Good morning, church! Happy New Year, a little delayed Happy New Year. \u00a0We had to cancel church last week due to the ice storm. \u00a0But, we had church in my living room. \u00a0How many of you joined me there in my living room? \u00a0Wow, thanks for coming! \u00a0It was crowded (laughter). \u00a0It was so crowded that the Wilson Daily Times contacted us that afternoon to do an interview. \u00a0They wanted to know \u201cwhat was your secret? \u00a0What was it you did?” \u00a0I simply said that I propped my iPhone up on the coffee table. “Where did you get the idea?” The young people said, do this. \u00a0Actually, after Hurricane Matthew I had several of you saying, “Why don’t you do a FaceBook Live?” \u00a0I said, “What’s that?” \u00a0I do FaceBook but what’s that? \u00a0So, I kind of researched a little bit and we set it up. \u00a0\u00a0So, it went viral, and we got interviewed by the newspaper. \u00a0Cool! \u00a0The main thing for me was what started out feeling like discouragement to me because of this, you know, I hate to miss church, I want to be with you. \u00a0I want to preach; that is what God made me for. This is not a job for me; this is my life, my calling. \u00a0So I was kind of discouraged. \u00a0Oh, come on, Lord, and then so over 34,000, almost 35,000 people have been reached by this video. And you can see a pretty good head count, here; we have not hit that lately. \u00a0(laughter) \u00a0We closed for the ice storm and we have people in Bulgaria watching it live. \u00a0Of course, we have a little “cheat” there because he had a family that just happened to be in Bulgaria. But they were with us watching church last week. \u00a0Thanks for joining me there in the living room. \u00a0Some of you sent me screenshots of you in your living room watching me on your big screen tv. \u00a0I didn’t think of that; that you could put it on smart TV. \u00a0So, some of you took a screenshot with your sock feet up like that. \u00a0I just really kind of felt like, “Yea, we were all together.” \u00a0Right there in the same living room.<\/p>\n
We are starting a new sermon series this morning called, “Financial Freedom.” \u00a0You might be thinking, “Well, why is the preacher talking about this?” \u00a0Or, you might be thinking, “it is my \u00a0first visit here, and oh, what have I done? Why did I show up when he is going to \u00a0talk about money?” \u00a0But, I want you to stay in your seats. \u00a0First of all, because we have locked the doors and you can’t get out (laughter). \u00a0No, not really. \u00a0But, because this is going to be an encouraging sermon. \u00a0The thing about starting this financial freedom series is that there is an assumption that in America we have a problem. \u00a0If you will really admit that, that will be painful for a moment It\u2019s like going to the doctor and he’s got to look at it and pull the bandaid off to see what is really underneath. \u00a0This sermon is kind of like that, at the beginning, \u00a0where you will be \u00a0“pulling the bandaid off” and admitting that \u00a0we are having some trouble. \u00a0If you will hang on and stay open minded, not only through this sermon, but through the next couple of weeks, I think that there is real help in God’s Word on this topic of finances. \u00a0How to manage your finances God’s way. \u00a0He wants you to free so you can follow Him. \u00a0He wants your money to serve you rather than you be a servant to your “stuff.” \u00a0That’s what we are talking about today.<\/p>\n
Here is what Randy Alcorn says in his book, “The Treasure Principle.” \u00a0“15% of everything Christ said, relates to this topic. \u00a0More than His teachings on heaven and hell combined. Why did Jesus put such emphasis on money and possessions? \u00a0Because there is a fundamental connection between our spiritual life and how we think about and handle money. \u00a0We may try to divorce our faith in our finances, but God sees them as inseparable.\u201d<\/p>\n
So why is the preacher talking about finances? \u00a0It’s because of the spiritual connection. \u00a0Jesus talked about it 1\/6th of the time so 15% of the time he is talking about it. \u00a0Why? \u00a0Because there is something about the way you think about money that says something about your heart. \u00a0The way you think about possessions says something about your heart.<\/p>\n
Now, we are going to look at a parable in the Bible in Luke, chapter 15. \u00a0Normally you look at this and it’s about someone who is lost and then they are found. \u00a0Someone who is far from God and then are brought near. \u00a0That’s the way I would normally would hear the prodigal story, the story of the prodigal son. \u00a0But today we are going to look at it through the lens of how he looked at his possessions and how that had consequences. \u00a0The way he looked at finances, the way he thought about them, had consequences until he came to his senses and returned to his father. \u00a0So, that is how we are going to look at it today, through the lens of finances. \u00a0Let it expose, let us “pull the bandaid off, and look. \u00a0Are we thinking like the prodigal did before he came to his senses? \u00a0My desire today is that we would come to our senses so that we could be a people, not enslaved to our material things, but that they would be servants that we direct so that we can live into the calling that God has put on our lives. Amen?<\/p>\n
