Today on MoneyLife with Chuck Bentley

Satan uses financial pressure to cause despair. That’s one form of financial bondage. Other forms are the stress caused by debt, worry, and living paycheck-to-paycheck.

I want to give you practical steps to experience financial freedom. Jesus came to set us free and use us for His purposes to meet the world’s needs. Stewardship isn’t so you can be free to spend what you want, it’s so you can be free for the Lord to spend you the way He wants for His glory,

There is no greater joy in life than to be free for God’s purposes and plans, God has put this message in my heart for this perilous time. I'll give you principles and practical steps to help you achieve financial freedom. It's time for Christians to take seriously the warnings being given and to take action.

Financial bondage comes in many forms. Satan will do anything to keep you from being free to serve God’s purposes. One of his great traps is financial bondage. We often don’t talk about the addiction to things and lifestyle. The security we crave will not be found in this world.

The first step to being liberated from financial bondage is to transfer ownership of everything to the Lord, to make a contract of faithful stewardship, and file it. You have to come to a point that you see that God has everything you need and the world has nothing for you. The love of the world is opposite from the love of God.

Get a piece of paper and write down everything you treasure on Earth, make an exhaustive list of your possessions. When you trust the Lord with everything, you get something more valuable than gold; you get victory in the spiritual battle over wealth.

When you possess something, you are vulnerable to horrible pain if you lose it. But if you acknowledge the things of this world are temporary, you’ll see true wealth is in the Lord and you'll be free of worry and stress about possessions, job, children, etc.

The second step is to allow God to become the purpose of your life, serving God is your purpose, not serving money. Seek God first and trust Him to take care of you. Don’t borrow trouble from tomorrow.

The worst bondage you can be in is a trapped life, unable to do what God’s called you to do, going through the motions or trapped living for someone else’s purposes. Being in debt is an example of being trapped. You'll get immediate stress relief when you take the first two steps.

I want to share the story of someone who years ago gave everything to the Lord because he wanted God’s purposes to be fulfilled in His life. He did this when he was young and God told him to go to work, seek hard after Him, and advance the kingdom.

God may use you exactly where you are today. When Henry Parsons Crowell, God called him at 14 to make money for His kingdom, He followed that calling the rest of his life. God gave him the idea that women would prefer to get their oats without having to dip them from a common, open barrel. He started packaging oats in sterile containers. His company became Quaker Oats because Henry Crowell thought people would trust the Quaker name.

Quaker Oats was started by a young man who fully submitted to God’s purposes for his life. His company grew through the Great Depression and is still in business today. Henry Crowell funded God’s work and did incredible things to advance God’s kingdom. He left his worldly wealth to a foundation that is still fulfilling that purpose. When you surrender everything to the Lord, it’s liberating.

The third step is to do all you can to get out of debt. Now is the time to have a sense of urgency. Make a commitment to the Lord to do it and ask Him for help. Ask Him to show you how it can be done and to keep you accountable. Commit your plan to the Lord.

Crown has many tools to help you get out of debt. You must learn to spend less than you make and create financial margin to use in attacking your debts.

Start paying the smallest debt first. When that's finished, use money you freed to pay the next highest debt. Your motivation to get out of debt shouldn’t be the American dream (money and possessions) or to have no master. It should be to have one master, Jesus.

The fourth step is to become generous. You can’t be liberated from financial bondage until the world loses its grip on your life. God promises joy for those who give generously to others. We can’t fail in our generosity because of the economy. God’s work needs to be funded.

If Christians fail to be generous during this recession, there will be devastating consequences in the future. Churches in Europe are being sold to private interests because the churches weren’t supported financially by their members. We don’t want to see the lights for Jesus go out in America.

Crown Financial Ministries wants to serve you on your journey. The tools we've created are to lead you to being totally available to serve the Lord, for God to have His way in your life.

This ministry is not about money but exalting Christ as Lord. Money is a major stronghold in the hearts of men; once you get free from the love of money, the covetousness, the lies, then you’ll be free to enjoy life no matter your circumstances.

God will be free to use you for His purposes. There is no greater joy than to be spent by God. Satan will tell you can’t because of debt, lack of income, or a lack of knowledge. Don’t accept that lie; fight back with truth.

Don’t accept the lie that you and your spouse can’t get on the same page and work together. Satan is trying to keep you from letting God fulfill the purpose for your life. Being liberated from financial bondage is no small issue.

it’s essential if you want God to have full control of your life. God will send the resources and people you need to unify you with your spouse. You must ask Him and believe. We're seeing God do that every day.

You can find unity and joy for the journey ahead. Let us help you make the next step, let us serve you.

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