FINANCE FRIDAY

FINANCIAL FREEDOM

This Monday we will celebrate the independence of the United States and the forming of this great nation. In America we value the ideas of liberty and freedom. We are proud of being citizens of the greatest country in the world. But in this midst of all of this freedom many citizens are slaves. We are held captive by poor financial management. We are chained to poverty and we are the victims of consequences that were brought on by a lack of knowledge and discipline in the area of finances.

I hope that I don't sound as if I am judging because I can't. I too am bound by certain practices and decisions that I have accepted as normal. But this year I am declaring my freedom and I'm coming out of financial slavery. My exodus started in February of this year. I was writing a sermon to deliver at the church on the last Sunday of the month . The text of my sermon was Saint Luke chapter 19: 11-27. As I was writing the sermon God spoke to me from this passage about making an investment and calling the church to do the same. 

The next step to my freedom came when I started watching a a pastor on television named Gary Keesee (http://faithlifenow.com ) Pastor Keesee teaches about the Christian's role in the marketplace and God's call to Christians to walk in dominion in the earth. One element of his teaching has been revolutionary to me, he teaches about the "earth curse system." (If you want to know more about this biblical concept read the book FIXING THE MONEY THING).  After following Pastor Keesee's teaching I purchased his book that I mentioned previously. Although I own many books on finances and stewardship this book has planted many seeds in my heart for the season I'm in. Old truths are being renewed and new truths are being brought to light. When I started to implement some of Pastor Keesee's instructions I started to save money immediately.

The next step toward my financial freedom was to bring the group in the church to an understanding of the kind of investment that we needed to make. The Sunday that I preached the message from St Luke 19 I shared with the congregation how God was speaking to me about us making investments and watching those investments grow. I told everyone that I was led to ask each of them to make a commitment to set aside a certain amount of money each month and together we would see how God would lead us. Twelve members agreed to join me. I wasn't sure where we was going but I knew that God would make it plain. By the end of April He did.

A financial teacher that I had the privilege of meeting at a financial empowerment conference fifteen years ago came to my mind. I had been receiving mail from his firm for a few months. His name is William Thompson and he is the Co-owner of Dynamic Financial Training.  (http://www.dynamicfinancialtraining.com ). I contacted William and told him about the group that I had formed and I asked him would he be interested in coming to our church and mentoring us in finances to which he readily agreed. We had our first meeting on Monday June 6, 2011.

We met for two hours and William challenged us to make the first step in becoming financially free by changing our mindset. His teaching was electrifying. He taught us the NINE LAWS OF FINANCIAL TRANSFORMATION. He taught us about the four houses that God wants us to bless. Two of the most impacting things that he said was "When you learn how to help others you create wealth." That's a great principle. The other was , "Money is an idea, those who lack money lack ideas."

Our group will be meeting with William for six months. Our next meeting is Monday July 18, 2011. And I can't wait. Our homework assignment was to activate the LAW OF RECOGNITION (One of the laws that William taught from the NINE LAWS).  

I want to share with you what I'm being different this year to become financially free:

1. I've been reviewing our household bills to see what cuts can we make in our monthly expenses. 

2. I've devoted a great amount of our finances to paying off debt.

3. I've increased my offerings to ministries that are doing the work of the Kingdom.  

4. I've been talking to my son more about the financial picture in our family.

I feel the breeze of liberation blowing over me. I'll be sharing more with you as I take this journey toward financial freedom.