Money's Worth #3 - Breaking the Spirit of Debt
MONEY’S WORTH #3 – BREAKING THE SPIRIT OF DEBT
Pastor Richard West March 17, 2019
Read the Scriptures and share around the circle the revelations God has given and how they are adjusting your life. As you answer the questions and describe your process, be as practical and down-to-earth as possible. Discuss the insights you are gaining and how you are applying them in your life; describe what is working and what remains a challenge.
Read: Luke 16:11-12; Romans 13:7-8; Phil.4:11-13; Psalms 37:21; Ecc. 5:4; Lev. 25:9-10; Luke 4:18-22; Gal. 3:13,
16; Deut. 8:18; Deut. 28:1-14; Exodus 3:22.
• Money and how we use it is a major theme in the Bible – referenced 2,300 times in the Scriptures
• The Scriptures tell us that if we struggle in handling earthly resources like money how can God entrust us with spiritual or heavenly resources that are vital for His Kingdom. Therefore, we are stewards of what belongs to God. He is Lord even over our money.
• We are instructed in the Scriptures to have no debt other than the debt of loving each other in the Body of Christ.
• We live in a consumer society in which debt is considered normal and an expected part of our lives. But God wants to break the spirit of debt and its bondage on our lives.
• Savings is seen in Scripture as a “storehouse principle” that will help us break the bondage of debt in our lives and release God’s blessing. Joseph saved for 7 years to prepare for the “rainy day” of famine and as a result saved a nation. The book of Proverbs teaches us 7 ways in which to invest which shows us that having a mindset of savings is a Biblical principle.
• Credit card debt is a tool the enemy uses to keep us in the bondage of debt that often leads into aspects of poverty in which we spend and live beyond our means. “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.” We all need at some time in our lives to have “plastic surgery” – freedom from credit cards and debt.
• Like Paul, we all need to learn to be satisfied in all things, whether in lack or in abundance through the power given to us by Christ.
• In dealing with debt in our lives, Step 1 create a zero-based budget – live within your budget and don’t become a slave through borrowing. With this don’t co-sign on loans and when and if you do borrow make sure that you pay back what you owe. Step 2 – take hold of the anointing given to us by Christ to break the bondage of debt in our lives and proclaim the year of freedom (Jubilee). Seize the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant given to us and its blessings in which we can inherit all the promises of the Kingdom.
Questions
1. Are you experiencing or had experienced times in your life in which you were under the
bondage of debt?
Has God provided hope in these areas of your life in which you can experience His freedom and provision in your life?
2. Are there practical steps that you learned from the message on debt that you can immediate apply to your life and that of your family?
3. What really stood out to you in Sunday’s message? What did God reveal to you?
