Transcript 

Welcome to the hundredfold business podcast where Christian men learn the principles, strategies, and tactics to grow their businesses top line, bottom line, and finish line. I want you to discover the secret to applying biblical truth to business growth for the greatest kingdom impact. So in the end you hear from your heavenly father, well done. 

Welcome to the hundredfold business podcast where Christian men learn how to grow their businesses top line, bottom line, and finish line. And I'm your host Josh Fonger, founder of 4th Soil Ventures. And today I'm excited to be bringing you essential 11 of 12 about how you can grow a hundredfold business.

During these 12 essentials, we'll be going to God's word first and then having it inform us about how to grow and run a business. And of course, if you need any help along the way, you can always go to 4thsoilventures.com and I can help you more there. Today we'll be talking about a topic that the Bible mentions over 2000 times, and that is money. 

Essential 11 or 12 is called stewarding your money. So the God's word has a lot to say about money and how to steward it. And the way we manage our money, the way we steward it says a lot about our relationship with God. 

So if you're desiring to hear well done, my good and faithful servant, when you meet Jesus, then this is going to be a very important essential for you. The National Federation of Independent Businesses came out with a recent report stating that 43% of small business owners identified debt servicing costs as their single business financial stressor. And that's 69% of small businesses are currently in debt with 38% holding more than a hundred thousand dollars in debt. 

And worth noting, this is just business debt. According to Wallet Hub, the average family with debt has over $150,000 of it as well. Now in the last 15 plus years, I have dealt with a lot of problems that my clients have had in their companies, whether that is sales problems, leadership problems, employee problems, inventory problems, operational problems, growth problems, you name it, they've had issues. 

But the number one most universal issue that almost all of them have had have been money problems, financial problems. And that really adds fuel to any fire that's burning in a business. And so that's why stewarding your money is such an important thing to address. 

So now let's get to the text of the day and find out what God's word says about money and then what we're supposed to be doing with it. Let me read now from 1st Timothy chapter 6 verses 17 through 19. As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 

They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. Now in this letter from Paul to Timothy, there's a lot about sound doctrine, church leadership, godly living. And towards the end of this letter, Paul is telling Timothy specifically about money, what specifically to do with money.

And so we're going to be drawing out some principles directly from here. Now three points about stewarding your money we're going to find right here in this passage is number one, don't be foolish with your money. Number two, do good with your money. 

And number three, be generous with it. Now let's get to point number one, all about how to not be foolish with your money. And let me read that passage again. 

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. Okay, so the rich now in the US as CEOs and business owners, that's going to that's going to be us. We're not supposed to be pridefully and foolishly setting our hope on our money and trying to calm our fears and our worries with our money, and then trying to find joy and satisfaction in our money through through self-indulgence. 

Because if we set our hope on our money, it can lead to all sorts of destructive business decisions. It can look like excessive debt, not being careful, not reinvesting in our employees and our products and our services. It can look like being hasty, it can look like bad business partnerships, a lot of unwise choices that can happen when we put money first. 

Here are just a few Bible verses to make my point from the book of Proverbs. Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. And be not one of those who gives pledges, who puts up security for debts. 

If you have nothing for which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you? And whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. And lastly, a stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him. Money is such a snare in this world. 

I mean, it took down Judas, one of the twelve disciples who was the manager of the money bags, and Jesus warned that it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. So the first step with regards to storing your money well and not managing it foolishly is to have one of those red lights before your eyes, always flashing, warning, warning, warning, just to remind you that this is a huge snare, that the world system, you know, virtually everybody who's in this world is managing their money, they're doing it wrong, they're not storing it well. And so you need to be looking to God's words, God's ways, God's people who are putting him first and his ways first. 

Let's take a minute just to look at Proverbs chapter 3 verses 5 through 12, just to put all this into context. And it reads, Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight. 

Be not wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. This will bring healing to your body and refreshment to your bones. Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops, then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.

My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord and do not loathe his rebuke, for the Lord disciplines the one he loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights. So yes, if you are a Christian, if you're God's child, then he's going to discipline you if you are not following his ways with regards to money. And that can be very strong discipline sometimes. 

But ultimately, his word, his ways are always going to prove true in the end. So if someone's trying to entice you with special shortcuts and hacks and tricks for wealth generation, you want to just walk away. Now in the second part of this first passage, it says that we are to put our trust in God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

So to not put our hope in our money, but instead put our hope in God, which is opposite to the world. We are to be humble before God and wise in setting our hope on God, knowing that he's going to richly provide us with everything that we need and that we can be content and enjoy what he gives. A little earlier in this passage, in 1st Timothy chapter 6, Paul writes, but godliness with contentment is great gain. 

For we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. So in summary, it is foolish to pursue riches over God. 

And this foolishness is going to ultimately hurt us horizontally. And it's also going to hurt us vertically in our relationship with Lord. And it's going to prove that we're not seeking him first, that we're actually seeking money first.

So the first key to effective stewardship of your money, again, is number one, don't manage it foolishly. Now, two quick side notes about this. If you have managed your money in the past foolishly, and I think a lot of us can raise our hands and say guilty, yes, we've done that, then we can go to God. 

We can ask for forgiveness. We can repent. We can turn from that way of managing our money.

And we can ask for forgiveness. And we can turn to a new way of managing our money and start to sow seeds of righteousness so those seeds can flourish. And secondly, I would advise you to get some help. 

Most of my clients start off in significant debt. Five, six, seven, eight figures in debt is the typical starting place. And then from there, we build a solid plan and then work our way out of it.

Remember that the most excited, the most thankful, the most joyful people in the Bible are the ones who realize just how great of a debt that they have. And they also realize how great and how loving, how forgiving a Savior and King they have in Jesus. So if you have hundreds of thousands or maybe millions of dollars of debt at this point, don't stay underneath the yoke of slavery. 

But instead, humbly go before God and get some help. Now for point number two about stewarding your money, which is you need to do good with it. Let me read the passage. 

They are to do good, to be rich in good works. So if you are to steward your money well, you need to actually do something good with it and not be like the foolish manager who just hit it in the ground. And so what we need to do now is actually discover what are those good things to do with our money. 

And as a business owner, there's three very clear things you can do. It's number one, you can use your money to do good for your customer. This is reinvesting in the marketplace, in your industry to make better products and services, to serve them at a higher level, to do more good for them and minister to their needs. 

And the second thing you can do is you can bless your team. You can provide them a great place to work. You can provide them great pay, great benefits, great support. 

You can minister to their needs and support them and even extend it on to some of your key suppliers and your vendors. Anybody who's a part of doing the work, you can actually bless with your money. And lastly, you are going to be blessing your family, ministering to their needs, your wife, your kids, maybe your parents need help, grandkids, any other relatives that you need to support.

Obviously, the Lord cares about your family and you as the husband and father. That's one of your primary duties and callings is to support them. In 1 Timothy 5, verse 8, it reads, But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 

So like everything in the Christian faith, you have a lot of choices to make. And so with regards to money, it's important that you're getting wise counsel, you're going to God's word that you're praying. And as you're thinking about the marketplace, your customers and your employees, your family, that you're making wise choices about how to invest that money. 

If you want to dive deeper into this topic about doing good, you can certainly go to central eight all about caring for your people, that's your team, your employees, and central nine all about serving your customer. And those two essentials we go through in more detail about all those good works you can be doing to those two different people groups. As a business owner, and as a leader, you have a great opportunity to showcase your faith, your love towards God, your love towards people to how you are spending and investing and saving and utilizing your money. 

And of course, your team's gonna be watching and the world's watching. The key to making sure that it makes that kingdom impact that the finish line impact is to make sure that you're doing it in Jesus name. Now let's get to the last point all about stewarding our money. 

And this has to do with generosity. Let me read this passage now, to be generous and ready to share the story of treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future. So they may take hold of that which is truly life. 

So after you have been wise to money, and you've done good with your money, the next thing is they're supposed to be generously money and have money set aside to share. And this could look like giving money to the church, those who are poor, needy, missionaries, ministries, nonprofits, and all those organizations that are helping those in need. This is not just taking money out of the monthly cash flow, and then distributing it. 

But it's also about setting aside money. It's not just investing in ourselves, but investing in the future and preparing and being prepared for when those opportunities arise for us to be generous and give. Let me say the obvious at this point, which is, you know, God, generally speaking, does not want you to just barely scrape by, to make no money, to just barely break even with your business. 

Actually, the goal is that you're supposed to be diligent, hardworking, wise, careful, and effectively ministering to the needs of your customers and serving them and making as much money as possible. And then being as generous as possible with that money, serving God with your money, not having money be a snare and pursuing the love of money and greed, which is the root to all kinds of evil, but instead, being ultra, ultra generous. Over the years, I've worked with multiple business owners that have eventually hit a plateau. 

And at this plateau, they've said, hey, Josh, you know, I feel like I'm doing pretty good. I'm making the money I want. My family has what they need. 

And if I just keep doing what I'm doing, I'm going to be able to retire early. I'll be able to sell out and then I should be able to have all the money I need. And so I think I'm good. 

I'm really satisfied with what my business is doing. Top line, bottom line, finish line. If you're not growing all three, we should talk. 

Too many business owners are struggling alone, stuck in the same cycle, going nowhere fast. Scripture says that in an abundance of counselors, there is victory. And I want to be that resource for you.

For over 15 years, I've helped hundreds of small business owners break through their limits, build a solid plan, and multiply their impact. Go to 4thSoilVentures.com, schedule your free discovery call, and let's build your business by the book. Life is too short, and eternity is way too long to build it any other way. 

But here is the problem with that thinking. And with that thinking, you can just see that the goal was never God's glory, being generous, serving the customers, serving your employees, serving the community, doing as much good as possible, and stewarding the giftings and the talents in the business and that vehicle business well. It was always about self. 

It was always about me first. And once my small, worldly appetites are satisfied, that's good. That's all I really wanted to do anyways.

And so that's a huge, huge problem. So this has been your past pattern, and this has been your mindset. This is a great opportunity to go to God and humbly say, give me a heart that's not selfish, but instead is generous, that loves and wants to serve those in need, and wants to grow your kingdom. 

Help me to have a heart like that, and help me to be more generous in the future, and give me opportunities to do that. And through the Holy Spirit, He can change your heart and give you that new heart that's more generous. And if you're not sure where to put your money, you can ask your local pastor and say, hey, would an extra $100,000 to the annual church budget be helpful? And I bet that he'd be able to find a way to put that money to good use, in a way to expand the kingdom, in a way to glorify God. 

So really, you don't have to worry about percentages or dollar amounts. Really, you just need to worry about, what can I do with that money to please the Lord? And then with that mindset, you'll never run out of things to put your money towards for good use. Now, does God love somebody more who gives them the million dollars compared to someone who just gives the widow's mite? Of course not. 

God's love is not for sale. So His love is immutable. It's unchanging. 

His grace is free for all those who come to Him in faith. And so, our amount of giving is not going to change how much He loves us. So then, why be generous? Well, it's a reflection of who God is, and we're supposed to be imitators of Christ. 

And so, the natural outflow of the gospel is obedience to His word. And also, it breaks the root of sin in our life, which is selfishness. And so, it shows that we actually love others and love the Lord more than we love money. 

And on top of that, it says in today's passage that if we are generous like this, we are storing up treasure as a good foundation for the future. And if that wasn't enough, we're also going to grow in our joyful, intimate fellowship with God as we're generous. So whether we only have a little to give or we have millions to give right now, ultimately, God's going to be looking at our heart and seeing that we are serving Him first.

And as we're serving Him, as we're generous, He's going to be blessing us right here, right now. And in the eternal state, there is going to be a judgment seat of Christ where there's going to be rewards. There's going to be eternal rewards, the ability to glorify Him, a greater capacity for joy, greater capacity to serve. 

And so, we have eternal joys and riches and crowns available to us in heaven as we're generous with everything that we have. We can see from the parable of the talents that God is not going to skimp out on us in heaven with regards to our labor and our generosity done in His name. I'd like to take a few minutes now to go through several verses that I think will just solidify the points I'm making. 

So, let me read them right now. Proverbs 19, verse 17. Whoever is generous to the poor lends the Lord, and He will repay him for his deeds.

2 Corinthians 9, verses 6 and 7. Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 1 John 3, verses 16 and 17. 

By this we know, love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Matthew 6, verses 19 through 21. Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Now, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 10. 

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what is done in the body, whether good or evil. And lastly, Revelation chapter 22, verse 12. Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 

I know that was a lot of Bible verses there, but hopefully you see through those passages is that what we do with our money, or better said, God's money, it matters to Him. It's important. Just like everything we do, it matters to God. 

And I think it's important to state that if we are not generous with our money, it doesn't necessarily mean we're going to lose our salvation, but it will mean that we're going to lose some of our heavenly rewards. And this is what makes the Christian life so exciting, is that not only do we get to enjoy eternity with the Lord, but as He's equipping us, as He's empowering us, as He's giving us the abilities to do the work, He's also going to be rewarding the work that we do in His name. So no work is pointless. 

Nothing is meaningless. Actually, every dollar that is saved or spent or invested or given away is going to be accounted for by God and matters to Him. I hope this message gets you excited, excited about all the ways you get to serve God, you can worship God, following His word, and you get to do that with your money.

And as you're doing all these good works with your money to serve God, and obviously you're scoring up a good foundation for the future, eternity, but along the way, you are freeing yourself—your heart, your mind, your soul, your spirit—you're freeing yourself to take hold of that which is truly life. Let me read the whole verse again, 1 Timothy 6, verses 17 through 19. As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share. Thus storing up treasure for themselves is a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. And the three key points about stewarding your money we went through today are, number one, don't be foolish with your money, number two, do good with your money, and number three, be generous with your money.

Now let's get to the application steps from today's lesson. And as always, prayer is going to perceive progress on any of these points. The first step is to analyze your current situation and see, you know, have you managed your money foolishly? And if so, you know, to change your ways to repent from that, to ask God to forgive you, and then, you know, study the book of Proverbs. 

There's 2,000 other verses in the Bible to find about money. And then learn God's ways, and then to change and then start to follow those ways with regards to money. And you're going to want a plan on how to suggest doing a personal budget, business budget. 

And if you need help, of course, you can reach out to me and I can help you. And the second application step is to do as much good as you can with your money. And as a business owner, there's a lot of choices you can make, and so you're gonna need some wisdom along the way, possibly some guidance. 

But the key areas we talked about were, number one, how can you serve your customers better? So investing in your products and services in the ways that you help your customer. How can you serve your employees better? So reinvesting in them and their lives. And lastly, obviously, reinvesting in your family, making sure that you're being a wise steward there and use your money wisely to do good works there. 

The last application step, number three, is to be generous. So look for ways to give and actually set aside money to give. And think about all those places you can give. 

Obviously, the church would be primary, and then missionaries, those in need, nonprofits, ministries, those things where you can expand God's kingdom and that you can invest in that good foundation. So that's really going to be the action step for number three. So now go, go steward your money well, or better said God's money, and do it faithfully, do it with wisdom, and do it with joy, knowing that the God loves a cheerful giver. 

Stay tuned for the next episode, which will be the final episode of our series of 12, all about how you can grow your hundredfold business. Number 12 is all about measuring your numbers. So we'll look at God's word and find out what it says to say about how we run our business by the numbers. 

Finally, if you liked this episode, make sure to like, subscribe, share, tell a friend, and I appreciate brothers for tuning in. Until next time, grace be with you.