Money Cannot Quench Desires: 10 Keys to Saving and Investing
Dr RJ Sing, 43 min, Lesson 104 of Business and Leadership
Originally preached as “Master Wealth God's Way: 10 Principles for Success”
Sermon outline
God wants His people wealthy, but wealth is kept and grown by wisdom and self-discipline: put the kingdom first, then build a culture of saving and investing.
Main text
- Proverbs 24:3
- Proverbs 4:5-7
Opening
He introduces lesson 104 of his Business and Leadership series and reads Proverbs 24:3 and Proverbs 4:5-7: by wisdom a house is built, so get wisdom and understanding. He sets out the church's purpose for its members: to fulfil their dreams, remove their pain and frustration, refill their joy, distribute value, teach them to think wealthy, build leaders, shape beautiful lives, serve humanity and attain eternal life. He also thanks Wesley for building the church's app himself.
Know your streams of income
Before saving and investing you need income, and there are many streams: your salary, your spouse's salary, investments, rental property, a side business rendering goods and services, seasonal income, part-time jobs, and royalties and patents. Together they form a diversified portfolio of income.
Illustration: Business means rendering goods and services, not praying in your room and expecting a bag of money to fall in.
“With every level, there is a devil, a new devil that you will face.”
Put the kingdom first
For years he was confused by Jesus telling the rich young ruler to sell everything, until he saw that the man had his priorities mixed and put mammon above God. Seek first the kingdom and all these things will be added, but you must be a good steward or you will lose what you gain. The anointing of the Spirit empowers you to do better and gives revelation knowledge.
“If you get wealth in your hands, but if you're not a good steward, you're going to lose it.”
- Mark 10:21
- Matthew 26:11
- Matthew 6:33
- Luke 4:18-19
1. Keep some part of your earnings for your future
The first principle is to honour God with your substance; the second is to pay yourself. Start small, at 2, 5 or 10 percent, and work up towards 50 percent over time, putting more into savings and less into your purse for easy spending.
“We exercise discipline in many areas of our lives but the truth of the matter is that we don't exercise discipline with regards to money.”
- Proverbs 3:9
Learn to live according to your purse
Whatever is left after your savings plan is what you live on, so learn to live on less than your salary.
4. Don't be in a hurry to invest
Take great care not to lose your money, because quick gain is deceptive and people come with schemes and dreams to benefit themselves. Real gain takes years, and those who have succeeded paid a price behind the scenes.
Illustration: Don't only look at what successful people have; go behind the scenes and ask them what price they paid.
“Everybody coming to you with a scheme and a dream, they have a scheme and a dream only so that they can gain out of it.”
5. Analyse your priorities
Discipline yourself to save and invest so that you later attain increasing wealth. Money never satisfies desire; only discipline tames it. Success is measured over a lifetime, not six or twelve months.
Illustration: McDonald's hasn't helped us: a burger in two minutes makes us think life works that way.
“Money cannot quench desires. Only discipline can tame your desires.”
6. Develop a budget and live by it
A budget defends your priorities from casual wishes and helps you tell the two apart.
Illustration: If you want to buy something, give it 24 hours; within that time you will usually know whether you need it.
“A budget defends your priorities from casual wishes.”
7. Save for unexpected times
Most of us live only for today, but old age and emergencies will come. It is foolish to think Christians are exempt from them.
“It is ludicrous for us to think because we Christians we're exempt from that.”
8. Accumulate wealth first in small amounts, then larger
Grow into larger amounts as you become more capable. Keep your goals simple but definite.
“Your goals should be simple yet it should be very definite.”
9. Be focused and acquire more information
Information gives you strategies for better service and better prices. Learn the art of negotiation, because over a lifetime what you save by negotiating adds up to tens or hundreds of thousands.
“Learn the art of negotiation.”
10. Beware of lending money: you're not the bank
Many Christians lend to unreliable people, the money is never repaid, and fellowship is broken until they cannot greet each other. Test the soil first, and if you want to help someone, bless them rather than lend to them.
“You're not the bank.”
Know the laws of money
He lists the laws that govern money: belief (God wants you wealthy), focus on your craft, difference (we need one another's skills), relationships, the mind (I am highly valued), honour, and obedience. Handle relationships well, exercise restraint, and don't give advice to people who are not ready for it. Teach children from young to honour elders, authority and one another so they thrive in the marketplace.
Illustration: You might be an electrician, but you don't have a plumber's qualifications; that is the law of difference.
“Some people in life want to be honored but they don't want to give honor back in return.”
- Galatians 6:7
Money is not the same as wealth
Your first desire should be pleasing God; then comes the stuff, and this teaching is about handling it. Wealth is everything we want and need, and it existed from the beginning, while money is a recent invention and simply the way we move wealth. Those who understand the laws of money, such as multiplication, retention and diligence, are on their way to wealth creation.
Illustration: A briefcase full of US dollars is of no use to you in the desert.
“Money is the way we move wealth.”
- Matthew 6:33
Principles of wealth creation
Know your passion; study hard to master your calling; build great relationships; solve problems and give good service; audit what you own and turn it into investments and assets; keep part of your earnings for the future; find a financial mentor and learn to be frugal, which means shrewd; develop the drive to make money; follow the laws of money; and make self-discipline your greatest asset. Pay off your bond and car quickly so you can invest 10 to 30 percent of your earnings. It is easy to become a millionaire if you honour God first and steward well.
Illustration: A tradesman who walks muddy shoes over your white carpet will never be called back. In a mall a man recommended Hugo Boss, and he said he had been there and done that; it is not the store or the car that gives you value, it is you who make the clothes look good.
“Self discipline is the greatest asset and the number one rule of wealth creation.”
Put it into immediate practice
Sit down and analyse your finances, decide how much to put aside weekly or monthly, and find the best financial institutions and expert advice. Be a learner, don't pull others down, and act on what you have learned before other myths engulf you, because knowledge means nothing until it is put into action.
Illustration: He is not embarrassed to stop and ask for directions even with a sat nav. He calls pulling others down 'craboology': crabs in a bucket pulling down the one trying to climb out.
“Knowledge is nothing until it is established by action.”
Putting it into practice
- Honour God first with your tithes, then pay yourself by saving a set percentage.
- Draw up a budget, live on less than you earn, and wait 24 hours before buying.
- Avoid get-rich-quick schemes and don't lend money you can't afford to lose.
- Find a financial mentor and keep learning.
- Put these principles into practice now.
Closing
He reminds the church of Jesus' remark that the children of the world are wiser than the children of the kingdom, and says the church must reverse that and conquer the mountain of finance. He warns that jealous people will speak against their prosperity and urges them to keep their eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of their faith, then asks them to stand and give God a praise offering.
Declarations he led
- It's easy to become a millionaire.
- I am a millionaire.
- I have a mindset of a millionaire.
In his words
- “God is not against your prosperity. God wants you to think wealthy.”
- “Money cannot quench desires. Only discipline can tame your desires.”
- “It's not the store that adds value to you, it's you that make your clothes look good.”
- “Don't join turkeys, join the eagle so that you can fly higher.”
- “Knowledge is nothing until it is established by action.”
Every scripture in this message
- Proverbs 24:3
- Proverbs 4:5-7
- 3 John 1:2
- Mark 10:21
- Matthew 26:11
- Matthew 6:33
- Luke 4:18-19
- Proverbs 3:9
- Galatians 6:7
- Luke 16:8
- Mark 10:30
- Hebrews 12:2
