Clemson had a pretty good day too
didn't they? And South Carolina didn't lose as bad as they were supposed to so it was
a pretty good day all the way around. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you. Father
as a group we now do what your word says we come boldly before your throne with
our petitions. Father you know I can do these talks by myself, but they sure are better
when you do them. So we just ask you invade this time and you own this time and you
redeem this time with your spirit. In Jesus name, Amen. How many of you grew up like I did: not
rich? I grew up in Antioch, Tennessee a suburb
of Nashville and it was not the poor end of town but it sure wasn't the rich end of
town. Just workin folk, you know what I'm talking about. My dad thought work was a
verb, he didn't think it was management theory. So when we went off to college while was going through four years of
school we worked 40 to 60 hours a week some of y'all worked when you were in college.
How many of y'all worked when you were in college? You know what I'm talking about. And none of you
died from it, the ones that died aren't here so... These days they call that child abuse,
you ask your kid to work in college you know. Little Jimmy, Little Jimmy needs to study. Little
Jimmy's playing beer pong he needs a job. So that's how I grew up and so, Sharon
and I, my wife and I we meet, we get married, we start off with nothing. How many of y'all started off with nothing? You remember we ain't got money honey
but we got love. Good thing too because we ain't got any money. We were eating off a
card table, driving in 1902 Pinto. For you young people that's a car, not a bean. And
we got married, set up our first little apartment with two nickels to rub together,
and we'd been married about a month and my wife remembers that she's a Baptist.
She neglected to tell me this when we were dating. Never came up. But apparently
there's a doctrinal thing once your a Baptist your always a Baptist or something I
don't know what the deal is, but so she gets up on Sunday morning and says we're
going to church and I said we aren't doing anything I'll be here drinking
beer and watching football and um course she cried and I'm like I
don't understand we never talked about this before and all the sudden you just,
you know, you're a super Baptist. What's the deal? But um, so she takes off to
church and and then every Sunday she crying go to church and these
little heathen or she'd go to these little Baptist churches and they would
pray for her heathen husband and um, so then I got into this multi-level thing
that I was in for about 10 years one 3 month period. and uh, you know one of those deals where
you make your friends are mad you know that deal. and so um anyway so I was
gonna get rich me and one of my beer drinking buddies, there's a lot of beer
in the story, but um and so we me and this little redneck guy that I was friends
with me, two little rednecks trying to figure out how to be how to get rich in
this business and so you know we were out there trying to do sales calls and
we couldn't get anything to work and we had five questions and we just knew if
we can get these five questions answered we could you know be one of those rich
people in an MLM and we'd be having a yacht and all this kind of stuff and you know
how they do that stuff and so we went to one of their pep rally things you know
the big thing in the convention center and they have all the guys that are
successful gals are successful get up on the stage and tell you how much money
they're making and I'm making $800,000 a minute or whatever
you know that stuff right. And they've all got big checks. I never got a
big check like that, I wonder if you can get that at the bank or not but you know
they've all got this stuff and so we finally at the end of the day the last
guy to come up I kid you not his name was Rich. You can't make this up okay and so he
was the guy we wanted to see cause he was the big dog right and then when he
got up there he was even cooler than we thought and so he owned us you know I
mean like credibility city and on top of that his talk it was like he had our five questions as
his outline he went right down them man we're like this guy he knows everything this is the smartest guy on the planet and then he
goes he gets tto he end of his talking he goes and there's one more thing, and we went no there's not we got them it's five you know and he goes no there's one more
thing if you don't know God, you're going to struggle in business. And my buddy and
I went "Say what?!" And he said when you put on the character of Christ it
changes your character, it causes you to want to serve rather than to take, and
you're more worthy of trust you're more trustworthy and servants have a tendency
to win in business more than and so if you don't know God you're going to struggle
in business he does this whole talk about God. And my buddy and I are going
I never heard anything like that before in my life. So you know we go back, two little redneck
guys, we go back to the like the Hampton Inn or whatever wherever we were staying and we get out the
Gideon's Bible and it's Old King James. So it's like Shakespeare and Jesus, right?
These and thous and thou and this and I'm like there's no possible way these
two guys are gonna figure this out, right. So we sit there and look at it for a few
minutes and like I have no idea. We closed it. But I did go home I told my
wife I said we're going to church and she said who are you and what have you
done with my husband? And so we visited a couple churches and one guys asleep in
one of them and I'm like well if there's a Jesus you shouldn't be asleep about it so um you
ought to be like excited. I like going to churches like this where we're having fun
y'all know what I'm talking about? I mean sometimes you're going these places and
they look like they're weaned on a pickle you know I mean its life is bad
you know and so anyway this place they you know want people raising their hands
like they knew the answer to a question or something and you know and one
woman's up there swaying and I'm like I told Sharon we were sitting on the back and
tell us if they get out snakes were leaving. And uh, so pretty soon you know
we're walking through the backdoor the place and meet the pastor and his wife
was one of those sweet sweet ladies and she just give everybody a hug that was
there and you know week after week month after month we kept going and that
woman literally hugged us into the kingdom. And we met Jesus there and it
changed the trajectory of my life. It changed everything and I started we of course left that whole multi-level thing I told you just for three months and so we
started buying and selling real estate um I grew up in the real estate business
momma and daddy were in the real estate business So I knew the real estate business and I'm
start doing flip this house before there's cable TV to tell you how right
and so you know we're buying and selling houses and we got rich. By the time I was
26 years old I had four million dollars worth of real estate little over a
million dollar net worth and twenty-five was my best year in that
business i made $250,000 cash taxable income that year, that's
twenty thousand dollars a month. I don't know what neighborhood you grew
up in the neighborhood I grew up and we call that rich. And it was fun too. I had that car I always
wanted, you got that car you always wanted some day when I make it I'll get that
car you know that one for me it was a Jaguar I needed a Jaguar because nobody
in the neighborhood I grew up in could spell Jaguar right, and so I got me a
Jaguar man you know I'm riding along and within 90 days baby I was a Jaguar right
you know right right oh man I was having fun and Sharon and I
we went to Hawaii and we liked it so we went back. She likes little sparkly things we
got her some. They weren't big enough so we got her some more. It was fun. Sometimes I hear these people say "All
those rich people are miserable." Uh-huh. Now I'm not theologically or
philosophically shallow enough to tell you money will make you happy. Money will not make you happy. You get
more money it will, it will make you more of what you are right now. If you
are miserable and you get money, you will be lots of miserable. If you're a jerk
and you get money, big jerk. And and it will mess with your family too to the extent there's crazy in your family, and we all got crazy in our family right? You know, if you don't think you got
crazy in your family, it's you. Okay. So everybody's got something, right?
And you put a little money on the crazy woohooo crazy gets crazy! Y'all know what I'm talking
about? Is this real? So your money is not gonna solve
your problems it's going to make them bigger. It's also gonna make your opportunities
bigger if you're a generous person your generosity will go into overdrive. You'll
be outrageously generous. To the and you get a lot of money we'll call you a
philanthropist. Cool word that means you give a lot of it away and you have a
blast doing it. You found the most fun you'll ever have with money is when you find
that. So you know it was it was fun you guys but I did stupid stuff. How many
of y'all ever done somethin stupid? How many of you didn't raise your hand and have a problem
with lying? What do you think this is a rhetorical question? I mean seriously? I borrowed too much
money, and our bank got sold to another bank out-of-state. I know that never
happens around here. And a guy looked down sitting in another state and said
there's a 26 year old kid in Nashville owes us a million two hundred thousand and he's
flipping houses, we need to limit this relationship. Which is banker talk for
ruin his life. And they called our notes. We weren't late, but they were 90 day notes so
they had the option of doing that. They just said we don't want to play anymore and I
went, "What?!" That started a crash that took took two and a half years to unfold and we
lost everything we owned. We were sued, we were, we were sued so many times. And
they were all right I mean I made $250,000 one year, the next year my taxable
income was 6,000. I spent the whole year selling stuff trying to pay my bills and
trying to honor those things that I signed and I couldn't do it. Cause
stupid will catch you and tackle you and I had signed up for stupid on steroids. I've done I mean I got a PhD in D.U.M.B. y'all.
