Participants: Karen Thomas (Host), Reginald and Ebony Clark
Series Code: IAADD
Program Code: IAADD000029A
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00:28 Welcome to Issues and Answers.
00:29 Our topic today is Stewardship, Love It or List It. 00:32 Today our guests are Reginald and Ebony Clark, 00:35 graduates of the University of Memphis. 00:37 Reginald is a certified financial planner, 00:40 first elder in his church and a recognized leader 00:42 in America's financial planners. 00:44 Ebony is a tax accountant and auditor. 00:47 Together they run P3 financial groups 00:50 in between caring for their three precious children, 00:53 Reginald and Ebony conduct seminars 00:55 and trainings to churches 00:56 and the public on how to care for their finances 00:59 and be good stewards. 01:01 Welcome to the program, Reginald and Ebony. 01:04 Thank you for having us. Thank you so much for coming. 01:07 So exactly what is stewardship? 01:10 Karen, Stewardship is an awesome expression 01:12 of God's love. 01:14 In my opinion, next to salvation 01:16 stewardship is probably the greatest expression 01:18 of God's love because what stewardship is, 01:20 it entails... 01:21 stewardship is when something has been entrusted 01:25 to the good care of someone else. 01:27 The good care? The good care of someone else. 01:29 Wow. Okay. 01:31 So when did God kind of get the stewardship going 01:33 for all of us. 01:35 Well, there are four components to stewardship. 01:38 Everything starts with God as you mentioned. 01:40 You got the source, you have the resources 01:43 and the source entrusted the resources to us. 01:45 You got the source, the resource, 01:47 the trust as well as the steward. 01:49 Actually what I'm going to do in the next few minutes 01:51 is break those four components down 01:53 and just look at stewardship a little deeper 01:55 than what some people may be used to in the past. 01:57 Okay, well I'm excited. 01:58 So we get to have like we were going to one of your trainings 02:01 or one of the seminars. 02:03 We're going to actually get a treat here. 02:04 Okay, so okay, studio audience 02:06 and those that are watching other places, 02:08 we're going to find out love it or list it stewardship. 02:11 Okay. 02:12 Well, we talk about the four components of stewardship 02:14 and let's talk about the first one. 02:16 The first one is the Source. 02:17 Where does all of this come from 02:20 and of course the source is God. 02:21 God says through Him all things were made. 02:24 Without Him nothing was made that has been made. 02:26 For every animal of the forest 02:28 and the cattle on a thousand hills is mine. 02:32 And back then that was the currency of the day. 02:35 So he's telling you that even though 02:36 it may belong to you, it came from Me. 02:39 God is the ultimate source. Wow. 02:41 Absolutely. Absolutely. Wow. Wow. 02:43 So God is the source and so let's look at 02:46 what are those resources that we're talking about? 02:48 What are those resources that He's entrusted to us? 02:51 What are those things that He's given to us 02:52 to take care of for Him? 02:54 When you look at it, you have time, talents, 02:56 which are our abilities, a temple, which is our body, 02:59 that's one of our treasures. 03:01 Most of the time we refer to those as the four T's. 03:03 So let's take a look at each one of those. 03:05 Okay. Let's list each one of those. 03:08 The first one is time. 03:10 The question is, is God concerned with our time? 03:13 Well we all know that out of the seven-day week 03:16 He set aside one day 03:18 and this is the day that we are to come away 03:20 and focus on Him as our creator. 03:23 But not only is He concerned 03:24 with how we spend our time on that one day. 03:28 He's also concerned about 03:29 how we spend our time on the other six days. 03:32 All of the time that He gave us is precious, 03:34 so He wants us to be good stewards of the things 03:37 that we do outside of that time. 03:38 Everything that we do should be to glorify Him 03:41 so that time shouldn't be spent doing anything wasteful. 03:46 Well, you know people always say, 03:47 we don't have enough time. 03:49 You know time, 24 hours in the day, 03:52 you know how do we address the time issues that we have? 03:55 Let's go to the word for that. 03:57 Ephesians 5:16-17 says, Making the best use of time, 04:01 because the days are evil. 04:03 Therefore do not be foolish 04:05 but understand what the will of the Lord is." 04:07 So how do we make the best use of our time? 04:09 By understanding the will of the Lord. 04:10 And that may sound like pie in the sky, 04:12 but it's not, it's really not. 04:14 If I'm conducting myself in such a way 04:15 where God is pleased, 04:17 that's going to take me through all 24 hours, 04:19 not just from sunset Friday to sunset Sabbath, Saturday. 