WEBVTT 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:12.320 Thank you for listening to this message from 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:20.120 Lifehouse Church. Good morning. If you're new 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:22.500 with us here this morning, welcome. It is so 00:00:22.500 --> 00:00:25.780 good to have you in worship, and you've done 00:00:25.780 --> 00:00:27.539 that through song, and it's good to have you 00:00:27.539 --> 00:00:31.859 now for the Word. And I want to do this. I know 00:00:31.859 --> 00:00:33.840 they talked about the picnic, but if you came 00:00:33.840 --> 00:00:35.060 this morning and you're like, well, I didn't 00:00:35.060 --> 00:00:36.539 really make plans to go to the picnic, can I 00:00:36.539 --> 00:00:38.780 tell you, change your plans. You'll love it. 00:00:38.939 --> 00:00:41.600 Please come out to the picnic. There's tons of 00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:44.619 food. There's so much food we don't know what 00:00:44.619 --> 00:00:47.000 to do with it all. So please come help eat. But 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:49.000 the great thing that happens at the picnic is 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:51.420 fellowship. We get a chance to just sit down 00:00:51.420 --> 00:00:53.979 and talk with one another in a super casual setting 00:00:53.979 --> 00:00:56.960 and spend time. And that doesn't always happen 00:00:56.960 --> 00:00:58.759 on a Sunday morning. Sometimes things go quick. 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:00.960 Hopefully it's happening in life groups. But 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:03.979 just if you can, if you can possibly get there, 00:01:04.140 --> 00:01:06.400 please come out. We'd love to spend time with 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:10.430 you this morning. All right? Well, many people 00:01:10.430 --> 00:01:13.349 in the congregation know this, but I grew up 00:01:13.349 --> 00:01:16.569 in a small town in Western PA. I'm not going 00:01:16.569 --> 00:01:18.909 to say the town. It's a little town, but how 00:01:18.909 --> 00:01:20.750 many of you live in a little town? Sometimes 00:01:20.750 --> 00:01:23.519 you attend a little church. Yeah, all right. 00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:26.920 I went to church, a smaller church setting, and 00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:29.700 I remember something, actually many things specifically, 00:01:29.900 --> 00:01:32.659 that happen in a small church that don't happen 00:01:32.659 --> 00:01:35.040 when a church gets a little larger. And one of 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:38.060 those things, by virtue of size, is we used to 00:01:38.060 --> 00:01:40.819 have something back in the 80s and the 90s called 00:01:40.819 --> 00:01:43.680 testimony service. Anybody remember that? When 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:45.959 everybody, like not just one person got up and 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:48.379 testified because it was a small church. Everybody 00:01:48.379 --> 00:01:51.079 testified, right? You get up and you stand in 00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:53.480 a circle. And we still actually do this here 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:57.120 on Revive Night. At the end of every Revive, 00:01:57.120 --> 00:01:58.760 which is a worship night that happens here on 00:01:58.760 --> 00:02:01.640 Sunday nights, once a quarter. At the end of 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:04.500 the Revive, the last 10, 15 minutes, we just 00:02:04.500 --> 00:02:07.019 stop all the music. We've stopped the worship 00:02:07.019 --> 00:02:08.740 and praying. And we come together and just hand 00:02:08.740 --> 00:02:10.900 the mic around and testify. And what the idea 00:02:10.900 --> 00:02:13.430 is to hear what God's done, right? to hear how 00:02:13.430 --> 00:02:16.469 God's worked something out in somebody's life 00:02:16.469 --> 00:02:18.710 and to give glory to God. And I remember that 00:02:18.710 --> 00:02:22.229 in a small town and in a small church, and I 00:02:22.229 --> 00:02:24.750 always loved the testimony service because sometimes 00:02:24.750 --> 00:02:29.229 it got wild, okay? How many know you can't control 00:02:29.229 --> 00:02:32.330 what somebody's going to say? You hand them a 00:02:32.330 --> 00:02:34.840 microphone, that's a dangerous thing. All right. 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:36.599 And they would hand people the microphone and 00:02:36.599 --> 00:02:38.759 church was live and uncensored. So, you know, 00:02:38.780 --> 00:02:40.680 you just never knew what was going to come out 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:42.460 of somebody's mouth. And most of the time it 00:02:42.460 --> 00:02:44.620 was something really great. And somebody would 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:46.860 testify. We'd be like, yeah, man, you know what 00:02:46.860 --> 00:02:48.819 God's done in somebody's life. But then you would 00:02:48.819 --> 00:02:50.840 get that person who kind of missed the whole 00:02:50.840 --> 00:02:53.439 idea of testifying and giving glory to God. And 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:54.979 they would get up and they'd be something like 00:02:54.979 --> 00:02:58.060 this. I got to say, the devil's been on me all 00:02:58.060 --> 00:03:02.039 week. Right? You know, he's been on my back all 00:03:02.039 --> 00:03:05.139 week. And they'll start to do a story about the 00:03:05.139 --> 00:03:07.860 devil's in my car. Their car broke down, right? 00:03:08.020 --> 00:03:10.280 The devil's been in my car. The devil's been 00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:13.080 in my lawnmower, right? The devil was in my toaster. 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:15.599 I heard it all, right? The devil's been in my 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:17.180 bank account, which meant they spent too much 00:03:17.180 --> 00:03:19.400 money, right? And they didn't have enough for 00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:21.360 the week. The devil was in the sound system. 