Speaker 2: Hey, everybody.
Speaker 1: Welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. Well, we're talking about
Speaker 1: your money.
Speaker 2: That's right.
Speaker 1: We're continuing a powerful series called Financial Fitness. Rick is
Speaker 1: opening God's Word and showing us how to manage what
Speaker 1: we've been given with wisdom, faith, and purpose. And I
Speaker 1: know if you apply these biblical principles, you'll start to
Speaker 1: experience true financial freedom and lasting peace. Today we're continuing
Speaker 1: with part two of a message called The Habits of
Speaker 1: Financial Health.
Speaker 2: I remember in the very first year of church, I
Speaker 2: led a guy to Christ. And he was a nice
Speaker 2: guy and he genuinely was converted to Christ. But he
Speaker 2: was a dreamer who never could make anything happen and
Speaker 2: it was simply one big idea after another. And one
Speaker 2: day he came to me and he said, Pastor Rick,
Speaker 2: this church has changed my life and I'm working on
Speaker 2: a deal that is gonna make Saddleback Church $ 50 million.
Speaker 2: Well now as a 25 year old pastor, I'm gonna
Speaker 2: listen to that. Years later, I don't pay that attention
Speaker 2: at all. I want to say, show me the money.
Speaker 2: This dream is just a bunch, and it seemed like
Speaker 2: about the time he'd get this big dream for $ 50 million,
Speaker 2: and then before it was closed, he jumped to a
Speaker 2: bigger one. No, we're not doing that anymore because this
Speaker 2: one's going to bring in $ 75 million. $ 75 million. And then,
Speaker 2: you know, instead of closing that deal, well, no, we're
Speaker 2: not going to do that anymore. We're doing the $ 100
Speaker 2: million one. And it kept on doing. And at the
Speaker 2: end of the year, I realized I had paid for
Speaker 2: all the lunches. Beware the guy who's got the billion
Speaker 2: dollar idea, but he can't afford to have his suit pressed.
Speaker 2: Or pay the meal, pay the bills. Just go out
Speaker 2: and get a job, buddy. Just get a job, okay?
Speaker 2: You know, you don't wait for the ship to come in.
Speaker 2: You swim out to it and do that. So here's
Speaker 2: what the Bible says. Look at the next verse. Proverbs 21, five.
Speaker 2: Steady plotting brings prosperity. Hasty speculation brings poverty. Circle the
Speaker 2: word hasty. Here's another law for you. You make financial
Speaker 2: decisions slowly. If you wanna be wise, you make financial
Speaker 2: decisions slowly. If it's a good deal, it'll be a
Speaker 2: good deal tomorrow. You don't have to make, you know,
Speaker 2: when you're in a business, when you're in a store
Speaker 2: and that salesman is pressuring you to buy right now
Speaker 2: and it is a major priced item, you need to
Speaker 2: go home and think about it. You need to sleep
Speaker 2: on it. You need to take your time. If it's
Speaker 2: a good deal, it'll be a good deal tomorrow. Hasty
Speaker 2: speculation leads to poverty. It means you get in a hurry.
Speaker 2: You get emotionally involved. You want to do it now.
Speaker 2: Now notice it says steady plotting brings prosperity. Circle the
Speaker 2: word plotting. This is where he's saying you just keep
Speaker 2: on doing the right thing. You do it a little
Speaker 2: bit at a time, but over a long time, little
Speaker 2: things build up. You save a little, save a little,
Speaker 2: save a little, save a little, and pretty soon it
Speaker 2: all adds up. Steady plotting brings prosperity. I've mentioned this
Speaker 2: in every session we've done in this series. The most
Speaker 2: powerful factor in mathematics is compounding interest. And over a
Speaker 2: period of time, little becomes much with compounding interest. And
Speaker 2: over a long period of time, turtles always beat rabbits.
Speaker 2: Because the rabbits get in a hurry. And then they
Speaker 2: stop over here to have a party with so and so.
