The Epic Life - Bob Hallman

(Pastor Bob's sermons notes on this series can be found on bible.org).
Introduction
      As we begin our study of the Book of Colossians, I am amazed at how contemporary its message is – especially for those of us who live on Kauai!  Many of the issues that Paul addresses in this short book are the same questions we face today:
Was Jesus just a prophet, a moral teacher, an ascended master – or is He God?
Can a Vegan diet heighten a person’s spiritual awareness? Or can you be an on-fire follower of God and still eat pork hash and lau lau?
Does it matter what day you worship on? Or is any day as good as another?  
Is it alright to pursue contact with angels? Are they really mediators between God and man or are they demons in disguise?
Can harsh treatment of the body empower a person to overcome the flesh?
Is it OK to mix the teachings of Christ with the teachings of Eastern mysticism?
Aren’t all religions equally valid – just different paths to the same God?
Paul’s answer to each of these questions is quite simple: “Christ is all-Sufficient”
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
info@theepiclife.orghttps://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com

(Pastor Bob's sermons notes on this series can be found on bible.org).
Introduction
      As we begin our study of the Book of Colossians, I am amazed at how contemporary its message is – especially for those of us who live on Kauai!  Many of the issues that Paul addresses in this short book are the same questions we face today:
Was Jesus just a prophet, a moral teacher, an ascended master – or is He God?
Can a Vegan diet heighten a person’s spiritual awareness? Or can you be an on-fire follower of God and still eat pork hash and lau lau?
Does it matter what day you worship on? Or is any day as good as another?  
Is it alright to pursue contact with angels? Are they really mediators between God and man or are they demons in disguise?
Can harsh treatment of the body empower a person to overcome the flesh?
Is it OK to mix the teachings of Christ with the teachings of Eastern mysticism?
Aren’t all religions equally valid – just different paths to the same God?
Paul’s answer to each of these questions is quite simple: “Christ is all-Sufficient”
 
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
info@theepiclife.orghttps://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com
 

Financial Freedom:
      Lesson #1:  "God's Blueprint"
      Lesson #2:  "Investing For A High Return"
      Lesson #3:  "Practical Financial Strategies"
      Lesson #4:  "Avoiding And Overcoming Debt"
I Biblical Perspective On Using Credit
God favors lending over borrowing - Deut 15:4-6  
Unwise borrowing can enslave us - Prov 22:7; 1 Cor 6:12
Use credit wisely and avoid it when possible - Rom 13:8
II Problems With Using Credit
It can circumvent trusting God - Matt 6:30-33; Phil 4:19
It reduces our capacity for wise stewardship
By making impulsive buying too easy
By reducing the scope of our options
By enslaving us financially and emotionally
It can signal a lack of contentment - Heb 13:5; 1 Tim 6:6-8; Phil 4:11-13
III Questions To Ask Before Using Credit
Do I really need it? Phil 4:19; I Jn 2:15-17; 1 Tim 6:9-11
Is my lifestyle already adequate? - Mat 6:31ff; Lk 12:15, 23
Have I asked God for it? - Matt 7:7-8; James 4:2-3
Have I waited for His answer? - Ps 27:14; 37:7, 34
Is God testing my faith, my values, my motives, etc.?
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
info@theepiclife.orghttps://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com

Financial Freedom:
      Lesson #1:  "God's Blueprint"
      Lesson #2:  "Investing For A High Return"
      Lesson #3:  "Practical Financial Strategies"
      Lesson #4:  "Avoiding And Overcoming Debt"
I Biblical Perspective On Using Credit
God favors lending over borrowing - Deut 15:4-6  
Unwise borrowing can enslave us - Prov 22:7; 1 Cor 6:12
Use credit wisely and avoid it when possible - Rom 13:8
II Problems With Using Credit
It can circumvent trusting God - Matt 6:30-33; Phil 4:19
It reduces our capacity for wise stewardship
By making impulsive buying too easy
By reducing the scope of our options
By enslaving us financially and emotionally
It can signal a lack of contentment - Heb 13:5; 1 Tim 6:6-8; Phil 4:11-13
III Questions To Ask Before Using Credit
Do I really need it? Phil 4:19; I Jn 2:15-17; 1 Tim 6:9-11
Is my lifestyle already adequate? - Mat 6:31ff; Lk 12:15, 23
Have I asked God for it? - Matt 7:7-8; James 4:2-3
Have I waited for His answer? - Ps 27:14; 37:7, 34
Is God testing my faith, my values, my motives, etc.?
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
info@theepiclife.orghttps://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com

