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Amen. All right, well, we're there in Proverbs chapter number 21. And like we've been announcing, we have been going through a series on Sunday mornings called Money Matters. And we've been learning some biblical principles, some biblical truths to help you have strong finances, successful finances. We've been learning about this, and we are finishing this series this morning. So if it's your first time here and you're wondering, why is he preaching about savings and money? It's a study we've been doing through the Bible as we've been going through it. If you remember, we started five weeks ago with a sermon entitled Protect Against Covetousness. And we talked about having the right philosophy of money and the fact that our desire and our goal should not be to be rich. But God does have biblical principles throughout the Bible. And I don't know if you've noticed, we're going to spend five weeks going through just biblical principles about God telling us and teaching us about your money. So this is obviously something that's important to God. It's emphasized throughout the Bible. The second week, we talked about prioritizing your giving, and we talked about generosity and how it's the only way to have the blessing of God upon your life financially. The third week, I did a sermon called Plan Your Spending. And we talked about budgeting and planning your spending. And the big takeaway was this, that you will have a certain amount of money that runs through your hands in your lifetime. We're told that the average American will have between $1 million and $2 million run through their hands in their lifetime. And you have to steward that properly if you want God's blessing upon your lives. We talked about planning your spending and budgeting and making sure that we are stewarding the resources that God has given us. Last week, we talked about debt, and we talked about paying off your debt. We talked about the fact that debt is not your friend. It's meant to keep you in bondage, and it's meant to keep you behind. And we learned that it is not in your best interest to pay interest. So today, we're going to finish this Money Matters series with a sermon entitled Preparing for the Future. And we're going to talk about savings and about saving and what the Bible teaches about saving. And before I can really get into the sermon, I need to just kind of answer some questions. And to my surprise, I have found that there are actually a lot of Christians who believe that saving money is a bad thing, that saving money is a sin. So let me just begin by answering this question. Does the Bible teach that it's wrong to save money? And I think you will find with me that the answer is no. The Bible does not teach that. In fact, God encourages it. Are you there in Proverbs 21? Look at verse number 20. Proverbs 21 and verse 20. I want you to notice what the Bible says. There is treasure to be desired and oil, notice, in the dwelling of the wise. The Bible says that a wise person will have treasure and oil, meaning they'll have goods, they'll have money that is in their house. He says there is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise. And then I want you to notice the contrast. But a foolish man spendeth it up. So when we as Christians say, well, I'm just going to trust God with my finances. I'm going to spend all the money and let God take care of it. God would say that's foolish. God says a foolish man spendeth it up. A foolish man spends all of his substance. A foolish man spends all of his treasure. But a wise person, the Bible says, there is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise. Go to Proverbs 24. Proverbs 24, let me give you another verse. Proverbs 24 and verse 3. You're there in Proverbs 21. Just flip a few pages over. Proverbs 24 and verse 3, the Bible says this. Through wisdom is in house building. And by understanding, it is established. So we're talking about building and accomplishing something. It has to be done through wisdom, through understanding. That's the context of verse 4. Notice. And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. The Bible says that if you're going to have chambers filled with precious and pleasant riches, that's going to happen through knowledge. That's going to happen through understanding. That's going to happen through wisdom. Because again, it is a foolish man that spendeth it up. Go to Proverbs chapter 11. Proverbs chapter 11. Look at verse 16. Proverbs chapter number 11 and verse 16. And again, I'm just laying the foundation. We're doing it on Proverbs. We could do it all out of a lot of different places. And we're going to look at a lot of different places this morning. But I'm laying the foundation that the Bible does not teach it as a sin to save money. In fact, the Bible says it's wise to save money. And it's foolish to spend everything you have. Proverbs 11, verse 16. Notice what the Bible says. A gracious woman retaineth honor. And notice what it says. Strong men retain riches. It says that a strong man retains or captures or keeps riches. And here's what the idea is. The idea is, like we've talked about before, you've got a certain amount of money that's going to flow through your hands over the course of your working life. And the Bible says that strong men retain riches. The Bible says that if you're wise and if you have understanding and if you have knowledge, you'll have chambers filled with all precious and pleasant riches. The Bible says that there is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise. But a foolish man spendeth it up. So if the question is, is it wrong or is it sin to save money, the answer is an emphatic no. In fact, God wants us to be wise with our resources, and he wants us to save money. Now, you might be asking yourself, well, Pastor, why is it that some Christians think it's wrong to save money? Let me go ahead and help you out with that. Some Christians see saving money as a bad thing because they see saving money as covetousness or hoarding. So I do want to be clear that when we are talking about saving money, we're not talking about hoarding or being covetous. And this is why I began the series with an entire sermon on covetousness and protecting against covetousness. Our goal is not to hoard as much wealth for ourselves as possible. The Bible says, labor not to be rich. The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil. The Bible says that we cannot serve God and mammon. So we've got to decide that we're not going to be covetous or be hoarders. But when we're talking about savings, we're not talking about hoarding. And I understand that there is a danger to go down that road. But we need to be careful as Christians. And what I've noticed, especially as fundamental Baptists