Transcript of Dr. Myles Munroe on Achieve Financial Freedom: Management Tips To Become Debt-Free

Let’s talk about the crisis right now. And everybody should get a copy of this CD or DVD, please, because you won’t hear everything I say. You gotta listen hard, but you won’t get it all.

Understanding Greed

What caused the crisis right now according to the analysts in your country and around the world?

Well, according to them, the cause of the crisis is greed. Do you remember that? Everybody say greed. Greed. Now they are correct.

So I think it’s important to define what greed is. Write this down. Greed is really the mismanagement of resources for personal benefit. That’s greed. What is greed?

Mismanagement. Mismanagement. Of resources. Resources. For personal benefit.

That’s greed. In other words, a greedy spirit will manipulate resources so that he or she could be the ultimate benefit only. Jesus says something about greed, one of the kingdom killers. Mark chapter seven verse twenty-two.

Jesus said, these are the things that destroy a man, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. Now if you read those words carefully, they are all related. A greedy person is usually an arrogant person. And you’re arrogant and greedy, you got to be foolish. That’s what folly means.

You got to be foolish. And to be foolish, you gotta have deceit. He says all of these evils come from where? Inside and make a man unclean. Inside means they are in his mind.

Luke chapter twelve, Jesus repeats this sentiment concerning greed. He says, watch out. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed. He says, watch out. That means it can get you unawares.

You gotta watch yourself. Greed is so sneaky. You might think you are holy and righteous, and really, you’re simply greedy. It can sneak up on you. Watch out, he said.

These are evils. A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions, Jesus said. I think of Mr. Madoff tonight. Simply greed. He lost everything that he thought was his life.

And now his life consists of twelve feet by eight feet, concrete. Is that where you headed, trying to get money?

God’s Dominion Strategy

We’re talking about solutions tonight. Let’s talk about God’s Dominion strategy because this is the foundation of you becoming financially smart. Genesis two verse four.

Now you never read this verse before. Okay? I know that. So let’s read it again. You all know whenever you come into my presence, I normally find verses you never saw before.

This is one of them right here. Genesis chapter two verse four. It says, when the Lord God had made the earth and the heavens, and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprung up. Why? Four means because the Lord had not yet sent rain on the earth.

Why? Because there was no man to work the ground. Now let’s not rush to this verse. This is a powerful verse about you and about the earth. First of all, we get a record of God creating the heavens and the earth.

And then it says there was no life on the earth. Can you go back and imagine a massive planet spinning in space with just rock, hard slush, no trees, no animals, no grass, no beauty, no plants. He didn’t allow anything to grow. He didn’t allow anything to grow. He didn’t allow anything to grow.

Notice it says, because God had not sent what? Rain. In other words, God refused to let anything grow, and it was his fault. Stay with me. So God was withholding growth.

Read it carefully. He was holding back progress and stopping development. He didn’t want anything to advance. He didn’t allow anything to come to life. He kept everything buried.

He didn’t allow anything to grow. Why? Because he had a problem. What was his problem? Come on, students.

Tell me. What’s his problem? Last line. There was no man. Okay.

The Bible says God didn’t allow anything to grow or progress because there was no man to work the ground. What you see here is God’s motivation for the creation of man. I just gave you something you should write down. I’m going to say it again. God himself says he didn’t allow anything to grow, anything to develop.

He didn’t allow anything to progress because he was lacking something. What was he lacking? He said it. He says, I was lacking man, a species that would work the ground. I thought I would help you and do your research for you, and I discovered that the word work that God used here is the word “ergon,” and it means management.

Shocked? Yes. You are. God says, I refuse to let anything grow because I don’t have a manager.

A Personal Testimony

This verse changed my life. I was a teenager when I understood this verse because I was complaining to God concerning why I was poor. I was living in an island where I still live, seven miles wide, twenty miles long, living in a wooden house on four rocks, sleeping on a dirty wooden floor on a mat. And I became angry at God because my parents took me to church every week, sometimes three times a week, and we were still poor. And I said, God, you don’t exist.

You can’t exist. You only like white people. I was serious about it. I was thirteen. I became angry.

And I said, forget all this Sunday school stuff and all this Bible stuff because it ain’t working. Teenager. God said something to me as a kid. I’ll never forget. God says, I don’t make rich people nor poor people. I only make people. Some become rich, some become poor, son, depending on how they manage. That changed my life. And then I found this verse. Sixteen years old, I was reading the Bible, and I read this verse.

It says, God didn’t allow anything to grow, anything to spring up, anything to progress because he was lacking a manager to manage the earth. So why did God create you? Not to have worship services. Not to sing in the choir, not to be an usher. He didn’t create you to be no preacher or no pastor, no apostle, no deacon, nothing. He wanted a manager.

Go ahead. Stone me. I don’t care. I’m giving you the most important message you ever heard in your life. That’s why you’re struggling from dollar to dollar.

You are a bad manager. Take a deep breath. Good. God says, I don’t allow anything to grow until I find a manager. And God actually stops growth where there is no manager.

He stops it. Let’s take this a step further. Therefore, this verse in the first section of the Bible tells us God’s primary assignment for man. It actually tells us that the principal motivation why God created you was because he wanted you to dominate the earth. Okay.

We know that in chapter one. But he says he wants it to happen through management of resources. God created you not because he needed a singer. He didn’t need a preacher. You know, people ask me, how did you build an organization from seven people in your apartment to a global organization affecting over a hundred countries?

I said, not because I studied theology but because my master’s degree is in business. I run a business. Why? I work for the government. Your primary assignment is God needed a manager.

Write this down. The divine goal of mankind is the extension of the culture of heaven on earth, and that requires management. And, therefore, the divine strategy of God was for mankind to dominate earth through work. Everybody say work. Work.