00:03:21.419 --> 00:03:23.000 At the church, I meant there was feedback in 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:25.080 the mic, right? The devil was in the sound. They 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:26.979 would start down that road and you're like, you're 00:03:26.979 --> 00:03:29.879 kind of missing the point here, right? And ultimately 00:03:29.879 --> 00:03:31.680 somebody would go, the devil's been on my back 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:33.120 all week. And then somebody would speak up and 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:34.900 say, well, you need to quit giving them a place 00:03:34.900 --> 00:03:38.580 to sit. You know, so it's like, amen, amen. You 00:03:38.580 --> 00:03:40.060 know, all that kind of stuff was going on. And 00:03:40.060 --> 00:03:42.280 I remember that as a kid, you know, somebody 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:44.520 quoted scripture like God, you know, he who's 00:03:44.520 --> 00:03:48.020 greater, God's greater in me than he that's in 00:03:48.020 --> 00:03:50.060 the world. And you would hear people just kind 00:03:50.060 --> 00:03:52.740 of cheering each other on and sometimes even 00:03:52.740 --> 00:03:54.960 kind of correcting each other along the way. 00:03:55.080 --> 00:03:57.900 But the reality is this, right? That the devil 00:03:57.900 --> 00:04:00.810 really can attack. A lot of things. He can attack 00:04:00.810 --> 00:04:03.229 our money and possessions, the things that are 00:04:03.229 --> 00:04:06.229 in our bucket. He can attack relationships. He 00:04:06.229 --> 00:04:08.610 can attack all these different things. John 10 00:04:08.610 --> 00:04:11.009 .10 tells us that, right? The thief does not 00:04:11.009 --> 00:04:12.930 come except to steal, kill, and destroy. That's 00:04:12.930 --> 00:04:14.770 what the Word of God says. And Jesus said, I've 00:04:14.770 --> 00:04:16.250 come to give you may have life, and you might 00:04:16.250 --> 00:04:18.449 have it more abundantly. We know that. We know 00:04:18.449 --> 00:04:21.709 1 John 4 is true as well, right? It says, you 00:04:21.709 --> 00:04:24.009 are of God, little children, and have overcome 00:04:24.009 --> 00:04:27.269 them. That's talking about Satan and the work 00:04:27.269 --> 00:04:29.430 and the evil that he does, right? Because he 00:04:29.430 --> 00:04:32.089 who is in you is greater than he that's in the 00:04:32.089 --> 00:04:36.430 world. We know this. And Satan does. come against, 00:04:36.610 --> 00:04:39.529 he does attack, and sometimes even in the area 00:04:39.529 --> 00:04:42.149 of our money and possessions, he comes against 00:04:42.149 --> 00:04:44.850 us. And the reality is that overcoming Satan's 00:04:44.850 --> 00:04:48.269 work in our life many times is as simple as this. 00:04:48.370 --> 00:04:50.970 It's as simple, not all the time, but most of 00:04:50.970 --> 00:04:54.170 the times as simple as doing God's will. Doing 00:04:54.170 --> 00:04:57.649 his will, right? God's will with my buckets. 00:04:58.430 --> 00:05:01.350 God's will be done in my relationship. God's 00:05:01.350 --> 00:05:05.550 will be done in my emotional and my mental bucket. 00:05:05.709 --> 00:05:08.850 We all have those buckets. And even in the money 00:05:08.850 --> 00:05:11.470 and possession buckets, even in the bucket where 00:05:11.470 --> 00:05:13.870 God puts money and possessions for us to manage, 00:05:13.970 --> 00:05:17.350 right? And a lot of times we mystify the will 00:05:17.350 --> 00:05:21.189 of God. We make it this mysterious thing that's 00:05:21.189 --> 00:05:24.399 super hard to grab a hold of. We act like somehow 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:27.360 it's hidden in this spiritual fog. And if we 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:32.079 pray just right, if we just do the right motions, 00:05:32.139 --> 00:05:35.420 right, in a religious manner, we'll somehow be 00:05:35.420 --> 00:05:38.259 able to grope our way through the fog and grab 00:05:38.259 --> 00:05:41.000 a hold of God's will and everything's going to 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:43.939 work out. And it seems like this exhausting. 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:48.000 Difficult practice. But the reality is that knowing 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:51.300 God's will, even in our money and possessions, 00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:55.360 is two things. It's knowing his word, right? 00:05:55.420 --> 00:05:57.920 The word of God. What does God's word have to 00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:00.980 say about the matter? And then hearing the Holy 00:06:00.980 --> 00:06:04.040 Spirit. It's a two -step process. If you want 00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:06.660 to find God's will for your life, know the word 00:06:06.660 --> 00:06:08.680 of God. Know what God spelled out in scripture 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:11.360 and what he has to say about whatever it is that 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:14.050 you're... Seeking them about, even in money possessions, 00:06:14.449 --> 00:06:17.790 right? And then hearing the Holy Spirit. Because 00:06:17.790 --> 00:06:20.189 here's what happens. His word will give you what 00:06:20.189 --> 00:06:23.329 to do. His word will speak what you should do 00:06:23.329 --> 00:06:26.149 to hear God's will. And the Holy Spirit will 00:06:26.149 --> 00:06:29.769 give you the where, when, and how to do it. That's 00:06:29.769 --> 00:06:31.670 why he put the Holy Spirit active in your life. 00:06:31.810 --> 00:06:33.509 So when it comes to our money and possessions 00:06:33.509 --> 00:06:37.029 in the bucket, right, that God's given us, we've 00:06:37.029 --> 00:06:39.490 got to ask the question, what is God's will for 00:06:39.490 --> 00:06:43.189 me in spending money? What's God's will in saving 00:06:43.189 --> 00:06:45.790 money? How much should I give? How much should 00:06:45.790 --> 00:06:48.910 I save? Should I save, right? We start asking 00:06:48.910 --> 00:06:51.269 those questions. What's the Bible have to say 00:06:51.269 --> 00:06:54.149 about? How much money should I have in the bucket? 00:06:54.230 --> 00:06:56.430 And how much shouldn't I? How many possessions 00:06:56.430 --> 00:06:58.329 should I have in the bucket? How much shouldn't 00:06:58.329 --> 00:07:00.389 I, right? Should I have a lot? Should I have 00:07:00.389 --> 00:07:04.050 a little? Should I save it all? Should I give 00:07:04.050 --> 00:07:06.410 some of it away or all of it away? What's the 00:07:06.410 --> 00:07:08.910 word of God have to say? What's it look like? 00:07:09.569 --> 00:07:12.189 So we've got to ask this question and we got 00:07:12.189 --> 00:07:14.790 to go to the word of God. So this morning, what 00:07:14.790 --> 00:07:15.889 I'm going to do is I'm going to take you to one 00:07:15.889 --> 00:07:18.269 of the wisdom books in scripture, Proverbs chapter 00:07:18.269 --> 00:07:19.850 six. If you've got your Bibles, you can turn 00:07:19.850 --> 00:07:21.490 there. If you've got your notebooks, go ahead 00:07:21.490 --> 00:07:22.990 and get them out. If you don't have a notebook, 00:07:23.189 --> 00:07:25.189 we sell them right outside. All right. At the 00:07:25.189 --> 00:07:27.209 connection station, you can get yourself a life 00:07:27.209 --> 00:07:30.110 house notebook. We encourage you taking notes, 00:07:30.170 --> 00:07:32.129 but I want you this morning to go to Proverbs 00:07:32.129 --> 00:07:34.490 chapter six and we'll start with verse six. And 00:07:34.490 --> 00:07:37.560 it says this. Now we're looking for God's word, 00:07:37.660 --> 00:07:40.019 right? Tell us what to do. It says this, go to 00:07:40.019 --> 00:07:42.540 the ant, you sluggard, consider her ways and 00:07:42.540 --> 00:07:45.360 be wise, which having no captain, overseer or 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:48.120 ruler provides her supplies in the summer and 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:50.639 gathers her food in the harvest. How long will 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:53.040 you slumber, oh sluggard? When will you rise 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:55.740 from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, 00:07:55.839 --> 00:07:58.300 a little folding of the hands to sleep. So shall 00:07:58.300 --> 00:08:00.860 your poverty come on you like a prowler and your 00:08:00.860 --> 00:08:04.579 need like an armed man. I wanna take you this 00:08:04.579 --> 00:08:07.180 morning on a slice of money and possessions, 00:08:07.319 --> 00:08:11.000 and we're gonna talk about saving money. Saving 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:14.759 money. What's God's will when it comes to saving 00:08:14.759 --> 00:08:16.740 money? And I'm here this morning to tell you 00:08:16.740 --> 00:08:19.600 that you're gonna learn from a bug, okay? You're 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:21.100 gonna learn from an insect. Turn to somebody 00:08:21.100 --> 00:08:22.459 right now, tell them we're gonna learn from a 00:08:22.459 --> 00:08:23.939 bug today. We're gonna learn from a bug, all 00:08:23.939 --> 00:08:26.000 right? Declare it, all right? Shake your neighbor, 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:27.620 wake him up. All right, we're gonna learn from 00:08:27.620 --> 00:08:30.779 a bug this morning. We really are. What's God's 00:08:30.779 --> 00:08:33.059 will, you know, with money and possessions, one 00:08:33.059 --> 00:08:36.220 in my bucket, about saving? And I can tell you 00:08:36.220 --> 00:08:39.480 this for certainty. It is God's will for us to 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:42.740 save money. It is God's will for us to save money. 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:45.779 Go to the aunt. You sluggard. I'm not calling 00:08:45.779 --> 00:08:47.620 you sluggard, by the way. He was talking to somebody 00:08:47.620 --> 00:08:50.120 else. All right, go to the aunt, consider her 00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:55.700 ways, and be wise. It is not an ungodly thing 00:08:55.700 --> 00:08:59.679 to save money. It is actually biblical to have 00:08:59.679 --> 00:09:02.440 a savings account. It is biblical to set money 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:06.940 aside. Now, as I talk about that, the Word of 00:09:06.940 --> 00:09:09.700 God makes some very clear distinctions in this. 00:09:10.080 --> 00:09:13.419 It's biblical to save money. It is not biblical 00:09:13.419 --> 00:09:16.639 to hoard money. There's a difference between 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:19.139 the two, right? The Word of God tells us we can 00:09:19.139 --> 00:09:21.620 save money, but we don't want to hoard money. 00:09:21.779 --> 00:09:24.100 And Jesus actually lays this out very clearly 00:09:24.100 --> 00:09:27.909 in Luke 12, verse 16. He says this, he tells 00:09:27.909 --> 00:09:30.330 a story, a parable. Then he spoke a parable to 00:09:30.330 --> 00:09:33.190 them saying, the ground of a certain rich man 00:09:33.190 --> 00:09:36.289 yielded plentiful, right? It was yielding a lot 00:09:36.289 --> 00:09:38.289 of fruit. And he thought within himself saying, 00:09:38.389 --> 00:09:40.970 what shall I do since I have no room to store 00:09:40.970 --> 00:09:43.970 my crops? So he said, I will do this. I will 00:09:43.970 --> 00:09:46.350 pull down my barns and build greater and there 00:09:46.350 --> 00:09:49.049 I will store all my crops and my goods. Then 00:09:49.049 --> 00:09:52.490 I will say to my soul, soul, you have many goods 00:09:52.490 --> 00:09:55.889 laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat. 00:09:56.399 --> 00:09:59.940 drink and be merry. But God said to him, fool, 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:03.820 fool, this night your soul will be required of 00:10:03.820 --> 00:10:07.980 you. Then whose will those things be which you 00:10:07.980 --> 00:10:11.559 have provided? So is he who lays up treasure 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:17.779 for himself and is not rich toward God. If my 00:10:17.779 --> 00:10:21.120 purpose for saving money is to pack that money 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:26.539 away solely for me, myself and I, You're in dangerous 00:10:26.539 --> 00:10:28.519 territory. You're hoarding it up for yourself, 00:10:28.759 --> 00:10:33.279 right? And that's a sinful approach with saving 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:36.960 up money. Making as much as I can, stuffing it 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:39.759 in the can, and then sitting on the can so I 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:42.740 can dip out of the can later on, right? That's 00:10:42.740 --> 00:10:46.879 all about me. And I'm out of God's will for money 00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:49.259 and possessions when I do that. When I slip from 00:10:49.259 --> 00:10:52.480 saving over into hoarding, I'm out of God's will. 00:10:53.019 --> 00:10:56.779 for my possessions and for the money that God 00:10:56.779 --> 00:11:01.019 places in my bucket. An ant stores up, an ant 00:11:01.019 --> 00:11:04.679 saves up, right? An ant goes out and collects 00:11:04.679 --> 00:11:08.600 and brings back something for two reasons, two 00:11:08.600 --> 00:11:11.980 reasons. An ant knows, first of all, that winter 00:11:11.980 --> 00:11:14.659 is coming and there's gonna be no food to be 00:11:14.659 --> 00:11:17.340 found. That's what an ant knows, right? And then 00:11:17.340 --> 00:11:20.080 secondly, the ant knows that the entire colony 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:24.350 needs to eat. during that season. If you look 00:11:24.350 --> 00:11:29.070 to the end, we save for winter and we save to 00:11:29.070 --> 00:11:32.450 sustain ourselves and others, right? We save 00:11:32.450 --> 00:11:36.070 for the winter and we save to sustain ourselves 00:11:36.070 --> 00:11:40.049 and others. Can I tell you that there will be 00:11:40.049 --> 00:11:44.049 a winter season in your life? There will be. 00:11:44.110 --> 00:11:45.690 Turn to somebody, look at them, tell them there's 00:11:45.690 --> 00:11:47.230 going to be winter. It's going to be winter. 