Speaker 2: And then they go over here to do this. And
Speaker 2: the turtle's just plodding along and crosses the finish line
Speaker 2: before everybody else. So God says, if you want my
Speaker 2: blessing on your finances, first, you gotta remember that I'm
Speaker 2: your security and I'm your source. And number two, you
Speaker 2: gotta make your money honestly. You gotta... Be fair in
Speaker 2: your deals and you can't charge high interest. You don't
Speaker 2: get involved in get rich quick schemes and scams. Hasty speculation,
Speaker 2: you do steady plotting, all right? Number three, the third
Speaker 2: habit you have to develop is honor God first. I
Speaker 2: honor God first with my money. Now, I don't have
Speaker 2: to spend a lot of time on this one. We
Speaker 2: can just kind of review it quickly and get on
Speaker 2: to the others because most of you know this principle,
Speaker 2: the principle of tithing. The bottom line is this. Whatever
Speaker 2: I want God to bless, I put him first in.
Speaker 2: If I want God to bless my marriage, I put
Speaker 2: him first in my marriage. If I want God to
Speaker 2: bless my time, I put him first in my time.
Speaker 2: I'm giving the first part of every day in a
Speaker 2: quiet time. If I want God to bless my business,
Speaker 2: I put him first in my business. If I want
Speaker 2: God to bless my money, I put him first in
Speaker 2: my money. Now this is the principle of tithing. They're
Speaker 2: right off the top. I give the first 10% back
Speaker 2: to God. Now, again, I don't have to explain this
Speaker 2: in detail. We've talked about this a lot. So just
Speaker 2: look at these four verses. The promise, the purpose, the place,
Speaker 2: and the day. That's what these four verses are. Here's
Speaker 2: the promise about tithing. Proverbs 3. Honor the Lord by
Speaker 2: giving him the leftovers of all your income, and he
Speaker 2: will fill your barns to overflow. Oh, it doesn't say that,
Speaker 2: does it? It says what? First, what does it say?
Speaker 2: First part, first part. Now, Kay and I, 36 years ago, said, okay, look,
Speaker 2: if we're in debt to anybody, we're not gonna be
Speaker 2: in debt to God. God gets paid first, right off
Speaker 2: the top. If I make 10 bucks, the first dollar
Speaker 2: goes back to him. If I make 100 bucks, the
Speaker 2: first 10 bucks go back to God. I may be
Speaker 2: in debt to you, I may be in debt to
Speaker 2: other people, I am not gonna be in debt to
Speaker 2: God because it all comes from God in the first
Speaker 2: place and I want his blessing on the rest of it.
Speaker 2: So the promise is, if I honor him with the
Speaker 2: first part of my income, he will bless me financially.
Speaker 2: now what's the purpose of that why does God tell
Speaker 2: us to tithe next verse Deuteronomy 14 the purpose of
Speaker 2: tithing is because God is poor no it doesn't say
Speaker 2: that the purpose of tithing is to teach you to
Speaker 2: always put God first in your lives God doesn't need
Speaker 2: my money God doesn't need your money he wants what
Speaker 2: it represents he wants me to trust him And when
Speaker 2: I tithe, when I give the first part of my
Speaker 2: income back to God before anything else is a gift
Speaker 2: to him, it says three things. Past, present, future. God,
Speaker 2: thank you. I'm grateful for all you've given me in
Speaker 2: the past. You're number one in my life right now.
Speaker 2: And I'm going to trust you in the future. That's
Speaker 2: the purpose of it, okay? The place, where do I tithe?
Speaker 2: I mean, do I tithe the United Way, or do
Speaker 2: I tithe to my brother who's been out of work
Speaker 2: for three years? No, that's charity. Tithing is an act
Speaker 2: of worship. It goes to God, not to my friend,
Speaker 2: not to charity. It goes to God. It's an act
Speaker 2: of worship. Malachi 3.10. Bring to my storehouse a full tenth. Now,
Speaker 2: by the way, what's a storehouse? It's the temple. He says,
Speaker 2: bring to the temple where you worship me, bring to
Speaker 2: my storehouse, a full tenth of what you earn. Test
Speaker 2: me in this, says the Lord, and I will open
Speaker 2: the windows of heaven for you and pour out all
Speaker 2: the blessings you need. He says, I dare you. This
Speaker 2: is a Pepsi challenge test. Test me in this. He said,
Speaker 2: you bring it to me as an act of worship. Now,
Speaker 2: when do I do it? Well, you do it on
Speaker 2: the day you worship. First Corinthians 16 says this. On
Speaker 2: the first day of every week, That's the day we worship, Sunday.
