Series: Signature Sermons
“A Biblical Plan for Financial Success”
(Sunday Morning April 15th, 2012)
Selected Scriptures
Eccl 11:2 “Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur
on the earth”
Some of us can remember that a lot of people here in the Houston area lost their life’s savings in the Enron scandal, because they had all their e______in one proverbial b______.
I. There are Some L______Ways to Gain Wealth
1) By W______Hard
Prov 10:4“Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich”
Prov 28:19 “He who tills his land will have plenty of food,but he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty
in plenty”
Prov 14:23 “In all labor there is profit,but mere talk leads only to poverty”
Solomon tells us, in essence, that if we will work diligently, God will provide for us a______.
Prov 12:24“The hand of the diligent will rule,…”
2) By Developing a S______
Prov 22:29 “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before
obscure men”
If someone is talented, and they work hard, they will not serve in obscurity very long, Solomon says,
before they will begin to be p______.
3) By Being G______
Prov 3:9-10 “9 Honor the LORD from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; 10 So your barns will
be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine”
Deut 8:18 “…You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you powerto make wealth,…”
Haggai 2:8 “'The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,' declares the Lord of hosts”
Ps 24:1 “The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains,…”
The one who shortchanges the Lord shortchanges the One who ultimately provides all of us with e______that we p______, and that is obviously not wise.
Prov 11:24 “There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, …”
Prov 11:25 “The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered”
Prov 22:9“He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor”
4) By Receiving an I______
Prov 13:22“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, …”
The context of the parable of the Rich Fool centered around an inheritance, and the relationship of two
brothers was s______s______over this.
II. There are Some I______Ways to Gain Wealth
1) By S______to Gain Wealth
Prov1:10-11, 13-15, 18 “10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. 11 If they say, ‘Come with us, let
us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause…13 We will find all kinds
of precious wealth, we will fill our houses with spoil; 14 Throw in your lot with us, we shall all
have one purse,…15 My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their
path,…18…(because) they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives…”
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, there are approximately five million people caught
shoplifting every year, but they also estimate that ______million are not caught shoplifting.
2) By D______to Gain Wealth
Prov 21:6“A fortune made by a lying tongueis a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare” (NIV)
According to a crime investigator hired by the Aetna Insurance Company, health care fraud in this country
amounts to ______billion dollars a year.
3) By E______to Gain Wealth
Prov 28:19-20 “19 He who tills his land will have plenty of food, but he who follows empty pursuits will have
poverty in plenty. 20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who makes haste to be
rich will not go unpunished”
By way of contrast, Solomon says that the best way to gain financial wealth is not by trying to get rich quick
but by being willing to gain wealth s______.
Prov 13:11“Wealth hastily gotten will dwindle, but he who gathers little by little will increase it”(RSV)
The average credit card debt in America among those who have credit cards is now $______.
The average interest rate is at ______% right now.
That amounts to $______that the average familywill pay in just in interest over 33 years
if they only make the minimum payments.
a. Solomon Encourages Us Not to Become E______by Debt
Prov 22:7“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender's slave”
b. Solomon Warns Us About Being a C______for Another’sDebt
Prov 11:15 “He who is guarantor for a stranger will surely suffer for it, But he who hates being a guarantor
is secure”
Solomon clearly says that financial prosperity can create some p______.
Prov 13:8“A man's riches may ransom his life, but a poor man hears no threat”(NIV)
Prov 18:11 “A rich man's wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his own imagination”
Prov 23:5“When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that
flies toward the heavens”
Prov 30:7-9“7 Two things I asked of You, do not refuse me before I die: 8 Keep deception and lies far from me,
give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, 9 That I not be full
and deny You and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or that I not be in want and steal, and profane
the name of my God’”