# Having God’s blessings on your finances

November 17, 2025

First Chronicles, chapter 29, verse number 12 of God’s word. David is giving thanks and praying to the Lord. Notice what he says here in scripture, verse number 12: “Both riches and honor.” So the subject here, we’re talking about finances. “Both riches and honor come of thee.” Oh, he was right on that. Every good gift and every perfect gift, what does the Bible say? Is from above. But James, the book of James, says every good thing you ever have had or ever will have is from the Lord.

I mentioned this last week, but we said, “Well, these hands earned it.” Who gave you the hands? No, “Both riches and honor come of thee. Thou reignest over all, and in thine hand is power and might, and in thine hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all.” Let’s just use that as a springboard a bit tonight. We’re going to talk a little bit more about finances, having God’s blessings on your finances. We’ll pray, we’ll use this to touch and get the new material tonight, starting last Sunday night. Let’s pray, would you please?

Father, Lord, you knew who would be here, and Lord, I’ve tried to follow you. I believe this is what you want. So, Lord, would you use it as you see fit in our lives? Grow us. Help us to learn. Lord, I know you like to bless your servants; you said you do. So, Lord, I pray that we would be more fit for you to bless after tonight. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen. You may be seated.

Last week, we mentioned number one: Realize everything you have is from the Lord. If you get that, it changes everything. Instead of asking, “How am I handling my finances?” it becomes, “Am I a good steward of what God has given me?” We mentioned God is a wise investor. Am I a good investment of the funds and the things that God—He’s invested in me, and He’s a very wise investment. That was number one.

Number two, we said tithe. That’s a biblical thing. It’s almost like paying rent on God’s earth. God says, “The tithe is mine.” By the way, He’s going to get it one way or the other. I’d rather give it to Him in the offering plate than have Him take it out in a dentist bill any day of the week. Amen. I don’t like going to the dentist, and I don’t like paying him either. He causes pain, and then he wants money for it. That’s not right. But He’s going to get it, so I’d rather tithe.

We talked about that. And then we briefly hit on having a plan for your finances. We looked in Proverbs 27, verse 23 through the end of the chapter, where it talks about having certain things to pay for clothing, certain things to pay for food. He had a plan, or a budget. He had a plan for the finances.

Now, just going on a little bit on that, let me just give you a couple things. We mentioned this one, but look over there, if you will, in Proverbs 27 real quickly here. We won’t get all of it, but I want to briefly hit it again, maybe add a few things tonight, just talking about finances. If you live and breathe, you’re going to have to deal with finances and be a wise steward of what God has given you.

Proverbs 27, look at verse number 23. He says, “Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks.” Well, that was their wealth; that was their banking, if you will. That’s their funds. “Be diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. For riches are not forever; doth the crown endure to every generation?”

Here’s the temptation when finances are not good: “Well, I just kind of don’t look at it. I won’t have to worry about it.” It almost never gets better when you almost always get worse. Know your finances. Know where you are. Even if it’s not good, you ought to know how not good it is. Know where you are. Riches are not forever. Know what’s going on in your finances. You ought to do that. That’s number one: Know your bills.

Then last week we covered number two: Pay your bills. We looked at Proverbs 6:1 through 5.

Along that line, we did not cover this last week, but let me just say this about finances. Some will say that 20% of the Bible talks about finances. I haven’t read the whole thing, but some say 20%. The Bible is about finances. Pretty amazing. A lot of it is. But pay your bills, so if I’m going to pay my bills, don’t get in debt that you cannot pay. In Proverbs 22:7, you’ve heard this phrase, or this whole verse: “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” So if I’m going to pay my bills, I don’t want to acquire debt that I cannot pay, because I’m an honest man. I want to pay my bills.