So, let’s look at the text today. \u00a0We are going to be looking at Luke 15, picking it up at verse 11.<\/p>\n
Luke 15: 11-24 (ESV)\u00a011<\/sup>And he said, \u201cThere was a man who had two sons. 12<\/sup>And the younger of them said to his father, \u2018Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.\u2019 And he divided his property between them. 13<\/sup>Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14<\/sup>And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15<\/sup>So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16<\/sup>And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.<\/p>\n 17<\/sup>\u201cBut when he came to himself, he said, \u2018How many of my father\u2019s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18<\/sup>I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, \u201cFather, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19<\/sup>I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.\u201d\u2019 20<\/sup>And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21<\/sup>And the son said to him, \u2018Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.\u2019\u00a0 22<\/sup>But the father said to his servants, \u2018Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23<\/sup>And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24<\/sup>For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.\u2019 And they began to celebrate.<\/p>\n This is God\u2019s Word, Amen? \u00a0We are going to be digging in now.<\/p>\n A. What we say that leads to financial bondage: <\/b><\/p>\n First, I just want to kinda do something a little different today. \u00a0I want to follow the downward spiral of the prodigal son\u2019s \u00a0thinking. \u00a0The way he thought about material things. \u00a0The kind of things that we say to ourselves that lead to financial bondage. \u00a0Here is what I have noticed.<\/p>\n First of all, in verse 12, he says, \u201c\u2026Father, give me my share<\/i><\/b>\u2026\u201d \u00a0Give me what is coming to me. \u00a0In other words, we say, “give me mine.” \u00a0Because we think it is ours. \u00a0We think it belongs to us. \u00a0And so, that is the first false step of a downward spiral: \u00a0Thinking it is all mine. \u00a0Give me my share; I want my share.<\/p>\n Then in verse 13, it says “Not many days later…” \u00a0\u201c<\/i>We want it now<\/i><\/b>>.\u201d<\/i> \u00a0That is the mark of our culture. \u00a0Anything that is the mark of our culture is our impatience for wanting it now. \u00a0The business world knows this and they are helping us with our little desire. \u00a0They go, Sure, you can have it now. \u00a0Don’t have any money? \u00a0Fine. \u00a0You can pay next year, no interest! <\/i>\u00a0In fine print, at the bottom of this, on that multi-page legal paper it says, \u00a024.99% will kick in all of the money you haven’t paid, not just the current interest but all of the way back to the whole 12 months if you miss one payment. There’s stuff like that in there. \u00a0You have to read with a microscope (I didn’t mean to say microscope<\/i> but you know what I mean. Can’t think of the word right now. \u00a0Magnifying glass, yes, thank you, young people! \u00a0We have got the young people down here; they don’t have the problems that I have. \u00a0Their brain still works; they go, Magnifying glass. <\/i>\u00a0It’s back there in a dusty file where I haven’t opened in a while and I couldn’t get to it.) I want it now! \u00a0<\/i>And that is what we tell ourselves.<\/p>\n Then in verse 13, it says “…he gathered all he had and took a journey into a foreign country…” \u00a0He wanted to get as far as he could from his father so he could spend it the way he wanted to. \u00a0In other words, \u201c<\/i>how I spend my money is my business<\/i><\/b>.\u201d<\/i> \u00a0It is not your business. \u00a0It is my business. \u00a0It is my money; I will spend it like I want to. \u00a0Don’t you tell me, preacher, how to spend my money. \u00a0Who do you think you are? <\/i>\u00a0And may I say to you, I am not here to tell you how to spend your money. \u00a0I am saying to you that that kind of thinking leads to bondage.