Rev. David Holwick Q The Holes of Life #5
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
May 31, 2009
Deuteronomy 28:12-13
|
I. Debt is a world-wide problem.
A. Drastic measures for desperate times.
Chen Fuchao, a Chinese businessman, was in hock for a
quarter of a million dollars.
And the world economy kept going down.
So Chen climbed up on a bridge and spent several hours
contemplating suicide.
Lots of people were looking on.
One of them, a 66-year-old man, found his way through the police
lines, climbed up on the bridge, and shook Chen's hand.
Then he pushed him off.
Fortunately there was an inflated cushion about 25 feet below.
Why did the guy push him?
He said it was because he thought Chen was a whiner who was
selfishly seeking government help.
Which guy do you relate to the most?
#35859
B. Debt defines modern life.
1) Ezra McCormick sold his reapers through installment plans
and credit has been growing ever since.
2) Debt today is staggering.
a) At the end of 2008, Americans' credit card debt reached
$973 billion.
b) National deficit - this year our government will spend
twice as much as it takes in.
c) Add up our national debt and unfunded obligations for
Social Security and Medicare - your family's share
of debt is $455,000.
C. Where will it take us?
1) Things are looking pretty grim.
This week on C-SPAN reporter Steve Scully interviewed
President Obama.
Scully said, "You know the numbers, $1.7 trillion debt
[this year], a national deficit of $11 trillion.
At what point do we run out of money?"
President Obama: "Well, we are out of money now."
2) What if the government collapsed like the credit market
just did?
3) The Great Tribulation might start to look like a
reality TV show.
D. Debt should not define Christians.
1) This doesn't mean we never have debt, just that it should
not be a characteristic of our lives.
2) We should live with balance and simplicity.
3) The goal is to live with generosity, to people and God.
II. What the Bible says about debt.
A. Some terms to understand.
1) Debt - you owe something back to someone.
2) Credit - the trust someone has in your ability to pay them
back.
3) Surety - the guarantee that is behind a loan.
a) You can put up collateral.
b) You can have someone co-sign for you.
1> They share the responsibility of your debt.
4) Usury - the interest on a loan.
a) Some believe the Bible labels all interest as usury.
1> At least if it was a loan to a believer.
A> Such a loan should be interest-free.
B> Jesus even suggests not making them pay the
principal back!
2> You were allowed to charge interest to outsiders.
A> And Jesus' parable of the Ten Talents assumes
interest could be earned on money.
b) Others say the term only applies to excessive interest.
1> The Old Testament records cases where children were
taken from parents to satisfy debts.
2> Credit cards that charge 25% seem pretty high to me.
B. Borrowing is not forbidden.
1) Credit and debt were allowed.
2) But the time frame was limited to seven years.
3) The Bible often gives warnings about debt, and never says
anything good about it.
III. You can get a handle on debt.
Dave Ramsey's story:
At 26, by all appearances, Dave Ramsey was living like no
one else.
With a net worth of more than $4 million, Ramsey had
accumulated in four years what many take a lifetime to
achieve.
His knack for buying and selling real estate had catapulted
him into success and riches beyond his wildest dreams.
The Ramseys were living the good life.
They had traded in the old Pinto for a Jaguar.
But 20 years ago, the bottom dropped out of the real estate
market. (sound familiar?)
Banks started calling in his loans and, within three years,
the Ramseys lost everything.
They were forced to declare bankruptcy.
The future looked grim.
Dave was faced with a choice: be controlled by money or
learn how to control money.
By studying biblical principles for money and following the
examples of others, Ramsey turned his family's financial
situation around.
He worked 18-hour days.
They shopped consignment shops and garage sales.
They sold everything that didn't matter.
After three years, they had paid off their debt.
He soon began counseling families at his church, which then
developed into a Sunday School class.
Today he has a poplar radio program on personal finances.
#25539
IV. What you need to do to be financially free.
A. Understand your situation.
1) Know the real state of your finances, long-term.
a) Not just the balance in your checkbook right now.
b) Get a handle on your total debt and have a plan
for paying it off.
c) This is called a budget.
2) Know your personal limitations, too.
a) Greed affects all of us.
b) Stuff won't bring you happiness.
A 30-year study of 1,500 people by the University
of Southern California proved it.
When interviewed, people said they would probably
be happier if they had more money.
But when people had more money, they wanted more
stuff.
It was relationships that really made them happier,
and working longer hurt those.
#33351
c) Be aware that our culture conspires against us.
I was listening to an interview on public radio.
The woman had bought a home in a large American
city.
She had never had her own home before.
She asked how much this house was, and the seller
said she could afford it.
His company would not only sell her the home, but
finance it too.
It was the American Dream to have a house, so she
signed on the dotted line.
Her mortgage was over 70% of her income.
It wasn't long before she missed payments.
The seller is now bankrupt and she soon will be too.
B. Develop personal discipline.
1) Avoid hasty decisions.
2) Don't gamble or resort to investing borrowed money.
a) Billionaire Warren Buffett says he sees people being
destroyed by two things - liquor and leverage.
#33237
3) Plan for the future, like ants do. (Proverbs 6:6)
C. Decrease your expenses.
1) Do comparative shopping. Go to thrift shops.
2) Write a list of exactly what you need, and buy only that.
D. Increase your income.
1) There are only five basic ways people become rich:
they inherit, marry, steal, win or earn their money.
2) According to consultant David Latko, only those who earn
it tend to keep it. #33237
3) If you are in financial bondage, you may have to get
a second job.
4) But don't view work as the only solution - money is not
the end-all of life.
E. Stop borrowing.
1) If you cannot pay off your credit card balance every
month, start using cash.
2) Josiah - he prefers $20 bills, because he is less likely
to break them and spend them.
3) If you want something nice, save the full price, then
buy it.
a) (Or you could have a car that is dead before it
is paid off)
F. Start saving.
1) Even when you are in debt you should develop a habit
of saving.
2) Regular, habitual saving is the best way.
G. Honor God.
1) Learn the biblical principles of money.
a) There are 2,350 Bible verses that deal with it!
2) Trust God for your security.
3) Pray to him about your wants and needs.
4) Pay God first.
a) Rather stunning, but true.
b) The tithe reflects our faith in God, and gratitude
to him.
c) If you cannot tithe completely, increase your giving
1% a month until you do.
d) Give to him off the top, not the bottom, and he will
eventually put you on the top.
5) After you are generous to God, be generous to others.
V. We are not just in debt to people.
A. We owe a debt to God.
1) In the language Jesus used, debt and sin were synonymous.
2) Sin is a debt we cannot repay.
3) We need someone to pay it for us.
B. We need Jesus.
=========================================================================
SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
This sermon series was inspired by one done by Rev. Jeffrey Stratton,
pastor of American Baptist East in Evansville, Indiana, even though he
does not include the theme of debt.
#25539 "Financial Peace," by Sara Horn, Baptist Press,
http://www.baptistpress.org, September 12, 2003.
#33237 "Fortune's Fools: Why the Rich Go Broke," by Timothy L. O'Brien,
America Online; The New York Times, September 17, 2006.
#33351 "Buying Happiness," by Judy Woodward Bates, Baptist Press,
http://www.baptistpress.org, October 12, 2006.
#35859 "He Needed A Push," America Online News, May 23, 2009.
These and 30,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
=========================================================================
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
Created with the Freeware Edition of HelpNDoc: Single source CHM, PDF, DOC and HTML Help creation