Participants: Shelley Quinn (Host), Jeffery Wilson & Rita Westphal
Series Code: IAA
Program Code: IAA000232
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00:30 Hello I'm Shelly Quinn and welcome again to Issues and
00:33 Answers, hey we have got an exciting program today. 00:36 Something a little bit different, we are going to be 00:38 talking about women and wealth. 00:40 You know the Bible in Luke chapter 8:3 the Bible says, 00:46 this, Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, 00:50 and Susannah, and many others who ministered to and provided 00:55 for Him, for Christ and His disciples out of 01:00 their property and personal belongings. 01:03 We're going to be talking about women and wealth and how 01:07 God would help us to acquire and to distribute that wealth. 01:11 I have returning, as a special guest, Jeff Wilson. 01:15 Jeff thank you so much for coming back. 01:17 - joy to be here. - Will it's a joy to have you and 01:20 you are the Director for the Planned Giving and Trust 01:23 Services for the General Conference of the 01:26 Seventh-day Adventist churches. 01:27 That is correct. - How many years again? 01:29 Let's remind our audience if they didn't see you before. 01:33 Well I started in 1999 at the General Conference and 01:36 became a Director in the year of 2000. 01:38 I am thrilled to know that your background as a Pastor, 01:42 you are also the Director of Youth in Illinois Conference. 01:47 So it is good to know the man who is overseeing the funds 01:52 of the Church, is a man of God. That is what we always hope for. 01:56 So thank you so much for returning. - thank you. 02:00 Now also with us today, is no stranger to 3ABN. 02:04 Rita Westphal, Rita thank you - nice being here. 02:07 Well it is a joy. - it is always a joy to be here. 02:11 You are precious, you know it? 02:12 Let me ask you something, you have never been on Issues 02:15 and Answers before have you? 02:16 - no, this is my first actually. 02:18 Quite often we see you when your husband, Leonard, 02:21 on 3ABN Today program because you all work with 02:24 the trust department for 3ABN. - In Loma Linda California. 02:28 And you have been doing this for how long? 02:30 About six years. 02:32 - So Leonard for 10 years and you've joined him four 02:34 years later. - 6 years. 02:36 It's a joy to have you. - we are very blessed. 02:39 Aren't we all? - very much. - aren't we all? 02:42 We are going to be talking today about some of the 02:46 financial partners that Jesus had during His ministry. 02:50 Jeff, why did you choose this topic? 02:53 Well it is interesting that in the last couple decades 02:57 of course women have become more involved in the business 03:01 world, in employment, and we sort of talk as if this is 03:05 something totally new. 03:06 But when you go out to the Bible times, in the text that 03:09 you read there in Luke four example, 03:11 you see interestingly enough many women were the financial 03:15 backers actually of Jesus' ministry. 03:18 One of the most thrilling stories to me in Scripture, 03:22 that I, it just amazes me every time I read it, 03:26 is a story of Mary Magdalene anointing Jesus' feet 03:30 for His burial. 03:32 And it is an event, Mary slipped into the room, she was an 03:38 uninvited guest, she was purposely not invited to this 03:40 feast that Simon had prepared to honor the Lord. 03:44 Who had healed him of leprosy, even though the Bible says, 03:49 he still didn't believe or accept Jesus as Lord. 03:53 But the Lord still worked this wonderful miracle in his life. 03:56 But Simon had not invited her there. 03:59 You know what, excuse me for interrupting, 04:01 something just hit me when you said that. 04:03 He was accepting Christ as Savior in sense because 04:06 He saved him from this horrible disease but he was not 04:09 accepting Him as Lord, how many people do that? 04:11 How many people go to Him and except Him as Savior 04:14 but won't accept Him as Lord of their life? Okay! 04:17 Well and the Lord even at the end of the feast tells 04:20 this parable about the debtors, the two debtors. 04:23 Even in that parable Jesus is appealing to Simon, 04:26 I think, to accept the Lord as Mary had done. 04:28 Mary was just as bad of a sinner, or maybe not 04:31 as bad of a sinner as Simon, 04:33 but he at that point hadn't excepted. 