  Spirit and Flesh 2
FINANCIAL ILLITERATE
Study to show thyself Approved
(2 Timothy 2:15)
THE HIDDEN TALENT
Matthew 25:14-30
“I was afraid and went and hid Thy Talent.”
Verse 25
Staring at my bills and financial statements I wanted to throw up my hands, scream, and run. I wanted to bury my head in the sand and wished they would go away. My mind became more confused as I tried to force myself to face and conquer them.
Paying bills was not my only struggle. There was the greater question of “How?” to make the money I had, work for me. How could I see it multiplied as the ‘good servant’ did when he invested his talents?
Since Satan is the author of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33), surely legal jargon and documents like Insurance Policies, Taxes, Social Security, Divorce Settlements, Loan Applications, and Judicial Mandates, were all invented by him as a conspiracy to totally frustrate, confuse, and paralyze the thought processes of mankind.
The story (parable) of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 had always bothered me. What money I had should be earning more for God’s Kingdom than it was. I knew there had to be a better way but didn’t know what it was.
That’s when I had to face the fact that I was a Financial Illiterate. Even with a Master’s Degree in Education, I was never taught how to make money work for me. Neither by the school system nor by my parents.
We were trained how to work for money, had great work ethics, but little wisdom about the true value of money and how to use it.
HUSBAND GONE
With my earthly husband gone, I now had the responsibility to take care of the finances God had given me. After reading Matthew 25:1-30, I could no longer claim ignorance about what God wanted me to do.
MY CRY TO GOD
 
(Psalms 107:19-20)
My cry to God was not for more money, but how I could use what I had to the greatest advantage. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” (James 1:5).
TITHES AND OFFERINGS
Yes, I have been faithful and obedient in giving my tithes and offerings. But, perhaps this is what God is referring to me personally in verse 23 when Jesus said, “You have been faithful over a few things (tithes and offerings?) I will make you ruler over many things, enter thou into the JOY of the Lord.”
ENTER NOW INTO
THE
JOY OF THE LORD!
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. (3 John 1:2).
It is the Lord’s will that we prosper in all things. Is it possible that the Hidden Talent is actually financial? Have we thought that we were limited to talents like singing, preaching, athletic abilities, etc.?
Have we been so afraid of money that we treated it like it was from the devil instead of from God? Is Financial Freedom less of a freedom than the other Freedoms our Lord provides?
A NEW THING
“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye
not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, [and] rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19).
For many of us, finally realizing that money (go ahead and say it… “money”) is one of God’s greatest creations for man. When we take authority over it…as we have been given authority to reclaim dominion over His earth, we become the Masters of Money instead of its servants.
FEAR GONE
Once the Fear of Money is gone…(as we know fear is not of God), God can open our minds to receive the desire to learn and He begins to show us exciting ways to make money work for us and Him. He put Satan and his fears under our feet.
When we cry out to God, He saves us from our distresses. (Psalms 107:19). He sends His Word and heals us. (Psalms 109:20). When we cry out for wisdom…He hears and provides. It may take only one simple revelation word like I received when I recognized I was Financially Illiterate and didn’t want to stay there.
THEN
God sent a couple of great books into my path and I got the idea…and vision of HOW to make the money He gave me…multiply. No longer locked in to the small percent of interest I was presently receiving in my savings account, I was finding ways to multiply my finances (talents). God began to MAKE IT SIMPLE for me. FUN and Exciting.
For your information, the two books I received were RICH DAD – POOR DAD and RICH WOMAN by Robert and Kim Kiyosaki. Web site:
www.richda.com or www.richwoman.com recommended on the Paula White Show. Thanks Paula. And thanks Lord for giving me ears to hear.
Before this, our Lord had recently placed a dear Christian Entrepreneur in my life who had a clear-vision of the Gift of Finances our Lord had given him. He was able to explain his method of multiplying his Talents in ways that were so SIMPLE, even I could understand. Thank You Lord for Julian.
LINE UPON LINE
PRECEPT UPON PRECEPT
(I began learning one bite [i.e. Angel Food]at a time.)
I prayed for wisdom and direction.
God answered my prayer.
Now, I’m excited about learning as God leads me out of the Class of Financial Illiterates. I am no longer Afraid of Finances. May all thing be Multiplied to the Glory of God.
♫This is MY Story
This is My Song.
Singing His Praises
All the Day Long.♫
DID YOU KNOW?
That one Talent is worth $6,144.000.00? Read Matthew 25:1-30 again and have FUN doing the figures. Their master (Master) didn’t give them a Gerah which would be only $102.40…He gave them the highest amount…a TALENT…which He certainly hadn’t hid under a bushel, but was in clear view. Oh my, He gave them top dollar…to
INVEST FOR HIM!
Could this be the answer to all the tithes and offerings we have given …expecting some return? Now we may see it…all we have to do is:
GO GET IT
THE SPIRIT AND THE FLESH
WALKING
HAND IN HAND
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