<\/p>\n Continuing in verse 13, “…there he squandered his property …” \u00a0He blew it. \u00a0He said stuff like this, if he were alive today here is what he would say, I’ll just put in on the credit card for now<\/i>. <\/b>\u00a0I will just put it on the credit card. \u00a0He squandered his money. \u00a0Dave Ramsey, the popular financial advisor who writes books and is also on the radio, says this, \u00a0“80% of college seniors have credit card debt before they have a job.” \u00a0Now, how is that possible? \u00a0How does a college student, who doesn’t have a job, get credit card debt? \u00a0Well, the credit card companies are lined up at registration; they have special booths and all you have to do is sign and they give you credit. \u00a0They give you credit cards. \u00a0Why? Because you are a college student. So, student loans, credit cards….College students, when they graduate from college, are so much in trouble today because of debt. \u00a0A lot of you, I am looking at your faces right now, and you are like, You had to bring that up.<\/i> I can just see it on your face. \u00a0I told you that we are “pulling the bandaid off;” we are following the way the world thinks, the way the prodigal thinks.<\/p>\n Reckless living. \u00a0It says, “there he squandered his property,” verse 13, “in reckless living.” \u00a0The King James Version says, “riotous living.” \u00a0What is that? \u00a0He had a party! \u00a0He partied it away. \u00a0In other words, he spent his money on stuff \u00a0that he now has no evidence of and he said to himself, Where did it all go? I spent it on stuff that I had to have.<\/i> \u00a0I have a fill in the blank statement here, I can’t do without _________________.<\/i><\/b> \u00a0I can’t do without cable. \u00a0I can’t do without an iPhone. \u00a0I can’t do without new curtains. \u00a0I can’t do without that new truck. \u00a0I can’t do without….you fill in the blank. \u00a0I don’t know what your thing is that you think you can’t do without. \u00a0We never know that we can do without it until we have to do without it. \u00a0And if we stay on the downward spiral, someday that will get tested. \u00a0Someday you may actually have to do without it and you will find out, You know, I can do without it.<\/i><\/p>\n 65% of divorced couples (I would say the percentage is higher. this is a something I saw, a quote from marital counseling. \u00a0But in my personal marital counseling as 25 years as a pastor, I would say it is more like 85% of couples that come to you saying that their marriage is in trouble and they are thinking about divorce) \u00a0present financial trouble as one of the primary reasons. \u00a0It’s not because they have so much money that they don’t know what to do with it. \u00a0You know, we just get in arguments all of the time, because we have so much leftover cash. <\/i>\u00a0I have never had that. \u00a0It is always, She spends, he spends, he, she, he,she,he… we need a divorce. <\/i>And it’s about ‘not enough’ and it’s how the other person is misspending it. \u00a0And so, a new truck, a big screen tv, new curtains, new dress…..whatever it is, is more important to them, along the way, is more important to them than their marriage is. \u00a0And then they lose their marriage. \u00a0And then they lose their big screen tv, too!<\/p>\n “Money is an excellent slave, by the way, but a horrible master.” \u00a0\u00a0P. T. Barnham, the guy who came up with the circus, said that. \u00a0Dave Ramsey said this, “Car payments are for broke people.” \u00a0He is kinda harsh, isn’t he? \u00a0Dave Ramsey, he is a realist about this financial stuff.<\/p>\n Verse 14, \u201c\u2026when he had spent everything…” \u00a0In other words, I don’t know where it all went.<\/i><\/b> Where did it all go? <\/i>\u00a0Remember those college students, that over 80% of them got credit cards before they got a job? \u00a0The American Bankruptcy Institute says, “19% of them declare bankruptcy before they graduate.” \u00a0I didn’t even know you could declare bankruptcy before you graduate, while you still in college. \u00a0Apparently, you can.<\/p>\n Verse 14, \u201c\u2026a severe famine arose in that country…” \u00a0Who would have guessed the economy would go sour?<\/i><\/b> \u00a0I was counting on a good economy this year.<\/i> \u00a0So, he spent everything he had and then, on top of it, a famine came. \u00a0Now, part of me would be thinking, Did you do that, God, because I am living far from You and I am living as far away from Your principles and the way You have taught me and the way my father brought me up. \u00a0Did You cause that famine? <\/i>\u00a0Well, it doesn’t say. \u00a0But the timing is suspect. \u00a0He is not ready for this famine, It pushes him right over the edge.