Three Little Piggy Banks: 8 Steps to Financial Freedom
Dr RJ Sing, 38 min, Part 4 of Solving Life's Problems
Originally preached as “Solving Life's Problems: Financial Management”
Sermon outline
God's will is for you to be financially free, and you get there by putting him first, staying out of debt, learning the art of saving and acting on the ideas he gives you.
Main text
- Ecclesiastes 5:19
- Psalm 112:1-3
- Deuteronomy 8:18
Opening
He opens with shouts of praise and a prophetic word that God is about to break the chain of poverty and bring breakthrough in people's finances, then prays for the word to be heard. He welcomes the church on a day of bad weather, along with visiting ministers, and says the series has already covered mind management, improving your personality and shaping your destiny. He asks people not to take the teaching personally: use what applies now and stretch to the next level.
God's will for you is wealth and financial freedom
God's word gives guidelines for acquiring wealth, and some believers have been hurt for lack of proper teaching. Poverty is a curse, and wealth and riches are part of the believer's inheritance as long as they are gained honestly and used for God's glory. He defines financial freedom as having assets that generate more income than your expenses, so that you can serve God and the people around you.
Illustration: In his partnership letter in that month's Faith Chronicle he writes that early in his Christian life he was not in a faith, word-based church, and people thought being poor was being humble. All they were taught was to tithe and they would prosper.
“God takes pleasure in your prosperity.”
- Ecclesiastes 5:19
- Psalm 112:1-3
- Psalm 35:27
- Proverbs 8:21
- 1 Kings 2:3
- Matthew 6:33
- 1 Chronicles 29:12
- Deuteronomy 8:18
Recognise the financial bondages: things you should not do
When God begins to bless you, cut back excessive spending, impulse buying and the misuse of credit. Stop keeping up with the neighbours, avoid unwise and illegal deals, slothfulness, greed and lavish living, and do not rob God of the tithe, which is the foundation of your success. Do not run ahead of the Lord's plan or settle for a job that pays too little when you could trust God for better.
Illustration: Staying faithfully in the wrong job for thirty years, waiting for a watch and a small pension at the end.
“When you give God His tithe, there's a demand on the ability of God.”
- Malachi 3:8
- Psalm 91:16
1. Put God first in your life
Be faithful to the giver who owns everything. Transfer the ownership of all your possessions to God and see yourself as a steward.
Illustration: He jokes that he has reached a point where he no longer knows what belongs to the church and what belongs to him, because everything he has belongs to the church anyway.
“Transfer the ownership of all your possessions to God and then you become a good steward.”
- Matthew 6:33
2. Keep away from debt as much as possible
The world's system is designed to separate you from your money and make you dependent on it through advertising, window dressing and endless sales. Believers no longer have the excuse of ignorance. Debt makes the borrower a servant to the lender, so make wise decisions and stay out of it.
Illustration: On a recent trip overseas he stood in Macy's looking at markdowns of 25, 75 and 90 percent and wondered how they paid the rent on such a building if the discounts were real.
“If you are wise and you make wise decisions, no one can separate you from your wealth.”
- Hosea 4:6
- Proverbs 22:7
- Psalm 37:21
3. Always think before spending
Impulses are not the leading of the Lord. Avoid indulgence, keep an accurate written plan and budget for your money, and develop the art of saving. If you learn to save more than you spend, your finances will be healthy.
Illustration: He mentions a series of 22 lectures on wealth accumulation that he plans to teach to a selected group as a workshop called How to Become a Millionaire.
“Develop the art of saving money.”
4. Be a hard worker
Do not expect something for nothing. True and lasting success means being willing to pay the right price, working with delight, shopping around before major purchases and learning to be creative.
“For true and lasting success, you must be willing to pay the right price.”
- Proverbs 22:29
5. Give generously to God's work
God blesses you more as you learn to share your blessing. He answers the objection that the pastor takes all the money: the money is managed, and it is used wisely to run the house of God. When the thought comes that your money is being misused, call it a lie.
Illustration: The church began with plastic chairs, then secondhand cinema chairs, and the current chairs cost 650,000 rand. Lights cost about 60,000 rand apiece and the sound desk between 100,000 and 200,000 rand.
“God will bless you more as you learn to share your blessing with others.”
