YOUR FINANCES AND GOD'S PROVISION
Freedom From Your Fears - Part 4 of 10
Philippians 4:19 10-16-11 Sermon
There is some debate over whether the recession is over, but there is no debate that there are a lot of people who are unemployed, underemployed, or who have just given up on trying to find work. A while back a news brief appeared entitled "It's the Money, Honey!" It said, "Sylvester Stallone's wedding has been put on hold. The Sylvester Stallone-Janice Dickinson wedding is said to be stalled over a pre nuptial agreement." He's offering her a million bucks a year for each year she sticks it out in marriage up to the first five years plus $250,000 a year in walk around money after which a new deal would be negotiated. The catch is this: She was holding out for two million a year plus a million a year in walk around money and a million for having his child born the previous February.
What that says to me is it doesn't matter how much money you make everybody has financial fears. We all fear that we're not going to have enough. You don't have to be poor to get anxious about money. You don't have to be on welfare to have financial fears. We live in one of the most affluent nations of the world. Yet many Americans have financial fears. In fact, the more you have the more you have to worry about, the more you have to maintain, to insure, to protect, to worry about losing. We probably make payments on things that many people in the world have never even heard of. Money has its own responsibility.
Today we're going to look at Your Finances and God's Provision. One of the most amazing, incredible, all encompassing promises in the Bible is Philippians 4:19. This is God's guarantee regarding your finances. "God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." This verse is so packed! I want you to circle several words.
First it says, "God will..." circle "will". It doesn't say, "He might meet your needs" it says "He will". It's a fact. He's staking His character, His reputation on it. "I will meet your needs."
Then it says, "God will meet all..." Circle "all". It doesn't say "I'll meet some of your needs" He says all. Does that include car payments? Yes. Braces? Yes. Homes? Yes. All your needs. It doesn't say "I'll meet all your greeds." There's a difference between needs and wants. As a parent, do you give your kids everything they want? I hope you don't. Because you love them. And your heavenly Father loves you. He's not going to give you everything you want; you'd be spoiled to death.
But it says, I will meet all your needs according to His wealth, His riches. It's not based on my assets, thank God. It’s not based on the stock market. It’s not based on the economy. It’s not based on winning the lottery. It’s not based on receiving a large inheritance. It's based on what God has and He doesn't run out of resources.
He says "... for you in Christ Jesus." This is a promise only for believers. This is not a promise for everybody. God has not promised to meet everybody's needs. God has not promised to meet the needs of people who reject His Son. This is only for believers, for those who are in Christ Jesus. But He says, If you're one of My children, in My family, I promise to meet all your needs."
If that is the case, then why do you have financial needs? Why do I know people who are believers who have financial needs? Did God fail? Did He lie? Did He exaggerate? No. With every promise there is a premise. There are conditions, requirements. There are things God says, "I'll do my part and you do your part." God has laid out financial principles in His word. There are many financial principles -- more than we can go into this morning. Principles of saving, principles of spending, principles of giving, principles of investing, principles of using your resources. They are all through the Bible.
There are some conditions we can look at this morning. Specifically five. God says if you meet these conditions then I guarantee that I will meet all your financial needs. That's a pretty big promise. The guarantee is you do these things and you'll never have to worry about finances again. That's exactly what God says. So, the first condition is, God will meet your financial needs…
1. IF I ASK FOR HIS HELP
James 4:2 "You do not have because you do not ask God." That's pretty clear. God is waiting for you to ask. God never shuts His storehouse until you shut your mouth. He wants to help. But the problem is, you don't ask. Last time you needed a car did you ask God for it or did you just go out and buy it? My guess is you probably didn't ask for it. You probably didn't pray. You just went out and bought it.
"Jesus says, `Ask and it will be given you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will open for you.'" Circle the first letter of those three words -- Ask, Search, Knock -- what does that spell? ASK. God's saying it three ways. Get the message! Over twenty times in the New Testament God says, "Ask! I want you to ask!" One of the reasons why you may never see miracles in your life is you never ask for it. Would you like to see God work in your life more? Start asking.