Financial Freedom:
      Lesson #1:  "God's Blueprint"
            God owns it all
            We are His agents or stewards
      Lesson #2:  "Investing For A High Return"
            We are free from the law of tithing
                  Instead we are to:
                        Love God by investing in His kingdom
                        Love others by helping those in need
      Lesson #3:  "Practical Financial Strategies"
      Lesson #4:  "Avoiding And Overcoming Debt"
            Guidelines for the use of credit
            How to get out of debt
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
info@theepiclife.orghttps://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com

Financial Freedom:
      Lesson #1:  "God's Blueprint"
            God owns it all
            We are His agents or stewards
      Lesson #2:  "Investing For A High Return"
            We are free from the law of tithing
                  Instead we are to:
                        Love God by investing in His kingdom
                        Love others by helping those in need
      Lesson #3:  "Practical Financial Strategies"
      Lesson #4:  "Avoiding And Overcoming Debt"
            Guidelines for the use of credit
            How to get out of debt
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
info@theepiclife.orghttps://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com

This is a four part series.
       I  Financial Freedom: God's Blueprint
      II  Financial Freedom: Investing For A High Return
      III  Financial Freedom: Practical Financial Strategies
      IV  Financial Freedon: Avoiding and Overcoming Debt
Matthew 25:14-30
I We Are To Invest God's Resources Faithfully
Our calling as God's agents
            Agent = a person or firm empowered to act for another
            Steward = a person put in charge of the affairs, finances and management of a household
            Illustration: Embezzlement = to steal money entrusted to one's care, to take by fraud for one's own use.
            Mal 3:8-9  "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings.  You are under a curse-- the whole nation of you-- because you are robbing me."
            The problem:  Many Christians are untrustworthy with the resources God has given them and are embezzlers of God's resources.  They've got their hand in God's pocket without realizing the seriousness of their offense.
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
info@theepiclife.orghttps://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com

This is a four part series.
       I  Financial Freedom: God's Blueprint
      II  Financial Freedom: Investing For A High Return
      III  Financial Freedom: Practical Financial Strategies
      IV  Financial Freedon: Avoiding and Overcoming Debt
Matthew 25:14-30
I We Are To Invest God's Resources Faithfully
Our calling as God's agents
            Agent = a person or firm empowered to act for another
            Steward = a person put in charge of the affairs, finances and management of a household
            Illustration: Embezzlement = to steal money entrusted to one's care, to take by fraud for one's own use.
            Mal 3:8-9  "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings.  You are under a curse-- the whole nation of you-- because you are robbing me."
            The problem:  Many Christians are untrustworthy with the resources God has given them and are embezzlers of God's resources.  They've got their hand in God's pocket without realizing the seriousness of their offense.
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
info@theepiclife.orghttps://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com