Now, along that line, since we’re talking about finances, I do not think it’s a sin to take a mortgage out. Some will go over to Romans where it says, “Owe no man anything.” They think it’s wrong to have any kind of a loan. But if you look at this biblically, I don’t owe them until I do not pay the arrangements I arranged with them. A loan is like you’re agreeing for them to give you this set amount of money, and you’re paying rent on that money. But if I have a payment due on the 15th, and I don’t pay it, then I owe him. So, “Owe no man anything” does not mean you cannot have a mortgage. If that were true, it would be a sin for our church to take a loan out to buy that property and build that building. I wouldn’t do it if it were a sin. I don’t think it’s a sin to have a mortgage; the sin is taking a loan out that I cannot pay, or planning around the fact that I know I can’t pay it.

I would strongly suggest: Don’t take a loan out that you shouldn’t or don’t need to. Don’t get into unreasonable debt. I’d say this: Don’t take a loan out for something that depreciates fast. But I don’t think it’s a sin. You’re making an agreement with them. You’re paying interest. Sometimes that interest you’re paying on that money is incredible; they’re getting their fair share. But if you don’t pay when you said you would pay, that’s when you are going against Romans 13. “Owe no man anything.” Just so you understand that biblically when people bring that up.

Now, let’s go over to Proverbs chapter number six. By the way, if there is a church you know of that doesn’t want to go in debt, that doesn’t want to take a mortgage out and pays it all off debt-free—I know a church in Woodbury that just did that. Praise the Lord for them. I’m all for them; I’m supportive. If they can do that, wonderful. I wish we could do it. I don’t think that’s the path God has given us, but we are going to take the least amount we can. I don’t think we are sinning by taking a mortgage out to build the building. I just want to try to explain that biblically. Let’s get back over to Proverbs.

Proverbs 6. We covered last week, verses 1 through 5. It talks about being a co-signer, which is not wise, and the person you co-signed for isn’t paying. You said, man, you get busy, you lose a little sleep, but you pay that bill off. We talked about that. The subject is finances. Typically in Proverbs, every verse is a different subject, but sometimes you find the context to the text in Proverbs also, and you find that in the first part of Proverbs chapter 6. This is not the typical message for us, but hang with me here. We’re preaching the Bible still today, but it is a little different for us. The subject matter is finances here.

Look again at verse number 6. He says, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.” When you go to the ant, make sure it’s not a fire ant because they sting and they bite. If you’re in Florida, you get those ants; they get you bad. But what does it say? “Consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.”

They have studies about everything. I have looked up studies about how an ant survives the winter. They store up; they eat a little bit extra and gain fat. That’s what I’ve been doing! I’m getting ready for winter. As it gets closer to winter, they prepare. Some types of ants go down deeper in the earth, below the frost line, because winter is coming. They go into a hyper state—it’s not quite hibernation. If you ask the ant experts, they don’t call it hibernation, but it’s similar. They hyper-slow, conserving energy. It’s like when the battery on your cell phone gets low and it goes into energy-saving mode; the ants go into this mode, preparing for winter. In saying that, look: in the summer, they gather her food. They provide her meat in the summer and gather her food in the harvest.

Verse number 9: “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth.” (By the way, I used to think “travileth.” That’s not the word; it’s “travelleth.”) You see someone that moves all the time—that’s very tough financially. Sometimes God leads, I’m not saying that’s a sin, but that’s very tough financially. The Bible told us that way before. He says, “So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thou want as an armed man.” You are just so needy, like someone trying to steal and rob. But it’s talking about these ants. Watch how they prepare for winter.

Now, it’s talking about finances here. Think about your life as seasons. When you are a young adult, that would be spring. The summertime would be young middle age, I would call it. I used to be in that category. That would be summertime when you have a little bit of a career typically underneath you, making a little bit better financially. The next season, fall, would be older middle age, and that’s really when they are starting to store up because winter is coming. Winter would be retirement age. I know none of you are that age, you know for sure. But anyway, think about that with the ant, considering your life. He’s saying, “Go to the ant.”

Consider her ways. By the way, let me just say something: When you go to take out a loan or something, the salesmen, they don’t want to tell you how much the long-term cost is. They’ll always talk about the monthly payments. Wealthy people don’t think about monthly payments; they want to talk about overall how much it’s going to cost. It’s a different mindset, but don’t think short-term. The ant thinks long-term. There’s a reason that salesman doesn’t want to give you the bottom number—how much you are paying. They want to talk about the monthly payment because they are trying to get you into that loan; they are going to get a whole lot of interest off of you. The ant considers the long-term. Think long-term financially.

