One of the big difficulties of our day is the escalating price of everything we want to purchase.  Fuel continues to increase and that results in an increase in everything we purchase.  There are other difficulties in the market place that are created by tensions between governments, faulty national policies, and political activity that leaves us wondering what they are thinking! 

            What can we do about all of this?

Proverbs 6:6-8

6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander, no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

            The Bible has much to say about personal discipline and this passage of Scripture is specifically related to how we handle our finances.  The reality of money is that there is never enough!  Our wants always exceed our ability!  But God’s instruction to us is that we discipline ourselves regardless of how much or how little our income.

            The example of the ant is a picture of a commitment to work without supervision, whether the sun is shining or not.  The return from the ants labors are stored for the winter months and then shared with others during difficult times.  Theirs is a picture of discipline, consistent work, saving, and sharing.  That is the Biblical picture of our money.

           But there is more!  In addition to hard work, saving, and sharing … the Bible teaches us to trust God for our finances.  One of the powerful stories of the Old Testament is about a widow who asked the prophet Elisha about her financial needs.

2 Kings 4:1-7

1 Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves."

2 Elisha said to her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" And she said, "Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil."

3 Then he said, "Go, borrow vessels at large for yourself from all your neighbors, even empty vessels; do not get a few.

4 "And you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full."

5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they were bringing the vessels to her and she poured.

6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel." And he said to her, "There is not one vessel more." And the oil stopped.

7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest."

            Notice, unplanned financial stress seems to always happen at the most inconvenient times and to the best of people.  The husband was young … there were still children at home, and the people involved are not wealthy people.  After the husband died and there were outstanding debts and the creditor was about to take the children as slaves in order to satisfy the debt.  The warning to us in all of this is that there can be dreadful results when we enter into debt!  Be wise in borrowing!

            For us, we need to understand is that being a Christian doesn’t keep you from getting into financial difficulty, and there is no guarantee that God will always remove your debts miraculously.  Foolishly assuming that God will bail you out after you make wrong decisions is a violation of the Word of God in Proverbs 6!  However, in this story mercy is given to the widow as God provides.

            The focus of the story is about the provision God made for this family during a stressful time.  And I want you to have an expectancy that God will provide for you during difficult times as well.  The first thing the woman did was to inquire as to what God would have her do about removing the debt.  This is our first stop in difficult times: ask God what He wants us to do!  God’s answer to her was to get out of debt and set up a savings account to live on!

            Sometimes He will direct us to make monthly payments until the bills are paid.  Sometimes He will direct us to take a second job and use the money to pay off the bills.  Sometimes He may direct us to sell off our excess and use that money to pay our debts.  Start a savings plan!  And sometimes He brings about a miraculous supply.

           This is not the first time that oil is multiplied in order that a need might be met.  Elijah stayed at a widows home during a famine and ate bread which was made from a small bottle which was almost empty and a bowl that had barely enough grain.  But the supply was replenished on a daily basis!  The oil and grain didn’t stop until the famine was over!

            When finances are tight it’s a time for prayer and for living by faith.  Ask God for directions and then do the things He directs you to do.  God may direct you to do some hard work, develop some discipline, or He may make a miracle!  Listen!

            God has supplied more than once.

2 Kings 4:42-44

42 Now a man came from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God (Elisha) bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And he said, "Give them to the people that they may eat."

43 His attendant said, "What, will I set this before a hundred men?" But he said, "Give them to the people that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and have some left over.'"

44 So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.

            There are three events in the Bible where food was multiplied: this time with the prophet Elisha and on two separate occasions during the ministry of Jesus.  In all three occasions it was done with little or not fanfare … the need was there, the blessing was prayed, and the food supplied.

            In Matthew 14:19, Jesus fed 5000 men, not counting the women and children, with five loaves and two fish.  He prayed, He broke it, and they ate!  At the end of the meal there were twelve baskets of food left over!

            Again in Matthew 15:36 Jesus fed 4000 men, not counting the women and children with seven loaves and a few fish.  He prayed, broke it, and fed them.  From that miracle there were seven baskets of food left over.

            What are we to believe after reading these stories?  We can believe that God will supply our needs according to His riches in glory.  Philippians 4:19 These four Scriptures are given to us to encourage us to trust God … not to act foolishly … but to trust. 

            In each of these situations the people involved were seeking God.  They were hungry to hear the Word of God, they were followers of God, and were seeking to be obedient to God.  They were not making assumptions on the mercy of God, nor were they allowing their lust for things to motivate their lives!  And God supplied.  It was a miracle because it wasn’t the normal circumstances of their lives!

            If God can multiply the oil, the grain, and the fish; what can He do to help us pay the bills?  We need to include the story where God paid Peter’s taxes.

            Peter and the disciples were in the city of Capernaum and they began asking Peter if Jesus was going to pay the Temple Tax.  Peter apparently didn’t have any money and was troubled about it.

Matt 17:27

Jesus said to Peter … go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you." 

            The fishermen that I’ve known have told me a few tall tales, but none of them have told me about a fish who paid their taxes, but this fish did that for Jesus and Peter!  In the context of the verse it is evident that Peter was concerned about not having enough money to pay the tax … he may have planned to avoid paying it … and Jesus wanted to make sure the tax was paid and by a miracle the fish provided the money!

            None of these stories of miraculous supply takes away the individual responsibility of any of us of the disciplines of working, saving, and sharing … yet there are times when that may not be enough.  That is when we know that God will supply. 

            In all of these stories the key is seeking God first and then allowing God to do His work in His way.  Jesus gave us this principle:

Matt 6:33

33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 

            A proper Christian goal is not a goal of using Christ to obtain riches, but to instead seek first the kingdom of God.  God knows all things and is able to multiply your capacity for income!  But seek first His kingdom!  The Gospel doesn’t operate on greed, but God does supply according to His riches in glory.

            This sermon was not designed to be a “giving” sermon … but intricately enveloped in the God-like pattern of miraculous supply is the Biblical pattern for giving.

            One of the decisions some make when their finances are taking a hit is skip the tithe and offerings which they had made previously.  I want you to know that it isn’t a gimmick of preachers that giving is encouraged even when our supply is low, it’s a Biblical message.  Jesus was impressed with the widow who gave her last coin.  He also taught us:

Luke 6:38

38 Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.

            Giving breaks the power of poverty and it invites God to be a partner in your finances.  In the Old Testament God promised to open the windows of heaven to meet the needs of those who give.  During difficult times we need to:

Be disciplined in our finances

Work and make a savings plan

Stay out of debt

Ask God for wisdom and supply

Trust God

Have a generous heart.