04:22 It takes me through all the entire week. 04:24 So we do have to make the best use of our time 04:26 as the scripture said because the days are evil. 04:28 Do you see and our time here is limited 04:29 on this earth is limited. 04:31 We have to make the best use of our time. 04:32 So God is concerned with how we use our time, 04:35 which is our first resource. 04:37 So how do people know 04:38 if they're making good use of their time? 04:40 Like what kind of things would be examples 04:42 of how to do that, not to waste time? 04:46 Ebony, you want to take. 04:47 Yeah, I think the best way not to waste time 04:50 is to make sure be intentional. 04:52 Have a plan. Set goals. 04:54 When you get up in the morning have a plan 04:56 for what you want to do. 04:57 The first thing should obviously be prayer 04:59 and worship. 05:01 Your feet shouldn't touch the floor 05:03 without thanking God for waking you up another day 05:05 because some people don't get that opportunity. 05:08 But after then make sure that the things 05:10 that you're doing throughout the day makes your life better 05:13 and makes someone else's life better 05:15 and ultimately glorifies God. 05:19 That's excellent advice, have a plan. 05:21 Get up in the morning, before you get up, 05:23 have your prayer, have your devotion 05:25 and then kind of write down a list 05:26 of maybe of things that you want to do 05:28 or you wish to accomplish. 05:29 Is that what you mean by being intentional? 05:31 Yes, exactly. 05:33 Absolutely. Okay. Great. 05:34 I read a book that said, "Do all you can do in that day," 05:37 in that day do all that you can do. 05:38 Sounds simple but it's a really powerful concept. 05:40 Do all you can do in that day. 05:43 Let's go to our talents, our abilities. 05:46 That's the second resource. Is God concerned? 05:48 Do we have to give an account for our abilities? 05:50 Absolutely, we most certainly do. 05:52 Let's take a look at this text here. 05:55 It says, 1 Peter 14, it says, "As each has received a gift, 06:00 use it to serve one another, 06:02 as good stewards of God's varied grace." 06:04 It says a gift here. 06:05 Often times we think about talents, gifts. 06:08 When we look at that, we say, you know, 06:09 this person can do this, this person can do this, 06:11 oh, they especially have a talent. 06:13 But I like to use instead of the word talent, 06:15 I like to say ability. 06:17 We all have abilities. 06:18 You know there's something, Karen, 06:19 that you can do a little better 06:21 than anybody else on this planet. 06:23 I can think of a whole lot of things 06:24 I can do a lot better. 06:27 But you know, someone, you know... 06:29 I've seen examples 06:31 of two people take the same recipe 06:33 and yet one person's tastes totally different 06:35 because they're gifted in that area, 06:37 they have the ability to do that. 06:38 So we have to give an account for the gifts God has given us. 06:42 We have to use them to His honor and glory. 06:45 We also have to use our own gifts. 06:47 We shouldn't be envious of other people's gifts 06:51 or abilities because we have our own. 06:53 So if I know my area is not baking, 06:57 I can just stay away from baking 06:59 and hire someone to bake a cake 07:01 and I can focus my energy on the special talent 07:04 and ability that He gave me, 07:06 and then that just makes everything flow 07:09 and work well. 07:10 So you're saying that God gives each one of us 07:14 certain abilities that we don't have to sit 07:15 and look at someone else's 07:17 and wonder why can't we have theirs, 07:19 God gives us ours? 07:20 Exactly. Absolutely. 07:22 And I think a lot of times people get upset 07:25 because some abilities are more public 07:28 and some are more behind the scenes. 07:30 But if you focus on what your ability is, 07:33 that can take you so far in life 07:36 and you don't have to worry 07:38 about what someone else is able to do. 07:41 Well, how do you know what your abilities are? 07:45 As far as for people do spiritual gifts seminars 07:48 and a whole host, but how do you... 07:49 What's a practical way to kind of see 07:51 maybe what you're good at? 07:54 One of the best ways is to think about 07:56 what is that you enjoy doing so much 07:59 that you wouldn't have to be paid to do it. 08:01 That's probably what your gift is. 08:03 That's probably where your gift is. 08:05 And again, God has given each one of us something, 08:07 some He gives more 08:08 but each one of us has something 08:10 that's so special and unique to us, 08:12 but you have to develop it. 08:14 That sounds good. That sounds really good. 08:16 Another one of the resources is your temple, 08:20 which is your body. 08:21 And people may wonder, 08:23 well is God concerned with what I do to my body 08:26 and what I put in my body. 08:28 and of course He is. 08:29 He says, "Or do you know that your body is the temple 08:32 of the Holy Spirit within you whom you have from God. 08:36 You are not your own, 08:37 for you were bought with a price. 