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Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve talked about the importance of getting out of debt and the foundation of what it means to operate with the correct mentality of God when it comes to your finances, that being: God is the owner and I’m the steward.

Today, I want to talk about what I believe is the number one thing that God has provided to get us out of debt and help us navigate our future in finances. What is it?

WISDOM

Wisdom is the missing ingredient in most people who are not doing well financially! If we’re lacking in this area, there’s good news. We can grow in wisdom! How? Well, the three main ways to grow in wisdom are through our:

1. Meditations – the things we think about and dwell upon
2. Associations – the people we let influence us
3. Dedications – the things you choose to stick to (e.g., God’s will vs. a “great” opportunity)

In addition, we need wisdom in three specific areas that will help us handle our money, such as:

• Wisdom in thinking
• Wisdom in living, including practical stewardship skills such as:
  • Developing a skill that is marketable and produces an income relevant to the times.
  • Developing a lifestyle that is willing to sacrifice in the early stages to lay a strong foundation for the middle and latter stages of life.
  • Developing a financial strategy that makes your money work for you and not against you.
• Wisdom in giving

WISDOM IS THE PRINCIPLE THING!

If you want to learn more about wisdom and how to get it, I encourage you to start by watching the more in depth teaching I gave on this topic here.

UPDATE: Watch Sherri tell her story in this video:

A couple of years ago, I had a pretty good job situation. Although I didn’t have a degree, I was blessed to be able to work in my chosen career field and made enough money to provide for me and my 3 sons. The company that I worked for was profitable and my supervisors were very understanding of my needs as a single parent.

Then, one September, after months of rumors, my department received word…that’s right, we were being laid off. The tanking economy had caught up with us too. I IMMEDIATELY went into panic mode. What am I going to do now? EVERYONE is out of work! How am I going to find another job like this one? I have no savings! Why is God doing this to me? When I broke the news to my small group leader, she shrugged her shoulders and said “Okay, so?”. This made me angry, honestly; she wasn’t panicking with me. But her response was simply, “I’m not worried about you. God has you covered.”

Over the next few weeks, another close friend in my group called me often and kept me encouraged. She laid it all out very plainly: “(1) Don’t you dare stop tithing. Your faith will make you well; and (2) Don’t you dare start feeling sorry for yourself. God had somewhere else for you to be and you wouldn’t have gone if He didn’t push you out.”

Against the advice of my flesh, I listened to wise counsel. I stayed connected with my small group and didn’t isolate myself in my misery like I once did. I kept tithing and giving regular offerings as if my purse was full. When worry started to creep in and I began to fret, I said a prayer instead. The Lord had led me to Joshua 1:9 about not getting discouraged one day, out of the blue, when things had been going well. I had it written down and taped to my computer at work. Little did I know how often I would draw on that Word to get me through in the coming months.

About a year earlier, I’d been obedient and moved to a different position in the company in order to help out a co-worker who was struggling with her work load. No one else had wanted to do it. Turns out, the Lord used that experience to open the door to a new job opportunity. On paper, I didn’t even fully qualify for the job. It required a degree. All I had was faith. But that was enough. As my old job was ending, I received an offer letter to start my new one. I only had one interview, went straight from one job to the next without missing a single week of pay, received better benefits, and a higher salary! And God is so good, He even made it so that when I left my previous company, I received a nice severance package and was able to open my very first savings account. Just as promised to us in Malachi 3, the windows of heaven opened up and my blessings overflowed, right into a whole other account!

To all this I say, I am not more special, favored, privileged, or blessed than anyone else. It wasn’t louder/longer/better prayer and a whole bunch of amen’s at mealtime. That’s what the Pharisees did. I had to put my faith into action. That’s what the centurion did. After all, faith without works is dead, right? And if this is you right now, I have this message: if you aren’t in a small group, get connected. If you aren’t tithing, start now. If you already are, don’t stop because you’re scared and anxious about what’s coming. Smile, laugh, and thank God for the blessings that are about to come. Above all, get some faith! It will make you well.

In our current series, we’re learning how to think about and handle the money God puts in our hands.  Our goal is to get everyone moving in the direction of becoming debt free and, in turn, corporately helping the church to be debt free as well.

