Thursday 19 February 2015

Wealth secrets


Wealth secrets


There are more than 2000 references about money in the bible.  The bible is a book of consequences, especially as it relates to finances.  These consequences are related to whether we follow them or not.

We are going to look at 5 secrets that 96% of us don’t know or don’t apply in our own finances.  This is a practical tool to help you understand and apply basic business principles in how you manage your own income.  We trust these principles will inspire you to have hope in your own financial situation and that you will be able to grow your own income to help in building God’s Kingdom and building a legacy for your family.  We will look at one aspect of these secrets weekly to give us time to digest the information and apply it.



According to Robert Kiyaosaki’s (Author of Rich dad, poor dad) research on people spending habits, found that the difference is based on their upbringing and financial intelligence.  Both of these things can be influenced later in one’s life and therefore we are not stuck in how we think about money.  What he researched was “What would be the result, a year from now when we would give a 100 people $10 000 and told the people they could use the money as they wished.  According to Robert, 80 of the 100 will have $0 after a year.  Sixteen would have $10 300 -$10 500, which is the amount of interest they will get if they put it in a financial institution at interest.  4% would have multiplied it between $20 000 and $100 000.


Summery 80%(spend)   16%(save)           4%(multiply)


So what do the 4% know and practice that the 96% don’t? 


Wisdom vs Wealth.


We find that the 4% value knowledge and wisdom above wealth, riches or power. 


2 Cron 1:7-12

God appeared to Solomon that night in a dream and said, "Solomon, ask for anything you want, and I will give it to you." Solomon answered: LORD God, you were always loyal to my father David, and now you have made me king of Israel. I am supposed to rule these people, but there are as many of them as there are specks of dust on the ground. So keep the promise you made to my father and make me wise. Give me the knowledge I'll need to be the king of this great nation of yours. God replied: Solomon, you could have asked me to make you rich or famous or to let you live a long time. Or you could have asked for your enemies to be destroyed. Instead, you asked for wisdom and knowledge to rule my people. So I will make you wise and intelligent. But I will also make you richer and more famous than any king before or after you. 


The first thing we notice is that Solomon made a reverence to his father and the relationship he had with God.  Solomon was aware of the promise God gave to Dawid and that Solomon was part of that promise.  He understood that he had a responsibility to the people God entrusted to him.  When he was thinking of the question God asked him, he was mindful of the people not about himself.  So he was asking for God to help him rule over God’s people, the way God will rule over His people that the nation will be a reflection of their God, whom gave them a promise,  the promise that God will be with them and lead them through the king He appoints.

Solomon understood the position and the responsibility this position required.   The common mistake we make when we read these verses is that we assume God was impressed by Solomon and gave him a “wish” for himself.  Solomon never asked for personal wisdom, he asked for God’s wisdom to rule like He would rule over His Nation.  The effect of that understanding implies that Solomon share in the effect of Gods rule which is fame and riches. 


If your focus is on what or whom you have in mind when dealing with finances, you will need wisdom to achieve that because you know you are accountable for your spending.  A king rule with resources, people in poverty need resources.  Wisdom is needed to manage what you have, wisdom is needed to invest in what will grow and to sustain the work force.  All these principles are present in every part of your money.


 Wisdom entails both Spirit and Truth.



Christians tend to live out of the New Testament and feel that they are no longer under law by the sacrifice of Christ.  They feel that they don’t have to pay any attention about the financial principles explained in Proverbs and the rest of the ‘Old Testament’ because these are a part of ‘The Law’.  God created the earth with principles that keeps it in order so that the world is a self-sustaining planet.  These principles are truths that we need to know and understand so that we can use them for our advantages.  There are truths about finances that will never change.


Prov. 22:7 tells us the borrower is slave to the lender. If you are in debt you are a slave to that lender until you paid what is due.  We need to live out these instructions to get the benefit of the truth, it is not a qualification about Gods acceptance of us obeying His “law”, it is about embracing His wisdom and making it your wisdom. 

The question is:” Do you want to be a slave?”  If the answer is “no” then stop borrowing.  We live in a culture of debt, it is easy and acceptable, even if everybody is in debt, it can never become a truth because God created truth, not the majority.


Is it more important to know the bible or to life the bible?  We do not need to know the bible, we need to live according to it, the only way is to apply it.  Allowing Gods truth to become our truth by doing it.


John. 4:23  But a time is coming, and it is already here! Even now the true worshipers are being led by the Spirit to worship the Father according to the truth. These are the ones the Father is seeking to worship him.


Worship in Spirit and truth.  What does this mean?



Truth – It is Gods principles that He lives by.  His kingdom is ruled by truth.

Spirit – What He can do according to His faith.  Through His Spirit He can do miracles and do things beyond our understanding.


We need to embrace both of them for Gods Spirit cannot violate His truth.



How do the 4% manage money?



USE JARS



This has to do with how money is stored and used.  There is a big difference here, the 96% focus on what they earn, while the 4% focus on how they use what they earn.  The 96% think that rich is defined as someone who make a lot of money each month and have a lot of resources.  The poor are defined by the 96% as people who don’t make a lot of money each month and have very little resources available.  They 4% define rich as someone who voluntary limit their spending and invest in things that multiply.  The poor are the people who spend 100% or more of what they make each month.



What is the difference in storage and usage of money?

The 4% store their money in multiple receptacle while the 96% usually store their money in just one receptacle.  The 4% tend to give, save and invest first, and spend what’s left, while the 96% tend to spend first and then try to save and invest what is left.  The 4% usually have a percentage to spend while the 96% usually have nothing left to give, save or invest.  This is not because they have more money, they just choose how they use the money that they have differently.

  
Here are the jars that the 4% use.


1.       The Lord’s tithe.

This is not your money that you give to God, it is Gods money that He lets you administrate.



2.       Sharing

This is for people who needs mercy, whom have experience disaster or tragedy.



3.       Saving

For the future and unexpected events



4.       Investing

Placing your money somewhere that will increase its value usually by producing a product or performing a valuable service for others.



5.       Spending

Use this money to purchase the things you need and want



If you allocate percentages of your income when you receive it, you will be able to manage them according to these jars.  If you receive a R100 as an example you will divide it as follow: R10 – tithe(10%), R10 – Sharing(10%), R10 – Saving(10%), R20 – Investing(20%), R50 – Spending(50%).

This is a default example but some people live only on 20% of their income and invest 50% of it.  If you look at your situation you might think it is impossible, but you can start with different percentages, the important thing is that you start using different jars, that you can start thinking differently about smaller amounts of money.   This will empower you with what you have because you can now start thinking creatively about portions of your income.



The secret to becoming wealthy is in how you use the money you have, not in getting more money.

Human nature tends that you will spend 100% of what is in your spending jar.



We will be looking at each one of the jars individually.