GYC SE 2009: More

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GYC Southeast

Faith and Finance

G. Edward Reid

Session 1: Planning Your Life for Success

Well, what I'm going to do is have a prayer and then go through 3 Bible verses and then the rest of it I have is on PowerPoint and we also have this on the internet so you can get up and download it off the internet and I'll show you the website and everything to get it.

So you want to just copy down the key text probably for when we do this.

So the theme here is planning your life for success.

If you don't plan your life, you just exist through it.

That's the general thing that I talk about.

So let's have a prayer, and then we'll start right in.

Heavenly Father, I want to thank you for the privilege we have of knowing you and we thank you for the opportunity to look at your word, especially as it relates to money management.

Now, not so much this 1, but the next 2, we're going to really get into real practical stuff about money, but I'm gonna ask you, have you ever thought is it appropriate to talk about money in church or on Sabbath?

Would you like for me to tell you why I think it is appropriate?

In the Old Testament And in the New Testament, probably 5 or 6 in each 1 of the Testaments, you have people who lost their life, probably their eternal life, because of their attitude toward money and possessions.

And Should we do a little exercise and see if we can name some of them?

Well he would have been except he changed his life.

What about Lot's wife got turned into a pillar of salt because she thought the things of this earth were more important than heaven?

Hezekiah nearly lost his life because of showing the Babylonians all of his wealth.

So anyway, if you want to jot down a couple of verses, we're just going to look at 2 or 3 to start with here.

And Proverbs is not a book about right and wrong.

It's the smartest guy who ever lived under inspiration.

So you know you have some stuff here that's very valuable.

Proverbs 3, by the way, I should tell you that the Bible has more than 2, 000 verses that deal with money and possessions and our attitude toward them.

That's more than any other subject in the Bible, more than sin or salvation or baptism or second coming or anything else.

So we're going to look at Proverbs 3 and starting with verse 5.

By the way, I know you have probably different versions.

That's the 1 that I use for my study and speaking.

It's nearly like the King James, except it doesn't have, you know, thee and thou.

But anyway, it's very similar probably to what you have.

Verse 5, trust in the Lord with all your heart and don't lean on or depend on your own understanding.

Would that include the management of our money when it says in all your ways?

It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones.

And then verses 9 and 10 are the real key part.

Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first fruits of all your increase.

So your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine." Now this is speaking to farmers, of course.

And so he says, I'm gonna bless your work.

Now I'm gonna show you something else that's very interesting.

We're gonna go over to Matthew and this is the Sermon on the Mount.

Right in the middle of it is Matthew 6 and we're looking at verses 19 and 20.

Do not store up treasures for yourself on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

Then it says, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Now, everybody here takes psychology the first year, right?

Well, you know what man's basic needs are, food, clothing, shelter, you know, those kind of things.

Therefore, do not worry, saying, What shall we eat?

For after these things the Gentiles seek.

For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.

And then verse 33, that seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.

So you understand, don't worry about that stuff.

Put God first and he'll take care of you.

So the pastor this morning spoke some about the resurrection of Lazarus.

God does not do for us what we can do for ourselves.

He does for us what we can't do for ourselves.

So we cooperate with him by doing what we can do.

For example, in the story, Jesus first said, where have you laid him?

Think he could have rolled away the stone?

But he didn't do what they could do for themselves.

And then when he came out, which would have been very interesting because he apparently just levitated, like just moving along a foot above the ground, why couldn't he walk?

And then Jesus said, loose him and let him go.

In other words, take all his stuff off of him.

So he had them do 3 different things, show him, move the stone, and take off the grave clothes.

So what I'm going to show you today is just because you're a Christian doesn't mean you don't work.

God's not going to take care of you, but he'll provide for you a job and so on.

Those are things that I think are interesting.

Session 2: Dealing with Credit Cards, Student Loans, and other Debts

Heavenly Father, we thank you that you've written so much in your word and you shared it with us regarding Money management and we pray that you help us to learn this principle well today so that we can practice in our lives Something will be valuable for each of us in Jesus name.

So I'm going to talk to you about debt free living Well, I can tell you that I've been in debt and I've been out of debt and out of debt is a whole lot better.

The Bible says the rich rules over the poor and the borrower is the servant of the lender.

By the way, the book of Proverbs has much about money management and the 22nd chapter has lots of stuff in it.

Anybody know what the verse right before this 1 is?

It's verse 6 of course, but what does it say?

Train up a child in the way it should go and when he's old he'll not depart from it.

So if you learn about money management when you're young, it's going to benefit you your whole life and I think you'll find it enjoyable.

Why debt is growing in the United States.

You know that in the last few years most Americans have not saved any money at all?

The most amazing thing is, we won't talk about all those things, North Americans are spending at a rate never before seen by previous generations.

