TEXT
Eccl 10:7 I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking like slaves on the earth.
Gal 4:7 Therefore, you are no longer a slave (bond servant) but a son; and if a son, then [it follows that you are] an heir by the aid of God, {through Christ.}
INTRODUCTION
Last week we introduced the topic “Financial Freedom”
I need feedback or reminder from the floor of the things that we talked about
I also talked in passing about the richest man in the world as Warren Buffet, I am sorry I was behind, Bill Gates has now regained his number one sport again as of March 09.
Another fact to not is that our economy is on the verge of getting alright, we are getting “formally”, the informal sector may not work as it used to.
There is need to position ourselves for the kick off in the economy. Those that had left formal employment and are not gainfully employed should do so before the market gets flooded.
a)I also want us to recap about spending: Spending
You must be careful and plan your spending:
-When spending or buying, consider what you buy, do not just buy anything, spend money on quality.
-Learn to be sales resistant, avoid impulse buying. Beware of advertisements and sales people!
-Pay your bills promptly
-Learn to be content, Philippians 4v11-13, Hebrews 13v6
-Do not be covetous, Exodus 20v17, Luke 12v15.
-Live a simple life, 1Thessalonians 4v11-12
-Live within your means, spending what you do not have is not faith
-Do not be extravagant (John 6v12)
-Balance your spending, do not spend too much on pleasure and at the same time learn to enjoy what God gives you. Proverbs 21v17, Ecclesiastes 5v18, 10v16-17
-Plan your spending, budget
1. FINANCIAL FREEDOM
b)Debts
Avoid debt where possible. Debt is not sin, but the bible discourages it, debt is not God’s best for your life. When you are now controlled by debt then there is a problem.(Proverbs 22v7The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.)
To come out of debt:
-Pray about your debt and ask for God’s help and or solution
-List all your debts and or financial obligations
-Establish a repayment plan
-Avoid accumulating more or new debts
-Use a budget for your spending
-Avoid debt or borrowing for consumables, when need be, you can borrow for assets or investments as long as cost of borrowing is less than the asset or investment.
-Be yourself and do not be pressured to be what you are not or what other / your friends expect.
-Consider ways of getting extra income (if it means doing extra projects, do it, do not be shy to do even base projects)
c)Saving &/ Investing
-Save money or resources for tomorrow, Genesis 41, Proverbs 6v6-8.
-Zimbabwe is a good place to invest now when things are under-priced, when things normalize and the economy opens up, it will be difficult.
-In the parable of talents, it is clear that as a principle (implied) God expects us to invest and multiply whatever resource He gives us be it spiritual or natural.
-Always remember that there is a tomorrow. At times you might need to forgo instant gratification for future or long term investing or benefit.
2. RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARDS MONEY
(a) Acknowledge that God is the giver or source of wealth. Prov 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” Deut 8:10-18, “When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for all the good land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His precepts, and His statutes which I command you today, Lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built goodly houses and live in them, And when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all you have is multiplied, Then your [minds and] hearts be lifted up and you forget the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, Who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, but Who brought you forth water out of the flinty rock, Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. And beware lest you say in your [mind and] heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. But you shall [earnestly] remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
(b) Share and give as God blesses you. Prov 3:28, “Do not say to your neighbor, Go, and come again; and tomorrow I will give it--when you have it with you.” Prov 11:24-25 “There are those who [generously] scatter abroad, and yet increase more; there are those who withhold more than is fitting {or} what is justly due, but it results only in want. The liberal person shall be enriched, and he who waters shall himself be watered.”
(c) Do not let money rule you or be your god. Prov 11:28, “He who leans on, trusts in, {and} is confident in his riches shall fall, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like a green bough.”
(d) Do not waste money. Prov 21:17, “He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.” Prov 21:20, “There are precious treasures and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a self-confident {and} foolish man swallows it up {and} wastes it.”
(e) Do not get money in corrupt/wrong means. Prov 10:2, “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) delivers from death.” Prov 11:4, “Riches provide no security in any day of wrath {and} judgment, but righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) delivers from death.” Prov 13:11, “Wealth [not earned but] won in haste {or} unjustly {or} from the production of things for vain {or} detrimental use [such riches] will dwindle away, but he who gathers little by little will increase [his riches]”.