Here’s a principle for you: Before you pay for it, pray for it. Stop and ask God. Give God a chance to give it to you before you go out and charge it. You probably depend more on your charge card than you depend on Jesus. You're going to live within your income even if you have to charge it! God says Ask, I want you to ask Me for things. Before you pay for it, stop and pray for it.
Why does God want me to ask? Because He's a loving father. Loving fathers love to bestow gifts on their kids. I love to give my kids things and I'm a loving father.
John 16:24 Jesus is talking, "You've not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive so that your joy will be the fullest possible joy." Why does God want me to ask? So He can give. Why does He want to give? So I can receive. Why does He want me to receive? So I'll be full of joy. Why does He want me to be full of joy? It's a great advertisement for Jesus. Joyful Christians are a positive testimony. Sour puss Christians, sucking on pickles, are a bad testimony. They're baptized in vinegar or something.
If you pray as much about your finances as you worry about them you'd have a lot less to worry about. God says Ask, I'm waiting for you to ask Me.
2. IF YOU'LL LEARN TO BE CONTENT
Why? Because God's far more interested in your character than He is your comfort. He wants you to grow up, to mature, to be like Jesus. He's not just interested in making life easy so He watches your attitude. If I bought into the thinking that having more will make me happier, or if I just intend to use all the wealth selfishly, or if I tend to think about things more than I think about God why in the world should He aid my addiction? He's watching your attitude. The question is Have I learned to be content?
1 Timothy 6 "There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it." If you've ever seen a baby born you know they don't come into the world with a whole lot. They're not holding on to cigars and cars and stuff. They don't come into the world with anything, just a little umbilical cord and that gets cut real quick. And at your funeral you don't take anything out. You never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer.
There was a miserly man who tried to take his money with him. He made his long suffering wife promise that when he died she would bury his money with him. She promised. And she told a friend about it. He friend thought she was crazy.
Well, the husband did precede his wife in death. They had his funeral service, and right before the funeral director closed the casket the wife told him to wait. She had a small box with her. Her friend leaned over and said, “You are not really going to go through with this are you?” And the wife said, “Yes, I promised.” So she put the box in the casket with him, the casket was closed. They went to the cemetery and the casket was lowered into the ground and buried.
The wife’s friend came back to her house with her. Again she said to the widow, I still just can’t believe you buried all that man’s money with him! And the widow replied, A promise is a promise! Just because he was stingy and miserly all his life doesn’t give me the right to break my promise. And then with a glint in her eye and a smile on her face she said, I wrote him a check!
You really can’t take it with you! So the things here on earth or just for you to use the 80 or so years that you're here. Learn to be content.
Don't sweat it. Don't make it the most important thing in your life. The most important things in life aren't things. Learn to be content.
What is contentment? Contentment is not, not having any goals. Contentment is not, not having ambition. Contentment is not even, not having financial goals. Financial goals are fine. Contentment means my happiness is not dependent upon circumstances. Most people get caught into "when" thinking -- "When I get such and such, then I'll be happy." "When I get to a certain level economically... When I get a certain job ... When I can retire ... then I'll be happy. When I get the house paid off... When I get the bills paid off... then!" God says "No, once you get there you'll always want something else. You always want more." Somebody asked Howard Hughes, "How much does it take to make a man happy?" He said, "Just a little more."
God says I want you to learn contentment. It's not, not having goals. It's saying My happiness is dependent upon the Lord not on my circumstances in life.
Paul learned contentment. Philippians 4:12 "I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I've learned the secret of contentment in every situation." Circle "learned". Contentment is something you have to learn. It's not something that comes naturally. It's not natural for us to be content. I, by my nature, am naturally discontented. And so are you. By your nature, you're naturally discontented. It's something you have to learn.
