* Don’t spend your seed, wait till harvest.
* Harvest is your referral business.
* The SEED covers Expenses & Investments.
* The HARVEST covers Impact & Enjoyment.
What's Better than Being Rich?
August 20, 2020 • Benham Brothers
* Integrity.
* Faithfulness.
Six Traits of a Millionaire
August 13, 2020 • Benham Brothers
* They work their entire life in the same place.
* Own your own business.
* Live next to people with a fraction of their wealth.
* Compulsive savers.
* You make your money on your own (don’t inherit it).
* They marry once and stay married.
How To Use Money
November 6, 2024 • Benham Brothers
* God wants us to use the things of the world to influence others.
* He wants people to have a relationship with Him.
* Wealth is one such worldly thing we can use to accomplish it.
* Jesus told a story to make His point.
* vs 1-8 - read all verses in NAS.
* The verb for “shrewdly is epoiesen.
* It means “creative activity.”
* This is not just performing a routine task, completing an assignment, or getting the job done.
* This is brilliance manifested.
* Skip Moen - “Christ’s point is that men who are savvy about the ways of the world often show greater imaginative execution than those concerned about following God. Yeshua uses this man’s unconventional action to highlight the necessity for thinking outside the box regarding Kingdom work.”
* vs 9 - “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.”
* Bible Knowledge Commentary - “The disciples’ wise use of wealth would help lead others to believe the message of the kingdom and bring them to accept that message.”
* Henry Fielding wrote, “Make money your god and it will plague you like the devil!” Jesus said, “Make money your servant and use today’s opportunities as investments in tomorrow’s dividends.” Be a wise steward! There are souls to win to the Saviour, and our money can help get the job done.”
* Here are three ways we can use money to make friends (bless others):
* 1) Generate it - you cannot bless others if you have nothing to bless them with.
* Yes, you can give of your time, but in this instance, Jesus specifically talks about blessing people financially.
* You need to get good at something, making yourself valuable in a particular niche, so you can generate money!
* 2) Give it - you must have a heart to help others.
* When you're willing to give to those who can't give back, it reflects the heart of God to those people, and He will richly reward you for it.
* Maybe not financially, but certainly with peace.
* 3) Grow it - Once you’ve generated money and given money (tithe first) you can grow your money so that you have more to give.
* Three ways to grow your money:
* Work for it - you become valuable and make money through your work.
* Other people work for you - create a business and hire employees (this gives them an opportunity to make money).
* Put your money to work - actively invest your money so that it grows.
* When you generate money, give it, and grow it, God will reward you for using it for kingdom impact.
Socialist vs Capitalist
November 20, 2024 • Benham Brothers
* God did not create a socialistic system of economics.
* He created a capitalistic system.
* Sin messed up the product of the system, but the system of capitalism is still good.
* Understand the difference between the two:
* A socialist wants equal outcome for everyone.
* A capitalist wants equal opportunity for everyone.
* A socialist wants limited freedom with maximum oversight (Government).
* A capitalist wants maximum freedom with minimum oversight (Garden).
* A socialist relies on government, while a capitalist is supposed to rely on God.
* Problem - when God gives freedom, we can easily abuse it.
* We’ve seen this happen in America, and it’s why many don’t like capitalism.
* If we bring God back into the mix, it will fix the problem.
* Capitalism that is accountable to God is good economics.
* Jesus shows us this in the parable of the talents.
* Luke 19 - the master gives ten of his slaves a sum of money each.
* The first guy 10x’s and the second guy 5x’s.
* This is maximum freedom with minimum oversight.
* They knew they would one day give an account to the master.
* The master commended them for their faithfulness to multiply.
* The third guy didn’t multiply, he maintained.
* His response reveals his socialistic mindset.
* vs 20-21 - “…Master, here is your mina, which I kept and put away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow..”
* He refused to put his money to work because he saw the master as getting something for nothing.
* He pointed out that this wealthy master made money from things he didn't have to go out and do physically.
* I bet this servant thought about it a lot.
* He began thinking about how unfair it was that he would do all the work and that his master would be the one making the money.
* So what did he do? He refused to work for his master.
* He saw him as a hard man when, in reality, the master was the kindest, most generous man around.
* This unfaithful servant didn’t realize the master had blessed each of these guys with an equal opportunity.
* Their job was to make the most of the opportunity, and then the master would reward them accordingly.
* But the unfaithful servant was too busy comparing what he had with what the master had, and he couldn't stop thinking about the unfairness of the whole situation.
* He became a socialist in his thinking.
* The result was punishment rather than profit.
* This man wanted equal OUTCOME, not equal OPPORTUNITY.
* So ask God for opportunities to maximize what He gives you.
* Refuse to compare with others.
* And watch what He does!
Trifecta of Wealth
August 27, 2020 • Benham Brothers
Paul taught how the gospel was a message of freedom.
• But we didn’t need to use our freedom for ourselves.
• We need to think of our responsibility to others more than our rights for ourself.
• On this foundation he “became all things to all people SO AS TO WIN THEM TO CHRIST.”
• He was successful at what he did. How?
• Vs 24-25 - by seeing his Christian walk like an athlete sees a race.
• He trained himself like he’s going to win a prize.
• Three keys to training yourself to be successful (to be wealthy in every area of life):
• 1) Discipline - doing what you don’t want to do in order to accomplish what you want to achieve.
• 2) Diligence - the consistent movement in a positive direction regardless of the results.
• 3) Determination - the desire to see things to the end; an ability and willingness to latch on and not let go.
• Vs 26-27 - a boxer beats his own body first, so that he can beat somebody next.
• He applies the Trifecta of Wealth to himself so he can win!
• *** The worst thing for an athlete would be to finish a race and be disqualified because he didn’t do it right.
• EX: Ben Johnson in the ’88 Olympics.
• EX: Justin Reeder - he’s fighting for LIFE to “win it,” but he had to apply the trifecta of wealth the decade preceding.
Holy Money
August 6, 2020 • Benham Brothers
* If your tithe is holy, then the rest of your money is holy.
* Paul is talking about the gospel going to the Gentiles after it went to the Jews.
* The Jews were “the firstfruits” of the gospel and were holy, so now the Gentiles are holy as well.
* They are all “people.”
* But let’s talk about money.
* When you give your tithe / first fruits to God, it makes the rest of your money holy.
* Holy means - Set Apart / Devoted.
* Principles for Holy Money:
* It’s Not Yours - stewardship vs ownership.
* Stewards have possession for not the rights of ownership.
* It’s a tool - tools are used to build things.
* We are responsible to build God’s kingdom.
* It’s a burden-lifter - making your own money allows you to:
* Not be a burden to anyone.
* Not be beholden to anyone.
* Be a blessing to everyone.
* It’s meant to be given - the generous person will always prosper.
* When you give to God you “lend” to the Lord (Proverbs 19:17).
* Giving apart from a strategy is chaos.
* Ex: new apt complex.
Using Your Wealth to Build Health
April 30, 2020 • Benham Brothers
How you handle your money shows God if you can be trusted with spiritual riches.
• Vs 11 - it’s a sign.
• Jesus used this parable to show us how to use wealth for kingdom purposes.
• Vs 1-9 - Rich boss fires unfaithful employee.
• Before he got fired he cut deals with each of the boss’ debtors.
• This secured his future.
• The rich man applauded his ingenuity, but didn’t give his job back.
• Making moves today so you will be secure for tomorrow is a good thing!
• Jesus used this parable to show the value of making moves today to secure our future in heaven.
• Look at the results of the manager’s move:
• The debtors got a good deal.
• The rich man got paid.
• He secured his future.
• Skip Moen said Christ’s reference was about “brilliance manifested.”
• We don’t need to be brilliant only with worldly wealth.
• We need to use our brilliance for the kingdom to:
• Bless others (like the debtors).
• Bless God (like the rich man).
• Secure our future.
• QUESTION - In what way can you utilize the same brilliance that made you money to build God’s kingdom?
• Vs 9 - Two ways you can use money to make friends:
• 1) Give it - be generous.
• 2) Invest it - not just in stockis, etc, but to start a biz, create opportunities for others to work.
Peace Over Profit
January 9, 2020 • Benham Brothers
* Vs 6a - Who will bring us prosperity?
* This is a big biz guy asking God if his venture will be successful.
* Vs 6b - let Your face shine on us.
* He recognizes they can’t do it apart from God’s blessing.
* Vs 7 - Please make us successful - I will be so happy!
* When my biz kills it I will love it!
* Vs 8 - But my true happiness doesn’t come from money - it comes from PEACE with GOD!
* Even when his biz would be successful he would find his security in God alone, and therefore he would be blessed with PEACE.
* David wanted profit - he even asked for it.
* But he elevated peace over profit.
* The sweetest sleep is done on the pillow of a clean conscience.
* Imagine making a 1million dollar sale, but you cheated to make it happen.
* How good do you feel?
* You elevated profit over peace.
From Riches to Wealth
January 22, 2013 • Benham Brothers
Fair Market Value
January 15, 2015 • Benham Brothers
Definition of fair market value - "the price a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to sell with a clear conscience before God."
Today we have taken out the reference to God, thus absolutizing the market itself.
The market has become the absolute standard - it governs itself.
When this happens it will naturally gravitate towards greed. Why?
Because man is naturally sinful and apart from God he's naturally greedy.
Case in point - Jacob was the buyer, Esau was the seller.
Esau had something of extreme value he didn't want to sell.
Jacob wanted what Esau had.
Esau wanted what Jacob had (food).
We have a market!
The buyer, Jacob, sees the seller in a desperate situation and takes full advantage of the situation.
Jacob gets the bargain of a lifetime and Esau lost something of extreme value.
There's way more to this story than we can go into (Esau despised his birthright).
The question is - Would Jacob have taken advantage of Esau if he had an eye toward God as the judge of His actions in this exchange?
Jacob loved God and desired a good thing by wanting God's blessing, but He should have let God bring it to him and not grabbed it for himself.
In a market apart from God the ends will always justify the means.
When greed takes place in the market people cry for order and they begin to critcize the market that nurtured the greed.
It's not the market's fault - it's the fact we took out the absolute standard by which we can govern the market.
The order people will cry for, when they have rejected God, is man (government)!
We see this in America today - a beautiful capitalist system with crazy government oversight because we have rejected the God Who should be governing the market itself.
The Best Way to Help the Poor
February 16, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* Notice who this command is given to - land owners.
* It was the responsibility of those who owned the wealth to share it with those who didn’t.
* But how?
* They were not to “harvest” to the edges of their field. Pay attention to this command.
* The command wasn’t for them to harvest all of it and to give a portion aways.
* This meant the poor people were supposed to harvest it themselves.
* In doing this it put value on WORK.
* The best thing the land owner could do, the most charitable thing, was to not give money, but to give OPPORTUNITY!
* The principle in Scripture is that if you don’t work you don’t eat.
* This is how important work is - it’s God’s original command to us in Exodus 20:9 - Six days you shall work…..
* We are supposed to be working people, and our generosity is geared toward giving others work.
* And for poor people, you should want to work, not just get handouts.
* Work is our way of creating, just like God created in 6 days - He gives us the ability and command to do the same.
Generous Mindset
March 23, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* The generous mindset is always focused on others, not itself.
* It says, “Does this person need this money more than I do?”
* A generous mindset is always win-win.
* A poverty mentality is always focused on itself.
* It says, “How can I get the best deal, even if it costs the other person.”
* A poverty mindset is always win-lose.
* Example - you hire a contractor who needs the work, but you talk him down on all his prices to a point where he’s working for a small hourly wage.
* This is having a poverty mindset.
* It’s always trying to take everything it can get without the thought of how it affects others.
* If you pay him for what he’s worth, even giving a little bit more, you have a generous mindset.
* You can tell a person like this by how they stack their plate up at potluck. HA HA!
* They typically want to go first and they hit it hard.
* Example - the pizza guy delivers a pizza and you leave him a $20 tip because you think, “This $20 means more to him than it does to me.”
* That’s the generous mindset.
* God wants us to live generously.
