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Walking in God’s Favor: A thick bankroll is no help when life falls apart,
but a principled life can stand up to the worst. Proverbs 11:4 MSG

Many Christians in America have become so materialistic in their thinking. You have probably heard someone say, ” The one who dies with the most toys wins” or “The one with the gold makes the rules.”

The things in this world are temporal, but the things of God are eternal. We believe Jesus Christ is returning for a people – not possessions. So, what are you doing to build intimate relationships with those you love? How are you investing your financial resources to better your relationship with God and meaningful others?

When you develop intimate relationships, you do it one-to-one. Your attention is focused on one person. Their needs become your priority. Dr David and Teresa Ferguson, co-authors of Intimate Encounters says, “Intimate relationships takes time and communication.”

Ardella and I have the wonderful experience of celebrating a debt-free lifestyle.  For us the best part of living without a mortgage, a car payment, or consumer debt is the financial peace.   With no financial drama, we can focus our attention on developing meaningful relationships.

This includes sharing one’s feelings, putting others first, sympathetic listening, and caring for one another. Sharing your heart with family and having meaningful relationships with others is what life is truly about. Life is meant to be shared. Sharing the love of God with those we care about is a priority for the Level 4 Steward.

There is nothing like the power of your own life story. Everyone has a story to tell. How are you being blessed today? What challenges have you overcome in your life? Who  are you reaching out to help make it? Are you sharing your widsom with the next generation? Sharing your life experiences with others encourages them and gives them hope.

Tell others how you have overcome life’s struggles; how your faith brings stability in your life; how living by biblical principles gives you the wisdom to look around the corner to prepare for the storms of life.

You are invited to visit our Financial Peace University class www.firstsdachurch.com  Monday February 3rd 6:00pm  as we share our personal story of  how prayer, faith and action delivered us from the bondage of debt. 

Prayer of Blessing: Lord, teach us to put people before possessions.

Michael Vance is a senior account executive with Hundley Batts & Associates and the co-founder of stewardshipofwealth.com. Ardella Vance is a gifted educator and a Master Guide in the Pathfinders Club, a global organization empowered to teach life and leadership skills to young people. The Vance’s have been married well over 25 years and share their lives with four adult children and six grandchildren. They currently reside in Huntsville, Alabama and blog weekly from their financial workbook ” The Stewardship of Wealth“.

Walking In God’s Favor: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 1Corinthians 13:11 NLT

Moving from a life of struggle to a life of stability is an individual choice. Many of you cannot see yourselves  maturing from a life of struggle to a life of  stability; therefore you remain in a life struggle.

Faithful stewards learn to live on a budget and give their money a mission.  But more importantly,  faithful stewards are accountable to God. The faithful steward has learned to say “no” to the person in the mirror.

One of the keys that differentiate the life of struggle with the life of stability is the will to delay immediate gratification for long-term goals. One sign of spiritual maturity is the will to choose long-term goals over short-term  gain.

I clearly remember our parents teaching us the connection between work and money.  As a kid, they would give my two younger brothers and me money for doing chores like cutting the grass, raking leaves or washing the car.  As soon as I received my money, I would run down to the corner grocery store to spend every penny I had earned on Chinese Sweet & Sours Balls, Red Hots, banana flavored Now & Laters, and  my favorite, Hostess Chocolate Twinkies.

My parents would comment how  I had holes in my pocket when they observed how quickly I spent my money. They found teachable moments  to encourage me  to save.  They planted seeds of wisdom like ” Money don’t grow on trees” in  my life.  My parents were the first teachers who sowed into my life the importance of working hard and saving money.

My truth is,  even today as an adult I struggle with the desire to spend money I don’t have, to  buy things I don’t  need, to impress people I don’t know.  That desire to spend money grew into an uncontrollable desire to have wealth without going through the process of  developing the financial skills necessary to manage wealth.

In order for you to move to a life of stability you are going to have to go through the process. It’s your choice. You have the ability to become a better steward of your wealth. I am a living example that God will empower your life  to do that which you cannot on your own,  do for yourself. Remember keep praying, keep believing, with God all things are possible.

Join our Stewardshipofwealth.com  Team Saturday 10:00am February 1, 2014 at the Phillips CME  Church www.phillipscmechurch.org  for a Youth & Young Adults –  Free Financial Empowerment Session.  Call 256 334 0087 to register your seating. Learn how to obtain financial stability.

Prayer of Blessing: Lord help us  to become better stewards of our finances.     

Michael Vance is a senior account executive with Hundley Batts & Associates and the co-founder of stewardshipofwealth.com. Ardella Vance is a gifted educator and a Master Guide in the Pathfinders Club, a global organization empowered to teach life and leadership skills to young people. The Vance’s have been married well over 25 years and share their lives with four adult children and six grandchildren. They currently reside in Huntsville, Alabama and blog weekly from their financial workbook ” The Stewardship of Wealth“.

Walking in God’s Favor: Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth and be in health. III John 1:2 KJ

In his book titled The Reallionaire , Farah Gray, a young African-American man who went from public assistance to become a millionaire by the age of 14, says a reallionaire (a word he created) is someone who has discovered that there is more to money than having money. Understanding that stewardship of wealth is not just about being rich in your pocket-book, but realizing you have to be rich inside too.

I believe and agree with Farah Gray that wealth starts on the inside with a certain way of thinking. It begins with the belief system that governs how we relate to money. There are certain ways of thinking that can help you increase your financial health.

The first way of thinking is to stop trying to act rich. ” Live Within Your Means.” Living to impress others will only cost you. In the long run trying to keep up with the Jones will eventually result in financial pain and bring you down. Some people who appear to be living prosperous lives, in many instances are in debt up to their eyes balls and have mortgaged their future.

The second way of thinking is to start living on a budget. Spend your money on paper and on purpose before the month begins. Give your money a mission. If you dream of becoming wealthy, create a financial plan to get there. Write it down and look at it often. Remember a dream without a plan is just a hallucination.

The third and final way of thinking that can help you increase your financial health is to start counting your blessings. You are wonderfully made in God’s image. If you have life and health, you are blessed. If you have a family and friends, you are blessed. If you have a personal relationship with Christ, you truly are blessed. Learn to be thankful for what you have right now.

How we plan for our future, take advantage of opportunities and how we spend our money all begin inside with our thinking. What do you want to become? What do you want to accomplish? What do you want to obtain? Remember, our thoughts direct our actions or inaction. You have the ability to become a better steward of your wealth.

Prayer of Blessing: Lord direct our thoughts and order our steps. 

Michael Vance is a senior account executive with Hundley Batts & Associates and the co-founder of stewardshipofwealth.com. Ardella Vance is a gifted educator and a Master Guide in the Pathfinders Club, a global organization empowered to teach life and leadership skills to young people. The Vance’s have been married well over 25 years and share their lives with four adult children and six grandchildren. They currently reside in Huntsville, Alabama and blog weekly from their financial workbook ” The Stewardship of Wealth“.

Walking In God’s Favor: Don’t worry about anything. Instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. Philippians 4:6 NLT

We were first introduced to stewardship principles by Elder Harold Lee. A young family with four children, Ardella was a stay-at-home mom, while I was serving in the United States Navy at Rough & Ready Island in Stockton, California. Our life’s spiritual journey has never been the same.

God has placed in each of you an abundance of potential, and you must make the choice to develop, or not to develop your God-given gifts. After learning and living stewardship principles for over 25 years, we have discovered certain levels of stewardship in which people are living consciously or unconsciously, each day of their lives.

Level 1 Stewardship – The Life of Struggle

Level 2 Stewardship – The Life of Stability

Level 3 Stewardship – The Life of Surplus

Level 4 Stewardship – The Life of Sustainable Increase & Significance

Level 1 Stewardship is the life of struggle. The Level 1 Steward is trying to survive; To keep the lights on, food on the table, and gas in the car. I remember as a young father, being so concerned about paying bills and meeting my family financial obligations, I could not think about my higher purpose. Something was missing.

If you are a Level 1 Steward, you can become so overwhelmed trying to survive, you cannot hear God’s voice calling you. The Holy Spirit speaking to your heart, is drowned out by the  immediate basic needs in front of you.

The first lesson you must learn in Level 1 Stewardship, is that God is the Creater/Owner of everything, and you are only a manager, apprentice, or steward. This spiritual truth must become the foundation of your life. You can easily become a millionaire and be a million miles away from God, if you do not internalize this truth.

