Luke 19:11-26 – 11 The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. 12 He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. 13 Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ 14 But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’ 15 “After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. 16 The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’ 17 “ ‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’ 18 “The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’ 19 “ ‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’ 20 “But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. 21 I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’ 22 “ ‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, 23 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ 24 “Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ 25 “ ‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’ 26 “ ‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. (New Living Translation)

Keys to Saving Today

1. What I have _________________________________

Psalm 24:1 – The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. (New Living Translation)

Colossians 1:17 – . . . He holds all creation together. (New Living Translation)

Hebrews 1:3 – . . . He sustains the universe by the might power of his command. . . . (New Living Translation)

Deuteronomy 8:11-12 – 11 Make sure you don’t forget God, your God, . . . 17 If you start thinking to yourselves, “I did all this. And all by myself. I’m rich. It’s all mine!” – well, think again. 18 Remember that God, your God, gave you the strength to produce all this wealth . . . (The Message)

2. How I use what’s given to me __________________ ________________

Proverbs 22:29 – Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men. (New King James Version)

Proverbs 27:23-24 – Riches can disappear fast . . . so watch your business interests closely. (The Living Bible)

Proverbs 24:30-34 – 30 I once walked by the field and the vineyard of a lazy fool. 31 Thorns and weeds were everywhere, and the stone wall had fallen down. 32 When I saw this, it taught me a lesson: 33 Sleep a little. Doze a little. Fold your hands and twiddle your thumbs. 34 Suddenly poverty hits you and everything is gone! (Contemporary English Version)

3. Living a simpler life will provide me ______________ _____________________________

Luke 12:15 – [Jesus said], “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” (New Living Translation)

1 Timothy 6:10 – For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. (New Living Translation)

Ecclesiastes 5:13-14 – 13 There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. 14 Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children. (New Living Translation)

Proverbs 19:17 – Mercy to the needy is a loan to God, and God pays back those loans in full. (The Message)

4. My saving strategy must ______________________

1 Timothy 6:17 – Tell those rich in this world’s wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage . . . (The Message)

Matthew 6:33 – The thing you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what God wants. Then all these other things you need will be given to you. (New Century Version)

1 Timothy 6:18-19 – 18 Command [those who are rich in this world’s wealth] to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share with others. 19In this way they will store up for themselves a treasure which will be a solid foundation for the future. And then they will be able to win the life which is true life. (Good News Translation)