There was no man to work. Can you imagine? The creator was held up because he had no manager. There’s some things we learned from this very important passage, and that is, number one, God protects his resources from bad management. Number two, God withholds resources from bad management.

Number three, God won’t allow growth where there is bad management. Number four, God will never answer a prayer requested by anyone who is a bad manager. Can I put it another way? Please write this down. I’ve come to the conclusion that the principal key of kingdom on earth given to mankind by God is this, management.

Say it. Management. Say it again. Management. Now I know some of you are having problems with me right now, because you are so religious.

Religion vs. Management

You never heard this word in a church meeting. And that’s why you lost your house. That’s why you’re working for someone else all the time. That’s why you can’t pay your bills, because you never heard this word in church, and it shows up in the Bible in the first chapter. Religion is the killer. It destroys because it takes away the very thing you need the most, management.

Let me tell you something. Management demands work, and religion makes you lazy. This is why Christians love miracles above management. Management.

Oh, Lord. I’m maybe don’t touch that. Miracles cancel management. Some of you think God likes miracles. He does not.

Miracles destroy the principle of management. Miracles are like the lottery. You gain without effort. Yes. Wow.

Yes. That’s why I hate gambling. Gambling is an attempt for you to gain without work. Why don’t you get quiet on me now? I’m going to walk down there and prophesy.

I discern that you buy lottery. Don’t get me mad. I’ll call your name tonight. Alright now. Yeah.

Lottery is ungodly because it cancels work. Take a deep breath. Everybody say management. Management. Say it loud.

Management. One more time. Management. So you came here to learn how to make money tonight, and that’s your problem. Money runs from the one who pursues it, the Bible says. Money is attracted to management. I’m going to prove that in a minute from the Bible. Do you hear what I’m saying? It took me thirty years to prepare for this one session. So don’t worry.

I ain’t crazy. I got you all set up. I’m setting you up. I’m about to dismantle your idea about miracles. Miracles are for lazy people.

Do you remember in the Bible when the people came to Jesus and they said, show us the miracle. We want to see miracles. You got to read his answer. His answer was, only a wicked and an adulterous generation seek for miracles. Don’t look now, but there’s a wicked person right behind you.

Yeah. And that’s what’s wrong with us. Yes.

Defining Management

Let me tell you something. I want to define management for you.

You’ve never written this before. And if you work for a company, write it down. Take it back to your department. Management is defined as write it down. Management is the effective, efficient, correct, and timely use of another person’s property and resources for the purpose for which they were delegated with a view to producing the expected added value back to the person.

Please buy the CD so you can rewind it ten times. Management is what? It is the effective, efficient, correct, and timely use of another person’s property and resources for the purpose for which they delegated it with a view to producing the expected added value. That’s management. Management automatically implies you don’t own the material.

Management also implies that when you bring it back, it’s supposed to be better. Yeah. It’s supposed to have more value. That’s management. God says, I won’t allow anything to grow because I don’t have anyone to add value to what I’m about to create.

Hallelujah. That’s good. And I want it to be used effectively, efficiently, and timely for the purpose for which I gave it to them. That’s why God is upset at lazy people. Yes.

You know, I tell you what, y’all taking too long to write. So let me just take this. I got so much to give you tonight. I want you to get it right now. Okay.

Management and Prayer

Everybody say management and prayer. Management prayer. Take a deep breath. Tell your neighbor something’s coming. So sit up straight.

Alright. Watch this. This principle, therefore, teaches some important things. Number one, God will never give you what you pray for. Only what you can manage.

Here you are praying for a thousand bucks, and God says, wait a minute. I gave you a hundred yesterday. You can’t even pay ten dollars tithes. Oh, okay. Okay.

You’re praying for a big house, and the house you’re renting, you keep it dirty. Oh, say it again. Yes. You can’t manage another person’s property. How dare I give you property of your own, he says.

Don’t get quiet now. You pray for a bigger church, and God says, you know something? You can’t manage the church you’re renting. You pray for souls. Oh, God, give me souls.

Managing Resources Wisely

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] And the people you got now, you can’t manage. So God protects them from you. If you get the million dollars you’re praying for, it will kill you. You cannot manage five hundred dollars.

You spend two hundred bucks on a dress, a hundred and fifty dollars on your hair, and put twenty bucks in the offering and ask God for a million dollars? Is God stupid or what? Come on. You all don’t want me to teach you on money. You know why God will never give you your own business first?

Never. He’ll always give you employment first because he wants to watch you handle other people’s property, including their time. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Becoming an Economist

Write this down. God wants you to be an economist.

What’s an economist? To economize means to get the maximum out of the minimum. The average person in this building is not an economist because they don’t know the value of what they have already. And I was telling the folks in Baltimore yesterday or the day before. I told them, look.

You have the audacity to tell God that you are broke and unemployed. And in your house is an oven that you only use twice a week. That’s abuse. That’s bad management. You got an oven sitting there idle for six days of the week.

You only use it on Sunday. You could at least get some flour and water with some raisins, bake some cookies every day, put them in a plastic bag, and make yourself a factory out of your own kitchen. That’s management. Amen.

No. You lazy thing. You’re looking for a job. That’s your problem. Take a deep breath, please.

It’s bad management. Write this down. To economize means to get the most out of the least.

You got clothing in your closet you don’t wear. And they’ve been there for ten years, and you put on too much weight, they’ll never fit you again. And you tell me you ain’t got no money? Take a deep breath.

Prayer and Management Capacity

It gets easier. To economize means to add value to your gift. I put it this way. Answered prayer is regulated by your capacity to manage. God will never give you what you prayed for. He’d regulate his answer by what you could manage. So he watches your management to see if you can handle what you’re asking for. Never pray beyond your management.