I mean. We were sued so much that the little guy with the Sheriff's Department that
brings those little pink lawsuit papers we're like on a first-name basis with the old
boy. Sharon's making him cookies, you know
come on Harold. I mean, it's not his fault bless his heart, what a job you know oh man and-and-and. We had a brand-new baby
and a toddler, and our marriage is hanging on by a thread. Y'all I was so scared I didn't know what to
do. I remember standing in the shower with it so hot in my face I could just barely stand
there and I would just stand there and cry. I was so scared. 28 years old I got babies, my poor wife.
She thought she married Sir Galahad turns out it was Goober. I mean I had missed it up y'all, I drove NASCAR
into the wall engines up in the stands I mean it's it was a blow-up. I mean we
didn't get a divorce I mean number one cause of divorce in North America today
money fights and money problems y'all know you have a good money fight but if your a
hillbilly and you have a good money fight it's real fight. I mean we didn't get a
divorce shall we held on to each other but sometimes it's to get a better
grip you know what I'm saying and I mean
she's from the hills of East Tennessee frying pan throwing there is an Olympic
event. You know it's like man and finally we hit bottom and we were bankrupt. I was
doing one of these new shows the other day I do these Fox and Friends and
Good Morning America stuff and one of those news anchors is like "You know this
is a cool story you start with nothing you become a millionaire you lost
everything know your multi-millionaire how did you bounce back?" I went dude
when you fall that far you really don't bounce. It was more of a splat. I said I'd
like to tell you bounce back but I didn't I set around whined and blamed everybody
else. You ever do something stupid and blame everybody somebody else? Yeah. Turns out McDonalds does serve hot
coffee, you know. It's like, man. We live in a, we live in a culture of victims don't we it's unbelievable and so victims of our own stupidity all of us it's
unbelievable. And so man I sat around whined. But, I tell you this: you know I met
God as I told you on the way up but I got to know him on the way down. And you
I mean we were ground into powder there was nothing left. We had a
I surrender all moment and it wasn't about this Baptist altar call baby I mean we
surrendered. White flag. You're in charge. What do you want us to do? Because I
didn't know how to be a husband. I didn't know how to be a dad. I didn't know how to handle money,
obviously. I had a degree in finance, but I got to thinking about it who was it
taught me to borrow money this was my finance professor in college who was
broke. Know what's wrong with that picture? It's like
a shop teacher with missing fingers. So you know I mean so we get this thing out
and it turns out my Heavenly Father even in spite of my stupidity is crazy about
me. Even in spite of my black heart he's crazy about me. Even in spite of my
darkness and the worst Dave that there is he knows him, he still loves him. He's
crazy about me. And he's got a plan and it's not to bring me
harm. But to bring me hope. And so I dove in here hard. And I'm like okay how do you be
married? Submit yourselves one to another. Oh no I
gotta dry dishes. Now don't spare the rod, my kid's like
"What's that Dad?" Come here baby I'll show you. 2,500 scriptures on how to handle
money and possessions. And I started reading people like Ron Blue and Larry
Burkett and Howard Dayton who were the first guys in the Christian space in the
modern era to talk about what the Bible says about money and I was amazed and I
started living Sharon and I started living by those principles and they started
working. Now I won't tell you it was instant, it was not instant. If you're
looking for instant if you want get-rich-quick, God is not in the microwave
business he's a crockpot guy. It's gonna take t-i-m-e time, time. But
man when you start living your life this way this is a compass it shows you which
ways North and you're not lost anymore. I don't always like what it says but it's
usually because i'm wrong, hello. I don't know if I agree with what, with
God? [laughing] Yeah right. I had a spiritual moment when I realized God was smarter
than me you know. Ok i'm probably going to do it this way
because it's working. All these years later it does work and not only did
Sharon and I get back on our feet gradually and slowly and start building
wealth again, because you know we live in a cause-and-effect world what you plant
you will harvest you will reap what you sow, right? So if you plant stupid you
will get a crop of desperate. I've done it and you know if you plant corn don't be looking for beans to come up.
