“How Can I Pay For It?”

Proverbs 13:11; Luke 15:11–14;
II Kings 4:1–7; Malachi 3:10 NIV

  1. Introduction
    1. The biggest problem in marriages is usually money.
  2. Scriptural Keys To Financial Stability
    1. Plan to increase saving

      Proverbs 13:11

      11 Dishonest money dwindles away,
              but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.

      1. Savings are built gradually
      2. We all need a plan
      3. The key is consistency
        $10 per week = $_______________
        $38 per week = $_______________
    2. Develop a spending plan

      Luke 15:11–14

      The Parable of the Lost Son

      11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

      13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.”

      1. Guidelines for incidental spending
        1. You don’t have to buy
        2. Spend wisely
        3. Delay spending
        4. Control spending
    3. Plan to eliminate debt

      II Kings 4:1–7

      The Widow’s Oil

      1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

      2 Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
            “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a little oil.’

      3 Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 4Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

      5 She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”
            “But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

      7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

      1. Statistics: _______________________
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        ________________________________
    4. Plan for giving to God

      Malachi 3:10

      “10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

  3. Conclusion
    1. God has a plan for us and it is good! (Jeremiah 29:11)
    2. God wants us to ask His assistance in developing our plans so He can bless them
      1. Blessings are positional and the positional is obedience
    3. Let’s obediently put His plan into action.