Making Change: Week 4 - Tomorrow Matters

But we flip it…Live…save if we can....but unfortunately we spend more than we make…but if we can save…and if there is anything left over we give what we can.

it doesn’t matter how much you have…God says Give, Save, and Live off the rest.

When you give you are investing in someone else’s tomorrow…when you save you are investing in your own tomorrow

Widely accepted that nearly 80% are living paycheck to paycheck....not saving for big purchases or for retirement.

Understand for some

The Vast majority—Living for today with little to no regard for tomorrow

But we have a problem waiting...

Scripture says it this way:

The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get. Prov 21:20 NLT

(Hebrew: paycheck to paycheck)

We experience it this way:

42% have less than 10,000 in savings…10% have none.

The principle from scripture is that:

Tomorrow matters—Change how you live today.

But Solomon…the wisest man in Scripture knew God’s will to Give, Save, and Live.

Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. Prov 6:6-8

God really puts a premium on the future.

I know what you are thinking…just last week pastor, you told us to give more…that giving is good…and now you are saying tomorrow matters. Which is it? Are we supposed to give more or save more?

The simple answer is yes. The wise answer is yes.

I answer people that way quite often when presented with a false choice…do you like cake or pie? Yes…Do you like pancakes or waffles? Yes. Are we to give or save? Yes.

John Wesley had a rule for money; he said it this way…Christians should earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.

Earn all you can, to Wesley that meant work hard and work productively. Maximize your abilities and talents. Matt 25—Wicked and lazy servant

Save all you can, to Wesley this meant, don’t waste the God given resources on pleasures of life. God should be please at our spending.

WE do these so that we can Give all we can. That’s what being generous is all about.

How many of us are limited in our ability to be generous because we are behind in our commitments? We are in debt so deep we can’t be as generous as we want.

That’s what happens when we strat to live by the TOMORROW MATTERS principle. WE will make changes today so that tomorrow we will be prepared.

We want what we want and we wan tit now, but it’s wise to prepare for the things we know are coming.… Retirement is one of those…so is a car…so is. I don’t know what is in your future.

We save for those things so they don’t force us into hardship; not so we can get rich. Hear me on this. We don’t save to get rich; but so we can live a consistently generous life. That is what God calls foolish. now being a fool in scripture is pretty bold.

In fact saving to get rich is the other time God called someone a fool when talking about money.

Jesus told a parable in Luke 12 about man being so blessed in his crops that he had to save it…not so he could be generous…but so:

Luke 12:19–21 NIV84

And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

So we don’t save for our benefit....but for the benefit of others. We save to bless others…we save out of God’s blessing for the future…just like that little ole ant.

Tomorrow matters—Change how you live today.

You make this change in one of two ways. You can work harder to make more to save more....or you can save more to make more tomorrow.

You can let your MONEY MAKE MONEY.

That’s exactly what the man in the parable of the talents did.

The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. Matt 25:16

That’s really our only options when it comes to our money…we can Take what you have—Spend it all—Goes away…or we can Invest some and have more to spend or give away later.

Most of us have no real idea how to invest our money. I got a degree in finance and while I know how to invest, the fact of the matter is, knowing how to do something is far different from actually doing it.

Years ago, I was given the opportunity to invest in this new little company USInternetworking. They were based in Annapolis. I was able to buy a few shares of their stock on their first day. It was exciting. I was able to buy mine for around $20 I think, the stock opened that day for $32 and continued to go up to $57. Just imagine, all my wisdom would have returned 300% if I had sold at the end of the day. But none of that was true. I got excited and sold mine for around $35…early in the morning. On the fist day, they stock rose 175%.

None of this happened because I was a skilled investor. It was a gift from a friend and I got scared and sold it as soon as I could. But that’s not ht end of my financial accumen.

Around the same time I bought stock in this little company who was starting to sell books on the internet and ship them to your home. What a great idea…sort of like a library that you didn’t have to go to. I bought the stock for around $23…the stock just sat there for years until finally it blew up like $100. i sold it my fist big hit a cool $2000 profit…I am so smart…earlier this year the same stock sold for just over $2000 a share..a little company called Amazon.

I’m no financial advisor, but I do know that the bible offers us some principles to live by when it comes to saving from the perspective of TOMORROW MATTERS

When it comes to investing our money…saving our money…getting our money to work for us, the bible teaches us some clear principles.

DON’T INVEST IN THINGS YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND.

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. Prov 24:3-4

Penny Stock…lost all of it.

Some of our best investments have been the ones we didn’t make

Would you leave your career decisions up to someone you didn’t know?

Would you leave your kids with someone you didn’t know?

Would you let someone you didn’t know move into your home?

Then why trust your finances to something you didn’t know?

Tomorrow matters…if you don’t know what to do, do some research...talk to someone who does.

Another biblical priniciple for preparing for tomorrow:

DON’T PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET.

But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead. Eccl 11:2 NLT

Losing my first $20 bill - Cheyenne WY Frontier Days

As Thornton Wilder said: "Money is like manure; it's not worth a thing unless it's spread around encouraging young things to grow."

It’s called diversification. We are investing in order to preserve what we have. Spread out your money. That way if something happens in one area, there are others to take up the slack.

Variety of investments…not just the bank, but some stock or mutual funds, real estate, a business, some bonds

Tomorrow matters so we eat a balanced diet…you don’t eat all fries or all lettuce. But we eat a balanced diet in order to live a healthy life.

Tomorrow matters so we reach out to kids, to new parents, to middle class, and retired people.....Tomorrow Matters

Because tomorrow matters we invest our finances in a variety of ways as well.

Finally, Because tommorow matters, we

DON’T TRY TO GET RICH QUICK.

Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 1 Tim 6:9

Tomorrow matters.

If we live like all that matters is today, we build patterns in our life that keep us trapped…we get in debt, we get desperate to hit a big one.

Tomorrow matters and denying this principle leads to our destruction.

A better path: play the long game. be patient, let time work for you.

Remember I told you about the ratchet principle when it came to making changes in life…it applies to saving and investing as well. start small…be consistent…and over time…you will be amazed.

Scripture says it this way

Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow. Prov 13:11

Small Deposits over time build

Anything worthwhile takes time.

It doesn’t happen in one workout...

A great marriage doesn’t happen in one day.

A deep faith insn’w made in one prayer.

Godly kids aren’t made in one bible story.

Same way with preparing for the future.

Let me ask you...$1m today or 1 penny today doubled every day for 30 days.

90% choose the million dollars—$5.3million

Money + Consistency + Time = Wealth

Give, Save, and Live on the rest - Tomorrow Matters

Your finances may be in a wreck today....or not in a wreck, but certainly not where you want them to be. Where ever you are today is where you are…it’s not your whole story.

Over time you can become a great investor—become rich!

Consistency over time investing in: savings, people,…investing your time, talent, and treasure

Great at more than just investing money! Jesus invested in people!

Rich in marriage, children, friends, ministry!

Rich financially—who blessed you! Not all for you!

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Keep Money in the right perspective:

Money will buy:

· A bed, but not sleep.

· Books, but not brains.

· Food, but not appetite.

· A house, but not a home.

· Medicine, but not health.

· Amusement, but not happiness.

· Finery, but not beauty.

· A crucifix, but not a Savior.

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