<\/p>\n 49% of Americans, if they lost their job today, could not finish the month. \u00a0They couldn’t make their monthly payments for this month. \u00a0Many of you, if you will admit it, if you didn’t get paid with your next paycheck, you would be in big trouble. \u00a0You wouldn’t be able to make your mortgage payment. \u00a0You don’t one month’s expenses saved. \u00a097% of 65 year old Americans can’t write a check for $600.00; they have worked their whole life but don’t have enough money in the bank to write a check for $600.00. \u00a0Why is this? \u00a0It is because Americans want it now, they are spending tomorrow’s income now and they continually do this. \u00a0It is \u00a0like dominoes falling \u00a0until finally the pig pen comes. \u00a0Finally, the downward spiral lands them in mud up to their necks. \u00a0Finally, that thing happens.<\/p>\n In verse 15, here is what he decides. \u00a0The famine hits and he is out of money. \u00a0It says he hires himself out to one of the citizens of that country and says to himself, <\/i>With the right strategy, I can work myself out of this. <\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/i>He stills thinks, I got this. I can do this. \u00a0I don’t need you, God. \u00a0I can do this. <\/i>\u00a0He follows the world. \u00a0It says he hires himself out to a person from that country. \u00a0Not his country. \u00a0Not God’s kingdom. \u00a0Not his father. \u00a0But that country. \u00a0He follows a worldly strategy. \u00a0The last thing he says, which is the smartest thing he says, (well, at least it’s the last thing he thinks before he says the smartest thing), in verse 16, it says, \u201c..he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate and noone gave him anything.\u201d \u00a0In other words, he cries out, Doesn’t anyone care that I am dying here? <\/i>\u00a0He is now at the bottom. \u00a0He has hit the bottom. \u00a0Here he is, a little Jewish boy, who is not supposed to go near a pig, who doesn’t eat pork, but is wanting to eat pig food. \u00a0He is mired up in mud. \u00a0He is ready to eat pig food. \u00a0He has hit the bottom. \u00a0There is no place to go but up and he does. \u00a0He finally looks up. \u00a0So that is the spiral. \u00a0Those are the things that he says to himself.<\/p>\n I don’t know where you are at. \u00a0Some of you are on the downward spiral right now. \u00a0You have leveled down. \u00a0Are you already down at the one that says, <\/i>I am dying here; will somebody please help me?<\/i>‘<\/b> That is the place where this life turns around. \u00a0The prodigal son turns around. \u00a0This is what we can say to get out of, to get free of, financial indebtedness. \u00a0This is what we can say that leads to financial freedom. \u00a0The first thing I see him saying to himself is, \u00a0God help me; I want to see things Your way now. I want to see things the way the Father see them now<\/i>.<\/p>\n B. What we can say that leads to financial freedom:<\/b><\/p>\n 1. God, help me see things Your way<\/u>.<\/b><\/p>\n Verse 17 says, \u201cBut he came to himself\u2026\u201d \u00a0Where had ‘himself’ been? \u00a0What does that mean to ‘come to yourself?’ \u00a0One translations says, “he came to his senses.” \u00a0Where had he been? \u00a0Had he been out of his mind? \u00a0Had he gone crazy? \u00a0If that is the case, \u00a0this whole world is going crazy. \u00a0Well, that is the case if you think about it. \u00a0God’s people are supposed to live different than the world. \u00a0We are not supposed to be enslaved to the world. \u00a0We are supposed to be servants of the Father. \u00a0We are supposed to give our lives to following Him but materialism and consumerism catches us in its snare. \u00a0But he came to himself, and I want to, on this point, to illustrate how he takes step by step as he comes back to the father. \u00a0How he ‘rethinks’ all of his false thinking.<\/p>\n Remember how he said, “give me my share?” \u00a0That was the first step down. \u00a0He now recognizes God’s ownership.<\/i><\/b> \u00a0He recognizes the Father’s ownership.<\/p>\n Psalm 24:1 (ESV) says, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.”<\/p>\n He made it; it is His. \u00a0It is all His. \u00a0The first step to financial freedom is to recognize that it is not my stuff. \u00a0It is His. \u00a0That is the first step.<\/p>\n Then he thought about that other saying he had, \u00a0I want it now.<\/i> He changed that to delaying gratification. \u00a0Delay gratification. <\/i><\/b>\u00a0“Wealth from get rich quick schemes quickly disappears\u2026,\u201d \u00a0Proverbs 13:18 (ESV.) \u00a0Instead of wanting it now, he was willing to be a servant. \u00a0He was willing to go back to the father, to delay gratification. \u00a0One of the smartest things we can do, you know, you have a shopping list and you go to the store and you have thought about it, hopefully. \u00a0You have researched it, looked at consumer reports and you have gone online. \u00a0It drives my wife crazy. \u00a0I have been so bad in the past, I have \u00a0been the prodigal son at an earlier age, that I may go too far at times with my research. \u00a0\u201cIt’s just an iron,\u201d she says; \u201cYou have been online for three days researching the best iron that lasts the longest and gives the most for your money.