Money is easy to get. Money is supposed to come to you. So if it keeps moving away from you, it is telling you something you can’t manage. I’m serious about this. Let me show you some scriptures here because God does not encourage waste. And that’s God’s problem in most of us.

We don’t manage. We waste things. I put it to you this way. The Tithing has nothing to do with giving God money. God doesn’t need nothing from you.

You couldn’t even give God nothing. Everything on the earth already belongs to God. He don’t need nothing from us. So when God sets something up, it’s not because he needs it.

The True Purpose of Tithing

Tithing and offering is God’s management training program for humankind. This is so important.

God doesn’t need a penny from us, and yet he tells us ten percent of everything is mine. We only think of money, and that’s our problem. If you get ten pairs of shoe, one of them ain’t yours. If you get ten dresses, one of them ain’t yours. If you bought ten oranges, one of them is not yours.

If you got twenty-four hours in a day, two hours and forty minutes don’t belong to you. I ain’t got no time to pray. What are you talking about? You got two and a half hours and forty minutes that don’t belong to you. You are a thief every day when you don’t use the two hours and forty minutes for God’s purposes.

You are a thief, a tired thief, sleeping on God’s time. You spend two hours, four hours, eight hours watching cable television, and don’t give God the two hours and forty minutes that belong to him. Ten percent. You can’t even manage two hours and forty minutes. You’re trying to get money.

You ain’t money money ain’t your problem. Management is your problem. God could any time of day command you to give the dress away. Yes. In your closet. That’s right. One of them ain’t yours. So tithing and offering is not about money. It’s about management.

Can you consistently, God says, put aside ten percent of everything for my purposes? That’s tithing. Can you consistently now listen to me. One hundred percent of everything belongs to God.

What did I say?

[AUDIENCE:] One hundred percent of everything belongs to God.

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] Okay. So God blesses you with a paycheck of one thousand dollars. How much of that belongs to God?

[AUDIENCE:] A thousand dollars.

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] Okay. You’re doing good. You’re smart. Now how much did God say to put aside for his work?

[AUDIENCE:] Ten percent.

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] How many is left?

[AUDIENCE:] Ninety percent.

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] Which one of those belong to God?

[AUDIENCE:] All.

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] Oh, you’re getting smart. Alright. So then why would God, if he owns all one thousand, want you to put aside ten percent if all of it belongs to him. Why? Because it’s not about the money. It’s about your ability to put it aside, your will, your control, your discipline to put it aside. He’s after your discipline.

If you can manage the ten percent properly, then he is happy to trust you with the ninety percent that’s left. But because you’ve been unfaithful in the ten percent, you keep losing the ninety percent, so you end up with no percent. That’s why you’re broke.

And so you tell God, I can’t pay tithes this week. Things tough. We’re in crisis right now, God. You gotta figure this out. Things too rough. God is saying, what are you talking about? Your salvation is in the tithe.

Qualities of a Manager

Let me take you one step further. This is what tithing does to you. Number one, what’s the first word?

[AUDIENCE:] Accountability.

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] Accountability. Write it down. Now each one of these words is management. If you keep paying your tithes and giving your offering, you automatically first become accountable. What’s the second word?

[AUDIENCE:] Discipline.

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] Discipline. For you to put that aside every single time, it takes control. What’s the third word?

[AUDIENCE:] Honesty.

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] Honesty. For you to be a tither, that means no one’s watching except God. And he knows if you’re paying it or not. You can lie to everybody else, but God knows if you’re paying ten percent. That means it makes you honest. And managers must be honest.

What’s the fourth word?

[AUDIENCE:] Diligence.

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] Diligence. Doesn’t mean that you work at it constantly to make sure you don’t steal that ten percent. That’s what managers supposed to do.

What’s the next word?

[AUDIENCE:] Faithfulness.

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] Oh my god. That’s what’s wrong with managers. They are unfaithful, and it takes faithfulness to tithe. What’s the last one?

[AUDIENCE:] Trustworthiness.

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] Trustworthiness. For you to manage a tithe, God gotta trust you every time. I just gave you the characteristics of a manager. They are accountable. They are honest. They are diligent. They are faithful. They are trustworthy.

Jesus as a Manager

Jesus, one day, showed top class management. One day, he had five thousand people in a field, and they were all hungry. And there was, they say, plus women and children, so they must have had about twelve thousand. And he is about to distribute some resources to them. I want you to watch him at work.

Matthew six verse forty. It says, so they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. That’s administration, organization. Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes. That’s the resources.

Looking up to the one who owns them, he thanked them for letting him use them. That’s appreciation. That means they don’t belong to you. That’s someone else’s property.

He broke it, then he gave them to his disciples, and they gave it to the people. Delegation. It’s management. Delegation. Watch him.

He also divided the two fish among them all, and they all ate and were satisfied. That’s customer service. Give God a hand for good customer service. All were satisfied. Now watch his management kick in.

It says, and the disciples, he told them to pick up every crumb. Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to imagine this. Twelve thousand people in an open field breaking bread and pieces of fish. Now how in the world are gonna find pieces of bread, crumbs, and pieces of fish bone and stuff in the grass? He said, pick up every crumb.

In the book of Matthew, it actually says it. He says and he said to them, pick up every crumb and bring it to me. I don’t wanna waste nothing. That’s what I’m talking to. This country is built on a culture of waste. Yes. Yes. That’s right. And it is in the church.

It is. Who go direct to the buffets after service? You. And what do you do at that buffet? Now you know the plate is too small for what you want to do.

You pile it up, sit at the table, and half is left in the plate. You are a bad manager, and God takes notes. Cheryl, waste food. That ain’t funny. He made them pick up the crumbs.

It was not the crumbs that were important. It was the lesson he was teaching. You don’t waste the crumb.