08:39 So glorify God in your body." 08:40 And that's from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. 08:44 So the Holy Spirit lives within us 08:47 and since the Holy Spirit lives within us, 08:50 He is very concerned with how we treat this vessel, 08:54 whether it's what we eat, 08:56 the activities that we choose to participate in, 08:59 our thoughts, our actions. 09:01 All of that is of His concern and when we treat our bodies 09:05 well, we have the energy to be able to glorify Him 09:11 and to spread the message. 09:14 Okay, so what if somebody watches the program says, 09:16 I really, I think this is really wonderful 09:19 about my body being the temple of the Holy Spirit 09:23 but I'm not at my best in all areas, 09:26 you know, I really... 09:28 I may be over here 09:30 and I'm trying to get over here. 09:31 How do I get from, you know, 09:33 hey everyone has New Year's resolutions or some point, 09:36 birthdays or anniversaries or whatever day they pull, 09:39 say I want to do something better physically. 09:41 How do we get from here to there? 09:44 Life is about progression and steps. 09:48 Even the scripture says, 09:49 "Seek ye first the kingdom of God 09:51 and his righteousness and all these things 09:52 will be added to you." 09:53 He didn't say He'd multiply it. 09:55 Added mean they're going to be given to you a step at a time. 09:57 And whenever we have big goal 09:58 whether it's especially being able to take care of our temple 10:01 to, you know, built finance or whatever it may be, 10:03 you break that big goal down into smaller steps 10:06 and you set attainable goals. 10:09 You set goals that stretch you out there a little bit 10:12 but goals that you can get hit so you can take each step 10:16 and be build off the next. 10:17 So that's how you get, I mean just think about 10:19 how do you climb a flight of steps, one step at a time. 10:21 You don't jump from, 10:23 the first floor to the second floor. 10:24 It's one step at a time. 10:26 I think it's about each day deciding that day. 10:30 Every day you're either moving closer 10:32 or further away from your goal. 10:34 So just take that one day. 10:35 Just decide today I'm going to make good choices. 10:39 After that day is done, the next day. 10:41 Today I'm going to make good choices 10:43 and before you know it, 10:44 you will have reached your goal. 10:46 Absolutely. 10:47 So let's take a look at the next component 10:49 of stewardship which is trust. 10:51 Again, so we've identified the source, 10:53 we know the source is God. 10:54 We know the resources. We went through those. 10:56 So the next component of stewardship is trust. 11:00 Trust is such a delicate thing. Trust is very delicate. 11:03 As it relates to stewardship, 11:05 there's a trust on behalf of the source. 11:07 God entrusts His resource to us. 11:11 Then we need to turn around and trust God 11:14 that the resources He gave us last week 11:16 He's going to provide today and tomorrow. 11:18 So trust works both ways. 11:19 When you think about trust, 11:20 think about trust in your own life. 11:23 You can work to build trust up 11:25 over a number of years with a person. 11:27 It's like building a house of cards. 11:29 Make one misstep 11:30 and that whole thing come tumbling down. 11:32 So trust does work both ways. 11:35 The good thing about God 11:36 is that even if that whole house of cards 11:38 starts tumbling down, 11:40 He gives you another chance. 11:41 So He doesn't make you wait, He doesn't make you wait, 11:45 He doesn't say uh, I'm not sure 11:47 if I'm going to trust her again. 11:49 He gives you another chance 11:50 as soon as you ask for it, so... 11:52 Let's look at the scripture real quick. 11:54 1 Thessalonians 2:14, it says, 11:56 "For we speak as messengers approved by God 11:59 to be entrusted with the good news. 12:01 Our purpose is to please God, not people. 12:03 He alone examines the motives of the heart." 12:05 That's from 1 Thessalonians 2:14. 12:07 So God has entrusted to us not only His resources 12:10 but also for spreading of His word. 12:12 He could have told his angels to do it. 12:13 He said, I'm going to trust this to man. 12:15 Wow. Absolutely. 12:17 So we've identified the source, we've identified the resources, 12:22 we've identified trust 12:23 and so the last component of stewardship 12:26 is the actual steward. 12:27 Who is the steward? Okay. 12:30 And God said let us make man in our image 12:33 after our likeness 12:34 and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, 12:37 over the fowl of the air and over the cattle 12:39 and all over the earth, 12:41 and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." 12:44 And that's in Genesis. 12:46 And God created us, but after He created us, 12:49 He said, you've got all this. 12:51 I'm putting you in control of everything. 12:54 So that is saying that we are the stewards. 12:58 He created it and then He gave us charge over it 13:01 to care for it in the way that He directed. 13:05 Wow. He made it all for us. 13:07 Ebony, if you would share with us the next text. 13:08 Okay. 13:10 Psalms 8:4-6, "What is man that you should think of us. 13:15 Mere humans that you should care for us. 13:17 For you made us only a little lower than the angels. 13:20 And you crowned us with glory and honor. 13:22 You put us in charge of everything you made. 13:24 Giving us authority over all things." 13:27 Amen. 13:28 It can't get any clearer than that. 13:30 So we don't have to worry about 13:31 can we do something or should we try. 13:33 You're saying that God has given us complete authority 13:35 over the entire earth, 13:37 to try different things to stretch out, 13:41 and to grow and develop? 13:43 Absolutely. He did it all for us. 13:45 I mean... 13:47 Of course this world has been marred by sin, 13:49 but even in this sin-filled world there's still so much 13:51 good out there to experience and God, 13:53 He wants us to experience. 13:54 That's the part we really got to get clear. 13:57 Stewardship is not about what I can't have 13:59 and what I got to give and this and that. 14:01 No, it's about God wanting us, 14:03 wanting His stewards to enjoy what He gave to us. 14:06 It's just like, Karen, if I loan you my car, 14:10 you need it for a year. 14:11 Now I'm going to have some guidelines, 14:13 you know, I want you get the oil changed, 14:14 this kind of gas you use. 14:16 I'm going to tell you the best way 14:17 to take care of it, but and I want you to enjoy it. 14:20 And it's the same thing with God 14:21 but it's much more than just a car. 14:23 Wow. Much more. 14:24 Much more. 14:25 So we've covered all the areas 14:27 for stewardship and the resource. 14:28 Okay, are we ready for questions and answers? 14:31 Can we get to one more part? Okay, sure. 14:32 We've got to get to the last thing... 14:34 Absolutely. 14:35 This is the one. This is the one right here. 14:37 We've got to talk about the treasure, the money. 14:39 Oh, yeah, great. We got to talk about that. 14:41 Of course, you just gonna ask some money questions, okay. 14:43 Here comes the money. Let's do this first. 14:45 Let's dispel some myths about God and money. 14:48 I've got some written down here. 14:49 It says, here's a couple of myths we want to dispel. 14:51 Money is the root of all evil. That's a myth. 14:54 We shouldn't want to be rich. 14:57 Rich or wealthy people got their money 14:58 from being low down. 15:00 Rich people only think about money. 15:03 And rich people can't go to heaven. 15:04 Those are some myths. 15:06 We want to talk about some though. 15:07 Matter of fact, we've got scriptures 15:08 that talk about some of that. 15:10 Want to hit the first? Yeah, budgeting. 15:12 I have a great scripture about budgeting. 15:14 Proverbs 27:23, 15:16 "Know well the face of your flock, 15:18 and pay attention to your herds." 15:20 As we discussed earlier, 15:22 that was the currency of the day. 15:23 So what God is telling us in this scripture 15:26 is to watch over your money carefully. 15:30 It's not haphazard. 15:32 You should know this is where my money should go 15:35 and care for it as if you were caring for an animal. 15:40 That's pretty strong. 15:42 So you can't just go and spend any way 15:45 that you want or kind of impulse spending. 15:49 You're saying that it's like you would care for an animal 15:51 which you would, you know, 15:53 a flock of sheep, you know, a lamb. 15:55 You're gonna feed it, you're gonna water it, 15:57 you're gonna care for it. 15:58 And just like you were caring for an animal, 16:00 you don't feed them whatever. 16:02 You have a schedule. 16:03 So that same care should be taken 16:05 and used in our finances. 