The second lesson you must learn in Level 1 Stewardship, is to put your faith and trust in God. God will supply all you need according to His riches in glory. The wiser steward you become, the more God can trust you with, because He knows you can handle it. The Level 1 Steward walks by faith and not by sight.

Why is it, when God blesses you with a good education, you worship the education? God blesses you with a successful business, and you worship the business. God blesses you with talent, and you worship the talent. Instead of worshiping the Gift Giver, you worship the gifts. The Level 1 Steward learns to worship God as Creator/ Owner and giver of all gifts.

You are invited to visit our Financial Peace University class http://www.firstsdachurch.com Monday 6pm January 27th to discover how everyday moms & dads and regular folks are winning with their money.

Prayer of Blessing: Lord, we will worship You.

Michael Vance is a senior account executive with Hundley Batts & Associates and the co-founder of stewardshipofwealth.com. Ardella Vance is a gifted educator and a Master Guide in the Pathfinders Club, a global organization empowered to teach life and leadership skills to young people. The Vance’s have been married well over 25 years and share their lives with four adult children and six grandchildren. They currently reside in Huntsville, Alabama and blog weekly from their financial workbook ” The Stewardship of Wealth“.

Walking in God’s Favor: Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.   Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share. 1 Timothy 6:17,18 NKJV

To think like a Level 4 steward requires a change of heart. A Level 4 steward thinks more of how you can serve others rather than yourself. Once you have acquired a servant’s heart, you no longer focus so much on your own needs, but turn your heart to the needs of others.

I clearly remember walking into my office years ago, as a young insurance agent in my twenties, disappointed for not obtaining the sales goals I had planned for the week. I knocked on Mr. Hundley Batts’  door and asked if I could speak to him for a moment. “Mr.  Batts”, I said, “I have been out selling all day long and  cannot find anyone to sell insurance to.”

Hundley Batts replied, “That’s your problem, Son.  Find people you can serve.” Those five words ” Find people you can serve” changed my whole entire paradigm on how I operate my business battsandassoc.com . These days, eighty percent of my business comes from referral business of people who value  my time, business & insurance intelligence, and the services we offer.

Level 4 Stewardship is one of the best ways to describe the heart of a servant. Many faithful stewards begin their spiritual discovery as servants, however they end up as  celebrities. They become addicted to the spotlight, unaware that constantly being in the lime light can blind you.

There are four areas of life the Level 4 Steward will primarily focus:

#1 How you care for your body(temple)

#2 How you invest your time

#3 How you develop your talents or gifts

#4 How you manage your treasure (financial assets)

This is a holistic approach to serving. God wants all of you – not just little pieces of you.  Level 4 Stewards accept the truth that God owns it all, and we are only caretakers, managers, and apprentices . They think like servants, not like owners.

Can you be trusted with wealth, power, and social capital? The heart of the Level 4 Steward is in giving service to God. Level 4 Stewards make sure their lives honor God, and their life work leaves the planet a much better place to live.

Prayer of Blessing: Lord, empower us to live as faithful stewards, serving others.

Michael Vance is a senior account executive with Hundley Batts & Associates and the co-founder of stewardshipofwealth.com. Ardella Vance is a gifted educator and a Master Guide in the Pathfinders Club, a global organization empowered to teach life and leadership skills to young people. The Vance’s have been married well over 25 years and share their lives with four adult children and six grandchildren. They currently reside in Huntsville, Alabama and blog weekly from their financial workbook ” The Stewardship of Wealth“.

Walking In God’s Favor: Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving. 2 Corinthians 9:7 MSG

Why would God say He loves a cheerful giver? Giving is an emotional experience that involves the heart.  The word of God says that where your treasures are, that’s where your heart will be also. You must make giving a part of your day to day Christian experience. Here’s how to start.

• Pray…Ask for God’s power to change your heart. David asked  God for a clean heart. Only God has the ability to change hearts. God can transform your thinking if you give Him permission.
• Seek…Discover God’s wisdom in His Word. Turn off the TV,  iPad  and Blackberry.  Get into a regular Bible study group. How can you walk in God’s wisdom if you rarely read His divine road map?
• Fellowship…Rub shoulders with people who are generous givers of their time, talents, treasure (money) & temple(body) in honor of God. Hang around people who live a stewardship lifestyle and are great examples of faithfulness.
• Share…Tell your experience to others of how God has blessed your faithfulness. Many times you do not realize God is all you need, until God is all you got.

