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Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS023011S
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00:00 (uplifting theme music)
00:13 (music ends) 00:16 >>Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:18 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:20 We're glad to have you back with us again today 00:22 as we continue our study 00:24 of "Managing for the Master Till He Comes." 00:26 This is lesson number 11, week number 11. 00:29 We have one more to go, but we've got two great subjects 00:33 that we're going to be looking at 00:34 before we finish this quarter. 00:36 And we're delighted to have with us once again 00:38 the author of this quarter's lesson, Ed Reid. 00:40 He is an ordained minister and a licensed attorney, 00:44 and we're delighted with the content 00:48 that we have found in this quarter's lesson. 00:49 I know that you have found that as well. 00:51 Before we dive into this particular lesson, 00:54 "Managing in Tough Times," 00:56 let's ask that the Lord would bless us. 00:59 Father, we ask again, as You have in the past, 01:01 that You would bless us once again. 01:03 Help us to understand how we can continue 01:05 to manage our finances in the difficult times 01:08 that are to come. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. 01:12 >>Amen. >>Ed, welcome back once again. 01:14 >>Thank you, it's great to be here. 01:15 >>So we are getting toward the very end, 01:17 we've covered a whole lot of ground this quarter, 01:20 and we've got two lessons left, this one being one of them. 01:23 It's "Managing in Tough Times." 01:25 We've talked about tithe, 01:26 we've talked about helping out the poor, 01:29 we've talked about a whole lot of things, 01:30 but when we get down to the very end of time, 01:33 the Bible indicates 01:35 that there are going to be some very, very difficult times. 01:38 I'm gonna read the memory text here. 01:39 It says, "Offer to God thanksgiving, 01:41 "and pay your vows to the Most High. 01:43 "Call upon me in the day of trouble; 01:46 I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me." 01:49 At the end of time, there's going to be 01:51 some very difficult times for Christians. 01:55 How can we manage our finances? 01:58 How should we manage our finances-- 02:01 and in light of what we know is coming? 02:04 >>Well, it's an interesting situation 02:06 because the Bible talked about difficult times at the end. 02:09 When we look at what's going on today, 02:10 we can see that we're certainly 02:12 at one of the signs of the end. 02:13 So we've got bloodshed of all kinds, crime, 02:15 immorality, natural disasters, pandemics. 02:19 This is pretty current stuff, isn't it? Economic uncertainty 02:22 and political corruption and much more. 02:25 Now, there's a natural tendency 02:26 for people in those situations to get into a survival mode 02:30 and think only of their families-- 02:31 "Make sure we've got everything that we need." 02:33 But what we're gonna talk about is 02:35 to remember that Jesus said, "If you put me first," 02:39 what we wanna do is think of 02:40 what God's interests are on the earth. 02:42 And there's basically several different things 02:44 we know about; we just can talk about 02:47 something that we've talked about already, 02:48 and that's taking care of poor people and helping others, 02:51 also helping to see the cause of God go to all the world. 02:54 And that's one of the reasons I like It Is Written 02:56 because they're one of the international ministries 02:58 that makes sure that people are hearing the gospel 03:00 all around the world. 03:01 And people are working overtime in hard times, 03:03 their volunteers and all those team people here, 03:06 because they wanna see the work finished, 03:08 because Jesus said that this gospel thing 03:10 "will be preached in all the world" 03:11 for a witness to the end, "and then the end will come." 03:15 So I'm very glad for this, 03:17 that we're involved in things like this. 03:18 So we're in troublous days, 03:20 but God says, "Seek first the kingdom of God 03:21 "and His righteousness, 03:23 and [then] all these things [will] be added [unto] you." 03:24 >>You know, Ed, that really leads us into Sunday's lesson, 03:27 which is about putting God first. 