Speaker 2: Put aside some of what you've earned during the week
Speaker 2: and use it for the offering. The amount depends on
Speaker 2: how much the Lord has helped you earn. As I said,
Speaker 2: if I make 10 bucks, I give God a return,
Speaker 2: a dollar. If I make $ 100, I give him $ 10. Now,
Speaker 2: on the first day of the week, the first part
Speaker 2: of my day and the first part of my money,
Speaker 2: then God is saying, you're really number one in my life. Now,
Speaker 2: circle the phrase put aside. Put aside. Because notice, that
Speaker 2: means you gotta plan this. This is not an impulsive thing,
Speaker 2: you gotta plan it. Because I don't normally plan to
Speaker 2: bring money to worship. Okay, so you got that, you
Speaker 2: know about tithing. The plan, the purpose, the promise, and
Speaker 2: the day. Now, let's go to the fourth. Number four
Speaker 2: is save money wisely. If I want God's blessing on
Speaker 2: my finance, if I want to get out of debt,
Speaker 2: I must learn to save money wisely. And notice, this
Speaker 2: is number four. First, I remember God as my source. Second,
Speaker 2: I make the money honestly. Third, I honor God first.
Speaker 2: And fourth, I save some of it. You say, Rick,
Speaker 2: are you telling me to save my money before I
Speaker 2: pay my bills? That's exactly what I'm telling you to do.
Speaker 2: Because that's what the Bible says. If you wait until
Speaker 2: all your bills are paid off to start saving, you
Speaker 2: will never save anything. Most people are gonna get to
Speaker 2: retirement flat broke because they spent all their money and
Speaker 2: never saved anything. The Bible clearly states you pay God
Speaker 2: first and you pay yourself second and then you spend
Speaker 2: the rest on your bills and repayment and things like that.
Speaker 2: If you don't, you will never save anything. John D.
Speaker 2: Rockefeller was the Bill Gates of his day. He was
Speaker 2: the first mega-millionaire in America. And they asked him one time, said,
Speaker 2: how do you get to be a mega-millionaire? He says,
Speaker 2: the 10-10-80 principle. I tithe the first 10%, I save
Speaker 2: the second 10%, and I live on 80%. The 10-10-80 principle.
Speaker 2: Kay and I have practiced this, well, and even more
Speaker 2: than that, for many, many years. And if you do this,
Speaker 2: you're systematically putting God first and putting your savings second,
Speaker 2: it will start to add up over time. Did you
Speaker 2: know that God says your savings account tests your IQ?
Speaker 2: It shows how smart you are. By looking at your savings,
Speaker 2: you can tell how wise you are with your money.
Speaker 2: Notice this verse, Proverbs 21, 20. The wise man, in
Speaker 2: other words, the smart man, the intelligent man, the wise
Speaker 2: man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends
Speaker 2: whatever he gets. Uh-oh. Okay, that's a verse you probably
Speaker 2: ought to put on your refrigerator door. Actually, you ought
Speaker 2: to put it on a Post-it note and wrap it
Speaker 2: around your credit card. The wise man saves for the future,
Speaker 2: but the foolish man spends whatever he gets. Did you
Speaker 2: know that the average Japanese saves 25% of their income?
Speaker 2: The average European saves 15% of their income. Last year,
Speaker 2: the average American spent 1% more than they made. We
Speaker 2: are not saving anything. And not only is the government
Speaker 2: being irresponsible, we are being irresponsible. And we're not saving.
Speaker 2: And as a result, you're gonna get to retirement and
Speaker 2: there's nothing gonna be there. Let me give you a
Speaker 2: little question that will help you start saving. You simply
Speaker 2: ask this one. Do I really need this item? And
Speaker 2: if you'll just stop before you buy anything, just stop
Speaker 2: and ask yourself, do I really need this? Because you
Speaker 2: could be taking that money and putting it, instead of
Speaker 2: spending it on this little trinket, putting it in the bank,
Speaker 2: putting in savings, putting in investment, and when you are
Speaker 2: saving money, your money is working for you instead of
Speaker 2: you working for your money. Most people never get out
Speaker 2: of debt because they spend their entire lives working for money.