So, get a long-term plan for your finances. Even these young people here tonight—I’m a teenager, I don’t have to worry about that. But these ushers up here, they’re about to get married anyway. Finances are coming. If you can get your financial mind set while you are young, it is so helpful. Long-term plan for your finances. Let’s talk about that tonight.

Number one, I’m going to give you just some thoughts along this line. I think about four things in having a long-term plan for your finances. Number one: Seek to have a home paid for by retirement. I’m 56, and life just happens. If you are not careful, you realize you are not prepared financially.

I have done some research, and I don’t want to get into the debate about whether it’s easier or tougher today. But as far as homes, anyone who has studied it would have to admit it is much harder today. Houses are bigger today, but if you lived in the norm back then, that was smaller. If you try to have the norm today, it is much, much harder. If you find a 1,000-square-foot house today, it’s probably not going to be in a neighborhood where you want to raise your kids.

They say since 1973, home prices have increased 1,045%, much more than inflation. Wow. It is more difficult to get a house in our day and time. If that is true, and I believe it is, you need God’s blessings on your finances more than ever. God can let you buy just at the right time. You might think you have the right house, but five years down the road, they might build a big subdivision right down the street. You cannot always contemplate that, but God can.

If this is true, I would say this: If I focus too much on how hard it is today, it can be defeating, not helpful. I believe it’s true, but I don’t want to focus too much on that. It is more difficult to get a house than in our day and time. I would also say: Don’t give up on the plan. It is more difficult; if you study the numbers, you have to admit that. But it is not impossible. So, don’t give up on that dream to get your house. If you are older like me and starting a little late, maybe it’s a different story. But for the younger generation, it is still possible.

I have watched people over 26 years of pastoring. Someone who has their house paid for when they reach retirement age—it’s a difference of night and day. I would have that goal. I would work toward that goal. I would seek that goal. I’m not saying if you are young, go buy a house tomorrow. Interest rates went down a little bit; I think next year they will go down much more. But I am saying seek that goal. Have a plan so that when you reach retirement age, if you can, you want to have a house that is paid for.

Are y’all still with me tonight? This is not one of those “amen” messages, but it can be so helpful. If you can pay a little extra on your mortgage, boy, it goes so far. Listen to me just a second here. If you bought a house for $400,000—that’s not the biggest or nicest nowadays, but that’s where we are in the Nashville area—at a 6.35% interest rate, your mortgage payment would be $2,488.94. Here is the amazing thing: On that payment of almost $2,489, only $372 goes to your principal. Check out the amortization charts. That is amazing. So, $2,117 are going towards interest. Over 30 years, the interest amount slowly goes down, and the amount that goes to principal slowly goes up. On that $400,000 house with a typical interest rate today, you will end up paying $896,000—close to $900,000, over twice as much as you paid for the house.

Now, I am not saying you can avoid that, because who has $400,000 to buy a house with today? We were married ten years before we were able to buy a house. We rented for the most part. We moved about every two years. We moved here, rented for three years, and I was 33 years old before I could buy my first house. That is the only house we have ever owned. We were paying on it for 21 or 22 years. At first, all we could do was make the monthly mortgage payment. We were struggling; the church was young.

But a couple of years into that, we said, “All right, we can do $25 extra a month.” You say, “Well, that’s nothing.” But when you realize that every bit of the extra goes toward principal, that changes the amortization chart greatly. A couple of years later, we started paying $100 extra a month. We did that for years and years. We refinanced into a 15-year loan to get a lower interest rate. But we paid $100 extra a month, and we paid our home off in 21 years, something like that.

Was it because we are rich? No. We just paid a little bit extra every month. I make about what you make, or less than you make typically, and I am good with that. But just a little bit extra every month on that mortgage has amazing long-term power because all that extra goes toward principal. Now, yes, our house is not in the best neighborhood. But now we have a lot of equity to go into a new home, and if we go there, I will seek to pay a little bit extra if we can.