Here’s the key: God’s power is released into our lives when we join him in understanding that he’s the owner of everything. Conversely, God’s power is not released in our lives if we don’t see him as owner. If he’s the owner, then that means we are intended to be stewards. And, as we study Scripture, it seems like God puts a high regard on good stewardship. Stewardship = the mindset of managing the property of another.

So, put simply, if we want the power of God to be released in our lives, each of us needs to understand that:

1. God owns it all. I don’t own anything.
2. There’s no question: I AM a steward.
3. The only question is whether I’m a good or bad steward.

Now, let me encourage you to explore more fully what this means by watching this week’s message here. I want you to experience God’s power and blessings in your life, and the way we think about and handle our finances – stewardship – is key.

A few years ago, I was barely able to pay my bills let alone tithe and give to others. I was 34 years old and had almost $25,000 in credit card debt. Not a proud moment in my life but it’s the truth. When Torrey and I decided to get married we knew it had to be by God’s rules and not our own. That included our finances. What had to happen was a heart transformation that would put my total trust in God for his provision and blessing….

Amy and Torrey Edwards Testimony from Victory Videos on Vimeo.

UPDATE: This interview was filmed in June of 2009. We asked for an update on their story and here’s what Torrey & Amy write:

Since becoming free of all non-mortgage debt:

• We’ve been able to bless ministries and friends/family monetarily.
• We’ve financed our own mission/ministry trips (Georgia, Mexico).
• We’ve een blessed with gifts/deals/discounts which we see as signs/wonders following us for Godly stewardship.
• Amy was out of work for 6 months, but we were still able to give the same (%), complete 6-month savings (ala Ramsey – TMM), and wanted for nothing. We still apply God’s principles to the TMM plan.
• We’ve each received new jobs; increase. Amy was blessed with favor at present employer to receive more income than requested, in a role with less hours but greater income than the previous employer. I have recently been promoted from regional to global role (GE). Answered prayer.
• We saved to recently purchase a new vehicle cash … ’07 Jeep Patriot … experience more of God’s favor in the research prior to the purchase, and during negotiations. Answered prayer.
• Increased our overall tithe/giving from 12% to 15% of gross, with future goals of continuous increased giving. Answered prayer.
• We refinanced our home from 30yr to 15yr, along with a ~2% drop in IR. We’re in in process of paying it down.

This is the power and blessing of biblical stewardship, which you can also experience. Start applying Pastor Dennis’s teachings in the current POCKETS series today. Take the Crown or Financial Peace University classes. Be intense about it and trust God to reward your diligence – for he surely will.

Hey, while you’re here, if God has done anything in or through your life as a part of Victory, please take a moment to Share Your Story so others can be encouraged and rejoice with you!

Did you know that money is by far the most talked about subject in the Bible? There are actually more than 2,500 verses dealing with money in one way or another. Why? Well, perhaps it’s because money affects everything we believe and do in life. In fact, the way we handle money is a very good measure of how we handle life as a whole and the inner workings our hearts.

So, for the next few weeks, we’re going to talk about finances. When it comes to our financial life, we can imagine that we all have different kinds of pockets that reflect our understanding of money – pockets of surplus, pockets of just enough, empty pockets, and so on. This week, I’m talking about how to get out of the most deceptive pocket that way too many people live with – the Pocket of Debt.

Even still today, with all of our technological and scientific advances, the majority of the world lives in poverty. And we can readily see the devastation that it has on their lives. Meanwhile, the minority of the world who live in abundance quite often falls into deception about money and live their whole life controlled by it.

We currently are living in unprecedented times in our nation. Our current national debt is over $14 trillion. We’re currently paying an estimated $400 billion plus in interest each year. This year, our nation’s budget deficit is estimated at $1.6 trillion. That means we will spend 1.6 trillion dollars more than we take in. In order to balance the budget we would have to almost triple the current tax rate.

At the same time, the average American household has $15,788 in credit card debt. 1.53 million families filed personal bankruptcy 2010. 43 million families projected to be on food stamps 2011. And, it is estimated that 80% of Americans will work 20-40 years of life and retire with less than $250 in savings. Are we being set up for a complete financial collapse?

When you read the Bible, you see how the prophets indicate that as we draw closer to the return of Jesus the world falls apart economically. I believe it’s because of this that the Lord has really been speaking to me about how important it is for all us to get out of debt and live in financial freedom…so we can live the blessed life regardless of what happens to the economy.

