DEBT FREE!!

There are two words every single person that has debt wants to say.

DEBT FREE!!

 

But how do we get there?

Like the old spiritual song says, “One bill at a time, sweet Jesus.”

 

Ok, so that’s not what the song says but that is still how you do it.  One bill at a time.

A week ago, we paid off a bill in the Grieve home.  It wasn’t that big of a bill but nevertheless that bill is no more!

This week, some of you turned in the “Recalibrate Your Finances” flyer and one person actually paid off $5,000 of debt this month.

Isn’t that awesome!!

 

I want you to know that whether you pay off a big bill or a small bill, both are important because both will take you to that day of saying those two words:

DEBT FREE!!

 

And as you pay off a bill there is something else very important you need to do.

You need to CELEBRATE!

 

That’s right. 

Go take your family out for a sweet treat or you and your spouse do something together to acknowledge you just took a step closer to actually saying those two words:

DEBT FREE!!

 

I can’t wait to say those words my self.  I can’t wait to hear all over New Life people shouting those words.

But remember it takes one bill at a time.

Idol Debt

I remember one of the first things I just had to have when I got my first credit cards.  I just had to have a stereo system.  Not just any system either.  I put together my very own Kenwood stereo system...piece by piece.  I was so proud of that system.  It made me feel special, like I had something no one else had.  I loved playing music or watching movies while blaring the audio through that Kenwood stereo.  It was my baby, my precious, my...idol.

It took me what felt like forever to pay off the credit cards I had used to purchase that Kenwood stereo system.  I went into debt just so I could have something I wanted so I could feel something I needed.  It is God's desire to make me feel special not Kenwood's or MasterCard's.

There is a hard truth that I had to come to grips with about my debt.  It's a truth that we all must come face to face with if we are going to truly become free of debt.  Here is that truth...

My Debt Reveals My Idols.

What do I mean by this?
Well let me ask you a different question: 
How did you get into debt in the first place?

The answer for most of us is simple: 
Like with my stereo, we wanted something now but didn't have the money to get it so we chose to go into debt to have it.

Look at your debt today and ask yourself these questions: 
Why did I get into this debt?
Was it because you wanted something you weren't willing to wait for God to provide?
Was it because you took matters into your own hands?
Was it because you listened to God and He said for you to do that?

Look, these are tough questions even for me to answer as I look at my own debt.  But regardless of how you got your debt, God loves you just the way you are...with or without debt. 

Ask God to free you from the idols you have looked to in the building up of your debt and watch God free you from those things you "had to have."  Watch God free you of the debt mindset and set your mind free to worship Him as your true provider.

Because idols are things that are worshipped and God wants you to only worship Him.
Your debt reveals your idols.

Now I believe not every bit of debt is bad, evil or wicked and neither are credit cards.
It's the use or rather the misuse of them that is bad and can turn our hearts away from the One who IS our true provider.

As you turn to God as your provider those things you just had to have won't be as important because all you'll want is Him, anyways.  And God's word tells us he will give us the desires of our hearts.  Now that makes me feel special and like I have something no one else has.

No debt is too big

When I announced we were going to recalibrate our finances as a church at the start of 2016 and I mentioned paying off debt I know what some of you were thinking…

“My debt is too big!”

Now while it’s true that we all have varying sizes of debt, it is not true that your debt is too big.  How can I say that?  Because your biggest debt has already been paid off.

That’s right!  The largest debt in your life is already been taken care of.

Jesus took care of it on the cross.  The debt left by our sin is far too big for us to handle on our own but with Jesus there is no debt to big in the sin department.  And that is more important than any department store debt you may be carrying.

So look at it this way, if your biggest debt is already paid off, then everything else is small compare to that.  Now I know we still need to deal with the other debts so here’s what you do….

Find the smallest amount of debt you have and attack it with your extra dollars.  You may be able to pay off a bunch of small debts this month.  You may be able to only put a dent in one.  But doing something is better than doing nothing.  Besides your biggest debt has already been taken care of!

Getting rid of debt with you,

Pastor David

Disappering Debt

If you are in debt, you are not alone.  In fact, debt is something people have been dealing with ever since the days of King David and beyond.

David had been anointed the next king of Israel, David had already defeated the giant Goliath, and yet David was on the run for his life.  He made his way to a place known as the cave of Adullam and the Bible says that his family and others joined him.  Among those that joined him were about 400 men who had several issues..one of those being debt.

It doesn’t really matter that they had debt but what matters is this is the last time you ever hear of that debt.  They made a choice to join up with a man who was known to be after God’s own heart.

And I think that’s the key to their debt disappearing and yours and mine for that matter too.  If you want your debt to be gone then you need your heart to be God’s.

You see if you give God your heart then your money will soon be going where God wants it to go and not where He doesn’t want it to go too.  Trust me God wants you to live a free, fully funded life and there is no way to be free as He desires if you are tied up with too much debt.

C’mon do what the 400 men did.  Get to a place where you can get alone with God so your heart can become His and your debt can eventually become a distant memory!