and, you know, Biblices, we have a tendency to throw the baby out with the bathwater. And we say, well, hoarding's bad, so therefore savings is not good. And so let's spend all our money and just trust God. No, that's foolish, the Bible says. The Bible says that we should save. So some Christians see saving money as covetousness or hoarding. So please understand this. When we are talking about savings, we're not talking about hoarding. Are you there in Proverbs 11? Look at verse 24. Notice what the Bible says. There is that scatterth. There's a financial principle in Proverbs. There is that scatterth. Now what's scatterth? It's the opposite of hoarding. It's giving out. The idea is here, someone who's generous. There is that scatterth, notice, and yet increaseth. So God says, when it comes to your finances, here's how it works. The more you scatter, the more you give, the more generous you are. Did not Jesus say, give and it shall be given unto you? And he says here, there is that scatterth and yet increaseth. And here's a contrast. There is that withholdeth. You say, oh, well see, it's wrong to withhold. No, no, no. There is that withholdeth more than is meat. The word meat there means what's suitable or reasonable. There's nothing wrong with withholding some of the resources you have, but you need to be careful that you're not hoarding or withholding more than is meat. Notice, there is that scatterth and yet increaseth, and there is that withholdeth more than is meat, but it tendeth to poverty. Here's what the Bible says. The Bible says when God blesses you financially and you are generous with those finances, God says, hey, give and it shall be given unto you. He says there is that scatterth and yet it increases. But if you have the wrong mentality and you withhold more than is meat, God says that's going to lead to poverty. So please understand this. When we're talking about savings, we are not talking about covetousness or hoarding. Let me give you the second reason why Christians see savings as sinful, and it is because of this. Some Christians see savings money as a sin or as something that's wrong because they see it as doubting God, worrying, or lacking faith. So please understand this. When we're talking about savings, we're not talking about doubting God. We're not talking about worrying, and we're not talking about lacking faith. Are you there in Proverbs 11? Look at verse 28. I just want you to notice how these verses are all in the same passages here because God's dealing with this idea. Proverbs 11, 28, notice what the Bible says. He that trusteth in his riches shall fall, but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. So when we're talking about savings, we're not talking about trusting in your riches. When we're talking about savings, we're not talking about doubting God, lacking faith, or worrying about finances. When we're talking about savings, we are talking about being wise with the finances that God has given you. And I want to make sure that this is understood in this sermon. So let me give you another passage just to put the nail in the coffin. Go to Matthew chapter 6 in the New Testament. Keep your place in Proverbs because we're going to come back to Proverbs later on in the sermon. But go to Matthew chapter 6. When we are talking about savings, when we're talking about savings, we are not talking about hoarding. And when we're talking about savings, we are not talking about doubting God. But please understand this. Just because you trust God does not mean you sit back and do nothing. We're not Calvinists. Well, I trust God. I believe God, so therefore I'm going to let God. No, no, no. You know what? We pray to God, and then we put feet to our prayers. We pray to God, and then we get to work. And then we do actions. Then we prepare. So just because we're talking about saving money for the future does not mean that we're doubting God or lacking faith. And by the way, if you have fear, then that's a fear you should take to God. Matthew chapter 6, look at verse 31. Notice what Jesus said. Matthew 6, 31. Therefore, therefore, take no thought. Take no thought. Now you say, well, is God telling us not to think about finances at all? No. He wants to take no thought in regards to what he's about to tell you, saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or wherewithal shall we be clothed? God says, look, there are some things that you don't need to worry about. That's what he's talking about. No thought there is talking about worrying. You say, well, why should I not worry about what we shall eat, what we shall drink? And wherewithal shall we be clothed? Verse 32. For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Say, well, what should I be worried about then? Verse 33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, notice, and all these things. All what things? What ye shall eat, what ye shall drink, wherewithal shall ye be clothed? And all these things shall be added unto you. So look, when we're talking about savings, please understand this. And I just want to be clear. When we're talking about savings, we're not talking about being covetous. We're not talking about hoarding. We're not talking about keeping and withholding more than is meat. And we're not talking about doubting God or lacking faith. But the Bible is clear. The Bible is clear that God says a foolish man spends everything he has, and a wise person will retain riches. So here's what I'd like to do this morning. Avoiding, of course, hoarding and doubting, I want to give you three areas in which you could or should be saving for. Now, you're not going to be able to do all three of these maybe. Maybe you can. Maybe you can. You can begin to work on these. But let me give you three areas that we find in scripture, this idea of savings and why you should save. Now, go with me to the book of Genesis, Genesis 41. And let me give you the first one. If you're writing out notes, maybe you can write this down. What are some things you should save for? Number one, you should save for an emergency. You should save for an emergency. We should prepare for times of financial difficulty. And in the Bible, what you'll find is that throughout the Bible, whenever you see a famine come into the land, that is an illustration of a financial difficulty. Because throughout the Bible, most of the stories take place in an agricultural setting. So whenever there was a famine, when it wasn't raining and when crops were not growing, that was a financial difficulty for the people. And what we find in the Bible is that there's this idea that we should prepare for the times of famine. That's why I like to call it a famine fund. You ought to raise some money, save some money to have a famine fund for when the famine comes. Now, let me give you an