People can give more when they are not in bondage to debt and credit cards.  It is difficult to give cheerfully to the Kingdom when you have overextended yourself financially. Learn to say “No” to the person in the mirror and “Yes” to the Giver & Creator of life.

You are welcome to visit as our guest to our Financial Peace University  class www.firstsdachurch.com Monday 6PM December  30th.  Discover the power  you have available to you, as  families, business leaders, and  young professionals share their own personal stories of  God’s faithfulness.

Prayer of Blessing: Lord, help us to become faithful stewards.

Michael Vance is a senior account executive with Hundley Batts & Associates and the co-founder of stewardshipofwealth.com. Ardella Vance is a gifted educator and a Master Guide in the Pathfinders Club, a global organization empowered to teach life and leadership skills to young people. The Vance’s have been married well over 25 years and share their lives with four adult children and six grandchildren. They currently reside in Huntsville, Alabama and blog weekly from their financial workbook ” The Stewardship of Wealth“.

Walking In God’s Favor: You shall love the Eternal One your God with everything you have: all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Luke 10:27 VOICE

Does love motivate your decisions? Level 4 stewards have discovered in their spiritual journey that God’s nature is love. That He gives each of you the freedom to discover His loving nature for yourself. The Creator freely gives you opportunities to experience His divine love. The Level 4 steward understands that God only wants what is best for your good and His glory.

Our Creator has a purpose for your life and He is calling you to a higher level of stewardship. We love what the book of Jeremiah says in chapter 29 verse 11. “I know the plan I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans for your hope and a future”. Wow! Now that is the kind of God we choose to worship. We know He has everything under control. When you learn to let go and let God….that’s when things start happening.

I clearly remember when I began the process of looking for a life partner. I prayed that my future wife  would be someone who truly loved God.  We would be able to connect spiritually. It was very important to me that we shared our love for God with one another. I was raised in a home where I observed my parents praying to God with one another, worshiping God with one another, and trusting in God with one another. That seemed to be a high priority in their relationship.

I am so thankful to God for bringing Ardella into my life. Every area I have allowed Ardella to touch, has turned to gold. We have prospered in our spiritual life, our family life, our professional life, and our financially life. Over the years, God has continued to bless our marriage, our family, and our lives as we continue to grow more in love with Him as well as each other.

Level 4 stewards have learned to make intimacy with God their highest priority. God is faithful. He loves you with an unending love. There are no boundaries to God’s love for each of you.

Prayer of Blessing: Lord, thank You for Your love.

Michael Vance is a senior account executive with Hundley Batts & Associates and the co-founder of stewardshipofwealth.com. Ardella Vance is a gifted educator and a Master Guide in the Pathfinders Club, a global organization empowered to teach life and leadership skills to young people. The Vance’s have been married well over 25 years and share their lives with four adult children and six grandchildren. They currently reside in Huntsville, Alabama and blog weekly from their financial workbook ” The Stewardship of Wealth“.

Walking in God’s Favor: But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you —see that you also excel in this grace of giving. II Corinthians 8:7 NIV

Among my siblings, our sister Vonseal has modeled the grace of giving. If you have a need and tell Vonseal, she will get it done. Even if you do not mention your need to Vonseal, when God speaks to her heart to meet your need, she will get it done. She is a living example of how God employs gracious givers to become a blessing in the lives of others and to spreadl His incredible love upon the planet.

We can personally say, having Vonseal as a sibling has been an tremendous blessing in our life. She is a tremendous blessing to our family, to her community of faith and the world. She graciously gives of her time, she graciously gives of her talents, and she graciously gives resources to whatever causes she is passionate about. Anyone who knows her, will tell you how God is moving all over her life and pouring His favor upon her each day, each hour and each moment of her life.

Level 4 stewards are gracious givers. They are gracious in giving of their time, they are gracious in sharing of their talents, and they are gracious in giving of their financial resources. We all have people in our lives or know someone with the grace of giving.

Ardella and I can personally acknowledge, whatever we give graciously and cheerfully to God, He multiplies it back to us in so many ways. Jesus said in Luke 6:38 “Give and it will be given to you. A measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap”.

Level 4 stewards are not only gracious givers, they are motivated out of their love for God and for people. The heart of the faithful steward says, “All that I have is Yours, Lord.” When you choose to give out of your love for God, He pours His favor over your life. If you are seeking God’s favor over your life, begin giving graciously from a place of love and joy.

