Sermon for October 30, 2016

Transcription

1 Sermon for October 30, 2016 BMZ Church Series: FINANCIAL FREEDOM Scriptures: Luke 16:11, Luke 12:34, Proverbs 3:9-10, 13:11, 21:5* and 20, 23:23, 27:23-24, Malachi 3:10, I Corinthians 16:2, Ecclesiastes 6:9, Hebrews 13:5, Isaiah 55:2, Job 31:24 and 28 Message Title: How Do I Save In This Economy? Introduction: Good Morning BMZ!! TODAY, we are CONTINUING this series called, FINANCIAL FREEDOM! Sounds SCARY I know. BUT, we are looking at DISCIPLESHIP through the LENSE of STEWARDSHIP and MONEY for our FALL SPIRITUAL GROWTH CAMPAIGN and it is going to HELP US! AND, according to our BIBLES, what GOD WANTS for you and me is for us to have FINANCIAL FREEDOM! I m going to tell you this right now and I m going to keep telling you this as we go through the next few weeks: If you will LISTEN to what is going to be said here on Sunday (ENHANCED in our Growth Groups) and APPLY what you learn even though what you hear are going to be GOD PRINCIPLES and NOT HUMAN PRINCIPLES (might not make sense to us until we try them going to be CONTRARY to what our CULTURE / MEDIA says) here is my GUARANTEE: Your LIFE will CHANGE for the BETTER! Again, God wants us to TRADE in our Financial STRESS for Financial FREEDOM! It s up to US to TRUST GOD and DO IT! THREE REASONS WHY we HAVE TO DO THIS SERIES: 1. The leading cause of STRESS in America FINANCES. 2. Consistently, one of the leading causes of DIVORCE in America FINANCES. 3. JESUS Talked about it a LOT! Jesus KNOWS that we don t HAVE to WORRY so much about our Finances. If we will TRUST GOD with our MONEY and TRUST GOD S FINANCIAL WISDOM, God will replace your STRESS with FREEDOM! So, TODAY, we are going to talk about in a very PRACTICAL WAY HOW DO I SAVE IN THIS ECONOMY?!? If you have your Bible with you, turn with me to LUKE 16 if you don t; no worries. All of our Scriptures for today will be up on the screen and much of what we are doing is in your program. Speaking of which If you haven t already, I invite you to take out your message notes and Connection card... On one side you will see our Scripture for today and on the other you will find a brief outline walking us through our Scripture. You will see that there are blanks to fill in Please take the time to do so. Grab a pen and write down whatever else you think is important to you and your faith journey. After worship, drop off your CONNECTION CARD and take your notes home and refrigerate them. Please Re-read the Scripture and the notes to keep growing and learning. For those of you watching on-line, hit the button for notes and for CONNECTION CARD and stick with us. If you are watching/listening later, or IPODing; you can download the outline off of our website so you too can take notes. Let s pray and then we will press on with where we are going today LET S PRAY (turn off marked lights during prayer)! Alright, the idea is that GOD wants us to EXPERIENCE FINANCIAL FREEDOM! TODAY, we are going to talk about HOW to SAVE in THIS ECONOMY? BUT, FIRST now that you have your MESSAGE NOTES OUT a SHORT EVALUATION QUIZ. At the top of your notes, would you please answer this QUESTION: ON a SCALE of 1 to 10; How SATISFIED are you with your FINANCES? Just at the top of your NOTES, write a NUMBER please. Don t COPY off of your neighbor s paper 5 = SOMEWHAT 10 = VERY, etc.