(f) Guard against quick or instant riches. Sometimes you need to be patient to grow in your finances.
OTHER ARRERS TO WORK ON FOR FINANCIAL PROSPERITY
·There are other areas of life that we need to pay attention to if we are to have financial prosperity
1.Academic excellence
2.Career planning
3.Hard working and faithfulness
4.Investments (short term investments e.g. stock market, buying and selling, informal trading)
5.Own business
·Desire to prosper & succeed financially.
·Work & press towards prosperity
·Have a clear vision and plan for your financial status
·Have a right & positive attitude towards financial prosperity
·Identify divine connections, at times, God may send other people in your way to help you connect to your financial prosperity.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Financial Freedom Part1
PROTOCOL
I would like to acknowledge our senior pastor Rev A. Ndlovu, Rev M. Ndlovu, Pastor G Ncube & Pastor Zakhe
It is a great pleasure for me to be part of this team and work with them.
I was want to appreciate you all for coming and being part of this service
I would also want to acknowledge my wife and family for their support
TEXT
Ecclesiastes 9v13-18
Eccl 9:13 This [illustration of] wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great to me:
Eccl 9:14 There was a little city with few men in it. And a great king came against it and besieged it and built great bulwarks against it.
Eccl 9:15 But there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no man [seriously] remembered that poor man.
Eccl 9:16 But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heeded.
Eccl 9:17 The words of wise men heard in quiet are better than the shouts of him who rules among fools.
Eccl 9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
INTRODUCTION
Last year in August I introduced a topic “Back to basics” and never followed it up, I will, God permitting, some other time
Today I want to teach a simple topic and simple principles from the Word
Many a times people lose out and fail in life by failing to do simple small things right
Greatness is achieved through doing and paying attention to simple basic and often neglected principles
Innscor Africa (the company I am currently working for as an Accountant) is one of the biggest in Zimbabwe; it is actually the 2nd biggest after Delta in Market Capitalization, as of 030609.
Having worked for Innscor for the past 10 years, I have come to realize that what makes it great and successful is doing simple basic principles which many other corporations neglect and think they are trivial
It is simple business analysis where you check your sales, number of customers, prices & other statistics on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly & yearly basis.
Each business unit, division, department or shop is analyzed thoroughly
You compare and analyze your business against same day prior month, same month last year, same quarter prior year, etc.
You need to pay attention to detail, manage controls, check your costs, etc
The above and other simple basic principles and procedures have contributed immensely in making Innscor what it is today
In your life and particularly in your Christian walk, it is the simple small things that will make you and help you to grow.
It is not seeing visions, doing miracles, etc that make you great!
It is the simple small things, reading the word, prayer, walking in love, being obedient, holiness, etc!
Today I want to talk about a simple topic “Financial Freedom” since this month has been dedicated to special giving, (Isivuno).
Freedom means, “liberty, autonomy, lack of restrictions, self-determination, independence, choice, free will, sovereignty,”
Many people that are financial successful follow the simple financial principles.
The other day I was talking with my F.D. and he said, “When you have little resources you are not strict about how you spend, but when you get more, you want to account for every cent!”
That is very too, people with less, many a times do not care about how they handle money, just like people with more are the ones who buy wisely and a lot of saving & investing.
AmaNdebele athi, “Imali iya emalini”, (when you have money, it attracts more money).
Also we need to come out of the “old Zimbabwe” school of thought. Things were cheap, you could make money anywhere, the value of money was low. Now we are using real money, our spending and attitude towards use and value of money has to change!
FINANCES
A lot has been said about money, finances and resources in the world and in the church
Many of the things said are right, some wrong and some are partly right and partly wrong
If we are to succeed in our Christian walk, we need to have the right knowledge, perception and understanding about financial issues
The bible says “ignorance about something leads to death or casting off restraint.
We need to have clear understanding about how God in the Word wants us to handle financial issues.
·We do not teach that righteousness is being rich or that being poor is evil (same as we do not teach that poverty is humility), but it goes without argument that when you have money or resources many a times your voice is heard in this world that we are living in.