6. Learn to trust God for your finances
Believers can ask with confidence, knowing that God hears any request made in line with his will.
- 1 John 5:14
7. Manage your money well
If you do not manage your money well, money problems soon follow. Do not spend more simply because you earn more. Invest it in God's work and in your future, and work purchases into your budget rather than buying on impulse.
“Do not spend more money just because you are making more.”
- Proverbs 13:23
- Proverbs 21:17
8. Learn to pay yourself first
Every week or month set something aside in savings or an investment, however small, and do not despise small beginnings. The habit matters more than the amount, because it changes how you think before you spend.
Illustration: Years ago he kept telling the Lord he could not save. The Lord led him to buy three little piggy banks for his desk, which he filled with coins and notes and banked for twelve months. It taught him to save.
“It was not the money in the piggy banks that made me rich.”
- Zechariah 4:10
- Job 8:7
- Proverbs 21:20
Recognise an inspired idea
An idea is a thought planted by God that solves a problem for someone, and scripture promises witty inventions. He gives eight facts about an uncommon idea: it comes through observing what is around you, it helps the people around you, it solves problems for others as well as you, it removes stress and adds joy, it can come whether or not others respect it, it can create uncommon wealth, it requires uncommon attention, and it can create a lifetime of provision. He tells the young people God will give them ideas to do better than their parents.
Illustration: For years he prayed and cried out for money, imagining a bird dropping a bag of it in his lap. When he learned to sow, two things happened: people blessed him back, and God gave him ideas to make money.
“Ideas are golden gates to immediate change.”
- Proverbs 8:12
- Deuteronomy 8:18
- Luke 6:38
Your prosperity is in a man of God's mouth
Believe God and you are established; believe his prophets and you prosper. Hide the words spoken over you in your heart, as he says Mary and Elizabeth did, and decree them in your private times of prayer until they come to pass.
Illustration: At a meeting for pastors and leaders the Lord prompted him to take a stack of dollars he had put away and sow it while a well-known American preacher was speaking. Nobody else moved for 45 minutes, so he walked up alone and interrupted the sermon. Afterwards the preacher, who did not know him, looked at him and said, 'You are going to be a rich man.'
“Your prosperity is in a man of God's mouth or a woman of God's mouth.”
- 2 Chronicles 20:20
Putting it into practice
- Put God first and treat everything you own as his.
- Stay out of debt and write down a budget before you spend.
- Pay yourself first: save something every week or month, however small.
- Give God the tithe and give generously to his work.
- Watch for God-given ideas and decree the words spoken over your life.
Closing
He tells the church not to give up where they are and says he is trusting God that many of them will become multi-millionaires so they can help with the kingdom. He has them speak it to their neighbours, prophesies that the coming month will be phenomenal, and declares as their pastor that wealth, riches, ideas and business are coming to them and that they will never be poor again.
Declarations he led
- In the name of Jesus, I see it happening.
- Wealth and riches are in my house. I decree that today.
- You're sitting next to a multi-millionaire.
- It's coming. It's coming. It's coming.
- I will be rich. I will be wealthy. God has increased me. God has given me great provision. I shall never be poor. Not another day in my life.
- I receive it, Lord.
In his words
- “For financially independent people, their assets generate income that is greater than their expenses.”
- “The whole Babylonian system is designed to separate you from your money, to get you into debt.”
- “Develop the art of saving money.”
- “An uncommon idea can create uncommon wealth.”
- “Your prosperity is in a man of God's mouth or a woman of God's mouth.”
Every scripture in this message
- Psalm 103:1
- John 21:17
- 2 Corinthians 10:5
- Matthew 4:4
- Isaiah 54:17
- Luke 10:19
- Nehemiah 8:10
- Ecclesiastes 5:19
- Psalm 112:1-3
- Psalm 35:27
- Proverbs 8:21
- 1 Kings 2:3
- Matthew 6:33
- 1 Chronicles 29:12
- Deuteronomy 8:18
- Malachi 3:8
- Psalm 91:16
- Hosea 4:6
- Proverbs 22:7
- Psalm 37:21
- Proverbs 22:29
- 1 John 5:14
- Proverbs 13:23
- Proverbs 21:17
- Zechariah 4:10
- Job 8:7
- Proverbs 21:20
- Proverbs 8:12
- Luke 6:38
- 2 Chronicles 20:20
