Beyond the Series: In God We Trust

Beyond the Series: In God We Trust

“We listen to what God says about finances in His word because we trust Him. The more we trust Him, the more we hear Him.” In this article, we will learn how we can face our own personal challenges and be channels of God’s blessing.

What is the importance of hearing about finances from God’s word? How will it affect a person’s walk with God?

We study what God says about finances because we do not lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). Instead, we acknowledge that in His wisdom and sovereignty, God knows what is best in every area of our lives, including our finances. Whenever we step out in faith and trust God, we silence any voice that tries to compete with God’s voice and we get to know Him more. Trusting God in our finances means putting ourselves in a position where we can experience His reality and goodness in our lives. It means leaning on Him, putting our full weight without any fear that we will fall, because we know that we are leaning on someone who is strong and stable.

How has our recent series, Add to Heart, helped us face financial challenges brought about by the pandemic and the recent typhoons?

In the third week of the series, we looked at the poor widow who gave sacrificially to God. During that time, a widow had very few options in terms of sources of income. From the story we know that she chose to be a beggar. She was clearly challenged by her situation and yet, it did not stop her from giving. In spite of her poverty, her generosity was abounding. In the same way, any pandemic, typhoon, or calamity should not stop us from being generous. Generosity is not an act but a posture, an attitude. An act of generosity is an overflow coming from a generous heart. 

We have several people in church who demonstrated generosity in spite of their own challenges. One couple would be Getty and Grace Cua. They attend our church in Greenhills, but they live in Marikina. During the typhoon, the first floor of their house got submerged in flood water. So they redesigned their home and placed the kitchen on the second floor, with the intention of opening their kitchen and serving soup to people if ever there would be flooding in the city again. And that’s exactly what happened. They were able to feed hundreds of families even if their own family was experiencing difficulties because of the recent typhoons. Their generosity was an overflow of their trust in God. 

When we look to God and not at our own financial situation, we can rise above our own challenges. We can be certain that the God we trust is more than able and willing to provide all that we need.

How does knowing what God says about finances affect your financial decisions? How would knowing these principles enable us to trust God more in this area?

When we look at Scripture, we can see that God used finances to make a point. But the point was never about money; it has always been about the heart. What we need to understand is that we should not settle for material things in this world. That’s what we always say to our children. We are a family on a mission. We teach them not to have a firm grasp on the things of this world, and instead be ready to let go if and when God tells us to do something. This world is not our home. We have been placed here to do specific assignments from God. Having a firm grasp of that should guide us in our financial decisions in life. 

 

Dennis Sy serves as the senior pastor in Victory Greenhills. He started following Jesus as a young student and now, together with his wife, Thammie, is teaching their young children to do the same.

Beyond the Series is a set of interviews on topics related to our sermon series.

There’s Always Hope in God

There’s Always Hope in God

God can always turn a hopeless situation around. He can always bring hope in every circumstance.

 

Our family used to run a small contractor business. In 2014, we failed to get the payment for the projects we handled, so the business went bankrupt. It took a hard toll on us. We felt hopeless and at the end of our rope. We didn’t know what to do.

At that time, my husband wasn’t a Christian yet. But somehow, because of what happened, I got the chance to invite him to our worship services. I was pregnant then, so when it became hard for me to walk and leave the house, I didn’t expect him to continue attending without me. To my surprise, he continued to join every week. Little did I know that in the midst of what our family was going through, God’s Word was already working powerfully in his heart.

In one of the services, my husband received Jesus in his life and started joining a Victory group. It was amazing to see him experience God’s love like never before. Having a deeper knowledge of God increased his faith, and seeing his faith in God strengthened mine.

Later on, by God’s grace, my husband landed a job in an international construction company. It was an opportunity we never expected. Slowly, it helped us get back on our feet and pay our debts little by little. Though we are still paying our debts until now, we are grateful for the grace of God that kept our marriage strong despite the trying situation we faced.

We are thankful to God for turning our situation around and more than grateful for the hope that my husband found in Christ. God’s love and grace displayed in our lives will always be more than enough.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23

There’s no situation beyond God’s grace. He can turn every hopeless situation into a powerful testimony; His Word will always minister to us and give us hope.

 

Rowena and her husband serve in our church in Valenzuela and lead a Victory group for couples.

If you have stories to share, please email them to stories@victory.org.ph or send them through the Victory app!

New Series: Unlimited

New Series: Unlimited

Join us this weekend as we start our series on finances entitled, “Unlimited.” We’ll be talking about the life of Elijah and Elisha in this four-week series.

At the end of this series, we look forward to having greater faith to obey God, our faithful and powerful Provider, in spite of the most difficult circumstances.

Here’s the list of weekly topics:

Week one: The Brook and the Raven
Week two: The Flour and the Oil
Week three: The Oil and the Jar
Week four: The Barley and the Grain

Victory is one church that meets in fifteen different locations in Metro Manila. We also meet in over fifty-five provinces across the Philippines. Check out our directory to find the Victory location nearest you.

Invite your family and friends to join us! See you at our services!

Biblical Finance 101

Biblical Finance 101

Four weeks at the Abraham’s School of Finance gave us a meaningful review on what our attitude should be towards God’s resources. Here’s a lowdown on our major learnings, including actual insights from fellow learners, from the recently-concluded series. 

 

In week one, we were reminded of the long-term, multi-generational covenant that God spoke to Abraham about His limitless provision, a timeless promise that still applies to us at the present time.

We can trust that we will always have what we need because of who we have a covenant with.
– Yane B.

 

Week two of our series helped us realize that we are just stewards, not owners, of God’s endless resources and provision.

(I learned) that God owns EVERYTHING and we are stewards of His wonderful creations. This really removed all my worries. God is so great!
– Lucille C.

(I learned how to) be a good steward (of) all the blessings of the Lord, and to faithfully return what’s really due to Him.
– Marilyn A.

God owns everything. I don’t. I’m thankful for His trust and (will) obey His will for what I have been entrusted with.
– Daryl C.

Stewardship honors the covenant (we have with God). When we become good stewards, it follows that we will be faithful in (our) giving.
– Ronnie R.

 

In our lesson about tithing, we learned that it isn’t just about giving 10% of our wealth to God. It’s about giving Him our all.

Tithing is an evidence of a life in Christ. (I also learned) that “poverty is not an issue of the wallet, but an issue of the mind and heart.”
– Rachelle L.

Tithing is not giving . . . it’s returning.
– Angelo M.

 

The last installment of our series helped us understand that generosity starts from a heart that’s willing to sacrifice.

Don’t be (tight-fisted) on the blessings that God is giving you, but learn how to . . . share those blessings to others.
– Samantha I.

When you understand how generous God is to you, it will automatically produce generosity in your life.
– Robert B.

 

Now that our four-week course on biblical finance has come to a close, we are presented with many opportunities to apply all that we have learned.

In every aspect of our lives, including how we deal with our finances, we can and should find ways to honor God.
– Ardie A.

Let us be faithful stewards and use our finances to bring honor and glory to God!

If you missed this series, you can download our podcasts and Victory group materials for free.

New Series: Abraham’s School of Finance

New Series: Abraham’s School of Finance

We’re kicking off our newest series this weekend entitled, “Abraham’s School of Finance!” Join us as we study the life of Abraham and let us learn about God’s financial principles, and how each of us is called to be good stewards of His resources.

Here’s the list of weekly topics:

Week one: Covenant
Week two: Stewardship
Week three: Tithing
Week four: Generosity

Invite your family and friends to a Victory location nearest you! We are one church meeting in fifteen different locations in Metro Manila, and in various churches across the Philippines.

See you at our weekend services!