Don't be shocked by, cause what you put into your life is what you're going to
get out. God is real clear, it's all through Scripture, it's a cause-effect
the whole thing you know the cause effect the theorem of cause and effect
was you know a Christian physicist that discovered the Christian worldview
and so you start to understand that that's how the universe works and our
lives are the same way and yet we live them randomly. And we go I wonder how that
happened? Well you know you planted it six months
ago and it grew up and smacked you in the back of the head and that's what
happens in our lives isn't it? This is real. So, we start teaching a
little Sunday School class had about 30 people in there. And then we looked up there's about 500
in there. And we took a little book and printed it and nobody would buy it and I was selling it out of the trunk of my car in a video store, bookstores wouldn't carry it. And
finally some bookstores started carrying it, and then publishers wanted to publish
it, and then all these you know 12 million books later here we are, you know.
We start teaching a little class called Financial Peace University and with a
bad suit and an overhead projector and now all these years later four-and-a-half
million families have gone through it and forty thousand churches. I mean God really knows how to take
lemons and make lemonade, doesn't He? He knows how to take something and turn it around.
So if your life's in a mess I'm here to tell you I got mess down. I know what mess looks like and we serve
a God who cleans up messes and seals broken hearts and touches wounds and and
turns things around. And if you're too cool for school you're smart oh He'll get to you. He'll help you He'll
help you course-correct and knock the hair off your head I'll tell you that but He'll
course-correct you. Because He loves you He's crazy about you. So we found that there's five things
that if you do these five things with money over a period of time like 10 or
15 years you will build a level of wealth one hundred percent of the time.
And now I said a level of wealth I don't know what level because I can't predict
car wrecks and cancer, I can't predict tragedy and I don't know what your
income will be. But if you're working and you do these five things, you will build
a level of wealth one hundred percent of the time. And this is not some prosperity
thing and it's not mystical magical when I cover these five things, they're all common
sense. But common sense is so rare now it's like having a superpower. So when you plug God's common sense and
it changes everything. So let's look at the five the first one
is get on a budget. A written plan. Jesus said for which of you intending to
build a tower does not sit down first and count the cost lest to get halfway
up and is unable to finish and all who see him begin to mock him and say this
man began to build and was unable to finish. Another Christian they can't pay
their bills. I added that last part. You have to do a budget. On paper. On purpose. Before the month begins, every month. If
you work for a company called you incorporated and you manage money for
you incorporated the way you manage money for you now would you fire you,
don't answer that. And you know we misbehave with money the Bible says he who is impulsive exalts
folly, folly is the verb of a fool in action he who is impulsive is a fool
in action. Been there done that. Arrow right here. And fools you don't want to be a
biblical fool. This is not a greeting like "Hey fool" no this is like an idiot. You don't want to be
that kind of fool. And so we're disorganized, we don't have a plan,
nothing's written down, and we have the unmitigated gall to pray to our Heavenly
Father the maker of Heaven and Earth and say Lord I'm misbehaving, I'm horrible,
and I'm incompetent, but send me more money. To which he looks at us and says, "No." It's in the Bible. Parable of the talents. Master gives three servants an amount of
money to manage. Comes back later, two of them managed it well, one of them didn't. The
one that didn't he not only didn't give him more, he took
the money away from him who managed poorly and gave it to the one that had
the most. Who had managed at the best. And then there's that wealth inequality
scripture. Hahaha. That says right after that those who are faithful in the
little things will be given more to manage. And so my son who's 15 years old
many years ago decides he wants a brand-new Corvette when he turns 16. To
which I looked at him and I said I'm a loving Heavenly Father, except I'm not
heavenly, I'm a loving father. No, you cannot have a new Corvette.
