Desperate Households Part 7 -- Desperate for Financial Freedom

Abba, please help us to all receive financial freedom. Give us the peace and responsibility to live within our means. Help us to be happy and content with what we have and give us the ability to live with what we have and our given. Help us to entangle ourselves from debts and bills and live responsibly.

Notes....

This is the last sermon on Desperate Households playing off the Desperate Housewives series.

God loves us all and wants us to live a purpose-filled life and allow Him to speak to us and He wants us to respond to Him. When God is prompting us to make changes in our lives, we need to make those changes.

Money is near and dear to all of our hearts. It shows the desires and direction of our heart. Look at your checkbook and see where your money is going and see where your priorities are in life... what are you spending your money on?

4 principles to help you in your life and be prosperous in life, relationship, and finances.

1 Timothy Chapter 6:6-10. We need to be content with what we have.

6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Do not become obsessed with having more and more money and more and more material things. Be content with what you have.

Our world is trying to get to your obsession and your desires with all the advertisements that we see. We think we can buy happiness and Satan deceives that we can. True happiness comes from God.

1st principle. Avoid debt. You can live a life of freedom if you avoid debt. Most homes have at least 6 credit cards and are paying off 4. Credit cards make over 75% of their revenue off of your inability to pay off your card each and every month.

God doesn't say that we can't borrow. Proverbs 22:7.

7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

If you borrow, you better have the intentions of paying it back. You do become slave to the lender. If you have an emergency happen in your life, you panic and you get more and more cards until another emergency happens and the charges add up. This debt is not healthy. Some debts like owning a home, is responsible. We need to think about our purchases before we buy them. Be slow and deliberate in your purchases...save up money...look for sales. Be responsible on how you live. Financial peace isn't about obtaining more money to buy more things it's learning to be how to be responsible stewards over the money that you already have.

4 traps that we fall into when it comes to money:
We overestimate the importance of wealth.
We want instant gratification.
We don't anticipate hard times. Too many people live paycheck to paycheck.
We spend more than our resources allow.

Things we can do to avoid the traps.
Accept responsibility.
Acknowledge the bondage in your life.
Come up with a plan to get out of it.

2nd principle... Budget. Tell your money where to go instead of letting your money tell you where it went. Keep a record of what you spend. Married couples need to do their budget together and stick to the budget. Pay bills as they come in. Get rid of the smallest bill first and then move on to the next one on and on up until the biggest one is paid off.

3rd principle. Invest. We need to save for things later in life.

4th principle. Giving to God. Be a generous giver. Be willing to share with others. God has given you a desire to give. Honor the Lord with your wealth. We need to be generous to those who are in need. We need to give what is God's back to Him as well.

God only gives us what is intended for us. We need to manage what we have responsibly. We leave this earth with exactly what we came in with. What matters is where our hearts lie.