Last week we started a series on fears, a lot
of them spinning out from the events of 9-11. As
a nation, we're living in a different situation,
different times, not new, but different. We've
known the fear of war and terror which was our
first subject last week - fear of terror and war-because
we've been there before. How many of you remember
the air raid practices and preparations as school
children of World War II? How many remember the
fear of nuclear annihilation in all of the drills
getting underneath the tables and chairs? So it's
nothing new. How do we respond to them? How do
we cope with them? Well the answer is, and last
week we talked about it, faith. Faith plays a big
role, an important role. It played a greater role
in our culture in the '60's. It always played a
great role in the Middle Eastern church, and that's
how they are able to survive there.
Today we are talking about another stress that
has appeared, again it's not new, but it's different
recently. That's the fear of financial insecurity.
It is no accident that the terrorists attacked
the World Trade Center. It was their intention
to destabilize the U.S. economy, and actually we
were in an economic downturn even before then.
We have been, the last four years, in economically
unstable times, and if your emotions follow the
economy or the stock market, it has been an up
and down ride almost daily. It goes up, and daily
it goes down. That has been how our emotions have
run. In the last three years, three million jobs
have been lost - many of our own members. Recently
we've probably lost 50 or 60 members simply because
of relocations due to job loss and the need to
find work. How do you cope with that? How do we
cope with that as a people? How do we cope with
that as a church? Again, it's not unique. We have
been here before, haven't we? Some of you are old
enough to remember Black Thursday, October 24,
1929. Some of you have experienced or probably
all of you have experienced financial pressure,
haven't you, financial, stressful times?
My first experience with financial stress was
when I was probably five or six years old. I remember
opening the basement door and hearing my father
pound the furnace, "I don't have the money!" And
I remember people taking truckloads of furniture
out of the house. I remember distinctly the mini
bike, and saying, "Why are they taking our mini
bike, Daddy?" It's a difficult thing to go through.
I saw my father go through bankruptcy three times.
I've seen him waken from a dead sleep because of
the pressure of finances, and I've experienced
that myself. We've all experienced them. Sometimes
our troubles, our financial pressures, are caused
by ourselves - our mistakes that we make, and sometimes
they're just no fault of anyone. They just happen.
Being a construction family, it hinges on the economic
growth, and when there's economic downturn sometimes
the construction market goes down and things are
lean. That's kind of part of life. How do you deal
with life? How do you deal with that kind of pressure?
If you let it, it can make you very cranky. It
can cause you to do some very dumb things, like
neglect your family and work some obscene hours.
It can cause you to lose sleep, lose your health.
It can even cause you, and has caused some people,
to take their own lives, which is a permanent solution
to a very temporary problem. That is indeed not
the answer. Well what is the answer?
Well, one thing that's clearly not an answer,
is more. More is never an answer to financial stress,
and yet everyone concludes when they're having
financial problems, that all they need is more.
All they need is a new job or better job that pays
more. Larry Burkett who was probably
one of the leading financial advisers in our nation,
and just recently passed away, has counseled thousands
of people, people from every economic strata. What
he noticed is this, that those who made "30", thought
the answer to their problems was just ten thousand
more, and those who made $40,000 thought all they
needed was another $20,000. He had lawyers who
made $100,000 who thought the answers to their
problems were $25,000 more. Heart surgeons who
believed the answer to their problems was another
$100,000 or a few more hundred thousand dollars
than they were making. What he discovered is: it's
not true. We always spend what we make, and as
a result financial stress always has this way of
following us. Has that been your experience? The
more you make - has it solved your financial problems
or the issue of financial stress or instability?
Well, the answer is, no.
Well, what's the answer? We're going to look at
Philippians 4:11-13, 18-19, and I'm going to use
also, 6-7. It's not an exhaustive list, it won't
be an exhaustive message because there are so many
things that could be said, so I included a Scripture
list and also a resource list for further reading
if you're going through economic problems, you
need to get counseling on it or you may need some
additional resources. I encourage you to look at
those and read those. Here's what it says (reads
text). (Prayer).
Well, what's the answer? I'm going to put it in
very simple one-word statements. First, key to
financial peace or coping with financial instability
is contentment - learning to
be content. What contentment is, is simply being
happy with whatever God provides you, little or
much; simply being happy with what God provides
you. It's interesting that Paul says it's something
he learned. It's not automatic. It doesn't come
naturally because the natural inclination of us
all is to want more, to have better, to increase.
Paul says he had to learn to overcome this human
tendency to covetousness, to desire, to wanting
what we do not have. If you pursue that longing,
if you pursue that craving, it's an endless pursuit.
You will crave it for the rest of your life, and
your life will become very devoid of meaning, and
you will always feel, for your entire life, pressure
caused by finances. There's a better way, and the
better way Paul says is to learn to be content.
Well, what does he know about money and everything,
he's a preacher?! Well, it's interesting. You look
at Paul's life. What do you find out about him?
Well, you know that he is born into a Jewish family.
His mother is Jewish. His father is Greek. It says
that he is born a Roman citizen, meaning his family,
at one point, paid for or gained Roman citizenship,
which was extremely costly, so he came from a wealthy
family. You know he's also coming from a wealthy
family because he's a scholar. He went to the best
institutions and read a lot of books. Only those
from rich families were able to do that then. He
became part of the Pharisees' tradition of scholarship,
and what we know about the Pharisees' tradition
is that they were very well paid. In the rich sections
of Jerusalem, all those houses were owned by Pharisees
and Saducees, religious leaders of the day. So,
it was an extremely well-paid position, but you
come to Acts 9 when Paul encounters Christ and
with what he discovers, he gives it all up for
the sake of the gospel, and the gospel ministry.
In Corinthians when he encounters Aquila and Priscilla,
you notice that he is now making tents. He had
to take up another profession. The budget wasn't
being met. He needed some more income or needed
some income, period. So he supplements his income
by tent making. You come to this text and you come
to the end of Acts and you find that Paul's wealth
is gone. He's been part of the court system. He
has had the endless pursuit of appeals to save
his life. What we know about that time is that
the Roman court system was extremely expensive.
You come to Philippians, and he is living off of
the good will and charity of others. His wealth
is gone. How would you feel if that was your life?
Everything's gone. And yet he said , and I know
it had to have been hard because he said, "I had
to learn this." But he learned to just say "It's
o.k., it's o.k. I've learned to live within God's
limits." He learned that if God supplied money
for a Jaguar, he drove a Jaguar, but now he's driving
a used Yugo. He used to eat at La Bourgeois Café,
now he's eating prison food. He shopped at Lord
and Taylor's for the best of suits, and now he's
shopping at Goodwill, and yet through it all, he
says, "I've learned to be content." "I've learned
that that's not what life is all about." "I've
learned there's something more important." "I know
that God is far more important and brings much
greater meaning, and I'm at peace with it." Paul,
you notice, is happy. He's a very content man because
he has learned to live within the limits of God's
provision, and if you want to deal with stress
caused by finances, that's the secret.
Learning to live within the limitations of God's
provision may take, for many of us, a lifestyle
adjustment. Doesn't it? It takes a lifestyle adjustment.
In fact, every great financial advisor, and there
are a lot of good ones, Ray Linder, Mary Hunt,
Joanne McCovey, would agree. Mary Hunt, at one
point, was over $40,000 in debt, just in credit
cards, and things were just out of control, and
they lived with incredible pressure. Read her story.
It's a tremendous story. What she discovered was
that she needed a lifestyle adjustment, and a tip
that all of them give, is learn to live on seventy
percent of your take-home income. If you are in
high debt, particularly in credit, stop using credit
cards, because you are spending future money. You
are not living on God's present provision for your
life. It's not easy. It takes some creativity.
It takes some patience. Two areas of savings that
were discovered are in entertainment and housing.
If your entertainment bill is over six percent
of your monthly income, then you need to make some
changes. Try eating at home (usually, people spend
it on restaurants). Cook from scratch more. If
you're in a house and your monthly payment is over
32% of your monthly income, then you will never
experience freedom from financial stress unless
you downsize. You've got to get into a house which
fits your income. How many rooms do I really need?
Do I really need two dining rooms? Do I need a
family room, a living room and a finished basement?
