Sermon Tone Analysis
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Financial Peace
There’s An Elephant In the Room
There’s an elephant in the room.
That’s just a metaphor describing an enormous topic or issue.
Everybody knows about, but nobody likes to talk about.
We can refer to an obvious problem we would like to work around or try to avoid.
Tonight we’re going to look at something that the Bible wants us to look at.
Has a lot to say about.
And something we all need to look at.
The Church must talk about.
But not many people like to.
We’re going to talk about money.
And not the American Dream - the Kingdom one.
We’re living in a world consumed with worshipping this elephant.
Can you love God and mammon?
I want to say something from the very outset of this: It’s the intention of God that you be blessed.
Text
And I would tell you this: we shouldn’t be pretending either way.
We should be real.
If you’ve got to pretend to be rich, that’s not a heart after the things of God.
And if you have to pretend to be poor, that’s not humility.
It’s false humility.
God’s gonna help us.
We’re going to talk about an elephant in the room.
We’re going to talk about a topic that has as much in this book as anything else, if not more.
We need to pray that our hearts would be prepared to receive.
I heard a Pastor in Illinois say that they went through a time of massive revival directly following teaching on money.
How many know it’s His, anyway???
Let’s pray
Financial Peace
It is no stretch or exaggeration when I say that individuals, families, homes, and churches are under great stress and attack today.
And you are not exempted from stress just because you are spiritual.
If it can, stress will find you, and stress will try to cling to you.
There are some things we can do nothing about.
We need a word from God.
We need Him to move.
But there is some stress that we can be a part of fixing.
Psychologist and therapists all agree that indebtedness is one of the major stresses on homes today.
It sits among the leading cause of divorce.
This all-to-common way of living beyond our means leads to consumer and credit card debt and often leads to broken marriages and hurting homes, with fear and uncertainty.
How many know that’s NOT the will of God for His people?
Too many disciples of Jesus Christ end up just like the guy on the screen.
Play video: “I’m In Debt Up To My Eyeballs”
There’s a verse for this:
I’ve met people that live in houses so nice they don’t have furniture to furnish them with.
The sad parallel to that is I have met people who look Christian but find out they are so hollow on the inside that there is an echo.
I don’t want to just look Christlike, I want to BE Christlike.
There are many people who have lots of nice stuff, but every single thing is financed.
All their cars are owned by the bank.
And I’m not coming after people who work at banks.
I did for awhile.
People take vacations and let the bank pay for them.
And then they spend the next two years trying to pay for them.
Clothes.
Owned by Bank of America.
Chase.
Most of us own a lot more than it appears.
While having a Father who owns it all!
Turn to somebody and tell them, “It’s not God’s will!” Tell someone else, “Why’s he taking a Wednesday night to talk about money?”
I’m glad you asked.
Here’s why:
And the only one I’m supposed to serve is God.
The real elephant in the room is DEBT.
I’m not going to ask you for money today, but I am going to ask you to be weird, and go against America’s trend, to actually GET OUT of debt.
I’m talking about changing our ways because we care less about what our neighbor thinks and more about what the King thinks!
I’m going to ask somebody to get frustrated, maybe even mad about being in debt and forced to think that that’s totally normal and the way everyone lives.
I’m here to tell you THAT’S NOT the way everyone lives and IT’S NOT the way you have to live.
“Well, I’ve got medical debt!” God will help.
He’s still helping our family.
Am I the only one who’s ever got a call about it?
You lie, you fry!
But God can help you with those things.
He definitely helped us, and still is.
But we have to manage his things correctly.
That’s called being a good steward.
Taking care of God‘s stuff.
I was taught that early!
8 Principles
Let me say this: the principles I’m about to share, they are not new.
And several of them Dave Ramsey teaches.
You need to get ahold of his stuff.
Also, I’ll be transparent.
I haven’t alway been following these.
Sis.
LaRue and I are still working through a plan we’ve made on our finances.
It’s long-term.
But God has blessed us because we took it seriously.
#1 - Avoid Debt
America, in particular has a culture of debt.
And the culture is failing.
Debt is not always the answer to being able to afford something in the now.
Yes, it allows you to make the purchase in the instant, but at what cost?
We ought to count the cost.
And not just in the short term!
I hear a lot of people say, “Oh, I got THIS car for THIS payment!”
The focus has been put on this small payment, but not much focus on the total cost you will pay.
Avoid debt.
Now, obviously situations are different.
A house has to be paid for somehow.
But if debt can be avoided, it should be.
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