The Good Steward
Nick Simonic, CPA, MACC
Nick Simonic is a CPA who specializes in Non-Profit, 501C3 Corporations as well as serving on the board of Wilbur Ministries. Ever since moving to
Jacksonville nearly ten years ago, Nick and his staff have watched over our
financial accountability and ministry affairs. His wisdom with regards to
financial matters as well as his passion for the Lord have made him a highly
sought after counselor in the Kingdom. You will not only gain understanding
with the words he offers each week, but I believe you will find wise counsel
and wisdom imparted here as well. I truly pray you are blessed and edified
by this special offering from us to you!
Paul Wilbur
Living Debt Free By The Word
By Nicholas T. Simonic, CPA, MACC
Part Ten
The first article explained how this teaching changed MY life, personally! The last article discussed The first Key – Riches Are Material and Wealth is Spiritual! If you missed it, you should get copies of the first two articles to catch up. In this article we will discuss the Second Key.
KEY #2.) RELATIONAL PEACE WITH GOD – This is a foundational key to wealth!
First, you need to know that God is our friend!
He knows us. He not only loves us, but he likes us! He favors us. These are all of the traits of a friend.
Luke 11:6-9 ”...because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.” I want to emphasize verse 9 that says “So I say unto you, Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Prior to verse 6, Jesus was telling the disciples how to pray, The “Our Father”. Then, he was discussing how true friends are there for you. Because Our Father is also our Friend, He is there for us. But we have to persist when we know that we are in His will and that He can provide what we are asking for.
John 15:13-16 - Verse 14 says that we are Jesus’ friends, IF we do what He has commanded. You know, it seems strange to human nature to have to obey someone’s command to be His friend. Because in verse 15, He says that he no longer calls us servants at that point. Here is the key to this key. How much do we love Him? It is all about a love relationship. His command is to take on God’s character.
verse 16 “…..I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the father in My name He may give you.” The part about the fruit remaining means GENERATIONAL Wealth! Jesus is our Friend.
Millie (my wife) is my friend. When I hurt, she will do what ever it takes to remove that hurt. The same goes for me. I was in combat in Viet-Nam. It was nothing for me to see graphic and morbid deaths. But, if Millie gets a bruise from a bump on the leg, it hurts me to the core. We will go to the far corners of the earth to please one another. If she is in need I will drop anything that I am doing to fill the need. We have even taken on one another’s likes and dislikes. When we first got married, she could not get me to eat fish. Now, I like most kinds. But I am a work in progress. I still don’t like all kinds of fish.
What did it take to reach this point in our relationship? It took spending time together, communication, working on differences, and God as the center of the relationship. It all starts with Him, folks. He wants us to develop in our friendship with Him. He wants us to know that Jesus already showed us the greatest love of all when He laid down His life for us. It never ceases to amaze me to know that if I were the only person to ever exist after Adam, He would have gone to the cross for me.
Remember also that God is our Father.
God refers Himself as our Father eighteen times in the Old Testament, although the majority of the Scriptures are prophetic. That is because Jesus had to restore the relationship. God calls Himself our Father two hundred and sixty-nine times in the New Testament.
Romans 8:15-23: v.16 “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: v.17 “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” We are His children, and because of that fact, we can rely on our inheritance. Many of us think of money when we hear the word “HEIR”. Although that may be true, we need to focus on the fact that Our Father is giving a lasting inheritance in His Kingdom. This is the spiritual side of our relationship with Our Father. In eternity He won’t come here, but we will go there. The physical world is God’s. Our father owns the cattle on a thousand hills. I tell people who are in debt that Father is afraid to give you one of the cows, because you’ll go mortgage it.
v.23 “…Not only that, but we also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit…” The firstfruits is the beginning of true wealth!
A loving father is a special person. When we are bad, he is the one we answer to. When we are good, we cannot wait to get his approval. When we are in need, he makes sure that the need is met. A loving father will do everything in his power to make sure that we do not suffer or want for anything. Yet, he will make sure, (in a loving way) that we get correction when we deserve it. Many Christians want to just pick out the comfortable traits of a father in their relationship with God. That’s why some have “itching ears”. That is also why some won’t let God be a total Father to them. But, just like the friend aspect of our relationship with God, the more we spend time with Our Heavenly Father as our Father, the more we grow in Relational Peace with Him.
Job kept relational wealth with God
Job 31:24-28 Nick Simonic paraphrased, this Scripture says, “If I have made riches my god, then God should judge me.” Job knew that his relationship was with God and not stuff.
KJV Job 42:10-17 …v.10 “And the Lord restored Job’s losses,”. The key in this verse is that when he prayed for his friends, indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
v.13 “He also had seven sons and three daughters.” God restored family to Job’s life.
v.16 “After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children, and grandchildren for four generations.” God restored long life to Job.
When we look at Job’s life, he maintained his relationship with God throughout his life, no matter what his circumstances were.
Solomon’s foundation was his relationship with God.
2 Chronicles 1:11-12 – (Nick Simonic Paraphrased) God told Solomon, “Because your priorities are in the right place, I will provide you with wealth like the world has never seen.” Now, we all know that Solomon asked God for wisdom (verse 10). Think about it. The Bible says that Wisdom was with God from the creation. So what Solomon was asking for was the relationship with God as intimate as Wisdom had.
You know, David laid the foundation of generational wealth in his family. But he had blood on his hands. Because of that, his ability to take it much farther was limited. However, because of the foundation laid by David, Solomon, his son, was the wealthiest man who ever lived, even by today’s standards. However, Solomon was not a good father when it came to imparting Scriptural principles in his children. We know the rest of the story. His son listened to his peers rather than his elders. The kingdom was disbursed as a result.
How many of us do not impart a strong Biblical foundation into the lives of our children? This is a key to developing generational wealth in your family, should The Lord tarry. You may not become a millionaire. You may not become a hundred thousandaire. (Is there such a word?) Nevertheless you can start a foundation of wealth, no matter what the size. And you can be sure that it continues, by imparting these keys to your children.
Lay a foundation of wealth in our personal lives. Let’s make a commitment to ourselves to start to develop a closer relationship with Our Heavenly Father and stick to it daily.
Until next time,
“Beloved, I pray above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers” (3 John 2)
Blessings,
Nick.
Until Next Time…
Beloved I Pray That You Prosper And Be In Health, Even As You Soul Prospers!
Blessings,
Nick
The Good Steward Archive
Living Debt Free By The Word: Part 1
Living Debt Free By The Word: Part 2
Living Debt Free By The Word: Part 3
Living Debt Free By The Word: Part 4
Living Debt Free By The Word: Part 5
Living Debt Free By The Word: Part 6
Living Debt Free By The Word: Part 7
Living Debt Free By The Word: Part 8
Living Debt Free By The Word: Part 9
Living Debt Free By The Word: Part 10
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