Speaker 2: When you start saving it, your money works for you
Speaker 2: because even while you're sleeping, it's making interest. and your
Speaker 2: money is making money for you. When you're saved, you
Speaker 2: make money work for you. Now let's look at some
Speaker 2: of the principles of saving and investing from the word
Speaker 2: of God. Proverbs 24 says this, verse 27. Develop your
Speaker 2: business first before building your house. Did you know that
Speaker 2: verse was in the Bible? Develop your business before building
Speaker 2: your house. What does that verse mean? It means before
Speaker 2: you go buy the new drapes, before you go redecorate,
Speaker 2: before you buy another piece of furniture or art, you
Speaker 2: ought to take that money instead and invest it in
Speaker 2: something that's gonna make money for you. Now most of
Speaker 2: you don't have your own businesses. And these days, everybody
Speaker 2: was self-employed, everybody had their own business. But he's saying,
Speaker 2: take your money and instead of buying a thing with it,
Speaker 2: take it and put it in something that makes money
Speaker 2: with it so you're investing and you're making more money
Speaker 2: all along. Develop your business first before building your house. See,
Speaker 2: here's the problem most people do. They get a raise
Speaker 2: and when you get a raise, you know what you
Speaker 2: ought to do? Keep living at the same level and
Speaker 2: put that money, sock it away in the bank. or
Speaker 2: in some investment. Don't raise your standard living. What most
Speaker 2: people do as soon as they get a raise, they
Speaker 2: go out and they buy a new car. That's the
Speaker 2: last thing you need to do. First place, when you
Speaker 2: buy a new car, the moment you drive it off
Speaker 2: the lot, it's worth $ 10, 000 less than you paid for it.
Speaker 2: But you're still gonna pay the interest on all that
Speaker 2: even though it's depreciated. You have just invested in the
Speaker 2: depreciating item that's gonna get cheaper and cheaper while you're
Speaker 2: paying more and more interest and it's going like this
Speaker 2: and that creates debt. Now, I'm serious about this. If
Speaker 2: you will take the money that you're spending on things,
Speaker 2: instead of going and buying that big plasma screen that
Speaker 2: maybe you can't afford, what you need to do is
Speaker 2: take that money and put it in the bank and
Speaker 2: let it sit there for years. You need to get
Speaker 2: as much pleasure out of saving as you do out
Speaker 2: of spending. A lot of people, when they get depressed,
Speaker 2: they wanna go shopping. And there is a rush in
Speaker 2: spending money. But you should get that attitude and change
Speaker 2: it to saving money. Say, oh, honey, I had such
Speaker 2: a great day today. What'd you do? I put $ 50
Speaker 2: more in the bank. Well, good. Now, I'm serious about this.
Speaker 2: I retired at 47. Why? Because I had been saving
Speaker 2: since I was 17. Why? I haven't taken a salary
Speaker 2: from this church in 10 years. In fact, 10 years ago,
Speaker 2: I added up all the church that paid me in
Speaker 2: the first 25 years and I gave it all back.
Speaker 2: Kay and I live off the savings of our investments today.
Speaker 2: I do this because I want to do this. I
Speaker 2: don't do this to make money. But I had been
Speaker 2: saving systematically over the years and it adds up. Now,
Speaker 2: how do you do that? Well, in the early years,
Speaker 2: we were just very, very careful. I went out and
Speaker 2: rather than going buy a new car, I found a
Speaker 2: car in the penny saver over in Leisure World for $ 500.
Speaker 2: Now that's a car. Now I went over there and
Speaker 2: it was a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass and the paint was
Speaker 2: chipping on it and the roof was all ratted out
Speaker 2: but it only had 38,000 miles on it. I'm going
Speaker 2: 500 bucks, 38,000 miles, I can put up with this.
Speaker 2: So I bought this car for $ 500. I drove it
Speaker 2: across the border to Tijuana and spent $ 1, 500 getting a
Speaker 2: completely new paint job and a completely new interior. With
Speaker 2: the fuzzy dice and everything. The velvet Elvis in the back.