2 2 NOW, let s compare YOUR answers to a RECENT SURVEY done in this SURVEY, only 26% of the people said that they were SATISFIED with their CURRENT FINANCIAL situation. That means that 74% were UNSATISFIED. This survey and OTHERS note that those who are SATISFIED with their FINANCES had FOUR QUALITIES in their FINANCIAL life. Here they are: 1) They were DEBT FREE, like we talked about Last Week (see Next Steps). This did NOT include Mortgage Debt, but Consumer Debt. 2) They had SIX MONTHS or MORE worth of SALARY in their SAVINGS ACCOUNT, so if they lost the Job or something happened, they felt Secure. 3) They were LIVING on LESS than they EARNED. IOW Not living on 110%, but on less maybe not the 70/10/10/10 that we talked about, but LESS. Finally, 4), They had an INVESTMENT PLAN for the FUTURE. Now that you know what brought THEM SATISFACTION, HOW SATISFIED are YOU with YOUR FINANCES? More or Less Satisfied? FINANCES are a MAJOR ISSUE in LIFE. Why?! Because our FINANCES AFFECT our HEARTS. I ARGUE that the #1 Cause of DIVORCE in the U.S. is FINANCES. Even though statistics say that the #1 = BASIC INCOMPATIBILITY, #2 = INFIDELITY and #3 = MONEY ISSUES Statistics ALSO SHOW, according to a MANY RECENT SURVEYS, that the #1 STRESSOR on RELATIONSHIPS is MONEY! Where do you THINK that BASIC INCOMPATIBILITY is STEMMING FROM?!? Right! STRESS about MONEY! This makes the point that it s no longer to DEATH DO US PART, but it s now, TILL DEBT DO US PART! Finances are SO IMPORTANT! MONEY is an issue of the HEART! The Bible says that God uses MONEY to TEST US One of the reasons God ALLOWS wealth to come into our lives is because He wants to SEE HOW we will RESPOND. Maybe even being BORN into the U.S. is God TESTING US. It s a TEST. Jesus said this Luke 16:11 = 11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? 1 Would you please CIRCLE the phrase Worldly Wealth? What is Worldly Wealth? That s MONEY! Jesus said that if you don t MANAGE your MONEY WELL, then you CAN T be trusted with OTHER THINGS. BECAUSE MONEY IS A TEST!! Get it?!? Money is an INDICATOR according to GOD. The AMOUNT that GOD can BLESS us in this life is DEPENDENT on HOW well we MANAGE what GOD has ALREADY GIVEN US! IF you MANAGE WELL = God will ENTRUST YOU with MORE, even GREATER things than MONEY Making a Difference in the WORLD on behalf of GOD! See, MONEY and the HEART are CONNECTED! Money REVEALS your HEART! Nobody can SEE what your HEART is REALLY LIKE (we are DECEITFUL), but a MISMANAGEMENT of MONEY may say that there is a MISMANAGEMENT in your HEART. Jesus said it this way Luke 12:34 = 34 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. 2 Alright, TODAY, we are going to LOOK at some PRINCIPLES of FINANCIAL STABILITY. Our FOCUS is on SAVING, BUT here is the THING about SAVING: SAVING CANNOT STAND on its OWN. In order for SAVING to HAPPEN, we have to look at TWO things that will HELP US SAVE and then TWO THINGS that SUSTAIN the Principle of SAVING FIVE PRINCIPLES FOR FINANCIAL STABILITY: Okay, so there are FIVE PRINCIPLES, and the MIDDLE ONE is about SAVING and the OTHER FOUR SUPPORT the PRINIPLE of SAVING Got it?!? 1 Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Lk 16:11). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 2 Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Lk 12:34). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

3 3 And, ALL of these PRINCIPLES for Financial Stability are coming from the WISEST MAN who EVER LIVED. His name is King SOLOMON. He wrote the Book of PROVERBS. Now, not only was SOLOMON considered the WISEST MAN in the world, he is also considered the RICHEST MAN who EVER LIVED. He would put Warren Buffet and Bill Gates to SHAME So, King SOLOMON = Extremely WEALTHY Extremely WISE and fortunately for US, he WROTE DOWN MUCH of his WISDOM, so we are BASING our PRINCIPLES on the WRITINGS of King SOLOMON. Here we GO: I. KEEP GOOD RECORDS (The Principle of Accounting) Again, we are BUILDING UP to the PRINCIPLE of SAVINGS. Part of our SAVINGS is knowing where we ARE. You cannot save if you don t have an ACCURATE PICTURE of your CURRENT FINANCES. We talked about this some already you have to KNOW how MUCH you OWN and how much you OWE. Here is some of SOLOMON S WISDOM Proverbs 27:23-24 = 23 Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds, 24 for riches don t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation. 