00:11:47.289 --> 00:11:49.809 I know it's hot today, right? It's beautiful 00:11:49.809 --> 00:11:53.100 today. But this is going to be winter. You're 00:11:53.100 --> 00:11:55.580 going to have a season in your life where winter 00:11:55.580 --> 00:11:58.559 is going to come. And it's not going to be a 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:01.129 time of plenty. There's going to be a time in 00:12:01.129 --> 00:12:03.669 life that comes, and it could be something like 00:12:03.669 --> 00:12:05.769 a sickness that comes upon you, or it could be 00:12:05.769 --> 00:12:08.289 an injury that comes upon you, and you may not 00:12:08.289 --> 00:12:10.210 be able to go out and work. You might not be 00:12:10.210 --> 00:12:13.049 able to functionally go out and make money and 00:12:13.049 --> 00:12:15.690 bring it in and pay for those basic needs that 00:12:15.690 --> 00:12:17.470 you need in life, right? Food, clothing, and 00:12:17.470 --> 00:12:19.850 shelter, and those kinds of things. You're going 00:12:19.850 --> 00:12:22.269 to hit winter. There's going to be a season come. 00:12:22.429 --> 00:12:25.509 You live long enough, you're going to hit a winter 00:12:25.509 --> 00:12:28.870 season. You might blow your knee out. I did that. 00:12:29.370 --> 00:12:32.210 When I was younger and I was working, I blew 00:12:32.210 --> 00:12:35.210 my right knee out and I had to go get surgery. 00:12:35.389 --> 00:12:38.129 And the job I was in at that time, I had to have 00:12:38.129 --> 00:12:41.909 my knee. I had to have it actually at 100 % because 00:12:41.909 --> 00:12:43.629 of some of the physical things that I was doing 00:12:43.629 --> 00:12:46.710 in my job. And I was off for a couple months 00:12:46.710 --> 00:12:49.690 just recovering and recuperating. And for some 00:12:49.690 --> 00:12:51.850 reason, nobody wanted to pay me just to heal 00:12:51.850 --> 00:12:54.169 up. I didn't understand. They didn't want to 00:12:54.169 --> 00:12:56.129 do it, right? It wasn't a job -related injury. 00:12:56.230 --> 00:12:58.190 There was no workers' comp involved. It was none 00:12:58.190 --> 00:13:01.470 of that. I just, I was off work. It was winter. 00:13:01.769 --> 00:13:04.029 There was no money coming in, right? You might 00:13:04.029 --> 00:13:06.610 get laid off from your job. The company you're 00:13:06.610 --> 00:13:11.590 working for may sell or condense or collapse, 00:13:11.649 --> 00:13:14.570 and you might hit a season where it's going to 00:13:14.570 --> 00:13:18.789 be winter. And you may have to stop working to 00:13:18.789 --> 00:13:22.049 take care of a family member that's in a difficult 00:13:22.049 --> 00:13:26.809 place. Winter will come. You live in central 00:13:26.809 --> 00:13:30.629 Pennsylvania. Winter will come, right? The leaves 00:13:30.629 --> 00:13:33.029 will fall. We're just about ready to head into 00:13:33.029 --> 00:13:35.149 that season. The leaves will fall. Nothing's 00:13:35.149 --> 00:13:38.250 gonna bear fruit in that season. And there'll 00:13:38.250 --> 00:13:41.929 be a season where nothing is growing on the trees. 00:13:42.090 --> 00:13:46.210 Nothing, there will be nothing to eat. And if 00:13:46.210 --> 00:13:48.350 you're not in a winter right now, you could probably 00:13:48.350 --> 00:13:50.850 look at the person beside you. They might be 00:13:50.850 --> 00:13:53.940 in a winter right now. And you may get there 00:13:53.940 --> 00:13:56.779 at some point. They need another aunt to provide 00:13:56.779 --> 00:14:00.200 sometimes, you know, not just spiritually and 00:14:00.200 --> 00:14:02.539 praying for somebody, but sometimes provisionally. 00:14:02.940 --> 00:14:06.440 It's God's will to save for winter and it's God's 00:14:06.440 --> 00:14:09.980 will to save and share up with others. It really 00:14:09.980 --> 00:14:13.600 is. And not only is it God's will for us to save, 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:17.940 right? Get ready for winter and to help others, 00:14:18.019 --> 00:14:22.570 but it's God's will for us to save wisely. Wisely. 00:14:23.570 --> 00:14:26.009 Wisely. Amen? Say wisely. Say it to yourself. 00:14:27.269 --> 00:14:29.730 The book of Ecclesiastes was written by King 00:14:29.730 --> 00:14:32.570 Solomon. He was the third king of Israel, and 00:14:32.570 --> 00:14:35.110 he was King David's son. And you've got to understand 00:14:35.110 --> 00:14:39.789 something about Solomon. Solomon was given unusual 00:14:39.789 --> 00:14:44.389 wisdom, actually divine wisdom. The word of God, 00:14:44.450 --> 00:14:46.090 and I'm going to read it for you just so you 00:14:46.090 --> 00:14:49.909 understand and hear right from God's word. Solomon's 00:14:49.909 --> 00:14:53.230 wisdom was beyond conventional wisdom. His wisdom 00:14:53.230 --> 00:14:55.610 was beyond what's normal. His wisdom was beyond 00:14:55.610 --> 00:14:58.889 what is regular. And it actually came from God 00:14:58.889 --> 00:15:00.970 himself. If you've got your Bibles, you can turn 00:15:00.970 --> 00:15:03.110 to 1 Kings 3, verse 4. If not, they're going 00:15:03.110 --> 00:15:05.169 to put it up on the screen. But it says this. 00:15:05.230 --> 00:15:07.769 Now, the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice. He 00:15:07.769 --> 00:15:09.850 was talking about Solomon. For that was the great 00:15:09.850 --> 00:15:12.460 high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt 00:15:12.460 --> 00:15:15.460 offering on that altar. At Gibeon, the Lord appeared 00:15:15.460 --> 00:15:18.639 to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, 00:15:18.940 --> 00:15:21.940 ask what shall I give you? How many know that's 00:15:21.940 --> 00:15:25.019 a good dream? God appears to you in a dream and 00:15:25.019 --> 00:15:27.159 says, ask whatever you want, and I'll give it 00:15:27.159 --> 00:15:28.940 to you. How many would like that dream tonight? 