PowerPoint - Sept. 19, 2007

September 19, 2007

Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.

--Proverbs 11:28

Do you want to free yourself from financial bondage? Well, the first step is to know exactly what financial bondage really looks like!

You’re in financial bondage…

1.      When you charge daily expenditures due to the lack of funds.

2.      When you put off paying a bill until next month.

3.      When you borrow money to pay fixed expenses such as your mortgage, insurance, or energy payment.

4.      When you become unaware of how much you owe your creditors.

5.      When you have creditors call or write to you about past-due bills.

6.      When you take money from savings to pay your current bills.

7.      When you take out new loans to pay off old loans.

8.      When you and your spouse argue about money.

9.      When you consider being dishonest about your finances.

10.  When you find it difficult to return God’s tithe to God’s house on God’s day.

If any one of these markers describes your life today, I want to offer you a word of encouragement: There is a way to escape financial bondage!

Number one, you need to confront the problem. When you have a problem, you have to be willing to be honest about it.

Number two, you need to take decisive action. Proverbs 21:5 says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” You need to have a plan if you’re going to escape financial bondage. It’s not just going to take care of itself on its own! This will probably involve such things as reducing your spending, putting away or tearing up your credit cards, and budgeting your income.

The last way to escape financial bondage is to focus on what you can give—not on what you can get. In Luke 6:38, Jesus says, “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

If you find yourself in financial bondage today, I encourage you right now to make the decision to free yourself. You will never be the blessing God intends as long as you are in bondage to money!

by escaping financial bondage, you can live the abundant life god intends for you