Hot Topix Series
Speaker: Dr. Bob Swanger
How to Thrive
In a Challenging Economy
November 11, 2012
The River Church in a Barn
Power Verse
Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God.
People will reap exactly what they sow.
Galatians 6:7–8 (GNB)
Galatians 6:7–8 (GNB)
Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. People will
reap exactly what they sow. 8 If they sow in the field of their
natural desires, from it they will gather the harvest of death; if they sow
in the field of the Spirit, from the Spirit they will gather the harvest of
eternal life.
UNDERSTANDING HOW ECONOMY WORKS
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The Economy is NOT a fixed Amount that everyone must
share.
The Economy is a Dynamic System that can expand and
contract.
HOW DO YOU EXPAND YOUR PERSONAL ECONOMY?
•
How to increase the Harvest of your life
To increase your harvest you must…
plant ______________ seed.
To have a good harvest…
you must plant ___________ seed.
2 Corinthians 9:6–12 (NLT)
Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small
crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. 7 You
must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give
reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives
cheerfully.”8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will
always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.
9 As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor.
Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” 10 For God is the one who
provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he
will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest
of generosity in you. 11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you
can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need
them, they will thank God.
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WORK IS HARDER SINCE THE FALL
Nurture growth
Get rid of weeds
SEED
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Sow seed into the four fields
• Seed=investing resources or spending currency
Currency of life
a. Time/Energy
i. Thoughts
ii. Words
iii. Deeds
b. Wealth/Money
Mark 4:13–20 (NAS)
And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will
you understand all the parables? 14 “The sower sows the word. 15
“These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown;
and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word
which has been sown in them. 16 “In a similar way these are the ones on
whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word,
immediately receive it with joy; 17 and they have no firm root in
themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution
arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 “And others
are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the
ones who have heard the word, 19 but the worries of the world, and the
deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and
choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 “And those are the ones
on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and
accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
3
WORK
1 Corinthians 15:10 (NLT)
But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special
favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than
any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working
through me by his grace.
God designed us to work
Genesis 1:28 (NAS)
God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and
fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over
the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
God worked and rested at the Creation
Genesis 2:2 (NAS)
By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and
He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Jesus worked
John 5:36 (NAS)
“But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for
the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very
works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.
Holy Spirit is at work
2 Thessalonians 2:13 (AMP)
But we, brethren beloved by the Lord, ought and are obligated [as those
who are in debt] to give thanks always to God for you, because God
chose you from the beginning as His firstfruits (first converts) for salvation
through the sanctifying work of the [Holy] Spirit and [your] belief in
(adherence to, trust in, and reliance on) the Truth.
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Man is to work and ________________
1 Timothy 5:8 (NAS) --But if anyone does not provide for his own, and
especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an
unbeliever.
__________ is the time to work
Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NAS) --Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might;
for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are
going.
Work for ___________ not for men
Ephesians 6:7–8 (NAS) --With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to
men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from
the Lord, whether slave or free.
Ephesians 6:5–6 (NLT) --Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and
fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ.6 Try to please them all the time,
not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all
your heart.
Colossians 3:17 (NAS) --Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Work averts __________________
Proverbs 6:6–11 (NAS) --Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, 7
Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, 8 Prepares her food in the summer And
gathers her provision in the harvest. 9 How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When
will you arise from your sleep? 10 “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the
hands to rest”— 11 Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an
armed man.
Proverbs 21:5 (NLT) --Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty
shortcuts lead to poverty.
Proverbs 28:19 (NAS) --He who tills his land will have plenty of food, But he who
follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty.
Proverbs 24:30–34 (NAS) --I passed by the field of the sluggard And by the vineyard
of the man lacking sense, 31 And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles;
Its surface was covered with nettles, And its stone wall was broken down. 32 When I
saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction. 33 “A little sleep, a little
slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest,” 34 Then your poverty will come as a
robber And your want like an armed man.
5
Increased skill will bring _____________
Proverbs 22:29 (NAS) --Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before
kings; He will not stand before obscure men.
There must be ________________ in the effort towards
prosperity. We are to provide and protect for our families, but
becoming a workaholic will destroy a home.
Proverbs 15:17 (NLT) --A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is
better than steak with someone you hate.
EACH DAY YOU WORK IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLANT
SEED. WHAT SEED WILL YOU USE? HOW MUCH?
Your Work Harvest is directly related
to how well you work. ~Bob Ricci
SEED
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Attitude
Effort
o Excellence & Diligence
o Average
o Slack & Weeds
Skill
HARVEST
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•
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Bigger Field
Pay
Promotions
Favor
People into the Kingdom of Heaven
Satisfaction
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Bob Ricci Work Rules
#1 Look to Excel at Work
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Be the type of worker you would want
working for you
Be on ________________
Be ____________________
Be ________________________
Be ____________________________
Be a __________________________
Be a _________________________
#2 No one Owes you a Job
•
•
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Earn everything
God has you there for a reason, make the most of every
opportunity
If you want a job you love, love the job you have.
YOU CHOOSE YOUR ______________ AT WORK EACH DAY.
YOU CHOOSE THE LEVEL OF ___________ EACH DAY.
SCHOOL IS YOUR _____________ IF YOU ARE A STUDENT.
IF YOU DON’T HAVE A JOB, ____________ IS YOUR WORK:
40 HOURS PER WEEK.
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ANSWERS
MORE
GOOD
PROVIDE
NOW
GOD
POVERTY
PROFIT
BALANCE
TIME
POSITIVE
PRODUCTIVE
TEACHABLE/COACHABLE
TEAM PLAYER
PRAYER WARRIOR
ATTITUDE
EFFORT
WORK
GETTING ONE
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