How do you learn to be content? This is the second requirement for God working in your life. You learn contentment by stopping doing what causes discontentment. Comparing causes discontentment. God says it's stupid to compare yourself to others. You compare houses, clothes, cars, jobs, spouses, pastors, churches. Have you ever bought a new car and you're happy with it and then a new model comes out and it's got a wingding on it! And then you've got to have one of those wingdings! Life isn't worth living without a wingding! And all the advertisements are telling me that. And you aren't worth zip unless you have a wingding! So we're constantly comparing. And comparing causes discontent and because of discontent God says, You can't handle what I want to give you because you're putting too much priority on it in your life. Can God trust you with wealth? Have you learned to be content? God says He wants you to learn contentment.
I don't know why but God has chosen money to be the acid test of our faith. We spend our entire lives trying to make it, earn it, save it, spend it, use it, we think about it. So God chooses to use finances as the acid test of how much you trust Him. He wants us to ask when we have a need and learn to be content, so our happiness isn't dependent on how much or how little we've got. If you don't learn contentment, you'll never be happy. You'll always want more.
3. IF YOU PRACTICE GIVING IN FAITH
This is called the Law of the Harvest. 2 Corinthians 9 "Remember this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. And whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver. If ever you feel pressured to give, don't. God says don't give under pressure. Don't give under compulsion. God says it doesn't count. God says, I'm not just looking at the amount, I'm looking at your attitude. And the scripture says "And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that in all things at all times having all that you need you will abound in every good work."
Notice the promises there. This is the principle of Sowing and Reaping. This principle is a law of the universe and it applies to every area of your life. If I sow criticism I'm going to reap criticism. If I sow kindness I'm going to reap kindness. If I sow generosity, it's going to come back to me and I'm going to reap generosity. If I sow energy, I'm going to reap energy. It's amazing but if you go to a gym and work out you'll feel tired, but the next day you'll have more energy, because by expending energy you produce more energy. It's like giving blood: You give blood and it just reproduces itself. It multiplies. Whatever you need more of you give away.
This is the principle of sowing and reaping. Every farmer knows this. A farmer has four sacks of seed in his barn and he looks at his barren field, no crop. He doesn't start gripping -- "There's no crop! I wish there was a crop!" He just goes out and starts planting seed. When you have a need plant a seed. He goes out, plants seed, it reproduces and he gets more than he had when he started. Do four sacks of seed produce four sacks of seed? No. Far more than that. They multiply a hundredfold. No farmer in his right mind would say, "I can't afford to plant, to sow. This is all the seed I've got, only four sacks of it. Therefore I'm just going to hold on to the seed." The only way he's going to get anything out of it is by giving it away. He's got to plant it. If he holds on to it that's all he's got. But if he gives it away, it multiplies.
That is true with your money. It's true with everything else in your life. It seems illogical that when I have a need, I need to give. It is illogical. That's why it requires faith. God says "My ways are not your ways." Why did God set it up that way? Because God is a giver. He is the most generous giver in the universe and God wants you to learn to be like Him. His number one characteristic is that He is a giver. "God so loved the world that He gave..." God wants you to learn to be generous. If you don't learn to be generous, if you don't learn to give, if you're stingy, miserly, always worrying about what you've got rather than giving it away, you'll never be like Christ. When God set up the universe, He said I'll reward my children when they're like Me.
So, every time you're generous and give, God says Give and it will be given to you. Luke 6:38 "Jesus said, `Give and it will be given unto you. And the measure you use to give out will be the measure which God uses to give back to you.'" God wants to build character in you. He wants you to learn to be a giver. He says, Give and it will be given unto you. The point is, when I hoard my money it's all I've got but, when I give it away, God multiplies it.
We like to say, "Lord, when all my needs are met, then I'll give some away." God says, "No, when you give some away, then all your needs will be met." God says you prime the pump. Why? Because it requires faith. Giving out of plenty requires no faith at all.