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0There is something about me, because I was the other way, I want to live better.<\/p>\n The most recent thing was my search for a hand held, battery operated cleaner. \u00a0I can tell you in details about the one we finally agreed on. \u00a0She knows how I work now. \u00a0So, she knows it’s best not to bring it up, just send him an email. \u00a0She says, \u201cMy little vacuum cleaner is broken, the one that you bought me is broken, and there is one from amazon at this price.\u201d \u00a0She just sends me an email and doesn’t tell me a word about it. \u00a0She knows how to get me. \u00a0Then I was on to research. \u00a0My research began, ‘according to consumer reports…’ \u00a0\u00a0And so, I bought her one. \u00a0I spent more money than she recommended because, you know, I had to get the best one, exactly the best one. \u00a0This thing will suck up anything! \u00a0You just set it down and it recharges. \u00a0It is awesome. \u00a0But, she had to delay gratification and put up with the gauntlet that she has to go through to get it. \u00a0But she got a good vacuum cleaner. \u00a0The thing is too loud, though, and she runs it while I am trying to watch football, so we are trying to work that out. \u00a0We are real at our house, too, I know you all are better than we are, but we are trying our best. \u00a0Delay gratification.<\/p>\n Be accountable. <\/i><\/b>\u00a0He says, How I spend my money is my business. <\/i>\u00a0But now he is ready to be accountable. \u00a0He is broken now. \u00a0He is ready to let everybody know. \u00a0I smell like a pig and do you know why? \u00a0Because I have been in the pigpen! \u00a0I am a mess.<\/i> \u00a0There is no hiding it; he smells.<\/p>\n A few years ago, I preached this similar series, I think it was 2010. \u00a0I had someone in our church start meeting with another man in our church so two men started meeting and started being accountable to one another and showing each other their finances. \u00a0This young man reminded me recently that the last time I preached this series I called it “Financial Fitness.” \u00a0He remembered it. \u00a0I said, “Wow! \u00a0That means so much to me that you remembered something I preached almost 7 years ago,” \u00a0He said to me, “Well, you know, it wasn’t so much that. \u00a0It was how I applied it. \u00a0It turned my financial situation around to the point where I could say ‘yes’ to being a pastor on staff here. \u00a0It set me free financially, enough to where when I could say ‘yes’ when the Lord challenged me to come and become one of the pastors here.” \u00a0We wouldn’t have him if he hadn’t listened to God. \u00a0You know, some of you are here today, and God has called you to do something, but you have so enslaved yourself, so indebted yourself, that you have to keep putting it off because you are a slave to the debtor. \u00a0You are not free. Get with somebody and get accountable. \u00a0This week in your small groups \u00a0(some of you are thinking, I am not going to small group this week, <\/i>\u00a0but you better go. \u00a0Don’t call and say your goldfish died because we will know why you really didn’t go.) \u00a0we are going to have some questions to talk about how you are doing financially. \u00a0Start being accountable.<\/p>\n How about this one, \u201cI will just start putting it on the credit card for now.\u201d \u00a0What if you started saying to yourself, \u201cI need to discipline my spending.<\/i><\/b> \u00a0I want to be self-disciplined in what I spend.\u201d Instead of saying, ‘I don’t know where it all went,’ what if you said, \u201cI need to know my financial condition.\u201d \u00a0The prodigal son, he didn’t know where it went. \u00a0He had a big party and then it was all gone. \u00a0Where did it all go? \u00a0Have you ever said that? I don’t know where it all went. \u00a0It always seems like I have more month than money. Where did it all go? <\/i><\/p>\n I was talking to someone between services, at the end of the first service, and she told me, “Man, that really spoke to me and my husband. \u00a0I still remember when we would pay for Christmas or we would spend so much on Christmas that next year when Christmas was coming, we were still paying on last Christmas. \u00a0Then we would buy more for that Christmas and then we were paying for two Christmases. I doesn’t feel like Christmas anymore when you are paying for two Christmases back.” \u00a0That kinda takes the joy and peace out of Christmas, doesn’t it? \u00a0Discipline your spending.<\/p>\n Know your financial condition. \u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Proverbs 27:23-24 (ESV) \u00a0says, “Know well the condition of your flocks and give attention to your herds. \u00a0For riches do not last forever.” \u00a0Now, I don’t know of anybody here that has flocks or herds. \u00a0Some of \u00a0you have a herd of kids because I saw you bring them in, but you probably don’t have a herd of sheep. \u00a0That is how they measured wealth in those days. \u00a0Know where your money is going. \u00a0Know the condition of your finances is what that passage in Proverbs means.<\/p>\n John Maxwell says this, “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.”<\/p>\n You need to know four things in order to have a better budget:<\/p>\n 1) What do you earn<\/u>?<\/b> \u00a0You should know that. \u00a0Most of us know that.<\/p>\n 2) What do you spend<\/u>?<\/b> \u00a0Now you don’t feel so good, do you? \u00a0I don’t know what I spend because I don’t know where it all went.<\/i> We know what our mortgage payment is, we know what our car payment is, but we might not know where the rest of it is going.<\/p>\n 3) What do you own<\/u>?<\/b> \u00a0If you think about it, you might be surprised at how little you own and how much the bank owns that you are renting from the bank in the payments you pay.<\/p>\n 4) What do you owe<\/u>?<\/b> \u00a0That’s a budget and it’s, also, a statement of net worth can be pulled out of this because they will ask you this if you want to buy a house, the bank will ask you.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n A couple of tips: \u00a0(1) You can go online and use, online it’s free, mint.com. \u00a0It will help you with budgeting \u00a0and you can type it in on your computer. \u00a0You still have to do that. \u00a0It won’t do that for you; you have to put that in. \u00a0It will link to your accounts, and so forth, so you can keep up with things. \u00a0You can go to Quicken.com and find helps there. \u00a0(2) \u00a0If you want Christian advice, one of the best sites is Crown.org \u00a0that was originally founded by Larry Burkett, who is with the Lord now, but many of us, at least from my age group, remember listening to Larry Burkett on the radio and so forth. \u00a0It is a great organization; they have all kinds of helps for budgeting.<\/p>\n And then he said to himself, Who would have guessed the economy would go sour?<\/i> \u00a0Instead, say to yourself, I will save for the future needs<\/i><\/b>; \u00a0I will save for the rainy days.<\/i> \u00a0Proverbs 6:6-11 (ESV) says, “Go to the ant, oh sluggard (a sluggard is someone who is lazy.); \u00a0consider her ways, and be wise. \u00a0Without having any chief, officer or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. \u00a0How long will you lie there, oh sluggard? \u00a0Will you arise from your sleep? \u00a0A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and poverty will come upon you like a robber and want like an armed man.” \u00a0In other words, wake up and plan for the different seasons. \u00a0The ant had enough sense to plant during the summer, harvest during the fall and get ready for the winter. \u00a0Does a human have enough sense to do that; because years will come, like 2008, where the whole economy goes down. \u00a0Or, in 2001, with the 9\/11 tragedy, when the whole economy went in the tank. \u00a0You may ask, \u201cWell, how do you know that that is going to happen?\u201d \u00a0Well, you don’t. \u00a0So, you don’t live beyond your means, you live beneath your means so that you have a surplus that you are saving so that you are wise like the ant. \u00a0That’s what the word of God teaches.<\/p>\n His last statement, his downward statement, was “With the right strategy, I can work myself out of this.” Well, instead of trying to do a worldly strategy, follow God’s wisdom about wealth. \u00a0Follow God’s wisdom about wealth.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Let’s go to his second step. \u00a0He has come to his senses, he is ready to do it God’s way, and then he says to himself,<\/p>\n 2. God, I am ready to change<\/u>.<\/b><\/p>\n God, I am ready to change. \u00a0I am ready to repent. \u00a0Notice in verse 18 (do you ever do this, when you have a tough meeting in front of you, you rehearse what you will say. \u00a0Ok, I am going to go back to my father and I am going to say this and then I am going to say this. \u00a0He is kinda looking in the mirror and saying, \u2018Father I have sinned against heaven and before you. \u00a0I am ready to change.\u2019 \u00a0I am ready to go tell him. \u00a0\u00a0I am ready to “fess” up.<\/i> \u00a0Let’s talk about this. \u00a0Is mismanagement of finances a sin? \u00a0Well, it depends. \u00a0It could be lack of knowledge. \u00a0It could be that some really bad stuff happened that was out of your control. \u00a0You could have been living wisely and then you had a medical emergency or you got laid off from work or whatever. \u00a0I recognize that.<\/p>\n Here is the American problem: \u00a0the majority of us are in financial trouble. \u00a0Not because of an emergency. \u00a0Not because of ignorance. \u00a0But because of sin. \u00a0We want what we don’t have. \u00a0We covet our neighbor\u2019s “stuff.” \u00a0We want because they have it. \u00a0We want it before we earn it and, if we really come clean, we have to say, \u201cFather, I have sinned and I am ready to change.