04:35 But anyway Mary had carefully managed her money, and even 04:41 today I think in most cases women are better managers 04:46 of money than we men are, it is true. 04:48 Women often look at money more sacredly than men do. 04:54 And to look at what money can do in touching lives and 04:58 making a difference rather than just dressing ourselves 05:03 up or doing things for the moment that have 05:06 no real lasting value, but anyway. 05:08 Mary apparently for a long time had been saving her money 05:13 because when we look the account there, the value of that 05:18 bottle of perfume, that alabaster box, that perfume had 05:24 come from way up in northern India. 05:26 It was very rare, very expensive, was equal to one 05:29 years wages and that was a significant gift. 05:34 She had been saving her money not knowing what for. 05:37 But somewhere along the line, as she saw things winding up 05:40 she was so grateful to the Lord for what, she had fallen, 05:44 the Bible says seven times. 05:46 Seven is a perfect number in the Bible, so she was the 05:50 ultimate sinner we might say. 05:52 You know sometimes we say I will give you three strikes 05:54 and then you are out, the one glad the Lord gives us 05:56 more than three strikes. 05:58 He gave Mary seven strikes, she would fall back into sin 06:01 and He would go and bring her back and forgive her and 06:04 restore her, she would fall back again. 06:06 Many times alcohol, tobacco, some of the things, 06:09 to get away from that is a long struggle, but the Lord 06:13 is with us through it all. 06:16 But she was so grateful for what He had done and now 06:19 the rumors were around that the religious leaders 06:22 were plotting Jesus' death. 06:25 And Mary did something very special. 06:28 Rather than bring flowers to the funeral, 06:32 she brought flowers ahead of the funeral, 06:35 do you know what I am saying? 06:36 - exactly. - Ellen White talks about, don't wait until 06:39 a person dies to talk, to say at the funeral what a wonderful 06:43 person they were, because that doesn't help the person. 06:45 But express that before they pass away. 06:49 Anyway, so she came uninvited and she, led by the Holy 06:56 Spirit, thought of what Jesus had done for her and she began 07:01 to weep, and she broke the box, and her tears and perfume 07:05 mix together as she anointed both His head and His feet. 07:10 She thought she would do this to tell the Lord how much she 07:14 loved Him and that she knew He was going to the tomb, 07:16 but she appreciated Him going through for her. 07:20 But what she of course had forgotten is the aroma of that 07:25 very expensive perfume. 07:27 People could not see her, she was probably bent down 07:30 very low, but the aroma filled the room and people 07:34 looked around, what is this? 07:35 Of course there was this great problem going around really 07:40 started by Judas saying, why this terrible waste. 07:43 You know the Bible says, the disciples were indignant. 07:46 Why was this not spent, sold to help the poor? 07:52 Jesus immediately stood between her and her accusers 07:56 as He had done many times before. 07:59 He said, of what Mary did, remember what she has done 08:03 will be told in memory of her wherever the gospel is 08:07 preached throughout the whole world. 08:08 I think it is Matthew 26:3, so as we talk about it today, 08:13 we are fulfilling a prophecy that Jesus made 2000 years 08:17 ago in telling that story. 08:18 My point is, she was a woman, she was saved by grace. 08:24 She encouraged the Lord's heart at the most difficult 08:29 moment of His life. - Amen! 08:31 In my minds eye I see Jesus hang on the cross a few hours 08:35 later and there was a stench of death all around Him. 08:39 There was a cursing, there was a swearing, 08:42 all His disciples had forsaken Him and fled. 08:45 I think it was very tempting for Christ on the cross to 08:49 come down, and the devil through his embassies' 08:52 was saying, come down off the cross. 08:54 Why throw your life away if there are people accepting 08:57 your sacrifice it would be worth it, but where are they? 09:00 They have all forsaken You and fled. 09:02 Don't give your life for nothing, and then I think the 09:05 aroma of that perfume, He caught a whiff of that. 09:10 You know how it is when you catch a whiff of something 09:11 that takes you back 40 years in your memory? 