Do I really need three bathrooms? You've got to
ask those hard questions, and learn to live within
God's provisions. Sheryl Crow sings a wonderful
song. She really defines what contentment is. She
is kind of a secular artist, and this is what she
says, "I don't have digital. I don't have diddly-squat," it's
not great English but, "I don't have diddly-squat,
it's not having what you want, it's wanting what
you've got. I'm gonna soak up the sun, gonna tell
everyone to lighten up." The key to freedom from
financial stress is just that - not longing to
have what you want, but wanting what you actually
have. It's something that God provides, and lighten
up. Lighten up on your debt. Lighten up on yourself.
Don't be so driven. Enjoy life. Life is more than
the substance of things.
Secondly, Paul mentions, there is something it
takes to live a lifestyle that's adjusted this
way, to live contentedly. It takes tremendous trust which
is the very underpinning of contentment. It is
the basis of Christianity; it's what we do when
we gain our salvation. We basically trust God. "God,
I've run my life the way it is, it's not working
well. I submit my life totally to you. I accept
your provision for Jesus in my life. I thank you
for forgiving my sins. I cling to the gospel for
the promise of Heaven." That's basic Christianity.
That's the basic commitment we make, and we give
everything to Him. Well, part of that is our finances.
Have you given God your finances? Have you said, "You
know what, God, I know that money is not it. Money
is something we use and helps us get by, but it's
not the meaning of life. It's not what's most important.
You are. You are, God. You alone are God, and I
trust You. I submitted my life to You, and I trust
You, and I give you my finances. I give You my
future. I give You the meaning for my life. I give
You my contentment. I give You it all. Lord, teach
me to focus and trust You with everything." Have
you done that? Paul was able to do that.
Financial worries, though, are the direct opposite
of that because when you are feeling financial
pressure, where is your focus? Is your focus on
God? No. Your focus and our focus is on money;
is that really the proper focus? If you're focusing
on money all the time, then indeed, stress builds
up and you forget about God. Jesus even warned
us about this. You cannot serve God and money because
if your focus begins to shift towards money, you
begin to forget God. God gets replaced by money.
Jesus even warned if you try to serve both, you
will give your greater allegiance to one and it
usually is money, because that's the power of wealth.
Deuteronomy 8, 1 Timothy 6, Proverbs 30:7-9, all
tell us this basic same thing. Here's what Proverbs
says, (reads text) . That's the power
of money, if it's your focus it will ultimately
replace God and you will be forever stressed about
it. Money is a terrifying god to serve! Why? Because
it's capricious. It's fickle. It goes up and down.
It's here and it's gone. Where is the dot.com wealth
today? Think about it. Where is the dot.com wealth?
Where has the stock market been? Up and down, up
and down. If that's your focus, that's your emotional
roller coaster, then. That's why you're feeling
up and down, up and down, because the market is
not constant. It's always changing. It always fluctuates,
which is exactly what God says about money. "Cast
but a glance at riches, and they are gone. They
sprout wings, and they fly off to the sky like
an eagle, therefore, do not wager yourself out
to get rich. Show some wisdom of restraint." And
that's money. If you put your confidence in money,
and your self-esteem and self-worth is based upon
your success financially, what happens when the
market goes up and down, or you lose your job,
what happens? Well, your self-esteem goes up and
down, up and down. It's never constant. You feel
awful, and if you are going through financial hard
times right now, you feel like a failure! And you're
not, because that's not the proper basis for who
you are. You are more than what you do nine to
five. The basis for who you are, your personal
self-esteem, is based on two constants. One, you
are created by God in His image and as a result
you have intrinsic worth; and two, God loves you.
Romans 8:35-39 reminds us, this was our memory
verse for this past week (reads text). If
your focus is on this life, troubles can separate
you from God. But if your focus is on God, who
is constant, what you're sure of, no matter what
happens, up or down, lose my home, or become unemployed,
it doesn't matter. I know there is one constant
in my life: there is a God and He loves me. The
problems are temporary things. The economy goes
up and down. Jobs come and go, God doesn't. I'll
make it. I'm not a failure. This too will pass,
and Jesus reminds us of that very thing, and He
encourages us in Luke 12, listen (reads text). Where's
your treasure? Where's your heart? If you want
to experience peace even during financial downturns,
then put your hope in God. God has promised in
verse 19, "and my God will meet all your needs
according to His riches, in Christ Jesus." If you
want to soak up something, soak up that. Soak up
the sun. Not the S-U-N, but the S-O-N. Rest in
His promises.
