Participants: Shelley Quinn (Host), G. Edward Reid
Series Code: IAA
Program Code: IAA000245
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00:29 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn and welcome again to
00:31 Issues and Answers. 00:32 Today is an issue you will not want to miss because we will 00:35 be talking about Biblical principles for money management. 00:39 Let me share a scripture from the Bible with you. 00:42 It's Deuteronomy 8:18 and this is what it says: 00:46 But you shall earnestly remember the Lord your God, for it is he 00:50 who gives you power to get wealth, that he may establish 00:54 his covenant. 00:55 God is the one who gives us the ability to gain wealth, 00:59 and God has a way of managing money. 01:02 Here today to talk to us about money management is 01:08 an expert, really. 01:09 His name is G. Edward Reid and he is the Stewardship 01:13 Director for the North American Division of the 01:15 Seventh-day Adventist Church. 01:16 Ed we are so glad that you've come from Washington, D.C. 01:21 to share with us today. 01:23 It's my pleasure. 01:24 I'm looking forward to this. 01:25 This is an interesting Bible topic and beyond that 01:27 it's life changing. 01:28 Following the Biblical principles can make a great deal 01:31 of difference in peoples lives. 01:33 Amen. 01:34 You're one who is quite knowledgeable on this topic. 01:36 You've written a wonderful book called It's Your Money Isn't It? 01:39 Practical Money Management for Christians. 01:41 Even your wife has written a book. 01:44 This is Dollars and Sense from Grandmamma. 01:47 So this is a wonderful topic to be talking about today. 01:51 God does want us to manage our money according to His 01:57 Biblical principles. 01:58 Why? 01:59 Well, the real interesting thing is that there's a lot of 02:01 ignorance on this topic. 02:02 Everybody has to manage money. 02:05 Unfortunately, even in school we don't learn these things. 02:09 Even in Christian schools, at least when I was growing up, 02:12 You can to go through elementary school, high school, academy 02:14 and college and never actually be required to take a course 02:17 that teaches you just simple things about money management. 02:20 So the problem is not that we are stupid, 02:22 it's just that we're ignorant. 02:23 We haven't been in touch with the Biblical principles, 02:25 and those are very, very valuable, I think. 02:28 It's been life changing for my wife and I to learn 02:31 these principles. 02:32 Even midway through our lives it's been dramatic the change. 02:35 And Ed, there are so many verses in the Bible on money. 02:40 Where do you begin, or how did you and Kathy begin to establish 02:44 these Biblical principles? 02:45 One thing is that we read the Bible through together every 02:49 year out loud, and that's unusual. 02:50 I don't know very many people that do that. 02:52 We just take a half an hour every morning and read three 02:55 or four chapters. 02:56 So we read the Bible clear through out loud. 02:57 So you can learn them. 02:58 There's hundreds of Bible texts. 03:01 But since you ask, Where do you begin?, I'm going to give you 03:03 two answers. 03:04 Okay. 03:05 The first one is that in the very first verse in the Bible 03:08 God is introduced as the creator of heaven and earth. 03:11 Believe it or not, that is actually a stewardship verse 03:14 because it tells us who God is and who we are. 03:17 He's the creator and the owner and we're managers. 03:20 We're never going to be the owner. 03:21 We're never going to be the creator. 03:22 He's the one who made everything. 03:23 So you start right there with Genesis 1:1. 03:26 That's very good. 03:27 Then there's another one. 03:28 You go over to the gospels; the first gospel of Matthew. 03:31 That's in the New Testament, of course, 03:33 in Jesus' famous mountain sermon. 03:36 We call it Sermon on the Mount, but it's Matthew 03:39 chapters 5, 6, and 7. 03:41 Right in the middle of Matthew 5, 6, and 7, it's in chapter 6, 03:45 there's about 13 verses that deal with money management. 03:48 They're very, very good. 03:50 In the longest recorded sermon of Jesus the body of the sermon 03:55 is about money management. 03:56 Isn't that interesting? 