00:15:29.879 --> 00:15:32.779 I'm the only one? Come on, be honest, all right? 00:15:33.370 --> 00:15:35.330 And Solomon said, you have shown great mercy 00:15:35.330 --> 00:15:37.590 to your servant David, my father, because he 00:15:37.590 --> 00:15:39.289 walked before you in truth and righteousness 00:15:39.289 --> 00:15:42.190 and in uprightness of heart with you. You have 00:15:42.190 --> 00:15:44.809 continued this great kindness for him and you 00:15:44.809 --> 00:15:47.629 have given him a son to sit on his throne as 00:15:47.629 --> 00:15:51.070 it is this day. Now, O Lord my God, you have 00:15:51.070 --> 00:15:53.389 made your servant king instead of my father David, 00:15:53.549 --> 00:15:56.970 but I am a little child. I do not know how to 00:15:56.970 --> 00:15:59.870 go out or come in. And your servant is in the 00:15:59.870 --> 00:16:02.350 midst of your people whom you have chosen, a 00:16:02.350 --> 00:16:05.090 great people, two numbers to be numbered or counted. 00:16:05.230 --> 00:16:07.570 Therefore, give to your servant. an understanding 00:16:07.570 --> 00:16:10.289 heart. Solomon's asking God to give him an understanding 00:16:10.289 --> 00:16:13.370 heart. He's becoming king of all of Israel. To 00:16:13.370 --> 00:16:15.710 judge your people that I may discern between 00:16:15.710 --> 00:16:18.389 good and evil. For who is able to judge this 00:16:18.389 --> 00:16:21.570 great people of yours? The speech pleased the 00:16:21.570 --> 00:16:24.230 Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. And God 00:16:24.230 --> 00:16:26.129 said to him, because you have asked this thing 00:16:26.129 --> 00:16:28.389 and you have not asked for long life for yourself, 00:16:28.649 --> 00:16:31.090 you have not asked riches for yourself, you have 00:16:31.090 --> 00:16:33.929 not asked the life of your enemies, but you have 00:16:33.929 --> 00:16:36.389 asked for yourself. understanding to discern 00:16:36.389 --> 00:16:39.230 justice behold I have done according to your 00:16:39.230 --> 00:16:43.190 words see I have given you a wise and understanding 00:16:43.190 --> 00:16:46.230 heart so that there has not been anyone like 00:16:46.230 --> 00:16:48.950 you before you nor shall there be any like you 00:16:48.950 --> 00:16:52.289 arise after you and I have also given you what 00:16:52.289 --> 00:16:55.090 you have not asked for both riches and honor 00:16:55.090 --> 00:16:57.950 so that there shall be not be anyone like you 00:16:57.950 --> 00:17:01.480 among the kings all your days So if you walk 00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:04.059 in my ways to keep my statutes and my commandments 00:17:04.059 --> 00:17:06.740 as your father David walked, then I will lengthen 00:17:06.740 --> 00:17:11.700 your days. God promises him exceptional wisdom. 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:15.180 Wisdom that would not be compared. And God holds 00:17:15.180 --> 00:17:18.940 true to this promise. Solomon is so wise that 00:17:18.940 --> 00:17:21.920 kings and queens from other nations would travel 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:25.819 long distances just to sit in his presence and 00:17:25.819 --> 00:17:28.539 listen to what he has to say. Wouldn't that be 00:17:28.539 --> 00:17:31.390 amazing, right? Sometimes you can't get people 00:17:31.390 --> 00:17:32.950 to come across the street to listen to what you're 00:17:32.950 --> 00:17:36.750 going to have to say. He had people travel, wise 00:17:36.750 --> 00:17:40.170 people, people of influence would come. He had 00:17:40.170 --> 00:17:43.589 wealth beyond measure. Solomon was so wealthy 00:17:43.589 --> 00:17:45.910 that he would make probably some of the most, 00:17:46.170 --> 00:17:49.470 you know, think of whoever, Bezos or Gates, some 00:17:49.470 --> 00:17:51.490 of these people who are so wealthy. Now, he'd 00:17:51.490 --> 00:17:53.410 probably make them look like paupers. He was 00:17:53.410 --> 00:17:57.170 that wealthy. He was, God blessed him. He didn't 00:17:57.170 --> 00:18:00.369 have buckets of money. He had vats of money, 00:18:00.410 --> 00:18:03.609 right? He had truckloads of money, but he begins 00:18:03.609 --> 00:18:06.650 to give advice on what we should do. Now, how 00:18:06.650 --> 00:18:08.650 many know that's a guy to listen to? I did all 00:18:08.650 --> 00:18:10.349 that just to say, he's a guy you should probably 00:18:10.349 --> 00:18:12.849 listen to. He's a guy you should probably read 00:18:12.849 --> 00:18:15.109 about what he has to say when it comes to saving 00:18:15.109 --> 00:18:17.890 money and maybe take up a little bit what he's 00:18:17.890 --> 00:18:21.970 talking about. So in Ecclesiastes 11 .1, he starts 00:18:21.970 --> 00:18:24.569 to give some advice. about financial matters. 00:18:25.069 --> 00:18:28.529 He starts to talk about what we should do. And 00:18:28.529 --> 00:18:30.470 he says this, cast your bread upon the waters 00:18:30.470 --> 00:18:34.250 for you will find it after many days. Give a 00:18:34.250 --> 00:18:36.750 serving to seven and also to eight for you do 00:18:36.750 --> 00:18:39.450 not know what evil will be on the earth. If the 00:18:39.450 --> 00:18:41.670 clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves 00:18:41.670 --> 00:18:44.430 upon the earth. And if a tree falls to the south 00:18:44.430 --> 00:18:46.890 or to the north in a place where it falls, there 00:18:46.890 --> 00:18:50.109 it shall lie. He who observes the wind will not 00:18:50.109 --> 00:18:52.750 sow and he who regards the clouds will not reap. 