Speaker 2: The dog's playing poker. No, I'm just kidding. Got it all.
Speaker 2: And then I drove it for six years. And after
Speaker 2: six years, I got tired of it, I gave it
Speaker 2: to Pastor Tom. It's true, I did. And then Tom
Speaker 2: drove it for, I don't know, five or six more years,
Speaker 2: and then he gave it to another pastor. That car's
Speaker 2: somewhere out there in pastor land today. Okay? Now, that
Speaker 2: per mile per gallon cost on that car was minuscule
Speaker 2: compared to yours. The car I drive right now is
Speaker 2: a 2000 Ford and we saved until I could pay
Speaker 2: cash for it. I wasn't about to pay interest on
Speaker 2: a depreciating item. Because that's bad stewardship. So I saved
Speaker 2: until we could afford it and I paid cash for
Speaker 2: that car. I haven't had a car payment in years.
Speaker 2: Wouldn't you like to have that? Okay, now what was
Speaker 2: I doing with that money? Putting it in savings. and
Speaker 2: letting it make more money, and letting it make more money,
Speaker 2: and letting it make more money. Okay, and so this
Speaker 2: is the principle, save money wisely.
Speaker 1: You know, people are being transformed by these messages. In fact,
Speaker 1: here's Rick with a letter from one of our listeners.
Speaker 2: Well, I hope you enjoyed the broadcast today. I love
Speaker 2: to end our time together by sharing letters from listeners.
Speaker 2: because we get so many great ones. This one's from
Speaker 2: a woman named Elena. Dear Pastor Rick, I've been struggling
Speaker 2: with insomnia for many years. That's a common problem. It
Speaker 2: has inevitably affected my family, and I've been irritable. I've
Speaker 2: been short-tempered with them. I've even gone to sleep therapists
Speaker 2: in hopes of regaining at least five hours of continual
Speaker 2: sleep without sleeping pills that do more harm than good.
Speaker 2: But it was all unsuccessful until I started listening to
Speaker 2: Daily Hope. You know, quieting my mind, Pastor Rick, with
Speaker 2: the messages from the Bible and my desire to glorify
Speaker 2: God when I turn out the lights with the Daily
Speaker 2: Hope messages has brought me back to a stable sleeping pattern.
Speaker 2: That's amazing, Elena. That's amazing. She writes, every morning now
Speaker 2: I wake up after more than five to eight hours
Speaker 2: of sleep and I wake up saying, thank you, Lord,
Speaker 2: for another night of peaceful sleep. With full comprehension, I
Speaker 2: Turn on Daily Hope again before I start my day.
Speaker 2: So she's ending her evening with Daily Hope and she's
Speaker 2: starting her day with Daily Hope. That's pretty amazing. She said,
Speaker 2: Pastor Rick, life happens and sometimes my insomnia problems come back. However,
Speaker 2: they're not as frequent and they don't last as long
Speaker 2: as they used to before. So thanks for your messages
Speaker 2: of hope from God. I now function with more clarity
Speaker 2: and more spring in my step. Ha ha, Elena. Thank
Speaker 2: you for writing. I love you. And I'm so encouraged
Speaker 2: that these messages have brought some peace to your mind.
Speaker 2: And I'm going to be praying for you this week
Speaker 2: that your nerves will be calmed, that your peace will increase,
Speaker 2: that you will be given sleep. You know, there's a
Speaker 2: verse in the Bible where it says God wants his
Speaker 2: loved ones to get their proper rest. So thank you
Speaker 2: for writing to me. And those of you listening, I
Speaker 2: encourage you to write me. Let me know what's going
Speaker 2: on in your life. It's one way that we can
Speaker 2: partner together. Thanks for your financial gifts. Thanks for your prayers.
Speaker 2: And thanks for your letters. God bless you all.
Speaker 1: Hey, if you'd like to let Rick know how this
Speaker 1: broadcast has blessed you, he would love it.
Speaker 2: Please feel free.
Speaker 1: To send him an email at rick at pastorrick.com. That's
Speaker 1: rick at pastorrick.com. Be sure to join us next time
Speaker 1: as we look into God's word for our daily hope.
Speaker 1: This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and
Speaker 1: your generous financial support.