·People hardly listen to a poor man. As you your financial status or position may determine the extent to which those you lead will listen to or follow you. Job says when he still had his riches, when he stood up in a meeting; people kept quite and gave him attention. After he lost his resources, even his friends either deserted or mocked him. After his resources or riches were restored, they all came to him again and gave him gifts! Job 29v1-25, 42v10-11.
·We cannot deny the fact that your financial position can either strengthen or lighten your voice.
·At the same time, we should not go to the other extreme and put human value on material position. Jesus said that human value is not determined by the things you posses, Luke 12v15, Mark 8v36.
·The bible talks about God giving us the power or ability to be wealth, Deuteronomy 8v18
·The bible also says God teaches us to profit, Isaiah 48v17
1. FINANCIAL FREEDOM
·There is something called financial freedom where what you do is not limited by money or resources but by your decision and or what God says.
·Very few people have attained that level especially in church.
·Many a times Christians shun biblical financial principles and pretend as if money does not matter
·Those that do so, seek money privately or will like to borrow and are many times covetous
a)Giving
The bible teaches basically at least 3 ways to give:
-Tithing and offerings
-Giving to the poor and or needy
-Giving to other believers
·You should be systematic and disciplined in their giving. Whilst we believe in spontaneous giving where the Holy Spirit may lead one to give, we should not always way for “spontaneous” promptings to give.
·You should live a life style of giving as instructed by the Word
b)Receiving
-Creative resourcefulness or investing, Prov 31v13-19, You need to be diligent in working to receive income
-Diligent labor, Prov 12v11, 14v23, Do your own projects
-Answered prayer, Philippians 4v6, trust God to meet your needs
-Reaping from your faithful giving, Galatians 6v9-10
c)Spending
You must be careful and plan your spending:
-When spending or buying, consider what you buy, do not just buy anything, spend money on quality.
-Learn to be sales resistant, avoid impulse buying. Beware of advertisements and sales people!
-Pay your bills promptly
-Learn to be content, Philippians 4v11-13, Hebrews 13v6
-Do not be covetous, Exodus 20v17, Luke 12v15.
-Live a simple life, 1Thessalonians 4v11-12
-Live within your means, spending what you do not have is not faith
-Do not be extravagant (John 6v12)
-Balance your spending, do not spend too much on pleasure and at the same time learn to enjoy what God gives you. Proverbs 21v17, Ecclesiastes 5v18, 10v16-17
-Plan your spending, budget
To be continued next Sunday….
I would like to acknowledge our senior pastor Rev A. Ndlovu, Rev M. Ndlovu, Pastor G Ncube & Pastor Zakhe
It is a great pleasure for me to be part of this team and work with them.
I was want to appreciate you all for coming and being part of this service
I would also want to acknowledge my wife and family for their support
TEXT
Ecclesiastes 9v13-18
Eccl 9:13 This [illustration of] wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great to me:
Eccl 9:14 There was a little city with few men in it. And a great king came against it and besieged it and built great bulwarks against it.
Eccl 9:15 But there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no man [seriously] remembered that poor man.
Eccl 9:16 But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heeded.
Eccl 9:17 The words of wise men heard in quiet are better than the shouts of him who rules among fools.
Eccl 9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
INTRODUCTION
Last year in August I introduced a topic “Back to basics” and never followed it up, I will, God permitting, some other time
Today I want to teach a simple topic and simple principles from the Word
Many a times people lose out and fail in life by failing to do simple small things right
Greatness is achieved through doing and paying attention to simple basic and often neglected principles
Innscor Africa (the company I am currently working for as an Accountant) is one of the biggest in Zimbabwe; it is actually the 2nd biggest after Delta in Market Capitalization, as of 030609.
Having worked for Innscor for the past 10 years, I have come to realize that what makes it great and successful is doing simple basic principles which many other corporations neglect and think they are trivial
It is simple business analysis where you check your sales, number of customers, prices & other statistics on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly & yearly basis.
Each business unit, division, department or shop is analyzed thoroughly
You compare and analyze your business against same day prior month, same month last year, same quarter prior year, etc.