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:55.460 As you do not know what is the way of the wind 00:18:55.460 --> 00:18:58.480 or how the bones grow in the womb of her who 00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:01.059 is with child. So you do not know the works of 00:19:01.059 --> 00:19:03.880 God who makes everything. In the morning sow 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:05.920 your seed and in the evening do not withhold 00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:09.920 your hand. For you do not know what will prosper, 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:12.859 either this or that, or whether both alike will 00:19:12.859 --> 00:19:17.380 be good. Solomon gives some wisdom and he gives 00:19:17.380 --> 00:19:21.660 some guidance on saving and investing. And the 00:19:21.660 --> 00:19:24.559 first thing that he says is, cast your bread 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:27.460 upon waters for you will find it after many days. 00:19:28.039 --> 00:19:30.420 Do you know what he was saying? Do you know what 00:19:30.420 --> 00:19:32.460 the wisdom is that he was talking about here? 00:19:32.599 --> 00:19:35.259 He was saying, make long -term investments that 00:19:35.259 --> 00:19:37.559 will pay dividends in the future. So when you're 00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:40.700 gonna save, when you're gonna put money aside, 00:19:41.059 --> 00:19:43.700 he's saying, make long -term investments. You 00:19:43.700 --> 00:19:46.759 put it in something that's gonna yield return 00:19:46.759 --> 00:19:50.039 later on. right? Do not stick it in your piggy 00:19:50.039 --> 00:19:52.339 bank that you can peel off. How many of you got 00:19:52.339 --> 00:19:54.140 a piggy bank? You can just peel that bottom off 00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:55.819 and shake that thing out and get that money right 00:19:55.819 --> 00:19:57.640 back out again. That's not what he's talking 00:19:57.640 --> 00:19:58.960 about. He's talking about putting it in the piggy 00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:01.910 bank and glue the plug shut. Put it in something 00:20:01.910 --> 00:20:04.430 that's going to yield interest. Put it in something 00:20:04.430 --> 00:20:06.849 that's going to be long -term. And long -term 00:20:06.849 --> 00:20:09.490 is not just put it in the bank. You can get an 00:20:09.490 --> 00:20:11.009 interest checking account, put it in there, and 00:20:11.009 --> 00:20:12.650 then next month you can draw it right back out. 00:20:12.750 --> 00:20:14.450 That's not what he's talking about. He's talking 00:20:14.450 --> 00:20:16.450 about something that's going to be years, maybe 00:20:16.450 --> 00:20:19.789 even decades down the line. And Solomon's saying, 00:20:19.869 --> 00:20:23.630 put it in there. And he reiterates this in verse 00:20:23.630 --> 00:20:26.589 3. He says, if the clouds are full of rain, they 00:20:26.589 --> 00:20:28.849 empty themselves upon the earth. He's actually 00:20:28.849 --> 00:20:31.819 giving investment. advice here. Money advice. 00:20:32.019 --> 00:20:35.180 And he's saying it will come to maturity in due 00:20:35.180 --> 00:20:39.359 time. Just be patient. If you're going to save, 00:20:39.640 --> 00:20:43.259 think long term. If you're going to save, think 00:20:43.259 --> 00:20:45.670 long term. And you should save. A cloud when 00:20:45.670 --> 00:20:48.849 it rains, right? Water droplets, that's after, 00:20:48.910 --> 00:20:51.769 what happens up in a cloud is there's water droplets 00:20:51.769 --> 00:20:56.130 and ice crystals that are in that cloud. And 00:20:56.130 --> 00:21:00.069 as the water evaporates on the earth and it condensates 00:21:00.069 --> 00:21:02.569 up in that cloud, it will stay in that cloud 00:21:02.569 --> 00:21:05.529 because of the updraft in the clouds and the 00:21:05.529 --> 00:21:07.930 wind, it will stay up there till enough of it 00:21:07.930 --> 00:21:11.609 accumulates together and then gravity will take 00:21:11.609 --> 00:21:14.849 over and it will fall to the earth. And Solomon's 00:21:14.849 --> 00:21:17.670 saying, just put it away. Let it accumulate. 00:21:18.150 --> 00:21:21.630 Let it grow. Let it get bigger. Some of you young 00:21:21.630 --> 00:21:23.210 couples in here, you need to hear me in this. 00:21:23.309 --> 00:21:26.269 Just take a little bit. Set it aside. Just take 00:21:26.269 --> 00:21:29.490 a small portion. Because over time, that grows. 00:21:30.230 --> 00:21:33.509 And it turns into a much bigger thing. And it 00:21:33.509 --> 00:21:36.390 will drop back to you, right? That's his point. 00:21:36.940 --> 00:21:41.539 It takes time for water droplets to engage, enlarge, 00:21:41.539 --> 00:21:43.940 and for them to fall. It takes time for seeds. 00:21:44.099 --> 00:21:45.960 You put a seed in the ground. I mean, you don't 00:21:45.960 --> 00:21:47.940 plant a seed in the spring and you just stand 00:21:47.940 --> 00:21:50.640 there and just wait, right? 10 minutes later, 00:21:50.779 --> 00:21:52.420 whoop, there it goes. All right, you got a pepper 00:21:52.420 --> 00:21:54.579 plant. There it is, tomato plant. That doesn't 00:21:54.579 --> 00:21:57.619 work that way. It takes time. It takes time. 00:21:57.960 --> 00:21:59.880 Come on, this is good advice. I should be charging 00:21:59.880 --> 00:22:05.720 you for this, all right? I'll say it again. Winter's 00:22:05.720 --> 00:22:08.940 gonna come. It's going to come to you. Others 00:22:08.940 --> 00:22:10.700 around you are going to need help. They're going 00:22:10.700 --> 00:22:13.200 to need sustenance in the winter. And if you're 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:15.319 saving, if you're putting away, you're going 00:22:15.319 --> 00:22:17.220 to get at a time in the future where you're able 00:22:17.220 --> 00:22:20.319 to not only sustain yourself, but bless others. 00:22:21.339 --> 00:22:23.720 Solomon's second savings advice. You still with 00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:26.740 me? Say amen. Amen. All right. Make long -term 00:22:26.740 --> 00:22:28.079 investments that will pay dividends. That's the 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:30.539 first one. Spread your money out into several 00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:32.700 different types of investments to protect your 00:22:32.700 --> 00:22:35.599 assets from calamity that you cannot foresee. 00:22:36.349 --> 00:22:38.670 All right? He speaks that in verse 2. He says, 00:22:38.750 --> 00:22:41.329 give a servant to seven and also to eight, for 00:22:41.329 --> 00:22:43.910 you do not know what evil will be on the earth. 00:22:44.349 --> 00:22:47.470 My parents used to use a phrase. They used to 00:22:47.470 --> 00:22:50.569 say, don't put all your eggs in one what? Yeah, 00:22:50.690 --> 00:22:52.430 right? They'd say, don't put all your eggs in 00:22:52.430 --> 00:22:54.890 one basket. Do you know why they say that? Because 00:22:54.890 --> 00:22:58.029 you might drop the basket. And if all your eggs 00:22:58.029 --> 00:23:01.839 are in there, they're all ruined. Make sure you're 00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:04.319 investing in multiple different things. Solomon 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:06.980 says saving in different kinds of things, seven 00:23:06.980 --> 00:23:09.420 or eight different things. You might be in stocks. 