Well, there's a great variety of items for purchase, for example, in all kinds of stores on the internet.

You can find almost anything you want on the internet or going to big malls like Hamilton Place, whatever.

Buying non-essential things just for fun or because they were bargains.

Current generation's lifestyle philosophy, we don't believe in delayed gratification.

In other words, we need it now, pay for it later.

I'm going to go really quickly through this because I want to get into the student loan things since it's really important for you.

You remember that in the last 5 or 6 years, you could get a home, a loan to build a house or to buy a new home even if you did not have a job.

They call them NENA loans, no income, no asset verification, up to $500, 000.

Many of the people who are having their homes foreclosed on right now are people who had 100% financing, which is bad news to begin with.

I didn't mention this to you, but we have the new book, Faith and Finance, and this is a gold mine of stuff.

If you learn and practice what's this in there, you're gonna be somebody's really good spouse someday, if you're not already.

And there's a leader's guide, also, really valuable stuff.

More people divorce over money management than any other topic.

Okay so we're going to go ease of credit.

People could get a loan by the way you don't want more than 80% loan if you even get a loan on a house.

1 you don't want to get upside down the loan if the values go down and another 1 is you have to pay private mortgage insurance PMI during that time that you have a mortgage under a certain level.

Prior to the recent economic downturn, the average person could acquire credit with little or no difficulty.

At the end of 2007, the Americans carried about $90 billion in credit card debt alone.

This means 90 billion carried over from month to month.

Credit card companies are not your friend.

Now, the real interesting part about all of this is in October of last year alone, in 1 month, credit card companies charged their customers 1.4 billion just in late fees.

By the way, if your credit card payment is a half hour late, 39 bucks.

So it's only gonna be on your credit card next time, even though you tried to pay it off.

Very interesting stuff that we could see.

Most of you know when you drive by a neighborhood, you see people with travel trailers in their yards or ski-dos or you know all kind of stuff that they hardly ever use.

Well somebody and to see that oh I'm going to tell you something you know that in Luke the 12th chapter the story of the rich fool is there and it talks about this guy that wanted to tear down his barn and build bigger barns.

Well we're thinking well that's way back then.

Let me tell you an interesting phenomenon.

More than 80% of Americans cannot park their car in their own garage.

And another thing is, 1 of the fastest growing businesses in America is the used store up places, where they have these little places where you can rent a place and put your stuff in there.

So their basement's filled, The attic's filled, the garage is filled, and then they rent something.

And I actually know a man who has 200 units of, you store it at Adventist Guy.

At any rate, he said, most of the time, the people do not have enough value in it to pay for 1 month's rent.

They buy expensive items they can't afford among these adult toys, cars, pleasure boats, motorcycles, jet skis, snowmobiles, and so on.

Another 1, eating out, 1 of my favorite places.

But I'm going to tell you something interesting.

If you eat out once a day, it will double the amount of money you spend in a month on food.

I actually counseled a couple 1 time that ate out all 3 meals every day in their whole family.

It's amazing really when you see these kind of things.

Recent USDA survey nationwide reported that 70% of teenage males eat out on an average day and the percentage of food money spent on meals eaten away from home average 40% plus of their food.

Well another 1 is make eating out special another 1 unexpected bills.

I'm going really through fast to this is why people are getting in debt so if you get a bill you're not expecting well just put it on the credit card.

3 spending areas that cause many families problems motor vehicles.

By the way in the book here I just want to talk this over and over again I am not getting a cent.

I edited this book and wrote most of it but we dedicated to the North American division and there's no royalties to me or anyone but I want to tell you there's amazing stuff in here there's a chapter on how to make major purchases, how to buy a car and get a good deal, how to purchase a house and not get upside down on the mortgage, you understand it's basic really really good stuff So I really would highly recommend it.

Medical expenses of course can do something.

Household expenses beyond the mortgage payments such as taxes, insurance, and so on.

Session 3: Life in Financial Partnership With God

Heavenly Father, again, we thank you for the word that you've given us and we thank you for the inspired men that have been used by you and we pray that you'll inspire us with the same Holy Spirit as we look at these important texts today in Jesus name.

What does it mean to be in financial partnership with God?

It means that your life's going to be a lot less stressful.

And it means you're going to be more contented with what you have.

And it's going to mean that when Jesus returns, he will say, well done, good and faithful servant.

I'm going to tell you something interesting.

As 1 who uses a computer a lot and you do a research on it, the words well done are only spoken to those who manage their money Christianly.

Well done is only spoken to those who manage their money Christianly.

So the Bible says in Deuteronomy 16, 16 and 17, they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.

Every man shall, that should be give as he is able according to the blessing of the Lord, your God, which he has given you.

Then giving to God is by far the most significant financial factor in life management.

Kathy, who has been the manager of our family, and I'll just tell you, we just had our 42nd anniversary, and she's been managing our money all these years And she said you know there are many times When if I had waited till the last thing to write the tithe check we wouldn't have had enough money But she always writes it first thing and somehow God has blessed us incredibly ways that we could not imagine and if you can imagine working on a pastor's salary even though I'm an attorney the thing I was going to tell you earlier I didn't mention it you know that if you're a professional person you make a hundred thousand a year?

I should have added unless you decide to work for the church because whatever level of education you have doesn't make that much difference.

When I went to law school and I came back working for the conference my pay scale was exactly the same and has been since that time as a pastor.

I believe that we should all of us get as much education as we can.

We're told that God can use anyone through his spirit, but those who have an education stand on vantage ground.

Look up vantage if you want to and you'll see it, real simple, that you stay on vantage ground.

In other words, God will give you opportunities that you don't have.

I mean, incredible things have happened to us.

And I'll just tell you, this is kind of like a GYC.

Well, you know, I've spoken at GYC at Chattanooga and San Jose and other places.

Well, they're doing a GYC next year in Australia and I've been asked to come as a speaker over there.

Well the awesome thing is the rewards are not all monetary.

In addition to that, God says great is your reward in heaven when you work with him and I think that's going to be true.

So I think we should all be so valuable the church can't afford to pay us what we're really worth.

And that's my personal philosophy about this.

So we're going to look at when we put God first, he will give us wisdom and he will bless us.

Now I've already told you about Proverbs 3, but I want to talk to you now about Deuteronomy 28.

And you know in Deuteronomy 28 there's something very very interesting phenomenon.

Does anybody know the setting of what Deuteronomy actually is?

The idea is God stopped the Israelites right before they crossed the Jordan River into the land of promise And Moses gave them his last 4 sermons.

And Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land.

Do you sometimes have a difficult time understanding the Bible when it gives hard things to see?

For example, Moses said to the people, I wanted to cross over into the promised land in the worst way, but God said, you're not going over and don't ever mention that to me again.

I mean, he worked with the Israelites, this stiff neck people for 40 years, and God did not allow him to cross into Jordan, across the Jordan, for what reason?

He was disobedient by striking the rock instead of speaking to it in God's name.

This is kind of, and he'd already asked forgiveness for it.

But remember I told you earlier, and listen, the preachers here have been talking about this today as well and last night, and I want to tell you something interesting.

The most important thing you could ever figure out for yourself is God's will for you.

So whenever you pray, you ask, Lord, this is what I think I need, but I'm going to ask you for your will to be done.

Moses wanted to cross over to the promised land in the worst way, and God said, you're not going over.

What you're gonna do is you're gonna climb up on this mountain and I'll let you look across.

God said, I'm gonna give you sensory perceptions you've never had.

If you read about this in Prophets and Kings, Ellen White says when he looked into Jordan across the river, he not only saw greenery, he saw grapes on the vineyards.

I mean this is like, I don't know how many times, 150 magnification or something.

He could smell the flowers and he could hear the birds singing.

And God said to him, now you've seen where they're going.

I want you to lay down here and die, and the angels will come and bury you, and nobody will ever know where you died, and nobody's gonna make a shrine out of your gravesite.

Now this is an interesting situation, and he did that.

Now most of you know that Moses could have been a pharaoh of Egypt.

You guys know enough about archeology and history to understand that.

But he chose rather to suffer affliction with God's people and so on.

The amazing thing, if he had chosen that route, where would he be today?

He would be a mummy in the Cairo Museum or the British Museum.

I mean, that's probably what's going to happen to him.

If he had gone into Palestine as he really wanted to do, he would be dead and buried.

But God said, my will for you is not either 1 of those.

The Bible says that Christ himself came down and fought with the devil over the body of Moses and took him to heaven.

And he was thereby there and was able to come down to the Mount of transfiguration.

And this is a real interesting story to me when you see that.

So Moses is giving, he's not going in, so he's telling the Israelites these things.

The first 14 verses are all the promises to faithful people who are in covenant with God.

But the last verses, and there's 53 of them, are curses.

Remember in Malachi, the third chapter says you're cursed with a curse, even this whole nation?

You do not want to get involved in these curses.

I've never heard anybody give a sermon on the curses.

But we're only gonna look at the blessings.

So let's look at the first part of Deuteronomy 28.

Now it shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God to observe carefully all of his commandments which I command you today that the Lord your God will put you, set you on high above all the nations and all these blessings shall come on you and overtake you because you obey the voice of the Lord your God.

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Faith and Finance

Session 2: Dealing with Credit Cards, Student Loans, and other Debts

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Parts

Session 1: Planning Your Life for Success

43m

Session 2: Dealing with Credit Cards, Student Loans, and other Debts

50m

Session 3: Life in Financial Partnership With God

50m

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