Freedom From Debt

Breaking Free From Besetting Sins

Freedom From Debt

I. Introduction

II. Why Do I Always Want More?

A. Three lies we believe about having more:

1. Having more will make me .

a. “If I only had , then I’d be happy.”

b. The basic message of all advertising is, “You can .”

c. Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NAS) He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.

d. “Things” can buy happiness for a while, but it .

e. Lasting happiness is not found in .

2. Having more things will make me more .

a. Luke 12:15 (NAS) “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”

b. Don’t confuse your with your !

3. Having more things will make me more .

a. Proverbs 11:28 (NAS) He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.

b. Proverbs 18:11 (NAS) A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his own imagination.

c. To have security, you have to find it in something that ultimately cannot be .

d. I Timothy 6:9 (NAS) But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.

III. How Can We Enjoy Life More With Less Things:

A. Find my happiness in helping .

1. Acts 20:35b (NAS) “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

2. Matthew 5:6 (NAS) “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

3. The key to satisfaction in life is not from what you , but from what you .

B. Find my self-worth in .

1. Psalm 139:16-18 (NLT) ¹⁶You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. ¹⁷How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! ¹⁸I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

2. When you really understand that you are on this earth and that you matter to God, you don’t need to “prove” yourself anymore with “.”

3. Our real self-worth is based on what says about us, not on what I say about !

4. Romans 5:8 (NAS) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

C. Find my in trusting .

1. Hebrews 13:5 (NAS) Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.”

2. True security is only found in that which cannot !

3. Matthew 6:19-21 (NAS) ¹⁹“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; ²¹for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

4. How do you “store up treasure in heaven”?

a. By investing it in who are going there!

5. is the only antidote to materialism. It’s the acid test of, “Am I materialistic?”

IV. If You Happen to Be in Debt, What Do You Do?

A. The way out of debt is to start by going on a “ ” (budget).

B. You must settle those 3 lies we believe about having more:

1. Having more things will make me .

2. Having more things will make me more .

3. Having more things will make me more .

V. Conclusion