03:57 That is interesting. 03:58 I know that we all need to learn how to be better stewards 04:02 of God's money, because it really is His money. 04:04 He gives it to us to be able to live our lives. 04:08 But when we are looking at this there's over 2300 verses, 04:12 you told me, on Bible principles for management of our money. 04:18 Now you have reduced this to seven points. 04:21 Could you share those with us? 04:22 You know that's kind of interesting because people say 04:24 the Bible has sixty-six books, and there's hundreds, 04:27 and hundreds, and hundreds of verses, chapters, and so on. 04:29 Couldn't God just tell us ten ways to do something? 04:33 Well He did. 04:34 He gave us the Ten Commandments. 04:35 So I thought if it's that simple we could be able to say about 04:38 seven things about money management. 04:40 So I teach that when I go out, and I think it's very, very 04:44 valuable to know, 04:45 So I can go through those real quickly and we can comment 04:48 about them. 04:49 The real interesting thing is since they're Biblical 04:51 principles I'm going to give you a Bible verse for each one. 04:54 That's going to be helpful. 04:56 Viewers may want to jot down or take notes and look it up 04:59 themselves because the Bible is transforming in its nature. 05:02 Amen. 05:03 So the very first one that I have recorded before is that God 05:06 is the owner of everything. 05:07 Now I've given you Genesis 1:1 for that. 05:09 He's the owner because He made everything. 05:11 By the way, it's very, very interesting. 05:13 You travel a lot and you talk to people and so on, 05:16 but especially when you talk to people of other cultures. 05:19 For example, I had the opportunity of doing an 05:21 evangelistic meeting in India. 05:23 Many of the people who come to meetings over there are Hindus. 05:27 They have like 300,000 gods. 05:29 So I thought to myself, well, if I tell them about Jesus fine. 05:32 They'll just have 300,001. 05:34 So what's the difference? 05:36 We have a God who is the creator of everything. 05:39 He is the main God. 05:41 He is The God, the King of Kings, as we say, 05:43 the Lord of Lords. 05:44 All through the Bible you have Him creator of heaven and earth. 05:49 This is very, very interesting. 05:51 Even in the three angels' messages God says He is the 05:54 creator of heaven and earth. 05:55 Worship Him that made heaven and earth, you know, 05:56 that kind of thing. 05:57 So that's basic. 05:58 That's really number one. 06:00 But there's another one that is real good and that is 06:01 Psalms 24:1 where David says the earth is the Lord's 06:05 and the fullness thereof. 06:06 So the earth is, and everything in it. 06:08 Then it says, and the people and they that dwell therein. 06:11 So even the people belong to God. 06:13 We do too. 06:14 So that's why we have healthful living because we're stewards 06:17 of our body. 06:18 So there's much that we can understand. 06:20 Then there's another real interesting one, and everybody 06:22 needs to know this. 06:23 We don't return our tithes and offerings to God as part of our 06:26 money management because God needs the money. 06:27 He doesn't need the money. 06:29 It's only a response from me from the experienced grace. 06:32 I'm just thankful. 06:33 I want to say to God that I'm thankful. 06:35 It would almost be like a child giving their parents something 06:38 they did with finger painting. 06:39 I mean it's almost worthless, but since the child did it, 06:41 the parents love it, you see. 06:43 And the same thing as it comes from us. 06:45 God loves it. 06:46 So Psalms 50:12 is the other one in that one. 06:49 It says God says, If I was hungry I wouldn't tell you 06:52 because the world is mine and everything in it. 06:54 So we're not trying to satisfy any need He has; 06:57 we're satisfying our own need to say Thank You when we're 07:00 involved in Christian money management. 07:02 And, you know, I like the word that you used there that we 07:05 return the tithe. 07:07 We don't give the tithe because it's God's gift to us. 07:10 He just simply asks that we trust Him in returning 07:12 that portion. 07:14 Another real interesting one; the second principle I would 07:16 tell you about, is that since God is the owner, 07:18 the second one is that we are managers. 07:20 Now this is really, really interesting because 07:23 1Timothy 6, I believe it is also verse 6, says Godliness with 07:29 contentment is great gain. 07:31 We brought nothing into the world and it's certain that 07:34 we're taking nothing out with us. 07:35 In other words, what we've been given while we've been here, 07:38 that's what we manage, and that's God is going to give us 07:41 an account for. 07:42 There's really nothing more sure in the scriptures than that 07:44 there is a day of judgment, and we have to tell the Lord 07:47 what we've done with what we have. 07:49 Now it might be important to talk about this right now. 07:51 A lot of people wonder what it would be like to be rich. 07:55 Most of us are just kind of above the poor class, 07:57 in the middle class, you know. 07:58 The middle class is kind of evaporating in America. 08:01 The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, 08:03 as you know. 08:04 It's an absolute fact. 08:05 Well, the interesting thing is people wonder what it would 08:06 be like to be rich. 08:08 But do you know that it is harder for rich people to 08:11 respond properly to God than poor people? 08:13 Percentage wise the poor are much more generous 08:18 than the rich people are in the world. 08:19 It's a fact. 08:20 It's just really, really incredible. 08:22 And you know what I think sometimes is that maybe part of 08:25 the reason for that is because the wealthy people begin to 08:29 depend on the wealth and what they have and they forget their 08:32 dependence on God. 08:34 That's right. 08:35 So the poor people understand total dependence on God 08:38 and they're willing to share. 08:39 The third one that I want to tell you about is that our 08:42 purpose in life is not to get rich. 08:45 You see these people, you know, with lots of stuff and they're 08:47 saying they're spending their kids inheritance, and you know, 08:50 their toys, and their expensive toys, and so on. 08:52 But the purpose in life from God's perspective is for us to 08:55 glorify God. 08:56 1 Corinthians 10: 31 is a good example. 09:00 Most of us remember years ago when we memorized this, 09:04 Whether therefore you eat or drink, or whatever you do, 09:08 do it all to the glory of God, so that would include the money 09:10 management that we make. 09:11 By the way, if I were in business for myself, 09:15 as a businessman, and I had to make some decisions about my 09:18 business; what to do about this, that, or the other, to add to it 09:21 or to make it bigger or whatever. 09:22 If you just know those three things: that God is the owner, 09:26 that I'm the manager, and my purpose in life is to 09:29 glorify God. 09:30 Can you see how much that will help? 09:31 It's awesome, isn't it? 09:33 It is. 09:34 Because people sometimes think decisions are just for 09:35 themselves; what they do. 09:37 And I'll tell you another one, and this is kind of an 09:41 interesting question. 09:43 There are people on various television programs, 09:46 even of a religious nature, that would tell you that 09:48 God wants you to be wealthy. 09:50 You've heard about that. 09:51 Oh yes. 09:52 These people, you know, they have the appearance that they 09:56 are wealthy; the name it and claim it type people, and so on. 09:58 But, you know, I read the Bible through myself every year, 10:02 and I've never found any verse that God tells us that He wants 10:05 us to be wealthy by the worlds standards. 10:07 As a matter of fact, He says you may have to sacrifice things 10:11 to follow Him. 10:12 You know, and people have actually done that before, 10:14 however, there are many, many promises. 10:18 You know we talked about more than 2,300 verses that talk 10:21 about money and possessions, but there are many of them that 10:24 God has asked us to be responsible stewards and that 10:27 kind of thing, but there are promises in those. 10:30 Amen. 10:31 One of them is Philippians 4:19, where it says My God will supply 10:34 all of your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. 10:38 Now that's an incredible promise. 10:40 And you know, when I think about the people who preach that you 10:45 should be wealthy, they usually go to Psalms 37:4 that says, 10:49 Delight yourself also in the Lord and he will give you the 10:51 desires of your heart. 10:52 Uh huh. 10:53 But they forget about that delight yourself in the Lord... 10:56 That's right. 10:57 ...they're just talk about God will give you the desires 10:58 of your heart. 10:59 Yeah. 11:00 But what I have found, and as I teach it, is that when you 11:03 delight yourself in the Lord His desires become your desires. 11:07 That's incredible, isn't it? 11:09 And then as you're praying and going out God is putting His 11:12 desires in your heart, and that's what you're praying for. 11:14 He does give you the desires of your heart. 11:16 I do our taxes every year, and when I did our taxes last year 11:19 I was surprised myself. 11:20 I said we're going to get audited because of how much 11:22 we gave away of what we have. 11:24 Yes. 11:25 With our kids grown now and our home paid for and so on, 11:27 we can be much more generous. 11:28 We have actually proven it is more blessed to give 11:32 than to receive. 11:33 That's one of the things that Christians really enjoy. 11:35 The real bottom line about this, because we've already just 11:38 covered it in these principles, since we have to give an 11:40 account to God is, to me this is pretty amazing, that when we do 11:45 give away we know we're not going to take it with us anyway. 11:48 You can store up treasures in heaven by helping others 11:51 and helping advance the cause of God. 11:52 Now that's along the same line here of our purpose in life 11:55 is to glorify God. 11:56 God says in Matthew 6:19 Do not store up treasures 11:59 on this earth. 12:01 The reason He says that is not so much that it is wrong to have 12:05 savings, but He's talking about hoarding, of course. 12:07 Yes. 12:09 He says, this is real interesting, because thieves 12:10 break in and moths and rust corrupt, and so on, but store up 12:13 for yourselves treasures in heaven. 12:15 Now this is real interesting because you could read through 12:19 casually and wonder, How would I ever do that? 12:21 But when you read the story of the rich young ruler in Matthew, 12:24 Mark, and Luke, all three synoptic gospels mention him, 12:27 Jesus said, Sell what you have, give to the poor, 12:29 and then come follow Me and you'll have treasure in heaven. 12:32 So we know for sure helping others stores up treasures 12:34 in heaven. 12:35 Isn't that incredible? 12:36 That's true. 12:37 And it's safe there. 12:39 That's the most amazing thing. 12:40 You do store up treasures in heaven. 12:41 So those are important points. 12:42 Sometimes people will say, You can't out give God, 12:45 and I'll say to them, Who's trying? 12:47 Yes, right! 12:49 Well, another verse is in Matthew 28. 12:52 You know, Matthew 28:19, 20 is the great commission. 12:55 Well, verse 20 is the second half of that and it says, 12:58 and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the world. 13:01 So we've got God's promise that He will supply our needs. 13:05 He'll go with us wherever we go. 13:06 And then I always add a third one to that and that's 13:10 Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is 13:14 stayed on thee. 13:15 Now you could not be happier than that in this life knowing 13:19 that we... 13:20 You know, this is interesting. 13:21 As a financial planner I can tell you that I try to plan my 13:24 life, and I've been encouraged and trained to do this, 13:27 that you think of your education here is your earning years, 13:30 and your savings years, and your returning years, 13:32 because everybody is going to grow old and die. 13:35 Now this is very sad but what I'm going to tell you next, 13:38 hopefully, it doesn't look this awful, but I've lived 13:42 three fourths of my life already. 13:43 You see what I'm saying? 13:44 What I've done so far is going to impact how I live 13:48 the rest of it. 13:49 Do you see what I'm saying? 13:50 Absolutely. 13:51 If I were in debt, for example. 13:52 If I didn't own my house and so on. 13:53 My later years might be really, really awful. 13:55 We're going to talk in another segment about retirement. 13:58 I can help you learn how to plan to do those kinds of things, 14:01 but the fact is God says you won't have that stress that 14:05 others have because you're not in that rat race of trying to 14:08 accumulate more stuff. 14:09 You really want to be content with what you have and bless 14:12 others as you go through your life journey, because this life 14:15 is not all there is. 14:16 There's something much better for all of us in the kingdom. 14:19 Amen. 14:20 Now, was that the seventh point? 14:22 Oh, no, no, I've only gotten through four of them. 14:24 Four of them! 14:25 Yeah. 14:26 Okay. 14:27 Alright, let me get with number five here, and that one is very 14:28 important and that is debt is bad. 14:31 Now you quoted something interesting from Psalms 37 14:34 earlier. 14:35 Psalms 37:21 says the wicked borrow and do not repay. 14:40 Yes. 14:41 Now this is very, very interesting. 14:42 People who follow God, when they borrow from somebody... 14:46 If I were to borrow something from you, and I say I'll pay you 14:48 back next Monday. 14:49 You'd better believe I'm going to pay you next Monday. 14:51 If I'm a committed Christian, then that's going to be a high 14:53 thing in my mark, when I give you my word to do something. 14:56 Do you understand? 14:57 But debt has been a real scourge in America. 15:00 We understand this is a great and prosperous nation, 15:04 and so on, but incredibly there have been so many bankruptcy's 15:09 in our country. 15:10 I fact, in 2005 the Federal Government changed the 15:13 bankruptcy laws because the year before over 30,000 15:17 Americans had filed for bankruptcy protection. 15:19 Every week in America... 15:20 30,000 a week? 15:22 There's 30,000 a week. 15:23 Now this is in a prosperous nation. 15:24 What would there be in a time when the economy is doing great 15:27 and so on? 15:28 This is really, really incredible. 15:30 So what I tell people is Proverbs 22:7 says the rich rule 15:34 over the poor, and the borrower is the servant or slave 15:37 of the lender. 15:38 That's very, very true. 15:39 It's really, really incredible. 15:41 In fact, there are laws right now to try to change this, 15:46 but people who have credit cards, let's just say I have 15:48 three credit cards. 15:49 If I'm late paying one of them they all learn about it 15:54 and the next month they will all raise my percentage of interest 15:58 to the highest maxim. 15:59 This is incredible! 16:01 It's just a real burden. 16:02 I've counseled with many people who are at the point of 16:05 bankruptcy, they felt, because of their credit card debt. 16:08 We'll talk about that in another session, but I just want you to 16:10 understand from the Bible's perspective. 16:12 The Bible says, Owe no man anything, except the continuing 16:15 debt to love one another. 16:18 That's Romans 13:8. 16:19 There are many, many promises also to those who are faithful 16:23 in their money management. 16:24 Then Deuteronomy 28, starting with verse 15, and clear to the 16:28 end of the chapter. 16:29 It's like fifty verses on the curses that happen to those who 16:33 don't manage well. 16:35 I would never want to give a sermon on that, but people need 16:37 to know where they are. 16:38 It's awful really when you think about it. 16:39 I want to mention the sixth one. 16:41 This is important. 16:42 I'm not saying this because I'm the Stewardship Director of the 16:47 Adventist Church. 16:48 I'm saying this because of personal experience. 16:51 That is the tithe. 16:54 This is the sixth point. 16:55 The tithe is the minimum testimony of our Christian 16:57 commitment. 16:58 Amen. 17:00 No where in the Bible does God suggest that less than a tenth 17:01 is His. 17:02 By the way, the Bible of the disciples of Jesus themselves 17:06 was the Old Testament. 17:07 People wonder about, well, that's Old Testament stuff. 17:10 We know it's in the New Testament too, and I'll share 17:12 that with you at some point. 17:13 The real basic point is the tithe is my way of telling God 17:19 I'm thankful for what He's blessed me with and I'm honest. 17:22 He's not really appealing to my gratitude or my generosity. 17:25 It's a matter of honesty. 17:26 I return it back to Him. 17:27 And it's a matter of trust as well. 17:29 Oh yes, but see that lets God know I trust Him to take 17:33 care of me. 17:34 He says, If you'll trust Me with the first part, 17:37 I'll bless the rest. 17:38 Kathy and I were just a few weeks ago thinking back 17:42 on our lives. 17:43 Early on in our marriage we decided we were going to be 17:45 faithful no matter what. 17:46 You know, people when they first get married they don't have 17:49 a lot of assets. 17:50 They don't have a big income. 17:52 That's when they're first earning and so on. 17:54 We actually, I mean I sold blood one time to buy food. 17:58 You know, I mean this is incredible, 17:59 people do goofy things. 18:01 Well, the whole point that I'm going to make is now when I 18:04 see that I have two kids that have graduated from college, 18:07 and law school, and so on, there's no student loans, 18:09 and that our house is paid off. 18:11 God has blessed us. 18:12 And on our income, which we know what it has been, working as 18:15 a pastor and an attorney for the church, and so on. 18:18 But I can just say, we know it's because God has fulfilled 18:21 those promises to us. 18:23 Now that's the one. 18:24 Let me give you the seventh one and then we'll talk about some 18:26 more ideas in how people can learn these principles. 18:30 The seventh one that I would talk about is that we must all 18:33 give an account to the Lord. 18:34 This is very, very clear at Matthew 25, you know, 18:38 those parables. 18:39 The middle parable talks about the talents. 18:43 After a long time the Lord came and asked them to give an 18:46 account of their stewardship. 18:47 So there's really no question. 18:49 So the bottom line is God's the owner. 18:52 I'm a manager, and I'm going to be responsible to 18:54 tell the Lord. 18:55 Now this is why I mentioned that it was so important even for 18:59 wealthy people. 19:00 You see, if I just have $10.00 it's not a big deal to give 19:02 a dollar of tithe, but if I get a million dollars profit in a 19:06 big sale, would I give a hundred thousand? 19:08 Do you get the point? 19:09 It's a bigger deal. 19:10 People, somehow, it's very difficult for them. 19:14 We find that it's true in life that people become more selfish 19:19 the more they have, the more they want. 19:20 Isn't that interesting? 19:21 It's interesting also, you know, I could name some names that 19:24 would be very recognizable, our brothers in the Lord, 19:28 and in our denomination, who have been blessed beyond 19:32 their wildest imaginations. 19:34 They actually began, when they were beginning their business, 19:37 giving not just returning, a ten percent tithe, but just saying, 19:42 Lord you're blessing me. 19:43 I'm going to give you a twenty percent, or thirty percent, 19:45 a triple tithe. 19:46 God saw that He could trust them with this money, this wealth, 19:55 so He just poured out His blessings on them. 19:57 They've been doing wonderful works for our missions 20:00 and supporting ministries. 20:02 I've heard them talk about it in this sense through ASI and other 20:06 organizations I've been involved in. 20:07 Many of these people, who are committed Christians, say their 20:10 goal in life is to give away to advance God's cause. 20:13 Isn't that incredible? 20:14 It is. 20:15 So it is true. 20:16 But now, Ed, we're talking with people out here who may find 20:20 their self where you and I once were... 20:22 Yes. 20:23 ...in our earlier years where we didn't understand these 20:25 Biblical principles. 20:26 So how do people get started in putting these Biblical 20:30 principles into practice? 20:31 That's a very good question. 20:32 Probably the most difficult of all. 20:35 You can learn the principles, but getting started takes 20:38 a real commitment. 20:39 I think that it has not only the knowledge factor, but also has 20:43 the commitment spiritually factor. 20:44 Here's the reason: sometimes people will tell me, You know if 20:48 I had a couple months salary ahead I could do this because I 20:51 could have a budget. 20:52 I could have a little savings for emergencies and all those 20:54 kinds of things, but what do I do when I'm in debt and so on? 20:56 Nobody's going to give you the money though to start 21:00 so what do you do? 21:01 So that's why the question is so important. 21:03 What I share with people is get into the word and make the word 21:06 your counselor, which is God talking to you, not you just 21:09 talking to Him in prayer. 21:10 But make the commitment when you know what to do. 21:13 For example, when you understand tithing begin tithing and God 21:16 will bless you, not just physically or economically, 21:20 but also with wisdom to know how to manage your business. 21:22 So I would suggest starting there. 21:24 Start with a simple budget not something big and complex. 21:27 In our book we have just a little one page budget, 21:29 which is a guideline budget. 21:31 That's what I suggest to people. 21:32 Make it very simple. 21:33 Then as you learn things and you begin to trust God, 21:36 and He blesses you, actually miraculous things can happen, 21:40 and do happen. 21:41 I've had people come to me at camp meeting and say, you know, 21:44 we didn't think this would work, but when you were here last time 21:47 we did this, and this, and this, and we feel so much better 21:50 and so on. 21:51 So there's a simple point in the beginning which makes a 21:54 a commitment. 21:55 By the grace of God our family is going to follow 21:57 God's principles. 21:58 Amen. 21:59 Now I know you've written a book, It's Your Money Isn't It? 22:01 that is about Biblical principles of money management. 22:04 What about all the rest of these financial guru's 22:07 that are out there? 22:08 Are any of those books good to read? 22:10 Well, it is true that there are many out there, and there are 22:13 many of them that are what we would call secular. 22:15 They have kind of an unusual premise. 22:19 We say put God first in everything you do like 22:21 Proverbs 3:5 and the following says, but they'll say pay 22:24 yourself first. 22:25 Do you see what I'm saying? 22:27 So it's an unbiblical thing. 22:28 That's why someone once said blessed is the man who walks not 22:32 in the counsel of the ungodly. 22:34 So, in my opinion, based on what I know, if someone is just 22:38 trying to make you wealthy, and you're going to spend $450 22:40 to learn their plan, or whatever. 22:42 I would shy away from those kinds of things. 22:44 But if you read things that are just good money management 22:47 and you say, well I could use that principle. 22:49 I could tax, tip, or whatever. 22:50 You can benefit from that. 22:51 But if you're looking at it from a Christian perspective 22:54 you'll put God first, establish the tithe and be faithful, 22:57 and so on. 22:58 From that point on you can, once you know God's plan, 23:01 you can read other people's materials and just glean what's 23:04 good and what's bad. 23:05 Sometimes when I write a book I'll read a whole book just to 23:08 write two pages. 23:09 Do you see what I'm saying? 23:10 You've done that. 23:11 The point is, once you know God's will then you can find 23:14 ways of practical application, even from other 23:17 people's materials. 23:18 Amen. 23:19 You know, when we talk about tithing, we're going to have you 23:20 come back and do a program on tithing. 23:23 I'll share our testimony of the terrible place we were, 23:26 and when we began tithing on no increase, how God blessed 23:30 in ways that I can't explain. 23:33 But now let me ask you a very pointed question. 23:37 In your knowledge of Biblical scriptures, Is it possible that 23:44 someone out there who is just totally ignoring God's way of 23:48 managing money, is it possible that it could become an issue 23:54 that would affect their eternal security? 23:56 Well I think so because the Bible actually gives all these 24:00 stories, and it's very, very interesting. 24:03 Paul says in 1 Corinthians the stories are given for our 24:06 learning so we don't make the same mistakes that they made. 24:09 There's two real quick stories that I can tell you that are 24:12 contrasting. 24:13 One is the rich young ruler who came to Jesus, and apparently 24:16 was a wealthy person, a new management, and could do well. 24:19 What could I do to inherit eternal life? 24:21 Jesus first told him keep the commandments, 24:23 which is important. 24:24 He said, I've been doing that since I was little. 24:25 What do I lack yet? 24:26 Jesus said, Sell what you have and give to the poor. 24:29 Then, of course, he said you will store up treasures 24:31 in heaven. 24:32 The Bible says he went away sorrowful because 24:34 he had great possessions. 24:35 Now that's one story. 24:37 Obviously he lost his eternal life because he was more 24:39 interested in this earth than he was eternity. 24:42 Now there's another story in the Bible about Zaccheus, 24:45 who was an attorney, a rich guy, a tax collector, 24:47 a little short guy. 24:48 He wanted to see Jesus. 24:49 So, this is really an incredible story to me, because when you 24:53 want to see Jesus, He wants to see you too. 24:55 Amen! 24:56 So Zaccheus was a tax collector, like an attorney, 24:58 or a businessman, or a CPA, dressed in a business suit 25:00 like I am today. 25:01 When he began thinking if I keep going in the road I'm going now 25:06 I probably won't make it where I want to go, so he decided 25:09 to see Jesus. 25:10 When he went, this was in the little town of Jericho, 25:12 to the main street, it was just filled with people. 25:14 He was a little guy so he couldn't see. 25:15 The Bible says he ran ahead and climbed a tree. 25:18 Well, the most amazing thing is that Jesus came right under 25:21 his tree, called him by name, and asked him to come down. 25:24 Then he did something none of us would ever do. 25:27 He invited himself home to dinner. 25:28 I'm going to your place for lunch. 25:30 Well Zaccheus was excited, of course, but then he thought, 25:32 Oh, my wife isn't expecting company. 25:34 When you get Jesus you get twelve hungry other men. 25:36 You know thirteen guys are coming for lunch. 25:38 Well, at any rate the story is very, very interesting. 25:41 Jesus was a guest in Zaccheus' home. 25:44 At the end of that one encounter with Jesus Zaccheus said, 25:48 If I've taken anything from anyone that I haven't returned, 25:51 he had apparently been wanting to return the things 25:54 that he had taken, I'm going to return four times what I took. 25:58 Half of what I have left I'm going to give to the poor. 26:01 When he said that Jesus then said, Today salvation has come 26:06 to your house. 26:07 One encounter with Jesus changed his whole attitude 26:10 toward money. 26:11 He began thinking more of others than himself, and being honest 26:14 and straight with God. 26:15 Do you see what I'm saying? 26:16 Amen. 26:17 Jesus said, Today salvation has come to your house. 26:19 I love him to say that at my house, wouldn't you? 26:21 I mean this is incredible! 26:22 This story is amazing. 26:23 It is incredible. 26:25 We have about forty-five seconds. 26:26 Can you re-cap those seven points for us briefly? 26:29 Well, it's really amazing that they're there. 26:30 God's the owner, we're stewards, we're managers. 26:34 Our purpose in life is to glorify God not ourselves. 26:37 Then, of course, prosperity God says is having what you need 26:41 when you need it. 26:42 Not just the accumulation of stuff. 26:44 Debt, of course, is bad. 26:46 We'll talk about that in another program, but debt is really the 26:49 scourge of American today, it seems to me, 26:51 even in Christians. 26:52 The tithe the minimum testimony of our Christian commitment. 26:55 Then we have this idea of we must give an account of our 26:59 stewardship in the future. 27:01 I mean, it's not a legalistic thing, it's God just saying, 27:04 What have you done with what I've entrusted to your family? 27:07 Amen. 27:08 To me this is very important. 27:09 It's wonderful. 27:10 I just thank you so much for joining us today, and I'm glad 27:12 you're coming back to do some other programs with 27:14 us on money. 27:15 Thank you. 27:17 And I just want to encourage you. 27:20 If you'd like to get a hold of Ed, or his book, 27:23 It's Your Money Isn't It? it's by G. Edward Reed, 27:26 you can go to the 3ABN website. 27:28 We've actually got a link to his website. 27:31 But remember it is God who gives us the ability to gain wealth, 27:36 and God wants you to use the principles that He has put into 27:41 place that will bless you with that wealth, and make you happy 27:45 and contented, and have peace. 27:47 So thank you so much for joining us today. 27:50 Now, May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 27:52 the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 27:55 be with you. |
Revised 2014-12-17