You need to pay attention to detail, manage controls, check your costs, etc
The above and other simple basic principles and procedures have contributed immensely in making Innscor what it is today
In your life and particularly in your Christian walk, it is the simple small things that will make you and help you to grow.
It is not seeing visions, doing miracles, etc that make you great!
It is the simple small things, reading the word, prayer, walking in love, being obedient, holiness, etc!
Today I want to talk about a simple topic “Financial Freedom” since this month has been dedicated to special giving, (Isivuno).
Freedom means, “liberty, autonomy, lack of restrictions, self-determination, independence, choice, free will, sovereignty,”
Many people that are financial successful follow the simple financial principles.
The other day I was talking with my F.D. and he said, “When you have little resources you are not strict about how you spend, but when you get more, you want to account for every cent!”
That is very too, people with less, many a times do not care about how they handle money, just like people with more are the ones who buy wisely and a lot of saving & investing.
AmaNdebele athi, “Imali iya emalini”, (when you have money, it attracts more money).
Also we need to come out of the “old Zimbabwe” school of thought. Things were cheap, you could make money anywhere, the value of money was low. Now we are using real money, our spending and attitude towards use and value of money has to change!
FINANCES
A lot has been said about money, finances and resources in the world and in the church
Many of the things said are right, some wrong and some are partly right and partly wrong
If we are to succeed in our Christian walk, we need to have the right knowledge, perception and understanding about financial issues
The bible says “ignorance about something leads to death or casting off restraint.
We need to have clear understanding about how God in the Word wants us to handle financial issues.
·We do not teach that righteousness is being rich or that being poor is evil (same as we do not teach that poverty is humility), but it goes without argument that when you have money or resources many a times your voice is heard in this world that we are living in.
·People hardly listen to a poor man. As you your financial status or position may determine the extent to which those you lead will listen to or follow you. Job says when he still had his riches, when he stood up in a meeting; people kept quite and gave him attention. After he lost his resources, even his friends either deserted or mocked him. After his resources or riches were restored, they all came to him again and gave him gifts! Job 29v1-25, 42v10-11.
·We cannot deny the fact that your financial position can either strengthen or lighten your voice.
·At the same time, we should not go to the other extreme and put human value on material position. Jesus said that human value is not determined by the things you posses, Luke 12v15, Mark 8v36.
·The bible talks about God giving us the power or ability to be wealth, Deuteronomy 8v18
·The bible also says God teaches us to profit, Isaiah 48v17
1. FINANCIAL FREEDOM
·There is something called financial freedom where what you do is not limited by money or resources but by your decision and or what God says.
·Very few people have attained that level especially in church.
·Many a times Christians shun biblical financial principles and pretend as if money does not matter
·Those that do so, seek money privately or will like to borrow and are many times covetous
a)Giving
The bible teaches basically at least 3 ways to give:
-Tithing and offerings
-Giving to the poor and or needy
-Giving to other believers
·You should be systematic and disciplined in their giving. Whilst we believe in spontaneous giving where the Holy Spirit may lead one to give, we should not always way for “spontaneous” promptings to give.
·You should live a life style of giving as instructed by the Word
b)Receiving
-Creative resourcefulness or investing, Prov 31v13-19, You need to be diligent in working to receive income
-Diligent labor, Prov 12v11, 14v23, Do your own projects
-Answered prayer, Philippians 4v6, trust God to meet your needs
-Reaping from your faithful giving, Galatians 6v9-10
c)Spending
You must be careful and plan your spending:
-When spending or buying, consider what you buy, do not just buy anything, spend money on quality.
-Learn to be sales resistant, avoid impulse buying. Beware of advertisements and sales people!
-Pay your bills promptly
-Learn to be content, Philippians 4v11-13, Hebrews 13v6
-Do not be covetous, Exodus 20v17, Luke 12v15.
-Live a simple life, 1Thessalonians 4v11-12
-Live within your means, spending what you do not have is not faith
-Do not be extravagant (John 6v12)
-Balance your spending, do not spend too much on pleasure and at the same time learn to enjoy what God gives you. Proverbs 21v17, Ecclesiastes 5v18, 10v16-17
-Plan your spending, budget
To be continued next Sunday….
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