In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.
(Prov. 21:20 NIV)
Debt is, “something owed,” according to Webster’s Dictionary.
· Debt robs from your future to pay for your present.
· Debt is a spirit – Debt is a product – Debt is a habit.
I. Why do people get in debt?
· Ignorance. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…,” reads Hosea 4:6. Most people were not trained on how to properly handle money. The media’s job is to sell, sell, sell and we buy, buy, buy. If you don’t have the money, no problem, just charge it. When you do this, it will lead you into indulgence.
· Indulgence. “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises,” declares Hebrews 6:12. We live in a “now” society. We are a fast food society. We say, “I will not wait; I cannot wait; I will find out how to get it now.” Most young couples acquire within three years everything that it took their parents to acquire in a lifetime. (For example: house, two cars, furniture, big screen TV, computers, etc.) The difference is that their parents waited till they had the cash to pay for it but young couples mortgaged, borrowed, leased, and charged everything. This is the result of poor planning.
· Poor Planning. A person that does not plan their income vs, expenditures actually plans to fail without even knowing it. “The thoughts of the [steadily] diligent tend only to plenteousness, but everyone who is impatient and hasty hastens only to want,” reads Proverbs 21:5 AMP.
II. How to get out of debt:
a. For the next thirty days, keep record of every penny that you spend. If you are married, both of you keep records individually to establish an accurate budget.
b. You must establish a budget! Stop all forms of borrowing including credit cards. Perform plastic surgery on them. The sooner that you stop the borrowing, the sooner you will be out of debt.
c. Complete the Paid In Full Debt Calculation Sheet. Record debts in the order of smallest to greatest.
d. Save money by using the methods that you feel comfortable with: insurance, credit cards, banking & ATM, envelope system, cash, etc. This will help you apply a Paid In Full accelerator to attack debt–one bill at a time. Soon, bills will be marked PAID IN FULL and eliminated. You will see that there is a way of escape from a mountain of debt. You are on your way to true financial freedom.
e. It’s time for you to be the lender and not the borrower. “The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow,” reads Deuteronomy 28:12.
f. Fund the END-TIME HARVEST!
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
(Romans 13:8)
Rodney and Adonica Howard-Browne, married since October 1981, spent the early part of their ministry traveling across southern Africa.
After pioneering and pastoring a church for two years, they joined a large independent church in Johannesburg, South Africa, where Rodney served as associate pastor and Bible school lecturer. They answered God\'s call to come to the United States in December 1987 and arrived with their three children, Kirsten, Kelly and Kenneth.
In 1989 revival started during a weeklong meeting in Clifton Park, N.Y. This revival has continued and has covered the globe with signs and wonders. Local churches have been set ablaze with the glory of God.
Rodney and Adonica have crisscrossed America and many other nations traveling to as many as 46 places each year. Revival Ministries International, founded by Rodney and Adonica, is an association of churches and an international ministry organization with offices in Manila, Philippines; Melbourne, Australia; London, England; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Vancouver, B.C. Canada.
RMI, headquartered in Tampa, crosses denominational lines, carrying the fire of revival. In December 1996, Rodney and Adonica founded The River at Tampa Bay church, which has an attendance of nearly 1,000 on Sundays. They also established the River Bible Institute, training revivalists for the 21st century.