illustration of this, Genesis 41. We have the story of Joseph. If you remember Pharaoh in the story, we're just going to jump into the story. We're not going to read a lot of the context, but let me just give it to you. Pharaoh had a dream. He had two dreams. In this first dream, he saw seven well-favored and fat fleshed cows that were consumed by seven ill-favored and lean-fleshed cows. So he saw seven fat cows and seven scrawny cows, and the seven scrawny cows ate the seven fat cows. Then he had a second dream. In the second dream, he saw seven ears of corn, rank and good, that were devoured by seven thin ears. So he saw seven ears of corn. They were big, they were strong, they were healthy, and then they were devoured by seven thin ears. Joseph, of course, is called out of prison to interpret this dream. And this is where we're going to jump in the story, Genesis 41, verse 25. And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, Genesis 41, 25, the dream of Pharaoh is one. God hath showed Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good kind are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years. The dream is one. And the seven thin and ill-favored kind that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine. This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh. What God is about to do, he showeth unto Pharaoh. Notice verse 29. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. He says there are seven years of plenty, of financial success, of things are going to go well financially, verse 30, and there shall arise after them seven years of famine. And all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land. Now remember, Pharaoh had this dream so that Joseph could interpret the dream. But the purpose was not just so Joseph could interpret the dream. The purpose was that Joseph could interpret the dream and give Pharaoh a solution that Joseph might be elevated and that his brethren and his family might be saved. So I want you to notice Joseph's solution to the problem. Because in verse 30, he says, there shall arise after them seven years of famine, and all plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land. And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following, for it shall be very grievous. And for the dream, and for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice, it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. He says, this is going to happen. You're going to have seven years of plenty, seven years of famine. He says, the seven years of famine are going to be so bad that no one's even going to remember. You're not going to be able to even recognize the years of plenty, because the years of famine will consume all of the plenty. You say, what do we do then? Verse 33, now therefore. See that word, therefore? He says, because of this. Because of what? Because of the fact that there is a famine coming. Because of the fact that there are times and seasons in life when finances are doing well, and then there are other times when finances are not doing well, he says, now therefore, let Pharaoh look out a man. Notice, not a foolish man. You need a discreet and wise man. You say, why? Because a wise man, a strong man, retaineth riches. He says, now therefore, let Pharaoh look out a man, discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this and let him appoint officers over the land and, don't miss this, take up, that means save, the fifth part of the land. That's the fifth part is 20% of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years, verse 35, and let them gather all the food of those good years that come and lay up or save up corn under the hand of Pharaoh and let them keep food in the cities. Notice verse 36. And that food shall be, don't miss this, for store, meaning saved up, to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land perish not through the famine. What was the solution to the problem? Here's the solution to the problem. During the financial good times, save for the financial bad times. During the years of plenty, save for the years of famine. During the time when you've got the good job, when you've got the finances, be smart, be wise, budget, pin on your debt, retain some of those riches, and save up for the times of financial crisis, of financial emergency, because, and here's what you need to understand, there is always a famine on the horizon. In fact, in fact, if you're there in Genesis 41, go through to the book of Luke, Luke chapter 15, in the New Testament. Actually, you know what, I'm sorry. I'll just read this for you. Go ahead and go to Luke. You're already halfway there. Luke 15. Let me just say this. Usually, here's how it works with financial crisis, with financial emergencies. Usually, here's how it works. When your car breaks down, when your water heater spills all your water in the garage or whatever, when the roof leaks, when you've got, usually, financial emergencies come right after you get done spending all your money. Is that true? I mean, Luke 15, look at verse 13. Luke chapter 15 and verse 13, we've got the story of the prodigal son. Remember, the prodigal son got a big inheritance. Luke 15 and verse 13. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, all his money, all his resources, and took his journey into a far country and there wasted his substance with righteous living. Was he wise or foolish? Because the foolish man spendeth it all up. The foolish man spends all he has. He wasted his substance with righteous living. And then, of course, verse 14. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in the land. And he began to be in want. And here's what you need to understand. There's always a famine coming. There's always a famine coming. So here's what a wise person does. A wise person saves during the times of plenty for the times of famine. You say, oh, well, you're just taking the story of Joseph. You're just taking the story of the prodigal son. Those are just stories. I don't know that that's really what God is trying to teach us. OK, go to Proverbs chapter 30. Let's look at it in a statement form, where we're being told, this is what you should do. This is what a wise person does. Proverbs chapter 30, verse 5. Proverbs chapter 30 and verse 5, the Bible says this. The ants are a people not strong. The ants are a people not strong, meaning they don't have a lot of strength. They don't have a lot going for them physically. But they are smart. Notice, yet they prepare their meat in the summer. See, they realize that winter is coming. That famine is coming. So during the summertime, when there is meat, when there is food, they prepare, they store up, they save for, here's what he's saying. If an ant is smart enough to realize that winter is coming, that a famine time is coming, that