Exodus from Financial Slavery

Exodus from Financial Slavery

If we could hear all the prayers that we offered up by people secretly, I sometimes wonder how many prayers are prayed for financial provision and blessing. Many people have in their mind that if they just had enough money, all their problems would be solved. While eliminating debt is not the solution to all of our problems, it is a significant barrier many people face. Some are blind to the fact they are slaves to money and debt and think it is normal or unavoidable. Many want to be free but don't know how. We are in a process of breaking the bonds of debt. God never gives us a commission without the tools to fulfill it:

Pro 22:7 The rich rule over the poor; And the borrower is servant to the lender.

"Owe to no man anything, except a debt of love." Rom 13:8

Financial Freedom

Money is not the root of all evil. Really, "the love of money is the root of all evil." (Paul of Tarsus, A.D. 60) Our family has found financial freedom not through large amounts of material wealth, but in the secret of learning how to master money, instead of being a slave to it. Everyone uses money, and while budgets may help, we have learned key values which influence how we budget and manage money.

The world around us is for our use, not our abuse. If we lose sight of this, our personal resources (including relationships and material goods) diminish without renewal. We have a divine charge to take dominion while replenishing – avoiding the extremes of absolute preservation and annihilation. We plant a garden almost every year. Even though it only supplements, with time we will be able to grow more and offset grocery costs and be healthier for it. We also have learned to be more creative – turning “trash into treasure”, avoiding waste, and also stretching our innovative and inventive capacities.

Giving and receiving is a better way to live than merely “buying and selling”. Merchandising is part of interaction in this world, but this can never replace genuine friendships and Mr. Roger-esque values of neighborliness. So much expense can be offset by living in a culture that gives away things they don't need (excess) in the prospect of receiving something they do. www.Freecycle.org and www.craigslist.com are great places to find a community who is already living this way. Other social networks can provide a forum or shout-out for these exchanges. However, we have also seen the greater importance of giving to those truly in need, without any expectation for a return. We actually make room in our budget every month for this, so we don't have an excuse when we see a need – the money is already set aside for this.

Living simply, with contentment, and a pure heart is great gain. We don't weary ourselves to become rich, compare ourselves to other people, or try to keep up. We work honestly and diligently – producing something useful that others need and want, trusting that everything will be provided, just like for the birds and animals. At the core of our budget is peace. We resist laziness, covetousness, greed, lust, pride, and impatience, since all of these work against meeting our budget. Instead, we strive toward, industry, contentment, thankfulness, humility and patience. There is profit in all labor, so we do what is in front of us, even if it has no apparent financial gain. If we can live without for a time, we do, until we can find it cheaper or can afford it. We love garage sales and have often found nice things deeply discounted. We have also learned to bargain and negotiate – even in unlikely places.

We pray. We pray over our finances. We pray over our shopping lists. We pray against a spirit of poverty and worry. We ask God for His wisdom (since He knows all things) and provision (since He owns all things), asking Him to set us free and truly bless us. He has.

Harvest the Universe
Gen 1:28,29 And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food:

Gen 9:1-3,7 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the heavens; With all the ground brings forth, and all the fishes of the sea, into your hand it is delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; As the green herb have I given you all. And you, be fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

Pro 28:19 He that tills his land shall have plenty of bread; But he that follows after vain persons shall have poverty enough.

Pro 10:4 He becomes poor that works with a slack hand; But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

It is true that God makes provision for all of mankind and "sends rain on the just and the unjust". God gave humanity the capability of not only being fruitful by populating the earth, but also by replenishing the earth and bringing forth provision from it. Agriculture has been a fundamental basis for human subsistence from the beginning, and those who neglect it (individually or collectively as a society) will soon find they are lacking and in need. Creativity and industry often yield what we need by virtue of what we already have. "Necessity is the father of invention," as we say today. Invention and innovation are examples of gifts God has given us to meet our daily needs. We have all been given these gifts to some degree, and you don't have to be Benjamin Franklin to be creative and resourceful with what you have been given.

Giving and Receiving

Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."

Pro 13:7 There are those who make themselves rich, yet have nothing: there are those who make themselves poor, yet have great wealth.

2Co 8:12-15 For if the readiness [to give] is there, it is acceptable according as a man has, not according as he hath not. For I say not this that others may be eased and you distressed; but by equality: your abundance being a supply at this present time for their want, that their abundance also may become a supply for your want; that there may be equality: as it is written, He that gathered much had nothing over; and he that gathered little had no lack.

Pro 22:2 The rich and the poor meet together: Jehovah is the maker of them all.

Giving is a principle which sounds somewhat karmic and here maybe even a little socialistic. God designed humans to depend upon each other, not to live individually and selfishly as hermits and misers. Some people live only as receivers, and don't understand that when they give to others, something immaterial is given back to them. Giving is an expression of love; Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive.
Others never want to be in a position of showing weakness, so they won't express their need or won't receive when others try to help them. No one likes to be humiliated, but not allowing others to give to you is a form of pride: false humility.

Pro 22:16 He that oppresses the poor to increase his gain, And he that gives to the rich, shall come only to want.

Some people which give religiously still end up in need. They might "shower gifts upon" those who are more well-off than they are, trying to impress them, or calculate percentages of their income to give. This is because they have not matured to the place where they give always and only as the Holy Spirit directs, not out of religious duty. All we have and all we are The Lord instructs us to give only out of what we have, not out of what we don't have.

Eliminate covetousness, greed, lust, and impatience
Pro 23:21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.

Pro 21:17 He that loves pleasure shall be a poor man: He that loves wine and oil shall not be rich.

1Ti 6:9-11 But they that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil: which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

Eliminate pride, declare dependence upon God

Mat 6:10,11 your kingdom come. your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread.

Pray for provision and believe God wants to set you free and bless you

2Co 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that you, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work:

Prov 10:22 It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it.

Often we can eliminate needs in our life by prayer. Sometimes we already have what we need, but can't see it. Other times God wants to give us something without us having to go out and purchase it, sometimes supernaturally. If we pray for all that we need, He will meet our needs. If we trust in money, we will suffer the consequence of debt.


Pray against a spirit of poverty and worry

Phi 4:6 In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Mat 6:24-26 No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. you cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, don't be anxious for your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor for your body, what you will put on. Is not life worth more than food, and the body worth more than clothes? Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you of much more value then they?

" Taste and see that the LORD is good." - PSALM 34:8

Jeremiah 29:11 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm yo, to give you a future and a hope.

Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things?

Know your Identity: a priceless child of God and create spiritual indebtedness to God
"Owe to no man anything, except a debt of love." Rom 13:8

"God doesn't make any junk!" We are priceless. This means everything we do is priceless. Because we are bought with the blood of Jesus, we belong to God, not to ourselves, not to anyone else. No one can "own" us but Him, not even a boss at work, the bank, or the government. Our time is priceless. If our time is priceless, why can we only charge monetary value for our work and time? Our time and effort create a physical value and also a spiritual value. We cannot realistically charge people for how we are truly valued (ie. an infinite price). However, we can do something else: charge people a spiritual value of love. This is the "debt of love" which is written about in Scripture. Because of His love for us, we can create expressions of His love through every monetary and physical action, no matter how far-removed other people are from the process. They become indebted to God because of us: indebted to experience His love, just as we have.

Live simply and with contentment

Pro 23:4 Weary not yourself to be rich; Cease from your own wisdom

1Ti 6:6-8 But godliness with contentment is great gain: for we brought nothing into the world, for neither can we carry anything out; but having food and covering we shall be content with it.

Work & trust - honestly & diligently
Pro 20:13 Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; Open your eyes, and you shalt be satisfied with bread.
Pro 23:4 Weary not yourself to be rich; Cease from your own wisdom
Pro 28:20 A faithful man shall abound with blessings; But he that makes haste to be rich shall not be unpunished.
Pro 22:1 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, And loving favor rather than silver and gold.

Work at Whatever is in Front of You -- it will pay off
Prov. 14:23 In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.
Eccl. 9:10 - Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
Col. 3:23 - Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,

Keep God's Blessing: stay humble

Deu 8:7-19 For Jehovah your God bringeth you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, you shall not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless Jehovah your God for the good land which he hath given you. Beware lest thou forget Jehovah your God, in not keeping his commandments, and his ordinances, and his statutes, which I command you this day: lest, when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; then your heart be lifted up, and thou forget Jehovah your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents and scorpions, and thirsty ground where was no water; who brought you forth water out of the rock of flint; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers knew not; that he might humble you, and that he might prove you, to do you good at your latter end: and lest thou say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember Jehovah your God, for it is he that giveth you power to get wealth; that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto your fathers, as at this day. And it shall be, if thou shalt forget Jehovah your God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.