So, I’d like to relate to you the keys to getting out of debt. I’ll list them briefly here, but I encourage you to watch the message I preached this weekend to get the full details…

1. See debt as a plan of the enemy
2. Develop a plan of attack
3. Embrace contentment
4. Always keep god first in your finances

“We woke up one day and realized the American dream we had been striving for was really the American nightmare….”

How has God impacted your life through Victory? Please tell us about it – Share Your Story today!

Four and a half years ago, my family and I returned from an intensive nine-month ministry trip to Israel, moved to the Atlanta area and began looking for a new church home. We ended up here at Victory…and this was no accident. Even though we didn’t realize how much this was the case at the time, God’s hand was all over it. We had no idea how he was going to use the ministry we would receive at Victory to change our lives. He is so good!

You see, prior to our time in Israel, we had lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where we had given up a pretty comfortable life, including great jobs, a nice home and an awesome church family, in order to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading to go to Israel. God mightily confirmed and miraculously provided for us to go in a number of ways, including helping us get renters in our house and a monthly financial support base.

But, as we neared the end of our assignment there, all our support dried up inexplicably. When it was time to come back home, we were completely out of money. We didn’t even have enough to purchase our plane tickets back to the States. And, despite the fact that the Lord had provided for all our needs throughout our time there, somewhere in the process, we stopped trusting him completely, started believing our circumstances and fell for the lie that we’d just have to take care of things ourselves…meaning, we decided to buy the tickets with our credit card.

Over the next year or so, this misguided decision led to many more just like it. When we “needed” to rent a truck to move our stuff from Tulsa to Atlanta, but didn’t have the money, we put it on credit. When our daughter was born and we didn’t have enough money to buy diapers, we put it on credit. When we “needed” to buy Christmas presents – not just for our kids, but for our extended family as well – we put it on credit. When we didn’t have enough money to pay our mortgage…yup, we put that on credit too. And on and on we went down this slippery slope until we were drowning in debt.

The thing is, we knew better. We knew we were headed in the wrong direction the whole time, but we just kept thinking things were going to get better soon. “If we can just get through this week, or month or season,” we kept telling ourselves, “then we’ll stop using the credit cards.” Except, things didn’t get better. We kept crying out to God, saying that we trusted him completely – I think we actually fooled ourselves into thinking that was true – but still, we kept using the credit cards.

In the midst of all this, even though we were living in the Atlanta area, renting a house here that was a good bit more than we could realistically afford, we still owned a home in Tulsa that we had rented out to others rather than try to sell when we came back from Israel. This seemed to be working out okay for a while, but then, as interest rates climbed, our mortgage payment began to skyrocket. (When we purchased the home, a few years before, we foolishly agreed to an 80/20 mortgage and credit line because we didn’t have money for a down payment. Although the rate on the mortgage was fixed, the credit line was adjustable.) And with that, our rental income no longer covered our payments, taking us even further down the hole.

Then, when our renters bailed on us and trashed the house, I thought we were completely ruined. Actually, we should have been, but my dad had compassion on us, met us in Tulsa, gave us the thousands of dollars to do the repairs and, along with one of his brothers, helped us get the house into sellable condition. So we put the house on the market, hoping we’d be able to get a good price for it and make a sizeable dent in our debt. Two weeks after that, however, the news began to report the beginning of the housing market crash. We could hardly get anyone to even look at the house, let alone get a buyer.

Yet, even at the same time as it seemed like the world was crashing down around us, God kept calling out to us to trust him completely, cut up the credit cards and stop trying to do things on our own. And, he challenged me to resign from the bank teller job I had, which besides being woefully inadequate to support my family, was also not even close to my areas of calling or passion. But I didn’t want to listen. I was raised that you don’t give up one job before you have another lined up, and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t seem to get another job.

For the longest time, I was completely unwilling to even consider that God would really ask me to give up our only source of steady income. And, I still don’t think he does so very often, but going into the fall of that year, I became increasingly aware that it seemed like God wasn’t speaking to me anymore, that he had withdrawn or lifted his had off my life. For as long as I’ve lived, I’ve almost always had a sense of God’s presence, at least faintly. But now, it seemed like he had stopped talking and taken a step back. More than anything else, this really began to get through to me.