00:23:09.500 --> 00:23:11.539 You might be in real estate. You might be in 00:23:11.539 --> 00:23:13.440 bonds. You might be in precious metal. There's 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:16.460 a host of places that you can put investment 00:23:16.460 --> 00:23:19.099 and save, right? He's saying save. Make sure 00:23:19.099 --> 00:23:20.519 you're investing in seven or eight different 00:23:20.519 --> 00:23:23.579 streams. Because you just don't know what's going 00:23:23.579 --> 00:23:27.210 to fail. And if you put it all in one, if you 00:23:27.210 --> 00:23:29.509 put it all in real estate and the market goes 00:23:29.509 --> 00:23:31.869 in the toilet and you got to sell then, you've 00:23:31.869 --> 00:23:35.910 lost it all. He says, this is good stuff, by 00:23:35.910 --> 00:23:39.569 the way, with savings, right? You know, I know 00:23:39.569 --> 00:23:41.849 people who don't trust the banks. They don't 00:23:41.849 --> 00:23:43.910 trust financial advisors, Christian financial 00:23:43.910 --> 00:23:45.730 advisors. They don't trust anybody. They're kind 00:23:45.730 --> 00:23:47.630 of stuff it in the mattress kind of people, right? 00:23:47.809 --> 00:23:50.150 They get all the cash and they stuff it in the 00:23:50.150 --> 00:23:52.769 mattress and they don't tell anybody. And then 00:23:52.769 --> 00:23:54.329 they get some more cash and they stuff it in 00:23:54.329 --> 00:23:56.029 the mattress because they don't trust anybody. 00:23:56.450 --> 00:23:58.410 And they don't put it in seven or eight. They 00:23:58.410 --> 00:24:00.009 just keep sticking it in the mattress. Well, 00:24:00.049 --> 00:24:01.609 that's all wonderful while you're laying on the 00:24:01.609 --> 00:24:04.269 mattress. But what if the house burns down? All 00:24:04.269 --> 00:24:06.470 right. What if you're sticking it in the floorboards, 00:24:06.549 --> 00:24:08.130 under the floorboards and you're sticking that. 00:24:08.170 --> 00:24:10.470 of cash in there and a mouse finds it and says, 00:24:10.549 --> 00:24:11.869 you know what? That looks like some good nesting 00:24:11.869 --> 00:24:14.089 material if I ever saw it, right? And chews it 00:24:14.089 --> 00:24:15.569 up, makes himself a nice little nest with all 00:24:15.569 --> 00:24:18.009 that. You know, the word of God saying just, 00:24:18.130 --> 00:24:20.210 you know, when you're saving, look for those 00:24:20.210 --> 00:24:22.849 seven or eight strings. Don't put it all in one 00:24:22.849 --> 00:24:24.369 basket. You don't know what's going to fail and 00:24:24.369 --> 00:24:27.250 what's going to do well. This is wisdom from 00:24:27.250 --> 00:24:30.849 Solomon. This is from the word of God. He gives 00:24:30.849 --> 00:24:34.470 his serving to seven or eight because you don't 00:24:34.470 --> 00:24:36.650 know what evil is going to befall one of them. 00:24:38.029 --> 00:24:42.970 You don't know. Spread it out. Last one. Last 00:24:42.970 --> 00:24:47.309 one I'm going to give you today. If you wait 00:24:47.309 --> 00:24:50.089 for the perfect conditions to save, you'll never 00:24:50.089 --> 00:24:53.529 start to save. Now, I like this one, right? He 00:24:53.529 --> 00:24:55.690 says, he who observes the wind will not sow, 00:24:55.930 --> 00:24:58.690 and he who regards the clouds will not reap. 00:24:59.809 --> 00:25:02.750 If you just stand watching for the right time, 00:25:02.829 --> 00:25:05.829 the perfect time, if you're a farmer and all 00:25:05.829 --> 00:25:08.250 you do is stare at the cloud every day, You get 00:25:08.250 --> 00:25:09.210 up and you stare at the cloud and you're like, 00:25:09.269 --> 00:25:10.730 there's a cloud. I don't think I can do it today. 00:25:10.809 --> 00:25:13.069 It's going to rain. I just got to wait, right? 00:25:13.509 --> 00:25:17.369 I don't know. This might not be the day. You 00:25:17.369 --> 00:25:19.650 know, this isn't the perfect conditions to do 00:25:19.650 --> 00:25:22.930 this. And I'll tell you, with finances and money 00:25:22.930 --> 00:25:25.490 and possessions and what God gives us, this falls 00:25:25.490 --> 00:25:27.869 true with giving to God, right? This happens 00:25:27.869 --> 00:25:29.710 all the time with people that are going to, you 00:25:29.710 --> 00:25:31.289 know, we'll talk to them about tithing and giving 00:25:31.289 --> 00:25:33.289 God the first and first fruits and giving the 00:25:33.289 --> 00:25:35.589 best. I preached on that last two weeks, you 00:25:35.589 --> 00:25:37.970 know, and giving God the first fruits. And they're 00:25:37.970 --> 00:25:39.829 like, well, when conditions are just right. No, 00:25:40.069 --> 00:25:43.130 you plant. You don't worry about what the conditions 00:25:43.130 --> 00:25:45.109 look like. You plant, you do that. And it's the 00:25:45.109 --> 00:25:47.049 same thing with saving. If you wait till you 00:25:47.049 --> 00:25:48.990 got enough extra money to put some money in savings, 00:25:49.150 --> 00:25:51.539 you'll. never do it. How many know there's always 00:25:51.539 --> 00:25:53.539 something to buy? There's always something to 00:25:53.539 --> 00:25:55.720 pay for? Your kid is always going to break something 00:25:55.720 --> 00:25:58.180 in the house. It's going to happen. They're going 00:25:58.180 --> 00:25:59.839 to do it, right? There's going to be something 00:25:59.839 --> 00:26:04.440 that falls apart. Your kid's going to need sporting 00:26:04.440 --> 00:26:07.619 equipment of some kind. Whatever it is, there's 00:26:07.619 --> 00:26:11.619 always something. And if you wait for the conditions 00:26:11.619 --> 00:26:15.039 to be just right, you will stand paralyzed. You 00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:17.539 will never give and give God the first and the 00:26:17.539 --> 00:26:21.180 best. Right? And you will not save. You will 00:26:21.180 --> 00:26:23.279 say, someday I'm going to do it, and someday 00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:24.920 I'll have it. Come on, some of the people that 00:26:24.920 --> 00:26:27.299 are over 50 years of age, how many know in a 00:26:27.299 --> 00:26:29.680 blink of an eye, you're over 50? Amen? Raise 00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:32.079 your hand. Come on, testify. Amen. Thank you. 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:35.180 You're in the club with me. All right? It's the 00:26:35.180 --> 00:26:37.240 wisdom that Solomon gets if the worship team 00:26:37.240 --> 00:26:41.259 would come and make their way up. It's the wisdom. 00:26:41.299 --> 00:26:45.610 Prayer team's going to be coming as well. Listen 00:26:45.610 --> 00:26:49.150 to what Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 11, five. 00:26:49.250 --> 00:26:52.230 Listen to what he says. As you do not know what 00:26:52.230 --> 00:26:55.609 is the way of the wind or how the bones grow 00:26:55.609 --> 00:26:59.109 in the womb of her who is with child, so you 00:26:59.109 --> 00:27:01.730 do not know the works of God who makes everything. 00:27:02.329 --> 00:27:05.470 In the morning, sow your seed and in the evening, 00:27:05.490 --> 00:27:08.190 do not withhold your hand for you do not know 00:27:08.190 --> 00:27:11.349 which will prosper either this or that or whether 00:27:11.349 --> 00:27:14.779 both alike will be good. That's what the Word 00:27:14.779 --> 00:27:20.799 of God says. What's his advice? Entrust it, right? 00:27:21.779 --> 00:27:24.940 You don't know. If we do things according to 00:27:24.940 --> 00:27:28.039 the will of God, the Word of God, right? The 00:27:28.039 --> 00:27:30.980 Word of God says to do this, and we do it, and 00:27:30.980 --> 00:27:33.359 then we ask the Holy Spirit when, where, and 00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:36.440 how. That's what we do. We walk in obedience, 00:27:36.619 --> 00:27:38.579 and then we ask the Holy Spirit to give us the 00:27:38.579 --> 00:27:41.700 when, where, and how, and with who. You don't 00:27:41.700 --> 00:27:44.140 know what God's going to do. You don't know how 00:27:44.140 --> 00:27:46.500 something's gonna flourish or God's mysteriously 00:27:46.500 --> 00:27:48.240 gonna touch, just like you don't know where the 00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:50.740 wind comes from and where it goes. God's hand 00:27:50.740 --> 00:27:53.960 will be upon it and it will mysteriously do this 00:27:53.960 --> 00:27:57.079 amazing thing, this amazing work. It'll grow. 00:27:57.299 --> 00:27:59.339 You don't know, just like we don't understand 00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:02.259 how a child's bones form. I don't know if you've 00:28:02.259 --> 00:28:05.140 ever been in with a woman who's pregnant and 00:28:05.140 --> 00:28:07.240 they're doing an ultrasound. It is incredible 00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:10.460 to see them. going over and you see this image 00:28:10.460 --> 00:28:12.779 come up on the screen and you can see the bones 00:28:12.779 --> 00:28:16.660 grow of a child. We don't understand that fully, 00:28:16.740 --> 00:28:19.240 but I know God does it. And here's the thing, 00:28:19.259 --> 00:28:21.400 if you get God involved in your money and possessions, 00:28:21.720 --> 00:28:25.420 you do it his way and not your way, you start 00:28:25.420 --> 00:28:28.299 walking in that, you start being obedient in 00:28:28.299 --> 00:28:31.279 that, I'm telling you, there's amazing, mysterious, 00:28:31.559 --> 00:28:35.170 miraculous things that can happen. I could take 00:28:35.170 --> 00:28:38.269 you in this congregation. I could pull people 00:28:38.269 --> 00:28:40.029 out right now, hand them the mic, and they would 00:28:40.029 --> 00:28:42.650 tell you the stories of what God has done. Incredible 00:28:42.650 --> 00:28:47.589 stories. Amazing what God's done. He wants you 00:28:47.589 --> 00:28:50.750 to be obedient. He wants you to walk in what 00:28:50.750 --> 00:28:54.730 he says so that his hand can be upon it. He's 00:28:54.730 --> 00:28:57.130 the one who blesses it. Jesus, when he was on 00:28:57.130 --> 00:28:59.269 the hillside and there wasn't enough food to 00:28:59.269 --> 00:29:02.089 feed 4 ,000 or 5 ,000, he said, just take what 00:29:02.089 --> 00:29:04.269 you got and put it in my hand. And he blessed 00:29:04.269 --> 00:29:07.690 it and he broke it. And 4 ,000 and 5 ,000 people 00:29:07.690 --> 00:29:10.049 ate till they were full and there was plenty 00:29:10.049 --> 00:29:12.569 left over. It's gonna be like the church picnic 00:29:12.569 --> 00:29:17.029 today. Come on. It's true. I'm gonna ask you 00:29:17.029 --> 00:29:25.839 to stand. So here's what I'm asking you. And 00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:28.180 I'm going to challenge your belief this morning. 00:29:28.440 --> 00:29:30.240 Because it doesn't really matter what you think 00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:33.140 necessarily if you don't believe it. You can 00:29:33.140 --> 00:29:34.839 think a lot of things. I think about a lot of 00:29:34.839 --> 00:29:37.240 things. And a lot of it's stuff I just don't 00:29:37.240 --> 00:29:39.460 necessarily believe. I'm just mulling it over 00:29:39.460 --> 00:29:41.900 in my head. What really matters is what you believe. 00:29:42.160 --> 00:29:44.319 What really matters is what you have faith in. 00:29:44.819 --> 00:29:46.960 Because whatever you believe is what you act 00:29:46.960 --> 00:29:49.339 on. You don't believe on what you think. You 00:29:49.339 --> 00:29:51.980 believe on what you act or what you, you move 00:29:51.980 --> 00:29:55.539 on what you believe, not what you think. Yeah. 00:29:56.839 --> 00:29:58.859 I could talk all day about that. People, people 00:29:58.859 --> 00:30:01.299 think a lot of things. Amen. They like to get 00:30:01.299 --> 00:30:02.900 on the keyboard and talk all about what they 00:30:02.900 --> 00:30:05.819 think. That's a far cry from what you believe. 00:30:07.819 --> 00:30:11.019 So what do you believe? Do you believe that if 00:30:11.019 --> 00:30:14.319 you obey God in what he says with money and finances, 00:30:14.380 --> 00:30:17.190 with giving and saving, right? If you believe 00:30:17.190 --> 00:30:20.230 what he says and what Solomon speaks and the 00:30:20.230 --> 00:30:22.509 wisdom that's in God's word, if you believe that, 00:30:22.529 --> 00:30:25.390 do you also believe that if I'm obedient to that, 00:30:25.450 --> 00:30:28.250 God's miraculous hand will be upon that and things 00:30:28.250 --> 00:30:31.569 will happen that you can never dream of? Amen? 00:30:31.829 --> 00:30:34.549 Do you believe that? Because you will only act 00:30:34.549 --> 00:30:37.650 in what you believe. You can think this is a 00:30:37.650 --> 00:30:39.710 good idea. You can think, well, that was a great 00:30:39.710 --> 00:30:41.109 message and you're going to leave today and go 00:30:41.109 --> 00:30:43.670 to lunch and come to the picnic and eat food 00:30:43.670 --> 00:30:46.230 and you'll forget all about it. As a matter of 00:30:46.230 --> 00:30:47.829 fact, I'm pretty happy if anybody remembers my 00:30:47.829 --> 00:30:50.710 message by lunchtime. So I consider that a complete 00:30:50.710 --> 00:30:55.049 success. What do you believe? What do you believe? 00:31:13.789 --> 00:31:16.410 personally affected by our ministry and you would 00:31:16.410 --> 00:31:19.130 like to partner with us as we love God, love 00:31:19.130 --> 00:31:21.950 people every day, visit our website at