Managing What You Have

When we started our ministry, we had a building that’s smaller than this. Man, I would teach as if I was teaching to a million people.

We had our one camera set up in the center, and we would clean everything. We had our sets, speakers, everything. I tell them, this is God’s property. No paper in the bathroom. I said, don’t call no challenger for nothing.

If you find it, fix it. Why? Because God’s watching us.

And if we can’t manage this little building that ain’t ours, he’ll never trust us with one of our own. And we began our national television show in that little building. We used to convert the stage into a set for TV. And we took our one camera, and we’d move it and shoot it different ways so we can have different cutaways. And we’d break it every inch we use.

And our program became the number one program in the country for ten years. And when folks came to see where we started, they went into shock. Did you shoot it here? Yes, sir. We thought you had a big studio.

No. We don’t. We got a big mind. Give God a hand for management.

I remember when our prime minister came to be a guest on our show, he had to come to a little shopping center, all the police and all the guards, and he came walking.

He says, brother Miles, is this for you? I said, yes, sir. This is it. This is the studio. He said, thought you had a big place.

I said, I got a big mind. He said, you managed this well. And there was the head of my country sitting in a little building on a stage for one hour interviewed by me, and that show became the highest viewing show in the country’s history. From a little place that we managed. Today, we built the largest meeting place in the country.

We own it. We have block to block property. The whole block is ours. We own fifty-seven acres on the beach. When you are faithful over another man’s property, God will give you property of your own.

I wanna say to Grace Church, make this as if it’s yours. God’s watching you. He’s watching how you park your cars in the people’s parking spaces. He’s watching how you handle the bathroom and the tissue on the floor. He’s watching how the kids write and mark.

So he’s watching everything. Can they handle the big times? God is watching for. Can they handle the big times? It’s management. He made them pick up every crumb.

Inheritance and Real Estate

Here’s something to remember about management. Everyone write this down, please. Management is simply diligence with resources. You put it another way. Proverbs thirteen twenty-two says these words.

“A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children.” Okay. But the next statement is only one you quote. You don’t quote the first part. A good man leaves an inheritance to who?

[AUDIENCE:] His children’s children.

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] And the wealth of the sinner. Now this is a part we don’t like. See? It says, “but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.” Notice they’re tied together. A good man.

Everybody say good man.

[AUDIENCE:] Good man.

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] If you’re a good man, certain things show up in your life. Oh, I feel like staying here for two more days because we gotta talk with this man. This will save you in the crisis.

Ain’t no crisis in a good man’s life. A good man has so much that he has enough to give to his children’s children now. You say it slow. Come on. Come on.

A good man has so much now that he has enough for his unborn grandchildren already. And he said that man is the man who will get what’s stored up by the sinners. Amen. Amen. Can we stay here for a couple of minutes?

[AUDIENCE:] Yes.

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] Let’s just stay for a couple of minutes. He says a good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. A car is not an inheritance because they can’t last until the children’s children are alive. So don’t tell me you got a car for your grandchild.

Clothing is wearing out every day. It can’t be clothing. The only heritage that the Bible really teaches as generational heritage is real estate. Yes. Now write that down quick.

What is it?

[AUDIENCE:] Real estate.

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] God never gave Adam shoes, clothes, house. He never gave Adam food or never gave Adam desk and chair. He gave Adam real estate.

He gave him a garden. God never promised Abraham food and clothes and cows and herd. He gave him real estate. There’s a land, he says. God never gave Isaac food and clothes. He promised him real estate. God never gave Moses food and clothes. He promised him real estate. God never gave Jacob food and grain. He said, I got a land for you.

# Living Financially Free – The Principle of Management (Continued)

The True Value of Real Estate

That’s why they call it real estate. It’s the only estate that’s real. I’m getting at something. You are not wealthy until you own land. I’m giving you an assignment tonight.

When I come back next year, I want to see proof that you got a deposit on a piece of property. Are you listening to me? That’s real wealth. Let me quote what Jesus said because some of y’all are so spiritual, you’re completely useless. Not you, the one sitting behind you.

I’m not talking to you now. Okay? Not you. I’m not talking to you. Jesus said these words.

Jesus said, blessed are those who are born spirit, for to them belongs not a religion, but the kingdom of heaven. He said, and blessed are those who have been mourning, Matthew five, all their lives looking for answers for they can now be filled. The kingdom has arrived. And then he kicked in. Blessed are those who are meek for they shall inherit heaven.

But that’s what you preach. That’s not what he said. My god. He said, blessed are the meek for they shall inherit real estate. Am I right?

Yeah. You want to go to heaven. He wants you to have earth. Yeah. Write the word meek down.

Meek. Everybody say meek. Meek. Say it loud. Meek.

Now the word meek, if you look it up in the Hebrew language, it is the opposite of what you’ve been taught. The word meek means, write this down, controlled strength, controlled power. Meek means self discipline. So now let’s quote it in the original text concept. Blessed are those who control themselves, discipline themselves, not buy expensive clothes and car they can’t afford.

They take lunch rather than buy it. Oh, yeah. Y’all don’t like this stuff I’m talking about. Blessed those who are self controlled, who will not go out every night to eat and go to the clubs and waste their money on fine foo boo. Blessed are those of self control, and they save their money and put deposit on property for they shall inherit the earth.

Amen. That’s why you’re still ranting. You eat too much. Food you can’t afford. Wow.

The Discipline of Wealth Building

Yes, sir. There’s a book I want to recommend. It’s called the automatic millionaire. Go to the bookstore, buy one, read it in the next three weeks, then call me. The automatic millionaire.