financial difficulties are coming, so therefore we should prepare during the time of plenty for the time of famine, here's what he's saying. A wise person will financially realize that there will always be, and there may be, a famine on the horizon. So you know what a wise person does? A wise person sets up a famine fund. A wise person sets up whatever you want to call it, an emergency fund, a rainy day fund. A wise person will take during the times of plenty and save for the times of famine. Because the ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer. Yet they prepare their meat in the summer. Go to Nehemiah chapter 5. Nehemiah chapter 5, they're in Proverbs. If you just head back, you'll have Psalms, Job, Esther, Nehemiah, Nehemiah chapter 5. Now let me just go ahead and answer this. And look, I'm not mad at you. You say, I don't like this sermon. You probably, if you don't like this sermon, you probably haven't liked any sermon that we've been talking about in this whole series. And I appreciate those of you who are not interested in the subject and you've been faithful to the house of God. Next week, we're starting a brand new series. We're going to get away from finances, and we're going to focus on relationships, learning to live at peace with ourselves and others. And hopefully you'll like that one. I don't know. But here's the point. Here's the point. The point is this, that if you're sitting there thinking, I don't know about this. I don't want to save any money. I don't think this is biblical. I think it is hoarding. I think it is covetousness. I think it is lacking God, faith in God. Let me just say this. If you do not prepare for the times of famine, if you do not prepare for the times of famine, you are likely to make bad decisions during financial emergencies. You are likely to make bad decisions during times of famine. Now, I'm not going to take the time to go through all the stories, because I don't have the time to do that this morning. We've got way too many things to look at in the Bible. But if you want to, check this yourself. I'll give you the stories, and I'll give you the references. You can follow up on this on your own. Because in the Bible, in the Bible, there is a theme that runs through the Bible that whenever people had a famine in the land and they were not prepared for the famine, they always made bad decisions. Let me give you some examples. Number one, Abraham. If you want to write this down, Abraham, Genesis 12, 10 through 15. Famine shows up, not ready for the famine, makes a bad decision, goes down into Egypt, almost has his wife, if God doesn't step in, has his wife taken and given to marry to another man. By the way, this is probably where he picked up his bond servant, Hagar, that he ended up committing adultery with when he was in Egypt. Bad decisions made on the part of Abraham. Why? Because a famine came that he was not ready for. Let me give another example. Isaac, Genesis 26, verses 1 through 7. Kind of a generational curse here with Isaac. Isaac has a famine in the land, not ready for it, goes down not to Egypt, but to the Philistines. Same thing. Gets into trouble there. Let me give you another example. Elimelech, Ruth chapter 1. You have Elimelech. A famine comes in the land, and he goes to Moab. And he makes bad decisions. Here's what I'm telling you. In the Bible, in the Bible, whenever there are financial crises, times of famine, and people are not ready for those famines, they make bad decisions. And what God is trying to tell us is this. You will make bad decisions. You are likely to make bad decisions during a financial stress. And let me just tell you, I've pastored now for almost 10 years or a little bit, you know, about a year short of 10 years. And here's what I've learned. People will move to places they should not move. People will take jobs they should not take, people will end up getting divorced, people will get into all sorts of debt. We'll see that here in a minute. People will do all sorts of bad and make all sorts of bad decisions during a time of financial famine, where if they were smart and they would have prepared for the famine that is coming, they would have been ready for it like the ants, and they would not have had pressure to make a bad decision. And here's the point. You will make bad decisions. You're likely to make bad decisions during financial emergency. Some of you are thinking to yourselves, well, pastor, I'm smarter than that because I have a credit card. And my credit card is for emergencies only. All right, like you're still paying off Christmas last year? Last I checked, Christmas wasn't an emergency. I don't know if you noticed, but it happens every December. Every December, same date, every year. It's something you can literally prepare for. But people say, well, I have a credit card. Well, here's the problem. If you do not have a famine fund, if you do not have an emergency fund, if you do not have a rainy day fund, if you don't have prepare for a time of famine, here's what you are likely to do. You are likely to make bad decisions during a financial emergency, or you are likely to go into debt during a financial emergency. And look, there's no new thing under the sun. You do it. We've done it. Other people have done it. And in the Bible, it's been done. Nehemiah chapter 5, are you there? Look at verse 1. Nehemiah chapter 5, verse 1. And there was a great cry of the people and their wives against the brethren, the Jews. For there were that said, we our sons and our daughters are many. Therefore, we take up corn for them that we may eat and live. And let me tell you something. When there is a situation where you're thinking to yourself, I might not eat, you'll do anything. You'll take on any risk to cover that, and as you should. But you would just prepare for that. He said that we may eat and live. You say, what's he talking about? What are they talking about? Why is there this great cry? Why is there people upset that they're crying and saying, we're just trying to eat? We're just trying to live, verse 3. Some also there were that said, notice what they said. We have mortgaged our lands. What does that mean? It means they went into debt. We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses that we might buy corn because of the dearth. What is that? A dearth is scarcity, lack. It's a famine. A famine came to the land. They weren't ready for it. So what did they do? They mortgaged their lands, their vineyards, their houses that we might buy corn. Why? Because we have to eat and live. Verse 4, there were also that said, we have borrowed money for the king's tribute. And that upon our lands and vineyards. And here's the point, and here's what I'm telling you. During a time of famine, during a time of famine, if you are not ready for