As we continued to pray earnestly and seek the Lord’s face about our ever more difficult financial situation, one thing became clear – God had spoken to both of us earlier in the year and was really just going to wait until we decided to listen and obey. Interestingly enough, over the course of those months that it seemed like God wasn’t talking, he actually was in many ways…I just wasn’t listening. Over and over again, whether through our V•Group study, or through Pastor Dennis’ sermons, even through dreams, God kept inviting me to take the leap of faith, step out of the boat and walk with him on the water, so to speak.

As long as I wasn’t listening, things got worse and worse. We were trying to maintain the mortgage on our Tulsa house with no renters, plus pay our own rent, utilities and regular living expenses, plus pay our mounting credit card bills…there was just no way. Eventually something had to give. So we stopped paying things…first the credit cards, then our full rent, then some of our utilities…until finally, we had to stop paying our mortgage. Our lives became a nightmare of creditors, collection agents, worry, stress, fear, discouragement, doubt, etc. Clearly this was NOT the life God had called us to.

Finally, after exhausting every known avenue of financial assistance, we were on the verge of complete financial ruin. But really, I had gotten to the point that even if we lost everything, I just couldn’t keep on living with the feeling that I was outside of the will of God and in disobedience. So, I relented. I resigned my dead end job (although I gave an extra long notice of 6 weeks) and began to count down the days with expectancy that God was going to come through.

Except, my last paycheck came and went, and nothing seemed to change. Actually, things got worse. Way worse. We went through the holidays and into the new year (2008) with no income except the part-time work my wife could get. We ended up barely having even enough money just to buy food, let alone pay utilities, rent, credit cards or mortgage. The bank began the process leading up to foreclosure. It honestly looked as if we were going to end up on the street. But, despite having to fight the often-overwhelming waves of doubt and despair, God kept asking us to trust him…and we began to do so, in spite of the fact that our circumstances were screaming in our faces that God was a liar.

You see, although those circumstances didn’t seem to be changing, our hearts were changing…which is exactly what needed to happen. At this time, we felt challenged to take the Crown financial class at Victory and did so. That class and our classmates were such an encouragement and a catalyst for true change. And, as a result of God’s mercy and our obedience, in the course of the next 6 months, our financial situation changed so drastically it was nothing short of a miracle.

In short, nearly everything in our lives turned around: our house sold, the bank forgave $17,000 in debt, we moved into more affordable housing, God set me up with the best job I’ve ever had working for an awesome church (Victory) in an area I’m gifted at and enjoy (communication), Tanya got a job offer to work at a great Christian school (VWCS), we received a huge tax return through which we were able to catch up all our late payments and get on track toward being debt free. Although we’re not all the way there yet, we’re definitely on our way!

Through this all, God really taught us to trust him completely, NO MATTER WHAT OUR CIRCUMSTANCES LOOK LIKE. More often than not, circumstances are big fat liars. The truth is that God is ALWAYS good, ALWAYS loving, ALWAYS perfect, ALWAYS has our best in mind, and EVERYTHING he does comes out of this. He is so trustworthy and faithful! We’re so thankful that he brought us here to Victory for so many reasons, not least of which is the way he has used Victory to teach us so much about trusting him with our finances and every other area of our lives as well! ~ Erik R.

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Hey, while you’re here, don’t forget to take a few moments to Share Your Story about what God has done in your life as a part of Victory! There are so many people who need to be encouraged by what God has done in and through your life. Even seemingly simple things can make a huge difference. Just click the Share Your Story link to get started!

This past weekend, Pastors Johnson & Summer Bowie we wound up our FAQ’s of Family Life series with an engaging and challenging message about parenting. Over last few weeks, we’ve received a large number of questions about parenting. And so, before we finished this series, we wanted to address some of these most frequently asked questions:

• What’s the most important thing to know as a parent?
• How can we raise kids that are strong in faith and character?
• What if father and mother disagree about how to raise them?
• What if my child is in rebellion or “out of control”?

Parenting is no minor task. It’s not something we can afford to do by just “winging” it. We’re aiming to have kids who serve the Lord, who love God, who know how to live in this world, who are successful both in the world and also in God’s Kingdom… and ultimately, children who raise their children to do the same. Our children are the future pastors, teachers, prophets, evangelists and apostles who will influence the course of this nation and world.