16:07 Absolutely, you can't... 16:08 Money left on its own will find something to do. 16:10 You have to tell it what to do. Wow. 16:15 So many of us we just earn, spend and pray. 16:23 Earn, spend and pray. 16:25 That's not what God would have us to do. 16:27 God wouldn't have us to do that. 16:28 He wouldn't have us to do that. 16:30 Here's a scripture 16:31 for some of your business owners out there. 16:32 It says, "Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles 16:35 but the one who gathers by labor increases it." 16:39 This scripture's telling us 16:42 don't look for fraudulent ways to try to get ahead. 16:46 You know even the fourth commandment... 16:48 Obviously it commands us to observe a day of rest, 16:54 but it also says six days shall you labor. 16:56 Okay, so it's also a commandment to work too. 16:59 We just kind of look over that one, 17:01 absolutely, so... 17:04 As the scripture says wealth obtained by fraud dwindles 17:07 but we are admonished to labor to increase our wealth. 17:11 And then contentment. 17:15 This scripture is about contentment. 17:17 "Keep your life free from the love of money 17:19 and be content with what you have." 17:22 One of the myths is that money is the root of all evil 17:27 and that you shouldn't love money 17:29 and you shouldn't love money, 17:30 but you should be content with what you have 17:34 but still try and gain more. 17:36 That doesn't mean that you shouldn't want more. 17:38 There's nothing wrong with wanting more. 17:40 And when people have money 17:43 they're free to do other things. 17:44 They're free to help people. 17:46 If you don't have any money, you really can't help people. 17:49 So it says that be at peace with what you have 17:53 but it's nothing wrong with trying to get more. 17:56 If I could add a little something to that. 17:59 The scripture is clear, it says 18:00 keep your life free from the love of money. 18:02 It's the love of money that's the root of all evil, 18:03 not money itself. 18:05 And Ebony hit the nail right on the head when she said, 18:07 when you look at contentment in this context, 18:10 what it's talking about is be at peace with what you have. 18:13 Being at peace with what you have right now 18:15 is not mutually exclusive from wanting something else. 18:18 It means you don't sacrifice your sanity 18:23 and your peace of mind to go gather things, 18:26 to always chasing something else. 18:28 It means, now be at peace with what you have 18:30 and follow God's plan, His economy 18:32 and He'll bless you with other things. 18:33 He obviously say, God says to me 18:35 and tells don't have an issue with things. 18:36 Just do it in its proper order. Seek ye first the kingdom. 18:38 I gave you these things. Things are nothing. 18:41 But you've got to keep it in the proper order. 18:43 Step by step by step. Step by step by step. 18:49 What about debt. Okay let's talk about debt. 18:51 Yeah talk about debt. 18:53 My goodness Americans are so much in debt. 18:55 I think we're probably like leading the debt 18:57 as far as individual households. 18:59 Is that right? Oh, absolutely. 19:00 It's growing every day. 19:02 How do people get caught up in that? 19:04 You know, people talk about credit cards. 19:06 Like the average American household 19:08 has like $25,000 in debt 19:11 between credit cards and other things. 19:14 Is that true, really? 19:15 Probably worse than that, 19:17 and it goes right back to the scripture I just read. 19:19 Not being content, not being at peace. 19:22 Sometimes we jump the gun... 19:23 Oftentimes we jump the gun. Here's what debt does. 19:26 Debt allows you to live... 19:28 It's a mechanism that allows you to live 19:30 beyond your means, all right. 19:31 So if you can structure your life 19:33 to live within your means and I know this sounds simple, 19:35 but if you can structure your life 19:36 to live within your means, 19:38 you can eliminate a lot of debt. 19:39 Another thing I'd like to add is, 19:41 when you take it from a scripture standpoint. 19:43 Debt in and of itself is not sinful. 19:45 But debt is a weight. 19:47 You know the scripture says, 19:48 let us lay aside every weight and sin 19:50 that so easily beset us. 19:51 Debt is something that brings us down. 19:53 It's a weight that brings us down to the point of sinning. 19:56 Here's a practical way what I mean by that. 19:59 If my life is entangled with debt, 20:01 it's going to be easier for me 20:03 to maybe consider working on the Sabbath 20:08 or maybe consider neglecting my family, 20:10 doing things that I know I shouldn't be doing. 20:12 Not returning a faithful tithe. 20:14 And hitting the casino. Right. 20:15 Because I'm so entangled with debt. 20:17 Matter of fact, I've got a scripture for you. 20:18 Here you go. 20:20 Proverbs 22:7 says, "The rich rules over the poor, 20:22 and the borrower becomes the lenders slave." 