The Bible says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. In front of Baal Zephon and you shall encamp facing it by the sea.’” (Exodus 14:1-2)

Because of the collapse of our church’s roof I have been struggling with the Lord. As we squeeze ourselves in here at the Lead Center, I keep wondering “Oh God, why are You doing this?” With this scripture from Exodus it was like the Lord had something to say to me. He told the Israelites when they had to face a mountain behind them and the sea in front of them, that they’re going to come to a dead end road and they’re going to be hemmed in and He wanted them to camp there. And I said to myself “God you’re putting them in a very vulnerable position because now Pharaoh can slaughter them”. Sure enough Pharaoh sees they are trapped and it says in Exodus 14:3, “Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’”

And I wondered why did God do that? It was because God had a plan. That plan was to bring Pharaoh out so God could show everyone His divine plan to free the People of Israel from the Pharaoh forever. Just when all the people started complaining saying they could have just as easily died in Egypt, God said, “I have a better plan for you”. So God showed me that we are going through this because of His plan for us. And that plan is to see what is going on IN us and not just through us.

Ravensbruk is a concentration camp built in 1939 during the Holocaust Era where 600,000 men, women and children were taken to be incinerated. Holocaust author Corrie ten Boom tells about a letter found there in the pocket of a Christian lady who died there.

It read, “Dear Lord, please remember not only the men and women of goodwill, but also those of ill-will. Do not remember the suffering they inflicted on us, but, instead remember the fruits we have born because of all this suffering: our fellowship, the loyalty we built to one another, the humility we learned here, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown from this trouble. When our persecutors come to be judged by You let all the fruits that have been born here be their forgiveness.”

And I thought, “Ok Lord, it is not just here that’s an issue, it’s what you’re building in here: our loyalty, our generosity, our willingness to forgive, overlook, jump in and help and not just sit back and complain, participate rather than just watching, to be a contributor not just a consumer. It’s what You are doing in us that will make this time and our future together special”. And we will be okay with this.

Now we all know that none of us can buy our future, but it is a matter of how we STEWARD our future which will either bring great benefit or huge consequences. Nothing more has been the cause of wars, crime, infidelity and broken relationships then when we think that all there is in life is money, because there IS something greater. We live in an era where we believe the more we make the more we will become financially independent. But in reality the more we make the more we want. Here are some basics you need to follow for a better future...

OUR FUTURE TAKES INTO ACCOUNT:

Our GOALS.

In Alice in Wonderland the Cheshire Cat says, “If you don’t know where you are going, ANY road will take you there.” In other words, any road will seem “good enough for us” if we don’t set any goals. Oh you may think that you have goals, like what kind of car you want to drive or the kind of house you want to live in. You may even have a bucket list. But I want you to know that we have eternity to work on our bucket list. We don’t only have this life time. So we don’t have to accomplish everything in this lifetime that’s on our bucket list. Sometimes we want to fulfill all the goals we set NOW causing us sometimes to go our own way but God wants us to go another way and we end up going the wrong way. We shouldn’t try to tell God what we want but we should seek what God wants for us. As it is written by Paul in Philippians our main goal is to want what He wants. Why? Because He has a purpose for us and a plan.

As the Bible says, "I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." (Phil. 3:8)

Here’s an example, let’s say we are heading for a destination. If we pass our destination as we review our GPS, what do we do? Do we turn our GPS around or should we turn ourselves around? In the same sense we should not tell God to follow our plans and try to turn Him around to do things our way, but we should turn our direction towards what God has in store for us. Success begins when our goals and God’s goals are the same. If you don’t follow what God has for you, if you don’t set those proper goals then you’re going to be buying stuff you really don’t need and be around people with whom you really don’t want to be. You’re going to be constantly changing things over and over - your personality, your goals and your wants - just like changing old overcoats over again and again. If you don’t establish those goals it will be difficult to make proper decisions. There are four questions you should ask yourself as you make decisions.

The 4 QUESTIONS TO ASK when making decisions:

1.   Is it RIGHT or WRONG?

For an example if you are in a relationship, is it right or wrong? Is it what God approves of or not? If it isn’t right then it’s wrong – get out of it. You have to learn the difference between right and wrong and accept it. If you are struggling with this you have to go back to basics and really learn and understand the difference between right or wrong.

2.   Is it WISE or UNWISE?

Even if something is RIGHT then we have to ask, “Is it wise or unwise?” For instance, if you’re going to set someone right, is it wise to confront them about it? The main danger with this is it can lead to gossip. Remember that gossip is telling a truth with intent to hurt. It may be right, but if you’re using it with intent to hurt it is not wise. You see, gossip is the right implication, but the wrong application. It could be an inappropriate exposure to try to hurt someone.

3.   Is it STRATEGIC or NON-STRATEGIC?

For instance, what does God want for you, your life, your marriage and your goals? Is it strategic to those Godly plans for you? An example was I was once offered an opportunity to purchase a well established, money making mall. It was tempting but when I was ready to sign the contract, I got deathly sick. Long ago I had asked God to deal harshly with me if I ever made the wrong decisions that would hurt church or family. God told me that night that although I would have made a lot of money, it is not what God intended for my life in ministry because it would have distracted me. So even if it was right and wise, it was not strategic for what God had for me. You see in the end, God will not hold you accountable for what you have done but with what HE asked you to do with your life and if you did it. Everyone has a calling, everyone has a purpose, make sure you are fulfilling that call.