\u2019” I want to change and come to admission.<\/p>\n In the books of Acts 3:19 (Msg) it says, \u201cNow it\u2019s time to change your ways! \u00a0Turn to face God so He can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessings to refresh you.” \u00a0See, I told you that I would have to pull the bandaid off so you came face to face with your sin areas when it comes to materialism and finances. \u00a0But I, also, want to say to you that the Father is waiting. \u00a0He is waiting not to curse you but to bless you. \u00a0If you will just admit that you want to change.<\/p>\n 3. God help me serve You<\/u> with all that I have.<\/b><\/p>\n In verse 19, “…father just treat as one of your servants. \u00a0I don’t deserve to be a son anymore. \u00a0I just want to serve you.” \u00a0Man, who is this boy? \u00a0From the time I raised this kid all he says is, I want it, give me mine. Give me my cookie. \u00a0Give me this. \u00a0Give me that.<\/i> Who is this? \u00a0He has been in the pigpen. \u00a0He has hit bottom. \u00a0It is just good to come home and eat in the father’s house.<\/p>\n A lot of you are still raising younger children and some of you are raising teenagers. \u00a0You will ask me questions about parenting sometimes because I have earned a few gray hairs now or maybe more than a few. \u00a0I have grandchildren now, so I have some thoughts on things. They will tell me, \u201cYou know, I am having so much trouble with my 17 year old.\u201d I would say to them, \u201cLook, try to raise them the best you can according to God’s Word. \u00a0Maybe when you send them off to college what will happen to you is what happened to me.\u201dI can still remember when my son, Stephen, was gone about a year; he calls and says, “Mom, would you mind to make some of that honey chicken? \u00a0You know that honey chicken you always make?” \u00a0She would reply, “I didn’t even know you liked that.” \u00a0He would say, “Mom, I gotta have some of that honey chicken.” \u00a0What he didn’t tell us that we was bringing the “holy hoard” with him. \u00a0Like locusts, they landed at our house. \u00a0All of these college boys that look like they hadn’t eaten in forever. \u00a0We didn’t have enough honey chicken; we had to go out and get some Kentucky Fried. \u00a0Sometimes when you leave home, you find out home is pretty good. \u00a0Sometime, when you get down in the pig pen, you find out that is wasn’t that new car, that new phone, that new (whatever it was) that lost it’s “new car” smell. \u00a0I wish that I could just get back. \u00a0<\/i>But you can’t.<\/p>\n Decide to be a servant. \u00a0It’s God’s stuff; show me how You want me to take care of it. \u00a0By the way, God, Your car needs a new transmission. \u00a0You have a leaky toilet, Lord, and I don’t know what You are going to do about it because it is not mine. \u00a0It is Yours. <\/i>\u00a0You need to run it but you don’t need to lose your peace about it. \u00a0You give it to Him. \u00a0Be a servant.<\/p>\n Matthew 6:33 (ESV) says, \u201cBut seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all of these things will be added to you.” \u00a0I preached this last Sunday; don’t worry, pray. \u00a0Don’t try to fix it yourself every time; turn it over to God. \u00a0Serve God. \u00a0Some of you might need a financial coach to help you with this. \u00a0Put that on your card today, ” I need some more training on this. \u00a0I need some more coaching.” \u00a0We might be able to find you a mentor in the church that has been studying this a while and has proven themselves to be one who is faithful in this area. \u00a0If you are willing, we might start a class or something. \u00a0What we are doing is, we are checking interest right now to see if there would be interest. \u00a0Put that on your card if you would like more financial mentorship or coaching help so you can serve God better.<\/p>\n Here is the final point.<\/p>\n 4. God I am going to start trusting you now<\/u>. \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n I am going to start trusting you now with all that I am and all that I have. \u00a0I am not going to withhold anything from you. \u00a0It is said that during the Middle Ages, when a knight would be saved and baptized, he would hold his right hand up out of the water as he was baptized because that was his sword hand and he was going to get it baptized later. \u00a0He needed to fight with that hand.<\/p>\n Today, if were to take that into the future, \u00a0most Americans would lift up their left hand because, for men, that is where they put their wallet. \u00a0I need to hold my wallet up out of the water when I go under because I am just not ready. \u00a0God, I am saved. God, I love You. \u00a0Thanks for saving me, but that money is mine. \u00a0That stuff is mine. <\/i>\u00a0Go ahead and dunk that and get that wet today. \u00a0Go ahead and give it all to Him. \u00a0Say, “I am trusting You with everything.” \u00a0He arose, it says in verse 20, in other words, he got up out of that pig pen. \u00a0He said, “I have had it with this kind of living.” \u00a0He arose and he came to his father. \u00a0Get a sense of urgency. \u00a0Start now. \u00a0It’s the first of the new year; it’s January. \u00a0Turn the page. \u00a0Start living, trusting the Lord. \u00a0Stop trusting your own scheme, your own methods and your own designs. \u00a0You see, our financial condition is connected to our spiritual condition. \u00a0Even as you listen to this message, I don’t want you to hear a \u00a0bunch of “do’s” and don’ts.” \u00a0I don’t want you to leave here with a list of rules and religion that you have to live up to, because the gospel sets you free. \u00a0Here is what I want you to hear, that this is exposing to all of us: \u00a0\u00a0We have impure motives the way we handle our stuff. \u00a0We are selfish. \u00a0We break the ten commandments. \u00a0We covet. \u00a0We lie. \u00a0We steal. \u00a0All to get stuff. You say, \u201cWell, I don’t think I have gone that far.\u201d Well, if you have ever said that you are going to pay it back and you didn’t, you lied. \u00a0If you kept it, you stole. \u00a0Just think it through. \u00a0I was thinking through how many times that I meant well but then I didn’t because I got in over my head. \u00a0I want us all to confess today and not to get beat up.<\/p>\n Here is what the Bible says in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” \u00a0He is not condemning you today; He is saying that you are hurt. \u00a0You are in the pig pen but you don’t have to eat the pig food anymore. \u00a0Come on back to the Father. \u00a0Come to the Father. \u00a0Let me forgive you. \u00a0Let me clean you up, put a ring on your finger and let’s have a banquet. \u00a0See, He wants to bless you, but you have to give it to Him. \u00a0As long as you are keeping it yourself and running it your way, yourself, you are doing it the world’s way. \u00a0You are in the far country.<\/p>\n Come back to the Father. \u00a0Come to the Father and bring all that you have and all that you are and say, “I am ready to serve You.” \u00a0When you say it, here is the crazy thing that happens, “I am ready to serve you.\u201d \u00a0He says, “I want to make you a child. You are my son, you are my daughter.” \u00a0How does that happen? \u00a0By believing in the Son. \u00a0By asking Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, believing that He was raised from the dead, He died on the cross for you, He’s raised from the dead and He lives today. \u00a0Believe in Him. \u00a0He will set you free, not just from the sin but from the shame. \u00a0Not just from that but from all the financial stuff that sin has gotten you into if you will begin to trust Him, These are not rules and regulations. \u00a0This is how the Spirit of God wants to live in you to help you live for Him.<\/p>\n Let’s pray.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jesus told a parable that illustrates how our spiritual condition and our finances are linked. We know this story as the parable of the Prodigal Son. This parable is often taught to warn us against rebellious living or illustrate the love of the Heavenly Father and both of those applications are correct and useful. But in this sermon, we look at this story from a different angle and see that it gives us both a warning and a proper perspective on how to handle money. Here\u2019s a man who learned lessons on financial freedom the hard way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5502,"template":"","tags":[2420,2048],"series":[2419],"scripture-book":[1309],"scripture-chapter":[1348],"speaker":[2007],"class_list":["post-5503","message","type-message","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-debt","tag-finances","series-financial-freedom","scripture-book-luke","scripture-chapter-1348","speaker-gary-combs"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message\/5503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/message"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message\/5503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5588,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/message\/5503\/revisions\/5588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5503"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=5503"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-book?post=5503"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-chapter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-chapter?post=5503"},{"taxonomy":"speaker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/speaker?post=5503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n