Pursuing Financial Wisdom by Pete Wilson

People who don’t have wisdom usually don’t know they don’t have it.

Proverbs…

• Reminds us that sin is stupid.
• Gives us a vision of the good life.

3 Questions to Ponder About Your Money:

1) Do you see your money as a tool to bless others?

Proverbs 14:31

Proverbs 11:24-25

1 Chronicles 29:10-16

Are we honoring God with everything we’ve been blessed with?

Proverbs 3:9

2) Do you find your identity in your money?

Proverbs 10:7

We are playing dress up with our money.  We’re buying stuff we don’t need to get stuff we don’t have to impress people we don’t even like.

Proverbs 22:7

Proverbs 25:28

By not exercising control, you’re giving control to the enemy.  You are becoming a slave.

Being in debt affects your ability to give.

“You can’t give to people in need because you bought stuff you don’t need.”  Andy Stanley

3) Do you find your safety in your money?

Proverbs 18:10-11

We can be responsible with our money and still define our safety by our money rather than by God.

How much is enough?

“Enough will never be enough unless you determine how much is enough.”  Mark Batterson

Rather than your life being about how much money you can make, make it about how much money you can give?

Set giving goals rather than getting goals.

Proverbs 10:3

Our money issues always come back to trust issues.

These questions will reveal who or what you actually trust in your life.

Which question do you wrestle with the most?

I’ll go first… for me it’s #3.  I tend to find safety in having money.  I’m really taking Pete’s challenge to heart to determine how much is enough and to set giving goals rather than getting goals.

Ok, your turn!

Always striving, always pursuing…

More

Perfection

Better

Stuff

Knowledge

Influence

Acknowledgement

Validity

Acceptance

I’m always striving… always pursuing something.  Can you relate to this?  Maybe you can add a few more things to the list.

It’s so easy to find ourselves in the constant pursuit of more, but I’m continuing to realize that I tend to want more of the wrong things.

This Sunday we launch our new series “Pursuit” at Cross Point.  As we dive into the book of Proverbs, we’ll learn how the pursuit of wisdom is all the “more” we need.

We also have a great video you can check out HERE. (For some reason I couldn’t get it to embed correctly.)

Hope you’ll join us this Sunday!

Service Times:
Dickson Campus: 9:00 & 11:00 AM

Nashville Campus: 8:30, 10:00, 11:30 AM & 6:00 PM

North Campus: 9:00 & 11:00 AM

What do you find yourself constantly striving for… pursuing?

“Identity Crisis” by Justin Davis

We’re really good at treating symptoms of problems rather than the problems themselves.

Our problem is an identity crisis.  We don’t live out who God has called us to be.

Genesis 3:1-7

We buy into the lie that God is not enough.

A LIE believed as though it were truth, carries the POWER OF TRUTH in our lives.

Lies that we find our identity in:

Lie #1 – Who I am is how I look. The problem with this lie is that we’re looking at a broken image.  We spend more time cultivating an outward appearance than we do cultivating a heart for God.

Lie #2 – Who I am is what I accomplish. We settle for a false definition of value, significance and purpose.

Lie #3 – Who I am is found in my marital status. We live every day feeling incomplete.

Lie #4 – Who I am is who I’m related to.

God is not the REFLECTION of your earthly father; He is the PERFECTION of your earthly father.  He is everything your dad can’t be or isn’t.

Psalm 139:13-18

You have value because God created you.  You have value because you bear the image of God.

Your earthly VALUE was determined through God’s work in CREATION.

2 Corinthians 5:17, 21

Your heavenly VALUE was determined through Christ’s work on the CROSS.

God thought you were worth redeeming.

“Most people spend a lifetime trying to become what they already are.” Neil Anderson

You don’t need a New Year’s RESOLUTION; you need an identity REVOLUTION.

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At the end of the service Justin gave us time to reflect and then we finished with the song “Stop the World” by Matthew West. Reflect on these lyrics:

The TV is talking
The telephone’s ringing
The lights are all on
And the radio’s screaming
A million distractions are stealing my heart from You
I’m tired and empty
This life is relentless
It weakens my knees
And breaks my defenses
It’s wearing me down and I’m desperate to hear from You

Stop the world I wanna get out
I need an escape away from this crowd
Just to hear You speak to me

I need to be still before I make a move
I need to be humble with nothing to prove
I need Your Word to show me the truth
And I need time, precious time

Stop the world I wanna get out
I need an escape away from this crowd
Just to hear You speak to me
Stop the world I’m ready to listen
Show me sign, give me a vision of heaven
I can hold on to
Stop the world I need some time with You

Before I can find my voice
I need to hear Your voice
Above all the senseless noise

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As you prepare for 2010, I challenge you to reflect on those last few lines of the song.  Find your identity in who God has made you to be!

This is such a powerful series!  Not only is it a huge season of faith and growth for us as a church, but how God is working in individual lives is amazing!

Here are my notes from Pete’s message today:

Faith is not just a belief in a statement, it’s trust in a person.

Without trust and faith, your relationship won’t go to the next level.  This is not only true in your relationships with others, it’s also true in your relationship with God.

Genesis 1:

Genesis 16:1-3

Abraham starts to manipulate the situation.

The devil only has one lie, and that is to cast critical doubt on God’s character.

It’s not happening the way Abraham thought it should happen, so he starts to take control.

Abraham assumes he knows what God thinks.  We get in all kinds of trouble when we assume that God thinks and works the way we do.

What do you do in your life when God isn’t moving fast enough for you?

What do you do when your dreams aren’t happening the way you thought they would happen?  It doesn’t mean your life is out of control.  It means you’re not in control.

Control is the greatest of all allusions that you’ll face in your life.

Obedience is the key.  Miracles always happen on the other side of obedience.

Genesis 22:1-2

Abraham comes to a wall – God is asking him to sacrifice his only son who is the fulfillment of a promise that greatly impacts the future God promised.

The wall represents when our will and God’s will collide.  Our ability to handle our lives is over.  We start to question ourselves.  We start to question God.

At the wall, you have more questions than answers.  The very foundation of your faith feels like it’s slipping away.

God loves you enough to strip you of anything that keeps you from Him.

The wall is the place where we need to relinquish anything that we cling to for identity. (work, religion, dreams, need for control, desire for approval)

Abraham doesn’t argue.  He obeys.

Abraham finds a way to remember “God is with us.”  He builds altars to remind himself that he can trust God.

History tells us God does not forget His people and He’s not going to start with you.  God is faithful.

Abraham created altars to mark moments where God was faithful.  What are the trigger points/moments in your life that remind you what God has done?  You have to have these moments to remind you so you won’t give up in the tough times.  What altars are you creating in your life to mark those moments where God was faithful?

God is big enough that we can trust Him.  God is faithful.

Genesis 22:9-12

Some of us refuse to go further because we can’t see the way. (from Thomas Merton quote)

You will get to a place – you will get to a wall – where God is trying to get you to the place where you surrender your plans for His plans.  Will you remember that God is who He says He is?

Is there a wall that you’re facing in your life right now?  Is so, how can I pray for you?