As faithful stewards, you are examples to believers and non-believers in your circle of influence of God’s sustainable love. God loves you so much, He graciously gave up His Son. His Son, Jesus Christ, loves you so much, He graciously gave up His life. What are you willing to graciously give up to make a difference in the lives of others?

Prayer of Blessing: Lord thank you for empowering us with Your grace of giving.

Michael Vance is a senior account executive with Hundley Batts & Associates and the co-founder of stewardshipofwealth.com. Ardella Vance is a gifted educator and a Master Guide in the Pathfinders Club, a global organization empowered to teach life and leadership skills to young people. The Vance’s have been married well over 25 years and share their lives with four adult children and six grandchildren. They currently reside in Huntsville, Alabama and blog weekly from their financial workbook ” The Stewardship of Wealth“.

Waking in God’s Favor:  But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Luke 6:27  NIV

In our society people will take advantage of you. They will scheme, swindle and fraudulently go after your wealth. People like Bernard Madoff, who perpetrated over a 50 billion dollar Ponzi scheme have made money their God. They have no problem ripping you off, if it puts money into their pockets. They knowingly take advantage of their influence, power and wealth.

Level 4 Stewards practice the spiritual principle of forgiveness.  They have personally experience the transformational power of forgiveness in their own lives and extends that kind of forgiveness to others.

When someone takes advantage of you, your faith can help heal you of your loss in many ways. Forgiveness is not an option for the Level 4 Steward. They extend grace to others, learn from the experience and move on with their life’s mission. You can only experience this kind of forgiveness when we are connected to the Source of forgiveness.

Prayer of Blessings: Lord place Your spirit of forgiveness in our heart.

Michael Vance is a senior account executive  with Hundley Batts & Associates and the co-founder of stewardshipofwealth.com. Ardella Vance is  a gifted educator and  a Master Guide in the Pathfinders  Club, a global organization empowered to teach life and leadership skills to young people.  The Vance’s have been married well over 25 years and share their lives with four adult children and six grandchildren. They currently reside in Huntsville, Alabama and blog weekly from their financial workbook ” The Stewardship of Wealth“.

Walking in God’s  Favor: But anyone who needs wisdom should ask God, whose very nature is to give to everyone without a second thought, without keeping score. Wisdom will certainly be given to those who ask. James 1:5 CEB

If  your intention is to become a wise steward of your wealth, you must expand your financial IQ.  Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, says many college educated people with great incomes, remain in debt and poor because they never increase their financial intelligence. Quite often, you spend your money on things that go down in value or increase your liabilities.

Here’s the bottom line, your net worth, not your income determines your financial wealth. In order to determine your net worth, subtract your liabilities from your assets. Your liabilities are the money owed on items such as credit cards, student loans, your home and any debt you make have. Your assets are your savings, IRA’s, investment portfolio, paid for vehicles, equity in your home, business, and any other items of value you own.

For example, if you are buying a $250,000 home and you have paid $100,000 on the principle of the home. The $100,000 is your equity value in the home. The remaining $150,000 unpaid balance is your liability.  Subtracting the $150,000 liability from the $250,000 home asset value leaves you with your home equity value worth of $100,000. Does that make sense?

Now, is always a good time to increase your financial intelligence. Ardella and I both have made major steps in raising our financial IQ and increasing our wealth, primarily because of prayer and coordinating Financial Peace University classes over the last 10 years.  FPU is a 9 week, biblically based, personal finance class that covers financial skills, attitudes, and habits.

We are currently coordinating a class www.firstsdachurch.com on Monday at 6pm throughout the month of December. We invite you to visit our class to obtain a blueprint that will increase your financial wisdom.  Prayer really works and Bible promises are true.

Prayer of Blessing: Lord, give us wisdom to make wise financial choices.

Michael Vance is a senior account executive  with Hundley Batts & Associates and the co-founder of stewardshipofwealth.com. Ardella Vance is  a gifted educator and  a Master Guide in the Pathfinders  Club, a global organization empowered to teach life and leadership skills to young people.  The Vance’s have been married well over 25 years and share their lives with four adult children and six grandchildren. They currently reside in Huntsville, Alabama and blog weekly from their financial workbook ” The Stewardship of Wealth“.