4.   Is it TIMELY or UNTIMELY?

So even if something is right, wise, and strategic, is it Timely? Sometimes God will say to wait two more months because you really don’t have enough right now. Impulsiveness and impetuousness will cause us to make horrible decisions that will create consequences that you will have to pay for years to come. Even mis-timed obedience is dis-obedience.

Once we have these four questions properly answered then we are on our way to making the proper decisions. The next thing to our financial future is:

Our GROWTH.

This is related to our maturity and our discipline to be able to reach those goals. God is going to use money to stretch your faith and to strengthen it. Will we worry or trust, obey or not? How we handle money will plant roots in every part of our lives. Paul even teaches his protégé in 1 Timothy 6 that the love of money is the root of all evil. If you have wrong intentions for money then it will plant roots in all aspects of your life; your business, your marriage, everything. So remember it is very important to be obedient. Just like it says here in 2 Corinthians:

"You will be glorifying God through your generous gifts. For your generosity…will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ." (2 Cor. 9:13)

In the Philips translation it says “your obedience will prove the reality of your faith”. I want God to trust you as an obedient person. Did you know that scripture says God knows your spiritual maturity by the way you handle money?

As the Bible says, "If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches?" (Luke 16:11)

Lastly, our financial future depends on:

Our GENEROSITY.

This third point will truly help bless our financial future…and that is how much we are generous. You see, we serve a very generous God. It needs to be a part of our lifestyle too. The beautiful sunsets, the air we breathe, the fact that we are alive, all exists because we serve a very generous God. So look at it this way, if our God is a generous God, and we were designed to be like our God then we should be a generous people too. God has even designed the universe to give exceeding abundance of blessings in regards to our generosity. John 1:16 states:

"We all live off His generous bounty, gift after gift after gift." (John 1:16 Message)

Our God is truly a generous God, just as it says here in Chronicles:

"Everything we have comes from You, and we give You only what You first gave us!" (1 Chron. 29:14)

We have everything we need because God gave it to us. One night I took my grandchildren to dinner and my granddaughter loves Chicken Strips. I was getting hungry so I started eating her chicken strips and she yelled at me and said “Those are mine!” I wanted to tell her that I am the one who is buying those chicken strips, I am the one providing her with those chicken strips, and I am the source of those chicken strips. Then I realized that is exactly true of God. God has given us everything, but we greedily say, “I want more and they are mine!” God says “I am the source of all things. I gave it all and I can take it all away”. He’s teaching us to be generous. Show your own children how to be generous because they won’t learn it from society, they have to learn it from us, so that it becomes a lifestyle of theirs. We have to be generous in our giving, in our time, in your compliments, in your encouragement; generous in your embraces in your serving and our children need to see that.

God says in Scripture:

"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matt. 6:21)

 Whatever you give to is where your heart is. Like when you give to a family member, you become closer or inclined to that person. When you give to God then you become more inclined to Him. Each time you are generous you become more like the one who created you. There are three Laws of Generosity.

THREE LAWS OF GENEROSITY:

• The law of INCREASE
  Scripture says, "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap." (Luke 6:38)

If you talk to a farmer, he will always say that you will get back way more than you invest. Like if you invest in a kernel of corn you don’t only get back one kernel you get ears and ears of corn which equals hundreds or thousands of kernels. God designed the universe to give back to those who give generously.

• The law of PLANNING
  It is written, "You must make up your own mind as to how much you should give. Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully and God will generously provide all you need. Then you will have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others." (2 Cor. 9:7-8)

It is well known that astronomers can predict expertly and mathematically when the next eclipse will be because God is a God of Planning, God is a God of Order. God wants us to plan even in our giving. Don’t just do it on the spur of the moment or because others are doing it, but plan on giving and plan on how much to give - then the giving won’t throw other things off. If you don’t plan your giving then all your money will disappear. Plan on how much and when and you won’t run into problems. God is a God of Order.

• The law of the HARVEST
  The Bible says, "He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, but whoever sows generously, will also reap generously." (2 Cor. 9:6)

This is the most important point. Farmers know this best. As a farmer receives seeds we have a portion of seeds for eating and a portion of seeds for planting. What do you think will happen if we dive into the seeds for planting? We will have less for the harvest than we were supposed to have. It will be catastrophic to our future. God gives us provisions for eating but He also gives us provisions for planting – that’s tithing. The Bible teaches us also that whatever we need more of we should give more of it away. For instance, if you want life, you lay your life down, if you want God to exalt you, you humble yourself. Whatever you need more of you give it away. Need more love?  Give love away; if you want more encouragement, give that away. That’s the Law of the Harvest. God is a generous God so when we give generously we become more like Him and he has created the universe to give back exponentially to us.

Study Suggestions

What are your goals?   

Why is it important to plan even in your giving of tithes?

How can we use our gifts in the time of Harvest?

In what way will you Finance your Future?