So, we’ve made a list of 10 things to INTENTIONALLY do to build strong children and raise up the next generation. Here they are in brief:

1. Teach them to love God and cherish his Word
2. Train them in godliness
3. Don’t be afraid to discipline
4. Develop deep personal relationships
5. Encourage them to honor and respect authority
6. Teach them to forgive others
7. Challenge them to stand for what is right, not what is popular
8. Disciple them to embrace a strong work ethic
9. Direct them to fulfill their God-ordained purpose
10. Inspire them to love all people

Obviously, that’s the simplified version. Make sure you watch the video to get all the details. Whether you’re a parent, grandparent, hope to be a parent or know a parent, there is wisdom and insight in this message that you and the children in your life will benefit from.

It’s been two years for me being a member of Victory, and it’s been an amazing journey, some good and some not so good. But I thank God for both, because I’d never be at the place I am now if it wasn’t for my mistakes and the TOTAL healing and freedom Jesus gave me. The Lord spoke to me and told me to come to Victory several years ago. I had just come out of a very broken and dark place, which was actually a battle throughout periods of my whole life. At that time, the Lord had begun a work in me I never knew before, so when I came to Victory my heart was very open and I was earnestly seeking.

However, that earnest seeking, coupled with me not being fully developed in wisdom and strength in Jesus first, caused me to make more poor decisions and immensely hurtful mistakes. I was so hurt; I even detached myself from Victory for a while, and at times those people who really did care for me. I became consumed with something that was not good for me, and I put my entire attention there to the point I made another horrible decision that caused me great guilt and shame. This guilt and shame eventually put me in the hospital and I even lost my job in the process. I can honestly say I was on my way out of here for good…BUT GOD!!

The Word is true when it says …”He who began a good work in you, will continue His work until it is finally finished…” (Philippians 1:6).

During ALL of this, four particular people stood by me, and showed me such GREAT love and mercy that words can’t even describe. Now that was just the beginning of me TRULY seeing and knowing Jesus. From there He placed me in a women’s small group, where I saw AND felt His power through prayer, them laying hands on me, love, support, wisdom, guidance, etc.

These women of God are some of the most AWESOME women I know and I praise God for them every day. I now have complete accountability, mentors, and a wonderful V-Group that has and is essential to my walk with Christ. Supernaturally, God has even revealed things to me. One thing in particular was something that happened to me when I was just a child, that I had NO memory of (and it was confirmed by family) in order to bring me FULL healing from all the “stuff” I’ve dealt with.

Plenty of other divine things have happened, including visions. I know I have a TRUE relationship with Him now, to the point my heart beats for Him. I love what He loves, and I hate what He hates. EVERYDAY He’s on my heart and mind…NOT sadness, depression, a hurtful relationship, or past mistakes. God spoke to me three times about this, so I’ve also joined a Mercy Team that ministers to the very thing that I’ve made the mistake of doing. As far as the job, He restored me there as well, and even better I might add. I received a call about a position with a large university I never knew about or even applied for. I’ve only been at my job a couple months and I’m receiving such favor and accolades, it’s nothing but Jesus.

My story is just to say I’m no different from you and He’s there’s with you through EVERYTHING as well. Accountability, community, serving, and REAL relationships are keys to success in our walk with God. Our mess is God’s healing message to a dying world, so don’t be ashamed or guilty of what’s happened in your life. I’m not! He uses it ALL for His glory…Hallelujah!! ~ Endia B.

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How has God worked in your life? Has he done anything in or through you as a part of Victory? If so, please take a moment to Share Your Story. Who knows how many people need the encouragement that your story could bring?

Over the past few weeks, we’ve received hundreds of questions about marriage and family from people in our church. Obviously, we can’t answer them all, but as we looked at them, we saw a lot of them were similar – many people asking questions about the same things. So, we distilled these down to the most frequently asked questions and sought to address them during our services. Here are some more of these questions, which Colleen and I addressed this past weekend:

1. We’ve been married several years, but my husband has never led our family spiritually. How do I, as his wife, help him become the man of God he was created to be? (This was the number one most common question asked by married women. And, it wasn’t exactly worded like that; we had to clean it up a little bit, if you know what I mean.)
2. I’m single and having a difficult time finding anyone who’s marriage material – either very immature, don’t take care of themselves, or not committed to God. Is there anything I can do to be proactive?
3. We started our marriage the wrong way, and now have so many issues, it seems impossible to reconcile – no sex life, argue all the time, don’t have any feelings for each other – is it possible to improve, or should we just give up?

You can hear our answers to these questions – some of which might surprise you – by watching the following video: