WHY GOD WANTS US TO BE WEALTHY

Greg E. Petsch is the former Senior Vice President for Manufacturing and Quality for Compaq Computer Corporation in Houston, TX. While at Compaq, Greg was responsible for $1 billion a year operating budget, and purchased material totaling $25 billion. He oversaw manufacturing plants in Houston, Scotland, Singapore, China, Taiwan and Brazil. Greg was named the Director of the Financial Ministry at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, currently the largest church in America. Greg is a member of the Board of Directors for Administaff (ASF), a professional employment organization (www.Administaff.com)

I have just completed a 3 week teaching at Lakewood church in Houston, titled, "MIT--Millionaires In Training." It is important to recognize that God care about your finances when you follow His Word with correct motives.

In Deuteronomy 18:8 Gods tells us “ But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. “ NIV

We are about to move into a group base of millionaires, who earned their millions from working, saving and investing. The first group of millionaires obtained that status primarily through inheritances. The millionaires of this generation will grow exponentially as the wealth of baby boomers continue to compound.

Many millionaires who made their money through work are people who live below their means. They don’t seek the spot light and they remain very humble. This is probably because they have known what it is like to have not; and to have. Solomon said in Ecclesiastes that Money answered all things.

However, there are some problems that come with being a millionaire. Few children become better people because they inherit allot of money. Marriages don’t necessarily last longer in homes with money. Friendships are often more difficult to maintain when one person comes into wealth.

People like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, the two wealthiest people in the world have brought with them a lifestyle that closely resembles middle class America instead of the traditional television and movies portrayal of a person of wealth.

America now has 300 million people. America had 4.8 million millionaires in 1996. In 2005, there were 8.2 million people with the status of Millionaire. This is a 75% increase in 10 years. With this rate of growth, in 20 years there would be 25 million people in America who are Millionaires. Do you want to be one of them?

The top 5% of the wealthiest Americans today own over 50% of the wealth while the bottom 20% of Americans have zero wealth. Also the top 20% of Americans own 80% of the wealth. This is known as the Paraeto Principle or the 80/20 Rule. A million dollars is a number that still represents the American dream. It means you have arrived according to the world’s definition.

$1,000,000 $1,000,000

Television continues to attract viewers with the idea of winning $1,000,000. Shows like, Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Or Deal or No Deal promotes this idea of arriving financially once you achieved a million dollars. Many states in America do the same with the lottery drawings twice a week for a million dollars. Some states have the Mega Millions and as the potential for the prize increases more people who can’t afford to buy lottery tickets do so at the expense of needs.

Why $1,000,000? It is a name associated with a new plateau of financial accumulation

• In the book, The Millionaire Mind by Thomas Stanley, He attempts to understand how a millionaire thinks. He research finds that they live believe their means, are diligent savers, and are far more likely to work hard. Most of these millionaires "have been told by some authority figure or by the results of standardized test scores that we were not intellectually gifted, of law school caliber, medical school material, qualified to pursue a medical degree or smart enough to succeed." Average GPA in college is 2.92. Not one millionaire interviewed said they had any interest in gambling. God’s Word tells us wealth by quick, get rich schemes quickly disappears. Finally, "What are the top five factors most often mentioned by millionaires as being very important in explaining their economic success? After you read them below, take out a card or a sheet of paper and write down these five elements of financial success. Keep a copy in your wallet or purse and paste a copy on your television...

1. Integrity - being honest with all people

2. Discipline - applying self control

3. Social skills - getting along with people

4. A supportive spouse

5. Hard work - more than most people"

Why does God want you to be wealthy? He wants you to be a sower into the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When I read one verse in Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." NIV

My question is – How much will this cost? How much will successfully doing Acts 1:8 cost? In order to accomplish this, you must have money. One of the guarantees of God is that good money sown into good ministry will produce a good return to the person who planted the money. God says this in Galatians 6:9, 2 Corinthians 9:6, Mark 4:8, Ephesians 6:8 and Mark 4:8, just to name a few scriptures that confirms that good seed in good ground produces a good harvest.

Many times in God’s Word, He tells us He desires His children to be prosperous and be in good health. He says that if you meditate on His Word you will have prosperity and good success. God’s Word is full of promises, financial promises. He wants His children to be prosperous, but with the right motives. He desires you to live in financial obedience to Him. That is what He is communicating to us in Deuteronomy chapter 28. It is His desire we live in the first 14 verses. However, when we borrow and go into financial servitude we change our financial addresses to begin in verse 15 of Deuteronomy 28.

1 Peter 5:8-9 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. NIV

God wants you to prosper. It is in His Word. The devil on the other hand knows that as long as you are in debt, you are bound to the lender. In verse 9, God tells us to resist the devil and stand firm in the faith. The devil wants to keep you in fear; God wants you to stand FIRM in FAITH.

Are you ready to change your financial roadmap? Are you ready to become one of America’s future millionaires? Are you ready to do this soon? Why wait until January 1, 2007 to make this one of your New Year’s resolutions. Grab hold of your financial future by the Throat and don’t let go. The enemy will try to get you distracted but God has already ordained your victory in Jeremiah 29:11.

God needs you to become the miracle vessel in someone’s life. God could do this all by Himself, but when you read the history of the miracles in the Bible, it is clear that God uses people in his creation of miracles. Instead of continually praying that God will perform a miracle in your life, begin to pray that God will use you to be a miracle in someone’s life. Then God say, whatsoever you sow, you will reap!