03:29 What kind of important spiritual principles 03:32 can we learn from the story of Jehoshaphat's reign, 03:36 whatever the struggles are that we are facing? 03:40 >>Well, that's a good question, 03:41 because when you look through the Bible, 03:42 there are many good kings and many bad kings, 03:44 more bad kings than good kings in Israel and Judah. 03:47 But Jehoshaphat was a good king, 03:48 and God had blessed him, 03:50 and he had been able to fortify the cities of his country 03:52 and to restock all the supplies that they needed and so on. 03:57 And then something amazing happened; 03:59 a great multitude from Moab and Ammon and Syria, 04:01 huge crowd, his spies told him 04:04 that these people were coming into the land 04:06 and planning to ransack the city. 04:08 So instead of resorting to his own energies 04:11 and his own work that he had done, 04:13 he called upon God. 04:15 So I'm gonna give you the short version right now, 04:17 and then I'll give ya, flesh out this a little bit more. 04:19 In your Christian life, you do your best to prepare. 04:21 We talked about some of the things we've already-- 04:23 you wanna make sure you're out of debt, 04:24 that you're a diligent worker, 04:26 that you're saving for the future 04:28 and that you're helping others and so on, 04:30 but when the chips fall, you understand that God 04:33 is really your first person that you call. 04:35 I remember being involved 04:36 in several trying circumstances in my life, 04:38 and people would say, "Well, we've tried everything. 04:41 Now it's time to pray." 04:43 Jehoshaphat didn't do that; he said, 04:44 "It's time to pray first." So they went to the temple, 04:46 and you remember Solomon said years ago, 04:48 when they first dedicated the temple, 04:52 that if the people of God would pray 04:54 and look toward Jerusalem during times of difficulty, 04:56 that God would bless them. 04:57 So here they came, the Bible describes it 04:59 as men, women, and children coming to the temple, 05:01 and little children holding 05:02 onto their mothers' and daddies' hands and coming there, 05:05 and Jehoshaphat made this big prayer. 05:08 And I'm gonna read the prayer to you; 05:09 it's pretty interesting: 05:11 "We have no power against this great multitude 05:13 "that's coming against us; nor do we know what to do, 05:15 but our eyes are upon You," talking to God. 05:17 And then after, they committed themselves 05:18 to God in this manner, 05:20 and the spirit of the Lord came upon a man who said-- 05:22 this was a man in the audience, 05:23 and he said--he was a prophet apparently-- 05:25 and he said, "Do not be afraid [or] dismayed 05:27 "because of this great multitude, 05:29 "for the battle is not yours, but God's.... 05:31 "You will not need to fight in this battle. 05:32 "Position yourselves, 05:33 stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." 05:35 Now, this is incredible. So the next morning, 05:37 the king assembled the people all together 05:40 with a Levitical choir. Can you imagine this? 05:44 This is about as foolish as marching quietly around Jericho 05:48 when the walls of Jericho came down. 05:50 But he said, "What I wanna do is 05:52 to send the choir out first singing praises to God; 05:54 then the soldiers can follow them." 05:58 So the Levitical choir went out to the front; 06:01 then the king admonished the people 06:03 these words from 2 Chronicles 20:20-- 06:05 this should be underlined in everybody's Bible: 06:07 "Believe in the Lord your God, 06:08 "and you shall be established; 06:09 believe His prophets, and you shall prosper." 06:11 In other words, "Since God has told us what to do, 06:12 let's do it." So the choir began to sing, 06:15 and their enemies destroyed one another, 06:16 and the Bible says, "None escaped," 06:18 2 Chronicles 20:24; not one man escaped. 06:21 This was such a great victory for Israel, 06:23 though no blood got on anybody. 06:25 This is interesting that it took them four days, 06:29 or three days just to collect the spoils of the battle. 06:31 And on the fourth day, they returned to Jerusalem, 06:33 singing as they went. 06:34 And of course, the God who delivered them 06:35 is the same God who we love and worship today. 06:37 So His power is just as great today; 06:39 the challenge before us is to trust Him and His leading. 