How To Decapitate Debt

There are over 800 verses in the Bible that talk about money. Although the Bible does not explicitly forbid debt, it does warn against it. It should be noted that the Bible does have harsh words for lenders that charge exorbitant amounts of interest! Consequently, I believe God is very interested in helping to free us from the bondage of high interest. I am convinced that God wants and will help us decapitate the GIANT of debt.

SIZING THIS GIANT UP.

1. The Giant of Debt robs you of your freedom and security.

Proverbs 22:7 (NRSV) “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.”

Proverbs 22:26-27 (NIV) “Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; 27 if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.”

2. The Giant of Debt robs children of their inheritance.

Proverbs 13:22 (NIV) “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children.”

Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV) “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”

3. The Giant of Debt robs God of His tithes and offerings.

Malachi 3:8-9 (NIV) “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me.”

HOW TO DECAPITATE DEBT

The book of Joshua is the story of God delivering His people from the land of bondage to the land of blessing These Israelites were used to bondage—their parents (the previous generation) had been in bondage in Egypt and they (the Israelites depicted in the book of Joshua) spent their lives in the desert. Just because their parents lived in bondage doesn’t mean they have to do that and just because they’ve been living in bondage doesn’t mean they have to keep living there. It’s now time for them to occupy the promise of God—they need to move from WHERE THEY ARE to WHERE GOD WANTS THEM TO BE. It time we did that too!

Occupying the promise meant war then and it means war now. It means conquest. It means, as always, trusting in God’s strength. The first 5 chapters of Joshua speak of their invading the land—Chapter 6-12 detail them fighting for the land—Chapters 13-24 shows them dividing up the land.

I want to draw your attention to one of their key victories (Chapter 10) because in it we will find principles for becoming debt free. As we read this Scriptue, we see that Joshua knew specifically who his enemy was—he could name them.

Do you know who the enemy of your finances is? (It’s not your spouse)—your spouse is not your enemy, you two need to be on the same team. DEBT is your enemy—I know that goes against what culture tells us but it’s the truth! We are taught to believe that debt is our friend. We are also told it “Pays to Discover”—Yeah, it pays them! “Normal” in America is BROKE—let's be weird.

Here’s how:
1. Like Joshua, clearly define your enemy.

Joshua 10:5 (NIV) “Then the five kings of the Amorites—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon—joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.”

Romans 12:2a tells us to do: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

2. Like Joshua, strategically fight your war.

Joshua 10:6-7 (NIV) “The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.” So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men.”

Prov 27:23-24 (LB) “Riches can disappear fast... so watch your business interests closely. Know the state of your flocks and your herds.”.

3. Like Joshua, completely trust your God.

Joshua 10:8 (NIV) “The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”

Psalm 25:1-2 (NIV) “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; 2 in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.”

4.Like Joshua, relentlessly pursue your enemy.

Joshua 10:9 (NIV) “After an all-night march [26 miles] from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise.”

Joshua 10:10 (NIV) “The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.”

5. Like Joshua, gratefully accept God’s help.

Joshua 10:11 (NIV) “As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.”

I end with the most important step in becoming debt free—CLEARING YOUR SIN DEBT. Nothing is more important than getting your sin debt forgiven because, as Jesus said, "…what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36).

The GOOD NEWS is that your sin debt has already been paid for. Listen to Jesus’ last words on the cross: John 19:30b (NIV) “Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”

Jesus’ phrase “it is finished” comes from the Greek word “tetelestai” which means paid in full. The GOOD NEWS is that if you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, God will apply Christ’s payment for your sin to your sin debt--marking it, PAID IN FULL!

That how to live debt free--financially and eternally! :)

How To Defeat Discouragement

The dictionary defines DISCOURAGE as “to deprive of courage, to deter, to dishearten, to hinder.”

I draw your attention to the book of Nehemiah because in it we will see the GIANT of discouragement in full display.

As we face our GIANTS it is important that we size our enemy up. Nehemiah helps us do that.

Nehemiah in a nutshell: The Babylonians had destroyed the holy city of Jerusalem nearly 100 years earlier—the city was still full of rubble and lay unprotected. Although the Temple had been rebuilt the walls around the city had not and that news broke Nehemiah’s heart—THE CUPBEARER to a king 900 miles away. Though born in captivity, his heart beat for home. After 4 months of praying and planning, Nehemiah was allowed to go home and help. Once in Jerusalem, Nehemiah rallied the people to start rebuilding the wall and to get busy being who God called them to be.

We pick up the story in Nehemiah chapter 4 when the wall was about half done—GIANTS are everywhere. The Israelites are literally under attack from every side:
• From the North: Sanballat and the Samaritians
• From the South: Geshem and the Arabs
• From the West: The Ashdodites
• From the East: Tobiah and the Ammonites

Nehemiah tells us they formed a kind of dark alliance. That Dark Alliance used fear and discouragement to stop all progress.

Sizing This Giant Up
1. The Giant of Discouragement denies your potential.

Neh 4:1-2 (NIV) “When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”

Neh 4:3 (NIV) “Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!”

2.The Giant of Discouragement discounts your progress.

Neh 4:7-8 (NIV) “But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.”

Neh 4:10 “Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”

3. The Giant of Discouragement disregards your protection.

Neh 4:11 (NIV) “Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”

Neh 4:12 (NIV) “Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”

Where are you living? Where do you get your cues? If you spend too much time near the enemy you’ll start thinking like him. We’ve all met people that live as if God is weak. They live defeated lives because they’ve bought into a lie. LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING! If you are living in DEFEAT then you’re NOT spending enough time at THE FEET of Jesus. Greater is HE!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you are living near the enemy and are getting your cues from him, you shouldn't be surprised that you are discouraged! The GIANT of DISCOURAGMENT wants you scared and sad—defeated and depressed. And you know what? It’s TIME YOU FACED HIM!

Let’s look at How to Defeat Discouragement:

1. Know your weak spots.

Neh 4:13 (NIV) “Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows.”

2. Know your strong GOD.

Neh 4:14a (NIV) “After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome...”

3. Know you’re not alone.

Neh 4:14b (NIV) “...fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”

I LOVE Nehemiah 6:15-16 (just look at how the tables have turned!): “...the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.”

You can defeat discouragement and finsh what God has called you to do too!

Winning Against Worry

God is a God who sends. He is constantly sending His children into new and wonderful lands—better places, better marriages, better lives. What God wants for us is bigger and better than we can imagine BUT standing between us and IT are Giants that look pretty BIG too.

I’ve got my giants and you’ve got yours--things that loom over us and stand between what we have and what God wants us to have. That GIANT has knocked us down so many times we wonder if we should even try to get back up. HE has eaten our lunch so many times we’ve just been taking him one—feeding the very fear that immobilizes us.

Which Giant is giving you grief? Can you name him? Can you describe him? What’s worrying you? Worry itself might be your Giant—That wouldn’t surprise me—Jesus knew worry was a real issue that’s why He spent time talking about it!

Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV) "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Jesus’ point is that to worry is to be just like everybody else. To worry is to live as if God does not exist or, at minimum, doesn’t care (neither of which are true!). The message of the Bible is that God is the biggest Giant of them all—so whatever is worrying you is really not even close to the size of the God that cares about you.

LOADING YOUR SLINGSHOT
1.Reorder your priorities.
Matt 6:33 (NIV) “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” 

2. Readjust your focus.
Matt 6:34 (NIV) “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

3. Recast your anxiety.
1 Peter 5:7 (NIV) “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
Phil 4:6-7 (NIV) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

God is really big--BIGGER than you need Him to be!

Don't worry be happy. :)

New Sermon Series: Facing Your Giants

You know your Goliath. You recognize his walk and the echo of his voice. He taunts you with bills you can’t pay, people you can’t please, habits you can’t break, failures you can’t forget, and a future you can’t face. If you're tired of living in defeat then this series is for you. Together we will learn that we can, like David, face our giants.