Although that sounds like a blessing to you my son It's 465 horsepower, it has a fiberglass
body, it will go from zero to 60 in 3.1 seconds, you are incompetent as a driver
I've seen you drive you will kill yourself. And until you prove your competence
we're not even going to talk about something that ridiculous. So right now what you will get is an old
Chevette with a tired gerbil under the hood. Because I remember when I was 16 my
first car by the time I got rid of it it had been hit on all eight sides. Be
faithful in the little things, decide. The interesting thing about each one of
these principles is, you can just decide today to do them. Had a guy working for me
and he was not doing his process right and I sat down and I said this is what you need to do
and he goes well I it's not the way I do it and I said change. And he said well
I'm not like you and I said change. You can decide today to be good at this, or
leave. Change. Change. You can decide when you go home, you can decide to do a
budget today. Get out a yellow pad or go free budget
online every dollar com you can decide today. I'm gonna start managing money
well today. Today. You can decide. Because you're going to keep getting what you've been
getting if you keep doing what you've been doing, you know this right? Sowing and reaping. And the second one is
you need to get out of debt. Now we know this one. You knew Dave Ramsey was going
to talk about getting out of debt. Because you know the Bible says the
borrower is slave to the lender. It's real. Now the Bible does not say that debt is a
Salvation issue. You can have a MasterCard and go to heaven. The Bible does not say debt is a sin. I can't find that in there. But I have
studied this for 30-plus years and I cannot find a single scripture anywhere
that God used debt to bless his people or a single scripture anywhere that says
anything positive about debt. It always says you're a fool, it's a curse, you're a slave, and then we
continue to engage in it and in our intellectual minds we somehow figured
out how we are smarter than God. While all through the Bible it basically says
debt is stupid. And those that engage in stupid things are, well, stupid. And I've
been stupid I told you that so I'm not calling you names. Here's the deal the borrower is slave to
the lender. You don't think this is so? Think about this: your most powerful
wealth building tool is your income. Let me show you what slavery looks like.
This week they came out with new data that shows that the average car payment in
America today according to National Auto Dealers association is 499 dollars.
That's dangerously close to 500. You take 500 bucks a month and invest it from age 30 to age 70 in a decent growth stock mutual fund, You'll have 5.6 million
dollars. That's what a car payment costs you. So who'd you make rich? General Motors?
Ford? Lexus? I don't know who was it? You made somebody rich. It wasn't you. And
you driving along in something you can't afford scratching your head,
wondering why your kids college fund isn't funded. Because we're giving it all to
somebody else. And they have nicer furniture in their building, have you
noticed? Something's going on here guys. You know and some people in here got a student
loan's been around so long you think it's a pet. You got Master card in your life. I mean it's hard to be a slave if you
don't have a Master so you might as well. We've discovered bondage. And American
distress. And just keeps going and going and have done it to y'all, I'm not
picking on anybody I'm just saying here's the deal think
about this what if you had no payments? Can't even get my head around that. Well you're always gonna have a car
payment, you ever hear people say that? Little man can't get ahead, you're always
going to have a car payment so drive something nice, YOLO. Right? Which by the way is addressed in
Proverbs. Says fool right after that. See this is how we talk when we're losing. You know we can't get ahead I sure hope we can elect a president who will fix my life. Not gonna
happen. Neither one of them got the goods I'll just tell you. You're in charge of
your life and you and Jesus I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
are the only shot you got it's the only one is gonna work and that's what
changes. Don't be listening to these people little man can't get ahead you talk to these
people you think their spirit animal is Eeyore. It's unbelievable. So how do you get out of debt? Well you have to decide to not borrow
any more that's first step, isn't it? I have we had plastic surgery at our house, we had a plastectomy. Decided we're not borrowing money anymore. MasterCard Capital One. What's in your wallet? Money. You're weird Dave. You're right, and I'm
not broke anymore either. I decided I'm not living like this. I haven't had a credit card in 30 years. You
don't have a credit card?! I don't have a credit card. That's my wallet. Got green
President's faces. And it's got four pieces of, [applause] thank you, it's got
four pieces of plastic in here. Two debit cards, one on my business, one on my
personal account, which will do everything your stupid credit card will
do. I travel more than any two of you put together shut up it works ok. Dave you're not getting
the airline miles yeah I've met a lot of millionaires and none of them said Dave
I made it all on my airline miles, I haven't heard that one so. So I got four pieces
of plastic in here these two debit cards my driver's license in my handgun carry
permit. I said that in California about got arrested. It's good to be back in America. Um They just don't speak Southern over there it's not
good for me. And the third thing once you're out of debt then, you need to be
careful to foster high quality relationships. What's that got to do with money?