09:14 I think He caught a whiff of that perfume and He said no, 09:17 there is one, there is one who has accepted Me and 09:22 I will go through for one. 09:25 The Bible says that Jesus would have died for one. 09:29 He died for Mary, so I think that is why we all owe a 09:33 debt of gratitude to Mary taking a years wages, which 09:37 she could have spent on many of the things on herself. 09:40 They were many hard earned dollars, or denarii or what 09:44 ever it would've been at that time. 09:45 She did it for her Lord. 09:47 You know she could have also said, as some of the 09:51 disciples said, I believe in Jesus and I'm going to do 09:55 something good for the Ministry with this money, but I am 09:58 going to really plot out how I am going to use my money. 10:02 Rather what she did, she lavished this gift on Him 10:07 in such an extraordinary way because He lavished His love 10:11 on her, and so it was an act of complete abandonment. 10:16 Wasn't it? It was a beautiful story and what a contrast to 10:21 Mary breaking the alabaster box, Judas what was he busy doing? 10:27 As John Fowler says, Judas clutched the moneybox. 10:33 Mary gave the alabaster box. - Amen! 10:38 So there is the two ways we can deal with material 10:41 things, we can hold it to ourselves and what happened to 10:44 Judas, it's pretty sad. 10:47 It reminds me just briefly, I want to add a little something 10:50 I think you will appreciate particularly because you have 10:53 been a Youth Director. 10:54 Rita if you could've met this little girl, 10:55 you would have loved her. 10:56 There was this child, I was over the children's church, 11:00 Which was many years ago in my church, 11:02 we had a children's church. 11:03 I was the Director and teacher over that, and this precious 11:07 little girl and her family was very poor. 11:12 And she had collectively received from a variety of 11:17 relatives $100 for her birthday. 11:20 And she came, at the time we were taking the offering, 11:25 I was teaching the children the principle of tithing, 11:30 she put the entire amount into... and she told me. 11:37 She said, I don't want anyone to know, so do I need to 11:41 write my name on this because I'm doing this for Jesus? 11:44 And I told her, I said honey you don't have to give it 11:48 all. She said, He gave His all for me. 11:51 - that is wonderful. - now isn't that precious story? 11:53 Precious, precious little child. 11:56 There are many women that we see, now Mary's was 11:59 a lavish gift, what a one that maybe didn't 12:03 have something that? 12:04 Well sometime before this, Jesus wanted to give His 12:10 disciples and object lesson, so He took them to the temple. 12:15 They found a place to observe very close to the offering plate 12:20 sometimes people say the Lord isn't interested in our 12:23 gifts and all this kind of thing. But He is. 12:26 There He sat with His disciples and watched the rich 12:28 people come and they would change their large money into 12:33 small money and make a big production out of placing their 12:37 offering in the offering plate to say to everyone else 12:41 look how generous I am? 12:42 Then along came a woman, a poor widow woman. 12:47 She had only two little coins that were smaller than a penny, 12:52 and I think she was terribly embarrassed. 12:54 She knew it was an amount that meant nothing, it couldn't do 13:00 anything because it was so small, but the Lord was leading 13:05 her to make this gift out of gratitude for what the 13:08 Lord had done for her. 13:10 She slipped up and just drop those coins and tried to hurry 13:12 away, and the Lord said look at that, 13:14 He immediately pointed His disciples to that gift and 13:18 their heads were spinning, what that is nothing? 13:21 He said, she has given more than all the rest. 13:25 We say, how can it be? That God's accounting principles 13:30 are different than our accounting principles. 13:32 He was looking at what she had left, and he was looking at 13:36 what the rich people had left when they made their gifts. 13:39 At this woman had given all and so I think in the 13:44 accounting records of heaven that little woman who gave just 13:47 gave two tiny, tiny coins may be the biggest donor in 13:51 heaven because she has inspired so many other people 13:54 to be generous. 