That is the first thing we said: Seek to have a home paid for by your retirement. Make that a target. Seek for that.

Number two: Provide for your wife in case of your death. (This is mostly to us men.) 1 Timothy 5:8: “But if any provide not for his own… especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” One of the number one needs your wife has is security, and one of those needs is financial security. Praise the Lord, we have never used our life insurance, because I would be dead if we had to use that now! But before we started this church, I said, “We are going to have some financial tough times,” so we took a term life insurance policy out in case I died. Term life is typically the best, but it will give your wife so much security. That is the number one need she has. So, number one, seek to have a home paid for; number two, provide for your wife in case of your death. Hopefully, you don’t use it, but it offers your wife so much security.

Number three, are y’all ready to move on? Number three. Plan to provide for your retirement, typically by investing. Retirement is now your own responsibility. In 1980, 60% of workers had defined benefit pensions. Today, that number is 10%. Jobs used to offer pensions; that is a thing of the past. So, you are going to have to plan and prepare for your retirement. If your company offers a 401(k) match, jump on that thing. Get involved in it. Go to the ant; she is preparing for winter, and you are getting ready. If somebody is going to match what you are putting in, let’s do it.

When I talk about preparing for retirement, I am talking about long-term investments, not get-rich-quick schemes. Look over in Proverbs 28, verse number 20. This is probably my favorite verse in the Bible when it comes to finances. Proverbs 28:20: “A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.” Don’t get caught up in the get-rich-quick schemes. I know folks who have lost thousands upon thousands of dollars getting caught up in penny stocks and puts and calls. Be so careful when you get involved in all those things, thinking, “I’m going to get intense and get everything paid off and have all this money.” Be careful. The faithful man shall abound with blessings.

I think of a man who was in our church in the beginning days. He was from Colombia. They were the first couple ever married here. They were saved, got their lives straightened out, and were so happy. He became an usher. He had been in the military and worked in embassies across the world. He was a little bit of a grouch, but when he got his life straight, he had a smile.

They decided they were going to get intense, pay off all their bills, get debt-free, and have money. It took a second job, working twelve-hour shifts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. He got out of church—intense about being debt-free. I remember seeing his wife in the grocery store. She spoke some English, and she told me they needed to get back in church. She said her husband, Frank, was “not happy.” She started crying, “Frank not happy. Need get in church.” So, be so careful. Sometimes, the desire to “get rich quick” is dangerous. The faithful man shall abound with blessings.

I am saying prepare for your retirement by investing for the long term. They say in the last 90 years, if you take 10-year marks, the stock market has always been up. I am just talking about long-term investment as you prepare for retirement.

Let me say this: Look over in Ecclesiastes chapter 11. This is going to use one word for what he is saying here: Diversify. Look in verse number 1: “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight: for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.” He is saying diversify your long-term investment. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. He said seven or eight because you don’t know where the evil is going to come from. The financial market is starting to catch up with the Word of God, but the Word of God said that a long time ago: diversify.

The sooner you start preparing for retirement, the greater the impact. They say—I think this is Dave Ramsey’s number—if you put $100 a month into retirement investment when you are 25 years old, by the time you are 65, you will have $1,176,000. That sounds pretty good to me. That is just $100 a month. The sooner you start, the better.

Just having a plan, at least getting your house paid for—I have watched retired folks in our church over the years, and there is a great divide in how they can handle their finances if they have a house paid for. They can do so much more for their spouse, for themselves, for their grandkids, for church people, because they have the house paid for, and that life is so much more enjoyable.

We said: Realize every dime you have is from God, so be a good investment for Him. Number two, tithe. Number three, have a plan on how to provide for yourself long-term. And number four, we’ll be done for the night: Give above your tithes—offerings.

We read about tithes and offerings in Malachi 3. I would say this: Offerings—the Bible doesn’t say that has to be in the church. It could be in many different places. I think we have some good programs where you can invest your offering, like building funds or faith promise. But offerings can be many different ways. The tithe, I believe the Bible is very clear, goes to the storehouse, God’s house, the church. Offerings can go a lot of different places.