06:43 >>So God's people faced a great challenge, 06:46 but He had a way, He provided a way out for them, 06:51 and they ended up benefiting in the end. 06:53 Didn't look like a great outcome was coming, 06:56 but God had that all cared for. 07:00 >>That's true. >>Trust-- 07:01 trust in God. Trust in God. 07:03 I wanna hit Monday's lesson, 07:04 "Trust God, Not Your Own Resources." 07:07 We've looked at Jehoshaphat and how he made a wise decision, 07:11 chose to follow God's leading. What about David? 07:14 David also learned some lessons along the way. 07:17 Some of them he may have learned easily, 07:20 and others he may have learned the hard way. 07:22 What can we learn from David? 07:24 >>It's really interesting; we look at King David's life, 07:27 he was a man of war, 07:29 and best I can tell, he never lost a battle. 07:33 But this great commander 07:35 was kind of resting in his successes, 07:38 and he decided he was gonna count-- 07:40 what we call "number"--Israel, 07:41 to count his soldiers and so on. 07:42 So he called his chief of staff in the army, Joab, 07:46 to come in and said, "I want you to count 07:48 "and see how many soldiers we have. 07:49 "Go from Dan to Beersheba, the whole country of Israel, 07:51 counting all the people." 07:53 David should have known better than this 07:54 because his best friend, Jonathan, 07:55 had defeated the Philistines 07:57 with just he and his armor-bearer, you remember, 07:59 real interesting story. 08:01 But Joab said to David, trying to reason with him, 08:03 "Listen, we don't need to do this. 08:04 "No matter how many people we have, 08:06 God's always been with us, and He'll take care of us," 08:08 but David insisted that they go. 08:10 And by the way, it's interesting 08:11 that when you read 1 Chronicles 21, verses 1-14, 08:16 it says, "Satan stood up against Israel 08:17 and provoked David to number Israel." 08:19 So it was Satan's idea to count the people, 08:20 but David didn't counter that, 08:22 he said, "No, God's gonna take care of me," 08:23 but he told Joab, "No, I insist you count the people." 08:26 So when the counting was done, 08:29 they came back, and Joab gave him the report. 08:31 Something interesting, the prophet came up to them 08:33 and said, "You've done wrong here. 08:36 There's three things that could happen to you." 08:38 And what David chose was, "Let me fall in the hands of God." 08:41 So it's really interesting that in the immediate context, 08:44 attempting to trust in our own power 08:45 and government can have--and our own bank accounts-- 08:48 can have disastrous consequences, 08:51 and they did that in this particular case. 08:54 So, you remember that a plague came on Israel, 08:57 and 70,000 people died. That was not their own fault, 09:00 but this was a rebuke to David, of course. 09:03 And this is interesting, in the present time, 09:04 we wanna square up with God, get out of debt, 09:06 and be generous with what we have been given, 09:09 but the old gospel song that many of us have heard before-- 09:12 "If we ever needed the Lord before, 09:14 we sure do need Him now." 09:15 So it's not time to wait till everything else is done, 09:17 but to seek God on a regular basis, 09:20 be filled with His Holy Spirit 09:21 to give you providential leading in your life, 09:23 and be ready to follow God's counsel, and trust in the Lord; 09:26 that's what the whole Bible is about: trust in the Lord. 09:29 >>Yeah, I think absolutely an important lesson to learn, 09:32 and hopefully we can learn it a little bit more easily 09:35 than David had to learn it 09:36 because that was a high price to pay to learn that. 09:39 Tuesday's lesson is "Time to Simplify?"--a question. 09:44 We are facing today challenging times; 09:46 I think most people would agree with that. 09:48 We know times are going to get more challenging 09:50 as time goes on. What should we as Christians do 09:53 in response to difficult times? 09:56 How should we respond to it? What should we do? 09:58 Are there any preparations that we can make? 10:01 Are there things that we can do beforehand 10:03 knowing that difficult times are coming? How do we prepare? 10:06 >>Well, we're talking later in the quarter 10:08 about getting out of debt. This is very, very valuable. 10:11 The average person has quite a bit of debt, 10:13 but we don't wanna be one of those people 10:15 because that can really be a burden to us 10:16 and tie us down to this earth. 10:19 I can tell you for one thing 10:20 that there are many opportunities-- 10:22 even It Is Written offers some a couple times a year 10:25 where people can volunteer and go with them 10:26 for mission trips. 10:28 The people that are in debt really would love to go, 10:29 but they can't afford to be off of work, 10:31 or they can't afford the expenses of going and so on. 10:34 So if you're out of debt, you live a much freer life, 10:36 you're not bound by the debts, 10:38 and you can do things that are valuable. 10:39 So that's one thing you can do, and I always mention that. 10:42 Be generous with others, 10:43 God will bless you when you do that, 10:45 and I will also suggest that we trust God, to start with, 10:49 and just say this is part of our trust in God, 10:52 we wanna make sure that God's with us 10:54 and that we're with Him and we trust Him, 10:55 and He'll take care of us. 10:57 Let me tell you about the possessions. 10:59 In 2 Peter, the third chapter, we talk about 11:01 when the Lord comes back, 11:02 the earth's gonna be "melt with fervent heat," 11:03 and all the works of men will be burned up. 11:07 So what we're talking about is 11:08 we should try to divest ourselves of our assets 11:10 to help finish the work, so that when Jesus comes back, 11:13 not much of our stuff gets burned up at the end. 11:15 Does that make sense? 11:16 >>Makes a lot of sense. 11:17 >>So we're going forward with this kind of idea, 11:20 as to get our stuff in. There's a little statement 11:22 I've put in here under this section: 11:24 "It is now that our brethren 11:25 "should be cutting down their possessions 11:26 "instead of increasing them. 11:27 "We're about to move to a better country, even a heavenly. 11:30 "Then let us not be dwellers upon the earth, 11:32 but...getting things into [a] compact...[form] as possible." 11:35 So in the light of eternity, 11:36 well, we ought to be simplifying 11:37 because when the Lord comes back, 11:39 whatever we haven't used up for His cause 11:41 is gonna be lost, isn't it? 11:42 >>That's right; ultimately, everything is gonna end up 11:44 turning to ashes and smoke and will disappear, everything, 11:47 every material possession that we have. 11:50 One thing we're gonna be able to keep, 11:52 of course, as you know know, Ed, is our character. 11:54 And that's something that is indestructible, as it were, 11:57 at least by fire for the righteous. 12:00 We are looking at how we can prepare for difficult times, 12:03 managing the gifts that God has given us. 12:06 We're near the end, we're on the 11th lesson of 12, 12:10 the 11th week out of 12. 12:12 If you have put off picking up the companion book 12:15 to this quarter's lesson, 12:16 don't put it off any longer. 12:18 You will be blessed by it abundantly. 12:20 It is entitled "Managing for the Master." 12:24 And you can pick it up at itiswritten.shop. 12:27 Again, that is itiswritten.shop. 12:29 Just search for "Managing for the Master" 12:31 by G. Edward Reid. 12:33 We're delighted to have him 12:34 each and every week here this quarter on "Sabbath School." 12:38 And he shared some incredible insights; 12:40 some of those insights are in this book. 12:43 So if you wanna dig a little bit more deeply into it, 12:45 this book is what you want to pick up, 12:48 and it will be an incredible blessing to you. 12:50 We're going to be back in just a moment or two 12:52 as we continue looking at "Managing in Tough Times." 12:57 There are tough times today, 12:58 and the times are only going to get tougher, 13:00 so we're looking for practical ways that we can manage 13:03 during those times. Thanks for joining us this week, 13:06 we're gonna be back in just a couple minutes 13:07 as we continue our study. 13:09 We'll see you in a moment. 13:10 (uplifting theme music swells and ends) 13:15 >>[John Bradshaw] The prophet Daniel writes authoritatively 13:18 about the rise and fall of kingdoms, the fate of nations, 13:22 and the soon return of Jesus. 13:25 Join me for "Kingdom Come." 13:27 We'll witness the rise and fall of global powers, 13:31 we'll understand symbols 13:32 found in the writings of the prophets, 13:35 and we'll learn how Bible prophecy 13:37 applies to our current reality. 13:40 Waiting for the world to get better seems futile. 13:43 We exist in the midst of global confusion, 13:47 in a world wrestling with the devastating effects 13:49 of sickness, war, and death. 13:52 Yet God encourages us: 13:55 "The dream is certain." The interpretation can be trusted. 14:00 Jesus is coming back soon. 14:03 The best is yet to come. 14:06 Don't miss "Kingdom Come" 14:08 as we explore the book of Daniel. 14:10 "Kingdom Come" on It Is Written TV. 14:16 You know that at It Is Written, 14:17 we are serious about the study of the Word of God, 14:21 and we encourage you to be serious about God's Word also. 14:25 Well, I wanna share with you another way 14:27 that you can dig deeper into the Word of God, 14:30 and here it is: 14:31 itiswritten.study. 14:35 Go online to itiswritten.study 14:37 and you can access the It Is Written Bible Study Guides, 14:42 25 in-depth Bible studies 14:45 that will walk you through the Bible. 14:47 It's gonna be good for you, 14:49 and it's the sort of thing 14:50 that you will want to tell somebody else about 14:53 so that they can dig deeper into the Word of God 14:56 and come to know the things of the Bible intimately. 15:00 As you get into the It Is Written 15:01 online Bible study guides, 15:03 you'll understand the prophecies of the Bible, 15:05 the plan of salvation, and more. 15:07 So don't forget: itiswritten.study, 15:11 itiswritten.study. 15:15 (uplifting theme music) 15:20 >>[Eric] Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 15:21 brought to you by It Is Written. 15:23 We're continuing our look this week 15:26 at "Managing in Tough Times." 15:28 And, Ed, I wanna take a look at Wednesday's lesson, 15:30 Wednesday talks about priorities. 15:33 In light of the future, 15:35 how should we arrange our priorities? 15:38 If we wanna put first things first, 15:40 what does "first things" look like? 15:43 >>Well, the Shema from the Old Testament 15:45 when the words of Moses were, 15:47 "Serve the Lord with all your heart, 15:48 your mind, and soul," and so on, 15:49 this is total commitment, all in for God. 15:52 And we have many Bible characters 15:54 that we'll talk about next week about that as well, 15:56 but I'd like to quote Mark 12, verse 30: 15:59 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, 16:01 "with all your soul, with all your mind, 16:03 and with all your strength." 16:04 When we give all to Christ, 16:05 there's nothing left to give to another master, 16:07 and that's why it is..said in Matthew 6:24, 16:11 "No man can serve two masters; 16:13 "...either he will hate the one and love the other, 16:14 or else [he'll hold] the one and despise the other." 16:16 And then this concluding statement of Matthew 6:24, 16:19 "You cannot serve God and mammon." 16:21 The Bible characters that serve God with all their heart, 16:24 they did some drastic things. I mean, they built the ark; 16:27 they traveled to foreign countries; 16:29 they committed their whole life 16:32 to extending the gospel and so on; 16:34 these are real important characters to me. 16:38 In 1 John 2:15-17, we're told, "[Love not] the world, 16:41 "[neither] the things [that are] in the world. 16:42 "If [any man] loves the world, 16:43 "the love of the Father is not in him. 16:45 "For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, 16:47 "the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-- 16:48 "is not of the Father but is of the world. 16:50 "And the world is passing away, 16:52 "[but then] the lust of it; 16:53 but he [that] does the will of God abides forever." 16:55 So the Bible actually harmonizes itself; 16:56 it says, "The world is passing away." 16:58 That's what is happening. 16:59 Paul said to us, "Set your affections [above], 17:01 on things above, not on things [of] the earth." 17:03 It's very clear for most of us who have lived long enough 17:05 that more money doesn't make people happier; 17:07 it really makes 'em more miserable, typically. 17:10 So the more we can help others, 17:11 the more we can help our family members, 17:13 the more we can help our church, 17:14 the more we can help things go forward, 17:16 help the poor, and so on. 17:17 Those are things we can do to arrange our priorities to be.. 17:21 others, to care for others, not just ourselves; 17:24 that's the big point from this, I think. 