I made my son and daughter read it because it describes what I did with my life. My wife and I, I tell when we got married, you know what we did? We got married, had no money. And we came out of college broke. And I said, me? I’m going to be just like God said. I’m going to be a good man. So my wife’s mother and father said, you could stay with us as long as you need. I said, thank you. And I lived with my mother-in-law and my father-in-law in one bedroom for four years.

Why? We wanted to save our money. We had done it approved to nobody. We had a vision. We took our money. We bought our own property in a fantastic location where the value keeps going up. And we built our own house with our own money as we stayed with the mom-in-law. And now we got a house worth over one point two million dollars all paid for. Three cars all paid for, including the Jaguar. We got enough property that worth two million dollars all paid for, and you still broke.

Why? I’m too proud to be my mother-in-law. No. It’s called discipline. Amen.

You know why God sometimes sends crisis? To send you back to the class you missed. I gotta go back and live with my mama. God said, yep. You missed that class. Go back. I want to show you how to save some money. Are living on credit. So forget the Joneses tonight and follow the plan of God. Everybody say management.

Management. You got a business? When that money comes in, don’t you spend that money on yourself. Put it back in the business. Grow the business. Manage the business. Why? Because if you are disciplined, you will reap later. By the way, boy, I tell you, I need more days. I got thirty two slides. This is slide number four. I’m in trouble now.

The Wealth of the Wicked

Listen. Let me read this verse again. King James says, the wealth of the wicked is laid up for the righteous. The New International Version, it says, the sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous. The Phillips translation says, the wealth controls wicked that was earmarked for the righteous. Okay. Let me tell you what they all say. This is amazing.

God says to his own people, hey, y’all. Guess what? The wicked has all your money. Now now now now let me tell you. This ain’t funny. You shouldn’t quote this verse as some claim to fame. You should be ashamed of this verse. Don’t you ever quote it again. This quote is a mark of disgrace for you as a believer. You should never be proud of that verse.

God says the wicked has your money. Wow. You don’t quote that. You should be ashamed of that. Let me put it another way. God knows who has your money. The wicked. He never asked God a question about it. Here’s the question I asked God years ago. How did they get it?

Uh-huh. If it’s mine, how did they get it? God says, I gave it to them. That’s how I know who has it. I said, why? He said, because they are better managers than you. You speak in tongues too much. You’re singing the choir too much. You shout too much. Listen to me.

God doesn’t give money to worshippers. He gives money to managers. That’s why you are employed by ungodly people. Now this doesn’t make sense. You are God’s son, God’s daughter, and you work for a sinner.

Something’s wrong with that. That picture is something wrong with that baby. Well, that means you gotta study what’s going on here. If you got people who love God and you have to get paid by a sinner, something’s wrong with that. How come you don’t own the company and they work for you?

Wow. Take a deep breath. So you want money. Money is easy. He knows who has it. He even tells you who has it, and he tells you whose stuff they have.

Management Over Money Cometh

I believe the worst thing that ever entered the body of Christ is this strange philosophy and doctrine of money cometh. Let me tell you something. You don’t stand in the middle of life and say, money cometh to me. Wow.

I’m not attacking anybody, but you gotta watch these doctrines. Sir. These stuff, but I claim it. You better be that’s why you’re still broke. You’ve been claiming since nineteen eighty two. You still ain’t own no house. You ain’t got no car. You catching the bus, and you still claiming. How long it’s going to take you to figure it out? Everybody say management.

Management. Say, Lord, teach me to manage, please. He gives it to the wicked, not because they’re holy, but because they’re managers. He withholds from bad management. I thought it’d be good to read this verse, Proverbs ten.

Read it aloud, please. Verse four, go. Lazy hands makes a man fall, but a diligent hand brings wealth. Diligent means management. Another verse I thought was interesting. Proverbs twelve twenty seven. Everybody read. Go. The lazy man does not roast his game, but the diligent man prices his possession. That means he takes care of what he has, maximizes it.

Proverbs chapter thirteen four, read. The slugged, lazy man craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. Craving. Hey. Yes. I’m a gamble with some dice. I’m going to pull the lever. Yes. I desire my money. I’m a buy me some lottery numbers.

Yes, sir. I say, what’s the number tonight? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. God says, desire and you crave and you get nothing. All the money on earth is still here. So when they tell you there’s a credit crunch, don’t believe them. Money just hiding.

It went into hiding. Why? Because some guys on Wall Street mismanaged. When you mismanage money, it runs away. Tell your neighbor, you broke. Tell them that’s a sign. That’s a sign.

Proverbs twenty five twenty one verse five. Read. The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. When you want quick money, it goes away. But if you’re diligent, manage. It leads to what? Profit. That doesn’t say p-r-o-f-p-r-o-p-h-e-t. That says p-r-o-f-i-t. God wants you to have plenty of profit. You don’t get profit by prophesying. That’s what he’s saying. You get it by management.

Ideas Over Cash

I say the Lord thy God says he shall bless you with much money. That’s a lie. He can tell you some ideas to go to work. That’s what going to tell you. Oh, man. I’m about to get myself in trouble.

Every time you pray for money, God will give you an idea. Write it down. God don’t give you money. He gives you ideas, and your problem is you’re religious. You don’t want ideas. You want cash. It ain’t money you lack. It’s management of ideas. That’s what you’re lacking.

I’m going to come back here and do a three day business management seminar for y’all. And let me tell you now, you’re going to pay to come in. I’m telling you right now. Yeah. Because I don’t give this stuff away free.

You should never give anything away free because it loses value. You know, it’s so sad. It is so sad that when a church puts on a seminar like this and they say you gotta pay one hundred fifty dollars to come in, then all the saints get mad, and they selling the gospel. Sunday coming, I’m flying to Nigeria. I’m going to do seminars five days.