13:56 She was giving up what she did not have, 13:58 she didn't have anything to give. 13:59 I am very inspired many times when I talk with people on 14:04 the phone, with our donors, and the tremendous amount of 14:09 love and sacrifice that is involved when they want to do 14:17 something for the Lord's work and they saved a lot in 14:24 order to be able to give some. 14:27 I remember this particular case that this older lady, 14:32 she was saying that they were not heating one part of the 14:37 house so they could save and give that money to the Lord's 14:42 work. - how precious, you know 14:43 that reminds me when you said sacrifice, and you said some 14:47 people think God's not interested in our giving, 14:49 Romans 12:2 says, present your- self a living sacrifice to God. 14:53 Sometimes the way I explain it to people is the monetary 14:58 gifts we give are the closest thing we have to 15:01 a living sacrifice, when you think about it because 15:03 we spend so much of our life to earn 15:08 what is keeping us, sustaining us. 15:12 Shelley money, life is a definition for money. 15:15 We exchange time for money, that is how we are paid. 15:20 So when we return money to God, we are saying Lord 15:25 You are the Lord of my whole life. - absolutely. 15:30 And when Jesus taught there on the sermon on the Mount, 15:34 He said you cannot serve both God and Mammon, or money. 15:37 When the Lord Himself look at the greatest counterfeit 15:41 for Him, the greatest Antichrist as it were, 15:44 it was money and possessions and things. 15:47 What is so amazing to me is that the Lord was actually 15:51 speaking in a developing country, He was in a very poor 15:54 country when He said that, it wasn't in the 15:57 United States of America. 15:58 It was a place where people were very poor, it was like 16:02 saying that maybe in India or some parts of Africa today, 16:06 when He said, you can't serve both God and money. 16:08 So the point is as you said at the beginning, money is 16:12 not the problem, it is our relationship to it. 16:15 The love of, so I might not even have money but if 16:19 I have love toward money, even the lack of it is going to 16:23 take place of God in my life. 16:25 You know with women, and our topic today is about women 16:30 and wealth, women today have come to the forefront in 16:34 a way that we are making more money and we are holding 16:38 more powerful positions and generating more income than 16:42 we have done in previous generations. 16:44 Now of course, when I think about women I always think 16:49 about Proverbs 31 wife and the Lord said, to praise her 16:53 in the city gates because she was very industrious and 16:57 she knew how to manage God's, she was a good steward of 17:01 God's money, and a good steward of her household. 17:04 But for these women who are controlling more than most 17:08 generations that have been before us, recent generations, 17:12 what do, what advice would you have for these women? 17:18 How do we, we are looking at God enabling us to make more 17:21 money, but what do we do with this money? 17:24 It is true that women are making more money than ever, 17:28 but it is also true that women outlive men. 17:32 So our work, Rita and my work and Leonard's work and 17:36 that of about 350 other of us in north America and the 17:40 world, is to encourage people in planed giving, 17:43 which means the final act of giving. 17:46 Giving through a will or trust or gift annuity 17:49 at the end of my life. 17:50 Well the reality is in seven out of eight cases, the 17:55 woman is going to make the final decisions. 17:58 In most cases. - is that because she outlives the man? 18:01 - because she outlives the man you see. 18:03 In most cases when the first spouse dies, everything 18:06 passes to the surviving spouse. 18:08 So in the ultimate case it's the women, for me that is good news 18:13 because women are more charit- ably minded then we men are. 18:17 I think it's good news for God's work and for the children 18:21 and others so in the final analysis women are going to 18:25 make those decisions. 18:26 So back to your question, it means that women more than 18:30 ever need to be understanding about making of money, 18:34 managing money, and investing money and resources, 18:38 and understanding as well as they can philanthropy. 