20:24 So whoever you allow yourself to owe, 20:26 that person controls a bit of your life. 20:28 And you can look up and you can be enslaved by debt 20:30 and it's driven some people to do some crazy things. 20:34 It really has. 20:36 Whenever you see debt mentioned in the Bible, 20:38 it always accompanies a warning. 20:41 You'll always see it with a warning. 20:42 And there's a reason for that, absolutely. 20:45 Wow. 20:46 That stop us cold in our tracks. 20:47 You going to give us some advice on how to... 20:50 for those of us who... 20:52 you know, for people who are kind of in debt or whatever? 20:55 You got some advice 20:57 on how to get out of that situation? 20:59 So we know that it's a weight, right, it's a bondage. 21:02 It kind of holds you down. 21:06 The best way to tackle debt is systematically. 21:10 Absolutely. 21:12 First live within your means. Okay. 21:16 So if you're not currently living within your means, 21:19 take an assessment 21:20 of how much money you have coming in 21:22 and what you have going out. 21:24 Anything that's not necessary, 21:26 that's causing you to live above your means, 21:28 eliminate it, because in order to tackle the debt, 21:31 you have to have extra money to be able to pay the debt. 21:35 Then after that hit it systematically, 21:37 say, I'm paying this. 21:41 Make sure everything's paid on time, 21:43 but put a little extra money toward a bill 21:45 until that bill is paid off. 21:47 And then extra money toward another bill 21:49 until that bill is paid off. 21:50 And just keep track and before you know it, 21:53 if you keep at it, you'll be out of debt. 21:56 I want to add one thing too. 21:58 Whenever you find yourself in the hole 21:59 and you want to get out 22:00 what's the first thing you should start doing. 22:02 Dig. Digging, right. 22:04 So let that be your starting point. 22:06 Make sure your mind is made up 22:08 because you're going to not use... 22:10 You know you got to stop using debt and credit. 22:15 We'll talk about it in another segment 22:16 but we developed something 22:18 where we have people classify what we call green debt, 22:21 yellow debt, red debt. 22:22 Give us that real quick, green debt, yellow debt, 22:25 all that debt, debt. 22:27 Red debt is purchasing things 22:28 that do not really have value to them whatsoever. 22:31 For instance, using debt to maybe buy gasoline, 22:35 vacations, clothes, things like that. 22:38 Using debt to get to those kinds of things... 22:40 Right, like swiping your credit card for vacation, 22:42 or for gas, or for clothing. 22:44 Absolutely, that's red debt, you got to stop immediately. 22:47 You can't get anything, buy for that. 22:48 Stop immediately! 22:50 You have to cut that out immediately. 22:51 Then you have yellow debt. 22:52 Yellow debt is what we say, 22:54 you may be purchasing an asset with the debt 22:56 but it's not an asset that's producing new income. 22:58 That's like a yellow light means proceed with caution. 23:02 This is yellow debt. 23:03 You can get it but use it very carefully. 23:05 Purchasing the home that you live in, 23:06 the car that you drive, 23:08 maybe appliances and things like that. 23:10 Oftentimes we have to use debt for these things 23:12 but you should do so very, very carefully. 23:15 And it needs to be debt that you can comfortably pay off. 23:20 Part of the reason why the housing bubble burst 23:22 is because people were getting houses 23:24 that they really couldn't afford. 23:25 So most people do have to go into debt for a house or a car. 23:31 But make sure it's something that you can afford long term. 23:34 Okay. 23:35 And the last one that we hit on is green debt. 23:37 Green debt is, can be kind of complicated, 23:41 but green means go, right? 23:42 So we just go, we just go into the debt. 23:45 Well, but you know, you don't do it like that. 23:48 Not quite like that? Not quite. 23:49 This is what we call good debt. 23:51 There is actually such thing as good debt. 23:52 Oh really? Yeah, it is. 23:54 This is where you're using debt 23:56 that you're going to buy an asset 23:57 such as a rental property 23:59 and you're going to earn more than the debt is costing you. 24:02 But even on to that you need to do that 24:04 under the careful guidance of someone 24:06 that knows what they're doing. 24:07 All right? Okay. 24:09 We definitely don't want to end our time here 24:11 without talking about the system. 24:13 God has designed a system for us 24:15 to be sure we can keep our life free from the love of money. 24:19 We've got to talk about this system. 24:21 Absolutely. It's such a beautiful system. 24:23 We call it tithes and offerings. 24:24 Amen to that. That's what this system is for. 24:26 That's how we balance, 24:28 how do we balance between being at peace 24:29 with what we have, not falling in love with money 24:32 and yet still have a desire for something better. 24:35 God put a system in place for that 24:37 and it's called tithes and offerings. 24:38 You want to get started on that? 24:42 When we talk about giving 24:45 God says in Proverbs 3:9-10, 24:48 "Honor the Lord from your wealth, 24:50 and from the first of all your produce. 24:52 So your barns will be filled with plenty, 24:54 and your vats will overflow with new wine." 24:57 One of the most important parts of those verses 25:00 is he says the first of your produce. 25:05 He doesn't want what's left over. 25:07 He blesses us, and blesses us and blesses us, 25:10 so He deserves the respect and honor to say you know what, 25:13 from what you've already give me, 25:15 because all of it is his, 25:17 I'm going to give you back the very first of it 25:20 and then I know that you can take care 25:21 of everything you need to take care of with the rest. 25:24 But how dishonorable would it be for us to say, 25:29 well, okay I'm going to take care 25:30 of all this other stuff 25:32 and whatever I have left, hey, you can have that God. 25:35 I know you gave it all to me, 25:36 but I'm going give you whatever I have left. 25:38 No such thing as consecrated leftovers with God. 25:41 He asks for the first. All right? 25:43 So you're saying swing the pendulum 25:45 from paying for your car note and your house note 25:48 and those things and then seeing what's left. 25:50 You're saying switch it upside down. 25:51 Absolutely, absolutely. 25:55 When God gave us His Son, 25:57 He gave us the best that He had. 25:59 We have to return the best. 26:03 Obviously there is no comparison 26:04 but we have to return to Him the very best that we have. 26:07 Like she said, the first 10 percent. 26:09 We know tithe stands for 10 percent, 26:11 but the tithe is the minimum requirement, okay. 26:15 After the tithe, of course, we have the offerings. 26:18 In Malachi, it doesn't say 26:19 you rob me in tithes or offerings. 26:22 He says you rob me in tithes and offerings. 26:24 And we need to be cognizant of that. 26:25 You have given us so much information today. 26:28 I mean lots of things that we could probably continue 26:30 to talk about all day. 26:32 But I don't want to close out the program 26:33 without asking for prayer for ourselves, myself, 26:38 the viewers that are watching, 26:40 as we're trying to become better stewards. 26:42 Would you mind offering prayer for us please? 26:43 Sure. Let us bow. 26:45 Lord thank you so much for another beautiful day. 26:47 Thank you for these concepts You've given us in Your word. 26:50 Lord, we ask right now that You will please help us 26:52 to be better stewards of what You've entrusted to us. 26:55 Help us first to recognize the relationship 26:57 that we have with You through this thing 26:59 called stewardship, Lord. 27:00 And we ask that You would please give us these concepts 27:03 more clearly that we may be better stewards. 27:05 And the main thing we want to hear, Father, 27:07 when You return, Lord, when you return, 27:09 that every steward wants to hear, 27:10 we want to hear the two words, well done. 27:12 This is our prayer in Christ Jesus' name we pray. 27:15 Amen. Amen, amen. 27:17 Thank you all so much for coming to the program. 27:19 And you are available? You travel at all? 27:22 Oh absolutely. 27:24 And you've got materials and things 27:26 that people can get hold of, okay. 27:27 Absolutely. So that's fantastic. 27:31 We all want to improve and become better stewards. 27:33 For those of you who are watching at home, 27:35 thank you so much for joining us. 27:38 We hope that it was helpful that we learned a lot more 27:40 about the different kinds of debt, 27:43 the resources that God has given to us 27:45 that we don't have to lack anything 27:47 because God has given us so much. 27:50 If you're interested in knowing more 27:51 about how to reach Reginald and Ebony Clark, 27:54 please contact us here at Dare to Dream Network. 27:57 We'd love to hear from you. 27:58 We'd like to hear your questions and your comments 28:00 and keep the conversation going. 28:02 Again thank you for joining us and we just ask 28:06 that God would continue to just be a blessing into your life 28:09 and may we give Him our very best, 28:11 give Him our first fruits, our abilities, our plans, 28:15 our dreams, our goals, our ideals. 28:17 God bless. |
Revised 2016-09-13