Everything. There's a huge correlation for those that build wealth and who they
hang around with. Because you become who you hang around with have you
noticed that? You do! I mean I was in Boston thursday night doing an event you
know those people all have an accent? You become who you hang around with you
don't let your kids hang around with little juvenile delinquents right? If little Johnny down the streets a weed
head you don't let your kid run with little Johnny because you know you're
gonna have a weed head in your house right? You know we know this. So you know
they come home with that mouth on them and you're going where'd you learn that?
That'll get you knocked into next week in this house I mean what or do you think
you could do you get away with that? I'll take you out and make another one looks
just like you you know I mean you know. It's cause they're hanging out a little
Johnny right you know what happens we're the same way y'all. We're the same way. You
talk like the people you hang around with you, you read the books they talk about,
you know if you don't read and all your friends watch The Bachelor well here's a clue okay here's what's
going on if this is all you know about is reality TV that's not a reality probably
we need to change our diet you know and you don't read a book and so Charlie
tremendous Jones said five years from today you'll be the same person you are
today except for the books you read the people you meet. I mean don't be deceived
evil company corrupts good habits and you know this the studies have shown that over a 10-year
period of time that your income will approximate will become within ten to
twenty percent of the average of your 10 closest friends income. Because you have
the same habits they've got the same diet into your self that they've got if you
want to learn scripture hang out with people that know scripture and are
memorizing scripture you want to have a filthy mouth hang out with people with a
filthy mouth you'll have it you can't stop yourself from doing it you will
become who you hang around with and all the studies show that we have a
tendency now that's not to say I'm some kind of snob and I don't have any
friends aren't rich friends not that at all I have lots of friends but my closest
hangs are people I want to be like that's my closest ones now I'll talk to
anybody but like when our daughters were you know our daughters are growing up
they're grown and married two wonderful men now but you know they're in high
school and they're wanting to go on a date we didn't do missionary dating you
don't get the date little Johnny the weed head and lead him to Jesus that's not
gonna work okay we're not doing this little johnny can
go to camp and get saved again you know we'll work on this right and so no uh-huh
you come up in our house pick up one of our daughters honk your horn you better
be delivering pizza alright so coming in talking to the old
man you know be cleaning my gun when you get home you know the song right and so
I mean this is kind of thing i'm teaching dad all the boys and youth
group are scared of you good good keeps away two things you don't want baby doll you
don't want jerks and you don't want wusses and if I can keep both those away and
then I teach you how to keep them away you can pick good. And guess what they
both picked good they both picked good they're married studs man i got some son-in-law unbelievable
love Jesus love their wife love their kids I mean fight for their family I got man my
sons in law are awesome it was an accident started praying for my sons-in-law when my
daughters were born and praying still praying for my son's wife because he hadn't
found her but he'll get around to it and you know but the you see what I'm saying
y'all and you become who you hang around with and you need to make these choices
very very carefully the third thing or the fourth thing is
you need to save and invest. In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and
oil wise people save money that's what this means oil is a sign of the Holy Spirit in the
Old Testament it was used to anoint kings and it was used to keep the oil burning
in the Holy of Holies and so it was used in the marketplace like we use green
president's faces as a medium of exchange if you had a carafe of oil you
were ready to do business it was a sign of wealth there were two
classes of people poor people and rich people most of the people were poor
people this is the Mediterranean we're talking
they ate hummus and olives no meat a little bit of bread maybe maybe a fish if they
got some meat but that was it rich people ate what we eat every day spices good meat Charleston food scene
you know what I'm saying right cooking it up right you know what I'm saying
that that's fine food stores of choice food and oil food choice food and oil are
symbols of wealth so let's read that again in the house of the wise are
stores of money wise people save money why well start with we say for an
emergency right grandma said she said save for a what rainy day visual aid it's gonna rain it's gonna rain you're gonna have a car wreck you're gonna lose your job something's gonna happen you're gonna need some
money Dave you need to be positive I'm
positive it's gonna rain something's gonna come up this one I don't
understand unexpected pregnancy say what? ok but people come up with all kinds of
things that are emergencies right and something's gonna happen and then you
need to save an invest so you retire with dignity you know I'm gonna spend everything i
make and hope the government which is well known for its ability to handle
money will take care of me dumb idea they can't find I mean that they don't
i'm not even sure some of them have opposable thumbs up there you know I'm saying it's
just ridiculous and we're counting on them and some whacked-out kind of way to
come be that they're not coming there is no white horse there is no Calvary your
it you and me and Jesus ok you are in charge of your destiny and that's great
news it's great news and so I'm all worried about the election and I'm not worried
about the election because I've made money under both parties turns out it wasn't up to them in either
case I've lost money under both parties none of them sent me a check they all just want money they're
extracting like a tick extracting blood all the time that's all they do this is the deal so in the house of the
wise are stores of choice food and oil by the way the rest of that one says and a
foolish man devours all he has if you spend everything you make the Bible just
called you a fool again I've been a fool call me a fool too and I decided to change the last one is this God loves
a cheerful Giver he loves a cheerful Giver and this is
all about generosity oh yes it's about the tithe the tithe to
your local church you're an evangelical Christian yes tithe to your local church
absolutely that's a baseline that's a starting point but this is all about
cheerfulness it's about your generosity is not just a transfer of funds
generosity is a spirit where you decide to be a generous person generous people are
more attractive they smile they are not grouchy it's not all about them they're
the ones that open the door they're the ones when the grocery bag has the bottom
dropped and your groceries are rolling all over the parking lot they're the
ones out there helping you pick it up these are the people that when they go
out to eat after church they leave a tip you cheap Christians servers don't want
even waht to work on sunday because of us ridiculous well us i'm not I leave big tips big tips
because it's a form of generosity when they didn't give me good service oh shut up
carrying a tray that weighs more than you. Figure it out. They parked your car in the rain and the heat
shut up give him some money. They park your hundred thirty thousand dollar car and
you give them three dollars what are you a nut that's Ferris Bueller parking the car
there take care of that man I get my twenty-dollar bill my car still sitting
there when I come out it's amazing besides that the guys working his way through
college or something right then and he says better than I deserve that's his code for I'm getting out of
debt if they say that you gotta give them a double tip so I gave him 40 my wife's
like I'm gonna park your car and no you're not you're not you're not working
your way out of college you've already put up with me for 30
years so it's alright generosity is a spirit it changes everything in your life and
God loves when we are cheerful givers because we're made over in His image and
he's a giver he gave His only begotten Son. He's a giver. We can't call ourselves in His image
until we change our posture in our spirit about this but it's awful tough to give
if you're broke if you're in debt and you haven't saved
any money and you don't have a plan and you're not hanging out with other
people who are givers and some change you get to decide today it'll change
your life when scripture intersects your life the truth of God intersects your life it
moves from your head and travels 18 inches into your heart it changes your behavior and changes the
trajectory of your life it will change your family tree you will change everyone
with your last name that follows you if you do these things it's that powerful
because there's this great plus sign on the scope of history and it's the cross
and it's an opportunity that his mercies are new every morning I get the
opportunity to do it again you have the opportunity to thank you Jesus for your
grace in spite of all the bad things that I've done and I am in spite of all
of that I'm so much better than I was but I'm still not even close thank goodness poor Sharon's not married
to the same guy she married all these years later he's a lot better husband
he's a lot better daddy he's a lot better leader than he was when he was 32
years old open this company he's a lot better at money than he was
he keeps getting better and learning and growing and learning and growing still not
there still not there but I'm a lot better than I was and it's
been a wild ride y'all it's the most it's the most fun journey you can if you
don't know this that guy named jesus oh my goodness you're missing out on the
roller coaster ride of your life it's so thrilling you will throw your hands up
and go woohoo and you oh man it just it's a it's
unbelievable that the sorrows are deeper and the joys are higher it changes everything it changes everything
and when you move this money piece around it gives you the tools to be that
in the marketplace and to be that for your family and to get this monkey off
your back and get that elephant out of the room because he's got to go God we thank you for this day we thank
you for these folks thank you for these pastors generations of pastoring this
church and what just wonderful men and women are here thank you for letting me be a part of
this family this weekend and God we just pray blessings and mercy and grace and healing on the
families that are sitting here and and Father some people are sitting here that
are still got their arms crossed and Father that's between you and them be
gentle with them don't hit em any harder than you have to get their attention love em
Lord love em well in Jesus name amen