18:42 What do I want to do? What does my children need? 18:45 What do others that depend upon me need? 18:48 And what are my goals in life? 18:49 What drives me every morning when I get up? 18:52 What part of God's ministry touches my life? 18:56 Media Ministry, education, missions, whatever it might be. 19:01 How can I get some help to prepare a plan that will meet 19:07 my goals and touch the future through my giving? 19:12 There is another side that I want to bring up, 19:16 and I'm talking directly to women. 19:21 We have a lot of potential, a lot of Christian women 19:26 have never developed their potential to make money. 19:32 Now I realize the importance of having funds to be able 19:41 to reach all kinds of places. 19:44 To be able to share in all kinds of ministries. 19:48 I see the importance of having the ability to work 19:52 and make money and know how to invest. 19:55 For many years, in all the generations never thought about 20:01 investing per se, the women especially. 20:04 They left that after the men, but now it is important that 20:09 women become wise, they catch the vision of what the Lord 20:15 can do with the money they may be able to share and become 20:21 really involved at a really deep level. 20:25 Getting involved in a way that they can like Mary 20:28 Magdalena, can collect enough that then they can 20:32 break it and give it all to the Lord's work - Amen! 20:35 Well it's an exciting time to be alive because in the 80s, 20:39 especially the 90s, there was this huge run-up in wealth. 20:43 We live today in the most prosperous time this world has 20:47 ever known. - in the United States we are so spoiled. 20:51 - Especially in the United States, yeah. 20:53 - We're so spoiled. - The interesting thing is that a 20:57 person who is careful in saving and managing their money 21:00 over a long period of time, can collect significant 21:04 resources to make an amazing difference in God's work. 21:08 And there's something that I just wanted to bring out in 21:12 this program because the last time you were here, 21:14 and he was here with your husband Leonard last time, 21:18 we were talking about the importance of wills and we did 21:21 dedicate the whole program to that, but for someone who 21:24 might not have seen that I was just wondering if you would 21:26 briefly touch on that because there are many women, 21:28 and particularly single women who think they do not have 21:31 to worry about a will. You have got to have a will. 21:34 If you are over 18 years old you need to have a will. 21:37 A will is a basic estate planning document and 21:41 everyone needs that will as you have said, that is of age. 21:45 Wills are scary things, people are afraid if they do their 21:50 will they are going to die. - superstition. 21:52 It's superstition because the reality is that those 21:55 who have wills actually live longer, up to 10 years longer 22:00 than those who don't have wills. 22:01 Probably their more prudent. 22:03 And they have peace of mind, they are not worrying anymore 22:06 because everything is in order you see. 22:08 They are the same people who wear seatbelts, who drink eight 22:11 glasses of water a day and so forth. 22:13 They are organized, but it is not a scary thing. 22:17 In our church we have planned giving trust service 22:22 departments that are ministries, in our Conferences, people 22:25 can pick up the phone and they could call our toll-free 22:28 number, they can get it on the website. 22:30 We have people who can help them, not to tell them what to 22:34 do, but to help them with the scary part, the legal 22:38 documents with all that legal language they don't 22:41 understand a whole lot. 22:42 But the lawyer is there to help them understand and make 22:46 sure that their wishes are met. 22:47 And Rita, just, we don't have time to go into a but just if 22:52 you will run through a list of some of the options, 22:54 the alternatives people have. 22:56 Well we have wills and we have trusts. 23:01 We will recommend a trust rather than a will because it 23:05 is more specific and it avoids a lot of the legal 23:10 probate and legal fees and court fees. 23:13 But we also have other ways that you can share in the 23:19 Lord's work with annuities. 23:21 We have also what we call a cash trust which is a fabulous 23:26 way to make money on your money and yet have more to give. 23:30 You see if you know how to invest your money wisely, 23:34 you can turn around and give more, and some people they are 23:40 not, they are scared even thinking about it, so they 23:44 keep the money in the bank, 23:46 or in a savings account or something like that when 23:50 actually that money could be producing a lot more money. 