Transcription
[music] Hey everybody, thank you for tuning in today. We're so thankful that you're back and thankful for this sermon series that we're preaching on on blessed. Uh, it's a sermon series about finance and it's a tough series. It's not everybody's favorite, not even my favorite, but there are biblical principles [music] uh behaviors, habits that we can live in uh that we can live in the blessing of God. And uh, so I hope you enjoy it. I hope it's helpful. [music] This is a practical sermon. So, get your notepad, take some notes today. And um, I'm so grateful [music] that God gives the privilege not just of saving us, but letting us live in the blessing of God. And God [music] bless you. Can't wait to see what God does.
Today, we will finish this quick little two-week series on uh on finances. Uh, not about giving or generosity, but about God's pathway of how we're to handle finances. And um, we'll take a look at God's word this morning. Luke 12 and verse 15. If you do not have a copy of God's word, uh, it will be on the screen for you. And um, all right, Luke 12:15. If you're there, say amen. [music]
>> Choir, thank you so much for leading us into the presence of God this morning. And um, man, I love that choir. >> Praise the Lord. Luke 12:15, if you're there, say amen. And he said unto them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness." Watch this. "For a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possessth."
Father, in Jesus name, I pray you'd take your word today. I pray you'd speak to our hearts and I pray you would give us what we stand in need of. I pray you'd speak to hearts on a deep level. I pray God that from the top to the bottom, you'd keep us all humble and uh to the place where we all understand that we can all learn something in this. And Lord, we'll be very careful to give you the glory and the honor and the praise for it's in Jesus name we pray. And all God's people said, "You can be seated."
Uh, recently I was at a basketball game and um, I was sitting on the sideline and a boy uh got a rebound, got the ball and he took off running. I mean, like a dart with everything he had in him running a 100 miles an hour towards the goal. And it became apparent to us very quickly that he was running towards the wrong goal. Uh, this boy, I mean, with everything, he sees the ESPN highlight reel coming up over the, you know, he can hear Dun. Uh, but what he doesn't know, he thinks everybody on the sidelines cheering for him, and nobody's cheering for him. They're all saying, "No, no, you're going the wrong way." Uh, and I, I thought to myself as I was studying for this series, there are a lot of people that do the exact same thing with their finances. >> Yeah.
Uh, all I could think of when that boy was running the the wrong way is I, I wasn't really blaming him. I thought, man, where's that boy's dad at? You know, that boy, did his dad not spend enough time with him to teach him? You know, uh, and I think a lot of us are not um intentionally running towards the wrong goal. But could it be that no one has ever took the time to teach you biblical principles uh about finance? Um, I, I would say that when we come to the text today that you're not in CT's class on money like I do not stand here and claim to be an expert. Uh, I, I will say that I, from my childhood, my dad instilled in me some good biblical principles. Uh, but today we're mostly going to be in the book of Proverbs other than our text verse. And can I say that when we study the book of Proverbs, there's a couple things you need to understand about this guy that wrote it. Number one, his name was Solomon. He was the son of David. And when you study the life of Solomon, you'd find out two things about him. Number one, that he was the wisest man that ever lived. Say amen. And number two, he was the wealthiest man that ever lived. I would think that we can learn something from the wisest man that ever lived and the wealthiest man that ever lived. Come on, stay with me.
>> Everybody gives the preacher a hard time when you preach on funnies. I finances. I will tell you that last Sunday was my least favorite service of all time to be your pastor. [laughter] It was my least favorite sermon. I, I, I don't enjoy preaching on this stuff, but it, it's the truth of the word of God. And and so we've got to dive into it. Um, and so I, I want to I want to look at this today. Uh, and I want to give you as I studied this week, I found a little article and had some of these things in it uh about eight habits uh of of blessed finances. The eight habits that all of us can can can produce these habits in our lives that I believe if we have these habits in our life that are biblical, there are biblical principles that if we apply these habits to our everyday life, I believe God can bless our lives. Isn't it about the blessing of God? Anyhow, I am not here saying uh do this and you'll become a multi-millionaire. I'm saying do this and you can have the blessing of God on your life.