3 See where it says that Riches Don t Last Forever? Some versions say that RICHES DISAPPEAR FAST! Would you AGREE?! Now, in Solomon s day, most people dealt in AGRICULTURE, so he says, Know the STATE of your FLOCKS. We might say, KNOW the STATE of your STOCKS! Because, we have to KNOW where we are How much do you have? Do you ever find yourself saying, I just DON T KNOW WHERE all of the MONEY goes? That should be a WARNING SIGN. Here is what you and I KNOW ABOUT MONEY There was a SAYING that MONEY TALKS, and that is TRUE in a sense, but MONEY ALSO SNEAKS AWAY QUIETLY and we MISS IT We have to PAY ATTENTION to our CASH FLOW and where we are FINANCIALLY. Solomon goes on Proverbs 23:23 = 23 Get the truth and never sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment. 4 Get the TRUTH, or GET the FACTS about your MONEY. WAIT! Don t flip the page yet. Would you please, at the bottom of your notes, WRITE DOWN these FOUR THINGS that you need to KNOW the TRUTH, the FACTS, ABOUT in your Finances: 1) I need to know what I OWN. What is your Net Worth? Again, please understand that your NET worth does NOT determine your SELF worth. BUT, we need to know HOW MUCH we OWN 2) I need to know much do I OWE. Need to know that TRUTH about my DEBT and Liabilities. 3) I need to know HOW MUCH I EARN. How much am I bringing in? I need to know the TRUTH about how much do I REALLY EARN? 4) I need to KNOW WHERE it GOES. Where did it GO? How much do I SPEND? This is much EASIER in our day. Our Parents and Grandparents used to do all of this by HAND. I remember my MOM teaching me to KEEP a LEDGER. TODAY, most of our BANKING software does it FOR US. We can get on our BANK ACCOUNT and SEE EXACTLY where it went for the most part. Some of you might say, Pastor Stan, I don t have time to DO ALL of THIS! Well, do you have time to WORRY about your FINANCES? Is it a STRESSOR in your life? Then, I suggest that you TAKE TIME to KEEP GOOD RECORDS. Take the time you would use WORRYING about it and WRITE DOWN some TRUTHS about your money. One of the CURES for WORRY is the TRUTH, so we have to start knowing the TRUTH about our Finances. Solomon = Riches DISAPPEAR FAST!, so KNOW the condition of your FLOCKS! 3 Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Pr 27:23 24). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 4 Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Pr 23:23). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

4 4 II. PLAN MY SPENDING (The Principle of Budgeting) This is the SECOND STEP to HELPING ourselves to SAVE Plan my Spending! This is the Principle of the Budget. Now, SOME PEOPLE (Me!) don t like the work BUDGET, so I thought I would give us another way of saying it how about, FINANCIAL GOAL SETTING? That s what a BUDGET IS. It s a way of SETTING GOALS on Spending for Groceries and entertainment and clothing and rent, etc. I want to ENCOURAGE you to NOT go through this next year like you did the last if you are NOT SETTING FINANCIAL GOALS. Set GOALS. Make a BUDGET and stick to it! If you want to SAVE, you have to have a PLAN!! Here is King Solomon again Proverbs 21:5 = 5 Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. 5 Hasty Shortcuts = Acting too quickly. Making an IMPULSE PURCHASE Impulse buying! It also says in this verse that GOOD PLANNING leads to Prosperity. So, we need to PLAN our SPENDING, and if it s NOT in the PLAN, we DON T SPEND IT! I know easier said than done, but we have to have a PLAN! And, I know, some of you might say, Well, Pastor Stan, if I MADE MORE money, I would PLAN BETTER! No you WOULDN T! Again, FINANCIAL FREEDOM does NOT depend on HOW MUCH we MAKE near as much as it DEPENDS on HOW MUCH you SPEND! We have to have a PLAN for our SPENDING. You know, it s BIBLICAL to SAVE, because the BIBLE wants us to HAVE ENOUGH and experience FINANCIAL FREEDOM. This next verse is like GOD S Financial IQ Test Proverbs 21:20b = but fools spend whatever they get. Some translations use the word DUMB or STUPID if you SPEND whatever you get! My Mom used to say that MONEY burns a HOLE in your POCKET. IF we HAVE IT, we CAN T WAIT to SPEND IT! The way to BREAK that HABIT is to have a BUDGET or a FINANCIAL GOAL SETTING PLAN Principle #3 = III. SAVE FOR THE FUTURE (The Principle of Saving) Finally! We get to SAVING! BUT, we cannot skip the Two Principles that HELP us get to SAVING. Because, if you DON T KEEP GOOD RECORDS, you don t know HOW MUCH you can SPEND or how much you can SAVE. And, if you DON T have a BUDGET or a FINANCIAL GOAL, you will NEVER be able to SAVE as much! Now, we are at SAVING for the FUTURE. Here is our next verse from the WISDOM of King Solomon Proverbs 21:20a = 20 The wise have wealth and luxury, NOW, you understand that this is the FIRST PART of the Verse we just read in the PREVIOUS point, right? So, if you want to draw a LINE BETWEEN them in your notes, that would be GREAT! Because, AGAIN, it s like God s IQ TEST! Are we WISE or are we STUPID?!? WISE = SAVE STUPID FOOLS = SPEND! Listen, GOD is FOR SAVING our Money. God is also FOR you BUYING the stuff that you WANT and/or NEED, BUT only if you HAVE the MONEY! This is so PREVELANT in our CULTURE. Many Americans follow the FORMULA of BUY, PAY and PRAY. They BUY an ITEM (TV, CAR, etc.), Start to PAY on it, then PRAY that they can make all of the PAYMENTS! Now, let me teach you another FORMULA its PRAY, SAVE and then BUY Pray First = God, do I really need this new TV / Car / etc.? If God says it s OKAY to HAVE, then you start to SAVE FOR IT NOT BUY it and then PAY back the DEBT you save a certain amount/week and ONCE you have SAVED ENOUGH, THEN you go and BUY IT! According to our BIBLES, that is what the WISE PERSON DOES! 5 Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Pr 21:5). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