One of the companies I’m doing seminars for already paid ten percent down, fifty thousand dollars before I even arrive. And the saints don’t even want to give an offering. Don’t look now. I ain’t talking to you. It’s the one behind you I’m talking to.

See, you want everything free. You don’t understand business management. If you don’t put something don’t put value on something, it’s no value to you. That’s why you charge. You charge to put value on it.

Those books up there, listen. I could give them away free. I really could. I don’t need no money from them. But if I give them away free, you won’t read them. They lose their value. Don’t you ever, ever again, pastor, tell anybody salvation is free. That is a lie. It is not free. He lost his life over that.

Yes. Cost them everything. That’s why for you to buy it, it cost you everything. It takes your life. That ain’t free.

Little by Little Makes It Grow

Let’s talk about this one more time. Money. Everybody say money. Money. Have you noticed every time you say money, you got a smile at the end? Say it again. Money. Money. Money. Let’s read something about money.

Proverbs thirteen eleven. Read. Dishonest money come on. Read it. Dishonest money dwindles away, but gather money little by little makes it grow.

Let me read it again. Dishonest money dwindles away. That’s lottery. But he who gathers money, little by little, makes it grow. That’s in your Bible.

Saving just a little bit. You know, I can’t go for lunch this year because I gotta take lunch from home. I gotta save that five dollars a week. You know? Five dollars a day. That’s sixty dollars a week, man. Can’t do that. That’s over a thousand bucks a year. Over ten years, ten thousand bucks down payment on a property, man, just from lunch. Little by little.

Do you know everybody in this room was a millionaire already? Let me repeat it again. Everyone in this room was a millionaire already. Time’s over. The money that went through your hands already. If you calculated the number of monies that went through your hand, you were a millionaire many times over. And you can’t tell today where that went.

Here’s what I want you to do. Okay. I want you to try to go home. I want you to calculate how old you are by days and then multiply it by five dollars. Just your age. Five dollars a day for your age. You’re a millionaire. If you had saved five dollars a day when you were born, you’d be a multimillionaire right now at age forty.

Just five bucks is the price of a coffee. You’re drinking your wealth every day in a cup because you won’t save it little by little. Look at this verse. Proverbs seventeen sixteen, read. Of what use come on. Read it together. Of what use is money in the hands of a fool? But since he has no desire to get wisdom, what use is it? Another verse I thought was interesting. Matthew six twenty four.

Read. No one can serve two masters, Jesus says. Either he will hate the one or love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Financial solutions.

Oh, boy. Ecclesiastes chapter five is a good one. Verse ten, read. Whoever loves money never has money enough. Whoever loves wealth will never be satisfied with his income. This is meaningless. You’re pursuing money. You’ll never have enough, he says. It keeps running from you. Now here’s the verse I think is the real killer.

It’s found in Ecclesiastes ten verse nineteen. Read. A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes the life merry, but it’s money that answers everything. Tell your neighbor, mhmm. That’s right, John.

Tell your neighbor, mhmm. Mhmm. Say it again. Mhmm. And no matter how much you talk, you gotta bring up the money afterwards. That’s right. You can speak in tongues, prophesy. When it’s all over, you better pay that light bill. I like that. Or you’ll be prophesying in the dark, she says.

Money, answer it what? All things. It’s a very difficult voice to translate. The word answer it actually can have two meanings. One of them is explain. Money explains everything. You know, it’s amazing. For example, if you see somebody having problems any part of their life, according to the Bible, it’s traced back to their capacity of money. The church ain’t doing well. God says, well, you can pray all you want.

# Living Financially Free – The Principle of Management (Continued)

Money Problems Are Management Problems

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] There’s something here to do with money. We’ve got to check out the money problem. And when you do your research, you’ll discover there’s either mismanagement of money or someone stealing it, misappropriation, or bad delegation of money. Marriage problems, you check it. Stress starts with money.

It explains everything. You got a good idea, but you’re still broke? What’s the problem? Money. Ideas don’t make you rich.

You need money to make the ideas make riches. Explains everything. So the key is how do you get money? Well, Luke sixteen. I’m not finished, but I’m going to close on this because some of y’all can’t take no more.

Jesus’s Management Seminar

Luke chapter sixteen. Jesus had a management seminar in Luke chapter sixteen. It’s a management seminar. Here’s what he taught. Jesus told his disciples in the seminar these words.

Jesus said to them, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called in the manager in the office and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management.'” I’m reading the Bible now.

“Because you cannot manage any longer.” Pause for a minute. Jesus says, God fires people. Let me go over here. They didn’t believe you.

Maybe you’ll believe me. Read it again. Somebody said, “But God is faithful.” No. God will fire you.

Read the verse. He says, “You will be manager no longer.” Give an account, he says. Show me what you did with what I give you. I tithe to protect myself.

That’s good. You tithe to protect yourself. You don’t tithe to be the pastor. You tithe to protect yourself because God’s watching. I don’t want God to fire me.

I don’t want to buy things I don’t need just to impress other people. It’s bad management. You know, we were somewhere last night… No. Night before last. No. Last night. I don’t know when it was. We were in a restaurant, and our driver put us at the restaurant in limousine, and there was a long line of kids outside a store. It was eleven PM, and they were out in the cold, long line, in the dark.

And I asked him, “What are they doing?” He said, “They’re waiting for a new game that just came out.” I shook my head. I said, “How much does it cost?” He said, “About four hundred dollars.”

I said, “This is…” I said, “Is there a crisis in America? These people need revelation. My god. Again?” I said, “The store doesn’t open till seven AM in the morning, and they’re waiting all night.”

I said, “Oh god. These are the poorest people I’ve ever seen.” Give an account, he says, of which you’ve done in my possession. And then he gets a little bit excited. I got excited too because I don’t know what’s going on.