>> And sometimes the blessing of God looks much different than an amount of dollar bills that are in your pocket. Sometimes the blessing of God is greater than what's in your checking account. Sometimes the blessing of God uh could mean you have peace in your home and health in your body. Somebody say amen right there. Uh, we, we want the bless I want to live my life in the blessing of God and with the help of the Lord today and very quickly I want to do my best to preach on uh eight habits that I believe all of us can apply to our lives and uh find the blessing of God. Number one, write these downs and and I, I would remind you to stay humble and teachable as we go through this. Uh, I would say habit number one is I must trust God. Not only not only vaguely trust God, but I would say this about I got to trust God that he is my source,
>> that he is my supply and that he is my security every day of my life. Uh, to get to a place, a habit, an everyday habit to understand that that that I trust God to be my source. I trust God to be my supply and I trust God to be my security. What are you trying to say? Well, it's very easy to think that your source is your career. It's very easy to think that your source is your paycheck. But may I remind you that your your employer is not providing for you. The government is not providing for you. Uh, but but God is providing for you. If your career if your employer is the water faucet, God is the water company. Somebody say amen. God is the water company. And you may have a faucet that breaks, but how many glad as long as the water company is still in existence, God can get the water to your house. God is my supplier. Can I clear myself off a spot long enough to testify and to say that I am so glad that God is my source and God is my supply and God has proven time and time and time again that God is my supplier. Many of you in this room have had days when you didn't know how you was going to ride two dimes together and you trusted God then and now God's given you a career, a company, a business. And still today you understand that everything you have comes from God. Romans 11 and 36 said, "For of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen."
>> [snorts] >> Not only that he's my source and he's some my supply but he's my security.
>> Many people feel like well, I can't feel secure if I don't have X amount of dollars in the bank. And while I understand those principles and there is wisdom in storing away money for a rainy day that should never be your security because God should be your security. Can I say this that how many could testify with an uplifted hand that God gave you everything that you have today? How many could go a little further and we don't want this to happen. But if God took everything away, he's got enough to take it away and he's got enough to give it all back. You study the life of Job and he lost everything he had and he stood in the ashes and said, "Uh, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord." And you follow the story of Job. Well, I feel I'm trying to teach, but I feel like preaching. When you study the life of Job, you'll find that by the end of the story, everything that Job lost, God gave him double for his trouble because God is God enough that if he gave it to you one time, he can give it to you another time. That's the God I serve. He is my security. If God is my security, then why is worry such a big deal? If God is my security, then why is worry? Uh, don't raise your hand, but I'm sure we have some worriers in the room. Listen to this. I wrote this down this week studying. Worry is the warning light that you're trusting something besides God for your security.
>> Oh, y'all don't want to hear no preaching. Put my put my put my little line back up. I worked hard on that. Worry is the warning light that you're trusting something besides God for your security. And so when worry creeps up in you, it is the warning light that God put inside you to say, "Hey, your security is in the wrong place."
>> I believe habit number one is trust. I, whatever you want God to bless, you got to put God first in it.
