WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:25.305 The devil doesn't care if you go to church every single Sunday. He doesn't care if you shout, sing in the choir, or post scripture on your Instagram stories, but he will fight you tooth and nail over your money. Why is that? Because if he can get control over your money, he can get control over your future. Look. 00:00:25.705 --> 00:01:03.000 Spiritual warfare doesn't just happen in your prayer closet. It happens in your wallet. Welcome to the Stewardship Coach Podcast. I'm Lee Jenkins. And if this is your first time here, my mission is to help people make, manage, and multiply money God's way. 00:01:03.080 --> 00:01:22.735 Not the world's way, but God's way. If that's what you're here for, do me a favor. Hit subscribe because what I'm about to show you today is something that most people never connected before. And once you see it, you won't be able to unsee it. So here's my thesis. 00:01:23.590 --> 00:01:42.835 You can't build wealth without warfare. Let me say that again. You cannot build wealth without warfare. You see, the devil doesn't just mess with you and tempt you spiritually. He also tempts you financially. 00:01:43.235 --> 00:02:11.835 And he's been running the same three money plays since the beginning of time, and unfortunately, they're still working. You see, all of us face temptation when it comes to money. But just because you're tempted doesn't mean you have to take the bait. So let's look at Matthew chapter four, you all. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and Satan came at him three ways. 00:02:11.835 --> 00:02:38.515 And I wanna show you today that those same three temptations show up in our finances right now in 2026. Number one is the temptation of instant gratification. Let me say that again. The temptation of instant gratification. Now let's look at Matthew chapter four verses two and three. 00:02:38.995 --> 00:02:58.140 And this is after Jesus was in the wilderness or during his time in the wilderness. It says, after fasting forty days and forty nights, Jesus was hungry. Let me just stop right there. Hunger, in this case, is a legitimate, issue. Okay? 00:02:58.140 --> 00:03:27.420 If we were fasting for forty days, we would be hungry. Jesus was hungry. And then it says, the tempter came to him and said, if you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread. So Satan tried to get Jesus to satisfy his hunger, his physical desires outside of God's will, outside of God's timing. Now there's nothing wrong with satisfying your hunger. 00:03:27.500 --> 00:03:46.115 I mean, that was a legitimate desire, but it was outside of God's will and his timing. That is exactly the same way Satan attacks your money. He says, buy it now and pay later. Swipe the card. You deserve it. 00:03:46.920 --> 00:04:13.315 Don't wait. Get it now. Instant gratification is one of the enemy's sharpest weapons because it doesn't feel like a weapon. It feels like a treat, like you're treating yourself. When I got drafted into the NFL, the very first thing I wanted to do with my signing bonus was to spend it, not to save it, not to invest it, but to spend it. 00:04:13.650 --> 00:04:41.160 You see, didn't grow up around a lot of money, so having access for the first time in my life to tens of thousands of dollars was a massive temptation for me at 22 years old. I wanted a brand new car so bad. I remember what it was. It was a Datsun two eighty z with a t top. Some of you all, who were adults in the nineteen eighties might remember that. 00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:57.895 Man, that was a cool car. I used to dream about it every day. I could just see myself in it, but my parents talked me out of it. Here's what they said. They said, you need to wait until your first year is over. 00:04:58.055 --> 00:05:33.800 You see, I was a late round draft choice, and there was there was no guarantee that I was even gonna make the team. Well, I made the team, but I got hurt. And after my first year was over, my football career ended. NFL for me stood for not for long. And if it wasn't for my mom and dad, I would have bought that car and regretted it a year later when my football career was over, when it was done with, and all I would have had to show for was a car note. 00:05:34.040 --> 00:05:56.315 There's a guy in the Bible you all named Esau, and in Hebrews chapter 12 verses sixteen and seventeen, God tells us not to be like him. I mean, that's a pretty strong statement. The writer calls him godless. Now what in the world did Esau do that was so bad? Well, here's what he did. 00:05:56.555 --> 00:06:26.545 He lived for the moment with no concern for his financial future. In other words, he never practiced delayed gratification. He traded his entire inheritance, you all, his birthright for a bowl of soup. Man, that must have been some good soup because he wanted to feel good in the moment right now. And a lot of us are doing the exact same thing. 