Now, "Pastor that sounds real good, but I have
fits of panic and worry, and it climbs on me from
time to time, and I just can't overcome it." Well,
again Paul gives us a very practical help when
you're going through that stress that wakes you
up at night, that takes away your taste buds, when
you experience that, PRAY . "Do
not be anxious about anything, but in everything
by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present
your requests to God and the peace of God which
transcends all understanding will guard your heart
(and the words guard your heart means guard your
heart like a military sentry) and your mind in
Christ Jesus." In your bulletin take out the bulletin
journal and turn to where it says, "Make the unafraid
prayer your own." This is the basic model, a help
for all of us as we go through these financially
difficult times, when you feel the stress, I encourage
you to pray. You can use your own prayer, but if
you don't know what to say this is a good prayer
to use. It has two blanks to fill in:
"Lord, I know that when I feel afraid, you want
to calm my heart. Yet at this moment, I'm not at
peace about _________________. The enemy wants
me to be consumed by this fear. But your Word reminds
me: (fill in Romans 8:35-39, for example) .
Thank you that I can face my fears unafraid, knowing
you are always with me. Amen."
Pray things like Luke 12. Life is not about things. (Reads
text). I encourage you to take that and
pray that, and take that scripture passage, scripture
lesson and use a different scripture each time.
Re-focus and see whether or not indeed you become
quiet and at peace. Now, it won't happen magically.
A magic wand is not going to appear and just
wave all your problems away, but with time and
patience, things will improve. You will be able
to cope with the pressure, and if you're unemployed
right now or if underemployed, it's important
to accept it. Then humble yourselves, and take
whatever work comes for the time being. Knowing
that something is better than nothing. Have a
support system. Notice Paul continued to utilize
his support system which was the church. I encourage
you to share your problems with others. Everyone
has gone through the same exact thing you have
gone through. You can't deal with that pressure
alone, and we're here. The church is here. Let
us bear that burden with you, and then be willing
to receive help. Notice that Paul humbled himself
enough to receive help. Don't rob your fellow
parishioners from living out their faith, and
then wait and relax and let God's joy come upon
you. Like the song says, "I'm gonna soak up the
sun, gonna tell everyone to lighten up." Lighten
up, lighten up, enjoy what God has already provided,
and His promise that He will indeed provide and
take care of us and all of our needs. Rest in
that. (Prayer).
Financial Resource List
(By Trusted Authors)
By Larry Burkett:
Money Matters
The Complete Financial Guide for Young
Couples
Any book by Larry is good! Also
go on line and see what services his ministry, "Crown
Financial Ministries," provides. You can even
call a 1-800 number and get free advice on money
matters . www.crown.org
1-800-722-1976.
----------------------
By Mary Hunt:
Debt-Proof Living
The Financially Confident Woman
Debt-Proofing Your Marriage
Cheapskate Monthly
Mary Hunt understands financial stress and instability.
Mary and her husband racked up $40,000 in credit
card debts. They barely made the minimal monthly
payments. Though both worked they had little to
show for their wealth and the constant stress was
unbearable. Discover how she went from debt to
debt-free living. www.cheapskatemonthly.com .
----------------------
By Ray Linder:
Seven Secrets to Reduce Financial Worry
What Do I Do With My Money?
----------------------
By Jonni McCovy
The Frugal Family: How to Live on One
Income
Coping with Financial Insecurity Scripture
List
| Psalm 30:5 |
Psalm 37:25 |
Psalm 127:1-2 |
| Psalm 145:14-21 |
Proverbs 3:9, 21-26 |
Proverbs 23:4-5 |
| Proverbs 30:8-9 |
Matthew 6:25-34 |
Luke 12:22-34 |
| John 14:27 |
I Peter 5:6-8 |
I Timothy 6:6-10 |
| Hebrews 13:5-6 |
Philippians 4:4-13,18-19 |
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