>> Last year, I, I don't, I preach one sermon on tithing a year in January usually and I preach about the the the principle of the first. How we've got to give God the first. God doesn't want second place. The Bible says God's a jealous God. God doesn't want second place. He doesn't want third place. It really has very little to do with your money because God is a rich God. The economy in heaven is fine. God doesn't need your money. But God knows if he let us keep all our money that greed would overtake us. So God said, "I need you to learn to operate in the principle of the first." That's why your tithe is the first 10, not the last 10. You don't pay your bills and then give God a tithe. You don't store it up and then give God a tithe. God said, "I want you to give it to me first." Because God wants to be first place in your life. Whatever you want God to bless, put God first in that. It's not just a money principle. It's a life principle. If you want God to bless your marriage, put God first in your marriage. If you want God to bless your job, put God first in your job. Go ask Mr. Kathy of Chick-fil-A if it has paid him to take off Sundays and to tithe on the income of Chick-fil-A. And I promise you, while while Arby's and while McDonald's and while Wendy's is working every single Sunday, Dan Kath and his team's taking a break on Sunday, going to church and taking a break and still making way more money than the rest of them because they have found that God's principles work every single time. Because if you want to God to bless something, you put God first in that. If you want God to bless your marriage, put God first in your marriage. If you want God to bless your job, put God first in your job. If you want God to bless your time, put God first in your time. If you want God to bless your health, put God first in your health. If you want God to bless your money, put God first in your money. It really is not that complicated. God said, "I want to be in first place." And when I give God first, God blesses the rest of it. If you believe I'm preaching the truth, somebody say amen right there. Habit number one is my trust. I am trusting God that he is my source, my supply and my security.
Number two, habit number two is not just trust but habit number two is work. I must wake up every day and remember the verse I gave you last week, my dad's favorite verse that he ingrained in me. If a man don't work, a man don't eat. And that's not the King James version. And that's the but but it's really close. A man don't work. That's the West Virginia Kenny Townsen version. A man don't work. A man don't. God designed you to work. I believe God designed a man to work. And I believe he designed you to enjoy your work. And at the end of the day, rise up and look back and say, "Man, look what we accomplished today." I believe there is power in that. I believe there's purpose in that. I believe God didn't design a man to sit on a PlayStation all day long. I believe God didn't design you to watch TV all day long. I believe God didn't sit you designed you to sit in a lazy boy all day long, but God designed you to work and to accomplish something. And not only to work, but write this down if you're taking notes today. I must do my work as an act of worship to the Lord.
>> Every day I wake up, I'm not playing on my phone until the boss catches me and then I start working. If you're a Christian that wants the blessing of God, your employer should say about you, I can trust them.
>> I can I can that that I know they're going to be there on time. Let me tell you some more Kenny Towns analogy. If you're not early, [laughter] I got some people that work for me. I would love to ingrain that in them. If you're not early,
>> do you work hard only when the boss is watching?
>> Go ahead.
>> Do you realize that when you're making a wage from that employer and you are not working when they're not looking, you are stealing money from them?
>> Yeah, boy. Ain't we having fun today? All the employers are saying, "Amen." And all the employees are saying, "Oh, me." But but but I am to do my work as an act of worship. God, thank you for health enough to work this job. God, thank you for the mental cognitive ability to do this job. And I want to do my work today as an act of worship because the Bible says in Ecclesiastes chapter 9 and 10, whatsoever thy hand findth to do, do it with all thy mind. You know what that lets me know? When you're on your phone while you should be working, that is a sin against God. Because the Bible said you are to do it with all thy might. What kind of work does God bless? Write these down. What kind of work does God bless? Number one, God blesses planning. Yeah, you don't have to fly by the uh seat of your britches all the time. God blesses planning. My secretary, Miss Cindy, is over there saying, "Amen. Amen." because she is constantly dragging me into planning meetings. But the truth is God blesses planning. Proverbs 16:9, "A man's heart deiseth his way, but the Lord directth his steps." Not only does God bless planning, I believe that God blesses initiative. God blesses initiative. Somebody say amen right there. Proverbs 13:4, "The soul of the slugger desireth and hath nothing, but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat." Let me tell you what God never blesses and that's laziness. Amen. Somebody say amen. Or if you don't say amen, they're going to think we're talking about you. So you better say amen. Can I get anybody in the balcony to say amen to God does not bless laziness.
>> God blesses initiative. Proverbs 10:4. He becometh poor that dealth with a slack hand, but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. Number three, God blesses integrity. I believe not only should we work every day but we should work in such a way that that that we make an honest living.
>> Yeah. That we our yay is yay and our nay is nay and that people can say that we have operated with integrity. Let me let me give you a promise from from Solomon about this in Proverbs chapter number 20 and verse number seven. The Bible said, "The just man walketh in his integrity, and his children are blessed after him."
>> Biblical principle here. You work every day with integrity. And God said, "I'll bless you so much that when you're dead and gone, your kids will live off the blessing that you had." What a blessing. What a promise that I don't have to lie and scheme and manipulate to make a living, but I can be honest and God bless my work and God can do more for me with integrity than I could ever do with manipulation. Say amen.
>> Proverbs 12:22, "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but they that deal truly are his delight."
>> Yeah. It's little, but I'm glad the Holy Ghost can still check me on moments like this. I've got these are my favorite little kind of waters. I love them. I got my little supplement. Y'all know I, I preach on security, but I'm a hypochondric. I don't, I guess I haven't learned to trust God with my health yet. I got all these little supplements, and I love drinking these waters because something I read said they're healthy, and it could be a lie. This could be sewer water for all I know. Uh, but but but I, I like these kind of waters. I order them in bulk in my house. I'm telling on myself here. I order them in bulk because I can't stand to be out of something. Becky gets mad, but I hide them in my closet and and and so I came home the other day and I'm and and little Siler has learned where my little water stash is and has drunk all of my little favorite waters. I buy the 12 oz bottles because they're the perfect little swig. I don't want the 20 oz. I don't want bigger. I like the 12 oz bottles. I'm a creature of habit. In the office the other day, I noticed that sending them, they, they stock my little refrigerator downstairs with these things. And I seen a little stash over there over there. And I thought, "Praise the Lord. I don't have to go to Walmart. I can take two of them little things home." And then the Holy Ghost said, "Them don't belong to you. It, it's just water, Lord. Those waters are for you when you're at work that that the church pays for for you and you guest and when y'all have staff meetings, those aren't your waters." And I said, "You're right. I'll go to Target." But here I am, 43 years old, and I'm thankful that I can still hear the prompt of the Holy Ghost
>> to keep me operate. Now, would have anybody ever known? No. But I would have known. And I want to operate in integrity
>> because God will not trust you with big stuff.
>> Yeah. [laughter]
>> Until he can trust you with small stuff. Do the people around you have a testimony about you that you live and operate with integrity. You can live your whole life trying to produce a testimony of integrity and ruin it in one moment. And let me just tell you this. When you get a testimony that you're dishonest, it takes a long time to rebuild a testimony of integrity and honesty. God blesses work. I, I believe it's a habit that God can bless. Um, number four, God blesses the kind of work God can bless. God not only blesses planning and initiative and integrity, God blesses focus. You hear me? God blesses focus. Proverbs 12:11, "He that tillth his land shall be satisfied with bread." I've known people that were so gifted and so talented, but they could not focus on one thing. They were every get-rich scheme. They were after this. They were after that. They were after that. They wanted to put their their their money over here. They want to do this over here. And and and they did a lot of stuff, but they didn't do anything well because they didn't focus. I believe in the planning. God, what's my gifts? What's my talents? What's my abilities? What's the best career? What's the best path? I plan it. I pray for it. God gives me a green light. I go after that. Now look, now focus. Stay in. Focus on that and go after it. Give it everything you've got. Why? Because God blesses focus. I love Nehemiah. He's working on the wall. God's told him to rebuild the walls. And he's got enemies coming after him with swords and spears trying to fight Nehemiah while he's on the wall. And the Bible talks about Nehemiah. He was such a man of focus. He had a shovel in one hand and a sword in the other. And while he's working, he's fighting. But he will not let the enemy detour him from building the wall. And listen to me. Some of y'all it may be a dealership. Some of y'all it may be the bomb plant. Some of y'all it may be that. I don't know what it is. But whatsoever thy handfinded to do. Focus on that thing and say, "I refuse to be detourred from it. I'm going to give everything I have and focus until God changes what I'm supposed to do." Focus on it.
