Bible Text: Proverbs | Preacher: Pastor Steve
2016 US Debt (Fox Business News) Per Household:
The average total debt is $266,444
The average credit card debt is $16,061
The average mortgage is $172, 806
The average auto loan is $28,535
The average student loan is $49,042
MSN Money Reports Credit Card Debt In America:
8 is the average number of credit cards per person
14.71% is the average interest rate charged by banks
40% of active accounts are paid off monthly (60% are not)
43% of U.S. families spent more than they earned by +22% (US Federal Reserve Study)
Know Your Money
Proverbs 27:23-24 Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds, for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be secure for the next generation.
Anything that is left to itself has a tendency to deteriorate
Put any important area of your life on autopilot and risk deterioration or decline that is both subtle and destructive
Planning – Setting Financial Goals
Proverbs 21:5 Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.
Stress-free finances are based on how we spend what we have and not about how much we make
How do you spell relief?  B.U.D.G.E.T.
Biblical
Understanding of
Debt,
Giving and the
Economics of
Tithing
Saving Is Godly
Proverbs 22:3 A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
God wants us to save for the future
Proverbs 13:11: Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows.
Laziness Is Not Godly
Proverbs 6:6–8 Go to the ant, you sluggard: consider its ways and be wise…It labors hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.
Sluggard: a person who refuses to work, refuses to prepare
Proverbs 11:26 People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell.
James 5:1–3 Now listen, you rich people … your wealth has rotted …your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.
Trusting The Lord Is Right
Proverbs 11:28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.
Reduce or eliminate your debt (0%)
Live on less than you make (80%)
Tithe to the Lord (10%)
Save for emergencies (10%)
Enjoying Life Is Godly…The Principle Of Contentment
Proverbs 23:17-18 Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord. For surely you have a future ahead of you; your hope will not be disappointed.
Proverbs 30:7 O God, I beg two favors from you before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, who is the Lord? And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.
Why Is It We Get Into Debt In The First Place?
Hebrews 13:5-6 Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, I will never fail you. I will never forsake you. That is why we can say with confidence, the Lord is my helper, so I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
Isaiah 55: 1-2 Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink—even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk—it’s all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen, and I will tell you where to get food that is good for the soul!
What Motivates Us To Spend?
A Spirit Of Discontentment
The Lord Will Satisfy Us!
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
Giving And Tithing Is Godly
Giving Our First 10% Back To God Is A Tithe
God teaches us to give our FIRST FRUITS because in God’s Word the first of anything represents the best of the whole
Exodus 23:19 The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God