17:26 >>So God's giving us opportunities even right now 17:28 to learn how to minister to others, 17:31 to learn how to have a giving and selfless attitude, 17:35 which are going to prepare us for difficult times. 17:38 Now, as students of the Bible, 17:40 and especially of Bible prophecy, 17:42 we know that sometime in the not-too-distant future, 17:45 there is going to be a time that comes 17:47 when those who choose to follow God completely, 17:50 as you mentioned a moment ago, 17:51 those who are all-in with God, 17:53 who aren't holding anything back, 17:55 who are taking a stand for Him, 17:56 are not going to be able to buy or sell. 17:59 Now, that sounds a little-- 18:01 that sounds like it could be an anxious time 18:04 because we stop and think about 18:05 how much we buy and sell today. 18:08 You know, we buy our food, we pay our rent, 18:11 we pay our mortgage, we make our car payments, 18:13 if we have car payments, and so forth. 18:15 If we are not able to buy and we're not able to sell, 18:19 that is, to make money, 18:21 our ability to interact financially with the world 18:25 is inhibited significantly. 18:28 How is God going to take care of his people 18:31 and what can we do today to prepare for that time? 18:36 >>Well, it's really interesting, Eric, 18:37 that probably that everybody here 18:40 has been to a store somewhere 18:42 where you have somebody in front of you in line 18:44 when they try to use a credit card, 18:45 that it won't be accepted. And I was recently at a store 18:48 when a lady tried four or five different cards to-- 18:50 it must've been all maxed out on her cards 18:52 because she couldn't make her payment. 18:54 Finally, she got one, a debit card, that worked. 18:57 And the bottom line is 18:58 we're heading more toward a cashless society 19:00 and digital currency and so on, 19:02 and it'd be very easy to say you can't buy or sell. 19:05 And that's a difficult time, 19:06 because the Bible paints a painful picture of the world 19:08 before the second coming of Jesus. 19:09 Daniel talks about "a time of trouble, 19:11 "such as never was since there was a nation, 19:13 even to that time," Daniel 12, verse 1. 19:15 So considering some of the troublous times of the past 19:17 he's referring to here, it must be pretty bad. 19:20 So how much of our lives today 19:22 revolve around buying and selling? 19:24 Well, this is interesting 19:25 because we do it more than we think. 19:27 People buy online a lot of times now, 19:29 and they have to use their credit cards. 19:30 What if it won't be accepted? 19:33 I mean, it's very interesting that we're talking about 19:36 an unusual situation of resetting and all that, 19:39 that we can worry about if we want to, 19:41 or we can trust God, but not being able to buy or sell 19:44 is not being able to function in society. 19:47 Can you imagine? Your internet will be cut off 19:50 if you can't pay for it; your electricity will be cut off; 19:53 your water supply will be cut off. 19:55 It's just--what can you do for that? How do we prepare? 19:58 Well, how we prepare now 20:00 is by making God's grace part of our lives, 20:03 not slaves to money or things of the world. 20:05 We're not bound up by them, but we won't be slaves to money 20:10 when we trust fully in God. Deuteronomy 14, verse 23 20:13 is one that I always like to talk about here. 20:15 God explained through Moses 20:17 one of His reasons for establishing the tithing system 20:19 was, "That you may learn to fear the Lord your God always." 20:22 This is what tithing is about. If you give part away to God, 20:24 that means you're gonna trust Him to take care of the rest. 20:27 In the Bible, there's something called poetic parallelism. 20:30 Many of you are familiar 20:31 when you study the Psalms and the Proverbs 20:32 that it says the same thing two different ways 20:34 in many of the verses. Here's one; 20:36 this is poetic parallelism of Psalm 31, verse 19. 20:40 We can see that fear is synonymous with trust. 