Fifthly, the work that [clears throat] God bless. I believe God blesses persistence. Yeah. Just because you go through a rough season does not mean it's time to quit. Every successful businessman or businesswoman in this church would tell you that their success was tested by seasons of failure. But just because bumpy seasons come by don't mean you give up.
>> God, I'm going work. I'm going to do my best, but I'm leaving the results up to God and I'm going to be focused and persistent. I love this verse. Proverbs 24 and 16. Solomon still teaching us. Look what the Bible said. For a just man fallth seven times and riseth up again. Reminds me of that old donkey. The farmer got tired of that old donkey. He wasn't listening no more. He wasn't couldn't do what he used to do. And that farmer said, "I'm going to I'm going to bury that donkey." So the the farmer went out there and dug a big old ditch, a big old hole. And said, "I'm going to bury I, I, I so hate that donkey. I'm going to bury him alive just as he is." And they, they got that donkey, threw him inside that ditch about seven or eight foot deep and said that old farmer come by with that tractor and just kept dumping dirt into that hole and dumping dirt into that hole and was mad and yelling at that old donkey glad that donkey was going to be buried alive. And before he knew it, he looked and that donkey was eye level with him. He said, "I was trying to bury you, but every time that every time that farmer would throw dirt in the hole, that donkey would just stomp that dirt down and stomp that dirt down." And that donkey was saying, "You may try to bury me, but you ain't bury me alive cuz everything you throw on me. I'm going to stomp it under my feet." And listen to me. Life is going to be difficult. Life's going to be tough. Nobody promised that life was going to be easy. Your career was going to be easy. But God give us some people with some tenacity that said, "I am who God called me to be. I am where God called me to be at. I'm putting God first place in my life. I will not die one day before God's ready to let me die. I, if God opened this door, no man can shut it. If he shuts it, no man can open it. If God be for me, who can be against me?" I wish I had somebody that would help me with some faith today to say, "I will be who God called me to be, and I will not leave one minute early."
>> Habit one, we trust God. He's our source and our supply. Habit number two, I will do my work as an act of worship. Ha. Habit number three, track. Track. Um, this is interesting to to track this is this has got to be a habit. Why? Here's what the Bible says. Proverbs 27:23. It's on your screen. Proverbs 27:23. Be thou diligent. You know what that word means? Mean be busy about it. Be serious about it. Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks and look well to thy herds. Now look, in them days, wealthy meant I've got sheep. Wealthy meant I've got livestock. And Solomon said, "Be diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds." Here's a little statement. Uh, you've probably heard it before. You cannot manage what you do not measure. If you are a person that says, "I don't have a clue what we got in the bank. I don't have a clue what our expenses are. I don't have a clue what's coming in going out. I don't have a clue how we're going to pay next month's bills." That is a disaster. Ready to have? Well, it stresses me out to look at it. If you would manage it, it would not stress you out.
>> I have found this out about life. You either manage it or it will manage you. Are we still okay? Are y'all y'all mad at me? Y'all want to revote whether you want me to be your pastor or not? Come on now. You cannot manage what you do not measure. Most homes don't have a money problem. They have a recordkeeping problem.
>> Blessed people know where their money is going.
>> You ever heard this statement? Well, I can't tithe. I can't afford to. You know why? Because you're not managing your money.
>> You're letting your money manage itself and then saying, "Well, my money won't let me tithe." That's because you're letting your money make decisions. [laughter] Okay.
So, number four, habit number four of God blessing your finances. Now, this is not going to be your annual sermon on tithing, okay? I'm going to make this very short and sweet because here's what I know. The vast majority of our church are tithers, and I thank God for you. Uh, we just had a finance meeting and our church is in good shape. We were able to meet budget this year. God is blessed. We were able to raise over $300,000 to give to Faith Promise Missions to give to get send the gospel across the world. I'm thankful for that. So, let me just let this be a little teaser for uh January. Okay. Uh, tithing uh is putting God first in with the first 10%, not the last 10% but the first 10%. Tithing is not about money. It's about lordship and it's about your heart. Uh, you know, here's a little argument. Well, pastor, don't, don't you know that that the law since Jesus died, the law has been done away with and the that tithing went out of the law. You are not being a good steward or a good student of the Bible. Because if you study tithing and the law first mentioned, tithing did not start with the law. It started in the book of Genesis prior to the law ever being established. And so the little argument about the law doing away with the tithe is completely irrelevant. It has nothing to do with scholar theology or the study of the Bible. So tithing is a principle that's found in the book of Genesis. And and not only that, but you find in Matthew, I believe chapter number 26, Jesus is talking to the scribes and Pharisees, and he's talking about that they're tithing and giving for the wrong reason. And even Jesus said, "Should you do it? Yes, you should do it, but you shouldn't do it for the wrong motive." So even Jesus said that you should be tithing. And I have found that most people that want to preach against tithing or talk about tithing are people that that that are deconstructing and people that that that that don't want to do it. And they'll come up with any reason in the world of why they should not tithe. But here's what the book of Proverbs said, which is wisdom. Proverbs 3:9 and 10, "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." Here is why I am convinced. Here's why Becky and I are convinced. This is why we do it every single week. We got it on autodraft through the app on the on the website there. We, we do this gladly every week. We give 10% plus every single week. And here's why. Not because I'm the pastor. It's not so y'all can say, "Oh, look at pastor." It is my desire and Becky's desire to be one of the biggest givers in our church. We don't want to say or ask and do this and we not do it by leadership. But here is three reasons why me and Becky tithe every single week. Number one, it is a statement of gratitude. Somebody say, "Amen." When I tithe unto the Lord, I'm saying, "God, thank you for your blessings on me. I am understanding that everything I [laughter] have is because of Jesus. I'm understanding that my marriage could have been done away with. My life could have been done away with. You are the reason that I exist. You are everything to me and I gladly give you 10% to say thank you for how good you've been to me. Tithing to me and Becky is a statement of gratitude. Number two, it is a statement of priority. It is us saying, "God, you come first. Not my bills, not my debt, not my, not the stuff we like to do, but God, you come first. It is me making my heart realize that I'm not the most important, that my kids are not the most important, that my wife is not the most important, that the career is not the most important, but that God is the priority in our life. So tithing is a statement of gratitude. Tithing is a statement of priority. And tithing is a statement number three of faith. It is us saying, "God, I will put you first, trusting and knowing that you had the ability to take care of our family." And every time that you tithe, you are crucifying greed. You are crucifying selfishness. And you're saying, "I am setting my life up on biblical principles for God to bless everything that I do."
>> Say, "Amen." Or, "Oh, me. It won't change anything at all." Y'all got a bigger one coming in January. Malachi 3 and 10. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse and prove me now herewith. Here's what, here's what we're looking for. The blessing of God. If I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing. I don't know about you, but I want to live my life
>> with the windows of heaven
>> open [clears throat]
>> over my life. One of my favorite parts of this, it says, "Will I not rebuke the devourer
>> for your name's sake?"
>> I want when the devil comes after me," God say, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope." He's a biblical tither.
>> You can't get to him. I guess you could hire your own security company,
>> but I promise you that security company would cost you more than that does. Habit number four is being a biblical tither.
