Latest / The Finance Pastor Show / God and Money Series Part 1 Ep.009
Transcript
- The Finance Pastor: Hello everyone, this is Felix Garcia, aka the finance pastor, and what an honor and a privilege it is to be welcome into your home. And what a week is it's been in the stock market with some really big moves from the SP, the NASDAQ, and the Dow Jones in the latter part of the day. There were many surprise announcements that were made between Russia and the United States. This will have an effect on the markets. I don't know if this is a total win for this administration, but for right now, is definitely a relief that many of the American people have been wanting, especially in the prices of diesel. And it is seemed that the United States and Russia have done a temporary agreement into bringing more diesel to help drown out some of these prices that have been happening and help the average American, the trucker. the the business person this affects everyone and you're starting to see that people we end up paying the price of it because of the surge in price for goods and services. we end up fitting the bill. Someone a trucker's gotta bring the pro products and produce and the materials to a store in order for us to participate and purchase those goods and services and we're seeing that this is a relief for the American people. But it's is it enough? And the thing is, it's not enough. And that's what we're seeing. So many people are welcoming this for all Americans. But right now we're also seeing that this is not enough. Now, what could this mean between the relationship between Russia and the United States, Ukraine, and Iran? It's kind of very interesting because here now you're starting to see that some of this oil that President Trump that they have agreed that this is gonna be coming through the Strait of Hermoofs. So the interesting thing is that Iran I think we'll have to think twice about bombing Russia, Russian vessels, and then you also have the United States, which is kinda like a what does that mean? Russia can cut off a lot of supply to Iran if they feel like Iran is being disrespectful to their oil tankers. That's the key thing. Russia can cut off Iran either in funding and that's what they've been doing in energy and oil. So I don't know what Trump is doing. I can kind of see some of the plays. right now is a wait and see. I'm not giving him his flowers yet because the average American is not celebrating right now. there's a lot of people losing jobs, there's a lot of things going on, and the average American is not celebrating just yet. There are many people that see this as a positive sign could it, and I really hope it it is a positive sign because I want you to succeed. I I want you to to lift up your family economically. But now we look at how we do we do this from a biblical perspective. How do we invest using biblical principles? And I find myself in a in a weird place because I I I know that we talk about two different gospels. You have a prosperity message and then you have a poverty gospel. But then you have to understand that we as we're westernized Christians, meaning that we have an interpretation from our westernized ways. That's why many things that happen with in the Middle East, that's the central part. And we're considered westernized. We're baby We're very new. And one would have to ask there's many people that have used God's word and misinterpreted and misuse it and br basically have used it to just Really just scam people, and I get the feelings on both. And one would have to argue is it it do you just not talk about money? Do you you just hide from it? And then I try to look at okay, if God has given money or at least secrets to his people, the Jewish people, I wanted to look at money from their perspective. I didn't want to learn from someone who's been in America. I wanted to learn someone who understands Jewish culture, what has been passed down through the oral Torah or through biblical teachings. And the way they see money and the way they see the business world is totally different than we as Christians or westernized Christians see it. See, they look at money totally different than us. Consider this. God in Deuteronomy says that he was gonna bless his people, that he were gonna make them the head and not the tail. That wherever they went, they wouldn't be like a burden to the whatever country they went to. When you understand money principles, that's why many people can come to America and not be a burden on the government because they come here to work. Many of you here have come from other countries, from different from Latin American countries, from European countries, from Middle Eastern countries, from countries from from Asian countries, from countries all over the world. And many of you, there is a teaching about hard work. the hunter mentality is that you eat what you kill, in the in the jungle sense. But we want to look at that. Why is there such a bad relationship between money and God? Why is that? And you start looking at okay, there has been some teachings that are in error. You have a lot of of of people that feel a certain way about ministries, and I get that, and they both sides they have valid points because you have seen many ministries that's just a money grab. I I've seen it and I've been a part of it, and I've had to like look at God's word from a different perspective. You have the word of faith movement. Which is name it and claim it and every preacher needs a jet, which is not biblical, and it's heresy. And then you have another biblical that is the poverty gospel, but then you always begging for money for help, or you don't feel like that they that that life is treated you kind. So this is your toll in life. look at at the Hebrew culture. And one would have to look at what does the word Hebrew mean? And Hebrew means is one who crosses over. is one who crosses over. So we look at the Jewish community and how is it that during after the Holocaust, many came to the United States and and Countries all over the world penniless and within several years have a business. There's many stories of many immigrants that have come to the United States penniless, not knowing the language, and within five years have a business. What is it? Sometimes is the mentality and also the villain that God has given each and every single one of us. See, there's many of you that have dreams of visions that have not yet been fulfilled. I have dreams and visions that I still haven't fulfilled. But I'm always seeing that God takes us from glory to glory. And sometimes to go from glory to glory, you have to go from hardships to hardship. And as a business owner, everyone has gone through hardship. If you look at the Psalms and you look at the life of David, if you look at the book of Judges, if you look at the first Kings and Second Kings, you start seeing that David didn't have an easy coast straight up. He had so many battles, and during his reign, he it almost seems like he was always putting out fires. Have you ever found yourself that you find yourself always putting out fires? You're arguing with this person, you're arguing with that person. And it seems like you you you put out one fire here, and then another one starts over here. And that's the life sometimes of an entrepreneur. And you see the life of David. And I love the Bible and I love scripture because it has given us. A pathway to look at the book of a real person and see the ups and downs that one has. That not everything is glory, not everything is of speaking in tongues, not everything is about the casting this out. Sometimes it's just being faithful. You look at the book of Job, who had everything and God took it away, He let it happen. Test our faith. And sometimes we can go back and I have done this and I'm guilty of this. But I have asked, told God, why is this happening to me? Why are you letting these trials, this tribulations, why are you letting this happen to me? God's answer to me is like and have you ever had you just draining yourself to God and saying, Why is this happening to me? And his answer to you seems like I've had many times where that has happened to me, and I've had to say, God, I don't know what you're trying to do, but please let your will be done. And how many of you that years later, maybe after you've crossed over the Red Sea of that season in life, you say to your life, God, I see that what you were doing. I didn't understand that. If you didn't move me away from this situation, I would have never seen the light that you had over here. Some of you may say, God, if you would have never moved me or removed me from that job. I would have never found this great church that I go to where my kids got saved. Sometimes rejection is not God taking away from you. Sometimes rejection is God protecting you. And I have many times where I have felt rejection, not gotten the promotion, not gotten this opportunity, not gotten that opportunity, and it was God protecting me. Did I love it at the time? No. Sometimes I felt angry towards God. But what he teaches us is this that no matter what circumstances may come my way, I need to be faithful. And what he's placed me in front of, the family that he's given me, the stewardship that I have. He's asking you and I to be faithful. Not all of us are gonna be rich in this life. Yes, God wants to bless us. But some of us, that mansion that we're gonna get is not until we get to heaven. God does want us to be blessed, but He also doesn't want us to be stupid. You can love the Lord Jesus Christ and still be stupid. God wants us to use our brain. There's no pie in the sky. There's no, there's, it's till the land. And as many Christians, we have a weight problem. And I'm not talking about the W-I-E-G-H-T wait. I'm talking about the W-A-I-T, the wait. Wait on the Lord. We got a weight problem. Sometimes we just wait on God when God is actually looking for us to move. You see, when Moses was crossing the Red Sea, you look at it in Exodus chapter 14, verse I believe it's 15 to 16, it says that Moses told the people to move forward. Then he raised up his staff, and the waters parted. See, what many people don't understand is the consider the order of the words. It wasn't that Moses raised up his staff. And the waters parted, and he told them to move forward. He told them to move forward. Then he raised up his staff. Why is that important? Because many Jewish scholars believe that there were about 600,000 people in this place. And many b people believe that the people in the front of the line, at the rim of the water, When the clarion call from Moses kept to move forward, the people in the front of the lines were first neck deep into water. And what many Jewish scholars receive from this teaching is this: sometimes we're waiting for God to part the waters before we move forward. When God is waiting for us to move forward before he parts the waters. And for many of you, God has given you a call. Some of you, God has given books that you've written years ago that's still sitting on your jump drive. Some of you, God is called to be a missionary, and you haven't even gotten your own passport yet. God has got a call for many of you. And saints, I know we talk about money in this channel. But we have to understand that we cannot take not one dollar with us to heaven. But you know what we can take with us? Souls. Souls. We could take that to heaven. Don't lose focus. What God designed us to do is to make disciples. I get it, we're in this earth. I get it that we need a job. I get that. But don't lose focus. God did not die on the cross for me to have a Lamborghini, even though it's nice. God didn't die on the cross for me to hate my brother because they're either Republican or Democrat. God didn't die on the cross to me to hate, to hate people who are doing things for for his kingdom. Sometimes to go from glory to glory, we have to go from hardship to hardship. Sometimes to have the things that we've always wanted, we've gotta sacrifice the things that we put in front of us at first. Every person here has one time or another has had to pay the price for where they're at today. Whether it's your job, whether it's your career, whether it's sacrificing one parent working, the other one raising the children, homeschool, like my wife and I do. There's a sacrifice. We we all sacrifice, but also there's a payoff. As we move along through this weekend, what is God speaking to you? Not only that, that what is he speaking to you, but are you getting into his word? Are you reading the Bible? And I'm preaching to me. I have found myself longing for God's word. I've I grew up in a very charismatic movement. I currently go to a Baptist church where it's like two extremes, also. But I also had to listen and understand the word for the word's sake. God is not done with me. He is still working with me. There's a lot of things that I want to do that I don't feel I've accomplished yet. But I also know that God is in control. He's still seated on the throne. What's happening in the world does not surprise him. When I look at and I study about money in the Bible, I try to look at our Jewish brothers and sisters. Why is it they don't struggle with the same issues that many of us, or maybe they do, but many of them see money totally different. Yes, not every rich person not every Jewish person is rich. Yes, that is true. Just like not every Hispanic you know, can can can do the salsa. You know, not every brother can play basketball. Not every Hispanic can play baseball. there's a lot of myths out there. So I wanna encourage you guys that continue in the word. Seek God's face. He's doing great things in your life. Until next time.