5 5 Check out this verse. Solomon again (Sorry wrong one in your notes) Proverbs 13:11 = 11 Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time. 6 We talked about this some the 1 st week of this series, but when we do the LITTLE THINGS over TIME, the wealth comes. How much can I SAVE if I CUT SOMETHING OUT of my DAILY ROUTINE? Soda? Coffee? Bag your LUNCH? Those things ADD UP! Listen if you buy a COFFEE every day and you spend $2.50 for it. If you decide to just MAKE COFFEE at your HOME or in the OFFICE, you save $912 per YEAR. You will spend some of that on Coffee and Filters, but you SAVE a LOT! I understand that MAKING COFFEE is HARD WORK, but Wealth from HARD WORK Grows over time. $75/month starting at age 25 (make your own coffee) with 12% Interest = Age 70 $1.3 MILLION in SAVINGS. Einstein = Compounding Interest is the most powerful force in the universe! Now that we have covered SAVING (and there is way more in The Total Money Makeover ), we have to cover TWO MORE PRINCIPLES in order to SUPPORT the Principle of Saving IV. RETURN 10% TO GOD (The Principle of Tithing) Now, before I get to our VERSES that talk about TITHING, let s talk about THREE GOALS that we should ALL HAVE FINANCIALLY. Jot these down #1 = A SAVING GOAL How much money do you want/need to SAVE over the course of a YEAR to secure your FUTURE? #2 = A SPENDING GOAL How much will I SPEND? This is about BUDGETING and TELLING your money WHERE to GO! If you don t tell it, it will DECIDE! #3 = A GIVING GOAL How much will I GIVE this year? Listen, it is so much FUN to GIVE. It s what we were MADE FOR! A GENEROUS LIFE is really a LIFE worth LIVING! Well, TITHING is GOD S way of making sure we REALLY LIVE! It s to make sure that we KEEP GOD as our PRIORITY. Now, there are MANY misconceptions about TITHING. So, let me give a BRIEF OVERVIEW of Biblical TITHING Tithing is simply RETURNING the FIRST 10% of what you EARN back to GOD! The word RETURNING is KEY to this whole TITHING CONCEPT. Because, you are simply BRINGING BACK to GOD what GOD has already GIVEN YOU! Let s look at Malachi Malachi 3:10 = 10 Bring all the tithes (TITHES means TENTHS) into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. Do you ever wonder why it s 10%?! I m not sure, but God said that 10% is enough for OBEDIENCE. He didn t say 50%. He didn t say 5%. Here is my THEORY 5% would be something WE could figure out. Any MORE than 10%, we MIGHT NEVER TRY. It seems to ME that 10% is the PERFECT STARTING POINT for our FAITH A WAY for us to SHOW that GOD is #1 in our FINANCES GOD is our PRIORITY! Back to the Verse If you do, says the Lord of Heaven s Armies, I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! 7 It s pretty CLEAR. God says, Either TRUST ME or DON T! 10%. Am I PRIORITY or NOT? Let me ask you ARE YOU READY to PUT the LORD your GOD to the TEST? I want to give you a CHANCE to have A BLESSING SO GREAT that you WON T HAVE enough ROOM to TAKE IT IN! BECAUSE I don t want you to MISS OUT on the BLESSING of GOD, I made it a NEXT STEP Next Step #2 = Commit my financial life to God and begin living it out by giving a TITHE regularly. TEST HIM and DON T MISS OUT Next verse = I Corinthians 16:2 = 2 On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don t wait until I get there and then try to collect 6 Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Pr 13:11). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 7 Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mal 3:10). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