Circle all the "alls" in this verse: "God is able to make all grace about to you so that in all things at all times having all that you need you will abound in every good work." I didn’t write that, Paul did. It’s part of God’s word. Do you believe it or not? If that verse is really true what does that leave to worry about? Not much. I think "all" includes everything. It doesn't leave anything to worry about.
Proverbs 3 "Honor the Lord by giving Him the first part of all your income and He will fill your barns to overflow." This is the principle of tithing . It's the principle that every time I make $100 the first $10 goes back to God. If I make $1000 the first $100 goes back to God. Tithing is not charity. Tithing is not giving to the poor or the United Way or the American Cancer Society. Those are offerings not tithes. Tithing is an act of worship. I don't give my tithe to somebody else, I give it to God. It's an act of worship that says, "All of it came from You, God, in the first place and if it weren't for You I wouldn't have anything." God says, "Put Me first in your life and watch what I do. I'll bless you. Your barns will overflow."
Why does He say, Give me the first part? He doesn't say, Pay all your bills and then give. You won't have any to give then. When Peg and I got married we decided if anybody got paid God was going to get paid first. The first ten percent and then some of everything we've ever made goes back to the Lord. Because God needs it? No. Because He wants what it represents -- your heart. The Bible says, "Where your treasure is there your heart is also." If you say Jesus is number one in your life but He's not first in your finances and your time, He's not first. Quit kidding yourself.
And, tithing is not something you do just when you show up at a church service. If you come to church one Sunday a month, you still owe God your tithe for the other weeks when you earned money but did not come to church.
Tithing is not optional. The prophet Malachi, in Malachi 3, says that to not tithe is to rob God. Everything belongs to God, including everything that you have. So if God tells you to give 10% of his stuff back to him and you refuse to do that, you are robbing God. God says through the prophet in verse 10 Test me in this…and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Here is the one place where God dares you to test him on this, on tithing. He says step out on faith and see how much I will bless you.
"Give and it will be given to you." Give the first part of the income to the Lord and watch Him bless it. When I give the first part of my income to the Lord, somehow He made that other 90% expand and I am able to pay more with that. Some of you think you can't afford to tithe. But I honestly say, as your pastor, you can't afford not to. You can't afford not to if you really want God's blessing in your life.
4. IF YOU MAINTAIN YOUR INTEGRITY
God doesn't bless dishonesty. Proverbs 16:11 "The Lord demands fairness in every business deal." That includes wages, sales, taxes. If you want God's blessing on your finances you've got to be honest. You can't rip people off.
Proverbs 19:1 "Better to be poor and honest than rich and dishonest." Why? Because Jesus said, "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?"
Proverbs also says "The blessing of the Lord brings wealth and He adds no trouble to it." Have you ever known anybody who made money and it just brought trouble? Profit made dishonestly always brings trouble. Always. You will always reap what you sow. If you are dishonest with others that will be returned to you. If you think you haven't got caught, the clock is still ticking. The game is still playing, the judgment is still out. You do not mock God and get away with it. Whatever you sow you will inevitably reap. Be honest. Be honest with your finances.
Sometimes the pressure to get ahead -- or just the pressure to keep up -- is so overwhelming that we, even as believers, are often tempted to compromise our ethics. And maybe to do a little shading of the truth in order to make a buck. Maybe we overvalue something or maybe we just don't tell somebody what's wrong with it when we're selling it to them or maybe we take a deduction on the taxes that really isn't there. Or maybe we just don't tell the truth in a situation. Why? Because the draw to make a buck is so intense in our lives that we sacrifice our integrity.
God has said that He will meet my needs if I ask for his help, and I learn contentment, and I give in faith, and I maintain my integrity. That decision to do what is right and trust God is not a once for all decision. It is a daily moment by moment decision.
Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
5. IF I TRUST HIM WITH MY LIFE
Matthew 6:33 "Your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well what you need and he will give it to you if you give him first place in your life and live as he wants you to."
When I was a kid, anytime I had a need I'd go to my father and say "Dad, I need money for this... Dad, I need money for that." Not once in an entire lifetime of growing up did I ever wonder or worry about where he was going to find the money. It's his job. He's the father. I'm the kid. Fathers make. Kids spend. It's a deal we have.
Many Christians act like spiritual orphans. You forget that you've got a heavenly Father. It says your heavenly Father already knows what you need. He's just waiting for you to ask. He will provide. Does God take care of little birds? They don't worry. Nothing in all creation worries except human beings. Do those birds worry? No. Do plants worry? No. The only things in all creation that worry are human beings. Everything else trusts the heavenly Father and creator to care for their needs. The Bible says if God takes care of the birds, don't you think He'll take care of you if you trust Him. That's the issue.
That's the bottom line there. How much do you trust God? Worry is really just a form of atheism. Every time you worry you're acting like an atheist. You're saying, "It all depends on me." If it's to be, it's up to me. That's just not in the Bible. Your heavenly father has a big hand in all of this. Worry is a warning light that you're doubting the love of God and you always get in trouble when you doubt the love of God.
I must trust Him with my life. It says, "If you give him first place." Why? Because as long as I love anything more than God that thing or person or item will become a source of anxiety. If you allow anything besides God to take first place in your life that item will become a source of anxiety because you can lose it.
1 Timothy 6 "Don't put your hope in wealth which is so uncertain. But put your hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." No matter how much you make you can still lose it all. It's uncertain thanks to lawsuits, thanks to long term illnesses, to hospital bills, to disasters, to economic downturns. There are many ways you can be wiped out in a matter of months no matter how much you've got. You must always remind yourself, my security is not my bank account. My security is in the Lord. Don't hope in wealth. Hope in the Lord. If God turns off one faucet, He can turn on another. If He turns off one job, He can turn on another. You must seek the Lord.
Psalm 111:5 "He gives food to those who trust Him. He never forgets His promises." The book of Romans tells us that God sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for you to pay for your salvation. If God loves you enough to send His own son to die for you, don't you think He loves you enough to take care of your bills? Don't you realize that any other problem is minor by comparison, that He solved your biggest problem when He saved you? The bottom line is really this: Am I going to believe God to do what He says He will do? That He will provide for me. Am I going to believe Him enough to do what He tells me to do as evidence of that faith?
The theme verse for this series is Psalm 34:4 "I sought the Lord and He heard me. He delivered me from all my fears." The answer to your fears is a person, Jesus Christ. You need to hope in the Lord. When you're afraid in any area it's that you've forgotten what God is like, who He is, and what He's promised to do. In this case in the area of finances. So every week we come back to this. Seek the Lord. The answer to your fears is a person.
If you're serious about being set free from financial fears it's your choice. But you must choose to do what God has clearly told us to do. He's laid it out. He said, "I will do this -- the promise -- if you will obey the premise." I want to challenge you to solidify your commitment this morning. Are you're going to start asking God more for help in your finances, not just going out and charging it, but asking God for help. Are you going to start learning to be content, stop comparing? Are you going to start tithing the first part of your income as God has commanded and in faith that He's going to take care of my needs as an act of worship? Are you going to live with integrity and be honest in your finances, not cheat? Are you trusting Jesus Christ completely with every area of your life?
If you're not going to do any of the first four, don't kid yourself. You're not really doing number five. Jesus said, "If you love me, you keep my commandments."
Prayer:
Father, thank You that You are a heavenly Father and You've promised to meet all our needs. The ball's in our court. It's up to us to decide if we'll follow the conditions that You've laid out. Thank you God that you never fail to keep a promise that You've made, that You are trustworthy. I pray that, today, many will trust You and take these steps. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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