Number five, habit that I believe we ought to put in our life is you don't make what you make, you make what you keep. I believe a habit that God can bless is when we learn to save. Yeah. Here we go. Wise people save for the future. Fools consume everything. Proverbs 13:11. Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished. But he that gatherth by labor shall increase. You are either working for money which you, which which puts you in the category I am a slave to money. I work and live paycheck to paycheck which means I am working for money. When you learn to start saving, you are learning to shift to where money is working for you. There's even a verse in the Bible that says little by little, which means in the moment, in the start of it, when you start looking at the beginning of amortization and how the money is going to compound, at the beginning, it looks so insufficient. But little by little by little, money works for you. I believe it is the will of God for us as people to be wise with our money and not just spend everything we have.
>> Buy the Dave Ramsey set. Whatever you got to do. I promise you there's peace to it. If you got to go back to the Dave Ramsey way and operate by envelopes, whatever you got to do, but save your money. Saving is stewardship. Saving is wisdom. And saving is preparation.
Number six, sixth habit, and we're almost done, is repay. You need to come up with a plan of how you're going to get out of debt. Debt is bondage, but repayment is freedom. It is God's will for his people to live financially free. Proverbs 3:27, "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due when it is in the power of thine hand to do it." Romans 13:8. Here's a clear little principle from Romans chapter 13 in the New Testament. Owe no man anything but to love one another. John D. Rockefeller, one of the wealthiest men that ever lived in America, uh, was asked this question. Mr. Rockefeller, how did you get so wealthy? He said, "Write this principle down. Tithe 10% first. Save 10%. Uh, invest it. Do whatever you're going to do with it, and then live off the 80. Learn how to live off 80% of what you bring in. Tithe on the first 10, save the next 10, and then let God do what he does with the rest." That's God's formula, not Wall Street. I believe habit number six is to repay and to get out of debt. Somebody say amen.
Number seven, to budget. I, I, I, the number number seven. After we learn to save, we're we're going to budget. I skipped one, didn't I? We're going to budget what God has given us. I got to go. By budgeting, you are telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. A budget is not punishment. It is direction. Proverbs 21:5, "The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness, but of everyone that is hasty only to want." The opposite of budget. Let me tell you what God won't bless is a life lived on every impulse. Let me tell you, it's you. If you, y'all quit looking at the carpet, let me tell you where impulses go wild. Costco. Y'all ever been to Costco? I mean, my kids would rather go to Costco or Sam's than to go to Six Flags. Honest. Am I right about it? You, you tell my kids, "Hey, we're going to go to the grocery store." No, I ain't going. We're going to Costco. Let's go. My kids Tucker. You ain't never seen Tucker will hit every single one of them little sample counters. You know, he'll go get the the Tyson's chicken over here, then he'll go try the yogurt over here, then he's trying this over here, and trying this over there. He's trying everything out all over the place. The opposite of living by budget is living by impulse. Listen, this statement I wrote down, blessing follows planning, but lack follows impulse. And if you want to live your life based on every impulse, I got to have that. I've got to have that. You will live a life of lack. But when you live a life of planned budget, it almost builds walls that protect you from allowing a heart of impulse. Can all the people that's over 40 say amen and hope the people in their 20s will listen to what I'm saying? Can we get an amen in here? Uh, budget.
And then lastly, and I'm done, and the girls are going to come out and sing and and I, I'll, I'll quit, is is not only to budget and to live within your means, but I believe the last habit that God wants us to live in is I believe God wants us to enjoy it. Look, look here. God is not against you having stuff. You hear me? God is not against you having stuff. God is against your stuff having you. When you live with these kind of habits, let's, let's agree here that you're living a life of wisdom. You have honored the Lord with the first fruits. You have honored the Lord with your life. You're living with integrity. You owe no man anything. What peace. And then you look at the house that you live in. You look at the car you drive. You didn't get it by lying and scheming and manipulating. You got it God's way. Christmas time comes with the family. You can sit down on your chair, hear the laughter of the children in the room, the beauty of the home that God provided for you. You can take a deep breath, look around the room, and tears run down your eyes saying, "God, thank you. Thank you for the blessing of God that is on our life. And I believe from that heart of gratitude will flow worship and praise and thanksgiving when you handle money God's way.