Oh, my professional technician didn’t put the plug in. That’s bad management. Give him a hand for poor management. Now God took away my whole series. Quick. Quick. Move. You’re moving too slow now. Give an account of your management. Give him a hand for his faithfulness one more time.

I gotta go anyhow. Praise God. Oh, man. Anyhow, let’s read it from the Bible since the… you know, turn to Luke sixteen. I gotta close on this.

This is too good stuff. Tell your neighbor, “I’m glad I came tonight. I repent. I repent. I’m going home to clean my room.”

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

Luke sixteen. Everybody get it? Let’s read it. Very important chapter. It’s about management.

Jesus said these words. Verse two, “You cannot be manager any longer.” Verse three, “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now?'” In other words, watch this. “My master is taking away my job.”

Come on. Read this. It’s good stuff in the Bible. Unemployment? Yep.

God unemploys people. There are folks who lost their job the last six months, and God was behind it. Can I tell you how I know some of them lost it because of God? Okay. When a company needs to let people go, they normally look for the ones who are the most negative.

Negative. Tardy. Lazy? Always coming late? Two hour lunchtime? Go home before time is off?

And then drinking coffee while they should be working? Reading newspaper while they should be working? They’re the ones that let go first. That’s called mismanagement. There are some companies who are happy for the crisis.

They finally got justification to get rid of you because they would want to do it a long time ago and couldn’t find a reason. Now they give God thanks for the crisis. Hallelujah. “I take the dead weight off.” I’m telling you.

Listen to what he says. He says, “My master has taken away my job.” Now watch this. He says, “I am not strong enough to dig.” In other words, I used to work in the office.

Now I gotta go work in another company, and my fingers ain’t built for that. Retooling your skills because you mismanaged. You gotta get a job you didn’t even want because you mismanaged the one you had. It’s in the Bible. And then he says, “And I am ashamed to beg.”

Pride. I gotta go back and ask my mom to let us live there again. I gotta go get some money from some friends now just to make ends meet. Notice, it isn’t because of the devil. You know? Mismanagement. Not the devil. I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken. Yeah. But I sure seen some bad managers forsaken.

This gets real good. Watch this. Are you ready? Yes. Verse four, the guy begins to change his mind.

He says, “I know what I will do so that I will not be fired. When I lose my job, people will welcome me into their houses.” He says, “I’m gonna call each one of those who owe my boss money, and I’m gonna collect the money for them for him and take it to him. I’m gonna do what I was supposed to be doing from the beginning. Let me go back and start organizing my life, restructuring my life.”

“Let me go and do what I’m supposed to be doing. I would delegate it to invest and collect, and I’ve been neglecting it. Let me go back.” In other words, God said, “Go home and clean your room. Go home and stop wasting money and take lunch and abide.”

“Go home and tell God you’re gonna pay your tithes from now on every single Sunday no matter what. I’m gonna pay my tithes, Lord. I’m going home and fixing it.” He went and fixed it. And that’s why God sent me here.

Money Is Attracted to Management

You know, it’s amazing. People come and say, “Maybe go into a money seminar.” I go, “No. No. No. No. No. You need a management seminar.” Money is attracted to management. Yes. Yes. Yes. You don’t pursue money. It comes after management. Yes.

This guy was about to lose all of his money because he mismanaged. Now watch him. The Bible says he asked the first one how much he owed the master, and then he collected it, eight hundred gallons of olive oil. The manager told him, “Okay. Take the bills. Sit down quickly. Make it four hundred.” So he’s negotiating now to get the man’s money. This is good management. This is Jesus telling the story here.

I’m talking about Jesus Christ. He’s telling a story. He’s… it’s a seminar on management, not speaking in tongues and falling out the holy ghost. It’s management, a whole chapter. He says, manage.

I love it. It says then he asked the second one. “How much do you owe to master?” He says, “A thousand bushels a week.” He said, “Okay. Take your bill, and let’s make it eight bushels. Just give me the money, man.” And the master commended the dishonest manager. Why? He corrected himself because he had acted, what, shrewdly.

Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding

The word shrewd is not an evil word here. It means wisely. Wise… oh, I’m about to shout all by myself now. Write the word wisdom down. The word wisdom is different from the word knowledge.

And there are three words that should make your life work. Three words. One, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Write them down. Knowledge is information. Write that down. Understanding is comprehension. Write that down. But wisdom is application. Write that down.

You can have knowledge and understanding without wisdom, and only wisdom works. That’s why the Bible says knowledge you’re getting, get wisdom. Why? Wisdom is more important than knowledge and understanding because you can have knowledge and understanding. You don’t have wisdom.

Wisdom is what? Application. If you don’t apply what you know, it doesn’t benefit you. And so Jesus said, this manager had this knowledge all along. He’s finally going home and applying it. He’s managing. Now the next statement is what I want to shout on. It says Jesus talking now. He says, “The people of this world are wiser than the people who claim to have light.” What is wisdom? Application.

He says the people of world, the wicked people… oh, Lord. I’m still getting this there. He says, “Look. You got the information and the comprehension, but they got the application. You talk about it, they do it.” Yeah. “You prophesy, they profit.” Yeah. He says something wrong with this.

Come on. Come on. “You praying, they working.” The world is wiser than my own people, he says. “They are applying what I taught my people.”

“They get up at six AM. You get up at quarter to nine rushing to work. They leave office at eleven PM. You want to go home to watch the movies.” So he gives it to them. They’re willing to manage. I have no working hours. That’s why I’m debt free. I gain wealth while you’re sleeping because you may be a little bit lazy. The Bible says a little slumber and a little sleep, and poverty will take you like a bandit.