23:53 It could be turned around and put in the Lord's work. 23:57 Absolutely, and those annuities pays so much higher rate. 24:00 Depending on the age it can multiply your money. 24:04 Well we only have a few moments left and I want to get 24:06 into, because you were sharing earlier we me Jeff, some 24:10 of the stories of people who have been very stingy, and 24:13 some who have been very generous in their giving. 24:15 Well if I have a minute I would sure couple of stories 24:19 that are so thrilling to me. 24:21 There was a lady by the name of Mildred Terry. 24:23 Her husband died a number of years before, she had a very 24:30 humble little home in Washington, DC area. 24:33 She spent about 40 years as a registered nurse working for 24:36 the government and near the end of her life she came to 24:40 the General Conference and she asked if she could prepare 24:43 a will that would remember her home country which happened 24:46 to be the Czech Republic because her parents had 24:49 immigrated from that country years before. 24:53 So estate plan document was prepared for her. 24:56 Interestingly enough when she passed away, and as 25:00 I say she lived in a humble home, 25:01 but she managed her money well. 25:03 Her estate was $455,000 and it went to the Czech Republic 25:09 at the very moment it was needed. 25:11 The velvet curtain had come down and communism had 25:14 fallen and there was this great need for evangelism but 25:16 our church was very weak because for decades 25:19 we couldn't have any organized work. 25:21 Her gift funded nationwide evangelistic campaigns 25:27 in all the large cities. 25:28 They prepared five different Bible correspondence 25:31 courses, full-color courses. 25:33 They were able to provide the book of What Seventh day 25:37 Adventist Believe in 6500 ministers homes in the whole 25:40 country and the last time I heard more than 4000 people 25:44 have been baptized in that country. 25:46 Evangelism was started and spurred on because of the 25:52 gift of one woman, just one person. 25:55 And it came at the right time you see, she would not know 25:59 the time, our brethren and in that country did know the right 26:02 time, but it was right when the people were hungry for the 26:05 truth that this money came from one woman. 26:08 I think in heaven she's going to be like the widow with 26:12 two talents so amazed at the starry crown she is going to 26:16 have, but she said how did I win 4000 people? 26:19 And the angel will say let me tell you the rest of the 26:22 story of what happened to your estate. 26:25 God bless Mildred Terry. 26:26 Well in about less than a minute that we have, can you 26:30 tell us a little bit about Oseola? 26:33 Oseola McCarthy was an African American woman who had to quit 26:37 school when she was 7 or 8 years old to help her mother and 26:41 her aunt, iron and washed other people's clothes. 26:44 She saved a little money over a long period of time. 26:48 Near the end of her life she had saved $280,000. 26:51 She prepared a will and trust and she had her local church 26:57 and three relatives she wanted to remember. 26:59 But she gave $150,000 cash before her death to the 27:04 University of Southern Mississippi. 27:06 It floored the University, they were surprised for this 27:09 gift. - probably because most of her life they wouldn't 27:12 even let her on their campus. 27:13 She wouldn't have even been able to enroll there, she said 27:16 I could not get an education there but I want to help 27:19 other deserving young people receive an education. 27:22 So what one person can do is thrilling. - incredible. 27:24 So women and wealth, we are already out of time and 27:27 I'm so sorry Jeff I thank you so much. 27:29 - thank you for inviting me. 27:30 And Rita it was good to see you again. 27:32 - it's always good to see you. 27:33 For those of you at home, I hope that this has done 27:36 something to make you think, when we talk about women and 27:39 wealth you might not think you have any, but even like Oseola 27:42 just a little bit, the widow's mite can go a long way. 27:45 Now may the Lord continue to bless you and may 27:49 you live for Him. Bye-bye. |
Revised 2014-12-17