Look over in Acts chapter 20. I like to invest our offerings into faith promise and building funds around here; that’s my heart, but it can go a lot of different places. I want you to see this: Acts 20, verse number 35. This is Paul talking to the elders from the church at Ephesus. It is the last time he sees them. Watch what he says: “I have showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak.” Did you notice that? How so laboring, working, you ought to support the weak. By the way, you can do that so much better when you don’t have a pile of debt.

And watch what he says: “And to remember the words of the Lord Jesus,” rehearsing what Jesus had said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” It is so true for him.

Sometimes I am the middleman; somebody gives me finances to give to someone else as a pastor, and I have a little joy in that. But really, the person who has the greatest joy is the person who is giving. It is more blessed to give than to receive.

I won’t use a name, but someone who comes to our church often has to Uber here. They are in a situation, and someone gave me $100 a week or two ago to give to that individual. I gave them the whole $100. I like it because it made this person feel loved, and they need that. But you know who had the greatest joy in it all? The person who gave.

We are talking about finances tonight, but there are some things much more important than finances. Remember the ant? Consider her ways and be wise. Some people have millions of dollars and are prepared for retirement down here, but they have no retirement up there. Living for the Lord is much more important than finances. This is important; it is biblical. But the Bible talks about weightier matters of the law. The biggest thing is eternity. I want to have treasures laid up for myself in heaven. You will be able to take care of yourself and yours down here, and maybe you have some extra so you can support the weak. But the big thing is eternity.

A preacher went to eat at the house of a lady from his church. The husband, who was very wealthy, showed the preacher all the land he owned. The lost man asked, “What do you have to say about that, preacher?” The preacher said, “What do you own up there?” All this is going to be gone, friend. The Bible wants us to be wise, but there are some things much more important: eternal rewards.

You can give your offerings wherever God leads you to give. I like that our church supports 52 missionaries. Someone said this: “Do your giving while you’re living so you’ll know where it’s going.” You just tore it all up for somebody else, and the stake gets over half the time. Be wise about it.

I thought about one of our missionaries, Jonathan Owens. We don’t hear a whole lot from him because he is one of those guys who went to the mission field and said, “I’m staying.” Most missionaries go four years and come back for a furlough. He is there; he is doing the job. He has seven kids, maybe more. He is over in Bulgaria doing a great job. We supported Jonathan Owens for over 20 years. They work a lot with the Gypsies there.

The Gypsies typically do not have much. They have schools over there, but they never use them; the Gypsies have no education. Think about Jonathan Owens, whom we have been able to support for 20-something years, and think about them reaching all those Gypsies. Imagine one day in heaven, a host of Gypsy children running to you, saying, “Thank you. You gave, and that church sent, and the Owens went, and they led me to the Lord. And I am in heaven because you gave to missions.” That is called a crown of rejoicing in heaven. You have joy in heaven because God has used the fruit of your labors in different ways to bring people to Christ at salvation. Friend, that is a pretty good long-term investment for sure.

Would you bow your heads and close your eyes? Maybe you just want to come and spend some time with the Lord, say, “Lord, I want you to bless my finances. I want your blessing.” Time and chance happen to them all, the Bible says. You want God’s blessing on your finances. Spend some time and say, “Lord, I want to be a wise steward of the funds and the resources you have given.”

Lord, I want your blessings on my finances. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for the privilege of having so much in America. Help us be wise stewards of the resources you’ve invested in us. Lord, help us be a wise investment for you. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

A good thing is that when you are doing right by God with your finances, even during tough times, there is peace. I am doing right by God. He has it. There is peace when you are honoring Him with your finances. Even in lean times, He can handle the lean times. Peace comes from that. Let’s seek to be a wise investment of what God has given us. You may just say, “Well, they are wise; I might give them a little bit more.” Let’s be a wise investment for the Lord Jesus Christ. Good to have families with us. That is awesome. Good to see everyone tonight. I am honored to see everybody. That is just great.

Original File: 2025-11-17 - Pastor Paul Chisgar ＂Having God’s blessings on your finances＂ - Sunday PM 11⧸16⧸2025