20:42 So let me read the passage to you, 20:44 and you can see what we're talking about: 20:46 "Oh, how great is Your goodness, 20:47 "which You have laid up for those who fear You, 20:49 which You have prepared for those who trust...You." 20:51 So fear and trust are the same thing here. 20:53 These parallel lines show that the fear of the Lord 20:56 is trusting Him. Therefore we understand 20:58 that God established the tithing system, 21:00 not just to protect us from selfishness 21:01 and provide for His work, 21:02 but to help us to trust Him to provide for us. 21:05 While being faithful in tithe certainly is not a guarantee 21:07 that people will stay faithful in the end, 21:09 those who are faithful will be ones 21:11 who have learned to trust God, 21:12 and that's what kinda we're talking about here. 21:14 >>Ed, let me ask you; there may be somebody 21:16 who's watching this program, and they're-- 21:19 you know, this week is "Managing in Tough Times"-- 21:22 they may be thinking, "Well, I'm in tough times right now. 21:25 "I'm not even worried about 21:26 "what's gonna come down further on. 21:28 Right now my situation is tough." 21:33 What kind of words of encouragement, 21:34 what kind of advice, 21:36 what kind of counsel might you give someone 21:39 who says, "I'd love to be there at some point 21:42 "and prepared for the difficult times ahead, 21:45 "but I'm not even able to deal with the difficult times 21:48 that I'm facing right now"-- 21:49 what kind of encouragement or hope 21:51 or advice would you give to someone 21:53 who finds themselves in that situation? 21:55 >>Well, it's certainly not time to despair, 21:56 it's time to trust in God and to learn His counsel. 21:59 As we--we'll talk about that 22:01 when we talk about getting out of debt. 22:02 One of the reasons people are in debt 22:04 is because they haven't learned to manage properly, 22:06 or they've had misfortune in their lives or whatever. 22:09 It's time to pray and commit their selves to God 22:11 like Jehoshaphat did. 22:13 I think it's very amazing that people today 22:16 are looking to their own resources. 22:18 And as you say, if they don't have any resources, 22:20 what do they do then? Well, they have to trust God for sure. 22:23 We really can't--people go to a life of crime if they, 22:26 you know--some people are just desperate to get food. 22:29 But the bottom line, I think, here 22:31 to answer the question is, put the priorities of the Bible-- 22:34 and, in fact, put God first, trust Him, 22:36 be a diligent worker, 22:38 and try to avoid debt if at all possible. 22:41 We'll have a whole set-- 22:42 we've had a whole section on getting out of debt, 22:44 and this is important stuff that we're telling you about. 22:46 It's not just fantasy; 22:48 everybody can benefit by the principles 22:50 we've talked about here. 22:51 "Honor the Lord with your possessions, 22:52 and...the firstfruits of all your [income]." 22:54 That's what Proverbs, third chapter, verse 9 talks about. 22:57 So I would say, commit yourself to the Lord. 23:00 I tell people recently, 23:01 that I've told a lot of young people, 23:03 you can't be too busy to be involved with God; 23:05 you can't be too busy to read His Word; 23:07 you can't allow Satan to keep you so busy 23:09 that you don't have time for spiritual things, 23:11 'cause the spiritual basis 23:12 is what really keeps us all together, 23:14 especially mentally and spiritually and physically, 23:16 in God's cause. I'm thinking that the more we trust God, 23:21 the more He will give us wisdom as to what to do. 23:23 One of the things that God does, 23:24 in addition to the promises that He's made in the Bible, 23:27 is providential leading. 23:28 You can pray that God will guide you with wisdom, 23:30 give you the--if you lack understanding, 23:32 ask Him to give you the wisdom. 23:34 It's hard to know what to do, 23:36 what kind of decisions to make in these kind of things, 23:37 but if you read Proverbs, third chapter, verses 1-10, 23:41 that's where one of my favorite places is for counsel. 23:44 I think people that can do that 23:45 will be very helpful to them. 23:48 >>So let's flip the situation on its head for just a moment, 23:51 let's say that there's somebody who's watching, 23:53 listening to this lesson today, 23:56 and they know of someone who's going through tough times, 23:59 and they have some means to be able to help. 24:02 What would be some ways that they could assist someone 24:06 who's going through tough times, but not be an enabler 24:10 of continued bad financial decisions 24:14 on the part of the other person? 24:16 How might they be able to help someone 24:18 who's going through difficult times, 24:20 but not make that other person's life more difficult by-- 24:26 I lack the better term, 24:27 but bailing them out so that they can get in trouble again? 