that famine, you will make bad financial decisions. You will take a job that you should not take. You will move somewhere where there's no good church because a job was offered to you there. And it will destroy you and your family spiritually. You will fight with your spouse. You would make all sorts of bad decisions. And you will probably end up in debt. And if you remember last week's sermon, it is not in your best interest to pay interest. So you say, well, what should we save for? What should we save for? You should save for emergencies because a famine is coming. You should have a famine fund because a famine is coming. Go to 1 Chronicles 22. You're there in Nehemiah. If you go backwards, you've got Ezra, 2 Chronicles, 1 Chronicles. Nehemiah, Ezra, 2 Chronicles, 1 Chronicles. I'm giving you three areas you ought to strive or have a goal to save for. What are they? Number one, save for emergencies. Number two, you ought to save for major purchases. You ought to save for major purchases. Let me give an illustration of this in the Bible. 1 Chronicles 22, the Bible says this. Then David said, 1 Chronicles 22, verse 1. Then David said, this is the house of the Lord God. I want you to understand the context. David is getting ready to build the temple. David is getting ready to build the temple, the house of God. And this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel. And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel. And he sent masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God. Verse 3, and David, don't miss the words, prepared. David prepared. David prepared iron, notice, in abundance, for the nails, for the door of the gates, and for the joinings, and brass, and abundance without weight. Also, cedar trees, in abundance for the Zedonians. And they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David. And David said, Solomon, my son, is young and tender. And the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding magnifico, I love that word, of fame and of glory throughout all countries. I will therefore now make, don't miss it, I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death. See, David had a major purchase he wanted to make. It was called the temple. And instead of putting it on a credit card, instead of getting into debt, instead of, he just said, hey, I've got a major purchase, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to save. I'm going to prepare. I'm going to prepare in abundance. I will therefore make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly. You're there in 1 Chronicles 22. Go to 1 Chronicles 29. Look at verse 2. Just a few pages over, 1 Chronicles 29 and verse 2. 1 Chronicles 29, 2, the Bible says this. Now I, this is David, have prepared with all my might for the house of my God, the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood, onyx stones and stones to be set, glycerine stones and of diverse colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. Look at verse 16, same chapter. Oh, Lord, our God, 1 Chronicles 29 and 16. This is David speaking. Oh, Lord, our God, notice what he says. He says, all this store, you know what that means? Savings. All this store that we have prepared to build thee a house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own. And by the way, you see a great illustration there of generosity because he stores to give back to God. And then he says, and by the way, God, I acknowledge that it is all yours anyway. He says, for thine holy name cometh, he says, all this store, it cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own. And by the way, this is why we want to manage our money well because any money you have is actually God's money that he's given to you to steward for his glory. And here we have David saying, I have stored. See, sometimes I preach these sermons, and people are going to say, pastor just doesn't want us to have fun. Pastor doesn't want us to have a boat, and everyone wants to have dirt bikes, and doesn't want us to have. No, I'm all for that. I think I want you to have rental houses, and I want you to have recreational vehicles. I want you to have all those things. I just think you ought to save for them. I just think, look, if it's not, and people say, oh, you're just against that. Remember, we started with the idea that sin is not debt. Debt is not sin. Debt is not sin. It's not wise, but it's not sin. And if you've got to live in a house, then go ahead and get a mortgage. Be smart. Get a 15-year or 30-year fixed rate, and try to pay that thing as soon as possible so that you don't pay for that house twice because that's what you'll end up doing, is paying for it twice, and it's not in your best interest to pay interest. I'm not against that. But look, here's the thing. You don't need a boat. You don't need all these fancy toys and things. You say, well, Pastor, are you against us having those? I'm not against you having them. I'm just telling you. I'm just telling you. A wise person would prepare and save. What would a wise person save for? Well, they'd save for a time of emergencies because there are financial famines coming. But a wise person would also save for major purchases. So let me just give you three tips. Three quick tips for major purchases. We'll move on to something else. When it comes to major purchases, meaning you don't need them. Pastor, my van broke down. I've got six kids. What do you want me to do? If you don't have the money for a van, go get as responsible as possible loan. Get that loan, pay that vehicle off as fast as possible, and move on with your life. But last I checked, you don't need jet skis for your six kids. They're going to be deprived. So you say, Pastor, you're against our jet skis. I'm never letting you use our jet skis. OK, here's the point. The point is this. The point is this. I'm not against you having fun things, nice things, recreational things. I'm just saying you ought to save for them. So here's some tips. Just some tips to help you with that. You say, OK, I'm going to save for major purchases. How do I do it? Number one, pay cash. Pay cash. Number two, sleep on it. And I've been saying that throughout the series. Sleep on it. Don't make any major purchases without sleeping on a number three, refuse to go into debt. I want you to have that super duper fancy $10,000 vacuum that that sales guy is telling you is going to run out in the next three minutes. I want you to have it. Here's all I'm telling you. Just tell the guy, hey, I want to pay cash for it. Hey, I want to sleep on it. And I refuse to go into debt. Have all those things. Have all those things. Have fun with them. We're not against major purchases. But pay cash, sleep on it, and refuse to go into debt. So what are some things that you should save for? Number one, you ought to save for an emergency. Number two, you ought to save for major purchases. Number three, go back to Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 13. Proverbs chapter 13. Number three, what should you save for? You ought to save for retirement and beyond. You ought to save for retirement and beyond. And again, there are Christians. And if you're one of them, I'm not mad at you. I'm not your enemy. But there are Christians who take the position that saving for retirement is a sin. It's doubting God. It's not having faith in God. And the question we've got to ask is this. What does the Bible say? What does the Bible say? Proverbs 13, verse 22. Let me ask this, does the Bible say that it is wrong to save for retirement and beyond? Proverbs 13, verse 22. Proverbs 13, 22. Notice what the Bible says. A good man. A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children. And here's a contrast. The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. He says, a good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children. And here's what we like to, when we're broke, we like to spiritualize that. Well, I'm going to leave an inheritance to my children. I'm leaving them a godly inheritance, a goodly inheritance. I'm leaving the inheritance of Christianity. And look, I'm all for that. I'm not mocking that at all. I'm thankful for the Christian heritage that I have received. The lines have been laid upon me in goodly places and all that. We understand that, and we're all for that. But I want you to notice that when the Bible says, a good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children, it's not just talking about a heritage of Christianity or a heritage of godliness. Proverbs 19 and verse 14. Notice what the Bible says. You're there in Proverbs 13. Just flip a few pages over. Proverbs 19 and verse 14, the Bible says, house, Proverbs 19, 14, house and riches are the inheritance of fathers, and a prudent wife is from the Lord. The Bible says that a good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children. And then in Proverbs 19, we're told, you say, what kind of inheritance? Well, look, leave them a godly heritage. Leave them a heritage of Christianity. Leave them all those things. But the Bible says, house and riches are the inheritance of a father. So the Bible says it's good to leave an inheritance to your children. And here's the point. If you're going to leave an inheritance to your children, it means that you died and there was money left over. It means that you lived your entire life through the old age when you maybe weren't able to work, and then there was money left. There was house and riches left over. So look, you ought to save. You ought to have a goal to save for retirement and beyond. You say, why? Because a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children. Because house and riches are the inheritance of fathers. Go to 1 Timothy chapter 5. In the New Testament, you've got all the T books. They're all clustered together. 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, Titus. While you turn there, let me just say this. Here's what I recommend. And I'm not a financial advisor or whatever. I'm just preaching the Bible to you. But for whatever it's worth, here's what I recommend. I recommend that if you have a job that has a 401k or something like that and they have a match, you ought to just invest in that and save for retirement. If you don't have that, I would recommend a Roth IRA. If you've got questions about that, you can see me after the service. And I'm happy to try to help you with that or whatever. But here's the point. You ought to be saving for retirement and beyond. A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children. House and riches are the inheritance of fathers. Now, let me just answer some questions. Because I preach this, and I get asked a lot of questions. And I get asked the same questions a lot. So let me just go ahead and answer them. And I'm not saying you can't ask me afterwards. I'm happy to answer whatever questions you have. But let me just go ahead and answer a common question that I get asked. And the common question is this. Doesn't the Bible teach that we don't need to save for retirement? Because our children should care for us as we grow old. Doesn't the Bible teach that it is our kids that are supposed to care for us? Therefore, I don't need a retirement. My kids are my retirement. Doesn't the Bible say that? Well, let's answer it. Let's answer the question. Does the Bible say that? 1 Timothy 5, look at verse 3. 1 Timothy 5, 3. Honor widows that are widows indeed. Now, first of all, let me just draw your attention to the fact that the context here is a widow, meaning a married woman whose husband has died, not a couple, husband and wife. Honor widows that are widows indeed. Verse 4. If any widow have children or nephews, here's where this teaching comes from. If any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to show piety at home. Piety means reverence or regard. And to requite their parents, for this is good and acceptable before God. So here it says, if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn to show piety at home. And the idea is this, because God put some classifications on that the church should care for widows if they meet a certain criteria. And he says, but before we even go there, let me just say this. Children or nephews, the idea is the offspring, grandchildren, they should be the ones that care for the elderly widow. They should care for their own mother or grandmother. But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to show piety at home and to requite their parents, for this is good and acceptable before God. And let me just say this. Let me be clear about this. I think that grown children should care for their elderly parents. I believe the Bible teaches that. But I don't necessarily believe that elderly parents should plan to be a financial burden on their grown children. Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 12. 2 Corinthians chapter 12, you've got Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians chapter 12. And while you go there, let me just tell you my own personal experience, or I should say our own personal experience. I believe, look, I believe that grown children should care for their elderly parents or grandparents. In fact, in our family, my wife's grandmother actually lived with my wife and I for several years. I don't see my wife in here. She's probably watching the baby. I have a terrible memory. I can't even remember how many years she lived with us. But two or three years, her 91-year-old grandmother lived with us. And here's the thing. She was not able to care for herself. We were the grandchildren, not the children. But for whatever reason, the children, none of them were able to care for her. Some of them had medical issues. Some of them had just personal issues. And they wanted her in some sort of housing. She did not want to go into some sort of housing. And my wife and I stepped up because we felt that it was our Christian duty to care for her elderly grandmother. So her 91-year-old grandmother actually lived with us for several years. And I will tell you, it was a burden on my wife. Her grandmother, and she's passed since then, but her grandmother needed to be bathed. She needed to be changed when she used the bathroom. These are all things that my wife did for years. She changed her grandmother. And she bathed her grandmother. So look, I'm not, please understand this. I believe, I believe that grandchildren and that children should care for their elderly loved ones. In fact, we've done it. When it should have been, in my opinion, should have been the children, but none of the children were able to or wanted to step up. So we as grandchildren stepped up, or my wife primarily as a grandchild, stepped up to do it. So I believe it. I believe in it. But let me tell you this. There was a lot of cost that went into her grandmother living with us. There was a lot of expense that went into it, with the medications and the medicines. She needed to have a nurse that would come out. She needed certain equipment and certain things. There was a lot of financial burden that came along with that. And thank the Lord that she and her husband had saved up for the years that they could not work. And her grandmother took care of all the financial burden on it. And my wife took care of all the physical burden of feeding her three times a day and spending time with her and bathing her and changing her and all those things. And she took care of the physical need. And her grandmother was able to take care of the financial need. Because I will tell you this, as a 28-year-old at the time, if we would have had to take on that financial burden, it would have crushed us financially. It would have destroyed us financially to have to care for her grandmother financially. So we were thankful that someone had prepared, that someone was ready. And here's all I'm telling you. I don't want to plan to be the financial burden on my 30-year-old son or my 35-year-old son. Because here's the truth. I don't know how long I'll be able to work. I plan to work till I die. In fact, I think it'd be great if I just drop dead preaching a sermon. You might not think that's cool. I think it'd be awesome. I plan to work till I die. But the future's not promised to me. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. I could be injured. I could be in an accident. And here's all I'm telling you. I don't want to plan. I don't want to plan on being a financial burden. Hopefully, my sons, hopefully my daughters are 30, 35-year-olds loving the Lord, serving the Lord with children. And I don't want to just plan to be this burden. I'm just planning on being a burden on your life. Now look, if they need to care for myself or my wife in our old age, then I think they should. Because I think that's what the Bible teaches that Christian kids should do. But I don't necessarily think that it's right to just think, oh, well, I'll just be the financial burden. In fact, the Bible teaches against this. 2 Corinthians 12, look at verse 14. 2 Corinthians 12, 14. Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you. This was Paul speaking to the church at Corinth. 2 Corinthians 12, 14. And I will not be burdensome to you. So this is Paul speaking to the church. And he's talking about being a financial burden on them. He said, for I seek not yours. And then he gives this example. Because he's saying, I'm the spiritual leader. Paul's saying, I'm the spiritual leader. And I don't want to be a financial burden on you. And he gives this illustration. He says, for the children ought not to lay up. That means save up for the parents. But the parents for the children. See, the Bible doesn't teach that we should just, well, my kids are going to save up, and they're going to just take care of me financially when I'm old age. The Bible doesn't teach that. In fact, the Bible teaches the opposite. The Bible says, children ought not lay up for their parents, but the parents for the children. It is the parents that should be leaving an inheritance to the children's children. It is the parents that should be leaving house and riches to the children. And you say, well, you don't think that Christians should take care of their elderly loved ones? I absolutely do. I think they should be there physically for their physical needs, care for them, feed them, bathe them, change them, love them, spend time with them. But I don't think that you should be planning to be a financial burden for them. Now, let me just say this. Let me just say this to those of you that are not elderly. If your parents have not prepared, if your parents are not ready, if they come to elderly age, then you just care for them. And you just pay the bill, and God will bless you for it. I'm not saying that you should, don't put your elderly parents out. But I'm talking to those of you that are young enough to prepare, and I'm just telling you this. You ought to save for retirement and beyond. You ought to save for the time that you may not be able to work, because though your family should care for you, we should not plan to be a financial burden to them. Because the children ought not lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. Go to Proverbs 22, Proverbs 22. So I think you should save. I think you should save for the time. I think you should save for the time that your health might not be good, that you may not be able to work. I think you should raise godly children. I think you should invest in your children. I think you should love your children and develop a good relationship with them that they might care for you during your time of need. But I don't think you should plan to be a financial burden on them. And I don't think, and I don't think that you can justify that by saying, well, that's what the Bible teaches, because the Bible doesn't want us to hoard. That is not what the Bible teaches. So let me give you, let me end this morning with just some, in fact, I just want to end with this. A financial tip, a financial target, and a financial truth. Let me just finish with this financial tip, financial target, financial truth. You're there in Proverbs 22. Look at verse 3. Here's a financial tip, OK? Get life insurance to replace your income. You say, that's kind of, you know, I'm just giving you a tip. If you don't have life insurance, you should get life insurance. You say, why? Proverbs 22, verse 3. A prudent man, prudent is a wise person who's careful to prepare. A prudent man foreseeeth the evil and hideth himself. A prudent man looks ahead and says, oh, there's evil up ahead. Let me prepare for that and hide it himself. But the simple, that's the biblical way of saying the stupid, pass on and are punished. A prudent man, a wise man foreseeeth evil and hideth himself, but the simple pass on and are punished. So let me just give you this financial tip. And I'm talking to those of you who people depend on your income. If you're 19 years old and nobody's depending on you for anything, you don't need life insurance, OK? I'm talking to those of you, especially you grown men, but any of you who people depend on your income to live. You know, I have a wife who stays at home with six children from 12 years old to one year old. If I died, and let me ask you this. If you died, if you got in an accident, if something happened because you don't know, if you died, how would your wife survive financially? How would your children survive financially? And here's all I'm telling you. A prudent man foreseeeth evil and hideth himself. A wise person realizes that if I died, if I died, that's going to destroy my wife, who I love, my children, who I love. So let me prepare for that. Let me go ahead and buy some life insurance so that if I die, they could replace my income and live. Do you understand? You say, I don't think. Whatever. You do what you want, but I'm just giving you a tip. Get life insurance to replace your income. Get life insurance to replace your income. If people are depending on you financially, get life insurance to replace your income. And let me just throw this out there. I have time to develop this. Get term life insurance. Do not get whole life insurance. Whole life insurance is one of the worst financial products out there. Do not get it. If you have questions about that, see me after the service. I'm happy to help you with that. Get term life insurance. Here's a target, financial target. Go to Genesis 41. Financial tip, get life insurance to replace your income. Financial target, here's a target. Here's a goal that maybe you ought to have. Because here's what some of you are saying. Some of you are saying, well, this is all well and good, but I don't have any money to save. This is all well and good. I agree with all of it, pastor, but I don't have any money to save. So here's a financial target for you. Learn to live below your means. Learn to live below your means, Genesis 41, verse 34. Remember the story of Joseph? Genesis 41, 34, the Bible says this. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land and take up the fifth part, 20%, of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And I'll tell you this. I'm not doing this, but this is a goal that I would like to accomplish one day, and I think you should attempt to accomplish it as well. Here, Joseph says, let's save 20%, and we'll let the people keep 80% during the times of plenty. And I think there's an idea there that we should learn to live below our means. Now, here's the beautiful thing, that if you're following God and you're following the Bible, you're already supposed to be tithing 10% of your income. So what if you had a goal that whenever you got paid, you wrote a 10% of that check to God, and then you wrote another same amount to your savings, your retirement, for that boat you really want? What have you learned to live? What have you learned to give 10% to God, 10% for the future, and you lived off the rest? You lived off that 80%. Now, of course, if you're paying God first, that means your taxes were to get paid out of that 80%. But do you understand what I'm saying? The point is this. And it doesn't have to be 10%. Maybe it's 12%, whatever. The point is this. Learn to live. Learn to spend less than you make so that you can save. So financial tip, get life insurance or raise your income. Financial target, learn to live below your means. Let me give you a financial truth. Go to Deuteronomy 28. I just want to give you one last verse, because some of you are still like, I don't know. It sounds kind of covetous. I don't know. It sounds kind of hoarding. One financial truth to end the series. God declares savings a blessing. And in Deuteronomy 28, remember we have that list of blessings and cursings. God says, if you follow my commandments, I'm going to bless you. And if you don't follow, I'm going to curse you. And he gives a list of the blessings. He gives a list of the cursings. I want to show you that God places savings under the blessing category. Deuteronomy 28, look at verse 1. And it shall come to pass if thou shall hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God to observe and do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth. Notice verse 2. And all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee if thou shall hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, that's your children, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, and the increase of thine kind, and the flocks of thy sheep, that's your income. Notice verse 5. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Know what that is? Your savings. Here's what I'm telling you. God declares savings not only something that wise people do, but God declares savings a blessing. So if you say, well, I can't shave, then you must not be under the blessing of God. And I'm not mad at you. I'm not mad at you. In fact, the whole point of this whole series over the last five weeks has been to tell you that God has already given us the financial principles that if we leverage, that if we leverage those financial principles, they will produce financial strength and success. So what will you do? What will you do with the resources that God has entrusted you? Let's bow our heads in our word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for the Bible. And Lord, I pray that people realize that this series is not meant to be some sort of a get-rich-quick seminar. These are biblical truths. These are biblical principles that you want us to leverage for the glory of God. And Lord, I pray that you'd help people get prepared and get ready. I pray, Lord, you'd help us to prepare for financial famines. I pray that if we want to buy toys and nice things, that we would have the discipline and the patience to save for them. And Lord, I pray that you'd help us to prepare for the days we cannot work and for the time beyond that. I pray, Lord, that you would bless the basket and the store of the individuals in this room that are either already or are going to begin to leverage these biblical principles for your glory. Lord, help us never to be covetous. Help us never to be hoarders. Help us not to labor to be rich. But Lord, help us to be good stewards of the finance that you've given us. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen.