fudd - Bugs Bunny
Used to get mad at them
stop chasing it
give up already
find something else
do something else
But they were diligent
reason- because they were hungry
that hunger gave them an edge and the corresponding motivation necessary for taking action.
I wonder if there is anybody here today that is hungry?
Hungry to Get Right
Well if your hungry you’ve got to exercise diligence no matter what it looks like, feels like, taste like
For the bible says,
The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
For the bible says,
The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor.
For the bible says,
The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes to poverty
�� The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes to poverty
For the bible says,
Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth.
For the bible says,
Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
And for the bible says,
A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
Illustration : Flea in a Jar with a Lid
•operating like fleas in a jar with a lid on it.
•At the onset they would be jumping to get out
•But as they hit the lid, they will eventually become conditioned to jump only so high
•Thereby even when you take the lid off, they will not jump out
•Diligence, restraint and vision gives us permission to jump higher