24:31 >>Well, there's--I would say 24:32 that you get simple means of instruction for people, 24:36 share the Sabbath school lessons with them, for example. 24:39 I'm sure that there are many people 24:40 that will benefit this quarter from the lessons 24:42 because they've tried to follow God's principles, 24:44 and He has blessed them. I can remember days-- 24:47 Eric, you mentioned these kind of payments-- 24:49 there was a time in our lives 24:50 when Kathy and I had the house payments, 24:51 we were paying on two cars, we had living expenses, 24:54 tuition expenses for our kids and so on, 24:56 and we thought, "Well, how are we ever gonna manage?" 24:58 But we learned these principles early 24:59 and put 'em into practice, 25:00 and God has blessed our family immensely. 25:02 So I think that I can give God the credit for that, 25:06 and we all know that it's important that we do that. 25:09 >>That's fantastic, great counsel, 25:11 both for those who may be going through 25:12 difficult times right now 25:14 and for those who may be able to assist them. 25:17 And regardless of which camp you happen to find yourself in, 25:20 I think there's some great advice there. 25:22 Any final words of wisdom, Ed? 25:24 I wanna read a quote here from the book "Steps to Christ" 25:27 and allow you to build a little something on it. 25:31 This is from the book "Steps to Christ," page number 44. 25:34 The author writes these words: 25:35 "The love of money, the desire for wealth, 25:38 is the golden chain that binds them"-- 25:41 that is, people--"to Satan." 25:43 How does that fit, 25:45 how does that tie into what we're talking about right now? 25:48 >>The Bible says, "The rich rule over the poor, 25:49 and the borrower is a slave of the lender." 25:51 So you can't emphasize enough to try to get debt free; 25:54 this is important 25:55 because the devil would like us to think about money-- 25:57 this one you just read 25:59 is exactly what happened to the rich young ruler; 26:01 he was bound by Satan's chains. 26:03 We don't wanna be bound to anybody's chains, 26:05 and especially not Satan and his group. 26:07 The devil is very crafty 26:08 in how he can catch people off guard, 26:11 and what we wanna make sure 26:12 is that we have made a provision for our family, 26:14 we've made a provision to help others, 26:16 we're faithful with our tithes and offerings, 26:18 and God will bless those who do that. 26:19 There's just no question about it. 26:21 There's been example in my life and our lives 26:23 and many that we've helped as well. 26:26 >>So some practical counsel this week that we've looked at, 26:28 how to manage in tough times, 26:31 times that we may be experiencing right now, 26:32 but certainly difficult times to come, 26:35 the Bible tells us that those are just around the corner. 26:38 And the more that we can get our finances in order today, 26:41 the better off we are going to be in the future, 26:43 and the fewer cords we will be bound with 26:48 by the devil later on. And we need to be as free as possible 26:52 by the time that comes, and that starts today. 26:55 Ed, thank you once again for joining us. 26:57 We have one week left to go, 27:00 one week left to go in this quarter, 27:02 and we're gonna tie everything together. 27:04 I trust that you have been blessed by this journey, 27:07 and if you have, please be sure 27:08 to let other people know about this program 27:11 so that they can be blessed as well, 27:13 and one final week that we can can, that we can glean 27:16 the last little bits of wisdom and insight 27:19 from our guest, Ed Reid, 27:21 at least on this subject in this quarter. 27:24 He's written some phenomenal books on this subject, 27:26 and I would encourage you to pick them up. 27:28 They are available at It Is Written 27:31 and other locations as well. 27:32 You'll be blessed by those books on faith and finances. 27:36 Have a wonderful week; 27:38 we look forward to seeing you again next time 27:41 when we come back here to "Sabbath School," 27:44 brought to you by It Is Written. 27:47 God bless you, have a wonderful week, 27:48 and we look forward to seeing you again next time. 27:52 (uplifting theme music) 28:07 (uplifting theme music) 28:27 (music ends) |
Revised 2023-03-09