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The Illusion of Self-Sufficiency

• Cedrick Baker

To the church of Laodicea, Jesus spoke harsh words of confrontation because they depended on wealth for their well-being, living under the illusion of self-sufficiency. In our modern world the pursuit of financial gain is a common illusory trap, one that tell us that it will serve as a foundation for our lives, but, in reality, it cannot be trusted. Only God can be the source of true life. wh-bug

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Topics: Generosity, Money

Sermon Series: Dear Church


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One thought on “The Illusion of Self-Sufficiency

  1. Jerry says:

    Cedrick Just loved your sermon.

    This struck me from a sermon “WELL DONE!”

    From the summary:

    In the parable of the Talents, we read how the landowner shared three sums of money with three servants. A talent would be equivalent to what a peasant would have earned in fifteen years. To one servant, he gave five talents, to another he gave two, and to the third he gave one. The first two doubled what had been entrusted to them, while the third acted in fear and buried it.

    The basic takeaway is that God has entrusted us with the spiritual equivalent of bags of gold. We have say-so. We have the power to make a difference, both collectively and individually. What has been entrusted to us is more than most of us realize. Each of us has the potential to influence the world in a Kingdom direction. If God has called you to do something, it is because you are capable of doing it with the power of God’s presence. God believes in us to make an impact, to partner with God to love, and to change the world.

    It is crucial to see this as a privilege, not a burdensome task. This is not a set of rules that we must follow so that we don’t go to hell when we die. If we are motivated by fear rather than love, like the third servant, we won’t take risks because the task is a burden. We just don’t want to make God angry. This religious spirit dominates many today.

    End:

    You might say the third servant was lukewarm. Everything in this universe belongs to God. We are his resource managers and God is hoping that with what God has entrusted us with we make our increased return in the kingdom of heaven. You might consider heaven as [hot] and this world [cold].

    The parable states to the 3rd man “Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming, I should have received what was my own with interest”.

    Bank interest is finally back this year I’m getting 5.6%.

    From Data from the Federal Reserve database in St. Louis (FRED), the average yearly return from 1928-2023 for the S&P500 is 12.39% while Real-estate is 5.68%

    Now Cedrick your deck contemplations.

    Rule of 72

    Years to a double 72/5.68 = 13.09090909

    1958 purchase price of the Bachas home I now live $12,000

    Time from purchase to today 2024-1958 [66] years

    Number of doubles 66/13.09 = 5.042016807

    Price today at 5.04 doubles $399,360
    I know of only 1 home ever selling over that at $432,000 having added a large addition with numerous upgrades to include a [DECK].

    As an alternative instead of buying the home you invested the $12,000 in the S&P500

    2024-1958 [66] years

    Number of doubles 66/5.8 = 11.37931034 or $33,914,880
    Note also: there is no insurance, taxes, repairs or improvements.

    I know Cedrick this is somewhat of an extreme but as you said is there a way to use the resources God gives us to manage to accomplish both?

    $12,000 is a small amount so let’s use another example.

    Let’s say early in your career, 21-30, you defer a home purchase and place your 1st fruits, $5000 a year, into a 401k using the S&P500 as your vehicle earning 12.39%.

    In 10 years you will have invested $50,000 and $15,000 would have come from taxes you didn’t have to pay. You stop now and never save another dime using all your income for acquiring stuff and sharing with others.

    Oh by the way had you not invested in the 1st 10 years and elected to put in $5000 a year for the rest of your working career you would never catch up. Not even close.

    That $50,000 would grow tax-deferred until, if you elected, the age of 74 when you would have $24 plus million.

    At this point, you would have a required minimum distribution of almost 1 million dollars. That’s a lot of taxes.

    In America, we have a choice. We can set up a charitable remainder trust and also set up a charitable foundation container for ongoing elections. You do this because the trust itself is irrevocable.

    https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-remainder-trusts

    You set yourself up for yearly payouts let’s say $200,000 plus a 5% increase every year, you can add others, sending the difference to the Foundation. The only taxable event is to non-charitable beneficiaries.

    You could choose to use the RMD schedule to continue until God willing you lived to 94 paying out increasingly to about $10 million in that final year and still have over $100 million remaining in the foundation. All on a $50,000 investment, $15,000 paid by the State/FED.

    Any POOR person who does this becomes RICH in 6 Months | Warren Buffett
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG-1-iU5z0o&t=922s

    Cedrick I liked this. The assumption if I have it I can do it.

    So who’s is it yours or entrusted from God?

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