Your Job vs. Your Work

Listen to me, sir. If you have a job from nine to five, you’re poor because a salary is someone’s estimate of your value. Listen to me. Jobs are good. I have many of them. But your job is not your work. Your job is what they pay you to do. Your work is what you were born to do. And you will never prosper from your job because someone else controls your value. That means, listen to me carefully, you will never grow from nine to five because they control what you do.

The only time that you own is after five o’clock, and that’s when you need to grow. So you become wealthy in your downtime. Are you listening to me, sir? Yes. From nine to five, you are employed. From five to twelve midnight, you are deployed. And if you ever become deployed, you’ll never be unemployed. It takes more work after five o’clock to be deployed. It’s management. When we say buy those books, let me tell you what’s rough why you don’t buy those books.

Because you don’t want to read. It takes too much discipline to shut that TV off. That TV is your poverty. Yeah. Why don’t you turn two thousand and nine? You got nine more months left. Why don’t you make a change tonight and say, “This is the year that I turned my home into a university? This is no longer an entertainment center. It’s a center for growth and development, this house.” Listen.

That’s why you only… you are only what you made yourself. The children of this world, Jesus said, they’re wiser than my own people. They got light and don’t apply it. Don’t they know that whoever applies my management principles, I have to give them the wealth. And if the wicked applies them, I gotta give it to them.

Make Friends with Worldly Wealth

You don’t believe me. Okay. Let’s read the next verse. He said, “Therefore, I tell you, I’m instructing you, go and make friends with the world.” Now wait a minute. Now wait a minute. He just messed up your theology. “Stay away from them. Don’t mix with them. Don’t… no. Touch not.” God said, “Go make friends with them.”

“I don’t want to make… don’t want to be…” He says, “Look, make them your friends.” Why? They got your money. Find out what they do and to get it. And I’m holy, holy broke. He says, look. Read the Bible. He says, “Go make friends with them and use worldly wealth to gain friends.”

Yeah. You’re gonna be okay, man. That’s why you’re here tonight. Change your thinking. So if somebody in your city is doing well, don’t become jealous. Make an appointment. That’s right. Yeah. What an instruction. Goes against all your Pentecostal teacher.

“Don’t mix with…” Duplicate. The gossips go mix with them. They’re doing something that you need to learn. What are they doing? He tells us the next statement.

He says, “So when it is gone, you will have welcome… you’ll be welcome into eternal dwellings as well.” He wants you to have wealth now, and wealth later. Look at the next verse. He says, now here’s what they know. “Whoever can be trusted with little can also be trusted with what? Much. And whoever is dishonest with little will also be dishonest with much.”

“So if you cannot be trustworthy with handling worldly wealth, then who will trust you with true riches? If you have not been trustworthy to manage someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” Management. Last part. “No servant can serve two masters.” I’m glad you’re here tonight. Take a deep breath.

Manage the Little First

He says, “Look. If you cannot manage a little, you will do the same thing to much. If you cannot be trusted with little, who will trust you with much?” Listen to his words now. You’re missing it.

In other words, much is attracted by little. Still didn’t get it? Okay. He says, “Look. You don’t ask for much more. You manage little first, and then much comes.” So if you effectively manage the little, then the much is attracted to the effective management. It’s good. It’s good. So I told you, you read it just now.

If you cannot manage other people’s property, like this place right here, who’s gonna give you the rest of that? I’ve met people who’ve been asking God to give them a car, you know, to pray for a car, and they ride a motorbike. And the motorbike is dirty. So the guy says, “No car. You can’t even keep a motorbike clean.”

The Principle of Management

[DR. MYLES MUNROE:] See, you’re asking for much and not managing the little. You’re in someone else’s apartment. The light fixture broke. You know, the plug doesn’t work, and you get mad, all custard and everything. These people come in.

I’m watching how you fix it. Let me see you fix their blood. Treat it like it’s your own. Manage other people’s property, he says. That’s why God gives you a job first.

Can you come on time to someone else’s job? I want a business. God said, no. No. No. No. You need to manage someone else’s business first, and then I’ll give you business of your own.

Every job I’ve ever had, they still want me back thirty years later. They see me. They say, “Whenever you want to come back, your position is there.”

“Well, you were still our best worker in 1975. We still remember you. Never wasted time. Never read the Bible on the job.” Come on. Come on. Come on. “You were always on time. You worked overtime. Never asked for overpay.”

“We still want you back. We need more people like you this day.” You managed a little. You make you rule over much.

The Benefits of Management

I think I want to show you one more thing, if you’ll allow me. I don’t think you can handle this, though. Let me see. Yeah. Just want to show you this here from the Bible. The benefits of management, the power of management.

Write this down, please. Just write this list down. Now I’m going to pray for you, and then I’ll come back soon, and I’m going to call a leadership management meeting. I want everybody to come and bring all your children. Because if your teenagers learn this now, they’ll be richer than you.

Write this down: 1. Management is the primary goal of mankind. 2. Whatever you fail to manage, you will lose. 3. God’s primary measure of trust is management. 4. God will give to effective management. He’ll give more to it. 5. Management attracts resources. 6. God will not give you what you asked for, only what you can manage. Money, resources, people, products, facilities, equipment. Easy.

Do you know who’s going to benefit from this crisis right now? Those who are managing. Those who got money put away. They’re going to buy up all the cheap houses. Foreclosure is a blessing to those managers.

They’re going to buy up the companies. It’s not a crisis for them. It’s a harvest because they managed over the years. I remember the Lord said to me one time, and he’s talked to me in new sentences. You know?

He said, “What happens to you will expose whether you were a manager or a mismanager.” Whatever happens to you, you’ll expose whether you are a manager or a mismanager. Hard times will always reveal to us whether you were a good manager or a bad manager. Hard times will do that. You can fake it for a long time until hard times come. Then we get to see who is a bad manager, who is a good manager.

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