6 6 it all at once. 8 Paul was RECEIVING the TITHE from the CORINTHIAN CHURCH Each week we get to EXPERIENCE God s Blessings as we BRING the TITHE to the HOME CHURCH. That was God s plan for BLESSING the PEOPLE as well as the CHURCH Jesus TOOL for taking the Good News into the WORLD! Then, SOLOMON challenges us to HONOR the LORD, NOT with our JUNK and our LEFTOVERS, but with our FIRST and our BEST Proverbs 3:9-10 = 9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. 10 Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine. 9 So, we give the FIRST PART of what we EARN BEFORE TAXES and BILLS. That means we give 10% of the GROSS, not the NET. Do you want God to bless you NETLY or GROSSLY?!? GROSSLY is FULL BARNS and OVERFLOWING VATS of WINE! Alright, I m challenging you to take that TITHE CHALLENGE in your Next Steps. I don t want something FROM YOU; I want something FOR YOU! V. ENJOY WHAT I HAVE (The Principle of Contentment) FINALLY, to support my SAVING, I need to learn to ENJOY / Be CONTENT with what I HAVE! BUT, it s SO HARD to do this one! WHY? BECAUSE there are SO MANY incredible PRODUCTS out there. It s FUN to go and get the LATEST GADGET or the LATEST CLOTHES or the NEWEST MODEL of VEHICLE or whatever BUT, Financial FREEDOM comes when we are CONTENT with what we HAVE. The BIBLE tells us in Ecclesiastes Solomon again Ecclesiastes 6:9 = 9 Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless like chasing the wind. 10 Solomon in all of his GODLY WISDOM tells us that we have to STOP going after STUFF like it will BRING us HAPPINESS. It won t. Solomon writes that he has had EVERYTHING (very rich), YET NONE of it brought him HAPPINESS. He said he felt EMPTY! And, NONE of US will ever be able to get MORE STUFF than SOLOMON So he tells us to STOP CHASING THE WIND! The writer of HEBREWS reminds us to LEARN (because it doesn t come naturally) Hebrews 13:5 = 5 Don t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, I will never fail you. I will never abandon you. * 11 Some of us think that we have to LOVE MONEY in order to SURVIVE or to SATISFY. That is why it says that GOD will NEVER FAIL US nor ABANDON us! We don t have to WORRY about our FINANCES. We just need to CARE for them in a GODLY / BIBLICAL WAY! We need to be WISE like SOLOMON. Listen, how many of you would say that your CURRENT FINANCIAL PLAN is NOT WORKING?! Maybe it s time to try doing FINANCES GOD S WAY God understands that each of us spend our LIVES SEARCHING for HAPPINESS, but God knows that STUFF is FLEETING brings HAPPINESS temporarily, but it doesn t LAST. Isaiah 55:2 = (Talking about Salvation) 2 Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food. 12 We try to FEED ourselves with STUFF and Jesus says, I have something so much BETTER! Listen, the ROOT of ALL FINANCIAL STRESS boils down to VALUE and TRUST. What do you really VALUE in life? What or WHO do you really TRUST? If you put your TRUST in MONEY and if your HAPPINESS depends on MONEY, you have really DENIED 8 Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (1 Co 16:2). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 9 Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Pr 3:9 10). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 10 Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ec 6:9). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 11 Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Heb 13:5). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 12 Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Is 55:2). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

7 7 GOD! And, that is an ISSUE of the HEART. Out of Control Finances represents an OUT of CONTROL LIFE! If that s the CASE if you cannot SAVE or cannot TITHE in RETURN to GOD, then you have a MISMANAGED LIFE. You need a LEADER someone to GUIDE YOU. That is JESUS! You might NEED JESUS to LEAD your LIFE a LIFE MANAGER Like TODAY you need to ask JESUS to be your LORD from this day forward. JOB DID Job 31:24, 28b = 24 Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold? If so, I should be punished by the judges, for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven. 14 Let me ask have you been DENYING GOD by the way you have HANDLED your FINANCES? BTW When using these 5 GODLY PRINCIPLES, it doesn t work to CHERRY- PICK the ones you want and LEAVE OFF the ones you DON T LIKE! You have to have ALL FIVE if it s really going to be a GODLY MANAGEMENT of my MONEY and SAVINGS. And Jesus said and I will be WITH YOU to the end of the age. God will NOT abandon you as you begin TRUSTING GOD instead of your MONEY. God will give you STRENGTH and POWER to do this BIBLICAL. FINANCIAL. FREEDOM. Let s Pray! Next Steps: - Memorize Proverbs 21:5 - Commit my financial life to God and begin living it out by giving a tithe regularly. - I will follow these Biblical Guidelines with the intention of getting out of debt between now and (date) - I will sign up to participate in the Believer s Baptism Event coming up Sunday, November 6 th. Truth without Grace is Fundamentalism (Brutality). Grace without Truth is Sentimentalism (Hypocrisy). Special thanks to Andy Stanley, Nelson Searcy, R.A. Pegram, Mike Slaughter and Craig Groeschel for outlines and ideas for this worship series. 13 Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Job 31:24). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 14 Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Job 31:28). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.