Welcome, friends, to
Sabbath School Study Hour.
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And we're glad that
you've tuned in today
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to join us as we
study God's Word.
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We know that people from
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all four corners of the
earth are part of this class.
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And we get our
messages that come into
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our Granite Bay Church website,
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some to my
personal Facebook site,
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and we love to
hear your responses
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that you're participating
in the Sabbath School Study.
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And today we're going to be
continuing in our study dealing
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with the subject of stewardship.
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And Pastor Ross today is
going to be especially teaching
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lesson number 11, and
this is very important,
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it's Debt: A Daily Decision.
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And it may be some of
you will have questions
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regarding this
very important subject
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and if you send
them to our Facebook site
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or email them
to the church here,
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they'll be some that
we'll try to gather those
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and we'll see if
we can incorporate
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some of your
questions into today's study.
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But before we get
into our study for today,
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we like to
invite our singers out,
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we're going to be singing,
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and I'll tell you more about
the offer in just a little bit.
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We are so excited to be singing
with you like we do every week.
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And we want you to join with us,
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those of you here
and those of you at home
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as we sing a medley and
some of our favorite songs.
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All hail King Jesus
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All hail Emmanuel
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King of kings
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Lord of lords
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Bright Morning Star
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And throughout eternity
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I'll sing Your praises
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And I'll reign with You
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Throughout eternity
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Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee
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God of glory, Lord of love
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Hearts unfold like
flow'rs before Thee
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Op'ning to the sun above
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Melt the clouds
of sin and sadness
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Drive the dark of doubt away
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Giver of immortal gladness
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Fill us with the light of day
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All Thy works
with joy surround Thee
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Earth and
heav'n reflect Thy rays
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Stars and
angels sing around Thee
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Center of unbroken praise
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Field and
forest, vale and mountain
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Flow'ry meadow, flashing sea
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Chanting bird
and flowing fountain
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Call us to rejoice in Thee
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Majesty
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Worship His majesty
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Unto Jesus be all glory
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Honor and praise
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Majesty Kingdom authority
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Flow from His throne
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Unto His own His anthem raise
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So exalt, lift up on high
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The name of Jesus
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Magnify, come glorify
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Christ Jesus the King
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Majesty
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Worship His majesty
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Jesus who died, now glorified
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King of all kings
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Jesus who died, now glorified
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King of all kings
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All hail King Jesus
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All hail Emmanuel
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King of kings
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Lord of lords
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Bright Morning Star
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And throughout eternity
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I'll sing Your praises
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And I'll reign with You
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Throughout eternity
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And I'll reign with You
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throughout eternity
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Thank you so much
for singing with us.
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And I hope you were blessed
and at this time Pastor Doug
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is going to have
our opening prayer.
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Thank you to our singers.
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And, again, I want to welcome
any who may have just joined us
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in the route, we're so
glad that you are a part of
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our Sabbath School Study Hour.
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And we know that
we have some of you
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who are actually online members
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from different
parts of the world,
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and we're glad that
you're joining us today.
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Now we have a free offer
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and we hope you
make the most of this.
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Free offer, this
is actually a book
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that you could say I
wrote with Pastor Joe Crews
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because it is a combination
of two of our messages
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dealing with the subject
of the flesh and the spirit.
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It's a battle that I
suspect everybody here
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has known something about,
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and you will be blessed by this.
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And so, if you like a
free copy of the book,
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The Flesh and the Spirit,
call the number 866-788-3966.
00:06:51.74\00:06:58.08
That's same as 866-Study-More,
ask for offer number 792.
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Call, we'll send
you a copy, read it,
00:07:03.59\00:07:05.22
and share with your friends.
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Before we begin our study,
let's have a word of prayer.
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Loving Lord, we just really pray
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that the Holy
Spirit will be present now.
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We're going to be talking
about a very practical subject
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that we all deal
with from day to day
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many parables
address the subject of debt,
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help us know how to
apply this to our lives
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and that we might
be faithful stewards.
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Bless our teacher now, we
pray in Jesus' name, amen.
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Pastor Ross is going to be
bringing us our lesson today.
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Good morning, everyone.
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Pastor Doug and I decided
to exchange roles this morning.
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He did the
introduction and I'm teaching
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or at least
leading out in the lesson.
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And, again, we
want to remind those
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who are joining us on Facebook,
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we're going to try
and take a few moments
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near the end of
our study this morning
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to answer some of your questions
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relating to the subject of debt.
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I'm actually going
to invite Pastor Doug
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to come join me a little later
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and we're going
to try and look at
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as many questions as we
can on this important subject.
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Now for those of you who
don't have a copy of our lesson
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quarterly
dealing with stewardship,
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I've been told that the
lesson is available for free
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to download at the
following websites.
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So those who are viewing online,
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you can download it
right now just study.aftv.org
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Again, that's the website
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if you want to
download today's lesson.
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And the title of
our lesson number 11
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is what we're looking at
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is Debt: A Daily Decision.
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Important subject
that we're be looking at.
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We have a memory text,
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comes to us from
Romans 13:7 and 8,
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I'm going to read this right
out of our lesson quarterly
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that says, "Give to
everyone what you owe them.
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If you owe
taxes, what must you do,
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pay the taxes."
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"If revenue, then revenue.
If respect, then respect.
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If honor, then honor."
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Now here is the point I
want us to take note of,
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"Let no debt remain outstanding,
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except continuing debt
of love for one another,
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for whoever loves
others has fulfilled the law."
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Now that last phrase
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whoever loves others
has fulfilled the law,
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the Ten Commandments
as you know are divided up
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into two parts.
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It's Ten Commandments,
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but divided up
roughly into two sections.
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We have the first four
of the Ten Commandments
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that have to do with
our relationship with God.
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It defines for us
what it is to love God.
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The last six of
the Ten Commandments
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define for us
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what it is to love our
own neighbor as ourself.
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And one of those
commandments tells us
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that we should
not steal, meaning,
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take something that
does not belong to us.
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There is another commandment in
particular that deals with debt
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and it's the Ten Commandment
that talks about covetousness,
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but we'll get to that a
little later in our study today.
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So this week we're
going to be looking at
00:10:01.83\00:10:03.20
what the Bible
has to say about debt.
00:10:03.20\00:10:05.90
I remember growing up,
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often the families
would get together,
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my dad siblings and
they would be talking,
00:10:09.74\00:10:11.97
and visiting, and we would
be having a wonderful time,
00:10:11.97\00:10:13.84
but then someone would
say, "I have to go to work."
00:10:13.84\00:10:16.85
And I remember little
rhyme that often would be said
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when it was time to go to work,
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and it goes something like this,
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"I owe, I owe, I owe
so off to work I go."
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Looks like you folks
have heard that before.
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You know, when
you think about that,
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that's probably true
in a lot of situations,
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in a lot of
families here in America
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and around the world
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especially more developed
countries where it seems,
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we go to work to really pay off
the credit card or at least try
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and pay the interest
on the credit card, right?
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And so debt is a serious issue
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that as Christians
we need to talk about.
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In our lesson we have the
opening paragraph, it says,
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"Sometimes you can be
lucky enough to have someone
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who is willing
to lend you money.
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Maybe that person
does so with a pure motive
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that is he or she
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actually wants to help
you out of a financial jam."
00:11:01.86\00:11:04.96
But in most cases
people don't lend you money
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out of the
goodness of their heart,
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they lend you money
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because they want to earn
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more of your money in
return, isn't that correct?
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Yes.
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What's the word that we use
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when it talks about
people wanting to earn our money
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by giving us money first?
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We call that interest, right?
00:11:26.31\00:11:28.35
Seems like our society
revolves around interest.
00:11:28.35\00:11:30.89
Well, here are some interesting
facts about interest.
00:11:30.89\00:11:35.39
For example, if you
were to take out a mortgage,
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and we understand
that there are situations
00:11:37.56\00:11:39.33
where we do need
to take out a loan,
00:11:39.33\00:11:42.40
one in particular
is buying a house.
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There are
probably some good reasons
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to purchase a house instead
of just keep renting a house.
00:11:46.80\00:11:50.11
But there is not too many people
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that can come up
with cash to buy a house.
00:11:51.17\00:11:54.81
But if you would
look at the interest,
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if you were to take out
a mortgage for $200,000.
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I pick that number
because here in California
00:12:01.02\00:12:03.08
$200,000 for mortgage is,
00:12:03.08\00:12:05.92
well, I don't think you
can buy a house in California.
00:12:05.92\00:12:07.86
At least not in this area for
$200,000, isn't that correct?
00:12:07.86\00:12:11.23
In some areas it's even
more, but so I pick $200,000
00:12:11.23\00:12:14.03
because it's
easy to do the math.
00:12:14.03\00:12:15.76
And I said, you shopped around
00:12:15.76\00:12:17.17
and you were able to
get a 30-year mortgage
00:12:17.17\00:12:19.67
at just a fantastic
interest rate of 3.5%.
00:12:19.67\00:12:25.07
Can you still get
mortgages at 3.5%?
00:12:25.07\00:12:28.08
I think it's
beginning to go up now.
00:12:28.08\00:12:29.64
Anyway let's say you're able
to lock in an interest at 3.5,
00:12:29.64\00:12:32.98
it's a 30-year loan on $200,000,
00:12:32.98\00:12:37.39
you'll end up
paying an interest,
00:12:37.39\00:12:39.25
this is just the interest,
00:12:39.25\00:12:41.19
$123,312
00:12:41.19\00:12:45.86
that is 61% of
the original amount
00:12:45.86\00:12:48.83
that you're asking for,
00:12:48.83\00:12:50.67
you have to add on to
the top to pay the interest.
00:12:50.67\00:12:53.37
So on a $200,000 mortgage
00:12:53.37\00:12:56.60
you end up paying $323,312.
00:12:56.60\00:13:02.18
That's why people are
so keen to give you a loan
00:13:02.18\00:13:05.41
'cause there is a
lot of money involved.
00:13:05.41\00:13:07.82
Now typically
here in North America
00:13:07.82\00:13:10.19
an average mortgage is 30 years,
00:13:10.19\00:13:13.15
and you want to
try and do the best
00:13:13.15\00:13:14.69
you can to get the shortest term
00:13:14.69\00:13:17.06
for you mortgage
00:13:17.06\00:13:18.33
'cause you end up
paying less interest,
00:13:18.33\00:13:20.10
although typically
the monthly payments
00:13:20.10\00:13:21.76
then end up in higher.
00:13:21.76\00:13:23.43
But did you know that in
the United States it is legal
00:13:23.43\00:13:26.23
for a bank to give
you a 50-year mortgage?
00:13:26.23\00:13:30.64
That's a long
mortgage, you don't want that.
00:13:30.64\00:13:33.27
However, if
you're living in Japan,
00:13:33.27\00:13:36.08
things are so
expensive over there
00:13:36.08\00:13:37.45
that in 2002 a law was passed
00:13:37.45\00:13:40.95
allowing a
100-year mortgage in Japan.
00:13:40.95\00:13:44.82
You could take out a loan
for a 100 years on a house.
00:13:44.82\00:13:48.46
And in 2006 the United
Kingdom adopted the same thing.
00:13:48.46\00:13:52.96
You could take out
a 100-year mortgage.
00:13:52.96\00:13:54.76
In other words,
00:13:54.76\00:13:55.80
if your great grandfather
at the end of World War I
00:13:55.80\00:13:59.53
in 1918 took out a
100-year mortgage on a house,
00:13:59.53\00:14:03.41
the good news is that you would
be paying it off this year.
00:14:03.41\00:14:06.24
It will probably pass on
from one generation to another,
00:14:06.24\00:14:08.98
but that's
incredible a 100-year mortgage
00:14:08.98\00:14:11.85
and you can get it.
00:14:11.85\00:14:12.91
Now, of course, individuals
are not the only ones
00:14:12.91\00:14:16.05
that end up taking out
loans and getting into debt.
00:14:16.05\00:14:20.19
All right,
countries have a reputation
00:14:20.19\00:14:22.46
of getting into debt.
00:14:22.46\00:14:23.93
And you probably
heard a lot of discussion
00:14:23.93\00:14:25.53
recently about the US debt.
00:14:25.53\00:14:28.43
Currently it
stands at $20.5 trillion,
00:14:28.43\00:14:34.04
that's a lot of money,
00:14:34.04\00:14:35.67
but it's kind of hard
for us to wrap our minds
00:14:35.67\00:14:37.51
around $20.5 trillion.
00:14:37.51\00:14:39.34
If you took the US national debt
00:14:39.34\00:14:41.68
and you divided it up amongst
00:14:41.68\00:14:43.35
every person in
the United States
00:14:43.35\00:14:45.28
that is husband,
wife, man, woman, child,
00:14:45.28\00:14:48.25
everybody it divided all up
00:14:48.25\00:14:50.35
each person
would be responsible,
00:14:50.35\00:14:52.79
if you want to pay the debt off,
00:14:52.79\00:14:54.86
each person will be responsible
to come with $62,651.
00:14:54.86\00:15:01.43
That's if you
take the national debt
00:15:01.43\00:15:02.90
and you divide it
amongst every person
00:15:02.90\00:15:04.80
in the United States.
00:15:04.80\00:15:06.30
Well, I don't think
we're going to be paying
00:15:06.30\00:15:07.47
that debt off anytime soon
00:15:07.47\00:15:08.94
if everybody has to
come up with $62,000.
00:15:08.94\00:15:12.11
Now the annual interest
that is paid on the US debt
00:15:12.11\00:15:15.74
is $310 billion,
that's the interest.
00:15:15.74\00:15:21.48
Now how much is that?
00:15:21.48\00:15:23.69
Two years ago the
federal income tax
00:15:23.69\00:15:26.65
received from the
entire state of Texas
00:15:26.65\00:15:30.89
was about $300 billion.
00:15:30.89\00:15:34.36
In other words, all the money
that came from Texas furnished
00:15:34.36\00:15:37.73
the debt for the US government,
isn't that remarkable?
00:15:37.73\00:15:42.34
And that's just the interest.
00:15:42.34\00:15:43.44
So countries are in trouble
00:15:43.44\00:15:45.54
when it comes
to borrowing money,
00:15:45.54\00:15:47.38
it's easy to keep
raising the debts ceiling,
00:15:47.38\00:15:49.41
but are we ever going
to be able to pay that off.
00:15:49.41\00:15:52.05
So Christians need to be
aware of the trap of debt.
00:15:52.05\00:15:57.25
Now Sunday's lesson is
entitled Borrowing and Spending.
00:15:57.25\00:16:01.72
And it opens up
with a little story
00:16:01.72\00:16:03.36
about the Prophet Elisha.
00:16:03.36\00:16:05.09
And if you have your Bibles,
you can turn to 2 Kings 6,
00:16:05.09\00:16:07.96
we have a story,
we're going to look at
00:16:07.96\00:16:08.96
the first six verses here.
00:16:08.96\00:16:11.23
And it's emphasizing
00:16:11.23\00:16:12.37
the importance of taking
seriously paying off our debts.
00:16:12.37\00:16:18.04
And verse 1, this is 2 Kings
6 beginning here in verse 1.
00:16:18.04\00:16:22.78
It says, "Now the sons of
the prophets said to Elisha,"
00:16:22.78\00:16:25.88
I was talking about
the sons of the prophet
00:16:25.88\00:16:27.22
that's not all of Elisha's kids,
00:16:27.22\00:16:29.35
but there were the
schools of the prophets
00:16:29.35\00:16:31.72
back in the days
of Elijah and Elisha,
00:16:31.72\00:16:34.16
and they would travel
from these different schools
00:16:34.16\00:16:36.19
where young men would come
00:16:36.19\00:16:37.36
and they would learn not only
00:16:37.36\00:16:39.86
what the Bible have to
say back in those days,
00:16:39.86\00:16:42.33
they would focus on the Psalms,
00:16:42.33\00:16:44.27
they would focus on the
first five books of Moses
00:16:44.27\00:16:47.47
that would talk
about sacred history,
00:16:47.47\00:16:49.47
often they would
learn some kind of a trade,
00:16:49.47\00:16:52.04
they call this the
schools of the prophets.
00:16:52.04\00:16:54.48
And so in one of these schools
the young men came to Elisha,
00:16:54.48\00:16:57.95
and this is what
they said in verse 1,
00:16:57.95\00:17:00.28
"See, now the place
where we dwell with you
00:17:00.28\00:17:03.05
is too small for us."
00:17:03.05\00:17:04.62
So they were all crowded
into this little one room school
00:17:04.62\00:17:07.42
so to speak.
00:17:07.42\00:17:08.96
Verse 2, "Please
let us go to the Jordan
00:17:08.96\00:17:11.06
and let every man
take a beam from there,
00:17:11.06\00:17:13.40
and let us make there a
place where we may dwell."
00:17:13.40\00:17:16.87
So they wanted
to build a dormitory
00:17:16.87\00:17:19.10
where the young men could stay
00:17:19.10\00:17:20.57
and they wanted to go
down to the Jordan River.
00:17:20.57\00:17:22.90
Why the Jordan?
00:17:22.90\00:17:23.97
Well, there were
more trees down there,
00:17:23.97\00:17:25.84
and they could go, and
they could cut down trees,
00:17:25.84\00:17:27.58
and they could build themselves
a little place to stay.
00:17:27.58\00:17:30.45
Probably, it wasn't very
far from where they were.
00:17:30.45\00:17:33.38
So the prophet said in
verse 2, he said, "Well, go."
00:17:33.38\00:17:35.98
Sounds like a good idea.
00:17:35.98\00:17:37.05
Verse 3, "Then one said,
00:17:37.05\00:17:38.72
'Please, consent to
go with your servants.'
00:17:38.72\00:17:40.96
And he said, 'I will.'"
00:17:40.96\00:17:42.29
It's always a good thing
00:17:42.29\00:17:43.36
when your
students want the teacher
00:17:43.36\00:17:45.19
to go with them to do something.
00:17:45.19\00:17:47.50
They love Elisha, their prophet,
00:17:47.50\00:17:49.33
the one who is teaching them.
00:17:49.33\00:17:50.50
Verse 4, "So he went with them.
00:17:50.50\00:17:54.14
When they came to the Jordan,
they cut down these trees."
00:17:54.14\00:17:56.74
Verse 5 says, "But one
was cutting down a tree,
00:17:56.74\00:18:00.38
the iron axe head
fell into the water,
00:18:00.38\00:18:03.91
and he cried out and
he said, 'Alas, master!
00:18:03.91\00:18:06.25
For it was borrowed.'"
00:18:06.25\00:18:08.78
Now little bit of historical
background during this time,
00:18:08.78\00:18:11.09
the time of Elijah and Elisha,
00:18:11.09\00:18:13.39
the arch enemy of
Israel was the Assyriats.
00:18:13.39\00:18:16.79
And the Assyrians would
come down in these raids
00:18:16.79\00:18:19.59
and they would
take away the food,
00:18:19.59\00:18:21.80
during the harvest season,
00:18:21.80\00:18:24.20
they would sometimes
take away the people,
00:18:24.20\00:18:25.87
you probably heard the story
about little maid and Naaman,
00:18:25.87\00:18:29.17
he was Assyrian captain,
00:18:29.17\00:18:31.01
and they were at constant
war or having these skirmishes,
00:18:31.01\00:18:35.08
these battles
with the Assyrians.
00:18:35.08\00:18:37.11
And the Assyrians
wanted to make sure
00:18:37.11\00:18:38.95
that the Israelites
would not be in a position
00:18:38.95\00:18:40.92
to revolt again them
00:18:40.92\00:18:42.58
and so they took the
iron available in Israel,
00:18:42.58\00:18:46.82
they took it away.
00:18:46.82\00:18:48.09
There were some iron
available for farming equipment,
00:18:48.09\00:18:52.79
but they didn't
want to have, of course,
00:18:52.79\00:18:54.00
any iron
available for the Israelites
00:18:54.00\00:18:55.90
to make weapons of war
00:18:55.90\00:18:57.67
so it was very
difficult to come across
00:18:57.67\00:18:59.53
something made from iron.
00:18:59.53\00:19:00.94
Axe head was allowed,
00:19:00.94\00:19:01.94
it was part of
the farming equipment,
00:19:01.94\00:19:04.24
but it was very
rare in this case.
00:19:04.24\00:19:06.37
The young man obviously
couldn't afford his own axe,
00:19:06.37\00:19:08.54
so he went and he
borrowed an axe from someone,
00:19:08.54\00:19:11.35
and while he was
swinging away at this tree,
00:19:11.35\00:19:14.15
you know, this little nail
00:19:14.15\00:19:15.58
that you fasten on
the top of the axe handle
00:19:15.58\00:19:17.92
that holds the head in place.
00:19:17.92\00:19:20.49
Somehow while he was chopping
away at the tree, the axe,
00:19:20.49\00:19:23.12
that the little
nail worked its way off.
00:19:23.12\00:19:24.83
And the next thing he knew
00:19:24.83\00:19:26.06
the axe had flew off the handle.
00:19:26.06\00:19:28.63
Now just as well
it landed in the river
00:19:28.63\00:19:30.27
and didn't hit
somebody else there, right?
00:19:30.27\00:19:32.20
That could have been terrible.
00:19:32.20\00:19:33.23
But anyway, this
axe head flies off
00:19:33.23\00:19:35.40
and land somewhere in the river.
00:19:35.40\00:19:37.31
The Jordan River is
not like a Montana River
00:19:37.31\00:19:40.44
that's clear and
just bubbling along
00:19:40.44\00:19:42.44
and you can see the
bottom of the river.
00:19:42.44\00:19:44.58
It was somewhat
of a muddy river,
00:19:44.58\00:19:46.35
especially if
it was rainy season
00:19:46.35\00:19:48.08
and there would be a lot of silt
00:19:48.08\00:19:49.62
that would wash
down into the river
00:19:49.62\00:19:51.15
so you just look down and see.
00:19:51.15\00:19:52.85
There were places in the Jordan
00:19:52.85\00:19:54.19
where the river was very
deep and it ran very quickly.
00:19:54.19\00:19:57.46
And presumably
this was the situation.
00:19:57.46\00:19:59.63
And the young man
cried out and says,
00:19:59.63\00:20:00.96
"The axe head has gone
over there in the river,
00:20:00.96\00:20:02.46
it's over there somewhere,
I wasn't quite looking,
00:20:02.46\00:20:04.23
but it's out
there, and it's deep,
00:20:04.23\00:20:05.73
and we're never going to
be able to find this axe head
00:20:05.73\00:20:08.17
in this fast flowing river."
00:20:08.17\00:20:10.44
So he asks the
prophet, what do we do?
00:20:10.44\00:20:13.68
And so verse 6 says,
00:20:13.68\00:20:15.04
"Then the man of God
said, 'Where did it fall?'
00:20:15.04\00:20:17.25
And he showed him the
place somewhere out here.
00:20:17.25\00:20:19.75
So he cut down a stick
and he threw into the river
00:20:19.75\00:20:22.85
and he made the axe head float."
00:20:22.85\00:20:25.89
Can you imagine that?
00:20:25.89\00:20:27.22
This big axe head suddenly
00:20:27.22\00:20:28.66
just bobbing to the
surface of the water
00:20:28.66\00:20:31.16
like a stick or crock.
00:20:31.16\00:20:32.73
And all of them,
00:20:32.73\00:20:34.10
the young men are just
standing and staring at this,
00:20:34.10\00:20:35.96
they've never seen
something like this before.
00:20:35.96\00:20:38.27
And they stood there watching
and finally the prophet said,
00:20:38.27\00:20:40.64
"Well, put out
your hand and take it."
00:20:40.64\00:20:43.30
And so he did.
00:20:43.30\00:20:44.97
So here we see in this
story a miracle performed
00:20:44.97\00:20:48.51
so that the young man
could return the axe head,
00:20:48.51\00:20:51.58
sort of emphasizes the
importance of paying back
00:20:51.58\00:20:54.55
that which we borrow.
00:20:54.55\00:20:56.65
It is a serious thing
even in the eyes of God.
00:20:56.65\00:21:00.29
Now the verb to
borrow means using something
00:21:00.29\00:21:02.92
that does not belong to you.
00:21:02.92\00:21:05.03
And, of course, you use
it with their permission,
00:21:05.03\00:21:07.30
but whenever you
borrow somebody else's stuff,
00:21:07.30\00:21:09.60
there is always a risk involved.
00:21:09.60\00:21:12.47
You take responsibility
for the thing that you borrow.
00:21:12.47\00:21:16.30
And it's no different when
it comes to borrowing money.
00:21:16.30\00:21:19.41
If you're taking
money from somebody else,
00:21:19.41\00:21:21.01
there is a risk involved.
00:21:21.01\00:21:24.11
The only reason we borrow money
from others is to spend it.
00:21:24.11\00:21:28.38
And the
financial risk is presuming
00:21:28.38\00:21:30.72
that sometime in the future
00:21:30.72\00:21:32.55
we'll be in a
better financial position
00:21:32.55\00:21:35.59
to pay off the
money that we borrowed.
00:21:35.59\00:21:39.56
And most people
think for some reason
00:21:39.56\00:21:41.53
that in 6 months or 12 months,
00:21:41.53\00:21:43.97
we're gonna be in a
better financial situation
00:21:43.97\00:21:46.33
than we're now.
00:21:46.33\00:21:47.77
And so the tendency is to
swipe the credit card thinking,
00:21:47.77\00:21:51.34
well, I can repay
this in a few months,
00:21:51.34\00:21:54.88
but it doesn't
always work out that way.
00:21:54.88\00:21:57.41
So borrowing money always
involves some kind of a risk.
00:21:57.41\00:22:00.72
Now, we're going to have
somebody read for us here
00:22:00.72\00:22:02.25
in just a minute, Psalms 37:21.
00:22:02.25\00:22:06.52
But just before we do
that, while we get ready,
00:22:06.52\00:22:08.62
I'm going to
read Ecclesiastes 5:5,
00:22:08.62\00:22:12.79
"Whether wise man
tells us better not to vow,
00:22:12.79\00:22:15.60
than to vow and not pay," right?
00:22:15.60\00:22:19.23
If you're going into a loan
00:22:19.23\00:22:20.27
and you're going
to make a promise
00:22:20.27\00:22:21.44
that you're going to pay
back, whatever it is you borrow,
00:22:21.44\00:22:24.01
well, don't borrow the money
00:22:24.01\00:22:25.57
if you can't pay back the money.
00:22:25.57\00:22:27.21
Do you have any
examples in the Bible of people
00:22:27.21\00:22:29.38
who made a vow
00:22:29.38\00:22:32.15
and they didn't
follow through with the vow?
00:22:32.15\00:22:34.38
I think of two people
00:22:34.38\00:22:35.42
in the New
Testament in particular.
00:22:35.42\00:22:37.65
Do the names Ananias
and Sapphira ring a bell?
00:22:37.65\00:22:41.09
Now what was
the situation there?
00:22:41.09\00:22:42.36
Well, the church was
expanding its mission activity,
00:22:42.36\00:22:45.73
and people were moved
upon by the Holy Spirit to sell
00:22:45.73\00:22:48.86
different things and
contribute to this fund.
00:22:48.86\00:22:51.77
It wasn't so
much a building fund,
00:22:51.77\00:22:53.57
it was an evangelism fund.
00:22:53.57\00:22:55.77
And so they would
sell what they could
00:22:55.77\00:22:57.44
and they would
bring it to the apostles
00:22:57.44\00:22:58.91
and laid at their
feet and say use this
00:22:58.91\00:23:00.81
for the mission, the
expansion of the church.
00:23:00.81\00:23:04.58
While there were two individuals
00:23:04.58\00:23:05.78
in the early Christian
church, first century church,
00:23:05.78\00:23:08.28
Ananias and
Sapphira, a married couple
00:23:08.28\00:23:10.45
and they got
thinking about and they say,
00:23:10.45\00:23:11.79
"Well, we have this field that
we haven't used for a while.
00:23:11.79\00:23:14.49
Why don't we put that on
the market and sell the field,
00:23:14.49\00:23:16.96
and then we would be able to
give the proceeds of the field
00:23:16.96\00:23:20.20
to this mission fund
and bring it to the church."
00:23:20.20\00:23:23.13
Well, they put on the market
00:23:23.13\00:23:24.63
and they got a really
good offer on the field.
00:23:24.63\00:23:28.30
And so they took the offer,
00:23:28.30\00:23:29.70
they bought the field
00:23:29.70\00:23:30.91
and then they started
thinking about and said,
00:23:30.91\00:23:32.87
"You know what, I don't know
00:23:32.87\00:23:33.91
if you want to
give all of this money.
00:23:33.91\00:23:37.45
It's pretty good,
maybe should hang on to it,
00:23:37.45\00:23:39.11
maybe take a vacation,
00:23:39.11\00:23:40.15
we've been working
hard for a long time."
00:23:40.15\00:23:42.85
And then they said,
probably told the church,
00:23:42.85\00:23:44.75
"We're going to give all
of the proceeds of the field
00:23:44.75\00:23:47.19
to this project.
00:23:47.19\00:23:48.86
We don't want to look bad
and go to the church and say,
00:23:48.86\00:23:51.36
well, actually we
decided to give 50%."
00:23:51.36\00:23:54.20
Let's just tell the church
00:23:54.20\00:23:55.46
that this all the
money from the land.
00:23:55.46\00:23:57.73
You know, what happened.
00:23:57.73\00:23:59.13
Ananias came and he stood
before Peter and Peter said,
00:23:59.13\00:24:01.44
"Is this all the money
like you pledged to give."
00:24:01.44\00:24:04.57
And Ananias said,
"Yeah, absolutely.
00:24:04.57\00:24:06.71
Yep, this is it."
00:24:06.71\00:24:08.28
Acts 5:4, then
Peter answered and said,
00:24:08.28\00:24:11.61
"While it remained,
was it not your own?
00:24:11.61\00:24:14.18
And after it was sold, was
it not under your control?"
00:24:14.18\00:24:17.25
Meaning you could
have changed your mind
00:24:17.25\00:24:18.55
even after you sold
the field, but you lied.
00:24:18.55\00:24:22.72
And then he says, "You have
conceived this in your heart,
00:24:22.72\00:24:25.86
you have not lied to man,
but you have lied to God."
00:24:25.86\00:24:30.87
And immediately after
that what happened to Ananias?
00:24:30.87\00:24:33.90
He fell down dead.
00:24:33.90\00:24:35.90
Unfortunately, the same
fate happened to his wife.
00:24:35.90\00:24:38.07
Well, that's a
very sobering lesson
00:24:38.07\00:24:39.61
taught to the
early Christian church,
00:24:39.61\00:24:41.44
that God does
take serious honesty.
00:24:41.44\00:24:44.81
And if we make a
promise, if we make a vow,
00:24:44.81\00:24:47.08
it is important for
us to see that through.
00:24:47.08\00:24:50.12
All right, I think somebody
is going to read for us now,
00:24:50.12\00:24:54.16
Psalms 37:21.
00:24:54.16\00:24:58.06
"The wicked
borrows and does not repay,
00:24:58.06\00:25:01.40
but the righteous
shows mercy and gives."
00:25:01.40\00:25:05.17
So a
characteristic of wickedness
00:25:05.17\00:25:07.04
is borrowing and then what?
00:25:07.04\00:25:09.17
Not repaying.
00:25:09.17\00:25:10.81
Of course, that's true
even in today's society.
00:25:10.81\00:25:14.41
We live in a
consumer culture today
00:25:14.41\00:25:16.61
where we are
continually surrounded
00:25:16.61\00:25:18.65
by an endless supply of things
00:25:18.65\00:25:21.48
that we just must
have, isn't that true?
00:25:21.48\00:25:25.15
Things that we didn't
even know that we needed
00:25:25.15\00:25:27.79
until the advertising told us
that we can't live without it.
00:25:27.79\00:25:32.06
And I think
we're always coming up
00:25:32.06\00:25:33.43
with new ideas to tell people
00:25:33.43\00:25:35.43
why they need this fancy gadget,
00:25:35.43\00:25:37.83
or why they need to
spend money on this or that.
00:25:37.83\00:25:40.97
This is kind of the
way our society works.
00:25:40.97\00:25:43.04
Back in 2017
more than $150 billion
00:25:43.04\00:25:47.28
was spent in United
States on telling people
00:25:47.28\00:25:50.35
why they have to buy
their particular product.
00:25:50.35\00:25:52.75
More than $150 billion
spent on advertising in the US.
00:25:52.75\00:25:57.92
And we've all
seen different schemes
00:25:57.92\00:25:59.85
to try and get us to buy stuff.
00:25:59.85\00:26:02.76
One that seems to be
pretty popular is no interest,
00:26:02.76\00:26:05.36
no payment for six months.
00:26:05.36\00:26:07.03
Boy, that sounds like
a good deal, doesn't it?
00:26:07.03\00:26:09.23
You can just go
pick up your couch
00:26:09.23\00:26:11.67
and you don't have
to worry about paying
00:26:11.67\00:26:13.30
for the next six
months, no interest.
00:26:13.30\00:26:15.77
And so you know
what ends up happening?
00:26:15.77\00:26:17.61
You don't save up
00:26:17.61\00:26:19.54
what you should be
paying during that six months.
00:26:19.54\00:26:22.01
And, by the way, at
the end of that six months,
00:26:22.01\00:26:23.65
they tag on all the interest
that you should have paid
00:26:23.65\00:26:25.95
on that first six months
00:26:25.95\00:26:27.18
and you have even a bigger bill,
00:26:27.18\00:26:28.52
so you got to be careful
00:26:28.52\00:26:29.92
with all of these
different schemes,
00:26:29.92\00:26:31.85
but there are many out there.
00:26:31.85\00:26:33.56
Now, of course,
there are some situations
00:26:33.56\00:26:35.19
where we do need
to take out a loan,
00:26:35.19\00:26:37.26
I'm thinking
about buying a house.
00:26:37.26\00:26:39.26
It does make
sense to take out a loan
00:26:39.26\00:26:41.43
in some cases in buying a house.
00:26:41.43\00:26:43.73
Sometimes there is a school loan
00:26:43.73\00:26:45.57
that has to be taken out,
00:26:45.57\00:26:46.63
so that a person can
finish up their education.
00:26:46.63\00:26:49.64
So we're not saying,
don't ever take out a loan,
00:26:49.64\00:26:52.27
but what we're
saying is be very cautious
00:26:52.27\00:26:54.68
when you take out a loan.
00:26:54.68\00:26:56.21
And make sure that
you're not just borrowing
00:26:56.21\00:26:58.71
somebody else's
money to take something
00:26:58.71\00:27:01.02
or get something that
you don't really need.
00:27:01.02\00:27:04.55
You need to take
that into consideration.
00:27:04.55\00:27:06.25
All right, why do
people get into debt?
00:27:06.25\00:27:08.62
Well, there's four main reasons
why people get into debt today.
00:27:08.62\00:27:12.83
The first is our
consumer lifestyle.
00:27:12.83\00:27:15.30
We're offered with an endless
variety of goods of things.
00:27:15.30\00:27:21.40
Now let's say, you
wake up in the morning
00:27:21.40\00:27:22.87
and you're
wanting to have breakfast
00:27:22.87\00:27:26.17
and get ready to go to work.
00:27:26.17\00:27:27.88
Well, first of all, you
need to make a decision.
00:27:27.88\00:27:29.74
In the United
States there are more than
00:27:29.74\00:27:31.45
a 100 different kinds of yogurt
so you got to buy a yogurt,
00:27:31.45\00:27:35.72
you got to pick from
a 100 different kinds.
00:27:35.72\00:27:38.29
And then you're
going to have some cereal.
00:27:38.29\00:27:39.52
There are more than a
150 different kinds of cereal
00:27:39.52\00:27:43.73
available for
purchase in the United States.
00:27:43.73\00:27:47.03
Well, after you get
through eating your cereal,
00:27:47.03\00:27:48.70
you need to brush your teeth.
00:27:48.70\00:27:50.60
Guess how many different kinds
of toothpastes are available.
00:27:50.60\00:27:54.44
More than 200 different
types and flavors of toothpastes
00:27:54.44\00:27:58.31
are available in
the United States.
00:27:58.31\00:28:00.74
So if you're like
me, I'm somewhat curious,
00:28:00.74\00:28:02.88
well, what does this
flavor tastes like in,
00:28:02.88\00:28:05.78
or what about that cereal,
it seems to have, you know,
00:28:05.78\00:28:08.32
some more raisins in it.
00:28:08.32\00:28:09.85
So we're just bombarded
00:28:09.85\00:28:11.75
with an endless supply of stuff.
00:28:11.75\00:28:14.89
And everybody is
trying to convince us
00:28:14.89\00:28:16.56
why we need to buy their stuff.
00:28:16.56\00:28:18.43
So number one,
consumer lifestyle
00:28:18.43\00:28:20.63
is probably the main reason
00:28:20.63\00:28:22.16
why people go into debt,
especially credit card debt.
00:28:22.16\00:28:26.43
The second reason
why people go into debt
00:28:26.43\00:28:28.14
is because it's so
easy to go into debt.
00:28:28.14\00:28:31.34
Each year American
families are bombarded
00:28:31.34\00:28:33.48
by credit card applications.
00:28:33.48\00:28:35.41
On average each...
00:28:35.41\00:28:37.75
An average family
in the United States
00:28:37.75\00:28:39.81
gets credit card
application every two weeks.
00:28:39.81\00:28:44.89
Well, that's
dependent upon your credit.
00:28:44.89\00:28:46.52
If you don't get any
credit card applications,
00:28:46.52\00:28:48.99
you probably have
other problems, right?
00:28:48.99\00:28:51.19
Your credit score is too low,
00:28:51.19\00:28:52.29
but typically most
families every week or two
00:28:52.29\00:28:56.00
you get something in the mail
00:28:56.00\00:28:57.23
that's offering
some fantastic deal
00:28:57.23\00:28:59.60
wanting you to
take out a credit card.
00:28:59.60\00:29:01.77
Third reason why
people end up going into debt
00:29:01.77\00:29:04.41
is because of a lack
of a household budget,
00:29:04.41\00:29:07.28
it's one of the big ones here.
00:29:07.28\00:29:08.84
People overspend
00:29:08.84\00:29:09.91
because they don't really know
00:29:09.91\00:29:11.25
how much of their income
actually goes to their bills.
00:29:11.25\00:29:16.28
We have an idea, we know
how much the mortgage is,
00:29:16.28\00:29:18.45
we know what we
have to pay on utilities.
00:29:18.45\00:29:20.39
We know roughly
how much we have to put
00:29:20.39\00:29:22.36
in gas, in the car,
00:29:22.36\00:29:23.79
but if you actually sit down
00:29:23.79\00:29:25.29
and add it all up
you might be surprised.
00:29:25.29\00:29:28.53
And so what a
lot of people do is
00:29:28.53\00:29:29.93
they just look at
their checking account,
00:29:29.93\00:29:31.83
and they keep
spending and then suddenly
00:29:31.83\00:29:33.97
they realize before
the pay period is up,
00:29:33.97\00:29:36.44
"Man, I've run out of money."
00:29:36.44\00:29:37.91
And so where did they go?
00:29:37.91\00:29:38.87
Well, they pull out
the credit card, right?
00:29:38.87\00:29:41.44
You got to buy that after all.
00:29:41.44\00:29:42.51
So that's one of the big reasons
00:29:42.51\00:29:43.65
why people going to debt.
00:29:43.65\00:29:45.01
The fourth reason why
people typically going to debt
00:29:45.01\00:29:47.42
is unexpected bills,
00:29:47.42\00:29:49.72
and there are
three general categories.
00:29:49.72\00:29:52.42
The one is car repairs,
00:29:52.42\00:29:54.36
it seems like that
always happens with me, right?
00:29:54.36\00:29:56.99
You least expect and something
breaks down on the car,
00:29:56.99\00:29:59.16
and you have to have a car,
and nowadays to fix your car,
00:29:59.16\00:30:02.23
you can't fix a car for
100 or 150 bucks it seems,
00:30:02.23\00:30:05.43
that gets really expensive
00:30:05.43\00:30:06.70
so those are unexpected
bills that come along.
00:30:06.70\00:30:09.64
Medical expenses
come from time to time,
00:30:09.64\00:30:12.57
and you got to pay your portion
if you have an insurance,
00:30:12.57\00:30:16.04
and then household maintenance.
00:30:16.04\00:30:18.85
In the middle of winter
suddenly your furnace goes out,
00:30:18.85\00:30:21.95
you've got to do
something, right?
00:30:21.95\00:30:23.72
So we tend to go
to the credit card
00:30:23.72\00:30:25.49
to pay off those things.
00:30:25.49\00:30:27.82
So those are some of the reasons
00:30:27.82\00:30:28.92
why people end
up going into debt.
00:30:28.92\00:30:30.76
Now on Monday's lesson,
00:30:30.76\00:30:32.56
the title for Monday study
00:30:32.56\00:30:34.20
is Stewardship and
Instant Gratification.
00:30:34.20\00:30:36.73
And here's the
point in particular
00:30:36.73\00:30:38.53
that I think we as
Christians need to take note of.
00:30:38.53\00:30:41.67
And we're going to
have somebody read for us
00:30:41.67\00:30:42.97
Genesis 25:34 in just a minute.
00:30:42.97\00:30:47.54
But before you read that,
let me read 1 John 2:16 and 17.
00:30:47.54\00:30:53.31
It says, "For all
that is in the world,
00:30:53.31\00:30:55.52
the lust of the
flesh, the lust of the eyes,
00:30:55.52\00:30:57.75
and the pride of life,
it is not of the Father,
00:30:57.75\00:31:01.09
but it is of the world.
00:31:01.09\00:31:02.79
And the world is passing
away, and the lust thereof,
00:31:02.79\00:31:06.29
but he who does the
will of God," does what?
00:31:06.29\00:31:09.73
"Abides forever." Right?
00:31:09.73\00:31:12.03
So everything that
we see in the world
00:31:12.03\00:31:13.50
typically is from
either the category
00:31:13.50\00:31:16.07
of the lust of the flesh,
00:31:16.07\00:31:17.17
the lust of the
eyes, or the pride of life.
00:31:17.17\00:31:19.94
And it plays up on our desire
for instant gratification,
00:31:19.94\00:31:23.65
we want it now.
00:31:23.65\00:31:25.95
Desires for
instant gratification
00:31:25.95\00:31:27.98
can easily lead to covetousness.
00:31:27.98\00:31:31.72
Now when you think
about the Ten Commandments
00:31:31.72\00:31:33.49
which one is covetousness,
"Thou shall not covet."
00:31:33.49\00:31:36.32
That's number 10.
00:31:36.32\00:31:37.69
And if you really
stop and think about it,
00:31:37.69\00:31:39.29
almost all of the
other commandments,
00:31:39.29\00:31:42.76
in order to break any
of the other commandments
00:31:42.76\00:31:44.53
you have to first
break the 10th commandment
00:31:44.53\00:31:47.07
that says, "Thou
shall not covet,"
00:31:47.07\00:31:48.44
because really it
begins in the mind,
00:31:48.44\00:31:50.87
it begins in the heart,
00:31:50.87\00:31:52.17
people wanting
something that is not theirs.
00:31:52.17\00:31:55.74
When Eve was
standing by the tree
00:31:55.74\00:31:56.85
of the knowledge
of good and evil,
00:31:56.85\00:31:58.81
the Bible says that
when she saw the fruit
00:31:58.81\00:32:01.52
and desires to make one wise,
00:32:01.52\00:32:03.92
she coveted the
fruit, she wanted the fruit.
00:32:03.92\00:32:06.39
Now God had given to her
and to Adam all the fruit
00:32:06.39\00:32:09.69
from all the other
trees of the garden,
00:32:09.69\00:32:11.63
but the one that
they were not to eat of,
00:32:11.63\00:32:14.30
that was the one
that suddenly became
00:32:14.30\00:32:16.70
so attractive to them.
00:32:16.70\00:32:19.30
You might have plenty of things,
00:32:19.30\00:32:21.14
all of your needs,
00:32:21.14\00:32:22.54
but suddenly
you're offered one thing
00:32:22.54\00:32:25.47
and suddenly that
becomes more important
00:32:25.47\00:32:27.04
than all the stuff
that you have, right?
00:32:27.04\00:32:29.04
Your car might be
just fine driving along,
00:32:29.04\00:32:31.95
but suddenly you see
an ad for a brand new car,
00:32:31.95\00:32:35.22
and suddenly your car is not
that appealing anymore, right?
00:32:35.22\00:32:37.65
The new one
seems so much better.
00:32:37.65\00:32:40.19
Covetousness often leads
to instant gratification.
00:32:40.19\00:32:43.83
All right, let's
read Genesis 25:34.
00:32:43.83\00:32:48.53
Genesis 25:34.
00:32:48.53\00:32:50.53
"Then Jacob gave Esau
bread and pottage of lentils,
00:32:50.53\00:32:54.44
and he did eat and
drink, and rose up,
00:32:54.44\00:32:58.04
and went his way,
00:32:58.04\00:33:00.61
thus Esau
despised his birthright."
00:33:00.61\00:33:03.08
All right, I
think we're all familiar
00:33:03.08\00:33:04.45
with the story
of Jacob and Esau.
00:33:04.45\00:33:06.18
So Esau was coming
back from the field
00:33:06.18\00:33:08.22
and he's just famished
00:33:08.22\00:33:09.85
and as he comes
walking past the tent of Jacob,
00:33:09.85\00:33:12.72
he smells the
smell of this lentil stew
00:33:12.72\00:33:16.16
that's been cooked.
00:33:16.16\00:33:17.56
And he is so
hungry, he can't resist.
00:33:17.56\00:33:19.53
He says, "Man, I
want to eat this stew."
00:33:19.53\00:33:21.40
Now, of course, Jacob
he was somewhat cunning,
00:33:21.40\00:33:23.87
especially, if you read
on, his name means deceiver,
00:33:23.87\00:33:26.23
and he has an opportunity.
00:33:26.23\00:33:28.20
He knew his brother.
00:33:28.20\00:33:29.37
He knew that his
brother was somewhat impulsive,
00:33:29.37\00:33:32.31
and he said, "Well,
I'll make a deal with you,
00:33:32.31\00:33:33.84
I'll give you some
of my lentil stew here
00:33:33.84\00:33:35.91
if you give me your birthright."
00:33:35.91\00:33:38.08
Now, if Esau would have
waited another 30 minutes,
00:33:38.08\00:33:42.22
probably he would
have had plenty to eat
00:33:42.22\00:33:45.05
but he wanted it now.
00:33:45.05\00:33:47.79
And so what did he do?
00:33:47.79\00:33:48.96
He ended up
selling the birthright
00:33:48.96\00:33:50.53
for a pot of lentils.
00:33:50.53\00:33:51.96
Now I like lentils, but, man,
00:33:51.96\00:33:53.43
that doesn't compared
our birthright, right?
00:33:53.43\00:33:56.73
Esau controlled by his emotions
00:33:56.73\00:33:58.57
and feelings
allowed the pressure
00:33:58.57\00:34:00.20
of the moment to
overpower reasoning,
00:34:00.20\00:34:02.67
and he traded his birthright
for some instant gratification.
00:34:02.67\00:34:06.04
How many of you are
familiar with buyer's remorse?
00:34:06.04\00:34:10.01
I think we've all had
buyer's remorse at one point
00:34:10.01\00:34:12.95
or another where we go
out and we buy something.
00:34:12.95\00:34:15.85
"Oh, we just got to get it."
00:34:15.85\00:34:17.22
And we buy it and then
after a while we think,
00:34:17.22\00:34:18.69
"Oh, man, I shouldn't
have spent that money."
00:34:18.69\00:34:21.16
Especially if we
spent it on a credit card,
00:34:21.16\00:34:22.86
now we have to pay it off.
00:34:22.86\00:34:24.93
Fortunately, you can
take some stuff back here
00:34:24.93\00:34:27.13
at least in our society.
00:34:27.13\00:34:28.76
I always tell the
kids, if they want something
00:34:28.76\00:34:31.50
and they're all
excited about it,
00:34:31.50\00:34:32.73
and they've been able to
earn the money to get it,
00:34:32.73\00:34:35.37
I always tell them, well,
don't buy it for a few days,
00:34:35.37\00:34:38.44
just think about it,
00:34:38.44\00:34:39.67
and the desire to have
it typically begins to wane
00:34:39.67\00:34:42.58
after a few days
when they think about
00:34:42.58\00:34:44.05
what it's going to
actually cost them.
00:34:44.05\00:34:46.15
So we don't want
to just buy things
00:34:46.15\00:34:47.82
on the spur of the moment.
00:34:47.82\00:34:49.18
Exercising
self-control is, of course,
00:34:49.18\00:34:51.69
a very important
Christian principle.
00:34:51.69\00:34:54.99
Number of years ago,
00:34:54.99\00:34:56.26
they did a test at
Stanford University,
00:34:56.26\00:34:58.43
it became known as
the Marshmallow Test.
00:34:58.43\00:35:00.60
It became very famous,
maybe you've heard of it.
00:35:00.60\00:35:03.00
And what they did was this.
00:35:03.00\00:35:04.03
This took place in the
late 1960s, early 1970s,
00:35:04.03\00:35:08.07
and they got a group
of four year old children
00:35:08.07\00:35:11.81
to come into a
room, set them on a chair
00:35:11.81\00:35:14.18
and they placed one marshmallow
on a table in front of them.
00:35:14.18\00:35:17.81
And they said to the kids,
"You can eat the marshmallow
00:35:17.81\00:35:19.98
right now and
that's it, then you go.
00:35:19.98\00:35:23.39
Or if you wait for 15 minutes,
00:35:23.39\00:35:26.86
we'll give you two
marshmallows that you can eat."
00:35:26.86\00:35:30.56
Well, what do you
suppose most of the kids did?
00:35:30.56\00:35:33.29
They just ate the marshmallow.
They weren't going to wait.
00:35:33.29\00:35:36.03
But there were
some four year olds
00:35:36.03\00:35:37.87
that thought
about it long enough
00:35:37.87\00:35:39.30
and finally
said, "Well, you know,
00:35:39.30\00:35:40.44
maybe I do want to wait,
00:35:40.44\00:35:41.60
maybe I do want two marshmallows
00:35:41.60\00:35:44.17
instead of one."
00:35:44.17\00:35:45.77
And some of the
kids that decided to wait
00:35:45.77\00:35:48.08
would wait for 5-10 minutes
00:35:48.08\00:35:49.74
and then they
just give in anyway
00:35:49.74\00:35:51.18
and they end up eating
it, but there were a few kids,
00:35:51.18\00:35:54.38
four year olds who were actually
00:35:54.38\00:35:55.95
able to wait 15 minutes
00:35:55.95\00:35:58.12
and then they got
the two marshmallows.
00:35:58.12\00:36:00.22
Well, one of the
interesting things
00:36:00.22\00:36:01.56
that they noticed
about those children
00:36:01.56\00:36:03.32
who were able to wait 15 minutes
00:36:03.32\00:36:05.39
and exercise self-control,
00:36:05.39\00:36:07.13
they noticed that there
were three prominent categories
00:36:07.13\00:36:10.07
or characteristics
or behaviors manifest
00:36:10.07\00:36:13.67
by those who were able to wait.
00:36:13.67\00:36:15.74
In some instances,
00:36:15.74\00:36:16.84
the children
manifest all three behaviors.
00:36:16.84\00:36:19.77
In other cases, they
manifested maybe two,
00:36:19.77\00:36:22.78
one or two of the behaviors.
00:36:22.78\00:36:24.08
But one of the things
that they noticed is that
00:36:24.08\00:36:26.25
those who were able
to wait for 15 minutes,
00:36:26.25\00:36:27.95
one of the first things they did
00:36:27.95\00:36:29.25
is they turned away
from the marshmallow,
00:36:29.25\00:36:32.75
they wouldn't look
at the marshmallow.
00:36:32.75\00:36:34.76
Some of the kids even pushed
00:36:34.76\00:36:35.99
the marshmallow to
the edge of the table.
00:36:35.99\00:36:38.89
In some cases they would cover
00:36:38.89\00:36:40.33
the marshmallow
with a piece of paper.
00:36:40.33\00:36:41.90
They didn't want to see it.
00:36:41.90\00:36:43.80
They turned away
from the temptation.
00:36:43.80\00:36:46.37
The second thing
that some of the kids did
00:36:46.37\00:36:48.60
was positive distraction.
00:36:48.60\00:36:51.24
Instead of thinking
about the marshmallow,
00:36:51.24\00:36:53.04
they would think
about something else,
00:36:53.04\00:36:54.84
they would just start to sing.
00:36:54.84\00:36:56.95
Or in some cases the
children would get up
00:36:56.95\00:36:58.78
and they'd start
walking around the room.
00:36:58.78\00:37:01.25
And some of the
kids would crawl around
00:37:01.25\00:37:03.12
under the
table, some of the kids
00:37:03.12\00:37:05.19
would turn their
chair upside down
00:37:05.19\00:37:06.86
and put it by the
door trying to peek out
00:37:06.86\00:37:08.56
of the little window to
see what was happening outside,
00:37:08.56\00:37:11.66
but they got busy
doing something else.
00:37:11.66\00:37:14.00
They didn't just stand there
00:37:14.00\00:37:15.20
or sit there
staring at the marshmallow.
00:37:15.20\00:37:17.27
And the third
behavior that they noticed,
00:37:17.27\00:37:18.83
a lot of the kids
started to talk to themselves
00:37:18.83\00:37:21.20
throughout the 15
minutes and they would say,
00:37:21.20\00:37:23.61
"I'm not going to
eat the marshmallow."
00:37:23.61\00:37:24.97
And they'd walk up
and down, "No, I'm not."
00:37:24.97\00:37:27.01
Some of the kids even
talk to the marshmallow
00:37:27.01\00:37:28.81
and said, "I'm not
going to eat you now.
00:37:28.81\00:37:30.98
I'm going to
wait a little while.
00:37:30.98\00:37:32.61
And then I'm going to
eat you and your friend."
00:37:32.61\00:37:35.12
So they would talk out loud,
sort of positive reinforcement.
00:37:35.12\00:37:39.25
Now, of course, I
thought that was interesting,
00:37:39.25\00:37:41.02
we find these
principles very true
00:37:41.02\00:37:43.19
when it comes to temptation.
00:37:43.19\00:37:45.29
When we are tempted,
one of the first things
00:37:45.29\00:37:47.10
we need to do is to turn
away from the temptation.
00:37:47.10\00:37:50.50
Zechariah 1:4 says,
"Turn away from evil."
00:37:50.50\00:37:54.70
It's the first
thing we have to do.
00:37:54.70\00:37:55.94
Secondly, we need
positive distractions.
00:37:55.94\00:37:59.71
Romans 12:21 says,
"Overcome evil with good."
00:37:59.71\00:38:05.15
And the third thing,
we need to talk out loud.
00:38:05.15\00:38:08.05
What is it that we need to say?
00:38:08.05\00:38:09.52
Well, we need
to quote scripture.
00:38:09.52\00:38:11.02
How did Jesus
overcome temptation?
00:38:11.02\00:38:13.56
He said, "It is written," right?
00:38:13.56\00:38:15.32
"Man shall not
live by bread alone."
00:38:15.32\00:38:17.16
And Psalms 34:1 says,
00:38:17.16\00:38:20.96
"His praise shall
always be on my mouth."
00:38:20.96\00:38:23.67
Now, that was interesting
as a result of this test,
00:38:23.67\00:38:26.37
but what these researchers
did is they continued to follow
00:38:26.37\00:38:29.27
these children as they grew up.
00:38:29.27\00:38:31.54
They followed them
for several decades
00:38:31.54\00:38:34.11
and what they found
was even more remarkable.
00:38:34.11\00:38:37.88
Those kids who were
able to wait 15 minutes,
00:38:37.88\00:38:40.52
who were able to
exercise self-control,
00:38:40.52\00:38:42.92
they developed better
emotional coping skills
00:38:42.92\00:38:47.32
with life situations
than those who couldn't wait.
00:38:47.32\00:38:51.63
In addition to that,
00:38:51.63\00:38:53.16
they also had a
higher SAT scores
00:38:53.16\00:38:57.23
than the kids
that couldn't wait.
00:38:57.23\00:38:59.23
They ended up typically having
higher levels of education,
00:38:59.23\00:39:04.11
they had lowered divorce rates,
00:39:04.11\00:39:07.28
and they had a much
lower rate of addiction.
00:39:07.28\00:39:10.48
So exercising self-control
is important, right?
00:39:10.48\00:39:14.62
And as a Christian, we
need to have self-control.
00:39:14.62\00:39:19.09
Well, I see we
have some questions
00:39:19.09\00:39:20.79
that's coming in
through Facebook,
00:39:20.79\00:39:22.76
so I think well,
we might pass to Doug,
00:39:22.76\00:39:24.43
we're going to pause right here.
00:39:24.43\00:39:25.69
There's a few more things
00:39:25.69\00:39:26.76
I want to share about our lesson
00:39:26.76\00:39:27.96
but let's see if we can take
two or three of our questions
00:39:27.96\00:39:30.80
before we finish this up.
00:39:30.80\00:39:33.97
All right. Hello, Pastor Doug.
00:39:33.97\00:39:35.80
Hi, Pastor Ross. Welcome back.
00:39:35.80\00:39:37.34
I'm enjoying the lesson.
00:39:37.34\00:39:39.07
All right, well,
the first question
00:39:39.07\00:39:40.14
that we have that's
coming from Facebook,
00:39:40.14\00:39:41.64
"Is it a sin to
have a credit card?"
00:39:41.64\00:39:44.68
It could be, depends on you.
00:39:44.68\00:39:48.52
You know, one of the things
they say in debt counseling,
00:39:48.52\00:39:51.05
people who are deeply in
debt through credit card debt,
00:39:51.05\00:39:53.15
they say step number one,
take out your credit card,
00:39:53.15\00:39:55.62
step number two,
get your scissors,
00:39:55.62\00:39:58.83
because if you
really want to pay off
00:39:58.83\00:40:00.66
your credit card debt,
00:40:00.66\00:40:01.63
sometimes one of the
most important things to do
00:40:01.63\00:40:03.80
is cut the card so you do not
00:40:03.80\00:40:05.73
then become
tempted to make new debt.
00:40:05.73\00:40:08.97
Is it a sin to
have a credit card?
00:40:08.97\00:40:10.24
No.
00:40:10.24\00:40:11.91
You know, Karen
and I have credit cards
00:40:11.91\00:40:13.44
but we pay it off as
soon as we get the bill,
00:40:13.44\00:40:16.48
and you can't travel these days,
00:40:16.48\00:40:19.51
you can't get a hotel,
you can't get a rental car,
00:40:19.51\00:40:21.25
it's very hard if you
don't have a credit card
00:40:21.25\00:40:22.72
to do a number of things,
so it's a very practical tool.
00:40:22.72\00:40:25.85
But if you are deeply in debt
00:40:25.85\00:40:28.72
and you're trying
to pay things off,
00:40:28.72\00:40:30.36
you may want to
avoid that temptation.
00:40:30.36\00:40:32.63
Absolutely, yes, and
you can get credit cards
00:40:32.63\00:40:34.96
where I guess
they like credit cards
00:40:34.96\00:40:37.23
but you have to
frontload the credit card...
00:40:37.23\00:40:39.53
So you have to make
sure the money is there
00:40:39.53\00:40:40.84
before you spend
it. That's a good point.
00:40:40.84\00:40:41.90
There are some credit
cards you can actually have,
00:40:41.90\00:40:43.91
they're prepaid
00:40:43.91\00:40:44.94
and so they
have a limit on them,
00:40:44.94\00:40:46.21
so you're not
tempted to go beyond it
00:40:46.21\00:40:48.61
and pay this
phenomenal interest.
00:40:48.61\00:40:50.35
The next
question that we have is
00:40:50.35\00:40:51.41
"Should I pay
off credit card debt
00:40:51.41\00:40:53.62
before I pay tithe?
00:40:53.62\00:40:57.05
Is tithe supposed
to be the last fruits
00:40:57.05\00:40:59.65
or the first fruits?
00:40:59.65\00:41:02.19
Do you want the Lord to bless
00:41:02.19\00:41:03.73
what remain so you have more
to pay off your credit card?
00:41:03.73\00:41:08.00
If you pay your
tithe, He promises to bless
00:41:08.00\00:41:11.13
the remaining 90%
so it goes farther.
00:41:11.13\00:41:13.60
If you wait and make tithe last,
00:41:13.60\00:41:16.07
the first 90% is cursed,
00:41:16.07\00:41:18.94
seems like the most
economical thing to do
00:41:18.94\00:41:20.74
if you believe in
God is put God first
00:41:20.74\00:41:23.48
as far as debt repayment.
00:41:23.48\00:41:25.65
And the next question
that we have, it says,
00:41:25.65\00:41:27.82
"My adult son keeps
getting into financial trouble
00:41:27.82\00:41:31.45
and we keep bailing him out."
00:41:31.45\00:41:34.29
I guess the question is
00:41:34.29\00:41:35.62
"When do we say
enough is enough?"
00:41:35.62\00:41:37.86
Yesterday.
00:41:37.86\00:41:40.90
You know, sometimes you
have to practice tough love
00:41:40.90\00:41:43.97
with somebody you care about,
and if they're having problems
00:41:43.97\00:41:48.14
and they keep getting in deeper,
00:41:48.14\00:41:49.60
first of all,
they're not going to learn
00:41:49.60\00:41:51.87
to wait for that
second marshmallow
00:41:51.87\00:41:54.38
if you don't train them.
00:41:54.38\00:41:56.61
And so, if you keep
getting them out of trouble,
00:41:56.61\00:41:59.35
they're not learning
themselves that self-control
00:41:59.35\00:42:01.92
and discipline may
need to deny themselves
00:42:01.92\00:42:05.25
and so,
sometimes, yeah, it is tough.
00:42:05.25\00:42:07.79
Sometimes you need to say
we're not going to bail you out
00:42:07.79\00:42:10.83
and, you know, if
you've got a 40 year old son
00:42:10.83\00:42:13.23
and they're refusing to work
00:42:13.23\00:42:14.56
and they're
living in your house,
00:42:14.56\00:42:15.76
you might lovingly say,
00:42:15.76\00:42:17.73
"Here's my final
gift, it's a tent.
00:42:17.73\00:42:19.43
Go find a place to pitch
it, but you can't stay here."
00:42:19.43\00:42:23.37
And so sometimes
you help your kids
00:42:23.37\00:42:24.94
by not forever rescuing them.
00:42:24.94\00:42:27.21
All right, our final question
and that's coming, it says,
00:42:27.21\00:42:29.24
"Will tithing put me more
at risk of going into debt?"
00:42:29.24\00:42:34.72
Well, lets back
to that question.
00:42:34.72\00:42:36.05
There's a promise
that we have in Malachi 3,
00:42:36.05\00:42:40.02
God invites us to test Him.
00:42:40.02\00:42:42.79
I mean this is really,
the Lord is saying, look,
00:42:42.79\00:42:44.86
"If you really want to find out
00:42:44.86\00:42:46.13
if I am real, prove me, test me.
00:42:46.13\00:42:49.13
Bring all the
tithes into the warehouse
00:42:49.13\00:42:51.30
that there may
be food in my house
00:42:51.30\00:42:52.93
and see if I do not open
for you the windows of heaven
00:42:52.93\00:42:56.00
and pour out a blessing
00:42:56.00\00:42:57.77
that there will not be
room enough to receive it."
00:42:57.77\00:42:59.81
And He says, "And I will rebuke
the devourer for your sakes."
00:42:59.81\00:43:04.18
They were an
agricultural society
00:43:04.18\00:43:07.05
and they often
had pests and locusts
00:43:07.05\00:43:08.95
and things that
would eat up their crops
00:43:08.95\00:43:10.29
and they have a
very small harvest.
00:43:10.29\00:43:12.22
And God said, "I'll
make what you do have,
00:43:12.22\00:43:14.06
go much farther."
00:43:14.06\00:43:15.66
When God's people were
going through the wilderness
00:43:15.66\00:43:17.49
and they were faithful in
their tithes and offerings,
00:43:17.49\00:43:19.59
says, there's
shoes did not wear out,
00:43:19.59\00:43:22.23
their clothes did not wear out.
00:43:22.23\00:43:23.77
God will bless you with
one of those refrigerators
00:43:23.77\00:43:26.87
that goes for 40 years.
00:43:26.87\00:43:29.17
And so, yeah, I think
that you'll be way further head
00:43:29.17\00:43:33.27
if you are faithful.
00:43:33.27\00:43:34.31
Was that the last question?
00:43:34.31\00:43:35.58
I think we have one more.
00:43:35.58\00:43:36.81
It says, "Will I gain
personal benefit from tithing?"
00:43:36.81\00:43:41.58
Yeah, first of all, when
people talk about tithing,
00:43:41.58\00:43:44.32
pastors have to guard against
trying to make it sound like
00:43:44.32\00:43:46.76
you're prosperity
preacher, "If you pay tithe,
00:43:46.76\00:43:48.89
God's going to
give you more money."
00:43:48.89\00:43:51.19
Sometimes the way God
blesses you may not be money
00:43:51.19\00:43:53.86
and you may not need more money.
00:43:53.86\00:43:56.36
When you seek
first the kingdom of God,
00:43:56.36\00:43:58.93
He says everything you
need will be added to you.
00:43:58.93\00:44:01.77
But some of the most
important blessings are the joy
00:44:01.77\00:44:05.27
that comes from
knowing I've got peace
00:44:05.27\00:44:07.34
because I'm doing
what God wants me to do.
00:44:07.34\00:44:09.24
A lot of people get the blessing
00:44:09.24\00:44:10.95
of tithing immediately
after they write the check
00:44:10.95\00:44:13.65
or they make that gift.
00:44:13.65\00:44:16.15
A lot of people do it online now
00:44:16.15\00:44:17.59
because they just have
a piece in their heart,
00:44:17.59\00:44:19.59
I'm putting God first
00:44:19.59\00:44:21.66
and there's a real satisfaction.
00:44:21.66\00:44:23.12
And that's one blessing
00:44:23.12\00:44:24.19
and then the other
blessings I mentioned,
00:44:24.19\00:44:25.86
He'll open the windows of heaven
00:44:25.86\00:44:27.60
and pour out such a blessing
00:44:27.60\00:44:29.16
that it will not
all fit in your garage.
00:44:29.16\00:44:32.40
How many of you
have that blessing
00:44:32.40\00:44:33.97
doesn't all fit in your garage?
00:44:33.97\00:44:35.10
Thank you.
00:44:35.10\00:44:36.50
All right,
thank you, Pastor Doug
00:44:36.50\00:44:37.71
and thank you fans for sending
in your Facebook questions.
00:44:37.71\00:44:40.18
Just in the last few minutes,
I just want to summarize
00:44:40.18\00:44:42.64
some of the important points
00:44:42.64\00:44:43.95
that we looked at
here in the lesson
00:44:43.95\00:44:45.48
and probably, the most important
00:44:45.48\00:44:46.95
is learning to
live within your means.
00:44:46.95\00:44:49.48
Bible has
something to say about that.
00:44:49.48\00:44:51.02
I'm going to have somebody
read 1 Timothy 6:7 and 8,
00:44:51.02\00:44:54.29
so if you want to be ready.
00:44:54.29\00:44:55.72
But before you
read that, let me read
00:44:55.72\00:44:57.29
what Jesus said
in Matthew 6:31-33.
00:44:57.29\00:45:02.06
"Therefore Jesus said,
'Do not worry,' saying,
00:45:02.06\00:45:04.93
'What shall we eat?
00:45:04.93\00:45:06.70
What shall we
drink? What shall we wear?
00:45:06.70\00:45:09.47
For after all these
things the gentiles seek
00:45:09.47\00:45:11.91
for your heavenly Father knows
00:45:11.91\00:45:13.01
that you have need of
all of these things,'"
00:45:13.01\00:45:15.61
but what are we to do first?
00:45:15.61\00:45:17.58
"Seek first the kingdom
of God and His righteousness
00:45:17.58\00:45:22.02
and all these things
shall be added on to you."
00:45:22.02\00:45:24.59
Can you say amen to that? Amen.
00:45:24.59\00:45:25.99
Have you put God to the
test and sort Him first,
00:45:25.99\00:45:29.32
and God has provided your needs.
00:45:29.32\00:45:30.69
He doesn't promise that
00:45:30.69\00:45:31.79
He's going to
provide all your wants
00:45:31.79\00:45:33.16
but He's definitely
going to provide your needs.
00:45:33.16\00:45:35.50
David said in Psalms
37:25, "I have been young,
00:45:35.50\00:45:38.80
and now I'm old,
I have never seen
00:45:38.80\00:45:41.04
the righteous forsaken or
they see begging for bread."
00:45:41.04\00:45:45.41
Okay, 1 Timothy 6:7 and 8.
00:45:45.41\00:45:48.28
"For we brought
nothing into this world,
00:45:48.28\00:45:50.48
and it is certain we
can carry nothing out.
00:45:50.48\00:45:53.38
And having food and clothing,
00:45:53.38\00:45:55.48
with these we shall be content."
00:45:55.48\00:45:58.45
All right, unfortunately though
we're not often too content
00:45:58.45\00:46:01.96
just to have food and clothing,
we want little bit more, right?
00:46:01.96\00:46:04.69
Included in that
is, of course, housing.
00:46:04.69\00:46:06.53
God recognizes we
need to have a shelter,
00:46:06.53\00:46:08.86
we need to live in a house.
00:46:08.86\00:46:10.30
God is very
merciful and He's blessed
00:46:10.30\00:46:12.30
because I think most
of us will acknowledge
00:46:12.30\00:46:14.50
that our homes are a lot
more than just shelter, right?
00:46:14.50\00:46:17.87
So God is good.
00:46:17.87\00:46:18.94
He definitely takes care of us,
00:46:18.94\00:46:20.18
but probably one of
the most important keys
00:46:20.18\00:46:22.98
to living within our means.
00:46:22.98\00:46:24.31
And by the way as a Christian
that needs to be our priority.
00:46:24.31\00:46:27.55
Lord, give me the
strength, give me the wisdom,
00:46:27.55\00:46:29.32
give me the self-control
to live within my means.
00:46:29.32\00:46:32.85
Now, probably the most
important tool to living
00:46:32.85\00:46:35.56
within your means is
that of a simple budget.
00:46:35.56\00:46:38.06
I think every family
needs to have a budget.
00:46:38.06\00:46:41.73
I'm just going to
give you four quick tips,
00:46:41.73\00:46:43.57
now you might
already have a budget
00:46:43.57\00:46:44.77
and that's great, but
for those of you who don't,
00:46:44.77\00:46:47.37
let me give you four quick
tips about having a budget.
00:46:47.37\00:46:50.11
First of all, four
principles, number one,
00:46:50.11\00:46:53.14
give every dollar that
you earn a specific use,
00:46:53.14\00:46:57.85
put all your money to use.
00:46:57.85\00:47:00.12
Every dollar can be divided up
00:47:00.12\00:47:01.78
into one of the
following four categories,
00:47:01.78\00:47:04.12
your monthly
expenses, those, of course,
00:47:04.12\00:47:06.29
are your bills,
your debt payments,
00:47:06.29\00:47:09.92
your savings, or your investing,
00:47:09.92\00:47:13.29
or your giving, that of course
00:47:13.29\00:47:15.00
being your tithes
and your offerings.
00:47:15.00\00:47:17.27
So you want to
divide up all your income
00:47:17.27\00:47:19.20
into those four categories.
00:47:19.20\00:47:21.64
The next thing you need to
do is keep tabs on every dollar.
00:47:21.64\00:47:25.34
So you assign a
job for every dollar,
00:47:25.34\00:47:27.71
but then you
need to make sure that
00:47:27.71\00:47:28.78
that dollar is
doing that job, right?
00:47:28.78\00:47:31.08
So you need to keep
tabs on your spending,
00:47:31.08\00:47:33.35
so track your spending
00:47:33.35\00:47:35.05
especially in those
different categories.
00:47:35.05\00:47:36.82
Point number three,
00:47:36.82\00:47:38.29
don't rob from
Peter to pay Paul.
00:47:38.29\00:47:41.86
What often happens is you see
00:47:41.86\00:47:43.29
some fantastic deal at the store
00:47:43.29\00:47:45.19
and you only have
so much money allocated
00:47:45.19\00:47:47.86
to spend on whatever
this particular item is
00:47:47.86\00:47:50.80
but this is such a sweet
deal you just can't pass it by,
00:47:50.80\00:47:54.24
so what we
typically do is we will borrow
00:47:54.24\00:47:56.20
from one of the other categories
00:47:56.20\00:47:58.47
of our income
to get what we want
00:47:58.47\00:48:00.94
instead of waiting
until we have enough money
00:48:00.94\00:48:03.24
in that particular
fund to buy what we want.
00:48:03.24\00:48:05.91
You know what I'm talking about?
00:48:05.91\00:48:07.58
All right, so we want
to try and avoid the habit
00:48:07.58\00:48:09.48
of just moving money
from one fund to another.
00:48:09.48\00:48:12.49
And then the fourth thing
00:48:12.49\00:48:13.82
which we've
mentioned little earlier
00:48:13.82\00:48:15.09
and I do this personally,
I think this really helps
00:48:15.09\00:48:17.83
is frontload your credit cards.
00:48:17.83\00:48:19.93
There are value too,
00:48:19.93\00:48:21.26
there is value in
using a credit card.
00:48:21.26\00:48:23.13
There's different
perks that's available.
00:48:23.13\00:48:24.70
You can get points
that will help with travel
00:48:24.70\00:48:27.14
and some of these other
things, but what I typically do
00:48:27.14\00:48:29.67
is when I get my paycheck,
00:48:29.67\00:48:31.04
I'll divide it up
into different categories
00:48:31.04\00:48:32.84
and I will
prepay on a credit card
00:48:32.84\00:48:35.44
a certain amount of money
00:48:35.44\00:48:37.11
and it's actually
you'll see it's a negative
00:48:37.11\00:48:39.78
and that's a good thing.
00:48:39.78\00:48:41.15
And then as you
use the credit card,
00:48:41.15\00:48:43.12
I'll bring it back to zero.
00:48:43.12\00:48:45.12
And when the
credit card hits zero,
00:48:45.12\00:48:46.82
then I have to put
that credit card away
00:48:46.82\00:48:48.79
and I can't use it
until payday, right,
00:48:48.79\00:48:51.59
that's the goal.
00:48:51.59\00:48:52.83
So you can avoid going into debt
00:48:52.83\00:48:55.16
by prepaying on your credit card
00:48:55.16\00:48:57.03
or a debit card
and just use the money
00:48:57.03\00:48:59.17
that's already available.
00:48:59.17\00:49:00.50
So these are just
some basic simple tools
00:49:00.50\00:49:02.80
that hopefully we can use.
00:49:02.80\00:49:04.31
You know, as Christians, we
want to be faithful stewards
00:49:04.31\00:49:06.88
of the resources
that God has given us.
00:49:06.88\00:49:08.98
Don't think of your
income as your income,
00:49:08.98\00:49:11.68
think of it as a resource
00:49:11.68\00:49:13.28
that God has
given to you to manage.
00:49:13.28\00:49:16.35
And by God's grace
we want to manage it
00:49:16.35\00:49:18.22
to the very best of our ability.
00:49:18.22\00:49:20.69
Oh, we've got one more verse
00:49:20.69\00:49:21.72
that we're going to have it read
00:49:21.72\00:49:23.56
which I think summarizes
00:49:23.56\00:49:24.69
this whole subject of borrowing.
00:49:24.69\00:49:27.60
It's Proverbs 22:7,
00:49:27.60\00:49:30.83
and we'll have you
read that now, 22:7.
00:49:30.83\00:49:33.34
"The rich rules over the poor,
00:49:33.34\00:49:35.94
and the borrower is
servant to the lender."
00:49:35.94\00:49:39.34
Okay, there is the point.
00:49:39.34\00:49:40.81
The rich rule over the
poor, and the one who borrows
00:49:40.81\00:49:43.88
is a servant to
the one that lends.
00:49:43.88\00:49:47.12
How true that is.
00:49:47.12\00:49:48.75
I'd like to remind our friends
who are joining us on Facebook
00:49:48.75\00:49:52.02
and internet and online members
and those around the world,
00:49:52.02\00:49:54.92
we do have a free offer called
the "Flesh and the Spirit"
00:49:54.92\00:49:57.76
that really talks
about self-control
00:49:57.76\00:50:00.06
and how we can exercise that
00:50:00.06\00:50:01.40
very important principle
in all areas of our life.
00:50:01.40\00:50:03.97
To receive it, give us a
call on the resource phone line,
00:50:03.97\00:50:06.77
it's 866-788-3966
00:50:06.77\00:50:10.31
and you can ask
for offer number 792.
00:50:10.31\00:50:13.74
Thank you again,
friends, for joining us,
00:50:13.74\00:50:15.14
until next week,
00:50:15.14\00:50:16.68
we pray God's
special blessing upon you.
00:50:16.68\00:50:18.78
Amazing Facts Changed Lives.
00:50:22.85\00:50:25.99
I met my ex-wife and her family
were real big in the drugs
00:50:30.69\00:50:34.23
and they started out with them
wanting me to go to the doctor
00:50:34.23\00:50:37.80
to help get them drugs.
00:50:37.80\00:50:39.43
And, you know, I'm noticing
they're going to the doctor,
00:50:39.43\00:50:42.14
they're coming
back with like 60 pills
00:50:42.14\00:50:43.97
and they're selling these
pills for like 1000 bucks.
00:50:43.97\00:50:46.47
And I'm thinking,
wow, this is a lot of money
00:50:46.47\00:50:49.61
I'm giving these people,
00:50:49.61\00:50:50.75
so I'm just going to
start selling it myself,
00:50:50.75\00:50:52.95
but problem with that was
that we had all this money
00:50:52.95\00:50:56.12
but we were
absolutely miserable.
00:50:56.12\00:50:58.35
She would go out and sleep
with other guys to get drugs
00:50:58.35\00:51:02.72
and that ended my marriage.
00:51:02.72\00:51:04.79
But during this time,
00:51:04.79\00:51:06.03
I have to get a job
to be able to back up
00:51:06.03\00:51:08.13
to where I was at
to open my shop again,
00:51:08.13\00:51:10.30
so I get a job at Food City.
00:51:10.30\00:51:12.50
And when I get
this job at Food City,
00:51:12.50\00:51:14.44
there is my wife now
Rebecca, she's a cashier there.
00:51:14.44\00:51:18.21
And when I walk in,
she's the most beautiful girl
00:51:18.21\00:51:21.01
I've ever seen in my life.
00:51:21.01\00:51:22.38
I was like, "Man, I can
never have the girl like that."
00:51:22.38\00:51:26.15
Wow, she's so beautiful,
but as I'm working with her,
00:51:26.15\00:51:29.28
she's actually
kind of mean to me.
00:51:29.28\00:51:32.19
And she's saying, "I don't
want anything to do with you,
00:51:32.19\00:51:34.66
get away from
me," stuff like that,
00:51:34.66\00:51:36.73
but, you know, I'll
just keep being nice to her
00:51:36.73\00:51:38.83
and I keep trying to
give her my phone number.
00:51:38.83\00:51:41.26
And it's around Christmas Eve,
00:51:41.26\00:51:43.60
we've just been
dating for a little while
00:51:43.60\00:51:45.70
and moved in together.
00:51:45.70\00:51:46.87
My ex-wife shows up
with my three children
00:51:46.87\00:51:49.90
that I had by her
00:51:49.90\00:51:51.41
and she's like here's your kids,
00:51:51.41\00:51:53.11
here's their birth certificates,
00:51:53.11\00:51:54.41
here's their
self security cards,
00:51:54.41\00:51:55.98
I'm done, and we
are starting a family
00:51:55.98\00:51:58.48
we have already have three kids.
00:51:58.48\00:52:00.95
During this time, we spent
the next year watching nothing
00:52:00.95\00:52:04.19
but Amazing Facts on YouTube.
00:52:04.19\00:52:06.49
I didn't even know they
even had a website at this time,
00:52:06.49\00:52:08.59
I just knew that this little guy
00:52:08.59\00:52:10.09
on YouTube was super smart,
00:52:10.09\00:52:12.16
was teaching Bible,
and I wanted to follow him.
00:52:12.16\00:52:15.76
I wanted to be a Christian.
00:52:15.76\00:52:16.80
I gave my life to God
now because of these truths
00:52:16.80\00:52:19.97
that I'm learning
from Doug Batchelor.
00:52:19.97\00:52:22.24
Just because Doug told it
didn't make me real sure about
00:52:22.24\00:52:25.04
going to this church,
00:52:25.04\00:52:26.71
I really didn't want
anything to do with it
00:52:26.71\00:52:28.24
but I called the guy
up and I'm telling him
00:52:28.24\00:52:30.65
and I'm not very nice about
it actually, I'm telling him,
00:52:30.65\00:52:33.48
"Look, we were just thinking
about coming to your church
00:52:33.48\00:52:36.45
and he's really
nice and he's like,
00:52:36.45\00:52:38.05
"Well, you're
more than welcome too,
00:52:38.05\00:52:39.65
we'd like to have you come."
00:52:39.65\00:52:41.49
And I'm like, "Well, hold on,
00:52:41.49\00:52:42.56
I'm going to lay
down some ground rules."
00:52:42.56\00:52:44.83
I'm telling and
I said, "Look here,
00:52:44.83\00:52:45.96
I'm covered in tattoos
and I'm a tattoo artist."
00:52:45.96\00:52:48.96
And you don't
say, "Well, you know...
00:52:48.96\00:52:51.13
Well, I didn't know all
that don't come to my church."
00:52:51.13\00:52:53.03
He says, "You're
more than welcome,
00:52:53.03\00:52:54.84
we would love to
have you, please come."
00:52:54.84\00:52:58.91
He asked me what I
want to do and I said,
00:52:58.91\00:53:00.54
"Well, I want to preach."
00:53:00.54\00:53:02.78
I said, "I have
all these truths,
00:53:02.78\00:53:04.45
I have all this knowledge
stuff I've never known before,
00:53:04.45\00:53:07.52
stuff if I had
when I was younger
00:53:07.52\00:53:09.38
that would have
been life changing to me.
00:53:09.38\00:53:12.22
I said, "I got to
share this with the world."
00:53:12.22\00:53:14.89
I said, "I want to
preach, I want to teach."
00:53:14.89\00:53:17.63
He gives me the
books, I study that.
00:53:17.63\00:53:19.73
And now that I'm a Bible worker,
00:53:19.73\00:53:21.03
I'm able to go reach people
00:53:21.03\00:53:23.10
that most of the normal churches
00:53:23.10\00:53:25.17
wouldn't even
bother to even speak to.
00:53:25.17\00:53:27.47
I'm able to go out
and reach to people
00:53:27.47\00:53:29.50
and have lived the
lifestyle that I've lived.
00:53:29.50\00:53:31.84
I'm able to let him
know that, I'm like you,
00:53:31.84\00:53:35.41
I've been
there, I've done there.
00:53:35.41\00:53:37.78
I want to show you
what my life is like now,
00:53:37.78\00:53:40.25
I want to teach you this
Bible, I'm going to show you
00:53:40.25\00:53:42.75
what Jesus can do for
you, it's not too late.
00:53:42.75\00:53:46.35
Friends, are you
afraid of heights?
00:54:09.38\00:54:11.01
If so, you might want
to look away right now.
00:54:11.01\00:54:14.05
One of the most
famous attractions
00:54:14.05\00:54:15.58
in the San Francisco Bay area
00:54:15.58\00:54:17.45
is the iconic
Golden Gate Bridge.
00:54:17.45\00:54:20.22
While this world
famous bridge was named
00:54:20.22\00:54:22.26
as one of the seven
wonders of the modern world.
00:54:22.26\00:54:24.86
Few people know the
story of the brave men
00:54:24.86\00:54:26.90
who were involved
in its construction
00:54:26.90\00:54:28.76
and also known as the
Half Way to Hell Club.
00:54:28.76\00:54:32.70
Designed by a group
of visionary engineers
00:54:32.70\00:54:34.84
at 4,200 feet from end to end,
00:54:34.84\00:54:37.44
the Golden Gate
Bridge was at one time
00:54:37.44\00:54:39.34
the longest
suspension bridge in the world.
00:54:39.34\00:54:42.51
During its
construction from 1933 to 1937,
00:54:42.51\00:54:46.35
the Golden Gate Bridge
00:54:46.35\00:54:47.65
had one of the best
safety construction records
00:54:47.65\00:54:49.72
of any project during that time.
00:54:49.72\00:54:52.19
Keep in mind,
they would factor in
00:54:52.19\00:54:54.02
and calculate
that one man would die
00:54:54.02\00:54:56.29
for every million
dollars that was spent.
00:54:56.29\00:54:58.23
So with a budget of $35 million,
00:54:58.23\00:55:00.96
they knew that loss of
life would be unacceptable.
00:55:00.96\00:55:03.67
This is why the chief
engineer Joseph B Strauss
00:55:03.67\00:55:06.74
was absolutely adamant
00:55:06.74\00:55:08.10
about using the most
rigorous safety precautions
00:55:08.10\00:55:10.84
that it ever been
used in Bridgeville.
00:55:10.84\00:55:13.24
He had a local
manufacturer safety equipment,
00:55:13.24\00:55:15.88
designed special headgear
00:55:15.88\00:55:17.21
that he insisted
be worn on every job.
00:55:17.21\00:55:19.51
This became the prototype
for the modern hard hat
00:55:19.51\00:55:22.38
worn for the first time ever,
00:55:22.38\00:55:24.05
but the safety
precautions went even farther.
00:55:24.05\00:55:26.69
Strauss provided a special hand
00:55:26.69\00:55:28.59
and face cream to
protect their skin
00:55:28.59\00:55:30.43
from the cold biting wind
00:55:30.43\00:55:32.23
and glare free
goggles to protect their eyes.
00:55:32.23\00:55:35.00
In addition, they
also ate a special diet
00:55:35.00\00:55:37.40
to help ward off dizziness
00:55:37.40\00:55:39.20
when they were
working at those epic heights.
00:55:39.20\00:55:41.37
But the most
conspicuous safety precaution
00:55:41.37\00:55:43.94
was a gigantic net that
was suspended from end to end
00:55:43.94\00:55:47.38
under the entire
construction area
00:55:47.38\00:55:49.58
of the Golden Gate Bridge.
00:55:49.58\00:55:51.61
In fact, during construction,
00:55:51.61\00:55:53.92
this net saved
the lives of 19 men
00:55:53.92\00:55:57.09
who later became known as
the Half Way to Hell Club.
00:55:57.09\00:56:00.92
Now you need to keep in mind,
these were some of the most
00:56:00.92\00:56:02.92
dangerous construction
conditions you can imagine.
00:56:02.92\00:56:06.06
The wind was constantly blowing.
00:56:06.06\00:56:08.50
They were walking around on iron
00:56:08.50\00:56:10.37
that sometimes had
ice from the freezing fog.
00:56:10.37\00:56:13.60
In places, they
were over 700 feet
00:56:13.60\00:56:16.10
above the icy waters.
00:56:16.10\00:56:18.44
Yet, the men coming
from all walks of life
00:56:18.44\00:56:20.64
were willing to take these risks
00:56:20.64\00:56:22.54
because it was
during The Great Depression
00:56:22.54\00:56:24.71
and they would get
paid up to $11 a day
00:56:24.71\00:56:27.42
which was a fortune back then.
00:56:27.42\00:56:29.88
One of the other
benefits of the net
00:56:29.88\00:56:32.45
was they discovered that the men
00:56:32.45\00:56:33.89
were much more courageous
00:56:33.89\00:56:35.02
even though they
were walking high
00:56:35.02\00:56:36.69
on those slippery
surfaces because they knew
00:56:36.69\00:56:39.06
there was a
mechanism to protect them
00:56:39.06\00:56:40.80
if they should fall,
this gave them the confidence
00:56:40.80\00:56:43.40
and the courage to press on
00:56:43.40\00:56:45.17
and get the bridge
built in record time.
00:56:45.17\00:56:47.54
You know, friends, as Christians
00:56:47.54\00:56:48.90
we have a great work to do.
00:56:48.90\00:56:50.54
The Bible tells us that we
get to participate with Jesus
00:56:50.54\00:56:53.71
in building a bridge that
connects heaven and earth,
00:56:53.71\00:56:57.01
and there are
dangers along the way.
00:56:57.01\00:56:58.91
The devil would like
to paralyze us with fear
00:56:58.91\00:57:01.52
that we might
fall or make a mistake,
00:57:01.52\00:57:03.62
but we know that
Jesus has provided
00:57:03.62\00:57:05.59
a safety net for us and
we don't have to be afraid.
00:57:05.59\00:57:08.42
We can press on with confidence
00:57:08.42\00:57:10.23
because the promise is in
the Book of Jude verse 24,
00:57:10.23\00:57:13.03
he is able to
keep us from falling.
00:57:13.03\00:57:15.40
But sometimes we make mistakes,
00:57:15.40\00:57:17.40
still don't be
discouraged, friends,
00:57:17.40\00:57:19.20
if you read in 1 John 2:1,
00:57:19.20\00:57:22.07
the Bible says,
"If we fall, if we sin,
00:57:22.07\00:57:24.71
we have an advocate
with the Father Jesus Christ.
00:57:24.71\00:57:27.54
So let's press on together
00:57:27.54\00:57:28.94
and build that
bridge with Christ.
00:57:28.94\00:57:31.01
Can't get enough
Amazing Facts Bible Study?
00:57:39.95\00:57:42.86
You don't have to
wait until next week
00:57:42.86\00:57:44.63
to enjoy more
truth-filled programming.
00:57:44.63\00:57:47.23
Visit the Amazing Facts
media library at AFTV.org.
00:57:47.23\00:57:52.33
At AFTV.org, you can enjoy
video and audio presentations
00:57:52.33\00:57:57.17
as well as printed
material all free of charge,
00:57:57.17\00:58:00.44
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
00:58:00.44\00:58:03.04
right from your
computer or mobile device.
00:58:03.04\00:58:05.51
Visit AFTV.org.
00:58:05.51\00:58:08.15