00:06:27.270 --> 00:06:48.035 If you've got to have it now, then you're gonna end up like Esau. You're gonna trade your future for a feeling. So in order to build generational wealth, you have to resist the temptation to have it all right now. Okay. So let me say it like this. 00:06:48.275 --> 00:07:11.175 Is that Tesla more important than your kid's college education? Are those Gucci and Louis Vuitton bags more important than your financial future? We have to resist the pull, you all, of instant gratification. And here are two things I think that can help. Two things that I've done to try to resist that pull. 00:07:11.495 --> 00:07:28.540 Number one is install the seventy two hour rule. That means that anything that's not a need, you wait seventy two hours before you buy it. I know what some of y'all are saying. Say what? Yes. 00:07:28.780 --> 00:07:45.295 Seventy two hours before you buy it. That's three days. And let me tell you what's gonna happen. Most of the time, the urge to buy whatever you want it to buy will pass away. Maybe not all the time, but most of the time, it will. 00:07:45.375 --> 00:08:01.860 I promise you. Number two, ask the future you before you swipe or buy it. Let me repeat that. Ask the future you before you swipe or buy it. Okay. 00:08:02.260 --> 00:08:36.965 Picture yourself five years from now looking at this purchase, the purchase that you were doing. Does the future you thank you, or does the future you slap you and tell you, what were you thinking? Instant gratification will keep you instantly broke. Delayed gratification is how you build generational wealth. Your future doesn't need you to feel good right now. 00:08:37.365 --> 00:09:06.395 It needs you to be faithful right now. Number two is the temptation to impress people. Y'all, this is a big one. Now let's look at Matthew chapter four verses five and six. And it says, the devil took him, meaning Jesus, to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 00:09:06.475 --> 00:09:38.055 This is what the devil said to Jesus y'all. He says, if you are the son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, he will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Alright. Satan wanted Jesus to show off, to dazzle the crowd, to perform for an audience. How about this? 00:09:38.055 --> 00:10:13.810 He wanted Jesus to make people notice him, and that's the same temptation that hits many of us financially. Buying things we can't afford to impress people we don't even know with money we don't even have. The numbers don't lie. There was a study by LendingTree, and it blew me away, you all. It said close to four out of ten American adults admit they have overspent just to impress somebody. 00:10:14.050 --> 00:11:03.245 Y'all, that's 40% of grown folks spending money they don't have on things they don't need to impress other people who are just as broke as they are. That's what I call financial peer pressure. So, y'all, when I was an investment adviser, a whole lot of my clients, they were very affluent, super rich, and many of them were physicians, and they made big money. And that's where I first learned that there was a such thing as adult financial peer pressure. Because these affluent doctors, they would hear that one of their colleagues bought a new Porsche or that they built a new house. 00:11:03.405 --> 00:11:25.015 And lo and behold, within a few months, they'd go and buy one too. And it wasn't because they needed it. It wasn't because it even fit their financial plan or their financial goals that I had set out for them. It was because they didn't want to be left behind. It was almost like they they didn't want somebody else to outdo them. 00:11:25.335 --> 00:12:06.870 It was about status and not strategy. It was about image and not their income. So back in the day, we used to call this keeping up with the Joneses. So I did a little research, and I found out that that phrase, keeping up with the Joneses, actually comes from a comic strip that's over a 100 years old. And it's about a family that is killing themselves financially, trying to match the lifestyle of their neighbors and and or this particular neighbor, and this particular neighbor had the last name Jones. 00:12:07.030 --> 00:12:28.665 So this family was hurting their finances, trying to keep up with their neighbor, the Joneses. But here's the deal. The Joneses were never actually rich. They were just as broke as everybody else. So that's where that phrase comes from, keeping up with the Joneses. 00:12:28.985 --> 00:12:58.565 Don't do that because they're just as broke as everybody else. Now here are two ways to resist the temptation to impress people. And let me tell you, it's a real temptation. Number one is you need to learn to be content. In Philippians four eleven, the apostle Paul, he wrote, he says, I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 00:12:58.565 --> 00:13:15.510 He goes on to say, whether I got a lot of money or a little bit of money, I'm going to be content. But notice what he said. He says, I have learned. In other words, we're not born content. Contentment is a skill that you learn. 00:13:15.985 --> 00:13:38.580 But let me say this. Contentment doesn't mean you don't want to be better. Contentment doesn't mean you don't have goals and things you want to achieve. Contentment just means you're gonna have peace, and you're gonna be faithful, and you're gonna enjoy, and you're gonna be grateful for what you have until you get to where you're going. That's what contentment is. 00:13:38.820 --> 00:14:19.715 But we have to learn it, you all, because everything in the department stores, in the magazines, online is trying to make us discontent. Now the second thing you must do to resist the temptation to impress people is to focus on your own assignment, not somebody else's highlight reel. You see, God didn't call you to outdress people, to out vacation people, to out automobile people. He called you to steward what he gave you. He called you to be faithful in what he gave you. 00:14:20.420 --> 00:14:46.805 Let me tell you this. People who are secure in who they are in Christ don't need to prove anything to anybody. And lastly, number three, is the temptation of material possessions. Let's look at Matthew chapter four verses eight and nine. Again, boy, the devil was not giving up on Jesus. 00:14:46.805 --> 00:15:20.770 He was coming at him. It says again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. And he said, all this I will give you if you bow down and worship me. Satan tempted Jesus with material things, Power, splendor. He says, all this I will give you. 00:15:21.010 --> 00:15:42.215 He he tempted him with possessions. He says, all you gotta do is bow down and worship me. And by the way, just because you get wealth doesn't mean that God gave it to you. Satan can bless you too. All financial increase is not of God. 00:15:42.500 --> 00:16:26.755 Let let me say that again, and I'm a big proponent of financial increase, but all of it is not from God because some things we call financial blessings are temptations in disguise. So here are four ways to tell if a possession is a temptation. Number one, does it pull your eyes off of God, or does it point you back to him? In other words, is it a distraction to you, or does it bring you closer to Christ? Number two, does it feed your pride or your ego, or does it fuel your purpose? 00:16:26.835 --> 00:16:51.250 You see, a blessing from God will always increase your usefulness to the kingdom. A trap from the enemy will only increase your ego. Thirdly, does it make you generous, or does it make you greedy? You see, true blessings, they loosen your grip on money. Counterfeit blessings tighten it. 00:16:51.605 --> 00:17:12.840 You start protecting what you have instead of stewarding it. Lastly, this is big. Does it come with peace? In other words, does this financial blessing, does this so called breakthrough or this increase, does it come with peace or does it come with sorrow? Hey. 00:17:12.840 --> 00:17:47.730 Proverbs ten twenty two sums this point up. It says, the blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it or no sorrow with it. That word trouble in the original language, you all, carries the idea of sorrow, pain, toil, heartache attached to gain. In other words, you may have a lot of stuff, but you have a lot of pain, toil, and heartache to go along with it. You see, God's blessings, they come clean. 00:17:48.295 --> 00:18:26.665 It doesn't come with a side order of anxiety or secrecy or debt or marriage falling apart. So if your money is making you miserable, it might be wealth, but it didn't come from the hand of God, and I'm sorry to tell you that. So listen to me. The enemy hasn't changed his playbook. He still attacks the same way he attacked Jesus in the wilderness, and that is with quick fixes with fake status and empty stuff. 00:18:27.410 --> 00:18:45.125 But here's the good news. Jesus already showed us how to beat all three of these temptations. He didn't negotiate with the devil. He didn't explain himself to the devil. He just quoted the word and said, no. 00:18:45.765 --> 00:19:04.020 So the next time the enemy whispers, buy it. You deserve it. This will finally make you happy. You have to stand on the word just like Jesus did and say no. Now if this episode opened your eyes today, do three things for me. 00:19:04.100 --> 00:19:28.300 Subscribe to the Stewardship Coach Podcast so you never miss an episode. Share this with someone you know who is fighting one of these three temptations right now. They need to hear this today, not tomorrow. And comment below which of these three is attacking you the hardest. Is it instant gratification? 00:19:28.780 --> 00:19:46.535 Is it impressing people, or is it material possessions? I will read every single comment. So until next time, stay faithful with what God already gave you, and watch what he trusts you with next.