This is a four part series.
       I  Financial Freedom: God's Blueprint
      II  Financial Freedom: Investing For A High Return
      III  Financial Freedom: Practical Financial Strategies
      IV  Financial Freedon: Avoiding and Overcoming Debt
Introduction
The number one reason for marital discord: Conflict over money.
The Bible:  2,000 verses on money, 2/3 of parables were about money
One of Satan’s most effective delusions is the idea that happiness consists in the things that we possess. Through his deceitfulness, he has erected a golden calf, an idol called materialism. Like a barker on the midway, he calls to every passerby, “come and worship at its feet, buy, sell, get gain, and possess, and it will make you happy.”
Christians, though a people with a spiritual calling and heavenly assets beyond compare, are not automatically exempt from Satan’s schemes nor inoculated against infection from the deadening disease of materialism. Like a plague, it stalks us from every corner—on television, the printed page, the display window, the showroom, in our neighbors driveway. Everywhere the seductions of materialism fill the air and seek to come into our lives through both conspicuous and subliminal messages.
In a context that instructs us to live as aliens and strangers (1 Pet. 1:17-18; 2:11), and as a people who are to live with a view to a heavenly inheritance that is untouched by decay, unstained by evil, and unimpaired by time (1 Pet. 1:4), Peter also warns us to be sober and alert against Satan’s devices (1 Pet. 1:13; 5:8). Why? Because, if we are not on guard, Satan will distract us through possessions from our heavenly calling as a people for God’s own possession who are to proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness (the delusions of Satan) and into His marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9).
Money is a very little thing (Luke 16:10). Why? Because money cannot buy happiness. Money cannot give eternal life nor real meaning in life (Isa. 55:1-3; Rev. 3:16-18). Yet, there is nothing that reveals our spiritual orientation and relationship with God like our attitude toward money.
Jesus Christ made it clear that a mark of true spirituality was a right attitude toward wealth. The mark of a godly and righteous man is his preoccupation with God and heavenly treasure.
Scripture has a tremendous amount to say about money or material possessions. Sixteen of the thirty-eight parables of Jesus deal with money. One out of every ten verses in the New Testament deal with this subject. Scripture has 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 verses on faith, but over 2,000 verses on the subject of money. Money is an extremely important issue because a person’s attitude toward it is so determinative of his relationship with God, on fulfilling his purpose in this life, and on his character.
May God bless you through this message! 
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
info@theepiclife.orghttps://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com

This is a four part series.
       I  Financial Freedom: God's Blueprint
      II  Financial Freedom: Investing For A High Return
      III  Financial Freedom: Practical Financial Strategies
      IV  Financial Freedon: Avoiding and Overcoming Debt
Introduction
The number one reason for marital discord: Conflict over money.
The Bible:  2,000 verses on money, 2/3 of parables were about money
One of Satan’s most effective delusions is the idea that happiness consists in the things that we possess. Through his deceitfulness, he has erected a golden calf, an idol called materialism. Like a barker on the midway, he calls to every passerby, “come and worship at its feet, buy, sell, get gain, and possess, and it will make you happy.”
Christians, though a people with a spiritual calling and heavenly assets beyond compare, are not automatically exempt from Satan’s schemes nor inoculated against infection from the deadening disease of materialism. Like a plague, it stalks us from every corner—on television, the printed page, the display window, the showroom, in our neighbors driveway. Everywhere the seductions of materialism fill the air and seek to come into our lives through both conspicuous and subliminal messages.
In a context that instructs us to live as aliens and strangers (1 Pet. 1:17-18; 2:11), and as a people who are to live with a view to a heavenly inheritance that is untouched by decay, unstained by evil, and unimpaired by time (1 Pet. 1:4), Peter also warns us to be sober and alert against Satan’s devices (1 Pet. 1:13; 5:8). Why? Because, if we are not on guard, Satan will distract us through possessions from our heavenly calling as a people for God’s own possession who are to proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness (the delusions of Satan) and into His marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9).
Money is a very little thing (Luke 16:10). Why? Because money cannot buy happiness. Money cannot give eternal life nor real meaning in life (Isa. 55:1-3; Rev. 3:16-18). Yet, there is nothing that reveals our spiritual orientation and relationship with God like our attitude toward money.
Jesus Christ made it clear that a mark of true spirituality was a right attitude toward wealth. The mark of a godly and righteous man is his preoccupation with God and heavenly treasure.
Scripture has a tremendous amount to say about money or material possessions. Sixteen of the thirty-eight parables of Jesus deal with money. One out of every ten verses in the New Testament deal with this subject. Scripture has 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 verses on faith, but over 2,000 verses on the subject of money. Money is an extremely important issue because a person’s attitude toward it is so determinative of his relationship with God, on fulfilling his purpose in this life, and on his character.
May God bless you through this message! 
You can support this ministry: Donate
The Epic Life
info@theepiclife.orghttps://www.theepiclife.org https://www.facebook.com/livetheepiclife https://www.instagram.com/Living_The_Epic_Life https://www.theepiclife.podbean.com